Janice
07-17-2004, 12:36 AM
It's hard to believe it's been five years.....
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Five years ago, nation mourned loss of JFK Jr.
Five years ago this morning, Americans awoke to the seemingly inconceivable news that there would be no second Camelot.
John F. Kennedy Jr.'s single-engine Piper Saratoga II had vanished from radar July 16, 1999, while en route to Martha's Vineyard from New Jersey. Before that long Saturday of worrying ended, parts of the aircraft were recovered from the surf off the island. Luggage washed ashore.
A massive search involving U.S. Coast Guard ships, jets and helicopters ensued.
Within days, the fuselage was recovered from the unforgiving Atlantic. It contained the body of Kennedy, who was 38; his 33-year-old wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, 35-year-old Lauren Bessette.
Kennedy had his pilot's license for only 15 months and the plane for only three months.
Investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the crash, although evidence pointed to pilot error - a hypothesis rooted in part on the difficult flying conditions the night of the tragedy.
The world would never learn whether the only son of President John F. Kennedy to survive childhood would follow through on hints he might one day enter the family business: politics.
``The potential: we had not seen where he could go,'' Kennedy's friend Robert Littell told CBS News. ``We would have seen him on a convention floor next week. I don't know in what capacity, but I'm sure he would have been the star.''
With John-John's death came rampant speculation.
Stories swirled about the state of the 3-year-old marriage between the person People Magazine dubbed ``Sexiest Man Alive'' and Bessette.
Kennedy graduated from Brown University in Providence and New York University Law School.
After a brief stint in the Manhattan district attorney's office, he founded the political magazine ``George.''
------------------------------------------------------------
Five years ago, nation mourned loss of JFK Jr.
Five years ago this morning, Americans awoke to the seemingly inconceivable news that there would be no second Camelot.
John F. Kennedy Jr.'s single-engine Piper Saratoga II had vanished from radar July 16, 1999, while en route to Martha's Vineyard from New Jersey. Before that long Saturday of worrying ended, parts of the aircraft were recovered from the surf off the island. Luggage washed ashore.
A massive search involving U.S. Coast Guard ships, jets and helicopters ensued.
Within days, the fuselage was recovered from the unforgiving Atlantic. It contained the body of Kennedy, who was 38; his 33-year-old wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, 35-year-old Lauren Bessette.
Kennedy had his pilot's license for only 15 months and the plane for only three months.
Investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the crash, although evidence pointed to pilot error - a hypothesis rooted in part on the difficult flying conditions the night of the tragedy.
The world would never learn whether the only son of President John F. Kennedy to survive childhood would follow through on hints he might one day enter the family business: politics.
``The potential: we had not seen where he could go,'' Kennedy's friend Robert Littell told CBS News. ``We would have seen him on a convention floor next week. I don't know in what capacity, but I'm sure he would have been the star.''
With John-John's death came rampant speculation.
Stories swirled about the state of the 3-year-old marriage between the person People Magazine dubbed ``Sexiest Man Alive'' and Bessette.
Kennedy graduated from Brown University in Providence and New York University Law School.
After a brief stint in the Manhattan district attorney's office, he founded the political magazine ``George.''