THE LEGACY OF CAMELOT
Author: Lisa Stanley
On November 22, 1963 Americans were gripped by
unimaginable fear and grief - glued to their TVs. sets in a
daze of disbelief. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 43rd
President of the United States, had been assassinated in
Dallas, Texas as he rode down the streets of the city. His
wife, Jacqueline, who never would fully recover from the
memories of that day, would nevertheless hold the nation
together in the days after Dallas.
No one can ever forget
the image of Jackie prodding three year old John, Jr,
“John-John” to salute his fathers coffin as it passed before
him. Surely if she, this widowed 34 year old mother of 2,
could find the courage to survive then we, as Americans,
were obliged to do the same. We owed our American Queen
the same amount of dignity she bestowed upon us in the
face of national tragedy.
Together Jack and Jackie had defined a
new age of glory, glamour, style and
“vigah”. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest
President of the United
States ever elected and the first and to date only
Catholic to hold the nations
highest office. The Kennedy’s had faced tragedy in the
past, yet they had
Triumphed. Just months before Dallas, the couple had lost
their days old infant,
Patrick, to respiratory failure. Despite the immense
sorrow they surely
felt, the couple maintained strength and dignity. It was
that inner strength that
Jackie would soon call upon again for herself, her family,
and for the nation in
the wake of her husbands death.
The week after her
husbands funeral, Jackie
summoned LIFE magazine writer, Teddy White, to Hyannis
Port, with an intense
urge to memorialize John Kennedy and make sure his legacy
was not lost
to the generations to come. She feared Americans would
lose sight of the
accomplishments he made, and for the beliefs that he stood
for. Jackie
deliberately promoted the image of magical enchantment to
represent these years. She recalled that at night when severe back pain
left her husband unable
to sleep she would play his record from the musical
Camelot . She quoted his
favorite lines, sung by Richard Burton:
Don’t let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
That for one brief shining moment
That was known as Camelot
and in so doing, Jackie unofficially
christened the Kennedy years in the White
House as Camelot . Indeed, the early years
of the 1960’s, especially for those coming of age, offered up a renewed sense
of Hope, inspiration, and patriotism.
America’s future looked bright. Together
Jack and Jackie had guided the nation out of the drab and dreary years of the
Eisenhower administration and ushered in a mystical reign of culture, fashion,
and youth. Our fascination with them, and especially the widow Jackie, knew no
Limits. The Kennedy’s Thousand days in office are forever etched in our memories.
Jackie’s fears proved unfounded. The Kennedy legacy still continues to shine as
bright and strong as the Eternal Flame that Jackie lit in her husbands honor more
than 40 years ago
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