Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 22.5 x 19, May 16, 1963. Kennedy appoints Florida Representative Robert L. F. Sikes “a member of the Corregidor Bataan Memorial Commission for a term of four years.” Signed at the bottom by Kennedy, and countersigned by Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Toning and light damp staining to edges, much of which could be matted out, and some light edge rippling, otherwise fine condition. The white seal is crisp and intact, but slightly lifting at the edges and lightly toned.
Sikes was a Democratic congressman from 1941 to 1944, leaving Congress in order to enlist in the US Army during World War II. He was re-elected in 1945 and served until 1979. Although two decades had passed, the Battle of Corregidor, the fall of Bataan, and the horrific Bataan Death March surely must still have weighed heavily on the minds of both Sikes and JFK—the latter himself having served in WWII and earned credibility as a war hero after his PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. In December 1963, a month after the president’s assassination, Congress approved the development of Corregidor Island in Manila Bay as a memorial site to the Philippine and American soldiers, sailors, and marines who lost their lives while serving in the Pacific. A scarce WWII-themed appointment from the year of JFK’s assassination. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
