Tuesday, July 25, 1961

Thunderstorm

July 25, 1961

JFK delivered a speech from the Oval Office during the Berlin Crisis. Before the broadcast at 10 PM Eastern time he had spent the afternoon and evening watching through the window the gathering thunderstorm clouds with a legal pad on his lap. He reworked the end of the speech he had received from his speechwriters. After the edits had been incorporated into the final version he sat with assistant Dave Powers in the dining room in the private quarters, practicing his lines while Powers timed the delivery.

JFK delivers a television speech on July 25, 1961 from the Oval Office during the Berlin Crisis

[152, pp. 223-4]