Kennedy The Legacy - An Unauthorized Story

The Kennedy family has long been plagued by tragedy and scandal. Despite this, the Kennedys have long been thought of as America's royal family. I will be worthy of your trust. We will carry the fight to the people in the fall. And we shall win! They have also brought positive change to the world in often difficult times. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. The many misdeeds and tragedies of this family has only enhanced the world's affection towards them. For them I think it's a little bit like coming home. Joseph Sr. outlived five of his own children. The new ambassador to Britain, Mr. Joseph Kennedy. The president was hit in the head. The president's wife, Jackie Kennedy, was not hurt. She walked into the hospital. Americans are fascinated by the royal status of the Kennedys and their dynasty that has mesmerised generations. To this day, the Kennedy legacy lives on. Edward Moore Kennedy is the youngest of Rose Fitzgerald and Joseph P. Kennedy's nine children. Most commonly known by his nickname Ted, he served as a United States Senator for almost 47 years. His massive compilation of legislative acts reflect his savvy political skills, pragmatic vision and ability to reach across party lines. As recently as 2009 when battling brain cancer, he played a pivotal role in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The act authorises a dramatic funding increase for volunteer programs. This is a wonderful day for all of our country and all Americans who will now have a chance and the opportunity to give back to their communities and the nation. The nation that we love so much. Special thanks to Barbara Mikulski who gave her heart. And a very special thank you to all who served. This bill was forged for you and by you. I will never forget the fifth anniversary of the Peace Corps where I sat with the very first group of volunteers. I asked each of them why they decided to become involved and they said it was the first time that anyone asked them to do anything for their country. Today another young president has challenged another generation to give back to this nation. Last spring at Wesleyan University, candidate Barack Obama summoned our nation to a new era of service. He said, I believe with all my heart that this generation is ready and eager and up to the challenge. Mr. President, I couldn't agree more. Don't you? You have inspired a new generation of Americans. And your own example and your own call recognizes that. You have walked the walk and today you have paved for many, many others. I'm deeply honored to introduce him now. My friend, our leader, the President of the United States. Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you. Well, what an extraordinary day. There are very few people who have touched the life of this nation in the same breadth, in the same order of magnitude than the person who is seated right behind me. And so this is just an extraordinary day for him. And I am truly grateful and honored to call him a friend, a colleague, and one of the finest leaders we've ever had. Ted Kennedy. The Kennedys have dominated American history over recent generations. But before coming to the land of hope and glory, their ancestors battled poverty and faced many hardships. Jack Kennedy was born into a rich family whose fortunes were built up in the land of opportunity. But 110 years ago, his great-great-grandfather lived outside New Ross, Duncanstown, Ireland. Starvation faced him in his tiny farm cottage, and he emigrated to America. The Kennedys prospered in America, and President Kennedy's father, Joseph, better known as Joe Sr., became the patriarch of the family. He graduated from Harvard University, then went into the liquor and movie business, and became a very rich, self-made man. Joe used his wealth to further his own ambitious political career, and won favors from powerful politicians. In 1938, he reached the peak of his power when President Roosevelt appointed him ambassador to Britain. Initially, his charm won him great popularity with the British public. A new ambassador to Britain, Mr. Joseph Kennedy. GB News interviewed him on his arrival at the American embassy. Just arrived in England after a very pleasant trip. I'm looking forward with great anticipation to my duties here and to renewing acquaintanceship with many old friends. What about your family of nine, Mr. Kennedy? We're not wishing to add to the housing problem of England and make it any worse than it is. I'm bringing them over an installment. Five, two, and two. This ambitious man privately felt sure that he was on the road to becoming President of the United States. But problems soon arose. A staunch isolationist, Kennedy argued for the appeasement of Hitler, and wanted the United States to stay out of any conflict that might occur between Britain and Germany. In these trying days of war and international unrest, diplomats write front page news. Joseph P. Kennedy, ambassador to Great Britain, is no exception as he boards the line of Manhattan to return to his post in London, from which he has been absent for nearly three months. Although reluctant to discuss the war, Kennedy believes that without question the United States should stay out. The Manhattan carries Kennedy away from the national political scene, for he says he's not a candidate for any office. I should not wish to be put in the position of minimising the tragic implications of the present situation. At thus far at least, we have been able to avoid taking the fatal step leading to a general war. His stance was not popular with the British government, and in 1940 he was forced to resign when war became inevitable. I'm returning to Washington to report to the President. I leave England at this time with real regret. No one could do otherwise who has lived in England for the past three years. They've been full years, years that have seen history made, in your country and in mine. Joe's dreams of becoming President had died the day America entered World War II. He now hoped his oldest son, Joe Jr., would accomplish his presidential ambition. Joe Jr. joined the war efforts as a bomber pilot, but after many successful missions, his plane was tragically shot down and he died aged 29. When the war ended in 1945, Joe Sr.'s second son, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or JFK, became the vehicle for his father's political ambitions. John was a decorated war hero, but was not keen to pursue a political career. His father finally persuaded John to run in an election to become the Senator of Massachusetts. Backed by Joe Sr.'s immense financial and political clout, JFK was elected to the House of Representatives. He served in the House for six years, during which time the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was dominating world politics. In 1952, JFK ran successfully for the United States Senate in the seat of Massachusetts, in a year that saw Dwight Eisenhower elected as President. In 1953, JFK married Jacqueline Bouvier, who was destined to become one of the most famous First Ladies in history. JFK was now one of the Democratic Party's rising stars. Four years later, in 1960, with the end of Eisenhower's second term, JFK's time had come. ...Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, he who eventually is to receive the Vice Presidential Candidacy. Now Minnesota's Governor Orval Freeman places in nomination... ...the great Senator from the state of Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy! ...Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 43-year-old Massachusetts Senator, winner of seven primaries. His support built from grassroots to convention hall on a rising tide of pledged votes. The convention makes it a Kennedy victory by acclamation on the first ballot. Within an hour, the Democratic standard-bearer is making his way to the convention arena. His supporters pointing to his overwhelming victory, as indicating that despite his youth and other issues, he's the man for the party. The Democratic Presidential nominee is ready for the campaign war. In our devotion to this country, we wish to keep it strong, and we wish to keep it free. It requires, at this critical time, the best of all of us. And I can assure all of you here, who have reposed this confidence in me, that I will be worthy of your trust. We will carry the fight to the people in the fall, and we shall win! JFK had a formidable opponent in the race to the White House. The Republicans nominated Richard Nixon, who had served as Vice President for eight years under Dwight D. Eisenhower. Newsmen note that never before have the major candidates faced each other at the elbow-rubbing political range afforded by the Senate chamber. The 1960 election was one of the closest presidential campaigns held in the 20th century. The crowds continued the overwhelming greeting for the famous local boy who made good. A weary but happy Senator Kennedy will vacation for a while before starting the rigorous presidential campaign. Whilst the two candidates remained neck and neck throughout much of the campaign, it is said that the turning point came during the four televised presidential debates between the two men. The first ever in US history. Nixon insisted on campaigning until just a few hours before the first debate started, and he had not completely recovered from a hospital stay due to a sore knee. Thus he looked pale, sickly, underweight and tired. He also refused make-up, and as a result his beard stubble showed prominently on the era's black and white TV screens. Kennedy, in contrast, was well rested and prepared extensively beforehand. He appeared tanned, confident and relaxed during the debate. An estimated 70 million viewers watched the first debate and believed Kennedy had won handsomely, while radio listeners believed Nixon had won. Another issue in the fall campaign was Kennedy's affiliation with Roman Catholicism, which hurt him among Protestants that harboured concerns a US president could be under the control of the Pope in Rome. In the end, candidates had much going both for and against them, and the polling remained close right up until election day. Kennedy won the election by just 0.1% of the popular vote. The outstanding personality of the year, John Kennedy, is elected to America's greatest political office. Youngest ever president, first Roman Catholic to go to the White House. What an amazing triumph. Against Nixon, who this time last year would have given him a dodge chance? And will, to the best of my ability. After JFK took the oath of the office of the President of the United States, John Kennedy gave what is widely considered one of the best presidential inauguration speeches in American history. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. JFK was an immensely popular president, at home and abroad. He ushered in a new era of optimism and brought brilliant advisors into the White House. His younger brother, Robert Kennedy, had worked tirelessly whilst running JFK's presidential campaign and was keen to settle down and start his own law practice. But his father, Joe Senior, convinced him to become Attorney General. He was now the second most powerful man in the country and advised the President on all matters of domestic policy, national security and foreign affairs. We have to be prepared to discuss what kind of a government and what kind of a system, a political system, we would hope to see established in Vietnam, which would also be acceptable to the government of North Vietnam. JFK's wife, Jacqueline, and his young children, Carolyn and John F. Jr., were adored throughout the country, even before he was elected. Leaving the Georgetown Hospital in Washington, President-elect John Kennedy wheels out Mrs. Kennedy while Nurse Luella Hennessy carries John F. Kennedy, Jr. The wheelchair is strictly a hospital formality, as Mrs. Kennedy proved shortly afterwards. Showing no lingering effects of her cesarean operation, she is up on her feet before the Kennedys fly south for some rest and relaxation in Palm Beach Forest. And here with daughter Carolyn, who will have the spacious White House lawn on which to play. The youngest man ever elected President, Jack isn't above acting like the average father to give his daughter a piggyback ride. The new President was a publicist's dream for the White House. And the newsman of the day followed his every move. Mr. Kennedy, the nation's leading touch football player, turning baseball pitcher. The ball goes farther than the ordinary presidential pitch. The meeting of President-elect Kennedy and Vice President Nixon informs the rest of the world that despite a bitter election fight, the United States will unite and go forward. One of Kennedy's first positive presidential acts was the creation of the Peace Corps. Through this program, American volunteers could help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, healthcare and construction. Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 139 countries. Also in his first year of office, Kennedy promised that the United States would have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. When he made this proposal, America had just 15 minutes of manned flight experience in space. But his vision of achieving big things ultimately led NASA to fulfilling his dream. Unfortunately, the administration's first brush with foreign affairs was a disaster. In the last year of the Eisenhower presidency, the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, had equipped and trained a brigade of anti-communist Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The Joint Chiefs of Staff unanimously advised the new president that this force, once ashore, would spark a general uprising against the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. But the Bay of Pigs invasion was a fiasco. Every man on the beachhead was either killed or captured. Kennedy assumed sole responsibility for the setback. Privately, he told his father that he would never again accept a Joint Chiefs recommendation without first challenging it. Sadly, Joe Sr. suffered a stroke later that year. He was paralyzed and remained unable to speak for the last eight years of his life. Following the humiliation of the Bay of Pigs invasion, JFK traveled to Vienna, Austria, for a summit with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Not only was the summit unsuccessful in its goal of building trust, but it also increased tensions between the two superpowers, particularly in discussions regarding the divided city of Berlin. During the summit, Khrushchev threatened to cut off Allied access to West Berlin. Kennedy was startled by Khrushchev's combative style and tone and was unsettled by the Soviet threat. The following year, the Russians started to build the Berlin Wall. Cold War tensions hit a new high the following year. An American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. Such as this one of a medium-range ballistic missile base, which documents the Soviet offensive buildup in Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union in Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisers for several days to discuss the problem. After many long and difficult meetings, and with Kennedy perhaps wiser from the Bay of Pigs invasion, he decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this quarantine, as Kennedy called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address. This government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. Only last Thursday, as evidence of this rapid offensive buildup was already in my hand, Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko told me in my office that he was instructed to make it clear once again, as he said his government had already done, that Soviet assistance to Cuba, and I quote, pursued solely the purpose of contributing to the defense capabilities of Cuba, unquote. That, and I quote him, training by Soviet specialists of Cuban nationals in handling defensive armaments was by no means offensive, and that if it were otherwise, Mr. Gromyko went on, the Soviet government would never become involved in rendering such assistance, unquote. That statement also was false. To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba, from whatever nation or port, will, if found to contain cargos of offensive weapons, be turned back. No one was sure how Soviets would respond to the naval blockade and newest demands. The Russian Foreign Minister landed at Prestwick Airport in Scotland on his way back from America. Mr. Gromyko went straight to the transit lounge, and there he declined to comment on President Kennedy's announcement. For 13 days, nuclear war seemed a very real possibility. The leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than 25 years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. This was one of Kennedy's greatest achievements, avoiding a nuclear war without a single shot being fired. The youngest Kennedy, Ted, entered the Senate in a 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by his older brother, John. Despite negative public comments such as, don't you think that Teddy is one Kennedy too many, given that one of his brothers was the President and another U.S. Attorney General, but Ted proved to be an effective street-level campaigner and defeated his Republican rival by gaining 55% of the Massachusetts vote. With the Cuban Missile Crisis a fresh memory, President Kennedy toured Europe in the summer of 1963 and paid an historic visit to Germany. JFK was greeted by ecstatic crowds who showered his entourage with flowers, rice and torn paper on his way to the Berlin Wall. No other American politician had been met with such joy and enthusiasm on a visit to Germany. In the Rudolf Wildplatz, Kennedy gave one of his most memorable speeches to a rapt audience. There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the communist world. So, let them come to Berlin. It has many difficulties. And democracy is not perfect. But we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is, Ich bin ein Berliner. Translated into English, it means, I am a person from Berlin. The President then travelled to his ancestral homeland of Ireland. The cheers of Berlin were still ringing in his ears. But how different it all was now. John F. Kennedy was in the land of his forebears. And there to bid him welcome was President de Valera, himself no less a fighter for freedom than the Chief Executive of the United States. JFK then delivered a sterling speech of peace to the Irish Parliament in Dublin. You have not hesitated to take the lead on such sensitive issues as the Kashmir dispute. And you sponsored that most vital resolution adopted by the General Assembly, which opposed the spread of nuclear arms to any nation not now possessing them, urging an international agreement with inspection and control. And I pledge to you that the United States of America will do all in its power to achieve such an agreement and fulfil your resolution. In 1963, there were signs of a lessening of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. Two actions also signalled a warming in relations between the superpowers. Firstly, the establishment of a teletype hotline between the Kremlin and the White House. And Khrushchev and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan of Great Britain joining Kennedy in signing the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. By the fall of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his political advisers were preparing for the next presidential campaign. Although he had not formally announced that he would run, he seemed confident about his chances for re-election. The political issues of the day included Kennedy's support for the civil rights movement that had gathered momentum, but was met with passionate resistance in the South. Kennedy's brother Robert, as Attorney General, had launched an unprecedented war on organised crime. And the United States' involvement in Vietnam was a simmering problem that was heading towards full-scale war. In what turned out to be ultimately his last public speech, the President spoke of his vision of the future at the Aerospace Medical Health Centre in San Antonio. For more than three years, I've spoken about the new frontier. This is not a partisan term, and it's not the exclusive property of Republicans or Democrats. It refers instead to this nation's place in history, to the fact that we do stand on the edge of a great new era, filled with both crisis and opportunity, an era to be characterised by achievement and by challenge. It is an era which calls for action, and for the best efforts of all those who should test the unknown and the uncertain in every phase of human endeavour. It is a time for pathfinders and pioneers. I have come to Texas today to salute an outstanding group of pioneers, the man who manned the Brooks Air Force Base School of Aerospace Medicine and the Aerospace Medical Centre. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was beside him during the 10-mile motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas on November 22. Sitting in a Lincoln convertible along with Texas Governor John Connolly and his wife, the Kennedys waved at the large and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the parade route. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository building at 12.30pm, Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connolly. That's an unconfirmed report that the President was hit in the head. The President's wife, Jackie Kennedy, was not hurt. She walked into the hospital. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later. The President of the United States is dead. The President was just 46 years of age. Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who was three cars behind President Kennedy in the motorcade, was promptly sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Some 30 people, including Jacqueline Kennedy, witnessed the swearing in. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. Mrs. Kennedy, her dress stained with her husband's blood, rides in the ambulance. Three days later, hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Washington to watch a horse-drawn caisson bear President Kennedy's body to St. Matthew's Catholic Cathedral for a requiem mass. John Jr. saluted his father from the sidewalk. The solemn procession then continued on to Arlington National Cemetery, where leaders of 99 nations gathered for the state funeral. This was a heartfelt tribute by great nations to a young President who, in his brief term of office, was the brightest hope of the free world. Kennedy was buried with full military honours on a slope below Arlington House, where an internal flame was lit by his widow. Less than an hour after Kennedy was shot, Lee Harvey Oswald killed a policeman who questioned him on the street near his rooming house in Dulles. Thirty minutes later, Oswald was arrested. The police now have the murder gun. On it, they say, a palm print of the man under arrest. He is 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald. Four years ago, he defected to Russia, worked there and married a Russian. On November 24, Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dulles Police Headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police, impressed with live television cameras rolling, gathered to witness his departure. Oswald came into the room. Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd and fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Since the assassination of President Kennedy, there has been great debate as to why he was killed. One popular theory is that he was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy that may have involved multiple shooters and organised crime. Tragedy strikes again at the Kennedy family. An example of what has become known as the Kennedy's curse or simply bad luck, the following year Ted Kennedy was a passenger in a private aeroplane that crashed into an apple orchard in western Massachusetts. The pilot and one of Kennedy's aides were killed. Ted spent months in a hospital recovering from a severe back injury, a punctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding. He suffered chronic back pain for the rest of his life. Nine months after President Kennedy's assassination, Robert Kennedy left the cabinet to run for a seat in the US Senate, representing New York. President Johnson and Robert Kennedy were often at severe odds with each other, both politically and personally, yet Johnson gave considerable support to Robert Kennedy's campaign. Kennedy emerged victorious in the November election. Its challenge is now accepted by another Kennedy, Senator Robbins. A helicopter made the first 9,000 feet the easiest. In 1965, Robert Kennedy became the first person to climb to the summit of Mount Kennedy. It was named in honour of his brother, John Kennedy, after his assassination. All he had to do now was to get there, an undertaking that would have daunted most men new to mountain climbing. A remarkable family, these Kennedys, with a habit of accomplishing whatever they set out to do. Robert then accompanied his sister-in-law, widow Jacqueline Kennedy, to the opening of the British Memorial, dedicated to the late President Kennedy. In memory of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who in death my people still mourn, and whom in life they loved and admired. After the death of her husband, Jacqueline regularly holidayed in Ireland and was immensely popular there. I'm just happy to be here in the land my husband loved so much with his children, and for them I think it's a little bit like coming home, and I hope we will come back again and again. Jacqueline was received by the Irish President and honoured with a state banquet during her vacation in Dublin. In 1966, Robert Kennedy undertook a tour of South Africa, in which he championed the cause of the anti-apartheid movement. The tour was greeted with international praise at a time when few politicians dared to entangle themselves in the politics of South Africa. Kennedy spoke out against the oppression of the native population. When interviewed in London, Robert admitted that America didn't have a solution for South Africa, and needed to address its own civil rights issues. I don't think that we can give many lessons to anybody. I think we have a lot of problems ourselves, and we've got to, in our own country, develop solutions to them. The solutions that we try to develop are not necessarily applicable in South Africa. They're going to have to develop themselves, but I think both of our countries are going to have to move ahead in resolving this problem and recognising the individual dignity and importance of the individual. Lastly, can we look forward to you as President of the United States some time? Well, I have no expectations of him. You're very nice to suggest it. After being encouraged by many of his supporters, Robert did run for the presidency on a platform of racial and economic justice, non-aggression and anti-war foreign policy, including Vietnam, and for greater engagement with America's youth. Kennedy scored a major victory when he won the California primary in 1968. After he addressed his supporters at the Ambassador in Los Angeles, he left the ballroom through a service area in a crowded kitchen passageway. Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian, opened fire with a .22 calibre revolver and fatally shot Kennedy in the head at close range. For 25 hours he clung to life at the Good Samaritan Hospital, a bullet lodged in his brain. Surgeons fought to save him. Waiting crowds prayed. Their prayers echoed throughout the United States, throughout the world. It was unbelievable that such a tragedy could happen twice in the same family. Jackie Kennedy, sister-in-law, widow of the late President, arrived to join the family's bedside vigil. She knew so well the horror of this moment. The man who might have been President of the United States, the father of ten adored children, a great liberal and humanitarian, had made the same appointment with fate as his brother. He had died, victim of an assassin's bullet. Robert's body was brought to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. The rich, the poor, Negro and white, they came on this sad summer day to weep, to pray. Thousands of mourners lined up and waited to pass by to pay their respects. The next day, thousands attended a funeral mass at St. Patrick's. The diverse collection of mourners was a fitting tribute to the many lives that he had touched in his all too short 42 years. Today, Mrs Ethel Kennedy and her eldest son Joseph bore themselves on this day. A funeral train took the coffin in the Kennedy family from New York to Washington. Hundreds of thousands of mourners paid their respects as the train passed by. In New Jersey, two bystanders who'd jumped the tracks were tragically killed by a train passing in the other direction. The funeral train was delayed and arrived at Washington's Union Station shortly after 9pm. The motorcade then took Robert's body to Arlington National Cemetery for the first nighttime burial in the cemetery's history. Kennedy was buried near his brother John, just outside Washington, D.C. Robert had always maintained that he wished to be buried in Massachusetts, but his family believed that since the brothers had been so close in life, they should be near each other in death. Now belong to the widow, the ten orphaned children and the unborn infant that will never know its great father. While the history of the Kennedy family may often be overshadowed by grief and tragedy, it's important to acknowledge the positive influence they have had on the world in the past and their continued influence on the world to this very day. Jean Ann Kennedy-Smith is the last surviving child of Rose and Joseph Sr. She is an American diplomat and a former United States Ambassador to Ireland. Jean is also the founder of Very Special Arts, a non-profit organisation dedicated to creating a society where those with disabilities can engage with the arts. In 2011 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour. When you are among the youngest of nine children, you develop a strong sense of empathy. When those children are the Kennedys, you also develop a strong set of diplomatic skills just to be heard. Both traits helped Jean Kennedy-Smith follow her siblings into public service. When her brother, President Kennedy, visited Ireland in 1963, he promised he'd be back in the springtime. Thirty years later, it was left to Jean to return for him. As President Clinton's Ambassador to Ireland, Jean was as vital as she was unconventional, helping brave men and women find the courage to see past the scars of violence and mistrust and come together to forge a lasting peace. Touched by experiences in her own life, Jean also founded the BSA program, helping people with disabilities discover the joys of learning through the arts, changing the lives of those it has served. Today, her mission has spread to more than 50 countries and touched millions of lives, ensuring that the family business remains alive and well. I thought the group that I received the medal with were really amazing people. And I think it made me very proud to be an American because I think that Americans are outstanding in the way they do contribute and the way they do volunteer and the way they do help each other. I've never seen a country like it, and it's something to be very proud of. My parents felt very strongly, my mother in particular, for if you have a happy home, as much is given, as much is expected. And she made us very conscious that we were very lucky to have a big family that got along and that we had a payback time and that we should think about what we're going to do to help others. And we absolutely accepted that as certainly fair enough. Well, I suppose in the beginning, perhaps because of my sister, who was intellectually challenged growing up. She was great fun. She was very close to all of us. She was very much a part of the family. My parents were very strict about that. There was very little, in those days, for children, you know, very little educational opportunities, sports opportunities, any real opportunities. So she did a lot of her studying at home or playing with us. She played tennis very well. I used to play with her. And she was very much a part of our family. So we all grew up to thinking that she was wonderful and that we should try and help other children who may be going through the same thing. Jean Kennedy lost her little brother Ted to brain cancer on August 25, 2009. There is perhaps no other politician in American history that has achieved so much despite such public controversy and personal loss. He was honoured by his friend, President Barack Obama. Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy, a champion for those who had none, the soul of the Democratic Party and the lion of the United States Senate, a man who embraces nearly 1,000 laws and who penned more than 300 laws himself. But those of us who loved him and ache with his passing know Ted Kennedy by the other titles he held. Father, brother, husband, grandfather. I, like so many others in the city where he worked for nearly half a century, knew him as a colleague, a mentor and, above all, as a friend. Ted Kennedy was the baby of the family who became its patriarch, the restless dreamer who became its rock. That spirit of resilience and good humour would see Teddy through more pain and tragedy than most of us will ever know. He lost two siblings by the age of 16. He saw two more taken violently from a country that loved them. He said goodbye to his beloved sister Eunice in the final days of his life. He narrowly survived a plane crash, watched two children struggle with cancer, buried three nephews and experienced personal failings and setbacks in the most public way possible. It's a string of events that would have broken a lesser man. Through his own suffering, Ted Kennedy became more alive to the plight and the suffering of others. The sick child who could not see a doctor. The young soldier denied her rights because of what she looks like or who she loves or where she comes from. The landmark laws that he championed, the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, immigration reform, children's health, insurance, the Family and Medical Leave Act, all have a running thread. Ted Kennedy's life work was not to champion the causes of those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard, to add a rung to the ladder of opportunity, to make real the dream of our founding. He was given the gift of time that his brothers were not, and he used that gift to touch as many lives and right as many wrongs as the years would allow. And that's how Ted Kennedy became the greatest legislator of our time. He did it by hewing to principle, yes, but also by seeking compromise and common cause, not through deal-making and horse-trading alone, but through friendship and kindness. In the days after September 11, Teddy made it a point to personally call each one of the 177 families of this state who lost a loved one in the attack. But he didn't stop there. He kept calling and checking up on them. He fought through red tape to get them assistance and grief counseling. He invited them sailing, played with their children, and would write each family a letter whenever the anniversary of that terrible day came along. He once said, as has already been mentioned, of his brother Bobby, that he need not be idealized or enlarged in death because what he was in life, and I imagine he would say the same about himself. The greatest expectations were placed upon Ted Kennedy's shoulders because of who he was, but he surpassed them all because of who he became. We do not weep for him today because of the prestige attached to his name or his office. We weep because we loved this kind and tender hero who persevered through pain and tragedy, not for the sake of ambition or vanity, not for wealth or power, but only for the people and the country that he loved. This is how Ted Kennedy lived. This is his legacy. Despite Ted's death, there's a new generation of Kennedys determined to make their mark on the world and carry on the legacy that their Uncle Teddy left behind.