Early Life
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Jack) was born May 29,1917 to Joseph and Rose Kennedy in Brookline, Massachusetts. Jack was the second of nine children total for the Kennedy family. Jack’s early years were privileged as his parents were from two of Boston’s most prominent Irish Catholic political families. Joe Kennedy was a successful businessman, and was appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934. In 1937, Joe was named the US Ambassador to Great Britain, and he was a dedicated supporter of Franklin D Roosevelt. Jack’s child and teen years he struggled with health-related problems, and was later diagnosed in 1947 with Addison’s Disease, also called primary adrenal insufficiency, which is an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands do not make enough of a hormone called cortisol.
Jack’s time in the Navy
In 1941 Jack joined the US Navy and was deployed to the South Pacific where he commanded a patrol-torpedo (PT) boat called PT-109. Tragedy struck in August 1943 when a Japanese destroyer hit the boat in the Solomon Islands slicing the boat in half. Two crewmen were killed, however, thanks to Jack’s efforts, eleven crewmen survived. Jack was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism on June 12, 1944.
In August 1944, Jack’s older brother, Joe Jr, was killed when his Navy airplane exploded on a secret mission against a German rocket-launching site. Joe Sr had hoped Joe Jr would be the first Catholic president, so with him gone, Joe Sr told Jack he was to fill the position.
Early Politics
Jack ran for Congress in 1946 when he won the Democratic nomination. Jack carried the mostly working-class eleventh district 3-1 over his Republican opponent in the general election. He entered the 80th Congress in January 1947 at the age of 29. He attracted attention and criticism alike with his relaxed and informal style. In 1948 and 1950, Jack won reelection to the House of Representatives, and defeated Republican Henry Cabot Lodge Jr in 1952 for Senate.
Jack married his love Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier on September 12, 1953, and underwent back surgery in 1955 in relation to his Addison’s Disease. During his recovery, Jack wrote a book called “Profiles in Courage”, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957. Jack announced he was running for President January 2, 1960, and chose Lyndon B Johnson as his running mate. Victory bells rang in November of the same year when Jack beat Richard Nixon by a landslide and became the 35th president of the United States. Jack was the youngest president ever elected and the first ever Catholic president.
Rocky start in the Oval Office
His presidency started rocky when he approved the CIA’s plan to send 1400 CIA trained Cuban exiles to Cuba in the attempt to spur a rebellion to overthrow communist leader, Fidel Castro in April 1961. Nearly all of the exiles were killed or captured, and Kennedy privately stated that he felt like he was not given all of the information before signing off on the order. Tribulations continued in August 1961 when Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, ordered troops to begin building a barrier between East and West Berlin (known as the Berlin Wall), which had been divided since WWII. Jack sent a convoy of army troops to reassure West Berliners of US support.
In October 1962, the Soviet Union began constructing a number of nuclear and long-range missile sites in Cuba that could pose a threat to the United States. Jack ordered a naval blockade of Cuba in response. The stand-off lasted nearly two weeks before Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the Soviet missile sites in Cuba in exchange for America’s promise not to invade Turkey or other sites close to the Soviet’s borders. Jack won his greatest foreign affairs victory in July of 1963 when Khrushchev agreed to signing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CNTBT) which reduced the increasing tension of the Cold War. The treaty stated that nuclear explosions of all kinds were banned by all persons in all environments.
Some of the best of JFK
Even though his presidency had some rough beginnings, Jack had many accomplishments during his time as president. There was a GDP growth of 6.1% in 1963 after his tax-cut policies were implemented and unemployment was less than 6% in 1963 down from 6.6% in 1961. This positive economic trend continued even after his death all the way until 1969. In March of 1961, Jack established the Peace Corps which has served over 140 countries since its inception. Jack made headway in the civil rights movement when he gave his famous address “The Report to the American People on Civil Rights” on June 11, 1963 where he called Congress to pass comprehensive civil rights legislation and spoke out against discrimination and segregation.
“I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
– John F. Kennedy “The Report to the American People on Civil Rights”
The shots heard ’round the world
Tragedy struck the White House and the American people when three shots rang out in downtown Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Jack and his wife, Jackie, landed in Dallas to give a public speech at the Dallas Trade Mart. The motorcade they were traveling in had just driven past the Texas School Book Depository when shots were fired. Two shots hit Jack, one in the head and one in the neck, and one shot hit Texas Governor John B. Connally in the back. Connally was sitting directly in front of Jack in the car they were traveling in while Jackie was seated next to Jack in the same seat. Jack was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:00pm by Dr. Malcom Perry in Trauma Room One at the age of 46. A Washington Post report stated Bob Jackson, a Dallas Times Herald photographer, heard the shots and saw a barrel of a gun disappearing back into a window on an upper floor of the book depository building.
Another fatal shooting happened at 1:15pm during the chaos and claimed the life of J.D Tippit, a Dallas patrolman. By 2:15pm, Lee Harvey Oswald, 24 years old, was arrested in relation to both the assassination of the president and the death of JD Tippit at a local movie theater.
“I didn’t shoot anybody, no sir … I’m just a patsy,”
-Lee Harvey Oswald after being arrested
Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed two days later by Jack Ruby, a known police informant and local night club owner, at point-blank range on live television as Oswald was being transferred to jail. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in at 2:38pm as the 36th president of the United States.
Bethesda Autopsy
JFK’s body was transferred from Dallas to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland for an autopsy to be performed. The autopsy began at 8:00pm on November 22, 1963 by CDR JJ Humes, MC, USN, CDR “J” Thornton Boswell, MC, USN, and LCOL Pierre A. Fink, MC, USA. Telephone communications between Dr. Perry and the autopsy team did not happen until November 23, 1963 where the autopsy team learned of the bullet wound in the front of the neck that was extended into a tracheostomy during the attempts to save the president’s life. Dr Perry also noted a massive wound to the back of the head.
The notable wounds in the autopsy were as follows:
– 7x4mm oval wound in the right upper back
– Large irregular defect of the right parietal bone (toppish of the head) but extending somewhat into the temporal and occipital regions (side and back of the head), there is an absence of scalp and bone producing a defect which measures approximately 13mm in its largest diameter
– 15x6mm lacerated wound in the posterior scalp with corresponding wound through the skull
– Lacerated brain tissue of the major portion of the right cerebral hemisphere
The conclusion of the autopsy was Jack died as a result of high velocity projectiles shot from above and behind with the fatal shot being to the back of the head.
***click below to view the autopsy report***
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:337feac1-0eaa-4f71-a02f-69b7011dd9ed
Sources:
“John F. Kennedy.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/john-f-kennedy#john-f-kennedy-s-early-life. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
“8 Most Important Achievements of John F. Kennedy.” World History Edu, 11 Nov. 2019, https://worldhistoryedu.com/8-most-important-achievements-of-john-f-kennedy/. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
“JFK’s Address to Nation on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963.” World History Edu, https://worldhistoryedu.com/jfks-address-to-nation-on-civil-rights/. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
“JFK Assassination.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jfk-assassination. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
“John F. Kennedy Autopsy Report.” Autopsy Files, https://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/Other/kennedy,%20john_report.pdf. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
It should also be noted that the doctors that performed the autopsy were NOT forensic doctors. Also that the autopsy doctor in Dallas actually jurisdiction over the autopsy and was threatened which is why JFK was moved to DC for the autopsy. I could go on and on about this because there are so many different things that don’t make sense.