HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the widow of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, celebrates a birthday today.
Vicki was born on February 26, 1954 in Crowley,Louisiana. She is of Lebanese descent.
Her father was a delegate to the 1956 Democratic Convention & delivered the state of Louisiana to JFK in his unsuccessful bid for the Vice-Presidential nomination.
She graduated from Newcomb College in 1976 & received a JD from Tulane Law School in 1979.
Mrs. Kennedy is an attorney & advocate for issues impacting women, children & families.
The primary caregiver for Senator Kennedy in his final days, she stood at the side of President Obama when he signed the Health Care Reform Act into law.
Vicki & Ted support Obama, Feb. 8, 2008
February 26, 1963
NATIONAL SECURITY MEMORANDUM 223
McGeorge Bundy, JFK's national security adviser, issued NSM 223 in behalf of President Kennedy on this date.
The memo says JFK wants an analysis of the possibility that China "might return to the attack on India at any time this spring".
It also indicates the President needs a political & military investigation of this potentiality.
February 26, 1993
WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBED
A bomb exploded today in a basement parking garage of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
The bomb with 1500 pounds of explosives has been traced by the FBI to the remains of a rental truck found in the aftermath of the tragedy.
6 people have died including a woman who was 7 months pregnant.*
*The FBI finds that the bomb was the work of terrorists. The mastermind was Ramzi Yousef, an AL-Qaeda trained terrorist, who arrived in the US on September 1, 1992. All involved are found guilty & each is sentenced to 240 year prison terms.
February 26, 1984
LAST MARINES LEAVE BEIRUIT
Just 4 months after President Reagan announced the US would continue its peace-keeping efforts in Lebanon, the last of the marines stationed there departed today.
In 1982 a force of 800 marines were sent to Beiruit as part of a multi-national force to oversee Palestinian withdrawal from the country.
On April 18, 1983 a suicide bomber drove a truck into the US Embassy killing 63 people including 17 Americans.
Then on October 23 another suicide bomber drove a truck into the marine base in Beiruit killing 241 American military personnel.
February 26, 1929
GRAND TETON BECOMES A NATIONAL PARK
President Calvin Coolidge signed a law today at the White House establishing the Grant Teton National Park in Wyoming.
February 26, 1919
GRAND CANYON BECOMES A NATIONAL PARK
The Interior Department announced today that the Grand Canyon will be a national park.
More than 800,000 acres have been designated for the park by President Woodrow Wilson.
Photograph by Phil Konstantin, October 10, 2007
