Letters to Jackie (16 page)

WEDS.
NOV. 27
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

My dear Mrs Kennedy,

I wish so much that good might come out of this dreadful evil—as a
memorial
to your wonderful husband. Would the Senate & House pass the civil rights bill at once?

One hundred years ago, Lincoln died that all men might be free

One hundred years later J.F. K died that all men might be equal.

With deep sympathy
Mary W. Bentley
(Just one of the mourning crowd)

JAN 15, 1964

MONROE, LA

My dear Mrs. Kennedy,

After two months, the hurt of losing our great President doesn’t seem to ease—and I just ask the Dear Lord each day to comfort you and the President’s family so that as days go by things will be easier for all of you.

For me—in my beloved Southland—where there is so much fanatical racial hate—I shall try each day to do everything I can to make the lot easier for the colored people I come in contact with at my work. Their pay is so small and their housing so terrible. My maid cried for days after the assination—she knew from the moment it happened that a bright light was gone from the world—one that we all needed so desperately!

Tell your precious children that the world loved their father—that he was brave and strong and that he loved America so much that he was willing to give his life if things could be made better for all mankind—and now it is up to each of us to—“Do unto our Neighbors as we would have them do unto us”—Then & only then—Our Blessed Lord will not have died in vain and neither will your dear husband have died in vain.

Thank you so much for your shining example for all women to follow. You too—are a shining light!!

Love & Admiration
Mrs. Linnie Boner

PLEASANT GARDEN, N.C.

Dear Mrs. Kennedy,

Death is hardest on those who loved and are left behind. My heart broke with yours when your beloved husband died, and I grieve with you who shared and created life with him, and with his parents who gave life to him. Yet he lives in the two dear children you both loved, and who remain to comfort you. His life was shared with them and his spirit lives in them. In the memories of all who knew him, either personally or through the intimacy of television, he will also live.

Although I did not always agree with the politics of the Democrats nor with the authoritarian demeanor of the Attorney General, President
Kennedy had the warmth of personality, the earntestness of speech, the compassion of manner that seemed to extend the invitation to peace, love, and friendship to a world needing just such a way to follow.

You too have been an inspiration to all of us. My deep admiration for you is such that my limited vocabulary is unable to describe it. ’Tis said that the happiness of our years as we grow into maturity is measured by the happiness of memories stored in our hearts and minds. You may truly have treasured hours to comfort you as days go by.

I was always proud of President Kennedy. Perhaps the speech which meant most to me was that he made to urge all of us to see that every human being would be assured of dignity and equality of opportunity. This has been a matter of deep concern to many of us, and we were grateful and proud that he had the courage to express the humaneness of it.

I am glad, too, that you decided to let the nation show its high regard for a vigorous, devoted young man who gave his life for his job—the task of leading the people he loved and who love him in return. I pray that the causes for which he worked—human dignity, peace, conquering of prejudice and poverty—may be strengthened through the efforts of all men everywhere.

You are so lovely that I am sure the future will in turn be beautiful in many ways for you and the children.

Sincerely yours,
Catherine B. Parsons (Mrs. J.S.)

ROBERT T. CATES, M.D.

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

DECEMBER 2, 1963

Dear Mrs. Kennedy:

As one who loves America second only to God and reveres and honors the high office of president of the United States, I wish to take this means of expressing to you my personal grief and profound sympathy in your time of sorrow. The heart of every decent American is saddened and ashamed at the outrageous act of a warped and twisted mind, which took
away your husband, our President. As you know, we in Mississippi have always held opposing political views from those of the late president but in the tradition of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, we have held these differences as civilized gentlemen and not as depraved killers. We held many more differences and saw our women and children suffer at the hands of the Carpetbaggers and the Negro Legislatures immediately after the Civil War and at that time there were many more sharp-shooters in Mississippi and in the South than there are today. Nevertheless, no attempts were made on the lives of any of these people with whom the South so violently disagreed. We got them out of office by ballots—not bullets. In spite of having our cause misrepresented on so many occasions, we believe that this country should return to constitutional government in the tradition of Washington and Jefferson, and that it must do so by way of the ballot box and no other way.

As a physician who loves life and who has dedicated himself to preserving it, as a husband and a father of two children, I deeply sympathize with you in your loss and in your grief. You and your children should indeed be proud of our late president’s courage and of his ultimate achievement for this country. As tragic as his assassination was, it is my conviction that he accomplished in death what no other president has been able to accomplish since the days of World War II; namely, the feat of uniting this country behind our government and our American way of life. I believe America today stands more united and more solidly dedicated to our liberty to the preservation of our republic than it ever has in the memory of most people who are living today. Indeed, it is not the length of a man’s life which matters, rather it is how much he has accomplished. I believe this final accomplishment of your husband’s will go down in history as one of the greatest. I believe also that it will be a turning point for our nation and will open up an entirely new vision of strength, patriotism, and the willingness on the part of every American to make whatever sacrifices necessary to preserve our country and our way of life.

In closing, I wish to commend you and your children on the abso
lute dignity, strength and grace with which you bore your tremendous loss. Indeed, God has been with you through these trying days and it is our prayer that He will always give you strength to bear whatever lies ahead.

With every good wish for you and yours, I
remain,
Yours very truly,
ROBERT T. CATES, M.D.

PELAHATCHIE, MISS.
DECEMBER 2, 1963

Dear Mrs. Kennedy:

While, I did not approve all the methods used, by President Kennedy, in the handling of Civil Rights, I long ago became convinced of the rightness, of his viewpoint. I find it a source of profound sorrow, that, so many of us, here, in the South, allowed ourselves to become so engrossed, in the racial issue, that, we completely failed, until too late, to note the full import, of President Kennedy’s great vision. By being so narrow-minded, we lost forever, the joy of seeing, at least a start, of some of his most important hopes toward ultimate fruition. It took the humble homage, of so many Foreign Nations, to at last, bring us to a full realization, of our loss.

May his great spirit allways rest in peace under the shielding arms of the God he served. May you, in the days ahead, console both yourself and your children, with the fact, that, President John F. Kennedy will live forever, not only in the hearts of his countrymen, but, also, in the hearts and affections, of all the world. May God bless and keep you and your children safely, allways.

Sincerely,
W.J.B. Daniel

HYATTSVILLE, MD.

DEC. 6-1963

Dear Mrs. Kennedy—

Mere words cannot express my grief over the tragic, senseless loss of your husband and “my president”, two weeks ago. I cried as if I, too, had suffered a personal loss—My tears still fall and my life is sad—I am saddened because I am a native of Louisiana, and my grief is caused by the fact that this crime occurred in my beloved south & was caused by a southerner “spawned by the Devil”—The tragic event came on my daughter’s birthday. Nov. 22nd, she was five—Too young to understand why her Mother prayed & wept at the news—Her party was somber and she could not understand why Mommy cried when she cut her cake & opened her gifts—Maybe as she grows older, she will look at the scrapbook I’m preparing & understand but I’m glad she was spared the grief—

My southern relatives often wrote and scathingly called your husband “your president”—I’m proud now that I countered their views with the facts—I agreed with your husband that all men deserve equal rights—I replied to them simply—“When Negroes cut themselves, they bleed, too.” Many times I also replied that “There but for the grace of God, go You”—They were right only in the fact that they called him “my president”—He was & still is—Maybe, its because, we are of the same generation—I’m 37 & my husband 9 days older than yours—There was a feeling of kin-ship. Will you accept this simple Verse from Shelley that is so very true? Will you also believe me when I say that I will always up hold all that your husband fought for and continue to teach my children what I always did, that God created all men equal—I hope that my deep shame that my be-loved south was the scene of this tradgedy, will one day be replaced by compassion for the blind who will not see—May I say in closing that as long as I live, your courage, beauty, and charm will always keep you “First Lady” in my heart.

My prayer for you and your two lovely children is that the loving
Father who loves us equally and watches over us all will sustain you in your grief and one day, He will again give you the gift of re-newed hope and the ability to see the beauty that He created—Maybe, I, too will be allowed to live my life again, as it was before we lost “my president”—

My deepest sympathy & all respect,
I remain,
Madge E. Asselta

ENTERPRISE, ALABAMA
NOVEMBER 27, 1963

Dear Mrs. Kennedy, Caroline and John-John,

This is the hardest letter I have ever written, and it is with deep regret that I do so.

Although I am a native New Yorker, I am now living in the South, amongst the hate and bigotry that people like you and yours try so hard to alleviate. After a year here I have come to know the bitterness that so called human beings harbor in their hearts. Even so, your wonderful husband and father, did manage to get through to some of the people down here. Those at least, who have the depth to understand that people are people regardless of their color or creed.

What I want to tell you is how I will always treasure the memory of a cold, windy day in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in October 1960. After waiting for more than three hours with my fourteen month old daughter, our future president finally arrived. The ovation he received was of course, no more than he deserved. After making a memorable speech, without showing any annoyance at the baby girl named Stacey, tugging at his trousers throughout his speech, he received the handshakes of the people who could reach out to him.

He held Stacey in his arms right after this picture I’ve enclosed was taken. He asked me her name and age and the names and ages of my two
older girls. He took the time to tell me what a beautiful baby she was, and how much she resembled her mother. He wished us luck, autographed Stacey’s banner and shook my hand.

Stacey Simrin is the child pictured in the lower left wearing a “Kennedy” banner.
Photograph of President Kennedy at rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Reprinted with permission of Stacey Ryan.

This great and good man gave five precious minutes of his time to Stacey and her mother. He proved to all those present that day, what we felt about him from the start.

Little Stacey is now four years old and has always referred to President Kennedy as “my President Kennedy”, since that day in Allentown’s Center Square. She has in her youthful way, felt deeply the loss all the world should feel. The loss of our great, courageous leader.

Your wonderful dignity and unselfishness during the five days past is a lesson in courage we all will never forget. My admiration of you is beyond expression of words.

If when I visit my family in Washington, D.C. in the future, I would deem it a great honor indeed to be able to meet and speak to you. You are indeed a true first lady.

Please accept my deepest, heartfelt sympathy. Try as I might, I cannot find enough words to express my feelings. I have tried to do it in the only way I know how.

May the light that burns at his grave never cease to burn in the memory of all those who knew his greatness.

Very Sincerely,
Arlene Simrin and family

I
n the assassination’s immediate aftermath, few letter writers expressed much curiosity about who was behind the murder of President Kennedy. The arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald just an hour and a half after the fact no doubt allayed such concerns—at least initially. Only a very thin file of letters reflects any speculation among those who wrote to Mrs. Kennedy about a conspiracy. Most who did spin theories blamed Communists at home or abroad for perpetrating the crime. But many more letter writers described a political climate within American society that they believed encouraged hate. The extremism of those who would fan the divisions in the nation, some letter writers suggested, emboldened those who were mentally unbalanced and might well have contributed to the horrific attack upon the President. Several pointed to a pattern of lawlessness and aggression growing out of racial tensions in American society, some carried out or sanctioned by “respectable” members of the society, as an incubator of violence. There were letter writers who placed responsibility for this state of affairs on the South. But many more saw the difficulties as national. Whatever the source, a great many Americans expressed shame that such a terrible crime could happen in the United States. The most common question posed by letter writers was a simple one: Why? They offered a variety of answers.

A copy of the following letter to the editor of
Cornell Daily Sun,
the student newspaper at the University, was sent to Mrs. Kennedy.

12-2-1963

TO THE EDITOR

CORNELL DAILY SUN
:

AS WE THINK ABOUT THE ASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND OF LEE OSWALD, IT SEEMS THATAS MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY EACH OF US BEARS, IN TWO WAYS, PART OF THE GUILT FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

OSWALD WAS TRAINED BY THE MARINES, IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY, TO KILL MEN. HE WASGIVEN A MEDAL FOR DEMONSTRATING HIS ABILITY TO DO SO. HAD HE KILLED AN ENEMY HE WOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN ANOTHER MEDAL, BUT WHEN HIS PERVERTED MIND DECIDED THAT THE ENEMY WAS THE PRESIDENT, THEN IT BECOMES A DESPICABLE CRIME. WE SHOULD ONLY WONDER THAT THIS SORT OF THING DOESN’T HAPPEN MORE OFTEN.

THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THE GENERAL EMOTIONAL CLIMATE IN THE NATION TODAY, PERHAPS MORE PREVALENT IN THE SOUTH, BUT CERTAINLY NOT EXCLUSIVE TO THAT AREA, ENCOURAGES THIS KIND OF RESPONSE BY IRRATIONAL PEOPLE. STATE GOVERNORS REFUSE TO COMPLY WITH THE FEDERAL LAW; PENNSYLVANIA HOME OWNERS ATTEMPT TO FORCE NEGROES FROM THEIR AREA; POLICEMEN BEAT, JAIL AND FINE YALE STUDENTS WHO ARE HELPING TO GET NEGROES TO VOTE IN A MOCK ELECTION; CORNELL FOREIGN STUDENTS ARE HARRASSED AND BEATEN WHILE TRAVELING IN THE SOUTH, COURT ORDERED SCHOOL INTEGRATIONS ARE MET WITH HYSTERIA BY WHITE PARENTS; AND NATIONAL LEADERS ARE SPAT UPON. ALL OF THESE ACTIONS ARE COMMITTED BY SUPPOSEDLY NORMAL, RATIONAL CITIZENS, YET WE HAVE THE HYPOCRISY TO PROFESS AMAZEMENT AND HORROR THAT SOME OF OUR LESS RATIONAL CITIZENS, INCITED TO
VIOLENCE BY THE ATTITUDES OF THE RATIONAL, ARE CAPABLE OF SHOOTING A NEGRO LEADER, THEN BOMBING A NEGRO CHURCH, AND NOW ASSASSINATING THE PRESIDENT

WHEN SUPPOSEDLY RATIONAL PEOPLE RESORT TO DEFIANCE AND REBELLION TO AVOID ACCEPTING IDEAS AND CUSTOMS THEY DISLIKE, THEN AN EXTREMIST, IN IN ORDER TO BE EXTREME, MUST RESORT TO EVEN MORE VIOLENT ACTIONS. DALLAS OFFICIALS HAVE DISCLAIMED ANY INFLUENCE OVER OSWALD BY THE RECENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN THAT CITY AGAINST OTHER NATIONAL LEADERS, BECAUSE THE DEMONSTRATIONS WERE INSPIRED BY THE RADICAL CONFLICT WHILE OSWALD APPARENTLY COMMITTED HIS ACTIONS AS A COMMUNIST. BUT EMOTIONAL ATTITUDES AFFECT THE MIND IN ALL AREAS; HATE ISNT SELECTIVE. WHEN WE AS INDIVIDUALS PERMIT OURSELVES TO HATE ANOTHER PERSON, THEN WE ARE GUILTY OF CONTRIBUTING TO THE EMOTIONAL ATTITUDES THAT MAKE POSSIBLE DISASTERS SUCH AS PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S DEATH.

IN ADDITION TO THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECT THESE ATTITUDES HAVE ON THOSE WITH THOSE WITH WHOM WE COME IN CONTACT, THEY ALSO WILL EVENTUALLY DESTROY US.

DONNA SOOBY, GRAD
.