Records of Kennedy assassination

2017 marks the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s birth. When he became the 35th president of the United States, he was a young, good-looking man married to his lovely wife Jacqueline Kennedy. Americans are still intrigued by the story of Kennedy’s unexpected death and the tragedy of the Kennedy family with a full of suspense and drama.

Nearly 2,891 confidential documents regarding Kennedy’s assassination have been released for the first time in 54 years. Rumors of doubt about his death have been circulated in connection with the Soviet Union’s involvement or CIA’s plot. According to files publicly released on Thursday (local time), a date set in 1992 for disclosure, it has been confirmed that Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, contacted a KGB agent two months before the incident. The Soviet Union’s involvement in assassination seems much more plausible. Though the Warren Commission, which investigated the incident, confirmed in 1964 that Oswald acted entirely alone, only a few Americans believe it.

It remains uncertain if newly released records will clear up all theories and dispel all conspiracies about the death of Kennedy. U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to accept the authorities’ requests to withhold some files due to national security concerns. Kennedy was alleged to have an affair with actress Marilyn Monroe and other women, and is considered one of the most overestimated persons in U.S. history. Nevertheless, Kennedy has significant meaning in the U.S. politics.

In the early 1960s in the middle of the Cold War and amid growing fears of nuclear war, Kennedy bore the heavy responsibilities as U.S. president. When the Soviet Union built a missile base in Cuba, Kennedy made a bold decision on a naval blockade and dealt with the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy also presented hope for a new future through his speeches as saying, “'We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Kennedy proved the significance of a leader with his excellent risk management and visionary insights during his short years in the American presidency. Now the political situations surrounding the Korea Peninsula are heavy and grave, and Kennedy’s leadership may provide some lessons. Korean writer Lee Byeong-ju said, “History is made when faded by the Sun, and myth is made when immersed in the moonlight.” The legacy of Kennedy who dreamed of unification and future in America will stay alive.