"1ST PRESIDENTIAL BABY IN 68 YEARS"

PRESIDENT KENNEDY SHUTTLES BETWEEN OTIS AFB HOSPITAL & CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On August 8, 1963, The Evening Star reports that last evening Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was "rushed to a Boston hospital, 67 miles from Otis AFB...to have specialists help him to breathe more easily."

After a "solitary supper" at Squaw Island*, President Kennedy visited with his wife then flew to Boston to see baby Patrick who, born prematurely, was "encased in a kind of incubator called isolette."

*JFK & his family used the Brambletyde House on Squaw Island near Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

JFK+50 NOTE

This was the first time in 68 years that a baby was born to a sitting President of the United States.  In fact, JFK & GROVER CLEVELAND, both Democrats, are the only POTUS to have a baby born to their wives when they were in office.

SOURCE

"President Shuttling Between Hospitals," by Mary McGrory, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., August 8, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

The Kennedys at the Brambletyde House

Squaw Island, MA

Photo by Cecil Stoughton

USNA/www.picryl.com/

"EVERY TIME I THOUGHT ABOUT BABY PATRICK..."

SON BORN FIVE WEEKS PREMATURE TO FIRST LADY

Falmouth, Massachusetts (JFK+50) At 1:15 p.m. August 7, 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, was born at Otis Air Force Base Hospital.

The baby, born five weeks premature, suffered from respiratory complications often seen in early births.

Patrick was transferred to Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston for specialized treatment.

Agent Clint Hill, Mrs. Kennedy's secret service guard, later wrote...

"Every time I thought about baby Patrick...it nearly tore me apart."

SOURCES

"Mrs. Kennedy and Me," by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin, Gallery Books, New York, 2012.

"Patrick Bouvier Kennedy Born at Otis AFB Hospital," JFK+50, August 7, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

 

 

 Patrick Bouvier Kennedy Gravestone

Arlington National Cemetery

US Army Photo

"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/

"JFK PUT A GOLD ST. CHRISTOPHER'S MEDAL INSIDE THE CASKET"

REST IN PEACE, BABY PATRICK

Brookline, MA (JFK+50) On August 10, 1963, the infant son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, was laid to rest at Holyhood Cemetery* here in Brookline.

Patrick, who was born five and a half weeks premature, died in the early morning hours of August 9, only 39 hours after birth.  The Kennedy baby died as a result of complications of hyaline membrane disease.

Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, recovering from the delivery at Otis Air Force Base Hospital, was unable to attend the service.

The funeral mass, celebrated by Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston, at his residence, was attended only by members of the immediate Kennedy family.

The gravesite at Holyhood Cemetery was only a short distance from Beals Street where JFK was born.  According to David Powers, the President put a gold St. Christopher's Medal inside the casket.


*Holyhood Cemetery is located on Heath Street in Brookline, MA.  Laid out in 1857, it covers 35 acres.  HC is the resting place of JFK's father & mother, Joseph & Rose.  It also is the burial site of Irish poet/journalist John Boyle O'Reilly.


SOURCE

"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye:  Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1970, 1972.

Holyhood Cemetery Chapel

Brookline, Massachusetts

Photo by Magicpiano (2011)

www.wikimedia.org/

  

          

"THE PRESIDENT WENT BACK UPSTAIRS & WEPT"

BABY PATRICK DIES FROM HYALINE MEMBRANE DISEASE

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On August 9, 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, died after just 39 hours of life of complications from hyaline membrane disease.  

The disease, characterized by the structural immaturity of the infant's lungs, is the leading cause of death in premature births.

David Powers writes that Patrick had been transferred to the Harvard School of Public Health "where he was placed in a high-pressure chamber, where oxygen was forcibly fed to him."     

Dave said the President visited four times during the day and spent the night with Dave and Bobby on the hospital's fourth floor.

A secret service agent awakened JFK at 2 a.m. and told him that his son's condition had "taken a turn for the worse."  Baby Patrick died at 4:04 a.m.  His father said quietly, "He was a beautiful baby. He put up quite a fight."   

Dave says that the President then went back upstairs "and wept." 

SOURCE

"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye:  Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1970, 1972.

 

"HE WAS A BEAUTIFUL BABY. HE PUT UP QUITE A FIGHT"

BABY PATRICK DIES 39 HOURS AFTER BIRTH

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On August 9, 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, died after just 39 hours of life of complications from hyaline membrane disease. The disease, characterized by the structural immaturity of the infant's lungs, is the leading cause of death in premature births.

David Powers writes that Patrick had been transferred to the Harvard School of Public Health "where he was placed in a high-pressure chamber, where oxygen was forcibly fed to him."    Dave said the President visited four times during the day and spent the night with Dave and Bobby on the hospital's fourth floor.

A secret service agent awakened JFK at 2 a.m. and told him that his son's condition had "taken a turn for the worse."  Baby Patrick died at 4:04 a.m.  His father said quietly, "He was a beautiful baby. He put up quite a fight."  Dave says that the President then went back upstairs "and wept." 

SOURCE

"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye:  Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1970, 1972.

 

HE WAS A BEAUTIFUL BABY. HE PUT UP QUITE A FIGHT.

PRESIDENT & MRS. KENNEDY LOSE BABY PATRICK

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On August 9, 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, died of  complications from hyaline membrane disease.   The disease, characterized by the structural immaturity of the infant's lungs, is the leading cause of death in premature births.

David Powers writes that Patrick had been transferred to the Harvard School of Public Health "where he was placed in a high-pressure chamber, where oxygen was forcibly fed to him."  Dave said the President visited four times during the day and spent the night with Dave and Bobby on the hospital's fourth floor.

A secret service agent awakened JFK at 2 a.m. and told him that his son's condition had "taken a turn for the worse."  Baby Patrick died at 4:04 a.m.  His father said quietly, "He was a beautiful baby. He put up quite a fight."  

Dave says that the President then went back upstairs "and wept." 

SOURCE

"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye:  Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1970, 1972.

Grave of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

Arlington National Cemetery

Photo by John White (2016)

PRESIDENT WATCHES HELPLESSLY THROUGH A SMALL PORTHOLE

JFK CONFERS WITH DOCTORS ON NEWBORN'S CONDITION

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On August 8, 1963, a concerned President John F. Kennedy conferred with doctors at Children's Hospital here in Boston on the condition of his newly born son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy.

Baby Patrick was was born 5 and 1/2 weeks premature on August 7 at Otis Air Force Base Hospital where Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy had been rushed by helicopter from Hyannisport.

President Kennedy, who had flown by helicopter to Boston,  wore a white cap and gown as he "watched helplessly through a small porthole in the high-pressure chamber" where the baby was fighting for his life.

Antibiotics were not helping so as Ralph G. Martin writes...

"The only hope was that normal body functions would dissolve...a veil-like membrane (which) covered the inside of his walnut-size lungs..."*

*Hyaline membrane disease is caused by the development of an insufficiency of surfactant production and structural immaturity of the lungs.  It is the leading cause of death in premature births.

SOURCE

"A Hero For Our Time:  An Intimate Story of the Kennedy Years," by Ralph G. Martin, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1983.

IT WAS TOO MUCH TO ASK THAT WE GROW OLD TOGETHER

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2193

REFLECTIONS ON "JACKIE": PART XVIII

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) JFK+50 begins the year 2017 with a review of "Jackie" starring Natalie Portman.  "Jackie" is a Fox Searchlight Pictures film directed by Pablo Larrain.

The screenplay was written by Noah Oppenheim.  Released on December 2, 2016, the movie has an "R" rating and lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The scene is in the living room at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis.  The Journalist is speaking into a telephone.  He says...

"Mrs. Kennedy has expressed her desire to re-inter the bodies of the two children they lost to rest alongside their father.*

She wants them to always remember for one brief shining moment there was a...Camelot."

The Journalist hangs up.

The next scene goes back to a park outside Washington, D.C.  It is dusk.  Jackie is talking with the Priest.

Jackie says...

"(The Journalist) wrote down every word.  Its being reprinted all over the world.  Maybe that's what they'll all believe now.  Camelot.

People like to believe in fairy tales."

The Priest asks....

"Do you think you've done him justice?"

Jackie answers...

"I believe the characters we read about...end up being more real than the men (we) stand beside...

I should have guessed it was too much to ask that we grow old together...(and) see our children grow up."

*The first child named Arabella was stillborn in 1956.  She did not receive a birth certificate or official name.  Originally buried in Brookline, Massachusetts, her gravestone bears the one word "Daughter."

The second child was Patrick Bouvier Kennedy born prematurely on August 7 & died on August 9, 1963.  Patrick was also originally buried in Brookline, Massachusetts where the President had said "He's seems so alone here."

SOURCES

"Jackie-Screenplay," by Script Pipeline, www.scriptpipeline.com/

"Kennedy Memorials at Arlington National Cemetery," D.C. by Foot, www.freetoursbyfoot.com/

"Who is buried next to President John F. Kennedy at Arlington cemetery," www.answers.com/

Kennedy Memorial

JFK, JBK, AK & PBK
Arlington National Cemetery
Photo by John White (2016)

PATRICK BOUVIER KENNEDY LAID TO REST

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2035

BABY PATRICK KENNEDY WOULD HAVE HIGH SURVIVAL CHANCE TODAY

Brookline, Massachsetts (JFK+50) The infant son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, was laid to rest here at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline fifty-three years ago today, August 10, 1963.

Patrick, who was born five and a half weeks premature three days earlier, died in the early morning hours of August 9, only 39 hours after birth.  The Kennedy baby died as a result of complications of hyaline membrane disease which was common in premature births.  25,000 babies died every year from the disease.

According to Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, however, if Baby Patrick had been born in 2013, his chances of survival, because of improvements in medical care for premature babies, would have been 95%.

Baby Patrick, who was born at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, weighed 4 pounds 10 1/2 ounces at birth.

The funeral mass, celebrated by Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston, at his residence, was attended only by members of the immediate Kennedy family.

According to David Powers, the President put a gold Saint Christopher's Medal, which had been a present given to him by Jacqueline, inside the casket.

At graveside, President Kennedy "tightly gripped" Patrick's small white coffin.
Kenny O'Donnell and Dave Powers wrote...

"The loss of Patrick affected the President and Jackie more deeply than anybody except their closest friends realized."

A couple of months later, JFK left the Harvard-Columbia football game at halftime to visit Patrick's grave.  The President asked Kenny and Dave to make sure he wasn't followed by the press.

Standing in the cemetery, looking down at the headstone marked KENNEDY, JFK said to Dave and Kenny...

"He seems so alone here."

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy's remains are now alongside his parents at Arlington National Cemetery.  

SOURCES

"A Kennedy Baby's Life and Death," by Lawrence K. Altman, M.D., The New York Times, July 29, 2013, www.nytimes.com/

"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye:  Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1970, 1972.

Grave of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

Arlington National Cemetery

Photo by John White (2016)

SURRENDER OF JAPAN

JAPAN SURRENDERED 70 YEARS AGO TODAY 

Tokyo, Japan (JFK+50) After atomic bombs were dropped by the United States on two of Japan's major cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki,  the Japanese Imperial government agreed seventy years ago today, August 10, 1945, to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration which provided for unconditional surrender.  The Japanese government refused, however, to accept any conditions that would "prejudice the prerogatives" of the emperor.

When this news reached the White House, President Harry Truman ordered an immediate halt to continued use of atomic weapons.   News of the surrender was not made public in Japan until August 15 when Emperor Hirohito gave his radio address.

Hirohito in Dress Uniform

1935

BABY PATRICK LAID TO REST 

Brookline, Massachsetts (JFK+50) The infant son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, was laid to rest here at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline fifty-two years ago today, August 10, 1963.

Patrick, who was born five and a half weeks premature on August 7, died in the early morning hours of August 9, only 39 hours after birth.  The Kennedy baby died as a result of complications of hyaline membrane disease which is common in premature births.

The funeral mass, celebrated by Richard Cardinal Cushing, archbishop of Boston, at his residence, was attended only by members of the immediate Kennedy family.

According to David Powers, JFK put a gold Saint Christopher's Medal, which had been a present given to him by Jacqueline, inside the casket.

At graveside, President Kennedy "tightly gripped" Patrick's small white coffin.
Kenny O'Donnell and Dave Powers wrote...

"The loss of Patrick affected the President and Jackie more deeply than anybody except their closest friends realized."

A couple of months later, JFK left the Harvard-Columbia football game at halftime to visit Patrick's grave.  The President asked Kenny O'Donnell and Dave Powers to make sure he wasn't followed by the press.

Standing in the cemetery, looking down at the headstone marked KENNEDY, JFK said to Dave and Kenny...

"He seems so alone here."

After JFK's death and burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy's remains were placed next to those of his father.

SOURCE

"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye:  Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1970, 1972.

JFK Gravesite at Arlington

Photo by Kevin Rutherford (2010)

TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION

TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION PASSED 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The United States Congress overwhelmingly approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution a half-century ago today, August 7, 1964.

The resolution, which passed 416-0 in the House of Representatives and received only a couple of opposing votes in the Senate, authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to do...

 "whatever is necessary...(to assist) any member of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty".

The resolution was proposed by the Johnson administration after an alleged naval engagement in the Gulf of Tonkin two days earlier between North Vietnamese patrol boats and destroyers U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. Turner Joy.

The only votes cast against the resolution were by Democratic Senators Morse of Oregon and Gruening of Arkansas.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

PT 109 SURVIVORS RESCUED 71 YEARS AGO 

Solomon Islands (JFK+50) The survivors of PT109,  including 11 of the 13 man crew and their commander, Lt. John F. Kennedy, were rescued 71 years ago today, Saturday, August 7, 1943, by PT boats of the United States Navy.

The survivors were met first by Reginald Evans*, an Australian coast watcher who had been alerted by JFK's message carved on a coconut and brought to him by local natives.

Evans radioed this message to Lumberi at 9:20 a.m.

"Eleven survivors PT boat on Gross Is X Have sent food and letter advising senior come here without delay X Warn aviation of canoes crossing Ferguson"

Robert J. Donavan writes that Evans dispatched 7 scouts by canoe to retrieve the "senior" member of the 109 crew from Olasana.

Lt. Kennedy was hidden in the canoe and covered with dead palm fronds as the natives paddled out into Blackett Strait.

When they reached shore, JFK stuck his head out of the palm fronds and said to Evans "Hello, I'm Kennedy."

JFK suggested to Evans that he be permitted to pilot PT boats back to Olasana to pick up his crew.

When PT 157 arrived to pick Lt. Kennedy up, he was upset with the delay in the rescue operation and vented his unhappiness to Lt. W. F. Liebenow who had greeted him with these words...

"Calm down, Jack, we have some warm food for you." 

JFK replied sarcastically...

"No thanks, I've just had a coconut."

It was after midnight when JFK rejoined his crew on Olasana and shuttled them aboard PT 157.

*JFK could not remember Evans' name but had a letter from him which appeared to be signed by A. Rinhaus and that is the name JFK would know him by for the next 17 years.

 In the first article about the 109 incident, John Hersey identified him as Lt. Wincote.  Robert Donovan says that it was not until after JFK became president that Evans was finally correctly identified.

SOURCE

"PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII," by Robert J. Donovan, McGraw-Hill Publishers, New York, 1961 and 2001.

PT 157 and Crew

PATRICK BOUVIER KENNEDY BORN 51 YEARS AGO 

Falmouth, Massachusetts (JFK+50) Fifty-one years ago this afternoon, First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy gave birth to a baby boy.

The premature birth came at 12:52 p.m.local time  at Otis Air Force Base Hospital.

Mrs. Kennedy had been rushed to the hospital by helicopter from her home at Hyannisport.

The baby boy, born five and a half weeks premature and weighing 4 pounds 10.5 ounces, suffered from respiratory complications often seen in early births.

According to Secret Service agent Clint Hill, because the President had no travel plans for the day, Air Force One and other jets in the VIP fleet were unavailable.

JFK was still en route at the time the baby was delivered.  The President arrived 40 minutes later.

The baby boy, named Patrick Bouvier Kennedy after JFK's grandfather and Mrs. Kennedy's father, was transferred at 5:55 p.m.to Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston for specialized treatment.

The President traveled to Boston to be with Patrick while Clint Hill stayed at Otis with the First Lady.

Clint Hill writes...

"Every time I thought about baby Patrick, so small and alone inside the incubator, it nearly tore me apart.  Throughout this time, Mrs. Kennedy seldom woke up, but continued to remain in a stable condition."

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy passed away the next morning and funeral services were held on Saturday, August 10 in Boston.

SOURCE

"Mrs. Kennedy and Me," by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin, Gallery Books, New York, 2012.

                     

JFK MEETS WITH BABY PATRICK'S DOCTORS IN BOSTON

August 8, 2013

JFK MET WITH BABY PATRICK's DOCTORS IN BOSTON 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) A very concerned President John F. Kennedy conferred with doctors at Children's Hospital here in Boston 50 years ago today, August 8, 1963, about the condition of his newly born son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy.

Baby Patrick was was born 5 and 1/2 weeks premature on August 7 at Otis Air Force Base Hospital where Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy had been rushed by helicopter from Hyannisport.

President Kennedy, who had flown by helicopter to Boston,  wore a white cap and gown as he "watched helplessly through a small porthole in the high-pressure chamber" where the baby was fighting for his life.

Antibiotics were not helping so as Ralph G. Martin writes...

"The only hope was that normal body functions would dissolve...a veil-like membrane (which) covered the inside of his walnut-size lungs..."*

*Hyaline membrane disease is caused by the development of an insufficiency of surfactant production and structural immaturity of the lungs.  It is the leading cause of death in premature births.

SOURCE

"A Hero For Our Time:  An Intimate Story of the Kennedy Years," by Ralph G. Martin, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1983.

   
   Boston's Children's Hospital Logo
       www.childrenshospital.org



NIXON RESIGNED PRESIDENCY 39 YEARS AGO 

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The 37th president of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, announced 39 years ago tonight, August 8, 1974 that he would resign his office the next morning.

The President said:

"By taking this action, I hope I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."

Mr. Nixon, who lost his first bid for the Presidency to John F. Kennedy in 1960 but won in his second attempt vs. Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, would become the 1st president to resign.

The resignation came as a result of the Watergate scandal which had tarnished Mr. Nixon's second term.

The scandal began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel complex on June 17, 1972 by members of Nixon's "Committee to Re-elect the President" or CREEP.

The scandal was exposed by a congressional investigation conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Watergate.

The Select Committee's hearings, televised nationally, led to the adoption of three articles of impeachment by the House Judicial Committee.

Nixon Announces Resignation on TV
                      August 8, 1964


SECOND ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED ON NAGASAKI

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Just two days after the first atomic bomb was dropped by the United States on Hiroshima,  the White House announced a second atomic bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki 68 years ago today, August 8, 1945.

Nagasaki, located in Southern Japan, was one of the nation's largest seaports and was the location of  a major industrial production of war material.

The bomb detonated 1,540 feet above the city at 11:01 a.m. local time. 

The bomb was dropped from Bockscar, a B-29 Superfortress commanded by Major Charles W. Sweeney.

                     Bockscar and Crew

Estimates are that between 60,000 to 75,000 people were killed by the bomb.

Nagasaki 6 Weeks After the Bombing
              September 24, 1945
                    Photograph by 
Cpl. Lynn P. Walker, Jr. (USMC)

Panorama of Nagasaki Monument
    At the Hypocenter of the Blast
Photo by Dean S. Pemberton (2008)