I AM most pleased to learn of the success of the American expedition on Mount Everest. These American climbers pushing human endurance and experience to their farthest frontiers join the distinguished group of British and Swiss mountaineers who have performed this feat. I know that all Americans will join me in saluting our gallant countrymen.
Note: The President's statement was released following an announcement from Katmandu, Nepal, that an American, later identified as James W. Whittaker, together with a Sherpa guide had reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 1.
Later, on May 25, the White House released the text of a congratulatory message from the President sent upon the completion of an ascent on May 22 by two other teams of the expedition: Barry C. Bishop and Luther O. Jetstad, and Thomas F. Horbein and William Unsoeld. The message was addressed to the expedition's leader, Norman Dyhrenfurth in Kathmandu.
John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President on the Conquest of Mount Everest by American Climbers. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/236023