It is very inspiring to me to see students of this great university dedicate themselves in this meaningful way to the memory of President Kennedy.
President Kennedy had a very special meaning to the young and particularly the young at heart. He inspired them by his eloquence. He energized them through his own vitality. But the most important contribution to all of us, his real legacy to our country, was his persuasive argument to the young people of our country to enter the field of politics and government.
He regarded politics as one of the highest forms of human endeavor and he considered service to his country second to none in the fulfillment of a meaningful life and he served his country in many ways. He scorned those who degraded politics or through their actions debased it.
So I want to thank you for this living memorial to President Kennedy's memory this morning. I think it sets an example that all the rest of us in the country can follow and it is certainly a firm reminder that the great strength of this country lies in the willingness of its citizens to bear the burdens necessary to keep our country strong.
If I could have one wish fulfilled, it would be that in these days of trial and tribulation and turbulence in the world that we could have a united America in meeting the problems that we face abroad and that here at home we could close ranks and stand shoulder to shoulder in support of the tolerance and the understanding and the principles of democracy which mean so much to each of us.
Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. in the fish Room at the White House. The delegation from Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J., presented the President with a parchment scroll signed by 6,000 students, and containing the following pledge:
"To the President of the United States, as a
living memorial to John Fitzgerald
Kennedy
"I pledge that I shall freely accept the torch which has been passed on m my generation, that I shall replace all hatred with tolerance, all rashness with patience, all bigotry with love, that I shall commit myself to the full implications of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God and thereby spread those ideals for which John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave his last full measure of devotion. I therefore pledge you, Mr. President, my loyalty, my cooperation and my prayers."
The Very Reverend Monsignor E. 1. Fleming, vice president of Seton Hall, who accompanied the students to the White House, read the pledge to the President.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Remarks to a Delegation of Students from Seton Hall University Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239840
