"ARE THESE MISSILES READY TO BE FIRED?"

JFK SHOWN U-2 PHOTOS OF SOVIET MISSILE SITES IN CUBA

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 16, 1962, Arthur Lundahl*, CIA chief photo interpreter, "revealed a secret that would bring the world to the edge of nuclear war."

Mr. Lundahl showed President John F. Kennedy photographs taken from a U-2 overflight of Cuba with captions he had added such as ERECTOR LAUNCHER EQUIPMENT, MISSILE TRAILERS, and TENT AREAS.

The President, as he beheld clear evidence of Soviet nuclear missile** sites in Cuba, asked...

"Are these missiles ready to be fired?"

So began Day 1 of the 13 day long "Cuban Missile Crisis."

*Arthur Charles Lundahl (1915-1992) was born in Chicago, IL & studied geology at the University of Chicago, BS (1939), MS (1942).  ACL served in the US Navy in WWII & became the Chief Engineer at NPIC.

**SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads capable of hitting targets in the continental United States. 

SOURCE

"One Minute To Midnight:  Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War," by Michael Dobbs, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2008.  

 

 

Arthur C. Lundahl

NPIC Director 1953-1973

US Government Photo

  

"ARE THESE MISSILES READY TO BE FIRED?"

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS BEGINS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 16, 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began marking an event that would see the world come to the brink of thermo-nuclear war.   Michael Dobbs writes that just before noon...

"The CIA's chief photo interpreter hovered over John F. Kennedy's
shoulder. Arthur Lundahl* held a pointer in his hand, ready to reveal a secret that would bring the world to the edge of nuclear war."

JFK was informed that the photographs, taken from U-2 overflights, revealed Soviet medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) sites were under construction on the island of Cuba just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. 

The President asked.."Are these missiles ready to be fired?"

His advisers replied...   "We don't know."  
  
It was a vital point.  If the missiles were armed with nuclear warheads, they could have been fired in a matter of hours.

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara suggested that the missiles were not ready to be fired, but General Maxwell Taylor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, countered that even if the missiles were not armed, the Soviets would still be able to fire them "very quickly."

*Arthur S. Lundahl (1915-1992) was born in Chicago and received his B.S. and M.S. in Geology from the University of Chicago in 1939 and 1942.He founded the CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center in 1961 and was the chief organizer of imagery intelligence for the Agency.

SOURCES

"One Minute To Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War," by Michael Dobbs, published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2008.

"Spies in East Bethesda," by Marcie Sandalow, www.eastbethesdamdrealestateblog.com/

CIA Photo 

 October 14, 1962

JFK Library Image

HOW QUICK IS OUR COMMUNICATION WITH MOSCOW?

EXCOM DISCUSSES OPTIONS FOR RESPONSE TO SOVIET MISSILES

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 18, 1962, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, or EXCOM, met at the White House to discuss the options for responding to the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba by the Soviet Union.

Early in the discussions, President John F. Kennedy asked Arthur Lundahl how many different missile sites were identified.  Mr. Lundahl answered twenty-three.

General Maxwell Taylor said...

"All of our (response) plans are based on...(the)...assumption that we would attack with conventional weapons against an enemy who is not equipped with operational nuclear weapons."

The President asked...

 "How quick is our communication with Moscow?"

Llewellyn Thompson answered that it would take from five to six hours to communicate with the Kremlin.  Mr. Thompson expressed his preference for a naval blockade of Cuba along with a demand for the missiles already in place to be dismantled. 

In addition to the President and Vice-President, other participants were:

Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense

Dean Rusk, Secretary of State

C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Treasury

Bob F. Kennedy, Attorney General

Llewellyn Thompson, Special Assistant for Soviet affairs

George Ball, Under Secretary of State

McGeorge Bundy, National Security adviser

John McCone, CIA director

Art Lundahl, director National Photo Interpreting Center

General Maxwell Taylor, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: DAY 1

DAY 1 OF 13 DAY CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS 51 YEARS AGO TODAY!

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) 51 years ago today, October 16, 1962, was the first day of what would be the 13 day Cuban Missile Crisis, the closest the world has come to nuclear war.

At t 11:50 A.M. in the words of Michael Dobbs...

"The CIA's chief photo interpreter hovered over the president's shoulder. Arthur Lundahl held a pointer in his hand, ready to reveal a secret that would bring the world to the edge of nuclear war."

Before showing the pictures to JFK, Art Landahl* labeled them with captions which read...

ERECTOR LAUNCHER EQUIPMENT

MISSILE TRAILERS

TENT AREAS

CIA Photo Shown to JFK

on Oct 16, 1962

Taken on Oct 14, 1962
JFK Library Image

JFK was informed that the photographs, taken from U-2 overflights, revealed Soviet medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) sites were under construction on the island of Cuba just 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

Mr. Lundahl was accompanied by his "missile man," technical expert Sidney Graybeal**.

The President asked...

"Are these missiles ready to be fired?"

His advisers replied...

 "We don't know."

It was a vital point.  If the missiles were armed with nuclear warheads,  they could have been fired in a matter of hours.

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara suggested that the missiles were not ready to be fired, but General Maxwell Taylor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, countered that even if the missiles were not armed, the Soviets would still be able to fire them "very quickly."

JFK first heard about the Soviet missiles in Cuba three hours earlier when McGeorge Bundy, national security adviser, came to his bedroom in the White House to break the news.

In order to help keep the story hidden from the press, JFK decided to follow his regular schedule for the day, but, in the meantime, he pondered the possibilities of ordering a launch strike to take out the missiles to be followed by an invasion of Cuba by the military forces of the United States.

According to JFK's agenda for Oct. 16, 1962, he met with Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson,  Secretary of State Dean Rusk, General Maxwell Taylor, Roswell Gilpatrick and Edwin Martin from 11:50 a.m. until 12:57 p.m. in an OFF THE RECORD discussion on Cuba.

Arthur S. Lundahl

Photo Courtesy of Sandy Spagnolo

*Arthur S. Lundahl (1915-1992) was born in Chicago and received his B.S. and M.S. in Geology from the University of Chicago in 1939 and 1942.

He founded the CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center in 1961 and was the chief organizer of imagery intelligence for the Agency.

Art, who lived on Chestnut Street in East Bethesda, MD, was given a personal commendation by JFK after the missile crisis.  He died at the age of 77.^


**Sidney N. Graybeal (1925-1998) described as an American hero in peace and war, served as a B-29 pilot in WWII and had 40 years of experience in arms control, intelligence and national security by the time of his retirement.

President Jimmy Carter presented Mr. Graybeal the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Service and in 1994 he was appointed to the Defense Policy Board.  He died at the age of 73 in Santa Fe, NM.

CSPAN image

SOURCES

"One Minute To Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War," by Michael Dobbs, published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2008.

"Spies in East Bethesda," by Marcie Sandalow, www.eastbethesdamdrealestateblog.com/