I KNOW that I am speaking for all of my fellow Americans in expressing our deep sense of shock and loss in the untimely death of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Dag Hammarskjold.
Dag Hammarskjold's dedication to the cause of peace, his untiring labors to achieve it, his courage under attack, his willingness to accept all responsibility in trying to strengthen the United Nations and make it a more effective instrument for the aspirations of the hundreds of millions of people around the globe who desire to live out their lives--those efforts of his are well known.
It is tragic and ironic that his death came during a mission he was undertaking in order to bring about a cease-fire in Katanga.
I am hopeful that the members of the United Nations, recognizing his untiring labors, will attempt in the coming sessions and in the years to come to try to build the United Nations into the effective instrument for peace which was Dag Hammarskjold's great ambition.
I express my sympathy to his country, the Government of Sweden, and I hope that all of us will recognize the heavy burdens that his passing places upon us.
Note: The President read the statement to members of the press in the Fish Room at the White House where it was also recorded for broadcast by radio and television. In addition, he issued Proclamation 3430 (26 F.R. 8877) which provided that, in honor and tribute to Mr. Hammarskjold, the National Flag should be flown at half-staff on all Government buildings of the United States until the interment.
Another text of the statement was released by the White House prior to its actual delivery.
John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President on the Death of Dag Hammarskjold Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/235624
