authorities as soon as possible, including
gaining possession of important evidence. The autopsy would have to
be conducted at a secure US military facility, to ensure that information
couldn’t be leaked to the press. All of this would give JFK the time and
information needed to make an appropriate response.
In the third week of November 1963, the Cuba Contingency planning
was still going on, even though most of those working on it hadn’t been
told crucial information: that officials had uncovered plots to assassinate
JFK during his planned motorcades in Chicago on November 2 and in
Tampa on November 18. In hindsight, it’s hard to believe that most of
those working on plans to deal with the assassination of a US official
weren’t told of the Chicago and Tampa attempts to assassinate JFK, espe-
cially since each appeared to have possible links to Cuba. However, as
Chapter 5 documents, both attempts were kept out of the press because
of all the secrecy surrounding the upcoming coup. Apparently, JFK and
Bobby decided that sharing information about the attempts with the
entire subcommittee—and potentially their supervisors, aides, and
secretaries—could compromise the security of the entire coup plan.
In contrast to all the secret planning that JFK and Bobby hoped would
never be revealed, the Kennedy brothers were also concerned with
building positive publicity about the aftermath of the coup. If every-
thing went according to plan, it would appear as if JFK had responded
well to an unexpected crisis, removing Cuba as a liability to his 1964
presidential campaign. Part of their publicity plan included a Kennedy-
backed book and television project about the Bay of Pigs, though the
JFK-Almeida coup plan was unknown to the journalists involved.
While it may seem odd for JFK and Bobby to have wanted to remind
voters of their biggest disaster, it makes sense given the individuals
involved in the projects. Bobby was friends with Washington reporter
Haynes Johnson, who was working on a book with the help of four Bay
of Pigs veterans trusted by the Kennedys, including Harry Williams
and Manuel Artime. Chet Huntley, another Kennedy friend and one of
the top news anchors of the day, was handling the TV project. Along
with David Brinkley, Huntley anchored America’s most popular news
Chapter Two
27
broadcast each weekday evening on NBC. Bobby knew that Huntley’s
Bay of Pigs special was slated to run after the coup, allowing the pro-
gram to end with the triumphant return to Havana of Bay of Pigs heroes
like Harry and Artime.16
Harry Williams usually shied away from publicity, but at Bobby’s
request he was involved with both the book and TV projects. The per-
sonable Harry became close friends with journalist Haynes Johnson and
friendly with Chet Huntley. Both men admired Harry for his bravery,
as did JFK and Bobby. Harry had distinguished himself not only in
fighting at the Bay of Pigs, but also even as he lay gravely injured in a
field hospital after his capture. In a well-documented encounter, when
Fidel showed up unexpectedly to visit the wounded captives, Harry
weakly pulled a pistol out of his boot, pointed it at Fidel, and squeezed
the trigger.
But Harry’s pistol only clicked—his fellow prisoners had removed
the bullets because they were worried Harry might use them on himself,
due to his capture and grievous injuries. Coupled with Harry’s agree-
ment with Castro—to return to his Cuban prison if he were unable to
get JFK and Bobby to make a deal to free the remaining prisoners—his
actions cemented his heroic stature in the eyes of Cuban exiles, Bobby,
and JFK. Journalists from Haynes Johnson to Newsweek editor Evan
Thomas have written about the close personal relationship that devel-
oped between Harry and Bobby by 1963, which is why Bobby and JFK
put Harry in charge of the exile side of the JFK-Almeida coup plan.17
It was up to Harry to recommend a
gaining possession of important evidence. The autopsy would have to
be conducted at a secure US military facility, to ensure that information
couldn’t be leaked to the press. All of this would give JFK the time and
information needed to make an appropriate response.
In the third week of November 1963, the Cuba Contingency planning
was still going on, even though most of those working on it hadn’t been
told crucial information: that officials had uncovered plots to assassinate
JFK during his planned motorcades in Chicago on November 2 and in
Tampa on November 18. In hindsight, it’s hard to believe that most of
those working on plans to deal with the assassination of a US official
weren’t told of the Chicago and Tampa attempts to assassinate JFK, espe-
cially since each appeared to have possible links to Cuba. However, as
Chapter 5 documents, both attempts were kept out of the press because
of all the secrecy surrounding the upcoming coup. Apparently, JFK and
Bobby decided that sharing information about the attempts with the
entire subcommittee—and potentially their supervisors, aides, and
secretaries—could compromise the security of the entire coup plan.
In contrast to all the secret planning that JFK and Bobby hoped would
never be revealed, the Kennedy brothers were also concerned with
building positive publicity about the aftermath of the coup. If every-
thing went according to plan, it would appear as if JFK had responded
well to an unexpected crisis, removing Cuba as a liability to his 1964
presidential campaign. Part of their publicity plan included a Kennedy-
backed book and television project about the Bay of Pigs, though the
JFK-Almeida coup plan was unknown to the journalists involved.
While it may seem odd for JFK and Bobby to have wanted to remind
voters of their biggest disaster, it makes sense given the individuals
involved in the projects. Bobby was friends with Washington reporter
Haynes Johnson, who was working on a book with the help of four Bay
of Pigs veterans trusted by the Kennedys, including Harry Williams
and Manuel Artime. Chet Huntley, another Kennedy friend and one of
the top news anchors of the day, was handling the TV project. Along
with David Brinkley, Huntley anchored America’s most popular news
Chapter Two
27
broadcast each weekday evening on NBC. Bobby knew that Huntley’s
Bay of Pigs special was slated to run after the coup, allowing the pro-
gram to end with the triumphant return to Havana of Bay of Pigs heroes
like Harry and Artime.16
Harry Williams usually shied away from publicity, but at Bobby’s
request he was involved with both the book and TV projects. The per-
sonable Harry became close friends with journalist Haynes Johnson and
friendly with Chet Huntley. Both men admired Harry for his bravery,
as did JFK and Bobby. Harry had distinguished himself not only in
fighting at the Bay of Pigs, but also even as he lay gravely injured in a
field hospital after his capture. In a well-documented encounter, when
Fidel showed up unexpectedly to visit the wounded captives, Harry
weakly pulled a pistol out of his boot, pointed it at Fidel, and squeezed
the trigger.
But Harry’s pistol only clicked—his fellow prisoners had removed
the bullets because they were worried Harry might use them on himself,
due to his capture and grievous injuries. Coupled with Harry’s agree-
ment with Castro—to return to his Cuban prison if he were unable to
get JFK and Bobby to make a deal to free the remaining prisoners—his
actions cemented his heroic stature in the eyes of Cuban exiles, Bobby,
and JFK. Journalists from Haynes Johnson to Newsweek editor Evan
Thomas have written about the close personal relationship that devel-
oped between Harry and Bobby by 1963, which is why Bobby and JFK
put Harry in charge of the exile side of the JFK-Almeida coup plan.17
It was up to Harry to recommend a
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