Wikipedia

Kenneth O'Donnell

Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell[1](March 4, 1924 – September 9, 1977) was an Americanpolitical consultantand the special assistant and appointments secretary to PresidentJohn F. Kennedyfrom 1961 until Kennedy'sassassination in November 1963.O'Donnell was a close friend of President Kennedy and his younger brotherRobert F. Kennedy.O'Donnell, along withLarry O'BrienandDavid Powers,was part of the group of Kennedy's close advisers dubbed the "Irish Mafia."[2]

Kenneth O'Donnell
White House Appointments Secretary
In office
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byThomas Stephens(Appointments Secretary)
Wilton Persons(Chief of Staff)
Succeeded byJack Valenti(Appointments Secretary)
Walter Jenkins(Chief of Staff, de facto)
Personal details
Born
Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell

(1924-03-04)March 4, 1924
Worcester, Massachusetts,U.S.
DiedSeptember 9, 1977(1977-09-09)(aged 53)
Boston,Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeHolyhood Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Helen Sullivan
​
​
(m.1947; died 1977)​
Asta Steinfatt
​
(m.1977)​
Children5
Parent(s)Alice Guerin
Cleo Albert O'Donnell
EducationHarvard University(BA)
Boston College(LLB)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Air Forces
Years of service1942–1945
Battles/warsWorld War II

O'Donnell also served as an aide to PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonfrom 1963 to 1965. He later served as an adviser to Robert Kennedy's1968 presidential campaign.

Early life

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O'Donnell was born inWorcester, Massachusetts,and raised inBoston.Both of his parents wereCatholicsofIrish descent.[3]He was the son of Alice M. (Guerin) andCleo Albert O'Donnell,who was thefootballcoach at theCollege of the Holy Cross Crusadersfor two decades, and later athletics director for all sports activities.[4]O'Donnell's older brother, also named Cleo, was a football star atHarvardduring the 1940s.[5]

O'Donnell graduated from high school duringWorld War IIand then served in theU.S. Army Air Forces(1942–1945), where he flew 30 missions as a bombardier in aB-17squadron before being shot down over Belgium. "He was imprisoned, escaped, and emerged with theDistinguished Flying CrossandAir Medalwith Four Oak Leaf Clusters. "[6]Following the war, he studied atHarvard College(1946–1949) and metRobert F. Kennedy,where they were roommates[7]as well as teammates on theHarvard football team;O'Donnell became team captain in 1948. The two remained close friends until Kennedy'sassassinationin 1968.[8]

Following graduation from Harvard, O'Donnell attended law school atBoston Collegefrom 1950–51. He later worked as a salesman for the Hollingsworth & Vose Paper Company and then the Whitney Corporation, both inBoston,from 1951 to 1952. O'Donnell later worked inpublic relationsfrom 1952 to 1957.[7]

Career

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O'Donnell's friendship with Robert Kennedy led to his involvement with the Kennedy family's political careers. In 1946, Robert Kennedy enlisted him to work on the first congressional campaign of his elder brother, John F. Kennedy.[7]In 1952, O'Donnell and Robert Kennedy campaigned together to get John elected to theU.S. Senate.[8]O'Donnell then went on to serve as John Kennedy's unpaid political observer in Massachusetts,[7]until 1957, when he became assistant counsel to theSenate Labor Rackets Committee,where he worked for Robert Kennedy, who had been appointed chief counsel of the Committee.[8]

In 1958, O'Donnell became a member of Senator John Kennedy's staff, where he was later a key organizer and adviser during Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1960.[7]The following year, he became President Kennedy's special assistant andAppointments Secretary.He later advised the President during the lead up to theBay of Pigs invasionand during the 1962Cuban Missile Crisis.[7]

O'Donnell arranged President Kennedy's trip to Dallas in November 1963 and was in a car just behind thepresident's limousinewhen Kennedy wasassassinated.Kennedy's death was an enormous blow to O'Donnell, who long blamed himself for the assassination.[8]

On May 18, 1964, O'Donnell provided testimony toNorman RedlichandArlen Specter,assistant counsel for theWarren Commission.[9]O'Donnell stated that it was his impression that the shots fired at Kennedy came from the right rear.[10][11]In their memoir of Kennedy,Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye,both O'Donnell andDavid Powersreported hearing only three shots and did not offer any speculation as to their origin.[12]According to a June 15, 1975 report in theChicago Tribune,an unnamed "Central Intelligence Agencyliaison man "told Congressmen that O'Donnell andDavid Powershad initially told assassination investigators that the shots that struck Kennedy came from a location other than theTexas School Book Depository,but that the two men were convinced, reportedly by FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hooveror his top aides, to alter their accounts to theWarren Commissionto avoid the possibility of revealing theCIA's plots to kill Fidel Castrowhich might lead to an international incident.[12]Responding in a telephone interview, O'Donnell said he testified truthfully and called the allegations "an absolute, outright lie."[12]In his 1987 autobiographyMan of the House,formerHouse SpeakerTip O'Neillwrote that he had dinner with O'Donnell and Powers in 1968, and that both men indicated that two shots were fired from behind the fence on the grassy knoll at Dealey Plaza.[13]According to O'Neill, he pointed out to O'Donnell that he gave different information to the Warren Commission, and O'Donnell replied: "I told the FBI what I had heard, but they said it couldn't have happened that way and that I must have been imagining things. So I testified the way they wanted me to. I just didn't want to stir up any more pain and trouble for the family."[13]However, Dave Powers denied such conversation and claim took place and criticized his autobiography.[14]O'Donnell's son, Kenneth Jr., stated that his father privately called the Warren Commission “the most pointless investigation I’ve ever seen", and that he claimed shots came from two different directions.[15]

After serving as a presidential aide toLyndon Johnsonuntil early 1965,[7][16]O'Donnell resigned in order to try to win the Democratic nomination forGovernor of Massachusettsin 1966. However, he lost by 64,000 votes toEdward McCormackin a race that was much closer than the polls had predicted.[8]In 1968, he served as campaign manager for Robert Kennedy in his bid for the presidency.[8]

Robert Kennedy'sassassinationinLos Angeleson June 5, 1968, was a more devastating blow to O'Donnell than the assassination of President Kennedy five years earlier.[8]He soon joined, as did many others in Kennedy's campaign,Hubert Humphrey'spresidential campaign,serving as campaign manager.[7]In 1970, he made another attempt to win the Democratic nomination for governor, but finished fourth in a field of four Democrats, with just nine percent of the vote.[8]

In 1972, O'Donnell andDavid Powersco-authored a book about President Kennedy,"Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye":Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.[17]

Marriages and children

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While at Harvard, O'Donnell married Helen Sullivan in 1947.[5][18]They had five children: Kenneth Jr., twins Kathleen and Kevin, Mark and Helen.[19]In January 1977, his wife Helen died of the effects ofalcoholism.[8][20]He remarried shortly after that to Asta Hanna Helga Steinfatt, a native of Germany.[19][21]O'Donnell died a few months later.[21]

Death

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In the years following the assassinations of President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, O'Donnell grew increasingly depressed and began drinking heavily.[8]

On August 11, 1977, O'Donnell was admitted toBeth Israel Hospitalin Boston for a gastrointestinal ailment brought on from the effects of alcoholism.[8][20]His condition grew progressively worse. He died on September 9 at the age of 53.[20]At the request of O'Donnell's family, no cause of death was publicly announced.[22]O'Donnell's younger daughter, Helen, later attributed her father's death to alcoholism.[23]

On September 12, 1977, afuneral Masswas held at the Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church inJamaica Plain.Among the attendees were former mayor of BostonJohn F. Collins,former Speaker of the HouseJohn William McCormack,and several members of the Kennedy family, including President Kennedy's widow,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.[24]

Assessments

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Praise

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In his biographyWith Kennedy(1966),Pierre Salingerwrites:

It was my impression that O'Donnell had the greatest influence in shaping the President's most important decisions. He was able to set aside his own prejudices against individuals and his own ideological commitments (I would rate him a moderate Democrat) and appraise the alternatives with total objectivity. It was impossible to categorize O'Donnell, as White House observers did with other staff members, as either a "hawk" or a "dove" on foreign policy, or aStevensonliberal orTrumanconservative oncivil rights.JFK gave extra weight to O'Donnell's opinions because he knew he had no personal cause to argue. Ken had only one criterion: Will this action help or hurt the President? And that, for O'Donnell, was another way of asking: Will it help or hurt the country?

Criticism

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In his autobiographyCounselor,Ted Sorensen,who served as special counsel to President Kennedy, claimed that O'Donnell polarized the JFK staff until it became two factions: the professional "politicians" and the academics (such as Sorensen andArthur Schlesinger). Sorensen also wrote that O'Donnell's antipathy towards him was so deep that in 1976/77 he worked to derail Sorensen's nomination asDirector of Central IntelligenceforJimmy Carter.[citation needed]

Memoir

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In 1998,William Morrow & Co.publishedA Common Good: The Friendship of Robert F. Kennedy and Kenneth P. O'Donnell.The memoir was written by O'Donnell's daughter, freelance writer Helen O'Donnell, and chronicles her father's close friendship with Robert Kennedy.[8]

Portrayals

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Bibliography

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  • O'Donnell, Helen (1998).A Common Good: The Friendship of Robert F. Kennedy and Kenneth P. O'Donnell.William Morrow & Co.ISBN978-0-688-14861-4.
  • O'Donnell, Kenneth; Powers, David (1972)."Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye": Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.Little, Brown & Co.ISBN0-316-71625-1.

References

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  1. ^"Kenneth Patrick O'Donnell." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 10: 1976–1980.Charles Scribner's Sons.1995.
  2. ^Barnes, Bart (March 28, 1998)."JFK Aide David Francis Powers Dies at 85".The Washington Post.p. B06.RetrievedMarch 13,2023.
  3. ^Siracusa, Joseph M. (2012).Encyclopedia of the Kennedys: The People and Events That Shaped America.ABC-CLIO. p. 616.ISBN978-1-598-84539-6.
  4. ^Wrone, David R.(2000)."O'Donnell, Kenneth P. (04 March 1924–09 September 1977), politician | American National Biography".doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0700618.ISBN978-0-19-860669-7.
  5. ^ab"O'Donnell Leads '48 Football Team-Varsity Chooses Brother of Cleo".The Harvard Crimson.November 26, 1947.RetrievedOctober 19,2012.
  6. ^Johnson, Haynes, "Kenneth O'Donnell, Kennedy White House Aide, Dies",The Washington Post,Washington, D.C., Saturday 10 September 1977.
  7. ^abcdefgh"Kenneth P. O'Donnell biography".John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.RetrievedOctober 19,2012.
  8. ^abcdefghijklWashington Post: Political Junkie, January 26, 2001Retrieved 2010-02-26
  9. ^"Testimony of Kenneth P. O'Donnell".Hearings before the President's Commission on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.Vol. VII. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp.440–457.
  10. ^Hearings before the President's Commission on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Volume VII 1964,pp. 448–449.
  11. ^Bugliosi, Vincent(2007).Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p.468.ISBN978-0-393-04525-3.
  12. ^abc"Probe of agency raises new questions in slaying of JFK".Chicago Tribune.Vol. 129, no. 166 (Final ed.). June 15, 1975. pp. 1, 6.RetrievedJune 3,2017.
  13. ^abO'Neill, Thomas P.;Novak, William(1987).Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill.Random House. p.178.ISBN0-394-56505-3.
  14. ^"Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search".
  15. ^Talbot, David (2007).Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years.Free Press. p. 294.ISBN978-0-7432-6918-6.OCLC83977441.
  16. ^"Kennedy aides resign White House positions".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). Associated Press. January 16, 1965. p. 2.
  17. ^"Ken O'Donnell, Aide to JFK, Dies at 53".The Hour.(Norwalk, Connecticut). UPI. September 9, 1977. p. 6.
  18. ^ "Kenneth O'Donnell Named As White House Assistant".Toledo Blade.(Ohio). November 11, 1960. p. 2.
  19. ^ab"Kenneth O'Donnell, JFK Political Confidant, Dies".The Times-News.(Hendersonville, North Carolina). Associated Press. September 9, 1977. p. 13.
  20. ^abc"Death Takes JFK aide O'Donnell".Chicago Tribune.Associated Press. September 10, 1977. p. 11, sec. 2.
  21. ^abThe New York Times Biographical Service.Vol. 8. New York Times & Arno Press. 1977. p. 1300.
  22. ^"Ken O'Donnell dies; Aide, Close Pal of JFK".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Associated Press. September 10, 1977. p. 14.
  23. ^Bedell Smith, Sally (2006).Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House.Random House Publishing Group. p. 531.ISBN0-345-48497-5.
  24. ^"JFK Death Is Mentioned At Service".Observer-Reporter.Washington, Pennsylvania. September 13, 1977. p. D-2.RetrievedSeptember 16,2015.
  25. ^This portrayal of O'Donnell as a major figure in theCuban Missile Crisishas been disputed by several surviving Kennedy administration members and historians; see:Nelson, Michael, Political Science Professor,Rhodes College(February 2, 2001)."Thirteen Days' Doesn't Add Up".Chronicle of Higher Education.Vol. The Chronicle Review. pp. B15.RetrievedApril 29,2010.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link);andThirteen Days.-PBS.
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Political offices
Preceded by White House Appointments Secretary
1961–1963 		Succeeded by
Preceded byasWhite House Chief of Staff Succeeded byasWhite House Chief of Staff
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