Day 11 - October 26

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A Soviet freighter is stopped at the quarantine line and is searched for military supplies. None are found, so the ship is allowed to pass. More importantly, Fidel Castro sends a private letter to Nikita Khrushchev urging him to launch a nuclear first strike on America in case of an American invasion of Cuba. As the first breaking point of the tension, Khrushchev sends a long, bloated letter to Kennedy saying that the missiles will be removed in an exchange for the removal of the quarantine and a pledge from the U.S. not to invade Cuba. Also, in a plan that was carried out in secret for 25 years, a removal of the American missiles in Turkey.

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Day 12 - October 27

Another letter of terms is received from Moscow, this times with tougher demands. It calls for removal of Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Over Cuba, a U-2 spy plane is shot down by a Soviet missile. The pilot, Major Rudolph Anderson is killed and receives a Distinguished Service Metal posthumously.

Day 13 - October 28

Finally, the 13 days that mark the most tense and dangerous period of the Cuban Missile Crisis are over. The Americans accept the terms cautiously but with optimism and the Soviet Union removes the missiles from Cuba. Relations with the Soviet Union continue to get better as the Cold War progresses to its end.
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