Nowhere was this more evident that at one of the most lavish Inaugural balls that night where a stream of celebrations waited to display their talents such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Harry Belafonte, Ella Fitzgerald etc. This was glamour that heretofore had not been part of any Presidency and an adoring public eagerly lapped up all the details.

Jack Kennedy was exciting, with a beautiful wife by his side and two small children. They seemed to promise a time of change. From the dawn of his Presidency America had a fascination with their new First Family. Across the country Jackie single-handedly changed fashions with more articles devoted to her wardrobe in women's magazines than any other topic. Where possible pictures of the children running through the Oval Office, playing hide and seek with their father were leaked to an adoring public and the appetite for day-to-day trivia on the family was enormous. Jack and Jackie had a vision of a making the White House a place of great beauty and a showcase for the talents of performers from around the world.

Never before had a First Lady had such an impact on the shape of the Presidency. Initially dismayed at the office building that she now had to call home, Jackie set up a committee for the restoration of the White House. She called on her affluent friends from Newport and in her capacity of First Lady begged and borrowed pieces of Art and furniture from Museums and Galleries across the country. With a French ancestry and a deep love of that country she set about turning The White House into a building that would rival any of the great French Chateaus and palaces with her dream of Versailles her starting point.

Jack was somewhat dismayed by his wife's inclination towards all things French and fearing the bad publicity it may cause urged her to use restraint in her new project. He need not have feared. Jackie had a wonderful sense of history and went about trying to find significant historical pieces of furniture that themselves had a place in America's past such as Abraham Lincoln's bed, and Benjamin Franklin's desk that the declaration of Independence had been signed on.

Jackie was also quick to realise that the American public had a right to see this house for what it was and introduced the first edition of the White House Guide book describing the rooms and their themes in detail. This book was to be sold to the visitors for a small fee which itself would go towards the escalating refurbishment costs. She felt that the White House belonged to America and that they in turn were entitled to a building that would reflect their country's remarkable history. She wanted The White House to be a place that visiting dignitaries would be in awe of. This project was to be her greatest achievement as First Lady.

For his part Jack Kennedy most successful programme was to establish the Peace Corps with his brother-in-law Sargent Shriver as director. This programme asked young Americans to go and volunteer their services to aid countries that were struggling economically. Thousands of people took up his call and travelled overseas to begin programmes that would be of enormous benefit to these poorer countries.

It was not to be the successful start that Jack had hoped for however. He had inherited a plan from Eisenhower's white house called Operation Mongoose. This was a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro the communist dictator of the Island of Cuba. Jack was to listen to the Military advisers when they unveiled their plan to have Cuban exiles land at a place called the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. They were then to move into the mountains and take Castro and his government official's prisoner. These men were to arrive by boat and have only two air strikes. Jack was anxious about the air strikes because to the world the picture needed to be one of Cuban exiles fighting to take back their country. However, as the attack began it was obvious that it was in dire trouble immediately, the second air strike was cancelled and the men were left fighting on the beaches against Castro's army and tanks alone. The operation had been a dismal failure with many killed and thousands taken prisoner.

Jack was devastated, having seen combat himself he was all too well aware of what had happened to the men on that beach. Secondly he was concerned about the effect this would have on his image across the country and indeed around the world with people like Khrushchev and De Gaulle. Suddenly his youthful image had been changed to one of inexperience. It was a bitter pill to swallow for someone like Jack. From here on out he distrusted his military aides and turned more and more to his brother Bobby for his counsel. He went on television and explained the fiasco and took responsibility for the debacle. Ironically this only served to make him more popular amongst the public but for Jack it was a steep learning curve in the ways of the Presidency,

One of the Kennedy's personal triumphs was their trip to Europe in 1961 where Jacqueline was so well received with the French public and so dazzled General De Gaulle that Jack was to make his famous quote:
'I do not think it entirely inappropriate to introduce myself, I am the man that accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it'.

The Kennedy's were a big hit in Europe seen as an attractive vibrant young couple and they were feted wherever they went. Unfortunately, for Jack he neither felt that his meeting with Charles De Gaulle in Paris or Khrushchev in Vienna went as well as he had hoped. Kennedy left the summit feeling disappointed and frustrated. Khrushchev he later said had treated him as you would a little boy.

Tension in Europe was high at that time. The Berlin wall was being erected in Germany and the threat seemed very real. Thousands of people had been defecting from East Germany into West Germany all summer and morale in that city was very low. It was a further worry for Jack who had already begun putting advisers into Vietnam in an attempt to help calm the tensions in that country. Worse was to come however, once again in the shape of Cuba.

In October of 1962 President Kennedy's attention was drawn to a series of photographs of the Island of Cuba that had been taken by reconnaissance planes. The photos clearly showed a build up of intermediate range ballistic missiles that would be only miles from the American Coastline. Clearly this could not be tolerated and so began what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Adlai Stevenson made a presentation to the Soviet Ambassador at the UN where he showed the photographic evidence of the missile build up. Again it was ridiculed and denied. For days tensions mounted as a decision was formed about what course of action to take. Kennedy authorised a blockade or a quarantine whereby no Soviet ships would be allowed to enter the waters off Cuba. If this blockade was breached the United States would be left with no option but to declare war.

For thirteen days in October Jack, Bobby and their advisers remained at the White House watching and waiting for events to unfold as America teetered on the brink of War. Bobby ran the war room with a group that became known as the Ex-Comm. Jack called Jackie and the children back from the country to be with him.

Over the course of these days the Soviets downed one of the low flying reconnaissance planes that the US had in the air taking the photographs of Cuba. The pilot was killed. This event seemed to trigger Khrushchev into action aware that the Soviets had drawn the opening fire of the conflict.

Jack received two letters from Khrushchev over the course of those days, the first being a long rambling missive that gave cause for concern as to the state of mind of the premier, the second a tougher more forthright message. Jack and his advisers chose to ignore the second letter responding instead to the first letter. The message that Jack gave the Soviet premier was that the US would pledge not to invade Cuba if the Soviets would remove the missile build up in Cuba. He also secretly agreed to remove the US missiles that remained in Turkey as a further incentive to end the conflict. Khrushchev made the decision to retreat giving Jack his moment in the sun. To many Americans their young leader had pulled them back from an abyss. It was one of the golden moments of his short Presidency. When the test ban treaty was ratified Jack Kennedy was ecstatic - he was a peaceful man who felt this too be one of his great accomplishments.

In June of 1963 Jack made a trip to Europe where he made his famous 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech in the troubled city of Berlin. It was to give hope and encouragement to the people of this city at a time when they had none.

He then travelled to Ireland, for Jack this was a spiritual journey going to the land of his ancestors. Growing up he had always been far more interested in all things English but the trip to his ancestral home in New Ross, Co. Wexford was to open up emotions in him he had long kept hidden. He drank tea and ate cake with his Irish cousins, watched the Irish dancers and listened to the traditional Irish music. He then travelled to Dublin to meet with the President of Ireland Eamon De Valera where he was guest of honour in the Irish Parliament and later at a state dinner.

As he prepared to fly from Shannon to London he proclaimed that 'though it is not the land of my birth, it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection and I will return in the spring'. Alas it was not to be.

Jack flew to London for a meeting with the British Prime Minister Harold McMillan and went on to Italy for an audience with Pope Paul VI. However, it was the two days that he spent in Ireland that meant the most to him and he continued throughout that summer to replay the tapes of the visit over and over again and tell stories about the people saying that the trip had given two of his happiest days.

His happiness was not to last however, as that summer Jackie pregnant with her fourth baby was rushed to hospital for an emergency caesarean section delivering a baby boy prematurely. The child was born with severe lung problems and was unable to breath properly. Jack travelled to Boston to the special children's care unit and stayed with the baby called Patrick until he died almost three days later. The tragedy of this loss deeply affected Jack a man who prided himself on his control of his emotions and he was distraught. He was unable to let go of the baby's casket when it came time for the baby's burial in Boston. He returned to Washington grief-stricken but strangely he had matured and changed over the course of those dark days.

It was from here on that his marriage and personal life seemed to change. After the death of the baby Jackie had gone on a cruise with her sister Lee Radziwill on the yacht of Aristotle Onnassis. Jack kept the children with him at the White House but all of them missed Jackie and looked forward to having her back home. So much so that Jack and the children met Jackie from the plane on her return. Despite his constant philandering throughout the course of the marriage Jackie loved her husband deeply and he in turn seemed to be better at showing his emotions towards her. It was in these last months that husband and wife along with their two children Caroline and John spent quality time together and their relationship deepened and grew. As part of this Jackie who hated campaigning agreed to go to Texas with Jack in November of 1963.

The trip to Dallas was necessary to resolve some in fighting that was going on between Governor John Connolly and Senator Ralph Yarborough. Jack was also to be accompanied by his Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird. Texas was a volatile city at the time and Kennedy was not a popular figure among its citizens. He was not looking forward to the trip but saw it as a necessity as Texas would be crucial in the 1964 election. He needed to help repair the strained relations between the two men and use the trip for some fund raising in preparation of the campaign to come.

Jack and Jackie arrived in San Antonio on Thursday November 21 1963. They enjoyed the afternoon where they were greeted warmly by the people who came out to meet them. They continued to Houston and Fort Worth for a fund-raising breakfast the following morning where again they received a tumultuous welcome.

Later that day the arrived at Dallas Love Field Airport from where they made their way to downtown Dallas in a motorcade with Governor and Mrs. Connolly. As the motorcade made its way onto Houston Street, shots rang out wounding the President in his head and neck. As Jackie turned she was able to see that Jack's head had been shattered by the bullet and in a panic she climbed on the back of the car from where Clint Hill her Secret Service Agent was able to get hold of her and push her back into the car.

The car sped to Parkland hospital but by this time Jackie knew the worst, she was holding her husbands head in her hands and refused to allow anyone look into the car. One of the agents gave her his coat, which she wrapped gently around his head as they lifted him onto a gurney to get him into the emergency room. Shortly before 1pm Jack Kennedy, President of the United States is pronounced dead, felled by an assassins bullet.

For those who admired him you are left with the question What If?