rap #297 11/10/08

FREEHOLDERS REMEMBER JFK ON THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH

HE SERVED less than three short years in the Oval Office, but President John F. Kennedy’s legacy continues 45 years after his assassination.

“I ask all county residents to join with the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders and take a few moments on this 45th anniversary of his tragic death to remember President John F. Kennedy,” Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said.

Kennedy was struck down by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.

“Kennedy brought an optimism to the White House, an optimism that captured the nation and gave hope for a bright future,” Vicari said. “I believe that is why, nearly half a century later, his death is still felt so strongly by so many Americans.”

Freeholder Gerry P. Little said President Kennedy’s youth also forged a new generation of young people who decided to get involved in public service.

“Look around the nation today and you will find thousands of public servants who are there because they watched John F. Kennedy on TV and decided that they too wanted to get involved.”

Little said Kennedy was a hero long before he took up residence on Pennsylvania Avenue.

“John F. Kennedy was a decorated war veteran who saved the crew of his PT boat after it was rammed by a Japanese warship in the South Pacific,” Little said. “His heroics saved his men.”

After the war, Kennedy served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate before be being elected the youngest president in the nation’s history in 1960.

Kennedy was 43 when he was elected in 1960, four years younger than President-elect Barack Obama.

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