"1ST CHILD BORN TO SITTING POTUS IN 20TH CENTURY"

PRESIDENT & MRS. KENNEDY'S SON BORN 5 1/2 WEEKS PREMATURE

Bourne, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On August 7, 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy*, son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, was born in the early afternoon at Otis Air Force Base.

The baby boy, delivered five and one-half weeks premature, suffers from respiratory complications common with early births.  His weight was only 4  pounds 10.5 ounces.

He was transferred in the evening to Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston where he was placed in a hyperbaric chamber of 100% pure oxygen.

JFK+50 NOTE

Sadly, Patrick, named after his great great grandfather, died after only 39 hours of life.  The cause of death was given as Hyaline Membrane Disease which now is known as Respiratory Distress Syndrome.  Patrick's case was the impetus for further research into the condition.

Ironically, Patrick's date of death was exactly 20 years since his father & surviving crew of the PT109 was rescued.

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, now resting beside his father & mother at Arlington, was the 1st child born to a sitting POTUS in the 20th century.

*Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (Aug 7-Aug 9, 1963) was born at Otis AF Base, Massachusetts & died in Boston.  PBK was buried in the Kennedy family plot in Boston & later the remains were transferred to ANC after the death of his father.

SOURCES

"August 7, 1963," JFK+50, August 7, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

"Patrick Bouvier Kennedy," Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org/

Grave of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

United States Army Photo

Arlington National Cemetery Explorer

"IT WAS WHAT JFK WOULD HAVE WANTED"

REMAINS OF TWO KENNEDY CHILDREN NOW LIE BESIDE JFK IN ARLINGTON

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 5, 1963, The Evening Star reports "two children of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy who died at or soon after birth now lie beside their father in Arlington Cemetery."

The remains of the infants "were placed there last night...on either side of their father" writes Wilfrid C. Rodgers* of the Boston Globe.

The former First Lady said "it was what her husband would have wanted."

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy** died two days after birth on August 9, 1963.  His remains were first interred at Hollyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.  President Kennedy was overheard to say at the graveside service, "He seems so alone here."

The other child, an unnamed girl, was stillborn on August 23, 1956 & was first buried in Newport, Rhode Island.  

The remains of both infants were transported to Washington, D.C. on the Kennedy family airplane, 'Caroline.'

A 20 minute private service was conducted by the light of 'The Eternal Flame' at Arlington National Cemetery.  Eight persons attended in addition to Mrs. Kennedy, five were family members.

*Wilfrid C. Rodgers graduated Harvard University 1959 & covered the Kennedy White House as part of a 45 career as reporter, columnist & editor of The Boston Globe.

**Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was born at Otis AFB Hospital in Bourne, Massachusetts 5 1/2 weeks prematurely on Aug 7 1963.  Weighing only 4 lbs 10 1/2 oz. Patrick died of complications of hyaline membrane disease on Aug 9 1963 in Boston.  He was named after his great grandfather, Patrick Joseph Kennedy & his mother's maiden name.

JFK+50 NOTE

Hyaline Membrane Disease (HMD) is now known as Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (IRDS) and is the leading cause of morbidity & mortality in pre-mature infants affecting 1% of newborns.  IRDS is caused by the baby not having enough surfactant, a liquid which coats the tiny air sacs in the lungs.

SOURCES

"Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Newborn," Nationwide Children's, www.nationwidechildrens.org/

"Two Kennedy Children Reburied Beside Father," by Wilfrid C. Rodgers, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., December 5, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy Gravestone

Arlington National Cemetery

Photo by Dottie Day (2014)

www.flickr.com/