Kennedy, John F. (1917-1963)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1963 Nov 28 p. 1

Birth date: 1917 May 29

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The World's Week

A Moment In History

THE doleful drums rolled on Pennsylvania Avenue. Where a President had ridden in triumph, a military caisson bore him slowly along in death. John F. Kennedy was gone, and a world mourned.

The awesome drama was played from beginning to end on one long November week end. On Friday noon the President was in Dallas, vibrantly alive. A few hours later he was back in Washington, dead. Time, space and history itself were foreshortened in a technological age.

“A bad man shot my daddy,” said John F. Kennedy, Jr. three years old the day of his father's funeral. “His world was strangely different, in little ways a child notices, but does not understand,” wrote the UPI. General MacArthur summed up everyone's personal sorrow: “When he died, something died within me.”

AMERICA'S self-confidence was shaken. In a country of law and reason and light, the dark and brutal spirit of the jungle possessed the heart of an assassin with a mail-order rifle. A nation accustomed to smugly lecture its Latin neighbors about their violent politics drew itself up short for a searching look at its own soul. What were we coming to? The deep melancholia of an entire people called forth Shakespeare's lines:

For God's sake let us sit upon the ground,
And tell sad stories of the death of kings.

JOHN Kennedy was not a king, but no caesar ever had more power to decide the fate of nations — the might of the nuclear thunderbolt. During his brief three years in office, the force of the atom had once again been contained, however precariously, and the world was grateful. His successful efforts for a nuclear test ban treaty raised the hopes of fearful humanity.

The U. S. Chief Executive was more than a national symbol, for he identified himself with the larger cause of mankind, “I am a Berliner,” he declared last June to the throngs in beleaguered West Berlin. A marked contrast to the aged leaders of Europe, the President and First Lady inspired the world with a spirit of youthful optimism.

AMONG the ironies of this moment in history was the obvious parallel to President Lincoln, assassinated on Good Friday, 1865, after preserving the Union in the Civil War. Though separated by a century of change, Lincoln and Kennedy faced many of the same basic domestic problems. Kennedy, a strong civil rights advocate, was martyred in the centennial year of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The London times described the late President as one “who felt that he was challenged to carry forward the implications of Lincoln's work and who, “in this last year, has been seen wrestling with the critical issues of race and national unity.”

With the numbing shock came also a sense of national rededication to making real the ideals of American civilization, and of Christianity itself. John Kennedy's goal on national brotherhood — transcending even racial barriers — was elusive during his lifetime. Now, at his death, it seemed strangely closer to realization.

IN the three grief-filled days from her husband's death to his burial, Jacqueline Kennedy was a model of courage. The darkly-veiled young widow bravely led a unique gathering of the world's dignitaries from the White House to St. Matthew's Cathedral for the funeral. Following the requiem mass, quotations were read from the Kennedy inaugural Address (”Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country”) and from Ecclesiastes (”A time to be born and a time to die”).

It was the making of a legend. The statue of the Great Emancipator looked down upon the somber yet majestic funeral procession as it wound past the Lincoln Memorial toward a hero's grave across the Potomac. And the drums rolled. . . .

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1963 Dec 5 p. 3

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Pall of Sorrow Hangs Over Thanksgiving Festivities

A pall of sorrow hung over the nation as it engaged in the traditional Thanksgiving festivities Nov. 28. It had been only three days before that the slain President Kennedy had been laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery.

Upon request of President Johnson, the Kennedy Thanksgiving proclamation was read in churches throughout the land. Many communities held union churches.

Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy asked White House press secretary Pierre Salinger to express her appreciation for the hundreds of thousands of “compassionate messages” that had been sent her since the death of her husband. A bill to provide Secret Service protection for her and her two children for a year has been introduced in Congress. She will also have the lifetime privilege of free mail traditionally allowed widows of presidents.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1963 Dec 5 p. 6

Two well-known American Mennonites now in Germany sent reports to the Review this week commenting on European reactions to the assassination of the late President john F. Kennedy.

Roy Roth, former president of Hesston College, is studying music for a year in Oldenburg, Germany, under a program sponsored by the University of Oregon.

Dr. Cornelius Krahn, on sabbatical leave from Bethel College, is spending a year in Europe doing research and writing in the field of church history.

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Distant Tragedy Viewed As If Next Door

By Cornelius Krahn

[Note: photo of Cornelius Krahn not scanned]

]Frankfurt, Germany. — It electrified and stunned every person. On streets, in homes, at work, at public meetings, and even at places of entertainment, it was announced in the midst of performances: “Mr. Kennedy has been shot!” Performances stopped right there and everyone went home quietly. Even from Poland reports came in that when at a dancing place the music was interrupted with this announcement the party was over.

Not only the Voice of America stopped all entertainment and revised its program, but also most other European radio and television stations. Only solemn music with reports about the happenings in America were broadcast.

AND WHAT a miracle a little transistor radio is in a situation like this. One station takes one in a moment to Dallas, Texas. Switching to other stations, one can hear the reports and reactions of a score of other European countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain. In all of them the first reaction was that of shock and inability to comprehend. But radio, television and press left no doubt that there was any mistake in reporting. The President of the United States was dead.

Every move in Washington, D. C. was reported, with an occasional glance at Dallas. The procession on the day before the funeral could be followed by radio as if it was next door. The drums and hoofs of the horses were hard as if one was standing next to them.

DURING THE DAY of the funeral all details were shown on television and related by radio. Being six hours ahead, the American armed forces and civilians had special services earlier in the day. The public in various countries joined in commemoration services. During the day students of many cities marched in a solemn procession to places where Kennedy had addressed large audiences when he visited Germany during the summer. People in various countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain filed into offices of the American embassies to sign their names in the Book of Condolences.

While we were watching final services in Washington, D. C., the German television broke off at the time of the mass in the St. Matthew's Cathedral and switched to a commemoration service in Berlin. That was quite a change. From the chanting of the Latin Mass to the immediacy of the great concern for events to come. It was reported that the number to take part in the commemoration service for Kennedy was as great as the number attending the meeting when he spoke to them during the summer.

ONE SAW DEEP sorrow and some tenseness on the faces of these people living “on an island in the Red sea.” Tears streamed from many faces when the speaker reminded his listeners of the words which Kennedy had uttered during his speech: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner). It was very impressiv when all lights went off and only one spotlight focused on the new sign to be put up on the square where he had spoken. It was: “John F. Kennedyplatz.”

One cannot start sampling all the papers that have devoted major parts of issue after issue to the tragic event. All details from the visit of the Kennedys last summer to the present are presented in illustrations and descriptions.

QUESTIONS are raised how this could happen? And then to top it off, a second murder takes place right in the midst of the enforcers of the law. The man on the street asks these questions and tries to explain them so that they will make some "sense" in a world shaken by the tragedy. Some of these questions do not strengthen the confidence in the big American brother.

But somehow life must go on. The day after the burial of the beloved President, the German radio and television introduced the new President. A detailed account of his life and his possible future policies was presented. It was well done, with excepts of speeches which Lyndon Johnson gave when he visited Germany, including Berlin. The gist of the program was that the new President will follow the policies established by his predecessor but that sooner or later he will be President in his own right.

ONE OF THE great concerns of the Europeans and particularly the West Germans is of course what his attitude will be in matters regarding East and West relations. Reassuringly, he was introduced by the broadcast as a man with a policy of flexibility in detail but firmness in principle. The man from the South, who occasionally appears folksy wearing a cowboy outfit,cannot be shoved around easily.

These are a few observations during the tragic days that shook the world. In our day great events affect all. The world has shrunk and has become one great neighborhood, whether we realize it or not.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1963 Dec 5 p. 6

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Europe Shares Sorrow of President's Death

'Unfinished' Symphony Symbol of Mourning

By Roy Roth

[Note: The original article includes a photograph of the author, Roy Roth.]

Oldenburg, Germany. — I have just returned from a symphony concert in which the first number announced in the printed program was not performed. A substitution was made, “wagen der Landestrauer” (because of the national mourning) of the tragic death of our United States President, John F. Kennedy several days ago.

The substitution so appropriately chosen, mood-wise and symbolically, was Schubert's ”Unfinished” Symphony (it consists of only two moments, instead of the tradition three or four).

I was at a rehearsal of the Keynoter Anagari-Kirch in Protestant church choir) here in Oldenburg last Friday evening when the first announcement of the presidential assassination was made. Somebody had picked up an Extrablatt, containing a two-word caption, “Kennedy ermordet,” a picture, and a brief paragraph which related the grim facts only in briefest outline. A member of the choir read the paragraph, while the rest of us huddled around to listen.

THE REACTIONof the people whom I observed last Friday night, both at the choir rehearsal and on my trip home by bus, was one of extreme shock. I saw tears. I heard over and over again, these words and expressions: furchtar (terrible); schrecklich (awful); mankann es kaum glauben (one can hardly believe it); die ganze Welt ist erschettert (the whole world is shaken).

The German people have freely shared our grief and have been vocal in their condolences. I was in the city only briefly on Saturday, but I heard such expressions both on the streets and in the shops. Probably without exception ministers made reference to the tragedy in their Sunday sermons (for Sunday, Nov. 24, was Totensonntag or Ewigkeltssonntag in Germany); and every German flag has been flying at half mast.

I WAS ASKED to arrange and conduct a memorial service for the late President on Nov. 26 for the German Center for International Music Education at the Garnisonkirche in Oldenburg. The North German Radio, Bremen, taped the service for broadcast.

All of our American students studying here in Oldenburg attended the service, of course. In addition the service was announced publicly in the newspaper and a large number of German youth from the Paedagogische Hochschule and people from the city attended.

Following are some excerpts from the memorial message.

“WE MEET TODAY because of this tragic, historic event; but even more, to commemorate the life of a beloved President; and yet much more, to commit ourselves and our wills to the Sovereign God who sees beyond our seeing, who knows beyond our knowing, and who understands beyond our understanding.

“Nothing arouses human compassion like death, nothing motivates human sympathy like death; nothing motivates human sympathy like death. Furthermore, nothing unites people like a tragic death. And in this instance, the death of President Kennedy has certainly brought mankind together in sympathy, in concern, in evidence of mutual appreciation and esteem, and in a desire to promote the common good of all people everywhere.

”A TIME OF sorrow and tragedy is also the time to review our several responsibilities for what happens in the world. And now I address this principally to us Americans. What makes this kind of deed possible? What prompts selfishness, prejudice, ill will, malice, hatred and finally, murder, among the citizens of our nation?

“And with our asking and seeking we will probably find that it is ours to accept some share of the responsibility for the fact that persons who could or who would commit this or similar acts, are to be found among us everywhere — not only in Dallas. From Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon, lurk all too frequently in countless places, the seeds and evidences of greed, ill will, pride, hatred and murder.

”LET US Americans not cast an accusing eye at one man alone, or at one city alone, or at one state alone. Let us rather look at ourselves, and let us acknowledge the fact that this tragedy is in some measure the responsibility of us all. Have we done all we can, to root out the evil in interpersonal relationships in our communities — evil that can grow like a cancer, and finally result in such outright violence and harm, and to a man whom so many held in such high esteem? Surely we will all confess that we could have done more, that in the future we can do more.

A time of sorrow is the time not only to reflect on the glory of the past, or to be obsessed with the grief of the present, but it is the time to rally to the prospect and thee challenge of a still better future. This is the time to rededicate ourselves to the ideals espoused by our beloved late president — ideals which he propagated and promoted, ideals which he lived by, and ideals which he died for!”

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1963 Dec 12 p. 9

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MEMORIAL SERVICE AT MT. LAKE

Mt. Lake, Minn. — A community memorial service for President John F. Kennedy was held at the Bethel Mennonite Church here Nov. 25 under auspices of the Mt. Lake Ministerial Assn.

Meditations were given by Rev. Albert Gaeddert, Rev. Willard Wiebe, Rev. Julius Olson, and Rev. H. Albert Johnson.

Leading in periods of prayer were Rev. Paul Dahlenberg, Rev. Emil Krahn, Rev. Irving Malm, and Rev. Loyal Martin. The invocation was by Rev. Daniel Regier.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1963 Dec 26 p. 3

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Month of Mourning For Slain President Ends

The official month of mourning for the late President John F. Kennedy ended Dec. 22 with an impressive candle-lighting service at Washington's Lincoln Memorial.

Participants in the service were President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnston and a number of clergymen representing the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths.

While the sun was setting, clergymen of the three faiths brought a butane torch they had lighted at the Kennedy grave and with it lit candles held by President and Mrs. Johnson, as well as those of the Supreme Court Justices, cabinet members and others present.

“We have been bent in sorrow but not in purpose,” said President Johnson who was the closing speaker of the occasion. ”We buried Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy, but we did not bury their dreams or their visions.”

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1964 Mar 19 p. 3

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Killer of Alleged Assassin Condemned to Death

In Dallas, Tex. the sensational trial of Jack Ruby, killer of President John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, came to a close last week with Ruby found guilty of murder and condemned to death.

Chief defense counsel Melvin M. Belli attacked the verdict as “a victory for bigotry.” “Don't worry Jack,” he said, “we'll appeal this and take it out of Texas.”

Rabbi Hillel Silverman, spiritual adviser to Ruby, declared: “I was really startled. And I'm shocked that a jury could reach a decision in such a speedy fashion.” Dist. Atty. Henry M. Wade, prosecutor of the case, said he was convinced “facts and circumstances warranted” the jury's decision.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1964 Oct 1 p. 1,3

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Oswald Alone in Kennedy Murder, Says Warren Report

The murder of President john F. Kennedy was perpetrated by Lee Harvey Oswald — and Lee Harvey Oswald alone — says the Warren Commission Report, released to the nation and the world early this week.

The report was the result of the most exhaustive investigation of its kind in the nation's history. To make sure that all facts related to the tragic incident are searched out as much as is possible, President Johnson had appointed an eight-member commission composed of both Democrats and Republicans and headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Commission members, besides Warren, were Sen. Richard B. Russel, Sen. John S. Cooper, Rep. Hale Boggs, Rep. Gerald Ford, Allen W. Dulles, former CIA chief, former U. S. High Commissioner for Germany John McCloy, and chief Counsel James Lee Rankin.

In its 296,000-word report the Commission said there is “no evidence that either Lee Harvey Oswald or Jack Ruby (the man who later killed Oswald) was part of any conspiracy, domestic or foreign, to assassinate President Kennedy. . . . Because of the difficulty of proving negatives to a certainty, the possibility of others being involved with either Oswald or Ruby cannot be established categorically, but if there is any such evidence it had been beyond the reach of all the investigative agencies and resources of the United States and has not come to the attention of this Commission.”

The report criticized the conduct of Secret Service men responsible for the protection of President Kennedy during his visit to Dallas. Several of the men spent a good part of the night preceding the assassination in a bar, and had been drinking, the report said. Also the news media must share with Dallas police the blame for the slaying of Lee Harvey Oswald