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JFK: His Life and Legacy
On November 22, 1963, while being driven through the streets of Dallas,
Texas, in his open car, President John F. Kennedy was shot dead, apparently
by the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. The world had not only lost a common
man, but a great leader of men.
From his heroic actions in World War II to his presidency, making the
decisions to avert possible nuclear conflict with world superpowers,
greatness can be seen. Kennedy also found the time to author several best-
selling novels from his experiences . His symbolic figure represented all
the charm, vigor and optimism of youth as he led a nation into a new era of
prosperity.
From his birth into the powerful and influential Kennedy clan, much was to
be expected of him. Kennedy was born on May 29,1917 in Brookline,
Massachusetts. His father, Joe, Sr., was a successful businessman with many
political connections. Appointed by President Roosevelt, Joe, Sr., was
given the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and later the
prestigious position of United States ambassador to Great Britain(Anderson
98). His mother, Rose, was a loving housewife and took young John on
frequent trips around historic Boston learning about American revolutionary
history. Both parents impressed on their children that their country had
been good to the Kennedys. Whatever benefits the family received from the
country they were told, must be returned by performing some service for the
country(Anderson 12). The Kennedy clan included Joe, Jr., Bobby, Ted and
their sisters, Eunice, Jean, Patricia, Rosemary, and Kathleen. Joe, Jr.,
was a significant figure in young John's life as he was the figure for most
of John's admiration. His older brother was much bigger and stronger than
John and took it upon himself to be John's coach and protector. John's
childhood was full of sports, fun and activity. This all ended when John
grew old enough to leave for school.
At the age of thirteen, John left home to attend an away school for the
first time. Canterbury School, a boarding school in New Milford,
Connecticut and Choate Preparatory in Wallingford, Connecticut completed
his elementary education("JFK" 98). John graduated in 1934 and was promised
a trip to London as a graduation gift. Soon after, John became ill with
jaundice and
would have to go to the hospital. He spent the rest of the summer trying
to recover. He was not entirely well when he started Princeton, several
weeks later in the fall of 1935. Around Christmas the jaundice returned and
John had to drop out of school. Before the next school year began, he told
his father he wanted to go to Harvard("JFK" 98). On campus, young people
took interest in politics, social changes, and events in Europe. The United
States was pulling out of the Great Depression. Hitler's
Nazi Germany followed aggressive territorial expansion in Europe. It was at
this time that John first became aware of the vast social and economic
differences in the United States. In June 1940, John graduated cum
laude(with praise or distinction) from Harvard. His thesis earned a magna
cum laude(great praise)( "JFK" 98). After graduation, John began to send
his paper to publishers, and it was accepted on his second try. Wilfrid
Funk published it under the title Why England Slept. It became a bestseller.
John, at twenty-five, became a literary sensation.
In the spring of 1941, both John and Joe, Jr., decided to enroll in the
armed services. Joe was accepted as a naval air cadet but John was turned
down by both the army and navy because of his back trouble and history of
illness("JFK" 98). After months of training and conditioning, John
reapplied and on September 19, John was accepted into the navy as a desk
clerk in Washington. He was disgusted and applied for a transfer. In June
1941, Kennedy was sent to Naval Officers Training School at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois and then for additional training at the
Motor Torpedo Boat Center at Melville, Rhode Island. In late April 1943,
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy was put in command of a PT 109, a fast, light,
attack craft in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Kennedy saw
action in the form of night patrols and participated in enemy bombings. On
August 1, 1943, during a routine night patrol, a Japanese destroyer
collided in the darkness with Kennedy's craft and the PT 109 was sunk.
Through superhuman effort, the injured Kennedy heroically swam back and
forth rescuing his wounded crew. Two were killed in the crash. The injury
had once again aggravated his back. Still, Kennedy pushed on swimming from
island to island in the South Pacific hoping for a patrol to come by. The
lieutenant had no idea he had been in the water for eight hours. Finally,
an island was spotted that could provided cover from Japanese planes. With
no edible plants or water, Kennedy realized that he and the crew must move
on.
The next day, he once again attempted to search for rescue. After treading
water for hours, the lieutenant was forced to admit no patrol boats were
coming. He turned back for the island but was swept away by a powerful
current. Kennedy collapsed on an island and slept. He recovered enough
energy to return to the island and gathered the crew to move to another
island in search of food. JFK was now desperate enough to seek help from
natives on a Japanese controlled island. After making contact with the
natives, Kennedy persuaded the natives to deliver a message written on the
back of a coconut shell to allied forces. The coconut fell into the hands
of allied scouts and a patrol was sent. The coconut would appear again on
the desk of an American President(Anderson 35).
The crew of the PT 109 were given a hero's welcome when they returned to
base, but Kennedy would have none of it. He refused home leave and was
given another boat. In constant pain from the back injury, JFK soon
contracted malaria, became very ill, and lost twenty-five pounds. He was
forced to give up command and was sent home to Chelsea NavalHospital near
Hyannis Port. The lieutenant received the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine
Corps Medal, and a citation from Admiral W. F. Halsey. John's back failed
to recover was an operation was performed on his spine in the summer of
1944.
During recovery, Kennedy received word that his brother Joe, Jr. had been
killed in action. Joe had been eligible for home leave, but had volunteered
for a special bombing mission. The bombs had detonated early and Joe and
his copilot were caught in the explosion. Kennedy put his feelings onto
paper and a second book was published for the family and close friends. He
called it As We Remember Joe.
The family- particularly JFK's father- had assumed that Joe, Jr. would
carry on the family tradition and go into politics. Both of his
grandfathers had been active in politics(Anderson 41). Now , suddenly, JFK
was the oldest Kennedy of his generation. Kennedy's first chance in
politics came when Congressman James Curley from the 11th District of
Massachusetts decided to retire in 1946(Gadney 42). JFK won his first
Congressional seat by a margin of more than two to one. At the age if
twenty-nine, JFK was placed on the front page of the New York Times and in
Time Magazine. He was often mistaken in Congress as a Senate page or an
elevator operator.
It was during this time period in which Kennedy met and fell in love with
Jacqueline Bouvier. "Jackie", as she was known, came from a wealthy
Catholic background as prestigious as the Kennedys. She attended Vassar
College and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. She spoke French, Italian, and
Spanish fluently. They were wed on September 12,1953, at St. Mary's
Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island. All seemed well, yet after three
two-year terms as a Congressman, Kennedy became frustrated with House rules
and customs and decided to run for Senate.
In 1952, Kennedy ran for Senate against Republican Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge. Fifteen years older than Kennedy, Lodge was the incumbent of two
terms in the Senate. JFK prevailed in the victory but was soon stricken
with Addison's disease during his first year in the Senate and had to
operate on a fifty-fifty chance for survival procedure(Gadney 52). While
recovering, Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage, a bestseller on examples of
moral courage in the lives of eight senators who risked their careers for a
great cause or a belief. Kennedy returned to Senate and participated in the
powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was also chairman of the
Senate Subcommittee on Labor. JFK believed strongly in education, equal job
opportunity, and the civil rights movement. His biggest success came in the
form of his Labor Reform Bill which passed by a margin of 90 to 1 in Senate
debate. Kennedy's first child, Caroline, was born during this time.
Due to his enormous success in Congress, the Democratic party nominated him
for the presidential ticket in 1960.Lyndon Johnson was chosen as the
running mate with Kennedy tosecure and build upon the democratic bases in
the southern states while the Kennedys sought out the younger voters, the
factory workers, and the liberals(Gadney 61).
During the Kennedy Administration, a great deal of events were going on.
Jackie had given birth to JFK, Jr., while all over the south, the civil
rights movement was going in full force with incidents breaking out.
Specific attention gathered around a black air force veteran, James
Meredith, applied for admission to the University of Mississippi. In Cuba
both the Bay of Pigs occurred, in which U.S. supported rebels revolted in a
poorly laid out plan of events that fell out beneath them, and the Cuban
Missile Crisis in which the Soviet Republic were building missile silos in
Cuba, 100 miles away from Florida. The Space Race was in full force with
both Russia and the U.S. in competition to reach the moon. U.S. involvement
in Vietnam was in the latter stages with plans to withdraw after the 1964
election.
On a trip to Dallas to stir up support for the reelection, the President's
auto were coming down elm street when three shots rang out. The first
projectile entered at the base of Kennedy's neck and exited through the
back of his head. The second bullet hit Texas Governor John Connally.
Seconds later there was another shot and the back of the president's head
was torn away. The assassin-Lee Harvey Oswald with a mail-order rifle
fired from the Texas School Book Depository(Warren 5). Oswald had recently
applied for a passport to Communist Russia which led to a series of private
meetings between Oswald and the Russian Government(Warren 614). Oswald
protested his innocence.
President Johnson set up what quickly became known as the Warren Commission
headed by Chief Justice Warren to find the motive behind the assassination,
The Commission finds the lone, depressed, mentally unstable, anti-social
nut kills an American president("Theories" 1). Other theories have evolved
over time
such as the Grassy Knoll theory. Witnesses say that a man in black was
present and fired simultaneously with Oswald and doubled the actual shots
fired("Theories" 1) Another theory is that the fired CIA director Allen
Dulles used his considerable connections and plotted revenge("Theories 2").
On Nov. 24, 1963 as Oswald was being escorted from the city jail, Jack Ruby
shot Oswald with a single shot from a Colt .38 revolver(Warren 350). Ruby
was arrested and stood trial in Dallas. He was found guilty and was
sentenced to hang. He died in jail of cancer, on January 3,1967.
Kennedy was the first President to be born in the twentieth century and was
very much a man of his time. He was restless, seeking, with a thirst of
knowledge, and he had a feeling of deep commitment, not only to the people
of the United States, but to the peoples of the world. Many of the causes
he fought for exist today because of what he did for the rights of
minorities, the poor, the very old and the very young. He never took
anything for granted and worked for everything he owned. Perhaps Kennedy
summed up his life best in his own inaugural speech: "Ask not what your
country can do for you, but ask what
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