Text of Closing Words of Kennedy's Last Speech

A handbill circulating in Dallas just prior to Kennedy's assassination

November marks the 50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, an event I clearly remember. I recently ran across the following excerpt of timely closing remarks he had prepared for an evening State Democratic Committee meeting in Austin on the day he was assassinated:

"... this is a time for courage and a time for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the fainthearted are needed. And our duty as a Party is not to our Party alone, but to the nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.

"So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation's future is at stake.

"Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause -- united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future -- and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance."

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