Monday, January 15, 1962

January 15, 1962

JFK was in Washington, D.C. In the afternoon, he traveled to the State Department where he held a press conference in the State Department Auditorium.

JFK at press conference – January 15, 1962 (photo courtesy John F. Kennedy Library)

Kennedy was less than truthful with some of his answers:

“Mr. President, are American troops now in combat in Vietnam?”
“No.”

In fact, US helicopter pilots had been flying combat missions for a month in helicopters that had been shipped into Vietnam from the Phillipines.

[98, p.280]