Posted on 07/18/2017 6:48:56 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen
Shortly after leaving a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Edward Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond. Kennedy escaped the submerged car, but his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, did not. The senator did not report the fatal car accident for 10 hours. ---SNIP--- Kennedy escaped the car and then dove down in an attempt to retrieve Kopechne from the sunken Oldsmobile. Failing, he stumbled back to the cottage, where he enlisted Gargan and another friend in a second attempt to save Kopechne. The three men were unsuccessful; her body was not recovered. The trio then went to the ferry slip, where Kennedy dove into the water and swam back to Edgartown, about a mile away.
(Excerpt) Read more at history.com ...
The times were very different. Kennedy family had a lot of power especially in that area. Her family were nobodies and whether or not she was pregnant she was with a married man when she died so am sure they were mortified to dig into it. Also sure it would not have mattered if they had, I do not think it would have changed anything. I am not so sure he even had to pay them off, I think they likely wanted it to just go away.
You may be right but he was in better shape back then. In earlier years I read that he had climbed the matterhorn so he indeed was fit in his youth.
The reason for its unavailability in public libraries could be its age--it was published almost three decades ago. Nowadays, public libraries often aggressively "weed," or remove books that are old and/or have low circulation rates so as to make room for newer books. Nonetheless, one would think that a book about a prominent local figure would not be so hard to find in local public libraries.
Chappaquiddick - Wampanoag for ‘The place where Presidential ambitions die by a Kennedy.’
I doubt he could swim 700 INCHES...
I read ‘Teddy Bare’ which was good, too.
I hadn’t thought of that...in actuality, the book was indeed available, for some reason it hadn’t shown up in my searches in the past, so there is the possibility I was searching incorrectly...but you make a good point.
I may have to check that out...
No worries!
“Kennedy escaped the car and then dove down in an attempt to retrieve Kopechne from the sunken Oldsmobile.”
Huh? He escaped the car and then ran like a scared little girl and hid out — like a scared little girl.
“I think Kennedy was saved by the fact that this was the weekend of the first Moon landing.”
Much like Gary Condit, Joe Scarborough, and John Kasich being saved by the 9/11 attacks.
Kennedy showed up at Mary Jo Kopechne's memorial service wearing a neck brace. Conservative commentator Tom Anderson explained that it was to hold his head up.
Nice! Thanks very much!
It’s hard to believe Massachusetts was once more conservative and politically mainstream...a long, long time ago.
So was I. Used to swim a measured mile. Of course we were racing to see who could get there first, but still, at the finish line, it was hard to get out of the pool. We were exhausted. We were NOT drunk, either. Teddy had been consuming alcohol. He was not a youngster either. Do you know how long it takes the average skilled swimmer to swim a mile ?
Let me ask you this question.
He drove off the Dike Bridge. All he had to do was get to the shore, which was within 50 feet. Why would he swim a mile in ANY DIRECTION ? Where could he swim to that he couldn’t get out of the water and walk to ?
I have no idea. As far as I am concerned Teddy boy told a story that was a pack of lies.
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