[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 8 (Thursday, January 20, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMARKS ON JOHN F. KENNEDY

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                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 20, 2011

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, West Virginians still smiling?
  It seems improbable that it could have been fifty years ago, that 
America's youngest new leader, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, took center 
stage, here at the U.S. Capitol, to assume the Presidency. He delivered 
an inaugural address that ignited the hopes and energies of a 
generation that would, in large measure, take up his call to serve 
their country.
  It was, of course, the good people of my home State of West Virginia, 
who launched the youthful Senator's campaign for the presidency in the 
1960 West Virginia Democratic Primary Election. In May of last year, 
the golden anniversary of the campaign was celebrated with exhibits, 
readings, talks, films, recording oral histories and other festivities 
to mark the pivotal turning point in Senator Kennedy's campaign. In 
Logan, West Virginia, the courthouse square was christened `Kennedy 
Square.' At Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, a 
course on the campaign has been taught for years. Plans have been 
discussed about pursuing a permanent exhibition in Logan, commemorating 
the campaign, his Presidency and their impact on our State.
  Many of my constituents have personal fond and lasting memories of 
the Kennedys' visits during the campaign and then as President. I, 
myself, credit President Kennedy's Inaugural Address with my earliest 
interest in pursuing public service.
  The Kennedy voice was much more than a call to action, it was a 
blueprint for the future: the Peace Corps, VISTA, Appalachian Regional 
Commission, Head Start, Medicare and a slew of other efforts to level 
the playing field for Americans.
  Though President Kennedy's address was one of the shortest in 
history, it earned him lasting respect from untold generations of 
Americans and our allies around the World. I would suspect the humble, 
self deprecating President would demur at that comment. But, his ever 
present humor and wit was in good form at the June 1963 American 
University Law School graduation of our very own, Senator Robert C. 
Byrd, when Kennedy, himself, quipped about brevity as he began his 
remarks: President Anderson, members of the faculty, board of trustees, 
distinguished guests, my old colleague Senator Bob Byrd, who has earned 
his degree through many years of attending night law school while I am 
earning mine in the next thirty minutes, ladies and gentlemen. . .''
  In 1963, it was a rainy day in Charleston, West Virginia, when 
President Kennedy attended our State's Centennial celebration. He 
opened his comments with these remarks, ``While the Sun doesn't always 
shine in West Virginia, the people always do.'' President Kennedy's 
words fifty years ago still ring through our hills and manifest 
themselves through many avenues, enriching our lives with his federal 
initiatives, calling young and old alike to give of themselves for 
their fellow citizens, and bringing a smile to all those who remember 
or are just learning of the West Virginia Kennedy legacy.
  I hope the Kennedy Inaugural Address will be read in classrooms and 
community centers and town squares to celebrate this anniversary, and 
that, we together, work to fulfill the challenges it presents every 
American Citizen. Let us go forward with his words firmly in our 
resolve, ``knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our 
own.''

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