Saluting the Life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Floor Speech

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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.''

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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