On this Day: Cuban Missile Crisis Begins

Although the United States had noticed an increase of Soviet shipments to Cuba and had received some intelligence that the communist superpower was arming its Caribbean ally, it was not until Oct. 14, 1962, that U.S. officials truly believed that the small island nation of Cuba had become a nuclear power.

While conducting air reconnaissance, a United States Air Force U-2 spy plane piloted by Major Richard Heyser spotted some unusual activity near San Cristóbal. Upon analysis by the National Photographic Interpretation Center in Washington, D.C., the photographs were determined to be sites for launching medium-range ballistic missiles.

The next day, more missions over Cuba were conducted and the director of the CIA and key White House staff were notified of the threat. President John F. Kennedy Jr. was not shown the photographs until Oct. 16, when he began to form a plan of retaliation against Cuba and the Soviet Union.

President Kennedy assembled a council—the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm)—to help him determine an appropriate response. After three days of debate, ExComm ordered a quarantine around Cuba to prevent future weapons from being delivered to the country. Kennedy also demanded that the premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, immediately withdraw the high-powered offensive weapons from Cuba or face an attack on that country.

On Oct. 22, 1962, Kennedy went on television and radio to announce the Soviet armament of Cuba, and the subsequent U.S. quarantine and demand that the Soviets remove the missiles. While he waited for Khrushchev’s response, Kennedy ordered more surveillance of the Cuban missile sites, as well as attacks on any Soviet ships that crossed the quarantine line.

Many historians call Oct. 26-27 the days during which the Cuban Missile Crisis came to a head. Khrushchev cabled the U.S. saying he would withdraw the missiles if the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba. But before Kennedy could respond, Khrushchev sent another message demanding that the U.S. remove its nuclear missile bases from Turkey.

Kennedy stood firm and ultimately, Khrushchev withdrew his second demand on Oct. 28, 1962 and pulled the weapons out of Cuba soon after.

When the United States emerged from the 1940s as one of the most powerful countries in the world, the Soviet Union responded by becoming America’s greatest rival. Though the two countries never directly fought a war with each other, their fundamental disagreement over Communism—the basis for the Cold War—played out in other ways: the space race and the nuclear arms race are two examples.

The Cold War officially ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Prior to that, the toppling of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was considered a major victory and one of the final steps toward eradicating Communism and ending the war.

Visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum Web site to listen to recordings from the October planning meetings during which the U.S. planned its response to the Soviet Union. Also hear Kennedy’s historic Oct. 22 speech to the American people.