The Anguish of Jackie Kennedy

[Douglas Caddy]

From the article: “Do you think God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself?" Jackie asked the priest. "It is so hard to bear. I feel as though I am going out of my mind at times. Wouldn't God understand that I just want to be with him?"

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/12/opinion/maier-jackie-kennedy-letters/index.html

[Glenn Nall]

i'm glad to see this thread begun. I've been looking for the chance to say how immeasurable my admiration for this woman has grown over time. From the thousands of photos of Jackie in various levels of candidacy, a person can begin to see the depth of her soul if he looks. She is more beautiful than I ever used to think she was (to get that out of the way...). Her passion for each breath she took, and her children, and her husband, even though she knew his games, is obvious, and it is beautiful, as well.

Her backbone is so obviously of the highest order; the hours following the death of her husband, the murder which occurred physically in her lap, her husband, the President of the United States, another spine of steel, she holding his head together - standing next to that rotten POS as he took the oath of office on his own terms - the anguish and strength she endured those next few days, all the while making executive decisions on the minutiae of burying a murdered President.

ALL of that with the Grace and Calm incomparable.

I've come to know that she was one amazing woman, and i will admit that, although she's passed on, it's partly for her pain that I wish this tragedy solved and, if possible, someone drawn and quartered.

Grace and Peace to Jacqueline Kennedy.

[Jon G. Tidd]

Jackie Kennedy helped this country deal with a tragedy, not with a crime. I admire her spine and grace.

Jackie had herself and her children to protect. She took a reasonable step in marrying Onassis. He could provide protection.

The saddest aspect of the Kennedy saga for me was the murder, yes murder, of JFK, Jr. Which occurred after Jackie's death. And which assured no Kennedy would seek to re-open the JFK assassination.

[David Andrews]

This will be unpopular, but I feel that the Onassis marriage was ill-considered and a mistake, as both parties realized afterward. It brought neither any pleasure, though I'm not particularly concerned with Ari's pleasure. As far as protecting her children, no harm came to either until her son made the wrong noises about an investigation and a political run. She ought to have known Ari's lifespan couldn't outrun the children's adulthood and independence. And there has been the suggestion that she needed Ari's money for personal reasons.

I have no dislike for Jackie - quite the opposite. I share the sentiments and the regard for her - and for her dignity in widowhood - that others have expressed on this page. But the Onassis union seems like a desperation move. We will never know fully her reasons for acting on his longstanding interest in her.

Edited October 18, 2015 by David Andrews

[Glenn Nall]

this will be as unpopular, but my take on the topic was in regards to Jackie the woman and her grace and strength, and her anguish (you can tell by the title) - and NOT about whatever decisions she made post facto. Or her son, or her money -

in my studies of the subject of the murder of john f kennedy, one of the richest things i've sustained is what little knowledge i've gained from seeing what kind of a human being she was. I'm brought to emotion when I see photos of her at Love Field less than an hour before her life is to be shattered.

who she married later, and what political ramifications were held therein are irrelevant. Jackie Kennedy endured what very few people in the world could have with the very definition of Grace and Honor.

When Gary Mack passed, the thread that was to honor him went so far astray as to be embarrassing. I'd like to think this forum contains the dignity to let honor lie where it belongs, and let politics and tedium be damned.

Forgive me. Jackie Kennedy means a lot to me, and I feel the need to speak up.

[David Andrews]

She gave the world, and her first husband, and her children, every bit of what she owed. I won't take anything away from that.

Edited October 18, 2015 by David Andrews

[Dawn Meredith]

Jackie Kennedy helped this country deal with a tragedy, not with a crime. I admire her spine and grace.

Jackie had herself and her children to protect. She took a reasonable step in marrying Onassis. He could provide protection.

The saddest aspect of the Kennedy saga for me was the murder, yes murder, of JFK, Jr. Which occurred after Jackie's death. And which assured no Kennedy would seek to re-open the JFK assassination.

John: I agree with you 100%. I see some calling the Kennedy family cowards ( and worse) for not pushing for the truth. How many in this family do they wish to see murdered? One person has even gone so far as to post that they are co-conspirators. But then this person called me a co-conspirator too so I put little stock in what this person posts.

[Douglas Caddy]

Letters that Jackie wrote to friends in the years after the assassination of JFK showed that she suffered from PTSD until her death. Who wouldn't have done the same after going through the living nightmare that she did on November 22, 1963? An employee of my dentist in Houston worked in an exclusive dentist's office in New York City when Jackie was a client. She was known as an endless smoker and this presented a special challenge to the dentist. Constantly smoking was another sign of suffering PTSD. She died of cancer at age 64, probably brought on by endless stress in post-1963. She was a victim in a sense as much as was JFK of the evil cabal that plotted and carried out the murder of her husband. Fortune spared her seeing the mysterious death of John, Jr. as such a blow might have pushed her totally over the edge mentally if not physically.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Douglas Caddy