40 years ago: We lost a great man

[JohnKleeb]

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
1917-1963

Although I did not live in his era and my dad himself was only 12 what this happened and my mom only 4, it affects me as well. JFK was a great man. He was a terrific speaker, and above all he was for the people. Although he had a bad back, he served his country honorably in WWII, and was honored with a medal for it and more importantly he saved a man's life by swimming three miles to safety. He lost a brother in the war, and was no doubt shaken by that. He never expected to have to be in politics yet got involved. JFK was not only a great man but an icon. So today is November 22, 2003 and I think of a guy who we only knew really for 2-3 years yet will be in our hearts forever. RIP JFK. You are my hero, and thank you for proving that Catholics can win presidential elections and so much and much much more.
He said this in one of his last speeches,
"So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation's future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause--united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future--and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.
Thank you JFK, thank you, its a good message.

[kwolf68]

1. A moment of silence of President Kennedy

The United States of America could only be too lucky to have another like him, but I'm not so sure we deserve it.

[Raven]

2. He was a combination of a good politician and an idealist.

He was not a cynic. He challenged the best in us all. I was 17 when he was killed. My father and he were longtime friends and my folks were scheduled to go to a White House dinner the Monday following his assassination. She was very excited and had gone into Boston to pick up her gown. When I got home that day the gown was in a lump on the kitchen floor and I will always remember her sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands.

My father was on some sort of Presidential committee that was reviewing anti ballistic missle sites in the US. He was with this group in a missle silo somewhere in the mid-west. The group was wisked up out of this silo, put on a bus and driven to the edge of the runway that was nearby. No one told them what had happened. He said that they just sat on the bus and watched dozens of fighter jets take off. He got home that night. He was crushed.

[JohnKleeb]

3. Thanks for your personal tale

My dad was 12 and my mom 4, thats how young I am. My dad's dad however was like yours, he knew the scene, I doubt he knew JFK but he probably knew his secretary of labor, Arthur Goldburg. "My father once told me all businessmen are sons of bitches, and until tonight I didnt believe him" :D JFK said that.

[Raven]

4. Wow! You're just a baby!

But it just shows how much of an impact Kennedy had...three generations...you, your parents and your grandparents.

[JohnKleeb]

6. Can I tell you this

I am not even close to being the youngest here. We have people who are freshmen in high school! Yea I am a baby yeah. Well its RFK whos my personal favorite Kennedy but damnit they are all great.

[kalian]

5. America's future was forever altered...

40 years ago today.
Today's fascists are in power because of this incident 40
years ago. I am convinced that they needed to alter the course
that Kennedy had embarked upon...that of peace and moral leadership.

I think that if Kennedy would have lived, he would have been
re-elected, Vietnam would not have occured and the Cold War would
have been over MUCH sooner.

I grieve for America.