An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963 (123 page)

p. 105: “slow atrophy”: Dr. Dorothea E. Hellman to Joan and Clay Blair, Mar. 31, 1977; and Dr. Elmer C. Bartels Interview, NHP. On Eunice Kennedy and whether JFK’s Addison’s disease was a primary or secondary form, I am grateful for the counsel of Dr. Wayne Callaway, a Washington, D.C., endocrinologist in a conversation on April 30, 2002.

p. 106: “much impressed”: JK [Joe] Jr. to JFK, Aug. 10, 1944, Box 4A, PP. For the background to Joe’s military service, see Doris Goodwin, 683-84.

p. 106: The mission and its dangers: Davis, 104-6.

p. 106: “intending to risk”: JK Jr. to JFK, Aug. 10, 1944, Box 4A, PP.

p. 106: “If I don’t come back”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 688.

p. 107: The U.S. Air Force report, Aug. 14, 1944, JFKL.

p. 107: The 2001 explanation: William G. Penny to John F. Kennedy Library, Aug. 14, 2001, JFKL.

p. 107: “You know how much”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 693.

p. 108: “defined his,” “Forever in his,” and “I’m shadowboxing”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 698-99.

p. 108: “The pattern of life”: KKH to JFK, Oct. 31, 1944, Box 4A, PP.

p. 108: “The news of”: KKH to Family, Feb. 27, 1945, Box 4A, PP.

p. 108: “Luckily I am”: KKH to Billings, Nov. 29, 1944, Box 4A, PP.

p. 108: “His sense of”: Quoted in Sorensen, 14.

Chapter 4: Choosing Politics

p. 111: “The desire to enhance”: Doris Goodwin, 500.

p. 112: “in the next generation”: Collier and Horowitz, 75; and also 82.

p. 112: “for people to take”: See Memo “About Nov. 10, 1941,” in Speech and Book File, Nov. 11, 1941-Jan. 23, 1942; also Speech and Book Material, Oct. 1941-Jan. 1942. Both in Box 11, PP.

p. 112: “I never thought”: JFK to Billings, Feb. 12, 1942, NHP. Also Memo, Feb. 14, 1942, Speech and Book Material, N.Y. office, 1937-1943, Box 11, PP; JFK to JPK, Feb. 25, 1942, Box 4A, PP; and JFK to KK, Mar. 10, 1942, also Box 4A, PP.

p. 113: “spent most of his time”: Quoted in Blair, 191, and Hamilton, 543.

p. 113: “He made us all very conscious”: Quoted in Hamilton, 629.

p. 113: “Let’s Try an Experiment”: In box of JFK Articles, 1941-1949, JFKL.

p. 114: For the response to JFK’s article, see Blair, 364-65; Parmet,
Jack,
128-30; Hamilton, 688.

p. 114: “labor was going to be”: Quoted in Blair, 365-67.

p. 114: For JFK’s newspaper work, see Blair, 371-72; Parmet,
Jack,
131-32. Also see Louis Ruppel to Dr. Paul O’Leary, April 23, 1945, Box 11, PP, demonstrating JPK’s part in arranging the assignment.

p. 114: “But if he’s going”: JPK to KK, May 1, 1945, Box 4A, PP.

p. 115: They received good value: Blair, 371-76; Hamilton, 692-95.

p. 115: “dressed for a black-tie evening”: Krock, 350.

pp. 115-16: The dispatches are in a box containing JFK Articles, 1941- 1949, JFKL. [“Cannot be overcome completely”: April 3, 1945; “a skeleton”: May 4, 1945; “the world organization that will come”: May 7, 1945.] They are also in POF, Box 129.

p. 116: “Things cannot be forced”: Quoted in Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
88.

p. 116: On England: May 28, June 24, July 10, 1945, articles in JFK Articles, 1941-1949, JFKL.

pp. 116-17: For JFK’s travels with Forrestal, see Millis and Henderson.

p. 117: “the plane doors opened”: Blair, 387.

p. 117: “I never thought at school:” JFK Tape 39: “Memoir entry concerning entrance into politics,” Oct. 1960, Recordings, JFKL. On possible motives for the recordings, see Timothy Naftali, “The Origins of ‘Thirteen Days,’”
Miller Center Report,
The University of Virginia, vol. 15, no. 2 (Summer 1999). I am indebted to Naftali for helping me clarify the date of the 1960 recording.

p. 117: “When the war is over”: Fay, 152.

p. 118: “I got Jack” and “It was like being”: Blair, 356.

p. 118: “Dad is ready”: Fay, 152.

p. 118: “God! There goes”: Collier and Horowitz, 172-73.

p. 118: “Yes. In fact” and “didn’t want to”: Blair, 356-57.

p. 118: “said he thought”: Quoted in Blair, 367.

p. 118: “I take it that you”: Billings to JFK, Jan. 1, 1946, Box 4A, PP.

p. 118: “I am returning”: JFK to Billings, Feb. 20, 1945, NHP.

p. 118: “I am certain”: George St. John Jr. to Rose Kennedy, Aug. 22, 1945, Choate Collection: Outline of Kennedy Letters, Box 1, PP.

p. 118: “Jack arrived home”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 705-6.

p. 119: “terribly exposed and vulnerable”: Quoted in ibid., 698-99.

p. 119: Joe Jr. “used to talk”: McCarthy, 19.

p. 119: “to be built for politics”: Mark Dalton OH.

p. 119: “He spoke very fast”: James Reed OH.

p. 119: “A lot of people”: Billings Interview, CBS Interviews, JFKL Audio-Visual Archive.

p. 119: “Knowing his abilities”: Billings OH.

pp. 119-20: “He asked every sort of”: Barbara Ward Jackson OH.

p. 120: “decisions of war and peace”: JFK Tape 39: “Memoir entry concerning entrance into politics,” Oct. 1960, Recordings, JFKL.

p. 120: “Legislation on”: Ibid.

p. 120: “was drawn into politics”: O’Donnell and Powers, 46.

p. 120: “Few other professions”: JFK,
Harvard Alumni Bulletin,
May 19, 1956, 645-46.

p. 120: “The price of politics”: Ed Plaut interview with JFK, n.d., in Ralph G. Martin Papers, Boston University.

p. 121: “a politician came up”: Ibid.

p. 121: “smart and cunning” and “There is something”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 699-700.

p. 121: “whatever success”: Quoted in ibid., 713.

p. 121: “But a father”: JPK interview, Martin Papers.

p. 121: “I just called people”: Quoted in Martin and Plaut, 131.

pp. 121-22: “his reputation as”: O’Donnell and Powers, 65.

p. 122: “became heated at”: Parmet,
Jack,
138.

p. 122: Joe made the front page:
Boston Globe,
April 15, 17, 29, 1945. Also see Collier and Horowitz, 177-79; Parmet,
Jack,
143-44; Hamilton, 686-87.

p. 122: On Curley: Hamilton, 674, and Blair, 398-99.

p. 123: “the job Joe”:
Look,
June 11, 1946, 32-36.

p. 123: “I’m just filling”: Quoted in Martin and Plaut, 136.

p. 123: “If Joe had lived”: JFK Interview, Martin Papers. Also John J. Droney OH.

p. 123: “I was as thin”: Quoted in Blair, 461.

p. 123: JFK’s urinary tract problems: Dr. Vernon S. Dick to Dr. William P. Herbst, Mar. 20, 1953, Dr. Janet Travell files on JFK’s medical history, which include some pre-presidential medical records as well as a daily record of JFK’s ills and medications during his presidency, JFKL. Dr. Gerald W. Labiner, who served as a Fellow at the Lahey Clinic from 1953 to 1955 and had discussed JFK’s health problems with Dr. Elmer C. Bartels, told me that Kennedy had gonorrhea: Conversation, Oct. 31, 2002. This was confirmed by William Herbst Jr.: Conversation, Nov. 22, 2002.

p. 124: “As far as backslapping”: Ed Plaut interview with JFK, n.d., in Martin Papers.

p. 124: “didn’t think he” and “He wasn’t a mingler”: William F. Kelly OH; and Hamilton, 743-44.

p. 124: “I think it’s more of a personal reserve”: Plaut interview with JFK, n.d., in Martin Papers.

p. 124: “in a voice somewhat”: Damore, 87.

p. 124: “‘Eunice you made me’”: Mary McNeely OH.

pp. 124-25: “many a night”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 707.

p. 125: “You must organize”: Drew Porter to JFK, Feb. 9, 1946, PPP.

p. 125: “Jack had a funny”: Rose Kennedy, 317-18.

p. 125: “Like a boy”: Daniel F. O’Brien OH.

pp. 125-26: “You’re not going”: O’Donnell and Powers, 49.

p. 126: He “would rather not”: Blair, 442-43. Also Hamilton, 756.

p. 126: “a shot later on”: O’Brien OH.

p. 126: “We have a very young”: Boston City Councilor Joseph Russo radio speech, n.d., Box 74, PPP.

p. 126: “Congress seat for sale”:
East Boston Leader,
n.d., Political Scrapbook No. 1, microfilm, JFKL. Also see Jeff Wylie, a reporter for
Time,
to JFK, April 30, 1946, Box 74, PPP, who tried unsuccessfully to excerpt part of the
Leader
column “as a sample of the below-the-belt tactics that you are running into.”

p. 126: Mastering the political challenges: See Blair, 420-25.

p. 127: “The fascination about politics”: Plaut interview with JFK, n.d., in Martin Papers.

p. 127: “Here’s a millionaire’s son”: Rose Kennedy, 310.

p. 127: For JFK’s challenge in getting out and winning votes, see J. Calvin Carpenter to JFK, May 30, 1946, Box 73, PPP.

p. 127: “With those two names”: Quoted in Parmet,
Jack,
182.

p. 127: “a new kind of Democrat”: Hamilton, 742.

p. 127: “Compared to the Boston Irish”: O’Donnell and Powers, 59.

pp. 127-28: Seeing Jack’s amateur status: Martin and Plaut, 131, 136-37; O’Donnell and Powers, 58-60.

p. 128: He began going into: Martin and Plaut, 136.

p. 128: “I would have given odds”: McCarthy, 20.

p. 128: “I seem to be”: O’Donnell and Powers, 59.

p. 128: “I think I know”: Ibid., 54-55.

p. 128: “hit the barbershops”: Ibid., 63-64.

p. 129: Ride the trolleys: Parmet,
Jack,
154.

p. 129: On the house parties, see Press Release, Bill McMorrow, May 2, 1946, Box 74, PPP; Burns, 66-67; O’Donnell and Powers, 64-65; Doris Goodwin, 716-17.

p. 129: Paid a heavy price: See Parmet,
Jack,
154.

p. 129: “The New Generation”: Quoted in Collier and Horowitz, 181.

p. 129: On the war record, see Martin and Plaut, 134-35; O’Donnell and Powers, 65-68; Doris Goodwin, 720; Hamilton, 755-56.

p. 130: For JFK’s domestic agenda, see Martin and Plaut, 135-36; Parmet,
Jack,
157-58.

p. 130: “You can never be too careful”: Quoted in Evan Thomas, 48.

p. 130: “staggering sum” and “It was the equivalent”: Quoted in Martin and Plaut, 133. Also see Paul E. Murphy to JFK, Feb. 18, 1946, Box 74, PPP, giving one instance of the money available for JFK to hire a campaign secretary.

p. 130: “With what I’m spending”: Collier and Horowitz, 183.

p. 130: O’Neill’s spending: O’Neill, 73-79.

p. 131: “Kennedy for Congress” and “There’s our man”: Parmet,
Jack,
160. (Also see p. 133) and Doris Goodwin, 713-14.

p. 131: “Only way”: Martin and Plaut, 140.

p. 131: On the tea, see Martin and Plaut, 144-45; Blair, 472-73; Doris Goodwin, 718-19.

p. 131: For the vote, see Blair, 478-79.

p. 132: “it was very, very quiet”: Dalton OH.

p. 132: “In Brookline”: JFK Speech, Choate School, Sept. 27, 1946, Box 94, PPP.

p. 132: “Why I Am a Democrat”: Oct. 23, 1946, Ibid.

p. 132: VFW speech: “1946 National Encampment,” Sept. 2, 1946, Ibid.

pp. 132-33: JFK Speech, “The Time Has Come,” Oct. 1946, Ibid.

p. 133: For the vote, see Blair, 495.

Chapter 5: The Congressman

pp. 134-35: For current affairs and Truman’s standing, see McCullough, 398, 520-24, 550-51.

p. 135: “
always
running for the next job”: Quoted in Blair, 547.

p. 135: “I think from the time”: Arthur Krock OH.

p. 135: “The life of the House”: Burns, 99.

p. 136: “industrious, important”: Donovan, 257-61.

p. 136: “Suppose you were”: Quoted in Jay, 372.

p. 136: “the job as a congressman”: Charles Spalding OH.

p. 136: “Well, I guess”: Quoted in Collier and Horowitz, 209.

p. 136: “I never felt”: JFK interview with James Burns, Mar. 22, 1959, JFKL.

p. 136: Swinging a golf club: Parmet,
Jack,
166-67.

p. 136: “We were just worms”: Quoted in Lasky, 117; also in JFK interview with Burns, Mar. 22, 1959, where he also said, “Congressmen get built up. . . .”

pp. 136-37: “found most of his”: Quoted in Doris Goodwin, 725-26.

p. 137: On JFK’s genuine idealism and view of public service, see the several letters between Jack and Choate faculty from October 1946 to December 1951, especially the Alumni Note, n.d., 1951, Outline of Kennedy Letters, and The Choate Alumni Bulletin, Jan. 1947, Box 1, PP.

p. 137: “I wasn’t equipped”: Ed Plaut interview with JFK in Ralph G. Martin Papers, Boston University.

p. 138: “freshman row” and “about as far”: Blair, 509.

p. 138: “had a brain”: Quoted in ibid., 512-13; also see p. 539.

p. 138: “It was good”: Quoted in ibid., 513.

p. 138: Jack once encouraged him: William Sutton OH.