From historian Michael Beschloss, a glimpse of John F. Kennedy at Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day 1963, one day after his last birthday.
The Washington Post reported:
“President Kennedy led the memorial observances by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington. He was accompanied by his two-year-old son John Jr. who held tightly to the hand of a Secret Service agent.”
JFK was standing where he would be buried six months later.
JFK had first-hand experience of how the armed-forces worked. His father, Joe Kennedy had him all set up for a cushy job far from combat. He refused the “priviledge” and sought out active duty. It’s hard to blame old Joe – he never liked the British. (In WW2, the expression was “Suction” JFK no doubt saw it over and over. ) Woodrow wilson was somewhat intimidated by the military, JFK saw through them. Lyndon Johnson, a civilian, knew who he would have on his side when he opted in for V.P.
Want an excellent book to read?
“Gladio, NATO’s Dagger at the Heart of Europe: The Pentagon-Nazi-Mafia Terror Axis” by Richard Cottrell
http://www.amazon.com/Gladio-NATOs-Dagger-Heart-Europe/dp/1615776877/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369669988&sr=1-1&keywords=gladio+richard+cottrell
Cottrell writes extensively on Gen. Lyman Lenmnitzer who JFK demoted as head of the JCS and placed Lemnitzer as head of NATO where he was involved in many Gladio type activities.
Cottrell pins the JFK assassination on Lemnitzer/Gen. Ed Lansdale. It has taken a long time for me to suspect Lemnitzer/LeMay as much as I do today. LeMay, after all, gave an oral history describing he Kennedys as “cockroaches” and stating he was aware of how they were treating (translation executing)Lyndon Johnson in the fall of 1963.
No doubt Lemnitzer/LeMay had spectacular hatreds of JFK and anyone advocating Operation Northwood or participating in Operation Gladio activities, as well as advocating a nuclear first strike on the USSR has to be considered a prime suspect in the JFK assassination.
It does give those generals motive but after the assassination, was Viet Nam the consideration for abandoning Cuba or a first strike against the Soviets?
In the photo, JFK appears deeply pensive. I imagine Memorial Day resonated strongly for him.
It must have been difficult for him to grasp the array of military and CI opposition to his Cuba and Soviet Union policies. In WWII, everyone had been on the same team.
The photo was taken during the last of the “American Graffiti” period.