The Cuban Missile Crisis, Maya Wechsler

For my three interviews I chose people living in America during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were each about ten years apart which made their experience quite different. I interviewed Barbara Wechsler who was 12 years old, Ann Lawrence who was in her early twenties, and Philip Johnson a 30 year old. All three of these people were effected by The Cuban Missile Crisis.


Interview with Barbara Wechsler, 59 years old who lives in Seattle:
Me: What do you do now?
Wechsler: I am an attorney.
M: What do you remember about the events prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
W: Well I was pretty young, about twelve years old, so I wasn’t aware of a lot of the events but I do remember that in middle school we had an election for Kennedy and Nixon. My parents were afraid of communism and voted for Nixon because they thought he would be stronger. I was influenced by them so I voted for Nixon as well.
M: What do you recall about the Cuban Missile Crisis?
W: I remember hearing a lot about it from my parents because I didn’t watch Kennedy’s address to the nation. The thing that mostly stood out was that my mother was very scared so I became very scared.
M: Where were you during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
W: I was living thirty miles north of New York City in the suburbs. My father worked in NYC though.
M: Di you change your lifestyle? Did you have a bomb shelter?
W: No but I remember my family and I did have a plan if there was a nuclear war. Though we didn’t have a bomb shelter, our plan was to go down to the basement where there was extra food and water. Also at school we would have drills in the case of a nuclear war. We basically had to duck and cover under our desks.
M: Did you watch Kennedy’s address on TV?
W: No, but I remember my parents huddled around the TV listening carefully.
M: Did you know or believe we were at the brink of an atomic war?
W: No since I was so young I didn’t think that it could happen. I really remember that my parents were very scared about something, but I didn’t understand how dangerous the situation was. I didn’t really understand who Castro was, and what he was doing with Russia.



Interview with Ann Lawrence a 70 year old living in Seattle:
Me: What do you do now?
Lawrence: I am an adoption specialist.
M: Do you remember the events prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
L: Sort of. I remember I campaigned in the early sixties when I was in college, and I went to Whittier. I was in my early twenties at the time and I trusted and loved Kennedy because I felt safer with him and in campaign about containing communism. I was nervous about Castro because I knew that there were many attempts to try to spread communism. Castro tried to overthrow Panama. Also I vaguely remember but I think a British ballerina was living on a boat between Cuba and Florida and she was tunneling people ashore. I also remember I saw a bumper sticker in Wisconsin that said “I’d rather be dead than red”.
M: Where were you during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
L: I was New York City working in the American field service. I lived there for three years.
M: What were you doing? Job? Kids?
L: I was working at an international high school exchange.
M: Initially how did you feel about the Cuban Missile Crisis?
L: I was very scared. It was like a double shock to me. I felt very vulnerable and thought New York would be a place to attack. I guess you could say my parents were right, because they knew that countries would be aggressive and I still thought we had peace. (Chuckles).
M: Did you change your life style? Did you have a bomb shelter?
L: No even though I was scared. My brother had a kit for an atomic war that he kept in the trunk of his car. I actually think there is a house in Seward Park that has a bomb shelter from the fifties or sixties. I remember there were news reels about what to do if there in an atomic war. They would show it on television and before movies in a theater. They basically said duck and cover.
M: Did you watch Kennedy address on TV?
L: Yes I remember being very quiet and feeling like all of New York City was watching and was silent.
M: Did you know or believe we were at the brink of an atomic war?
L: Yes it was terrifying since my work was mainly peace based. Some people thought it was the end.
M: Did you think the naval blockade was a good idea?
L: It worked (laughs). It was very risky though but yes I agree that it was a very good idea. I remember calling my parents and talking to them about it.
M:Do you think it was right to negotiate with Khrushchev?
L: Yes definitely. They would dismantle missiles and U.S. wouldn’t invade Cuba. I also knew that the U.S. quietly dismantled missiles in Turkey.
M:Did America or Russia come out stronger?
L: U.S. was seen to have done the right thing so maybe they could be considered stronger but I think it was more of a win-win for both U.S. and Russia. Khrushchev and Kennedy shared a respect for each other.
M: Do you think U.S. and Russia’s relationship improved?
L: Yes because of different kinds of competitions. Not really violence any more you could say.



Interview with Philip Johnson, a 79 year old living in Seattle:
Me: Were you ever in the military?
Johns on: Yes I was from 1952 to 1954. I decoded messages.
M: Can you tell me more about decoding messages.
J: For secrecy many messages were changed up a bit, and I was the one who figured out what they meant and decoded them. I also ran secret messages and was the one who would change the message up.
M: Were you aware of events prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
J: Well Castro’s revolution was all over the news. It was in the paper and on the radio. I knew that Cuba had been a conservative government before too.
M: What about the Bay of Pigs in ’61?
J: It was a huge disaster and poorly put together. It consisted of trained exiles that the U.S. supported. It didn’t work because Cuba was aware of the attack and wasn’t surprised when it happened. The U.S. did have contacts in Cuba mainly through the mafia. It was their main connection to Cuba. In fact when the exiles failed the attack U.S. basically said they weren’t in total support of them.
M: How did you feel about these events:
J: I felt as though the Bay of Pigs was a disaster and I didn’t believe that the U.S. didn’t fully support them. But it really didn’t affect me that much.
M: What do you recall about the Cuban Missile Crisis?
J: I remember that we tried to isolate Castro. We stopped trade with Cuba. Cuba then turned to Russia to trade with and that was when Russia started to support Cuba. Russia gave them economic support.
M:How old were you during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
J: I was 30 years old.
M: Did you watch Kennedy’s address to the nation? If yes how did you feel about it?
J: Yes I wasn’t scared like many other people were. I had faith in Kennedy and I trusted him enough to know that he wouldn’t let this crisis get bigger or more intense.
M: Did you know or believe that we were at the brink of an atomic war?
J: I definitely understood because it was two major superpowers with atomic bombs at hand.
M: Did you change your lifestyle when you heard about the Cuban Missile Crisis?
J: No I didn’t take drastic measures like my uncle who made a bomb shelter. I really didn’t think it was useful to have one. I also didn’t think we would have an atomic war and so I didn’t change my life in preparation for one.
M: Do you think the blockade was a good idea?
J: Yes it was good. It forced USSR ships to turn around. It was also a lot smarter than to attack Cuba right from the start, which the military wanted to do.
M: Do you think America or Russia came out stronger?
J: I think U.S. came out stronger and our foreign policy did too. It changed and it became more successful and non-violent. I also think we chose diplomacy first which made us kind of like the bigger person.
M:Do you think U.S. and Russia’s relations improved after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
J: Yes definitely because both of them had to give something up so it was equal. We both were at the same place because Russia no longer had missiles in Cuba and we eventually took out ours in Turkey.