1

A. Justus

Ms. Patalano

Humanities P3

1 October 2017

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962

On the dates of October 1628, 1962 tensions were high between the United States and

Cuba on the topic of nuclear war. The feud ended with the U.S. pulling nuclear missiles from

Turkey. Most understand this event to be the closest our world has gotten to nuclear war, and

many still remember the days first hand. But how did this whole event start in the first place

and what are we able to learn from it?

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation

between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when

the two governments came closest to nuclear conflict. The crisis was unique in a number of

ways, featuring calculations and miscalculations as well as direct and secret communications and

miscommunications between the two sides {The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962.}. The

United States was directly allied with Turkey and Italy {Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline}, and the

Soviet Union partnered with Cuba.

July 1962. Newly partnered allies, the Russian Government reached a secret agreement

with Cuba to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter any future invasion attempt.
 2

Construction of several missile sites began in the late summer, but U.S. intelligence discovered

the sites, including Soviet IL28 bombers, during routine surveillance flights {The Cuban

Missile Crisis, October 1962}. September 4, 1962, President Kennedy issued a public warning

against the introduction of offensive weapons into Cuba. Despite the warning, on October 14 a

U.S. U2 aircraft took several pictures clearly showing sites for medium-range as well as

intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missiles (MRBMs and IRBMs) under construction in Cuba

{Evans, Charles T}. These images were processed and presented to the White House the next

day, this lead to the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

During the crisis tensions and egos ran high, some say because of miscommunication

some say because of mistrust. Either way the United States and Russia struggled throughout the

crisis to clearly understand each other's true intentions {Evans, Charles T}, while the world

hung on the brink of possible nuclear war. After the fact, Now that the Cold War has

disappeared into history, we can say authoritatively that the world came closest to blowing itself

up during thirteen days in October 1962. {Arthur M. Schlesinger}

The crisis ended with the Soviets agreed to remove their IL28 bombers from Cuba and,

on November 20, 1962, the United States pulled their U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey in April

1963. We have been though a lot as a country and learned even more since then. Though the

two governments and citizens of both will remember those 13 days the world almost blew itself

up, It will live on to serve as a reminder to both sides.

 3

Works Cited

Kennedy, Robert F., and Arthur M. Schlesinger. Thirteen days: a memoir of the Cuban

missile crisis. Bridgewater, NJ, Distributed by Paw Prints/Baker & Taylor, 2010.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962. U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of

State, history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis

Cuban missile crisis timeline. CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 2 Oct. 2013,

www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/tl-cuban-missile-crisis/index.html.

Evans, Charles T. Cuban Missile Crisis, Nova Online

novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/events/cuba62.htm