American Minute for August 2nd:
Navy torpedo boat PT 109 was rammed AUGUST 2, 1943, by a Japanese destroyer and sunk. The commander sustained permanent back injuries yet helped survivors swim miles to shore, which unfortunately was behind enemy lines in the Solomon Islands. After a daring rescue, he was awarded the Medal of heroism. Though one of his brothers was killed in the war, he went on to become a Congressman, Senator, and the 35th U.S. President. His name was John F. Kennedy, who stated in his Inaugural Address: "Let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." In the White House Rose Garden, November 21, 1961, John F. Kennedy said: "When we all - regardless of our particular religious convictions - draw our guidance and inspiration, and really, in a sense, moral direction, from the same general area, the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments, we have every reason to believe that our various religious denominations should live together in the closest harmony." Kennedy concluded: "The basic presumption of the moral law, the existence of God, man's relationship to Him - there is generally consensus on those questions."
