[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S8947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO JOHN F. KENNEDY, JR.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, it is with deep sadness that I come to 
the floor today to speak of the tragedy that struck the Kennedy family 
last Friday night. I offer my condolences to the Kennedy family, and in 
particular to my friend and colleague, Senator Kennedy of 
Massachusetts, who has lost a beloved nephew.
  My thoughts and prayers are with the Kennedy and Bessette families as 
they struggle to cope with the loss of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife 
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette. While we as a 
nation mourn the loss of a young man who had so much yet to offer the 
world, these families must suffer the private pain of the loss of their 
beloved brother or sisters, their children, their cousins, their 
friends.
  The late John F. Kennedy was a genuine inspiration to me and so many 
of my generation. I am grateful for the hope and the direction that 
President Kennedy gave so many of us when we were young, and I know 
that in his own way John F. Kennedy, Jr., carried on his father's work 
to inspire young people to public service, or to otherwise serve the 
public good, throughout his lifetime.
  There can perhaps be no comparison to the contributions the Kennedy 
family has made to our country, or the sacrifices the family has 
endured, and sadly continues to endure with the death of John F. 
Kennedy, Jr. Like his father and his uncle Bobby, John F. Kennedy, 
Jr.'s life was cut tragically short, but like them he lived his life to 
the fullest, with the vigor and dedication that marks the Kennedy 
legacy.
  Recently I had the honor of receiving the Profile in Courage Award 
from the late President Kennedy's family, and had the pleasure of 
meeting and spending time with John F. Kennedy, Jr. I was impressed by 
his kindness, his dignity, and the keen grasp of both politics and 
policy which he so often displayed as editor of George magazine. John 
reflected all the best hopes we have for our country, as did his father 
before him.
  In a speech I gave at that time, I chose one of the many beautiful 
memorials I have heard about President Kennedy to express my own 
feelings. The following passage from Romeo and Juliet was previously 
used by Robert F. Kennedy himself at the 1964 Democratic convention to 
memorialize his brother:

       and, when he shall die,
       take him and cut him out in little stars,
       And he will make the face of heaven so fine
       That all the world will be in love with night
       And pay no worship to the garish sun.

  These words both pained and consoled us as we remembered John F. 
Kennedy then, and they do the same today as we mourn the loss of his 
son, John F. Kennedy, Jr.
  Mr. President, again I offer my condolences to all those who have 
been affected by this tragedy. I yield the floor.

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