JFK - JFK Memorial - US 259 at OK SH 63 - Big Cedar OK USA
N 34° 38.748 W 094° 38.929
15S E 348889 N 3835001
This memorial at the US 259 highway at the OK State highway 63 commemorates JFK's visit to this lovely part of rural Oklahoma, and features a famous quote from his First Inaugural Address
Waymark Code: WMWR7P
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 10/05/2017
Views: 12
After President Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas in November 1963, the local Knights of Columbus deeded land to the OK Historical Society for a handsome polished red granite cenotaph and landscaped memorial plaza at this spot where Kennedy once stood on a happier occasion in 1961.
The cenotaph preserves one of Kennedy's most famous exhortations in his first Inaugural address, where he implored the young people of America especially to "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
The cenotaph is accessed by a sidewalk with a small plaque reading:
"KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS GIFT
This monument commemorating visit of President John F. Kennedy to Big Cedar was erected under auspices of Knights of Columbus who deeded shaft and land to Oklahoma Historical Society October 30, 1966.
Oklahoma Historical Society 1966"
The cenotaph is made of five pieces of polished red granite, a tall rectangular piece in the center that is framed on wither side by a small rectangle and square that are stacked together to form a L-shape. The long sides of each L rest against the straight sides of the central panel. The memorial reads as follows:
"[L panel]
"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
[C panel]
IN MEMORIAM
[Bronze portrait of JFK]
JOHN
FITGERALD
KENNEDY
1917-1963
[KofC logo]
Dedication of Highway 259
October 29, 1961
[R panel]
Presented as a memorial
to an industrious and dedicated
American
by the Knights of Columbus
and the People of the
State of Oklahoma."
Address:
US 259 at OK SH 63
Big Cedar OK
Website: [Web Link]
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