Letter from Bobbie Lou Pendergrass to President Kennedy
2/18/1963
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This is a typed copy of a letter sent by Bobbie Lou Pendergrass to President John F. Kennedy just after she lost her brother, Specialist James Delmas McAndrew, in South Vietnam. He was one of seven crew members killed in a helicopter crash.
Pendergrass contrasts the Vietnam War with World War II and the Korean War, in which her older brothers fought. She describes those wars as ones in which Americans knew that they were giving their lives for their country. She questions fighting in Vietnam, "a country where half our country never even heard of." She describes bitter feelings toward the war and decribes Americans in Vietnam as "sitting ducks," and says that "we should send enough [troops] to have a chance" of winning.
Kennedy sent a letter in response to Pendergrass. You can also read the original handwritten version.
Pendergrass contrasts the Vietnam War with World War II and the Korean War, in which her older brothers fought. She describes those wars as ones in which Americans knew that they were giving their lives for their country. She questions fighting in Vietnam, "a country where half our country never even heard of." She describes bitter feelings toward the war and decribes Americans in Vietnam as "sitting ducks," and says that "we should send enough [troops] to have a chance" of winning.
Kennedy sent a letter in response to Pendergrass. You can also read the original handwritten version.
This primary source comes from the Collection JFK-WHCF: Papers of President Kennedy: White House Central Files.
National Archives Identifier: 194134
Full Citation: Bobbie Lou Pendergrass Letter (typed version) to President Kennedy; 2/18/1963; Papers of President Kennedy: White House Central Files: White House Subject File: National Security - Defense; Papers of President Kennedy: White House Central Files: White House Subject File, 1/20/1961 - 11/22/1963; Collection JFK-WHCF: Papers of President Kennedy: White House Central Files; John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, MA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/pendergrass-kennedy, March 24, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.