September-October 1961: Conversations With Foreign Minister Gromyko; Beginning of the Pal Correspondence


154. Memorandum for the Record

Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 35, 6B NATO. Top Secret. Prepared by Taylor.


155. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Kennedy

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Departments and Agencies, State Department. Secret.


156. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in France

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/9-2261. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Hillenbrand; cleared by Fessenden, SOV, and S/S; and approved by Kohler. Repeated to Bonn, London, Moscow, Berlin, and USUN.


157. Telegram From the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/9-2261. Secret; Limit Distribution. Repeated to USUN.


158. Letter From the Ambassador to Yugoslavia (Kennan) to the Under Secretary of State (Bowles)

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/9-2261. Confidential; Official-Informal.


159. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/9-2661. Secret; Limit Distribution. Also sent to Bonn.


160. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in France

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/9-2861. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Cash; cleared by Hillenbrand, Fessenden, SOV, and S/S; and approved by Kohler. Repeated to Bonn, London, Moscow, Berlin, and USUN.


161. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/9-2861. Secret; Eyes Only.


162. Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy

Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. No classification marking. For a description of the circumstances of the delivery of this letter on September 30, see Salinger, With Kennedy, pp. 197-200. A copy of the Russian text, dated September 28, also given to Salinger on that occasion, is in Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. This is the first in a series of letters, delivered through special emissaries, that subsequently became known as the “Pen Pal Correspondence.” The texts of all the Kennedy-Khrushchev correspondence are printed in Foreign Relations, 1961-1963, volume VI.


164. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in France

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/10-261. Secret; Priority; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Cash on October 1 and cleared by Hillenbrand, Fessenden, SOV, and S/S. Repeated to London, Bonn, Berlin, Moscow, and USUN.


165. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Kennedy

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Departments and Agencies, State Department. Secret.


167. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission at Berlin

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/9-2661. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted on October 2 by Day, cleared by Kohler and Hillenbrand, and approved by Rusk. Repeated to Bonn.


168. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant (Bohlen) to Secretary of State Rusk

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/10-361. Secret. Initialed by Bohlen. Copies were sent to Bundy, McGhee, and Kohler.


169. Telegram From the Department of State to the Mission at Berlin

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/9-2961. Secret. Drafted by Day, cleared by Kohler and Hillenbrand, and approved by Rusk. Repeated to Bonn.


170. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, USSR, Gromyko Talks, Vol. III. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by Akalovsky. The meeting was held at the White House. In addition to an unsigned memorandum, Sorensen, Bohlen, and Rostow all wrote memoranda, dated October 6, with talking points for this conversation. (Ibid.)