In the middle of the crisis – October 1962.

Cuban Missile Crisis re-cap Oct. 22, 1962

Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the beginning of the Cuban Missile crisis. Undoubtedly one of the scarier periods in history because the threat of all-out nuclear war loomed very close over everyone’s heads, and the possibility of going up in Atomic smoke was very real and it stayed very real for the better part of October of that year. It was one of the more dramatic moments in the Cold War years between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Here is a re-cap of the crisis as it was broadcast on October 22, 1962 – six days after it initially began. It gives a background to the situation between Cuba, the Soviet Union and the U.S. and where things stood as far as the looming showdown that was to take place.

At 3:00 pm EDT on 22 October 1962, President Kennedy formally established the executive committee (EXCOMM) with National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) 196. At 5:00 pm, he met Congressional leaders, who opposed a blockade and demanded a stronger response. In Moscow, US Ambassador Foy D. Kohler briefed Khrushchev on the pending blockade and Kennedy’s speech to the nation. Ambassadors around the world gave notice to non-Eastern Bloc leaders. Before the speech, US delegations met Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, French President Charles de Gaulle and Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, José Antonio Mora to brief them on this intelligence and the US’s proposed response. All were supportive of the US position. Over the course of the crisis, Kennedy had daily telephone conversations with Macmillan, who was publicly supportive of US actions.

Shortly before his speech, Kennedy telephoned former President Dwight Eisenhower. Kennedy’s conversation with the former president also revealed that the two had been consulting during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The two also anticipated that Khrushchev would respond to the Western world in a manner similar to his response during the Suez Crisis, and would possibly wind up trading off Berlin.

At the time it gave little comfort, but in retrospect – and especially if you aren’t familiar with the cast, scene and set-up, it makes for a good background briefing to get up to speed to what this confrontation was all about.

For now, here is an NBC Radio documentary on the Cuban Missile Crisis exactly as it was presented on October 22, 1962.