Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's Birth in Various Regions of America

On Monday, May 29, ceremonies were held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's birth, celebrating the life and legacy of the assassinated president. For many, John F. Kennedy was a symbol and messenger of hope and aspirations known as Camelot before his assassination in November 1963 during the Cold War in America. Kennedy, who took office at the age of 43 as the youngest president in U.S. history, famously told his fellow citizens in a speech on this day: 'Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.' He served less than a thousand days in the presidency at the height of the Cold War, yet more than half a century after his assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, he is still regarded as a lasting political figure and symbol in contemporary American history and around the world, often referred to by his initials, JFK. His brother, Robert Kennedy, was also assassinated during the 1968 presidential campaign. Much of John F. Kennedy's presidency focused on managing U.S. relations with the Soviet Union. In 1962, he resolved the Cuban Missile Crisis, a 13-day dangerous confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that began due to the deployment of U.S. ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, to which the Soviet Union responded by placing similar missiles in Cuba. Many historians view this incident as the closest the Cold War came to full-scale war and armed conflict between the Eastern and Western blocs. In 1963, less than two years after the construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany, a Soviet satellite state, aimed at preventing citizens from fleeing to the West, John F. Kennedy delivered a famous speech in Berlin, sending a strong message of support to the people of Germany and others trapped in communist regimes in the Eastern bloc. He famously declared, 'Ich bin ein Berliner' to the people of Germany on both sides of the wall, a message of solidarity with those living behind the Iron Curtain and a warning to the increasingly aggressive Soviet Union. To mark the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's birth, a prayer service has been arranged at St. Francis Xavier Church in Massachusetts, the residence of the Catholic Kennedy family. Another ceremony will be held at the Kennedy Memorial. The U.S. Postal Service is also set to issue a new stamp featuring John F. Kennedy in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, one of the suburbs of Boston and the birthplace of John F. Kennedy on May 29, 1917. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston will also hold a separate event. In another ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, wreaths will be laid on the grave of the late president.