Cuban Missile Crisis

2012, 1 minutes

The fate of the planet ultimately lay in the hands of three powerful men: Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy.

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases on the island of Cuba, 90 miles off the shores of Florida. The events of the next tension-filled 13 days, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, struck fear across the globe as the world teetered on the edge of nuclear disaster. The fate of the planet ultimately lay in the hands of three powerful men: Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS — THREE MEN GO TO WAR, premiering Tuesday, October 23, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), explores the roles the three iconic leaders played during some of the most dangerous moments in history, set against the human stories of ordinary men in the field such as the Soviet man who shot down the U2 piloted by U.S. Air Force Major Rudolf Anderson on the worst day of the crisis.

---