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11/29/2013

Guest Blog: Recalling JFK

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 RPCV, Dennis Halpin (K-16) shares his thoughts on the 50th of anniversary of President Kennedy's death. The views expressed are those of the author.  
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For every generation of Americans, there is a special day, a date when we indelibly remember exactly where we were when the horrific news came.  For the Greatest Generation, it is December 7, 1941.  For today's generation it is September 11, 2001.  For my generation, it is November 22, 1963.

I was in sophomore geometry class at Notre Dame High School for Boys in Niles, Illinois when the Holy Cross Father came on the loud speaker and said "the President has been shot in Dallas.  Pray for him."  You could then hear a pin drop in the classroom.  Tears rolled down the cheeks of normally taciturn teenage boys. That Sunday, as we headed into Mass, a man called from the church parking lot "Oswald's been shot."  A second shock. That week of the blood-stained dress, the Presidential oath on a grounded Air Force One, the rider-less black horse, the little boy saluting, and the eternal flame will be forever seared in our memories. For Irish-Americans this all has a very special place in our hearts for, as my Aunt Dot said, "Jack Kennedy was one of ours."

I had almost personally seen President Kennedy in early November 1963, when our high school band headed to O’Hare Airport to greet him for his arrival for the Army-Air Force game at Soldier Field. We were told that a military coup in South Vietnam, however, led to a last-minute cancellation of what would have been his final visit to Chicago. There were other, later reports that the trip was cancelled due to an assassination plot on the streets of Chicago just three weeks before the President died.

We have learned since his death that President Kennedy had his flaws, like all human beings.  But he was still the leader of the glitter of Camelot, an era that seems so distant from today's grim America. His call to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," which has a somewhat naive ring in today's cynical world, struck a chord.  You see, as with many of us, John Fitzgerald Kennedy changed my life.  After graduating from college, I answered his call and volunteered with the Peace Corps to teach English in Korea. From there I joined the Foreign Service and had two tours in Korea, one at our Embassy in Seoul and the other at the Consulate in Pusan.  I then served for a dozen years as an adviser on Korean and other Asian issues for Henry Hyde and other Congressional leaders on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Today I am a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS.  My entire career – and meeting my wife in Korea – was shaped by President Kennedy’s stirring words and by his formation of the Peace Corps.

 I recently returned to Seoul at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Korea, to attend a Peace Corps reunion.  Old volunteers there were overwhelmed by the thankfulness expressed. "We just taught ABCs and gave TB inoculations," I told the Korean press in an interview.  But the Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs told us all at a welcoming reception, that "you came and helped us in our time of need. Without Peace Corps, Korea would never have achieved its economic miracle."  In 1991 South Korea established The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to administer the grant programs that an economically developed Korea could now fund and to send volunteers, in a reflection of the Peace Corps, to the developing world.  That also is part of President Kennedy's legacy.

I was a bit disappointed to see two American Presidents, Obama and Clinton, along with Aunt Ethel, attending a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington Cemetery for President Kennedy’s fiftieth death anniversary but that Caroline, the last surviving member of his immediate family, was absent. Caroline had flown off to Tokyo to become the new U.S. Ambassador just a week before the ceremony at Arlington. JFK’s daughter must have her own personal reasons. She also had meetings with the Japanese Emperor and Prime Minister. But, as President-elect Kennedy remarked on January 9, 1961: "to those whom much is given, much is expected."  And it would be unimaginable for the Korean President, Park Geun-hye, also the daughter of an assassinated president, not to attend a memorial service for her father.  I took the  Metro out to Arlington Cemetery on Friday, November 22nd, to lay some flowers for President Kennedy from a grateful Peace Corps/Korea. 

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  • Welcome
    • O'Donnell Distinguished Friend of Korea Award - >
      • Call for Nominations - closed
      • 2022 Honoree - Sukhee Kang
      • O'Donnell Award - previous honorees >
        • Photos of O'Donnell Honorees
    • Peace Corps - an essay by G. Krzic
    • A Simple Prayer - a musical tribute
    • Remembering in the time of COVID-19
    • Photos and Videos >
      • Photo Gallery: Biwon in Winter
      • Video Gallery
      • Photo Gallery: Arriving in Korea
      • Photo Gallery: TB Program in Korea
      • Photo Gallery: Road Show 1981
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Reflections on Service
    • Statement on diversity and respect
    • Board of Directors
    • Annual Reports
    • Honorary Membership
    • KOICA/World Friends Korea
    • FOK Blog
    • Past Annual Meetings >
      • 2018 Annual Meeting >
        • 2018 annual meeting - slide show
      • 2017 Annual Meeting >
        • 2017 annual mtg photo gallery
      • 2016 Annual Meeting >
        • 2016 annual mtg photo galllery
      • 2015 Annual Meeting >
        • 2015 Annual Mtg Photo Gallery
  • Resources
    • FoK Webinars - 2023 >
      • FoK Webinars - 2022 >
        • FoK Webinars - 2021 >
          • 2020 Webinars
          • Korean Studies and Peace Corps Volunteers
    • Korea Times column
    • Newsletters >
      • Yobosayo - June 2020
      • Yobosayo - Nov 2019 >
        • Suggestions for further reading
      • Yobosayo - March 2019
      • Yobosayo - May 2018
      • Yobosayo - November 2017
      • Yobosayo - April 2017
    • News about Korea
    • News Sources
    • Korean Cultural Treasures
    • Korean Food >
      • Dining Out in North America: Korea Style
    • Blogs of Interest
  • Events
    • 2023 Annual Meeting - details
    • 2022 Annual Meeting - video
    • 2021 Annual Meeting - video
    • 2020 Annual Meeting - video
    • Revisit Trips >
      • Impressions of the revisits
      • Slide Show - Korea, Then and Now
    • 2018 Reunion - LA >
      • In Remembrance - A Tribute
    • Upcoming Events - Universities
    • Upcoming events: KEI & Korea Society
    • Upcoming events: Korean Cultural Centers - DC, NYC & LA
    • Past Events >
      • Seoul in Sept 2016
      • Korean Cultural Day in LA, June 5
      • ROK the Rockies - June 19-21, 2015
  • Projects
    • Giving Back
    • Project Bridge - Youth Ambassadors
    • USC Archives - PC Korea
    • The Korean Transformation
    • Photo Exhibit >
      • Slide Show - Opening of Photo Exhibit in LA Jan 2012
      • Scenes from Ohio Exhibit
      • FOK Publication -- "Through Our Eyes"
    • The Museum Project >
      • Exhibit opening
      • Museum Slide Show
      • Video -- MOU signing & volunteer interviews
  • Support Us
    • Join us
    • Donate
    • Join offline
    • Other Ways to Give (NEW!)
    • Give the gift of membership
    • Zazzle - Peace Corps Korea Store
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Event to share?
    • Update your address
    • News to share?
    • Publications Update Form