[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 37 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO DAVE POWERS--A GIANT OF THE NEW FRONTIER

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I was saddened to learn this morning of 
the death of Dave Powers, who was one of President Kennedy's closest 
friends and advisors throughout my brother's entire political career.
  President Kennedy loved Dave Powers like a brother, and so did all of 
us in the Kennedy family. My brother couldn't have had the New Frontier 
without him, and we will miss him very much.
  Dave had a warmth and wit and charm that were impossible to match. 
His Irish eyes were always smiling, and almost everyone he met became 
his ``pal.'' His extraordinary common sense and his down-to-earth 
genius for politics at its best made Dave Powers at home in the White 
House and in anyone else's house.
  President Kennedy and Dave discovered each other while climbing the 
stairs of three-decker houses in Charlestown, MA, in my brother's first 
campaign for Congress in 1946, and they were inseparable ever after.
  They both were veterans of World War II, and both were new to 
politics. The instant bond they formed took them to the House, the 
Senate, the White House, and around the world, including their most 
moving and memorable journey of all, to the Ireland of their dreams. 
Together, they touched and improved and inspired the lives of countless 
people in this country and many other lands.
  In happy times and stressful times, Dave had a special human quality 
that could bring an instant smile from Jack or Jackie, or a hug from 
John and Caroline. Dave's total recall made him the unofficial 
historian of the New Frontier. He loved to regale my brother by 
reciting the earned run average of a Red Sox pitcher, or the name of a 
State convention delegate from a decade ago.
  Later, Dave's extraordinary energy and dedication in carrying out his 
labor of love at the Kennedy Library made it a magnificent tribute to 
my brother and the years of the New Frontier. In a very real sense, 
Jack's Library became Dave's Library too.
  I extend my deepest sympathy to Dave's wife, Jo, his children Mary 
Jo, Diane, and David John, and all of Dave and Jo's wonderful 
grandchildren.
  ``David, we hardly knew ye.''

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