Family Unveils New Sculpture on Birthday of John F. Kennedy

BOSTON â€”  America must draw on the memory of John F. Kennedy and “halt the arms race once and for all,â€� Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Tuesday at the unveiling of an 8-foot bronze statue of his slain brother.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the assassinated President’s widow and daughter, also attended the ceremonies on the Statehouse west portico marking the 73rd anniversary of J.F.K.’s birth.

“Today, in a very real way, he has come home to Massachusetts,� Gov. Michael S. Dukakis said in formally accepting the 600-pound bronze sculpture crafted by Isabel McIlvain of Concord, Mass. “Welcome home, Mr. President.�

The ceremony is part of a birthday celebration that included bestowing the first John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on former Alabama Rep. Carl A. Elliott, who was turned out of office in 1964 because of his civil rights advocacy.

The award includes a trophy designed by Edwin Schlossberg--Caroline’s husband--and crafted by Tiffany & Co. in the shape of a ship’s beacon, plus a $25,000 stipend.

The statue shows Kennedy in a familiar pose--in full stride with one hand in his suit coat pocket.

“This remarkable statue not only represents my brother--it also symbolizes what he stood for and lived for--America on the move,� Kennedy said.

“As a student of history, my brother would have a sense of wry humility to find himself standing in this hallowed place--at the top of his city on the hill, looking out over the great Common he loved,� Kennedy said.

In a thinly veiled slap at the policies of former President Ronald Reagan and President Bush, Kennedy also said that “it is a national disgrace and tragedy that we in this rich land still find it so difficult to see the faces pressed against the windows of our affluence.�

Kennedy also urged Bush to draw on J.F.K.’s disarmament efforts in this week’s summit dealings with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.