THE WEDDING THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY

A UNION OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On October 7, 1914, Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald exchanged marriage vows here in Boston.

The mayor of the city, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, gave away his daughter Rose.  The marriage ceremony was held in the private chapel of William Cardinal O'Connell at 25 Granby Street at 9 a.m. 

Rose wore a white satin gown and her sister, Agnes, served as Maid of Honor while Mr. Kennedy's Harvard classmate, Joseph Donovan, was Best Man.

According to Time magazine's article by James Graham, Mayor Fitzgerald "had doubts about" his daughter's choice, but writes that it was a good thing that Miss Fitzgerald did not share those doubts. 

Three of Joe and Rose's nine children became United States senators and one, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, became President of the United States.

James Graham writes...

"Their wedding probably influenced the course of American history more than any before or since."

SOURCE

"The Wedding That Changed American History," by James W. Graham.  October 7, 2014, www.time.com/3462557/Kennedy-wedding/

Fitzgerald-Kennedy Wedding

October 7, 1914

JACK IS PERFECTLY CAPABLE TO DO EVERYTHING

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2381

JOE JUNIOR WAS AMBASSADOR KENNEDY'S FIRST CHOICE

Hull, Massachusetts (JFK+50) 102 years ago today, July 25, 1915, the first child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy was born in Nantasket, Massachusetts.  The Kennedys were spending the summer in a rented cottage on Atlantic Avenue.

The baby boy, delivered by Dr. Frederick Good, was named Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr.*  Will Swift writes in "The Kennedys, Amidst the Gathering Storm,"

"It was Joe Jr. who his father had anointed to become president.  He would spend a year in London as his father's political aide at the embassy and would go on fact-finding trips throughout Europe."

All the hopes for his first son were dashed on August 12, 1944 when Joe Jr. was killed when his Liberator exploded over the English Channel.   After an extended period of mourning, the Ambassador transferred his hopes for the presidency to his second son, John F. Kennedy.

Ironically, Joe Jr. had written in a letter to his father...

"As far as the family is concerned, it seems that Jack is perfectly capable to do everything, if by chance anything happened to me."

In 1945, As We Remember Joe**, a book of remembrances for Kennedy family, friends and associates, was published.  The book included a forward by brother Jack along with his essay titled "My Brother Joe."

*Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (1915-1944) graduated from Harvard in 1938.  He studied at the London School of Economics and was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic Convention.  Joe joined the US Navy earning his wings as a naval aviator in May 1942.  He completed 25 combat missions before volunteering for the one that took his life.

**As We Remember Joe (1945) is described at www.buddenbrooks.com/ as "scarce and one of the most difficult to obtain JFK related books."  It is estimated that there were a total of 360 copies printed.  The price is $1850. 

SOURCES

"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.," John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

"The Kennedys:  Amidst The Gathering Storm, A Thousand Days in London 1938-1940," by Will Swift, Smithsonian Books, 2008.

As We Remember Joe

University Press

Cambridge, MA (1945)

www.buddenbrooks.com

      

I'M FOR ROOSEVELT

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2046

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY ENDORSES FDR IN 1936

New York City (JFK+50) Eighty years ago today, August 21, 1936, New York publishers Reynal and Hitchcock released a 149 page book by Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. titled "I'm For Roosevelt".

The front and back covers of the paperback depict a ballot with the name Franklin D. Roosevelt along with a penciled in "X" next to it.  The cover also includes these words...

"Here a financier of national reputation, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, looks dispassionately at the national balance sheet and gives a forceful answer to numerous business friends who are asking, 'How can you possibly support Roosevelt?'  His conclusions, based on facts and statistics...will be a revelation to citizens of every political persuasion."

The title of Chapter 1 is "In Which the Father of Nine Children  Explains What He Thinks  the Election Means to Them."  Joe Kennedy describes FDR as "courageous, clear-headed (and) inspiring" in transforming the Nation from one of despair to one of hope.  He also writes that FDR not only saved the country, he also reconditioned it "to ride out the storms of the future."

In the conclusion, Mr. Kennedy adds...

"My faith in Roosevelt and my belief in the ultimate triumph and broad benefit of his principles is much affected by my position as a father of a large family.  Out of a chaotic condition...our nation has become...relatively prosperous and harmonious..."

David Wineberg, in his review of Michael Beschloss's "Kennedy and Roosevelt:  The Uneasy Alliance," writes...

"Roosevelt was in it for the game.  He lived to manipulate people and events. Kennedy was in it to promote his own family...and conserve the fortune he had made...that they could work together so well for such a long stretch was remarkable."

On November 3, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected by an electoral margin of 523-8.  The Republican, Alf Landon of Kansas, carried only two states, Maine and Vermont.  Democrats corrupted the long standing GOP slogan "As goes Maine, so goes the Nation" to "As goes Maine, so goes Vermont."

SOURCES

"Center For Education and Leadership," http://www.fords.org/home/plan-your-visit/daytime-visits-fords-theatre/center-education-and-leadership

"I'm For Roosevelt," by Joseph P. Kennedy, Reynal and Hitchcock, New York, 1936

"The Overthinker and the Manipulator," by David Wineberg, August 11, 2016, a review of "Kennedy and Roosevelt:  The Uneasy Alliance," by Michael R. Beschloss, www.amazon.com/

"I'm for Roosevelt"

JFK+50's personal copy

Photo by John White (2016)

FDR Statue

Center For Education & Leadership

Leadership Gallery

Washington, D.C.

Photo by John White (2016)

ROSE MARRIES JOE KENNEDY

JFK+50:  Volume 5, No. 1736

KENNEDY-FITZGERALD WEDDING 101 YEARS AGO TODAY

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) The parents of a future President of the United States, Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy, exchanged marriage vows one hundred and one years ago today, October 7, 1914.

The Mayor of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, gave away his daughter Rose.  The marriage ceremony was held in the private chapel of William Cardinal O'Connell at 25 Granby Street at 9 a.m. 

Rose wore a white satin gown and her sister, Agnes, served as Maid of Honor while Mr. Kennedy's Harvard classmate, Joseph Donovan, was Best Man.

According to Time magazine's article by James Graham* published last year, Mayor Fitzgerald "had doubts about" his daughter's choice, but writes that it was a good thing that Miss Fitzgerald did not share those doubts. 

Three of Joe and Rose's nine children became United States senators and one became President of the United States.

James Graham writes...

"Their wedding probably influenced the course of American history more than any before or since."

Mr. Graham adds that other Kennedy children, Joe Junior, Kathleen, Patricia and Jean made distinctive contributions in public service.

SOURCE

"The Wedding That Changed American History," by James W. Graham.  October 7, 2014, www.time.com/3462557/Kennedy-wedding/

Fitzgerald-Kennedy Wedding

October 7, 1914

BIRTH OF JOE JUNIOR

JOE JR. BORN 99 YEARS AGO TODAY

Hull, Massachusetts (JFK+50) 99 years ago today, July 25, 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy announced the birth of their first child, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr.*

Joe Junior was delivered by Kennedy family doctor Frederick L. Good in a rented cottage on Atlantic Avenue in Nantasket**.

Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

John F. Kennedy Library Photo

Having graduated from Harvard in 1938, Joe Jr. became a naval aviator in World War II.  Joe Jr. was said to be...

"such a courageous and skilled flier that even after completing his designated number of missions...volunteered to fly bombing runs during the D Day invasion."

Joe was scheduled to return home on leave, but instead volunteered for a special assignment known as Operation Aphrodite.

The target was to be the Nazi fortress in northern France known as Mimoyecques, a V-3 site designed by Hitler's architect Albert Speer.

 Map by Prioryman 

 at en.wikipedia.org

The installation, when completed, would house 25 cannons, each 420 feet in length.  They were designed to reach London 95 miles away.

Joe, Jr. and co-pilot/radio control technician, Lt. Wilford John Willy, took off from the RAF station at Fersfield at 5:59 p.m. on August 12, 1944 in a B-24 Liberator PB4Y loaded with 21,150 pounds of explosives packaged in 347 boxes.

 B24 Liberator Bomber

 USAF Photo

After the B-24 was in position at 2000 feet, Joe Jr. radioed that everything was o.k. Lt. Willy then switched on the TV camera in the nose of the B-24 which was to guide the plane, but two minutes later it exploded.

The remains of Joe Jr. and Lt. Willy were never found, and the wreckage of the B-24 was scattered over an area 3 miles x 2 miles.

In 1945, "As We Remember Joe," a book of remembrances for Kennedy family, friends and associates, was published.  The book included a forward by brother Jack along with his essay titled "My Brother Joe."

SOURCES

"Lt. Joe Kennedy," by Trevor Jermy, edited by Lester Curtis, Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, www.aviationmuseum.net/Joe_Kennedy.htm

"Top Secret Drone Mission That Killed Joseph Kennedy, Jr." by Ed Grabianowski, February 21, 2013, www.i09.com/

"What if Joseph Kennedy, Jr. had not died on WWII mission?," by Jagdtigerl, www.ww2f.com/


*Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (1915-1944) graduated from Harvard in 1938.  He studied at the London School of Economics and was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic Convention.  Joe joined the US Navy earning his wings as a naval aviator in May 1942.  He completed 25 combat missions before volunteering for the one that took his life.

**Nantasket Beach, located in Hull, Massachusetts, is one of the busiest beaches in the Boston area.  Its name is derived from the Wampanoag word meaning "where the tides meet."  

Nantasket Beach (1910)

      

JFK JOINS JUDY GARLAND AT FOUNDATION's PREMIER AWARD DINNER

December 6, 1962

JFK JOINS JUDY GARLAND AT FOUNDATION'S PREMIER AWARD DINNER

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) This evening President John F. Kennedy joined movie stars Judy Garland, Danny Kaye & Bert Lancaster to present awards at the First International Awards Dinner for the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation.

The dinner was held at the Statler Hilton Hotel here in the Nation's Capital.

Awards were presented to the following recipients for their work in the field of mental retardation:

Dr. Samuel A. Kirk of Illinois, Dr. Ivar Asbjorn Folling of Norway, Dr. Murray L. Barr of Canada, Joe Hin Tijo of Indonesia & Dr. Jerome Lejeune of France.

The President thanked Miss Garland & Mr. Lancaster in his speech for their attendance & spoke about sister Eunice's magazine article on the subject.

Dr. Leonard W. Mayo, Chairman of the President's Panel on Mental Retardation, presented a report.

                    JFK, Judy Garland
         Danny Kaye & Dave Powers
                        Oval Office 
                 December 6, 1962