[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8671-S8672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF CAPT. JOHN ``JACK'' KENNEDY UPON THE RETURN OF 
           HIS REMAINS TO THE UNITED STATES ON AUGUST 1, 1996

 Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, many of my colleagues may remember an 
Air Force lieutenant colonel named Dan Kennedy who served in an 
outstanding fashion a number of years ago in the Senate Liaison Office. 
Some of us may also recall that Dan had a brother, Jack, who was an Air 
Force pilot who lost his life in the war in Southeast Asia.
  Jack's remains returned to the United States in June of this year 
ending years of uncertainty and frustration for his family and loved 
ones. I think it is most appropriate that we pause for a moment to 
remember Capt. Jack Kennedy's sacrifice.
  Some 25 years ago this August, Capt. Jack Kennedy was lost while 
flying a reconnaissance mission over South Vietnam. Jack was a forward 
air controller with the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron based in Chu 
Lai in support of the 23d Infantry Division.
  On August 16, 1971, he failed to check in during normal radio 
communications checks. Unfortunately, there were no radio calls from 
his aircraft and there were no eye witnesses.
  There were, however, reports of a North Vietnamese regiment operating 
in the area over which Jack was flying that day. Although there was no 
crash site found, Jack was listed as missing in action, a status he 
carried until the Air Force moved to change it to presumed killed in 
action in July 1978.
  In 1992, after several visits and discussions with Vietnamese 
villagers, a joint United States/Vietnamese team identified a possible 
crash site. At that time, no conclusive evidence was available to 
specifically identify the site as the one where Jack Kennedy's plane 
had crashed. In 1993, several bone fragments, reportedly from the pilot 
of that aircraft, were provided by villagers.
  Recent advances in medical science fostered the development 
techniques that permit the comparison of DNA extracted from bone 
fragments with DNA from another family member for the purposes of 
identification.
  In May of this year, the Air Force advised Jack's family that the 
bone fragments recovered at the crash site in 1992 had been positively 
identified as being Jack's.
  Capt. Jack Kennedy's remains arrived at Travis Air Force Base in 
California in late June, and will be flown to

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Washington, DC, on August 1. A funeral is scheduled for August 2 at 11 
a.m. in the Old Post Chapel on Fort Myers followed by an internment 
with full military honors and flyover at Arlington National Cemetery.
  Throughout this long ordeal, Jack's family has persevered. Jack's 
father, Daniel Kennedy, Sr., died in 1986--10 years before his son's 
remains would be returned to the country he loved so much.
  Jack's brother, Dan, whom I mentioned earlier, his wife Tamara, and 
their six children reside in Dumfries, VA. Jack's mother, Mrs. Sally 
Kennedy, lives in Lake Ridge, VA. Today, I would like to offer her our 
most sincere appreciation for the sacrifice her son Jack made in the 
service of his country, and for the steadfast faith with which she has 
endured the tremendous sense of loss, the unparalleled uncertainty and 
the incomprehensible frustration that, in some small measure, will be 
lessened in the very near future.

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