The Kennedy Half-Century (86 page)

1960. William C. Battle, son of Virginia governor John Battle, served with JFK in the Pacific during World War II and later helped manage his campaign in West Virginia. Here Battle and Kennedy are shown disembarking from the senator’s private plane during the crucial Mountain State primary.

1960. Now the official Democratic nominee for president, Senator Kennedy rides in an open convertible into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on the last day of the party’s national convention, July 15, 1960. He delivered his acceptance address before a crowd estimated to be as many as eighty thousand.

1960. John Kennedy almost certainly would not have defeated Richard Nixon without his superior performance in the four televised presidential debates in the fall of 1960. Here, moderator Howard K. Smith is looking up at a wan Vice President Nixon, who had been ill, while a tanned, rested Senator Kennedy takes notes during the first debate on September 26. The debates were a first of their kind.

1960. Senator Kennedy protests as a policeman hauls away an unidentified admirer who wanted to shake hands with him in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 14, 1960. (At Kennedy’s insistence, the woman was later allowed to meet him.) The throng surrounding Kennedy’s car was a security nightmare.

1961. Despite bitter cold and heavy snow the previous evening, Kennedy’s inauguration drew large crowds. They were rewarded with one of the most inspiring inaugural addresses in the nation’s history, after the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1961.

1961. The spread of Communism in Southeast Asia was an unavoidable focus for the Kennedy Administration. Here, at a news conference on March 23, 1961, President Kennedy points to a map showing the progress of the Communists into Laos, Vietnam’s neighbor.

1961. Kennedy’s infidelities put great strain on his marriage, but nonetheless he and Jackie appeared to have a deep reservoir of affection for one another. Here, President Kennedy fixes Jackie’s wind-blown hair as they ride in a convertible between Blair House and the White House in May 1961.

1961. On May 31, 1961, President de Gaulle of France welcomed First Lady Jackie Kennedy to the Elysée Palace. Madame de Gaulle and President Kennedy stand to the side. The French were taken with Mrs. Kennedy’s beauty, style, and impeccable French. The President commented to a press lunch in Paris that he had become “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.”

1962. President Kennedy looks on as Jackie speaks in Spanish to the soldiers of the Bay of Pigs Brigade from an open car. Miami, Florida, December 29, 1962.

1962. The Kennedy family captivated much of America and was a source of comedic inspiration for some. This popular long-playing album,
The First Family
, was distributed widely in 1962 and starred Vaughn Meader as the voice of President Kennedy. His career as a JFK imitator ended on the day the president was shot.

1963. Only in his last months in office did President Kennedy move decisively to secure fundamental liberties for African Americans via legislation. On New Year’s Day 1963, JFK met with various civil rights and labor leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (who was being wiretapped by the FBI with the knowledge of Attorney General Robert Kennedy).