[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 196 (Thursday, November 20, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H4832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SALUTING THE LIFE OF JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY

  (Mr. Larson of Connecticut was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, this Saturday, November 22, 
will mark 62 years since we lost a President of the United States, a 
person who gave so much to his Nation, an individual who was taken from 
us in the summer of his years.
  His daughter, Caroline, back in 2017 gave us these buttons, pins, 
that I proudly wear. It is an image of President John Fitzgerald 
Kennedy.
  President Kennedy epitomized placing service above self. He was a 
national hero and a leader who had the grace, the dignity, the wit, the 
intelligence, and the love of his Nation and mankind.
  That past year we also lost someone by the name of Connie Francis who 
sang a song at the time called ``In the Summer of His Years.''

                              {time}  1145

  In that song, she wrote:

     A young man rode with his head held high
     Under the Texas sun
     And no one guessed that a man so blessed
     Would perish by the gun
     Lord, would perish by the gun
     A shot rang out like a sudden shout
     And Heaven held its breath
     For the dreams of a multitude of men
     Rode with him to his death
     Lord, rode with him to his death
     Yes, the heart of the world weighs heavy
     With the helplessness of tears
     For the man cut down in a Texas town
     In the summer of his years
     The summer of his years.

  It is we who carry on from this very person who served in this 
Chamber and the United States Senate and went on to become the 
President of the United States and, as important, a leader not only for 
this Nation but the world.
  I note, especially in these times, Madam Speaker, that it is service 
above self that matters. It is service to your Nation, service to your 
family, service to your community, and service to your State that 
matters most.
  I rise to salute the life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

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