Inspiring JFK

…When he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night,

And pay no worship to the garish sun

— Robert Kennedy, quoting Shakespeare, before a tribute to JFK in 1964

Today (Nov. 22 in the US) is the 47th death anniversary of US President John F. Kennedy and of course, I remember.

William Manchester, author of Remembering Kennedy: One Brief Shining Moment, recalled that his own literary agent didn’t think Kennedy would still be lionized three years after his (Kennedy’s) death.

“Among those whose business it is to forecast the public mood, nearly all agreed that while the assassination (in 1963) would be remembered, it would soon recede in the public consciousness. The adoration of Franklin Roosevelt had been unmatched by that of any other President in this (the 20th) century, and the nation had been grief-stricken at his loss in the spring of 1945. Yet by summer the catharsis had run its course...” Manchester wrote in his 1983 book. He even quoted Bobby Kennedy, the slain President’s younger brother, saying at the time, “In a few months (the assassination) will be forgotten.”

But even Shakespeare in Julius Caesar was wrong when Marc Anthony says, “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”

Both the good and the evil men do live after them. But who wants to be remembered with vile and spittle, and who wants to have multitudes still lay flowers lovingly on their grave decades after they joined their Maker?

It is 2010, and Leonardo di Caprio has announced that he will produce and star in a film about JFK to be released on his 50th death anniversary in 2013. They didn’t think the grief — or the remembrances — would last three months or three years. But it sure looks it will last more than 50 years.

Manchester later explained why Kennedy has not been forgotten despite exposes about his dark side (which I care not to shine a light on, excuse me lang!).

“In myth, (a hero) becomes what they want him to have been, and anyone who belittles this transformation has an imperfect understanding of how the emotions of an entire nation may be moved. A romantic concept of what may have been can be far more compelling than what was.

“All people ask of a legendary hero is that he have been truly noble, a splendid figure who was cherished and cruelly lost. Glorification follows. In love, nations are no less generous than individuals. In grief, they are no less stricken. And as their years pass their loyalty deepens.”

The capacity of a nation to love and appreciate — almost as if it were a grieving orphan — is so aptly and movingly demonstrated by the expression of love the Philippines has given Ninoy and Cory Aquino and gives them still.

Inspiration

I didn’t live during the time of Kennedy, and know of him through books and movies only. But I have made a “pilgrimage” to the Kennedy Museum and Library in Boston twice and drove hours from Philadelphia to say a prayer at his grave in Arlington two years ago.

About a year ago, a STAR reader who saw through the years how I idolized Kennedy gave me a most precious gift: a plastic crate filled with Kennedy books that her family had collected through the years. I felt like it was a pirate’s chest brimming with gems of Kennedy prose and photographs. The Manchester book I am quoting now came from that trove.

I believe that inspiration, more than love, is the best gift you can give the next generation. Inspiration makes you get up in the morning with a spring in your step so that you can race, or skip — not trudge — towards your goals. Inspiration makes you want to do your best, so that, like the person who inspired you, you can be the best you can be with the talents God has given you. Inspiration makes you reach for the stars — because somebody else has gotten there and has lived to tell you about the view from the top.

Many Americans who went into public service (like former President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama) have acknowledged being inspired by JFK. In fact the Kennedy Library is dedicated to, “the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th president of the United States of America, and to all those who through the art of politics seek a new and better world.”

JFK is history and he has inspired me — thanks to the many biographers who told his story and painstakingly transcribed his speeches and press conferences — to seek a new and better world. Not through politics but through the sustained belief that striving for excellence will take you to a better world, for yourself, and for others — for those you love and for those you do not even know but want to be of service to.

Jacqueline Kennedy once said, “I realized history made Jack what he was... For Jack, history was full of heroes. And if it made him this way — if it made him see the heroes — maybe other little boys will see. Men are such a combination of good and bad, Jack had this hero idea of history, the idealistic view.” Other great Presidents would be elected, she said, “but there’ll never be another Camelot again.”

Kennedy made me see heroes. I still see heroes in my midst, that’s why I never lose faith in tomorrow, not just because I believe in God in heaven, but also because I believe in many good men on earth.

* * *

Kennedy trivia I culled from author Bill Lucey, who compiled “some historic facts about the assassination, the legacy that the 35th president of the United States left behind, along with some of the major issues facing the nation nearly 50 years ago.”

What type of gun was used to kill Kennedy?

It was a 6.5 millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano: Serial No: C2766

Where is the rifle now?

It is stored at the National Archives in College Park, Md., along with Kennedy’s suit, shirt, the original windshield of the limousine, and the wrapping used to support his back.

Where is the limousine today?

It is at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

How many passengers were in the limousine?

Six. The driver was Secret Service agent Bill Greer, age 44. Seated next to him was Roy Kellerman, 48, special agent in charge of the White House Detail; behind him was Texas Gov. John Connally and his wife Nellie; and in the back was President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy.

How many of those passengers are living today?

None.

How long did the shooting last?

4.6 seconds.

How long did it take to transport Kennedy to Parkland Memorial Hospital?

Six minutes.

What happened when Kennedy entered the hospital?

He was assigned to Trauma Room No. 1.

How many doctors examined Kennedy?

Three. Charles J. Carrico, a second year surgical student, was the first to examine him followed by Marion T. Jenkins, chairman of the hospital’s department of anesthesiology. Kennedy was pronounced dead by Dr. William Clark.

Who administered the last rites to Kennedy?

Father Oscar Huber of Holy Trinity Church in Dallas recited the words: “Si capax ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis, in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.” (“If it is possible, I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and the son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.’’) Jacqueline Kennedy followed with the words: “And let perpetual light shine upon him.’’ NOTE: Father Huber died on January 21, 1975.

How many books have been published on the JFK Assassination??

440, as of November 11, 2009, according to Bowker’s Books in Print database.