[00:00:39.320] [birds singing] [00:00:38.877] Sunday morning, [00:00:41.600] a university town, [00:00:43.640] Chapel Hill, in the center of the State of North Carolina. [00:00:49.400] A morning in May, warm and clear and quiet. [00:00:53.986] [birds singing] [00:01:00.240] In many parts of the state, families are already on the road to Chapel Hill. [00:01:05.457] [music] [00:01:09.080] From the rolling Piedmont, [00:01:11.129] [music] [00:01:15.560] from the level tobacco lands of the east, [00:01:20.160] from the Appalachian mountain highways, [00:01:22.529] [music] [00:01:26.120] people are coming to Chapel Hill. [00:01:29.240] On this May Sunday in 1964, [00:01:32.520] the State of North Carolina will honor the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, [00:01:37.320] a man who was killed because he was the President of the United States. [00:01:42.240] Church is out and cars are coming into town from many other towns and counties. [00:01:48.400] In early afternoon [00:01:49.440] people are moving across the university campus [00:01:52.320] toward Kenan Stadium, where the memorial tribute will be held. [00:02:00.160] The purpose of this tribute is to raise over two hundred thousand dollars [00:02:04.760] for the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston. [00:02:08.257] [music] [00:02:12.480] Thousands in the state have bought tickets to the ceremony, [00:02:16.280] though they knew that distance would prevent them from attending. [00:02:21.920] In Kenan Stadium, [00:02:23.720] with the largest publicly owned seating capacity in the state, [00:02:28.640] all of the hundred counties are well represented. [00:02:32.800] Governor Terry Sanford initiated the tribute, [00:02:36.240] the people took it up. [00:02:40.160] In the midst of a spirited primary election for the governorship, [00:02:44.560] and during the heated debate on civil rights in the United States Senate, [00:02:48.720] North Carolinians have set aside their [00:02:51.000] partisan differences to pay united tribute to their fallen leader. [00:02:55.986] [music] [00:03:00.120] Here today is the mother of the President, Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy. [00:03:05.214] [music] [00:03:13.320] Also present is his youngest brother, [00:03:16.240] United States Senator, Edward Kennedy. [00:03:18.843] [music] [00:03:24.040] Almighty God, [00:03:25.880] Lord of all life, judge of man and events. [00:03:30.880] As we meet beneath the open sky [00:03:33.400] we remember that the heavens declare thy glory and the firmament show us [00:03:38.240] thy handiwork. [00:03:40.440] And as we meet in this great university, [00:03:43.600] we remember that by fear is the beginning of wisdom. [00:03:48.320] So grant to each of us, wisdom for the living of these days [00:03:53.600] thou has placed us in a world where we must [00:03:55.840] choose between the true and the false, the just and the unjust, [00:04:01.320] the noble and the base. [00:04:04.480] Make us strong to stand against the evil [00:04:07.120] which destroys human dignity and which defeats true liberty. [00:04:12.880] Bind us anew to the ideals [00:04:15.160] of brotherhood and national unity, which are the glory of this nation, [00:04:19.840] so may we honor only what is excellent and true in thy sight, [00:04:25.320] that we may be in our generation thy profitable servants [00:04:30.480] for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. [00:04:35.080] Amen. [00:04:39.120] I consider it an honor to have been invited by Governor Sanford to serve [00:04:43.210] on the State Committee for North Carolina's tribute to President John F. Kennedy. [00:04:47.880] This is an outstanding group [00:04:49.480] of North Carolinians with membership from both political parties. [00:04:53.920] Arthur Smith, a well-known personality [00:04:56.210] in North Carolina, introduces members of the State Committee for tribute. [00:05:00.840] Honorable L. Y. Ballentine, [00:05:02.920] North Carolina's Commissioner of Agriculture, [00:05:06.630] Honorable J. Herman Saxon, [00:05:08.360] Chairman of the State Republican Executive Committee. [00:05:13.480] They, with the County Chairmen for Tribute, [00:05:16.320] have brought together people and gifts from all across the state [00:05:20.920] in honor of the President's memory. [00:05:22.643] [applause] [00:05:33.240] Our first honored speaker understands the feelings of the people of our state [00:05:38.800] because for six years, that's longer than any other man in our history, [00:05:43.280] he served as the governor of this great state. [00:05:46.720] That he did a good job is a fact well-known to all of us. [00:05:50.960] And at President John F. Kennedy's invitation, [00:05:54.160] he was charged with the responsibility for doing with our country [00:05:58.880] many of the things he was able to do as governor of our state. [00:06:02.920] As a man who knows North Carolina, and as [00:06:05.480] a member of President Kennedy cabinet, I present the Honorable Luther H. Hodges, [00:06:10.680] United States Secretary of Commerce. [00:06:14.057] [applause] [00:06:25.200] Today is showing North Carolina at her best, [00:06:30.760] paying proper tribute to a great president [00:06:35.040] regardless of party. [00:06:37.200] President Kennedy [00:06:39.360] was a patriotic person. [00:06:42.320] When he phoned me in November, 1960 here in Chapel Hill [00:06:48.440] to come to Palm Beach [00:06:50.160] and asked me to take on an assignment as he was doing to other people [00:06:54.560] he said, "Build a team for the country [00:06:59.400] regardless of party and regardless of whom they supported." [00:07:04.680] He was a courageous person. [00:07:08.320] When I raised the question with him, [00:07:10.040] something over a year ago about some phase of civil rights [00:07:16.480] he said, "I may lose the legislation, [00:07:20.320] I may lose the election, [00:07:23.280] but there comes a time when a man must make a tough, long range decision [00:07:31.480] and history will so measure him." [00:07:35.760] He was a great family man [00:07:38.680] and always human. [00:07:41.080] I always admired him for that and for his attitude toward all of his family, [00:07:49.520] toward his mother, who is here with us today, [00:07:52.080] and toward his father, and his sisters, [00:07:54.840] and his brothers. That meant a very great deal. [00:07:58.160] He had a family loyalty that many of us could emulate. [00:08:03.680] He was a man of history. [00:08:06.400] Gifts from Venezuela, from France, and other places toward the Kennedy Library [00:08:12.120] have indicated the esteem in which this great man in history was held. [00:08:17.270] This Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, [00:08:20.840] it's a great honor [00:08:22.360] to join my fellow North Carolinians today [00:08:25.600] in paying tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. [00:08:29.160] Thank you. [00:08:29.886] [applause] [00:08:38.240] Our next tribute speaker, as God's representative, has had such overwhelming [00:08:44.040] influence for good throughout the world that it is not appropriate today that we [00:08:49.920] should attempt to describe it or to introduce him. [00:08:53.960] We are proud of him as a native North Carolinian [00:08:57.720] and we know, as Governor Sanford did when he invited him, [00:09:01.160] that Dr. Billy Graham can, more eloquently than any other Tar Heel, [00:09:06.240] say exactly what should be said. [00:09:09.400] Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Billy Graham. [00:09:11.586] [applause] [00:09:22.520] It is a great privilege for me to participate [00:09:26.160] in this unique service today. [00:09:30.600] It was my privilege first to meet [00:09:33.480] Senator Jack Kennedy when he was a senator. [00:09:38.080] And then again, just after he had been [00:09:41.560] elected president. [00:09:43.040] To have the privilege of spending a part [00:09:45.320] of the day with him playing golf, eating with him, talking with him, [00:09:51.800] and then to see him many times after he became president. [00:09:56.480] And over this period of time, [00:09:58.080] I had developed a tremendous admiration for him. [00:10:01.840] And there were many things, as I studied in his life, [00:10:05.880] that I learned from him that I want to pass on to you today. [00:10:09.680] I think all of us learned them. [00:10:12.680] The first thing I think that I learned from him and we learned, [00:10:18.880] is the value of seeking knowledge and wisdom. [00:10:23.200] He was an avid reader. [00:10:25.800] And the Bible has a great deal to say about this. [00:10:29.280] In Proverbs, the third chapter, [00:10:31.160] the Bible says, "Happy is the man that findeth [00:10:33.760] wisdom and the man that getteth understanding." [00:10:38.280] On September the 25th, 1963, at the University of Wyoming, [00:10:44.360] he said this, [00:10:45.760] "Our primary task now is to increase our understanding. [00:10:51.280] Knowledge is power today as never before," he said. [00:10:54.720] "Not only here in the United States, [00:10:57.480] but the future of the free world depends in the final analysis upon the United States [00:11:03.680] and upon our willingness to reach those decisions [00:11:07.360] on these complicated matters which face us with courage and clarity." [00:11:13.960] Secondly, [00:11:16.200] he taught us the value of tireless work. [00:11:21.120] He worked from 7:00 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. [00:11:25.360] and was probably the hardest worker the White House has ever known. [00:11:30.840] The Bible says, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? [00:11:36.120] He shall stand before kings. [00:11:37.360] God honors hard work." [00:11:42.760] We are living in a period when all of the emphasis is on leisure. [00:11:47.520] More time for recreation, [00:11:49.680] and all of this is good, [00:11:51.720] but the Bible has always advocated [00:11:55.360] that God honors and blesses and prospers and rewards hard work. [00:12:01.560] Here was a man that worked hard all of his life at whatever he did. [00:12:07.560] And then thirdly, [00:12:09.880] he taught us the need for racial understanding. [00:12:15.680] More than any man in his generation, he spoke courageously to this point. [00:12:22.600] He once said in a speech on June the 11th, 1963, [00:12:28.040] "We face a moral crisis [00:12:31.160] as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. [00:12:37.560] It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. [00:12:41.640] It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. [00:12:45.600] It is time to act." [00:12:48.280] Then he said, "It is not enough to pin the blame on others, [00:12:52.200] to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, [00:12:56.040] or deplore the fact that we face [00:12:59.240] our great changes at hand. [00:13:01.400] We are in the midst of a revolution [00:13:03.800] and that change must be peaceful and constructive for all." [00:13:09.800] Fourthly, [00:13:11.400] he taught us something about the urgency of the world situation. [00:13:16.800] In his State of the Union address, [00:13:18.720] which I often quote, because in my opinion, [00:13:21.800] they are some of the most eloquent words that any president ever said. [00:13:25.880] He said this, [00:13:27.160] "No man [00:13:28.840] entering upon this office could fail to be staggered on learning the harsh enormities of the trials [00:13:35.840] through which we must pass in the next few years. [00:13:39.360] Each day the crisis multiplies. [00:13:41.920] Each day their solution grows more difficult. [00:13:45.000] Each day we draw nearer the hour [00:13:47.120] of maximum danger as weapons spread and hostile forces grow stronger. [00:13:52.720] And time has not been our friend." [00:13:57.640] I stood at Valley Forge a few days ago. [00:14:00.880] I saw where George Washington had that little army. [00:14:04.720] Thousands of them deserted. [00:14:06.680] Thousands of them had died during the winter. [00:14:09.080] And with what was left, ragged, emaciated, [00:14:12.840] undernourished, he went out and won the victory at Yorktown. [00:14:18.040] Why did he win it? [00:14:19.560] The man that was showing me about showed me a tree [00:14:23.080] he said, "We think this is the exact spot [00:14:25.960] that Washington used to go every day for prayer." [00:14:30.040] It was out of that prayer [00:14:32.760] that America was born. [00:14:35.080] And if America is to survive, if we are to survive and make our contribution [00:14:41.720] to the history of the world, we are going to have to have faith in God. [00:14:46.560] And every year it was my privilege to participate [00:14:49.760] in the prayer breakfast in Washington that President Kennedy had, [00:14:54.600] where the Cabinet, the Congress, the leaders of government met together [00:15:00.760] and called on the name of God and said prayer and sang hymns together. [00:15:08.600] And then next, fifthly, he taught us something of religious tolerance [00:15:15.920] in a pluralistic society. [00:15:19.800] Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, secular, a pluralistic society. [00:15:28.160] We cannot afford to have religious bigotry and intolerance. [00:15:34.200] And his election, I believe, spelled the end [00:15:39.760] to religious bigotry in American politics. [00:15:43.320] I hope so, [00:15:44.520] I pray so. [00:15:46.920] And then sixthly, his life, [00:15:51.160] and his death, [00:15:53.160] taught us [00:15:55.040] the brevity [00:15:57.400] of life. [00:15:59.520] The day after his funeral, [00:16:02.120] Jim Bishop wrote, quoting the President, "A man must have goals," said Mr. Kennedy. [00:16:09.000] "There is not sufficient time, even in two terms, to achieve these goals. [00:16:13.400] Almost all presidents leave office feeling that their work is unfinished. [00:16:18.840] I have a lot to do [00:16:20.960] and so little time to do it." [00:16:23.600] And he never dreamed [00:16:25.760] that he only had [00:16:27.720] three weeks left. [00:16:32.000] The Bible says, "He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: [00:16:40.080] he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not seeing his days are determined." [00:16:43.840] I remember when I was riding along the road with the President. [00:16:47.680] He was driving. [00:16:49.600] He suddenly turned to me and asked me [00:16:51.360] a very interesting question that I've never forgotten. [00:16:55.080] He said, or he asked, [00:16:57.960] "What do you think the meaning of history is? [00:17:00.320] Where do you think history's going?" [00:17:03.640] I told him that the Bible teaches that God has a plan for history. [00:17:10.800] There's a purpose. [00:17:12.360] There is a meaning to every life [00:17:14.920] and each one of us has a job to do. [00:17:18.000] Our life may be long, [00:17:19.680] it may be short, [00:17:21.360] but there is coming a day when the kingdom of God shall prevail [00:17:25.800] and men shall know permanent peace on this earth. [00:17:31.440] Ladies and gentlemen, none of us knows when our moment is coming. [00:17:36.480] For some of us, it may be today. [00:17:39.600] And the Bible says, [00:17:41.800] "Prepare to meet thy God." [00:17:47.640] We ought to be ready at any moment. [00:17:51.640] Jesus Christ had only three years of public ministry [00:17:57.320] and in those three years [00:18:00.480] he changed the world, [00:18:02.840] changed the mood of history. [00:18:06.920] Mr. Kennedy [00:18:09.680] had less than three years as president, but he made a stamp, [00:18:15.080] an indelible impression upon our generation that shall be remembered [00:18:20.600] as long as the stars and stripes wave [00:18:24.640] over the land of the free and the home of the brave. [00:18:28.840] Thank you very much. [00:18:29.871] [applause] [00:18:43.000] The governor of our state is a member [00:18:45.400] of the Board of Trustees of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial Library. [00:18:51.560] He knows from firsthand experience the significance of this great structure [00:18:56.480] and how well it will serve our nation and the memory of our late president. [00:19:02.240] So as he has done in so many other things, our governor set out to put North Carolina first [00:19:08.400] in the nationwide campaign to raise funds for the Kennedy Library. [00:19:14.080] Ladies and gentlemen, the Governor of North Carolina, the honorable Terry Sanford. [00:19:18.543] [applause] [00:19:25.920] North Carolina does take pride in striving [00:19:28.760] to be first in all good things. [00:19:31.440] And this successful tribute today, and it is successful, [00:19:38.640] is again, an example of how North Carolina and how its people can perform. [00:19:43.600] And I especially want to thank all of you who have had a part [00:19:47.120] as county chairman, and in other ways, [00:19:50.360] and those of you who have served on the state committee. [00:19:54.200] The memory of John F. Kennedy [00:19:56.600] will never be housed in a single place. [00:20:00.720] And because no man in American history has better demonstrated to other countries [00:20:08.760] the goodness and higher purpose of the American dream, [00:20:14.000] and because no man has surpassed [00:20:18.080] his steadying and reassuring influence on a shaken world. [00:20:24.160] Because of these things, the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy [00:20:29.960] will be housed in the minds and hearts of every nation [00:20:35.640] as long as man is free, [00:20:38.440] as long as man hopes to be free. [00:20:42.800] And therefore, on behalf of [00:20:46.240] almost five million people of North Carolina [00:20:51.280] I'm happy to present a token of our admiration [00:20:55.240] to the mother of President Kennedy, [00:20:58.200] Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy. [00:21:01.400] And I am happy to present to the people of North Carolina [00:21:05.080] this remarkable mother, Mrs. Kennedy. [00:21:07.586] [applause] [00:21:20.120] My dear friends, [00:21:22.480] it is a very great joy and privilege for me to be here today [00:21:28.280] when the State of North Carolina [00:21:32.040] has rendered such a wonderful tribute to my son. [00:21:37.000] I can remember occasions when Jack spoke here in your state [00:21:42.280] and he would come home and tell us about the wonderful [00:21:45.520] hospitality he had received here and of your graciousness. [00:21:53.040] Now, you have contributed in a very generous way to the library. [00:21:59.400] It would be a library for all the people. [00:22:04.200] There people will go and be stimulated [00:22:09.320] in politics, in the study of politics and government. [00:22:15.120] There you will hear more intimately about the ideals of my son [00:22:22.920] for which he fought and which he hoped would materialize. [00:22:30.880] Now he is gone, but he has left us a legacy [00:22:37.920] of courage and purpose. [00:22:40.680] So let us not delay, [00:22:44.080] let us not falter, [00:22:46.960] but let us carry out the ideas which he had so nobly begun. [00:22:55.520] Thank you very much. [00:22:56.543] [applause] [00:23:17.000] I would, first of all, want to express the great appreciation [00:23:22.240] of all the members of the Kennedy family, [00:23:25.680] to all of you who are gathered here this afternoon, [00:23:30.440] and to all the great citizens of this wonderful state who you represent, [00:23:37.320] for your expressions of prayer and condolence and sympathy, [00:23:43.770] which you've expressed to all [00:23:45.520] the members of the Kennedy family during these past few months. [00:23:51.440] It is a unique setting that we are gathered in today [00:23:57.560] and it is extremely appropriate that we are gathered here. [00:24:02.800] For if the President ever had a vision of America [00:24:07.520] it was for a strong and vibrant and vital country. [00:24:14.080] And this is really what North Carolina represents [00:24:19.360] to the South, [00:24:21.200] to our nation, [00:24:23.280] and to her own people. [00:24:25.760] The building of a library where he hoped to reside after his term as president, [00:24:33.360] to continue to concern himself with the public issues, [00:24:38.640] and the interests of his fellow citizens. [00:24:43.360] He will not be able to do this, [00:24:49.120] but we, I believe, can achieve, [00:24:53.200] in the site which he selected last September, [00:24:57.160] a building which will not only be the memorial to the President, [00:25:03.040] and will house his papers, [00:25:05.920] and souvenirs of public life, [00:25:08.720] but most important of all, will provide an institute for learning [00:25:14.040] for young people from the state [00:25:15.960] of North Carolina and from the other states and from all over the world. [00:25:21.480] Where young people can come and study [00:25:25.240] and concern themselves about the great public undertakings [00:25:30.000] which he concerned himself with [00:25:33.080] and which so many of our citizens concern themselves with today. [00:25:38.160] And all of you who have helped to make this achievement possible, [00:25:44.160] we hope that you will come [00:25:47.040] and your children will come [00:25:49.640] and your children's children will come [00:25:53.440] and visit that library. [00:25:56.880] And if you find some inspiration from it [00:26:01.000] then we know that the purposes of the President's life and death [00:26:07.640] will not have been in vain. [00:26:10.360] Thank you. [00:26:11.329] [applause] [00:26:25.040] All of us, I'm sure, have had our hearts stirred this afternoon. [00:26:29.160] It's been a good day in North Carolina. [00:26:32.680] Billy Graham, will you come and pronounce the benediction for us? [00:26:44.480] And now on to him who loved us, [00:26:48.000] and washed us from our sins in his own blood. [00:26:54.320] And hath made us kings and priests unto God. [00:26:55.600] To him be the glory, the praise, and the honor. [00:27:02.040] Amen. [00:27:02.871] [overlapping voices]