Credit: Harry S. Truman Library. Accession number: 72-4202.
A graduate of Yale, with a background in law, Gilpatric served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1964. During the missile crisis, Gilpatric opposed the military strike option and supported the blockade. In a crucial meeting on October 20, as President Kennedy weighed the two options, Gilpatric summed up the arguments: “Essentially, Mr. President, this is a choice between limited action and unlimited action, and most of us think that it’s better to start with limited action.”