Oral history transcript, Curtis LeMay, interview 1 (I), 6/28/1971, by Joe B. Frantz

Bay of Pigs: reasons for failure; criticism of JFK’s Administration; military-industrial complex discussed in reference to General Dynamics controversy; disapproval and disagreement with Robert McNamara’s policies; opinions on LBJ Administration’s commitment to Vietnam; ideas on how the war should have been conducted; discussion of apparent consensus in Washington that JFK would drop LBJ from the ticket; LBJ’s fear of escalation during the war; LBJ’s decision to retain the “Kennedy crowd” after his landslide victory; attributes LBJ’s benevolence to political bribery; LeMay’s disdain for press; LeMay’s support for “conservative” leadership; fear that U.S. might be close to becoming a socialist or communist republic; Republican Party’s interest in LeMay as a political candidate and LeMay’s deferral; LeMay’s support of George Wallace.