JFK HEARS ANNOUNCEMENT OF ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) John F. Kennedy entered the United States Navy as an ensign in September 1941. JFK, fresh out of Officer Training School, was assigned, at the age of 24, to the Office of Naval Intelligence here in the Nation's Capital.
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Jack Kennedy had been enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, a pick up touch football game with his friend Lem Billings on the Mall close to the Washington Monument.
As the two young friends were returning to Jack's apartment on 16th Street, they heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor over their car radio.
Nigel Hamilton writes...
"(Lem) Billings was 'terribly excited.' Thick, billowing smoke rose above the Japanese embassy on Massachusetts Avenue as guilty diplomats burned their papers. Hundreds began to assemble outside the White House...wanting to know what would be the president's reaction."
SOURCES
"A Hero For Our Time: An Intimate Story of the Kennedy Years," by Ralph G. Martin, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1983.
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011.
"JFK, Reckless Youth," by Nigel Hamilton, Random House, New York, 1992.
_burning_after_the_Japanese_attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_-_NARA_195617_-_Edit.jpg)
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) John F. Kennedy entered the United States Navy as an ensign in September 1941. JFK, fresh out of Officer Training School, was assigned, at the age of 24, to the Office of Naval Intelligence here in the Nation's Capital.
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Jack Kennedy had been enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, a pick up touch football game with his friend Lem Billings on the Mall close to the Washington Monument.
As the two young friends were returning to Jack's apartment on 16th Street, they heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor over their car radio.
Nigel Hamilton writes...
"(Lem) Billings was 'terribly excited.' Thick, billowing smoke rose above the Japanese embassy on Massachusetts Avenue as guilty diplomats burned their papers. Hundreds began to assemble outside the White House...wanting to know what would be the president's reaction."
SOURCES
"A Hero For Our Time: An Intimate Story of the Kennedy Years," by Ralph G. Martin, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1983.
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011.
"JFK, Reckless Youth," by Nigel Hamilton, Random House, New York, 1992.
_burning_after_the_Japanese_attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_-_NARA_195617_-_Edit.jpg)
USS Arizona
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941
NARA Photo
