An original member of ExComm, Bohlen left Washington after the first day of the crisis to become Ambassador to France and was succeeded by Llewellyn Thomson as adviser on Russian affairs. As he prepared to depart for Paris, Bohlen wrote a memo urging diplomatic effort, private communication with Khrushchev, and an ultimatum before proceeding with military action. He thought the idea of “limited quick action is an illusion and would lead us into a full war.”
Credit: Harry S. Truman Library. Accession number: 87-21-3.