TLS, one page, 8 x 10.25, Congress of the United States letterhead, August 28, 1947. Letter to a Massachusetts constituent. In full: “Thank you for your telegram. I am taking up the question of the project immediately. I am leaving for Europe on Sunday and if I have not contacted you before then, my secretary, Mr. Frank Morrissey, will get in touch with you next week.” In fine condition, with a few light wrinkles and creases.
On August 31, 1947, while Congress was in recess for the summer, JFK traveled to Ireland as part of a Congressional fact-finding mission, exploring labor and educational conditions in Western Europe and the Soviet Union. Before his departure, he hurried to tie up as many loose ends in the nation’s capital as possible, including “taking up the question of the project immediately” for this Massachusetts voter. While overseas, he decided to combine business with pleasure and visited with his sister, Kathleen. The trip held something else in store for the future president—a diagnosis of Addison’s disease, a rare, chronic disorder in which the adrenal glands produce insufficient steroid hormones. Although JFK always denied such a diagnosis, with the substantial secrecy surrounding his health during his presidency adding to the mystery, it is widely accepted that the correct diagnosis came during the visit referenced in this correspondence. A desirable letter from early in JFK’s political career.
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