End of an era
The death of Edward Kennedy brings to an end the Era which started with John F. Kennedy. I was a child when John F. Kennedy was elected President of the USA. My father was then in the Home Ministry and he used to bring booklets distributed by the then United States Information Service (USIS) at Topkhana Road. I was looking at the pictures in the booklets when my father saw this he explained to me about John. F. Kennedy and a country called the USA. To me Kennedy, meant the USA and the USA meant Kennedy. When my father told me in November 1963 that President Kennedy had been assassinated tears rolled down my eyes.
The Kennedys were of Irish origin; Kennedy's grandfather migrated to the USA from Ireland when famine like conditions were sweeping through Ireland. Kennedy's father Joseph Kennedy Sr. once served as the American Ambassador to the UK. From then on the Kennedys were putting their stamp on the USA by serving for the country. Joseph Kennedy Jr. (the eldest of four sons) was an air force pilot in World War II when the bomb he was carrying accidentally exploded in mid air and he died. His brother-in-law Sergeant Shriver also died in the war. President Kennedy also saw action in World War II. His ship P.T. 109 was sunk in the Pacific Ocean by the Japanese. Though, he himself was injured he carried another injured seaman to an island along with his shipmates. They were rescued from there by another American ship through the help of a native.
John F. Kennedy became President at a young age and his brother Robert Kennedy became Attorney General. Edward Kennedy then became a Senator occupying the seat vacated by his brother.
President Johnson was forced to actively join the Vietnam War by Defense Secretary Robert MacNamara (who was later to become the President of the World Bank). As more and more Americans were being killed in the Vietnam war, the people o the USA raised their voice against American participation in the war. Robert Kennedy virtually forced President Johnson to state that he would not seek a second term in the office. Robert Kennedy, a presidential hopeful was assassinated while he was campaigning in the primaries.
Senator Edward Kennedy also had his dream for the White House but it was unfortunately marred by the Chappaquiddick affair. Senator Edward Kennedy championed the cause of Bangladesh in the USA while the then American government was supporting the Pakistanis. Senator Edward Kennedy also came to Bangladesh in 1972 and delivered a speech at the Dhaka University. Bangladesh should have officially mourned his death by hoisting the flag at half mast on his burial day.
During the final nomination of the democratic contender for the presidency, Senator Edward Kennedy lent his support to Barack Obama and this support went a long way in bringing Barack Obama to the White House.
The death of Senator Edward Kennedy closes the chapter of the Kennedy era and fame, as none of their children are in the political limelight.
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