President John F Kennedy's Handwritten Air Force One Note

Pencil on gold-embossed “Aboard Air Force One” letterhead with Presidential Seal
7.25 x 4.375 inches

In this historically compelling note, Kennedy sketched a small sailboat in the upper right corner. He then wrote the words, “Space Race – Man walks on Moon before 1970,” underlining the year. JFK then wrote and boldly framed the word NASA in capital letters. He concluded with an odd doodle of three triangles with two circles. One cannot exemplify enough the chronicled essence of this piece with respect to mankind’s greatest accomplishment in world history; a remarkable feat by a beloved martyred president.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy began a dramatic expansion of the U.S. space program and committed the nation to the ambitious goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. In his address to the Joint Session of Congress on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy stated: "First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." This historic speech would change the course of history and set the United States on a mission to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Again, on September 12, 1962, in his address at Rice University,in Houston, Texas the President emphasized the necessity for the United States to become an international leader in space exploration. In that speech, Kennedy characterized space as a new frontier, infusing his speech with a sense of urgency and destiny and famously said, "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."

From the Michael J. Kirwan Collection. Michael Kirwan was an American politician who served as a Representative to Congress from 1937 until his death in 1970. Kirwan forged a strong friendship/mentorship with a young Jack Kennedy during Kennedy’s years in Congress, first as a Representative and then as Senator. Kennedy and Kirwan were both devout Catholics and of proud Irish-American heritage. They were good friends from January 1947 to November 1963. Among the highlights of Kirwan's later career was an event held in his honor at Youngstown's Idora Park Ballroom. The keynote speaker at that event was U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, who would run successfully as the Democratic presidential candidate the following year. The bond continued throughout Kennedy’s presidency, with Kennedy supporting many of Kirwan’s conservation causes, and as fellow Irishman with Kennedy including Kirwan when he hosted the Ambassador of Ireland at the White House, and attending Kirwan’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. As personal secretary to Kennedy during both his Senatorial and Presidential years, Evelyn Lincoln often reminded Kennedy to pass on his doodles and unofficial documents to his friend Kirwan. Upon Michael Kirwan’s death in 1970, his widow gifted his collection to presidential historian, John Burke Jovich.

Provenance:
Michael J. Kirwan Collection
John Burke Jovich Collection