Post #1

President Kennedy’s News Conference from February 7, 1962
http://www.vietnamwar.net/JFK-2.htm
President Kennedy responded to the press regarding their question on American Involvement in South Vietnam. The question was: "Mr. President, there seems to be some doubt, at least on the local level and in the region where this is going on, as to the right of the American people and the rest of the world to know the extent of the battle in South Vietnam. Could you tell us, sir, what the situation is there? How deeply are we involved in what seems to be a growing war and what are the rights of the people to know what our forces are doing?"
The President’s response was factual and straight forward. He simply stated: “There is a war going on in South Vietnam.” He went on to share information on the number of casualties which numbered over 500 in the last week. An astonishing number of killings that happened by bombings and assassinations. It was brutal, fierce guerilla warfare. He stated that it was a war of increasing ferocity. The word ferocity is quite descriptive as it shows the extent of how turbulent the situation was that was leading to the high casualties.
While I try to grasp the number of casualties in a week, I put it into perspective with the number of students at our school. They lost soldiers that would total almost the entire junior class in one week. These young men were sons and brothers, and possibly husbands and fathers. The impact reached far beyond the battle field. The lives of many home and abroad were changed forever.
The President’s response addressed the need for the American people to know what was happening and our political position. He was careful to point out though that he could not compromise the mission and release any information that could be used by our enemies against us. The mission itself, freedom, is what we as American’s hold so dear. Freedom, the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraint. Do we live with the same passion for freedom that our forefathers did? I think not. We take for granted many of the freedoms that men and women have died for. It is a great article to reflect on our freedoms and how fortunate we are to be Americans.