President John F. Kennedy Informs Admiral Hyman Rickover That the “Success” of the Growing Nuclear Powered Navy “is due in large part to your efforts.”

Since Alfred T. Mahan published his seminal work "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History" in 1890, wrote a Naval War College historian, the American who had the greatest impact on the United States Navy was Adm. Hyman G. Rickover.

World War II was barely over when Rickover, in 1946, recognized nuclear power "as an opportunity for the Navy".  The next year he received training in nuclear power at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and there began exploring the possibility of nuclear ship propulsion. In February 1949 he was assigned to the Division of Reactor Development within the Atomic Energy Commission and then assumed control of the Navy's effort as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch. Using this twin role as a platform, with unrelenting determination, Rickover advocated, in fact championed, nuclear power in his effort to modernize the U.S. Navy, expand its reach and efficiency, and increase its firepower in a world in the midst of the Cold War. His strategy was to keep the Executive Branch and Congress fully informed and thoroughly engaged, and as a result of his success in doing so, his program was approved. He then supervised the construction of the world's first nuclear powered submarine, USS Nautilus (which joined the fleet in January 1955), and over the next decades spearheaded the building of the U.S. Navy's nuclear fleet and oversaw its operations. This involved not merely outfitting submarines, but aircraft carriers and other ships as well, and increasing the firepower of the fleet with Polaris missiles. Using his submarines and missiles, American might could now be delivered to any point in the world; and American submarines could cruise, silently and never surfacing, beneath the waves shadowing Soviet naval movements, collecting Soviet missile telemetry and eavesdropping on Soviet communications. This had not merely military implications, but diplomatic ones as well; as although no point on earth was safe from destruction, the ultimate goal was deterrence rather than war.

Rickover advised all presidents from Truman through Reagan, and had close relationships with a number of them. President Kennedy consulted Rickover on many matters, including the question of the multilateral nuclear force that would place international crews on American submarines. He extended Rickover's period of service past the standard retirement age. President Nixon promoted Rickover to four-star admiral. Rickover gave Jimmy Carter, when the latter was a young naval officer, his first important job; Carter later stated that Rickover had a "profound effect on my life, perhaps more than anyone else except my own parents." Rickover was awarded numerous medals and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and the Congressional Gold Medal for exceptional public service. In 1980 President Carter gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest non-military honor, for his contributions to world peace. In addition to presidents, Rickover had close relationships with many in Congress, and was frequently on Capitol Hill.

Rickover had a well-deserved reputation for doing whatever was necessary to see his projects to completion. He was famous for ignoring traditional naval customs and for bypassing existing organizational hierarchies. He demanded the very highest standards and pushed defense contractors, his staff and himself to the limit. According to the U.S. Navy website, Admiral Rickover "exerted tremendous personal influence over the nuclear Navy in both an engineering and cultural sense. His views touched matters of design, propulsion, education, personnel, and professional standards. In every sense, he played the role of father to the nuclear fleet, its officers, and its men." After 64 years of service, Rickover retired from the Navy as a full admiral in 1982. He was the oldest full-time employee of the federal government and arguably the longest-serving military man in the nation’s history.

Hyman Rickover was a Polish Jew who immigrated to the United States as a boy with his parents, yet he managed to climb over all of the obstacles and prejudices he had to face on those accounts. In addition to his other accomplishments, it can surely be said that he was the most important Jew ever to serve in the United States military.

The USS Long Beach was the first all-new cruiser designed and constructed after World War II. She was the first nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy, and was thus an important example of expanding nuclear-powered ships beyond submarines and aircraft carriers. She was propelled by two new nuclear reactors and was capable of high speeds. The Long Beach was launched in 1959 as an experimental platform for new radar, and over the next two years was readied for service. In mid-1961 she went through successful trials of her power, systems and equipment, and on September 9, she was commissioned and officially joined the Navy.

Typed letter signed, on White House letterhead, clearly in his own voice, July 19, 1961, to Rickover, confirming his awareness of the importance of the nuclear powered Navy, and attributing the reality of that Navy to Rickover. "You were thoughtful to write me of the successful trials of the nuclear powered cruiser, USS LONG BEACH. The incorporation of nuclear power plants in our ships does indeed promise to change the face of our Navy. I am well aware of the significance of nuclear power in submarine warfare. Let us hope that the resultant increase in operational capacity of surface vessels will likewise be a long stride forward in their effectiveness, as you have predicted." He adds in holograph, "The success of this ship is due in large part to your efforts."

Anything of Kennedy related to the nuclear weapons, vessels or the nuclear issue at all is extremely uncommon, this being amongst a small handful we have seen in our decades in the business.  We obtained this letter directly from the Rickover family, and it is offered for sale here for the first time.