FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Mayor Tom Henry will join mayors from across the country as part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in asking the public to pay tribute to the life and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of President Kennedy, and Mayor Henry is encouraging citizens to observe a moment of silence at 1:30 P.M. Below is a Mayoral Proclamation from Mayor Henry in honor of President Kennedy.
WHEREAS, John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States, and
WHEREAS, John F. Kennedy honorably served his country during World War II in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater, commanded a patrol torpedo boat, saw significant combat, and earned a Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his heroism, and
WHEREAS, John F. Kennedy was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing Massachusetts in 1946, served in the Congress for three terms before being elected to the United States Senate in 1952, and served for eight years, becoming a leading voice on international affairs, and
WHEREAS, John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960, becoming the youngest president at the age of 43, and in 1961 delivered a stirring inaugural address that announced that a new generation of Americans had taken the torch of leadership, and was willing to “pay any price, and bear any burden…to ensure the survival and the success of liberty”, and
WHEREAS, President John F. Kennedy’s administration was defined by the New Frontier, which appealed to the best in American idealism in creating the Peace Corps, launching the United States’ space program, and calling for Americans to consider what they could do for their country, and
WHEREAS, President John F. Kennedy, was an exponent of racial justice, calling on all Americans to denounce racism as morally wrong, and proposed legislation that eventually became the 1964 Civil Rights Act that changed the United States, and
WHEREAS, President John F. Kennedy inspired young and old alike to see anew the promise of American life, promoting a message of empowerment by telling Americans “to ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country”, and
WHEREAS, during his tenure, President John F. Kennedy guided the United States with a steady hand, and
WHEREAS, President John F. Kennedy’s life ended too soon on November 22, 1963 at the prime of his life, and
WHEREAS, the city, the United States, and the world have mourned President Kennedy’s death for fifty years.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, THOMAS C. HENRY, Mayor of the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, do hereby proclaim, Friday, November 22, 2013 to be a day of solemn remembrance and reflection on the life of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and that all residents of the city observe a moment of silence at 1:30 p.m. EST.
