Photo by US Army. Harry S. Truman Library. Accession number: 97-1842.
Robert Lovett was Secretary of Defense from 1951 to 1953 under President Truman, having first served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1951 and overseen the Korean War mobilization. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he joined a few of the White House sessions. Lovett argued against a surprise attack on Cuba, on the grounds that it might prompt Soviet retaliation against Berlin.