Dean Acheson

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Philip E Jenks

Dean Acheson

52 years ago Oct. 9, a former Secretary of State dictated a letter to a 15 year-old kid who yearned to enter the noble life of politics. Acheson was a leading architect of Harry Truman’s Cold War foreign policy, and he is remembered for keeping the peace. In October 1962, he advised President Kennedy to respond to Soviet missiles in Cuba by sending in the Air Force. As we now know, local Soviet commanders had authority to respond to attacks with nukes, so Acheson’s advice could have resulted in a nuclear conflagration. Fortunately, JFK — unlike Truman — ignored Acheson’s advice.

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About Philip E Jenks

Philip, a synodical deacon in the ELCA Metropolitan New York synod, is a retired communicator for American Baptist Churches USA, the U.S. Conference for the World Council of Churches, the U.S. National Council of Churches, and two Philadelphia area daily newspapers. He and his spouse, the Rev. Dr. Martha M. Cruz, are the parents of six adults and are members of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rye Brook, N.Y. They live in Port Chester, N.Y.
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