Kennedy became one of the youngest U. He also led a renewed drive for public service and eventually provided federal support for the growing civil rights movement. His assassination on November 22, , in Dallas, Texas, sent shockwaves around the world and turned the all-too-human Kennedy into a larger-than-life heroic figure. To this day, historians continue to rank him among the best-loved presidents in American history. Frank Turgeon Jr.
Kennedy Library and Museum. Kennedy known as Jack was the second of nine children. Joe Kennedy, a hugely successful businessman and an early supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt , was appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission in and in was named U.
Jack joined the U. Navy in and two years later was sent to the South Pacific, where he was given command of a Patrol-Torpedo PT boat. Kennedy helped some of his marooned crew back to safety, and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. His older brother, Joe Jr. A grieving Joe Sr. Abandoning plans to be a journalist, Jack left the Navy by the end of Less than a year later, he was back in Boston preparing for a run for Congress in He entered the 80th Congress in January , at the age of 29, and immediately attracted attention as well as some criticism from older members of the Washington establishment for his youthful appearance and relaxed, informal style.
Kennedy won reelection to the House of Representatives in and , and in ran successfully for the Senate, defeating the popular Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Two years later, he was forced to undergo a painful operation on his back. While recovering from the surgery, Jack wrote another best-selling book, Profiles in Courage , which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in He defeated a primary challenge from the more liberal Hubert Humphrey and chose the Senate majority leader, Lyndon Johnson of Texas , as his running mate.
In the general election, Kennedy faced a difficult battle against his Republican opponent, Richard Nixon, a two-term vice president under the popular Dwight D.
Offering a young, energetic alternative to Nixon and the status quo, Kennedy benefited from his performance and telegenic appearance in the first-ever televised debates, watched by millions of viewers. With his beautiful young wife and their two small children Caroline, born in , and John Jr. In his inaugural address, given on January 20, , the new president called on his fellow Americans to work together in the pursuit of progress and the elimination of poverty, but also in the battle to win the ongoing Cold War against communism around the world.
The tremendous impact had thrown Kennedy into the cockpit where he landed on his bad back. He called out into the darkness and could hear 5 other members of his crew somewhere in the darkness of the now quiet sea. Sadly two of his sailors were killed upon impact with the destroyer. Kennedy, a champion swimmer from his time at Harvard made his way to his forlorn crew pulling them all to the relative safety of the floating wreck of the Surrounded by Japanese ships in the area and facing the uncertainties of the sea Kennedy pondered "fight or surrender".
He would later go on to state, "There's nothing in the book about a situation like this. A lot of you men have families and some of you have children. What do you want to do? I have nothing to lose. An officer who leads from the front and takes care of his men, Kennedy gave one of his wounded sailors a life jacket and then proceeded to tow the hapless sailor whereby Kennedy had to secure the tow rope in his teeth so he could have his arms free to swim.
After hours of swimming in the open Pacific Ocean, the crew of the had finally made it to dry ground. Exhausted, they took their rest.
Quickly Kennedy knew the island would not offer much due to a lack of food and water and with little respite from the blazing tropical sun.
As his crew gathered their strength after a full day of surviving in the unpredictable ocean, Kennedy set out once again but this time alone to swim the arduous route he knew the PT Boats had taken through the islands hoping to find a friendly vessel or a better island to gather his crew. His search provided little and he returned to his crew. After spending several days on the barren little island, Kennedy surveyed his sailors' welfare and abilities and knew they had just enough strength to make yet another long swim to a larger island he spotted in the distance.
The crew set out for a second arduous journey again with Kennedy tending to his wounded sailor. After 4 days with no food or water and exhausted, the crew of the led by Kennedy crawled on to a beach of a second larger island where they found coconut palm trees. Finally they had found shade, food with the coconut meat and hydration with the coconut milk.
Confident that his crew was safe and secure, Lieutenant JG John Kennedy and his friend Ensign George Ross knew they had one more exhausting swim to make. They set out for yet a third trek this time to the tiny Island of Nauru several miles away faintly seen on the horizon where they were confident they would find local friendly natives. The locals of Naru must have been stunned when they witnessed the two American men wade ashore.
The natives were trusting towards Americans after witnessing poor treatment at the hands of the Japanese. They were willing to help. He then handed the coconut to one of the natives and said, "Rendova, Rendova! The next morning the natives returned with food and supplies. Kennedy discovered along with the provisions a letter from the coast watcher commander of the New Zealand camp. The letter directed for Kennedy to return with the natives whereby the New Zealand forces would unite him with U.
Shortly after picking up Kennedy, his crew of 10 sailors saw the roaring towards their little island. After six long days, their skipper came through and they were going home. After a few months of healing up in the rear but still wanting to stay in the fight, Lieutenant JG Kennedy requested another PT boat. In October he took command of PT He had two millimeter anti-aircraft guns installed along with an additional array heavy machine guns.
Fifty US Marine of the 1 st Marine Parachute Regiment were clinging to a beach head with an overwhelming Japanese force on the verge of over running them and pushing them into the sea. Kennedy and his crew roared in with guns blazing long enough to provide suppressing fire as the Marines made their way to the Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center. John F. Kennedy: Life Before the Presidency.
Breadcrumb U. Presidents John F. Kennedy John F. The Political Climb After being discharged from the Navy, John Kennedy worked briefly as a reporter for the Hearst newspapers, and in , the twenty-nine-year-old Kennedy won election to the US Congress representing a working-class Boston district.
Marc J. More Resources John F. Kennedy Presidency Page. Kennedy Life in Brief. Life Before the Presidency Current Essay. Campaigns and Elections. Domestic Affairs. Foreign Affairs. Death of a President. Family Life. The American Franchise. Impact and Legacy.
0コメント