Brief Biography
John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 to Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald. His father was an American businessman with several ties to politics. He wanted his elder sons to become as prominent as possible in politics. Jack joined the United States Navy in Spring, 1941 and served in World War II in the Pacific theatre, commanding Patrol torpedo boat 109 until it sunk in conflict during 1943. Kennedy led the survivors to a nearby island in the Solomons, where they were rescued.
After the war, he entered politics in 1946 as a member of the Democratic Party. He rose to prominence among party ranks in 1956 when campaigning for the Vice-Presidential nomination of the Party. He lost to Estes Kefauver but came a close second, ahead of Albert Gore, Sr, Robert Ferdinand Wagner, Jr (Mayor of New York City) and Hubert Humphrey. Kefauver had been a strong candidate for the Presidential nomination while Gore, Wagner and Humphrey had all been better known than Kennedy. His success was attributed to his orational skills rather his previous, meager reputation.
Unsatisfied as a US Senator, in 1960, Jack campaigned for the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. His main opponent was Lyndon Baines Johnson. He managed to win the nomination and recruited Johnson as his Vice Presidential candidate. Though a controversial decision, it ensured him votes from southern party factions affiliated to Johnson. Jack went on to win the Presidential election, defeating Richard Nixon of the Republican Party through a very tight margin. There were accusations of electoral fraud from various quarters and several historians consider them well-founded.
Jack was President from January 20, 1961 to his assassination on November 22, 1963. His short term is mostly remembered for the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 (an effort to depose Fidel Castro resulting in a fiasco) and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 (an incident almost causing nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union). American involvement in the Vietnam War also increased during his term, from 800 American military personnel stationed in South Vietnam in 1961 to 16,000 stationed there in 1963.
In domestic affairs, John promised federal funding for education and medical care as part of his “New Frontier.” He continued the efforts of his predecessor, Dwight David Eisenhower, against racial discrimination and created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women to investigate concerns on gender-based discrimination. In order to catch up and eventually over take the Soviets in the Space Race, Kennedy also proposed that the US shall land a man on the moon before the 1960s ended. Kennedy also proposed a Civil Rights Bill that would give fair treatment to peoples regardless of their race or skin color in public settings. However most of his proposed reforms did not result in any actual legal changes to the date of his death. Lyndon Johnson succeeded him as President and did manage to turn many of Kennedy’s proposed reforms into legislative acts.
Major Story Arcs
Marvel
Once raised from the dead by Michael the necromancer, Kennedy joins with George Washington to raise an army of undead soldiers.