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Day 1
The first day of the Cuban missile crisis begins. Discussions result in two courses of actions; an airstrike and subsequent invasion of Cuba, or a naval blockade and threats of military action. -
Day 2
Spy plans discover additional missile sites and upwards of 32 missiles. Military forces are moved to the south-eastern U.S. -
Day 3
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko visits President Kennedy and claims that Soviet aid to Cuba is defensive in nature and is not a threat to the United States. Kennedy does not reveal that he is aware of the missile sites but cautions Andrei of the repercussions of their presence. -
Day 4
President Kennedy attends a scheduled event to Ohio to prevent suspicions of a crisis within America. -
Day 5
President Kennedy feigns a cold in order to return to the White House early and meets with his advisers. It is decided that the naval blockade is the best course of action and plans for deployment are drawn. -
Day 6
President Kennedy consults General Walter Sweeney of the Tactical Air Command and is told that in the case of an airstrike, he cannot guarantee the destruction of all missiles. -
Day 7
President Kennedy contacts former Presidents Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower to brief them on the situation. The Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm) is created and meets daily to discuss the crisis. Kennedy briefs the cabinet and Congress on the situation. Kennedy also reaches out to the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. -
Day 8
Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American affairs Edwin Martin requests support from the United Nations. The United States Ambassador Adlai Stevenson presents the situation to the U.N. Security Council. The naval blockade moves into position. Soviet submarines threaten the blockade, but freighters are successfully stopped. Kennedy meets with Russian Ambassador Dobrynin at the Soviet Embassy. -
Day 9
Chairman Khrushchev responds to Kennedy's letter, stating that the quarantine is a show of force, and that he will not submit to this act of so called intimidation. -
Day 10
With the knowledge that some missiles in Cuba are now operational, Kennedy pressures Khrushchev further to comply with demands -
Day 11
Spy planes document accelerated construction of the missile sites, as well as the deployment of soviet bombers to Cuba. In a private letter Fidel Castro urgers Khrushchev to retaliate on an invasion of Cuba with nuclear weapons. Aleksander Fomin of the Soviet Embassy approaches John Scali, an ABC news reporter, with a proposal to end the conflict. Khrushchev sends another letter to Kennedy offering to remove the missiles in return for lifting the quarantine and pledging to not invade Cuba. -
Day 12
A second letter from Moscow is received, demanding the removal of the American Jupiter missiles from turkey, as well as the previous terms. Major Rudolph Anderson, an American Pilot, is shot down over Cuba while piloting a spy plane. He is awarded the Distinguished Service Medal posthumously. -
Day 13
The infamous 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis ends when the Soviet Union and the U.S. agree to the terms outlined in Moscow's letter.
