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| A young 19y/o President Bill Clinton shakes JFK during a field trip to the White House |
Did you even know that President Clinton met JFK during a White House school trip? God bless whoever took this historical picture. Don't ask me where I get these archives. That is a result of good journalism. You should depend on #HNNAfrica to bring you all the latest world news. I have traveled far and wide.
Obama will present the award Wednesday to the 2013 recipients, including Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, the late astronaut Sally Ride, women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem, baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, country music singer Loretta Lynn and 10 others.
Obama will present the award Wednesday to the 2013 recipients, including Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, the late astronaut Sally Ride, women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem, baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, country music singer Loretta Lynn and 10 others.
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| Oprah Winfrey |
On Wednesday evening as of tonight, President Obama plans a speech on Kennedy’s legacy of service with a dinner at the Smithsonian American History Museum attended by current and past recipients of the medal, including baseball’s Hank Aaron, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, singer Aretha Franklin, economist Alan Greenspan, activist Jesse Jackson and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
By executive order in February 1963, Kennedy made bestowing the Medal of Freedom a presidential privilege and expanded its scope to honor contributions to world peace, culture and other public interests.
According to the White House, Kennedy announced the inaugural list of 31 awardees on July 4, 1963, selecting opera singers, diplomats, academics and civic leaders. The medal design was finalized in the fall, and a ceremony was scheduled for Dec. 6. On Nov. 21, the day before the assassination, Kennedy’s special assistant forwarded a request to have the Marine String Orchestra play at the awards reception.
Johnson decided to move forward with the lunchtime ceremony in the State Dining Room and surprised the dignitaries in attendance by adding Kennedy and the recently deceased Pope John XXIII as posthumous recipients.
“In the shattering sequence of events that began 14 days ago, we encountered in its full horror man’s capacity for hatred and destruction,” Johnson said at the ceremony. “There is little we do not know of evil, but it is time to turn once more to the pursuits of honor and excellence and of achievement that have always marked the true direction of the American people.”
Jacqueline Kennedy declined Johnson’s plans to also award a medal to her. She watched from an anteroom as Attorney General Robert Kennedy accepted the medal on his brother’s behalf. That afternoon, Mrs. Kennedy and her children moved out of the White House.
With Files from the AP
