Sept. 17, 1963 - Vice President Johnson reported to President Kennedy today that his Scandinavian visit had given him “great encouragement for our position in the world.” Mr. Johnson arrived in Washington shortly after midnight at the conclusion of his tour of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. He was the highest ranking American ever to pay an official visit to those countries. He went to the White House at 8 a.m. for breakfast with the President and Democratic legislative leaders, who were holding their regular Tuesday conference there. Later, Mr. Johnson talked with Mr. Kennedy privately for about 20 minutes. State Department officials were particularly pleased by the huge reception the Vice President received in Helsinki. Mr. Johnson reported to Mr. Kennedy that he considered this an indication that Finland, technically a neutral, had a strong liking for the U.S. One of Mr. Johnson’s missions was to reassure the Finns of U.S. respect for Finnish neutrality in view of the fact that Finland is on the Soviet border.
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