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1962: Two Men With a Problem:
The Bay of Pigs invasion had failed. In the spring of 1961, President John F. Kennedy was in trouble. Cuba's Fidel Castro and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev pressed the advantage. Americans questioned their young president's ability to lead.
The weight of the world on his shoulders, Kennedy retreated to Camp David on April 22 to talk with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The two posed for photos. The AP's Paul Vathis took the requisite shots, all the while wishing for a genuine, unguarded moment. "I heard Ike tell Kennedy, 'I know a place where we can talk.'" They walked away.
The journalists were leaving. Vathis knelt to pack his camera. He glanced up. "There were just two of them, all by themselves, their heads bowed, walking up the path. They looked so lonely." Vathis got off two quick shots, right between the legs of a surprised Secret Service agent. Press secretary Pierre Salinger was angry. Said Vathis; "I'm just changing my film." |