This collection of vintage photos recently released by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston shows President Kennedy fulfilling his roles as commander in chief, husband, and father while out at open water.
As a child, the second oldest of nine siblings, the young Kennedy spent his summers in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod, as frequently shown in photos. He continued vacationing in Hyannis Port into adulthood with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and their children. Kennedy also served in the Navy during World War II, when he was stationed in the South Pacific as commander of a patrol torpedo boat.
The Kennedy family has played a major role in American politics. Brothers Robert and Edward Kennedy were prominent senators, and the presidency of John Kennedy was marked by the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis, and the civil-rights movement.
President John F. Kennedy smokes a cigar and reads the newspaper aboard the presidential yacht "Honey Fitz" during Labor Day weekend 1963 off the coast of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. (Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) John and Jacqueline Kennedy observe the First America's Cup Race aboard the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. off Newport, Rhode Island in 1962. (White House Photograph) President Kennedy inspects the United States Coast Guard barque Eagle in 1962. (Robert Knudsen/White House photo) Kennedy sits with his daughter, Caroline Kennedy, as she eats a banana aboard the presidential yacht off the coast of Hyannis Port in August 1963. (Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) Kennedy hugs his son, John F. Kennedy, Jr., in a rowboat on Bailey’s Beach in Newport, Rhode Island in September 1963. (Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) Kennedy reads a magazine aboard the "Honey Fitz" off Hyannis Port in August 1963. (Cecil Stoughton/White House Photo) John F. Kennedy, Jr. stands at the wheel of a speedboat off the coast of Hyannis Port in August 1963. (Cecil Stoughton/White House photographs/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) Kennedy eats an ice cream cone aboard the “Honey Fitz” in August 1963. (Cecil Stoughton/White House photographs) John Jr.’s toy boat, a gift from Italian President Antonio Segni, is launched in Hyannis Port during Independence Day weekend in 1963. (Left to right) John Kennedy; Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts; Caroline Kennedy; and Kennedy family friend Kirk LeMoyne “Lem” Billings (with boat). (Cecil Stoughton/White House photograph/John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library, Boston) Kennedy sits with his daughter, Caroline (second from right); brother-in-law Steve Smith (far left); and niece Maria Shriver (second from left), aboard the Honey Fitz, during a cruise near Hyannis Port in July 1963. (Cecil Stoughton/White House photograph/John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library, Boston) CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite interviews President Kennedy to inaugurate the first half-hour nightly news broadcast in September 1963 outside Brambletyde house on Squaw Island, Hyannis Port. (Cecil Stoughton/White House photograph/John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library, Boston) Kennedy laughs as he visits with press secretary Pierre Salinger (right), aboard the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., during the fourth race of the 1962 America's Cup in Newport, Rhode Island. (Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) Kennedy sits at the helm of the United States Coast Guard boat "Manitou" while sailing off the coast of Johns Island, Maine in 1962. (Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) President Kennedy and party sail aboard "Victura" off Hyannis Port in 1962. (Cecil Stoughton/White House photo) Kennedy waves to the crew of the yacht “Weatherly” (of the New York Yacht Club), while watching the first race of the 1962 America's Cup aboard the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island. (Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) John and Edward Kennedy in a sailboat in Hyannis Port in 1946. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library) Kennedy at the ocean in Hyannis Port, ca. 1940-41. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and LIbrary) John Fitzgerald, Joseph Kennedy Jr., and John Kennedy on a sail boat in Hyannis Port in 1940. (John F. Kennedy Library Foundation) John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier pose on a beach in Hyannis Port with a sailboat for photographers during their engagement weekend in 1953. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library) John and Jacqueline pose on a sailfish boat in Hyannis Port on their engagement weekend. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library) Edward Kennedy in London with toy sailboat, ca. 1938-41. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum and Library) Robert F. Kennedy, John Kennedy (wearing a sailor's hat), and LeMoyne Billings posed on a pier in Palm Beach with two dead sea turtles. (John F. Kennedy Library Foundation) Edward Kennedy posed on beach. (John F. Kennedy Library Foundation) Joseph Kennedy Jr. (standing) and John Kennedy swimming at the beach. (John F. Kennedy Library Foundation)
