Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Motion Picture Films from the Army Library Copy Collection. 1964 - 1980. Secretary Charles E. Wilson and Joint Chiefs of Staff press conference (guided missile controversy), Pentagon Building, Washington, DC

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Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Motion Picture Films from the Army Library Copy Collection. 1964 - 1980. Secretary Charles E. Wilson and Joint Chiefs of Staff press conference (guided missile controversy), Pentagon Building, Washington, DC

1956

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/27339

Int, Secretary Wilson, Secretaries of the different Services and Joint Chiefs of Staff seated atf a table, answering questions of newsmen. Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, Navy Chief of Staff, speaking, says in part that the idea of the Navy's mission is to destroy the weapons capability of the enemy. It is the Navy's job he says to destroy submarine pens, airfields, which threaten our control of the sea. Pan, table of which is seated Air Chief Nathan Twining, Air Secretary Donald A. Quarles, Army Chief of Staff Maxwell D. Taylor, Acting Army Secretary Charles C. Finucane, Defense Secretary Wilson, JCS Chairman Arthur W. Radford, Navy Secretary Charles A. Thomas, Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh A. Burke and Marine Commandant Randolph McC Pate. Wilson makes the remark "eager beavers are gnawing down some of the wrong trees". Gen. Taylor says that nothing is official unless it comes from him directly. Quarles, in answering a question about the documents, says. that the pep talks went beyond anything he likes to comment on. He suggests that the reporters read the context of the documents. Wilson says, "We don't quite know how good the missiles are, we have to test them and find out". Radford says a few words about missiles. Wilson says that they have their problems and their differences and that "they do pretty well unless other people try to get into the play from the sidelines".

Film Reel

eng, Latn

National Archives at College Park

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6435554

National Archives at College Park

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

Pate, Randolph M. (Randolph McCall), 1898-1961

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Randolph McCall Pate (b. Feb. 11, 1898, Port Royal, S.C.-d. July 31, 1961, Bethesda, Md.), U.S. Marine Corps general, was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1922 after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute. During the 1920s, he was assigned duty in the Dominican Republic, China, Hawaii, and various U.S. posts. During World War II, he participated in the planning and combat phases of the Guadalcanal campaign and saw other service in the Pacific Theater. He commanded the 1st Marine Divi...

Wilson, Charles Erwin, 1890-1961

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63b7h2z (person)

Quarles, Donald A. (Donald Aubrey), 1894-1959

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62z2v6w (person)

Donald Aubrey Quarles (1894-1959) was born in Van Buren, Arkansas. He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1916, and completed graduate studies at Columbia University from 1920 to 1924. He married Rosina Cotton in 1939. He went on to serve in the following capacities: Engineer, Bell Telephone Labs, 1919; Vice President, Bell Telephone Labs, 1948; Vice President, Western Electric, 1952; President, Sandia Corporation, 1952; President, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 1952 to 1953; As...

Twining, Nathan F. (Nathan Farragut), 1897-1982

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m91hp2 (person)

Air Force officer. From the description of Reminiscences of Nathan Farragut Twining: oral history, 1967. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122419971 U.S. Army and Air Force officer; later, publishing company executive. From the description of Papers of Nathan F. Twining, 1924-1960 (bulk 1950-1960). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81804920 Nathan Twining's military career began in 1916 as a member of the Third Oregon Infant...

Thomas, Charles A.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60b26xm (person)

Radford, Arthur William

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6br9ns3 (person)

Admiral, United States Navy; chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1953-1957. From the description of Arthur William Radford memoirs, 1972. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754871630 Arthur William Radford (1896-1973), naval officer, was born in Chicago, the son of John Arthur Radford, an electrical engineer, and Agnes Eliza Knight. Raised in Riverside, Ill., and Grinnell, Iowa, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1912. After graduating in the upper third of his class in 1916, he ...

Finucane, Charles C., 1905-1983

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d66grj (person)

Charles C. Finucane (1905-1983) was born in Spokane, Washington, and earned his B.S. degree from Yale University in 1928. He served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management from 1954 to 1955, and Under Secretary of the Army from 1955 to 1958. Finucane then served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1958 to 1961. From the description of Finucane, Charles C., 1905-1983 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10611663 ...

Taylor, Maxwell D. (Maxwell Davenport), 1901-1987

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Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century.[1] He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed "The Screaming Eagles." After the war, he served as the fifth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having been appointed by President John F. Kennedy. He is the father of biographer and historian John Maxwell Taylor and of military historian ...

Burke, Arleigh A. 1901-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b85g9d (person)

Arleigh Albert Burke, U.S. Naval Officer, was born near Boulder, Colorado on 19 October, 1901. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1923 and served in the Navy until his retirement in 1961. A brilliant officer during World War II, Burke fell into disfavor in 1949 due to his opposition to adoption of the Air Force B-36 aircraft, but still achieved promotion to rear admiral and eventually selection as Chief of Naval Operations in 1955. He is credited with building a fleet of nuclear-powered subm...