Description The blockade began October 21 and, the next day, Kennedy delivered a public address alerting Americans to the situation. In his speech, he warned a frightened American public that the missiles on Cuba were capable of hitting Washington, D.C. or anywhere in the southeastern portion of the country, the Panama Canal, Mexico City or “as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru.” A military confrontation appeared imminent when Kennedy told his audience that he ordered the evacuation of the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and put military units on standby. Boldly, he stated, “one path we shall never choose is the path of surrender or submission.”
Khrushchev responded by sending additional ships—possibly carrying military cargo—toward Cuba and by allowing construction at the missile sites to continue. Over the following six days, the Cuban Missile Crisis, as it is now known, brought the world to the brink of global nuclear war while the two leaders engaged in tense negotiations via telegram and letter.
Fortunately by October 28, Kennedy and Khrushchev had reached a settlement and people on both sides of the conflict breathed a collective but wary sigh of relief. The Cuban missile sites were dismantled and, in return, Kennedy agreed to close U.S. missile sites in Turkey.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
October / 1962
To Month/Year
November / 1962
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember Chief Hurhusky, Tom Watkens, Cmdr. Gossman, Bill Bagley, David Holder, C. Perino, R. Longstreet.
Memories I was serving on the USS Enterprise, CVAN-65. We left pier 12 at Norfolk, NAS early. When I arrived from a week-end furlough The pier was alive with people loading supplies. This was odd because we had just returned from a Med. cruise and weren’t supposed to leave again until January. There were plenty of rumors going around. We pulled out that morning and headed south. That evening they broadcast President Kennedy's speech. Now we knew. During the blockade we were at general quarters almost constantly. Air opts were going day and night. The planes were loaded with armaments this time. It was scary! The Russian ships with missiles were heading our way. It was a great relief when they turned back. We headed back to port and were home for Christmas.
