Standoff in the Caribbean

In mid-October 1962, the United States Armed Forces were placed on their highest state of readiness since World War II after photographs taken by reconnaissance aircraft revealed that Soviet missile sites were being constructed on the island of Cuban. President John F. Kennedy and the Department of Defense were determined to prevent the sites from becoming operational. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his field commanders in Cuba, were equally determined that missile installations would...