On May 8, 1965, more than a year after John F. Kennedy’s death, Dwight D. Eisenhower did something that revealed just how deeply the loss of President Kennedy still weighed on him.
Despite his own failing health and doctors’ warnings — he was 74 and recovering from his third heart attack — Eisenhower traveled to the Kennedy Library groundbreaking ceremony in Boston. Standing beside Jacqueline Kennedy, he told the assembled crowd something that made even hardened reporters weep:
“President Kennedy possessed the greatest campaign weapon any man could have — he had Jacqueline Kennedy by his side, but more than that, he possessed a quality I grew to admire deeply in our many conversations — the courage to admit when he didn’t know something and the wisdom to seek counsel.”
What made the moment even more powerful was Eisenhower’s revelation that he had kept every letter Kennedy had ever written him, bound carefully in a private collection he called “Letters from a Young Lion.” That day, he donated them to the future Kennedy Library, saying he wanted history to know their friendship had been real — that politics hadn’t divided them where it mattered most.
Jackie Kennedy squeezed Eisenhower’s hand and whispered something those nearby heard: “He called you his North Star, General. He never stopped seeking your guidance.”
Eisenhower’s voice broke as he replied, “And I never stopped believing in him.”
Here were two people from different worlds — the widowed First Lady and the retired President and Republican general — united in grief and mutual respect. They showed us that the bonds forged in service to country transcend everything else.
This is the America worth fighting for — the one where we see each other’s humanity first.
Why are encounters like this not happening in America today? Because YOU and I are not demanding our leaders act in a respectful way. Did YOU not correct your children when they acted or said something that was out of line? I bet you did. Why do YOU not correct our leaders when they say something or do something that is out of line? They are acting like children! If you need their email address or mailing address, I will be happy to send them to you.
THE MORE YOU TRUST GOD, THE MORE GOD AMAZES YOU!
Many of the Podcasters, YouTubers and Bloggers today have millions of followers. Most of them do nothing but polarize and pull our country farther apart. Many of them relish using 4-letter words. We are letting them take over our country and our young people without our saying a word.
The solution begins and ends with YOU!! Have you gone out of your way to keep on inviting family, neighbors, co-workers, pastors and fellow-parishioners to sign up for TreatsfortheSoul.org? IT’S FREE!! Stories like today’s story not only change hearts, they change lives. Many people tell me so. If YOU don’t keep spreading the Work and the Word of Jesus, then it Stops and it Dies with YOU! TreatsfortheSoul.org.
