Remembering JFK Jr. 25 years after deadly plane crash

John F. Kennedy Jr., who was born days after his father was elected as the 35th president, died 25 years ago in a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard. NBC’s Anne Thompson reports on a new biography about his life, and Matt Berman, a friend and colleague at George magazine, joins TODAY to look at Kennedy’s legacy.
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#jfkjr #kennedyfamily #johnjkennedyjr

[@Sophie_kent]

Carolyn’s mother suffered through a huge loss. Two children gone. So sad.

[@timd4789]

So true just devasting for her.

[@garylefevers]

Something that seems to go overlooked unfortunately.

[@MsMadmax1]

She lost more than two children. Jackie had a full-term pregnancy that the baby was stillborn and several other miscarriages. She grieved them all and often all by herself.

[@thomasappelby1202]

Yeah, and Lisa Bessette lost her twin sister, her younger sister and brother-in-law.

[@rosebud2222]

@Sophie_kent They are all alive, JFK Jackie JFKJ Carolyn Marilyn Monro Elvis and hundreds more,blackout due anytime now.

[@lalaking7974]

I worked for his cousin for awhile and he called the office a few times. One time, I thought he said his name was "Sean", and though he must have thought I was the dumbest person in the room, he simply giggled a bit and gently repeated his, "John". He never had an attitude when he called. Cannot believe this tragedy was 25 years ago. So heartbreaking.

[@bobbicampbell5233]

that's an awesome story - and goes along with so many other things we've heard about him.Just a good dude. Thanks for sharing.

[@cathleanjohnson675]

Yes he may have been a good guy but you have to question his judgement, he should not have flown that plane with a bad leg, so sad, what could have been..

[@RedheadLondon]

They say Sean is Irish for John, and the Kennedys were proud upholders of their Irish roots. John Lennon said he called his son Sean, as it was Irish for John.

[@thisis.michelletorres444]

I worked in the same office as his sister-in-law, sat in front of her office. She was on the plane too! She spoke fluent Chinese, very beautiful and interesting woman. RIP Lauren, Carolyn and John.

[@cocoaorange1]

I never knew Lauren spoke fluent Chinese. I love learning languages as well.

[@samreilly1484]

她也读和写中文吗？

[@thisis.michelletorres444]

@@samreilly1484 Well, she can't, she passed away. But I think she did. She learned from a college friend and her family; she was very close with them. She was proud of having learned and really appreciated the culture. That's all I remember.

[@samreilly1484]

@@thisis.michelletorres444 oh right sorry I didn’t put this in the past tense. Unlike English, you don’t have to conjugate verbs in Chinese. How did you read all this btw?

[@RedheadLondon]

@@samreilly1484There's a 'translate to English' underneath every foreign sentence!

[@perlaperezgutierrez4761]

Jfk Jr. was the combination of his mother and father that is why he was so good looking. He got the best of both.

[@KatharineDalton-xv5ud]

JFK and Jackie were both extremely attractive. JFK, JR was the perfect blend of both parents (all due respect to his lovely sister). He was impossibly gorgeous ❤ He did, however, have ADD or ADHD, both cause problems with attention and memory, and can also cause impulsiveness. What a tragic loss of a young man who might have followed in his father's footsteps to the presidency. 😢

[@jrmetmoi]

I see a lot of Jackie O in John John’s face

[@Swimininmonet]

I just said the same thing to myself

[@RedheadLondon]

Yeah, Kennedy was pale and reddish, the Irish origin. Got Jackie's colouring.

[@Mary4579]

Wow. Can’t believe it’s been 2 and a half decades. I’m now the age John was when he was killed; I’m 38 now. When he was killed I was 13, not quite 14. RIP John, Carolyn and Lauren. Gone but never forgotten

[@mollygiovanna1095]

So many people were looking for his father in him… what a heavy weight to bear. Sad he lost his father so soon and never got to really know or learn from him.

[@chrisgullett4332]

His dad was a trash human being. Does not mean he was trash too, but he was nothing special. What we now know is he was not a nice person, and seemed to be living a chaotic life.

[@mollygiovanna1095]

@@chrisgullett4332 JFK cheated on Jackie. His grandfather was a criminal. JFK JR failed the bar three times. His magazine going down the toilet. He definitely wasn’t smart or remarkable. Everyone treated him like he was though.

[@gingermaynor495]

I still miss him. Cannot believe it was 25 years ago. He left a gap in US culture. Nobody else has come close to being what he was to this country.

[@bobbicampbell5233]

Same. Just doesn't seem right.

[@lisabradford8180]

i agree💔💔

[@deborahblackvideoediting8697]

So true.

[@perlaperezgutierrez4761]

He was so so handsome and charming! How could he be gone for 25 years now. Sad!

[@mariefortunato4737]

Have never forgotten him!

[@lenaaustin6692]

Remember it like yesterday. RIP to the Trio. Going to Rory 's wedding. ❤

[@lisabradford8180]

me neither. John is one of those people that won't be forgotten any time soon💯

[@lenaaustin6692]

@@lisabradford8180 thank you. Aquina. Much love.

[@lisabradford8180]

@@lenaaustin6692 😁😘

[@mortalclown3812]

A person's friends tell a lot about them. Rest in paradise, J.

[@integrityinus5018]

A good looking man! I hope he is resting peacefully!

[@user-fb8uw1ui5x]

I remember this and it was a really sad day for the US 😔😔😔....

[@mrs.herculepoirot7763]

"To be Irish, is to know that in the end, the world is going to break your heart." Sen. Pat Moynihan

[@YortOK]

Ugh

[@garylefevers]

Sad but true.

[@57highland]

"There's no point in being Irish if you don't know that the world is eventually going to break your heart."

[@adolphesax1982]

Pretty sad story, isn't it? His dad was murdered, his mother died too soon, he married the wrong woman, his magazine didn't go well and his life ended when he flew his plane into the water. Fame and money isn't everything in the world.

[@cocoaorange1]

You should use common sense as he had a broken leg, he should not have flown a plane.

[@MeMeDaVinci]

The magazine was only out a few months when he died...

[@bobbicampbell5233]

@@MeMeDaVinci The magazine had been out for several years by then. Debuted in 1995, John died in 1999.

[@bobbicampbell5233]

@@cocoaorange1 He had a broken ankle, and had just had his cast removed the day before. But no, he shouldn't have flown in that weather, but he was impatient and tried to push it further than fate was willing to let him go.

[@samreilly1484]

@@bobbicampbell5233 plus he only had 300 flight hours and didn’t have an instrument rating. He could only fly VFR. And he was too arrogant and wouldn’t let an instructor fly with him. Very tragic and preventable and this could have been the next governor of New York three and a half years later and he might have even run for president afterwards.

[@katieayers176]

How is it 25 years already

[@nevillemenezes2102]

Hard to believe he would have been 63 has he lived! Like his father "he had every gift but length in years" - as famously said by his uncle Teddy at his memorial service.

[@tylerlozano9849]

Before this day 25 ago we lost hope for a true lost US President.

[@Punisher6791]

Bro do you even Grammar?

[@ikkespillendekarakter3924]

He would never have been president.

[@muffs55mercury61]

He'd be 63 right now, an excellent age for a president.

[@samreilly1484]

@@ikkespillendekarakter3924 but he might have become the next governor of New York three and a half years after his untimely passing and anything could have happened after that. Plus he had his dad’s name and turned 3 the day after his dad was assassinated.

[@tylerlozano9849]

Kennedy Obama 08 would be the great ticket for The Democrat in 2008 I know most disagree with me I saw the Video He was upset about Columbine he probably if he lived be more upset about 9/11/01 that tragic event might have been maybe got him into First New York Governor then President Number 44 beating John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2008.

[@samanthab1923]

Still brings tears to my eyes. ❤🙏🏻

[@adrianbredell1446]

Wow jfk jr & Mike Tyson were friends

[@rizzo3170]

I still miss JFK Jr. What a sweet guy he was - we were exactly the same age. Wow I miss him.

[@005630The]

Can't believe it been 25yrs already since John John, passed? Wow, unbelievable!

[@lsophial]

I really love the Kennedys, even though I am not from the United States, but I lived in USA and the people were all fantastic, loving, generous and caring.

[@stephaniehorneLovesJESUS]

Thank you 😊🇺🇸

[@pamelaherman5663]

I remember watching the news coverage from my apt in Turtle Bay. My Mom had come to visit me. She’s been gone 15 years. Hard to believe this was a quarter century ago. So sad.

[@dearmakeupdiary]

He died the year my only daughter was born. Now she’s turning 25 and I remember keeping the piece of paper with the tragic news to show my daughter the most trascendental events that took place the year of her birth. He was a humble, good guy, who deserved to live a long happy life 🤍🕊️ and so did his wife and sister in law. Gone too soon. So sad!

[@crossstreeter]

He and Diana died in their late thirties. I think they were both up for huge things and the world would have perhaps been a little different with them alive until today.

[@gitarajwova6447]

Právě aby svět nebyl jiný, museli odejít ...

[@kathleentyson6727]

I remember exactly what I was doing that night,I was going for usual mile or two walk ,feeling a litte lonely because my boyfriend was out of town ,I got home turned the t v. on and it was all over the news,that family has endured so much heartbreak,gone too soon ,his dad his Uncle Bobby ,then him his wife and sister in law .

[@PHlophe]

Kat, this one was self inflicted. they ( and he himself ) knew he could not fly that plane.

[@yogabee2222]

​@@PHlopheIt was a horrific accident and I'm sure he regretted it the moment the plane was going down. Nothing you can do now but cherish the memory and try to be kind

[@kathleenmcwhirter3583]

@@PHlophe Hardly self-inflicted. He was not rated to fly on instruments only. From what I've read, there was a horrible smog bank along the east coast. Even if he paid attention to the weather reports, there's no way he could have been prepared for what he flew into. He lost his bearings and then didn't know where anything was anymore. I watched an experience pilot being interviewed afterward, and he reported all this. That pilot said without instruments nobody could have flown that night.

[@ladybugmom10]

Can’t believe it’s been 25 years!

[@Jlsuer]

Please accept my condolences for you, his family, all this who loved him, and all whose life he touched. 🙏

[@BAB00215]

I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since we lost jfk jr

[@reeson1968]

Fine looking man…what could have been if he was our POTUS back then.

[@chrismcevoy2503]

Goodbye Prince Of Camelot. July 16, 1999 you died twenty-five years ago today. July 16, 2024

[@michaellui74]

So sad 😢 would of been our president

[@Ethel-ql2qh]

Without doubt. Trump wouldn't stand chance

[@InTheDeepBlueSea]

I was just a little girl when his father was killed. I remember my mother sitting right in front of the TV and she was sobbing for hours. I also remember where I was when John Jr died. I was at work going up an elevator when a radio news report said his plane was missing. I immediately broke down. And I realized exactly why my own mother cried so hard. Because now I was doing it as well. We lost the closest thing to a prince this country will ever know along with his amazing princess and her beautiful sister. My thoughts and prayers go out to both families that have been forced to accept such a tragic and devastating loss. I for one will remember them all.

[@elizabethheyenga9277]

Sadly he and his wife were struggling and she didn't want to go on that trip. Her sister convinced her and came along to help with that. I hope God has a plan.

[@carmarasmussen8118]

He has a plan for all of us.

[@risaandjesus]

I thought it was so sad when they died. They were so young. It’s funny how time still goes on. Life really is a blessing. Now, we will always wonder if he would’ve been the next president if he was still alive

[@chrismcevoy2503]

He wanted to be an actor, but his mother put her foot down and said “No I won’t let you be an actor.”

[@krugerfuchs]

He was friends with James Spader

[@ReturnOfTheJ.D.]

That's unfortunate because although he was most definitely a nice guy, I don't think he had the intellectual aptitude for a career in the legal profession, based on his academic struggles with it. Some other field would have been more suited to his makeup. Not being academic doesn't mean you're not a worthy or good person - just that your talents and gifts lie in other areas of life.

[@Creyole]

Just like King Charles

[@Huy0617]

He looks so perfect and handsome....

[@lmc2375]

Went down in his prime. Was so sad for their dog, Friday. Sad time for all.

[@mw-vk6rm]

She was stunning....the world would be different and for the good, if only....

[@lisachaney7504]

It doesn't seem like it had been 25 years wow

[@robertpiarulli6230]

I heard that JFK Jr was a prankster yet very down to earth. I feel that you could relate and he could relate to you.

[@patriciamarnach6712]

We need books on JFK Junior

[@catherinebuck7783]

The day we lost them was so sad!

[@suziejankie7815]

What an amazing man so sad how his life ended 😢 He should have been president ❤ This poor family

[@veronicasaint5811]

he is alive. look it up

[@judidoren5582]

Its hard to believe its has been 25 years. Such a loss of a great life. He only wanted to have a happy life. Not sure if that was really possible being a Kennedy. So many people wanted too much from him. Could he give it. Unfortunately he married the wrong woman. You know the old saying, the good die young

[@jocelynharris-fx8ho]

Am I the only one who believes that had he lived, he would have become a senator, Vice President or even President, instead of Obama.😮?

[@bobbicampbell5233]

No. He was definitely eyeballing a political career, and if he'd been even marginally successful I'm sure he would've at least seriously considered a run for the Presidency.

[@samreilly1484]

First he would have been the next governor of New York after 9/11

[@pennytilghman3003]

Yes 🙌

[@Creyole]

He definitely would’ve been New York’s senator instead of Hillary Clinton

[@samreilly1484]

@@Creyole and might have even defeated Trump in the 2016 presidential election!

[@Anna-vz5jl]

I remember where I was that day when I heard the sad sad news I was lying on a beach in Martha’s Vineyard in Vineyard Haven, listening to the radio with my Sony headset, and Peter Jennings came on the news breaking news and was just so sad. I couldn’t believe it.

[@HappyGilmore924]

I'm glad Rosemarie tries to keep his memory alive, unlike his sister who wants us to forget him and his wife.

[@dannytooley7530]

Rip jfk jr who in haven with his awesome dad mum and uncle Robert

[@markdwighttadina7655]

and Auntie Lee Radzwill and Cousin Tony as well

[@dannytooley7530]

@@markdwighttadina7655 he is making a about him and his father

[@sallykohorst8803]

Thanks.

[@mariacardenas4665]

I had turned 25 years old

[@JadedJassy21]

He was friends with Mike Tyson?! That’s cool.

[@johndonovan1786]

John's Loss is Still Felt Still This Day !! So Much Potential that was Taken Away at Such a Young Age .What could Have Been ...

[@joytimmons]

This female reporter is wrong. John did know his father, but not well because he had lost him. I was in high school when Carolyn, Lauren, and John died in a plane crash that should not been prevented because they would have spouses, parents, and grandparents by now. May they all rest in peace. See their spirits everywhere I go. I am still a fan of the Kennedys.

[@yogabee2222]

One of the saddest moments in US history 💔

[@jeffreyerickson6766]

He was nice

[@kendracosey]

🙏🏽 🕊️ ❤

[@matsudaseiko]

john john ......weep

[@MariaLacsamana-ik3in]

A tragic death so young & recently married w his wife & sister-in-law hope they're now happy in the next world 😢😢😢

[@cathleanjohnson675]

JFK, Jr. should not have flown, wasn't one of his legs in a cast? A bad case of ego as one of the comments said that cost him his life and those of his wife and sister in law, there comes a time when we all will leave this earth but sometimes people "speed up the process" when they do stupid things, wish there had been someone, anyone that could have talked him out of that idea, so much promise gone and for what, he didn't want to fly comercial and with his bank he could have hired a "real" pilot to fly them to his cousin"s wedding...

[@stephnews4]

I wish John was still with us. He seemed like a wonderful man.

[@daydream_believer]

There is never any focus or even a mention of Caroline... 😥

[@daydream_believer]

@@meryltom7591 So true. 😥

[@gusborgias3655]

😢I miss you John ❤I thing off him all time just it was yesterday may you rest in peace and Carolyn And her Sister 👩

[@Candy0049-r3u]

25 years ago??? Seems like yesterday.

[@malomama4750]

I remember the day his plane went missing. Such a tragic thing n something that still doesn’t seem real

[@gatorjams4579]

I love you 💕.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Who knows what would have been. He would be just 63 now and could be a good presidential candidate. Carolyn Bessette looks like she was aging. Her sister Lauren was far more attractive and it's too bad she went along for the ride.

[@avatarmikephantom153]

I’ll be publishing a book series soon, where John doesn’t die, marries a not dead Princess Diana, and the two live through the 2000s. It’s in his honor.

[@mariannebonner2280]

Uh-huh.

[@user-fb8uw1ui5x]

​@@mariannebonner2280😂😂😂..

[@jocelynharris-fx8ho]

John Jr. SHOULD HAVE married Princess Diana...then perhaps both of them would still be alive . The way Charles treated Diana, if she had married John, she would have traded up, from a phony Prince, to a real one.❤

[@avatarmikephantom153]

@@jocelynharris-fx8ho oh yeah. You’re gonna love the books then. I give them children (Flynn and Allegra), and both are heroes during the events of 9/11z eventuality they make it to the White House, and Diana is such a beloved First Lady, they change the constitution to allow for her to run for president. But in the end, she rejects it because it’s not about her.

[@mortalclown3812]

​@@avatarmikephantom153 😂

[@LoveFactorySweatShop]

Remember everyone, former President Chomp vowed to find out who was piloting that plane.

[@MichaelEngeldinger]

miss kotbe? What aren’t you telling us ? And miss Savanah as well

[@skullandbones1832]

🙏

[@Youtuber-cu8ls]

He was sooooo handsome

[@michelesipe]

I don’t understand why they, or someone in family doesn’t sue the magazine.

[@sarahshulman2086]

I didn’t know about this fatal plane accident until the 25th anniversary because I didn’t watch the news and I was a big fan of Disney channel

[@elainefrigault3465]

This is the biggest tragedy ever I pray the world will venge this family's crimes Much love

[@LPBineli]

Handsome

[@schawnettarobinson8584]

❤❤❤❤

[@MichaelEngeldinger]

Shellie keys are you watching , start praying 😊

[@DannyCaliBoy]

Ask Not

[@b1646717]

Rich people dying doing rich person things

[@chetyoubetya8565]

Umm he is famous for what again??

[@tracyotrhuiskamp1012]

How come everybody worships jfk jr. He was reckless and it caused the death of 2 women

[@Jude74]

Honestly, all these years later, when I think of him, I think of the two women that were in the plane with him. He was not qualified to make that flight and basically murdered them. I read the NTSB report and it was very clear that his training was sporadic, and that he was not qualified to fly at night in limited visibility. His ego was running the show.

[@samreilly1484]

I agree 100%! Kobe’s pilot was the opposite in that he was too experienced and too familiar with this kind of weather (which he didn’t encounter until about 90 miles into the 100-mile flight and 40 miles northwest of LA) and thought he could handle anything. But sometimes the weather wins. And to think he might have become the next governor of New York three and a half years later or better yet might have even won the presidential nomination five years later, and unlike Kerry, defeated Bush in the 2004 election.

[@PabloGonzalez-hv3td]

He was qualified on paper. His flight was legal however the conditions were at the fringes of his experience and abilities. Hence why his instructor offered to accompany him but didn't push the issue.

[@Jude74]

@@PabloGonzalez-hv3td that is true, but the NTSB investigation indicated that he actually hadn’t completed the training properly. He changed instructors on multiple occasions and he didn’t keep up with it consistently he went back, took some time off. Meaning he should not have been certified to fly in those conditions. his arrogance is what ended their lives, which is sad.

[@Abraham-uk4xy]

Some people say he is still alive. I saw several reports on Telegram.

[@kathryn8711]

Hi I see him I was a girl he was a boy. It a good day. He joy being a dad I like him on his bike 🚲 I miss him tell me I girl hi I sol lady by 😊

[@MrRidleyDog]

tf

[@bernadettepotenti301]

Huh?

[@angelicamaevecanete4703]

Whaaaaat

[@yyw.6197]

even you are very rich.don't buy and don't Fly a private jet.your life will be shorter.

[@irishgirl1753]

Hoda the workaholic

[@MichaelEngeldinger]

Amy have you talked with shellie keys , that’s illegal ,

[@Wonder-nl7qd]

I can't watch anything anymore 😪 cuz I can't stand the media🤮 TRUMP 2024

[@gracafaria1861]

🛩🕯🥀...

[@DJMovieActor712-ji6rq]

Happy Belated 25th Year Death Anniversary to JFK Jr., Carolyn and her sister Lauren!!

[@georgiesimmons5924]

Hoda, I cannot stand her dumb questions. She😊 looks like she smokes weed everyday, and I cannot imagine having an assistant that knows intimate secrets of your life, then waits a couple decades to write a book about you, that's so disrespectful

[@margueritemazzeo2904]

I read that book and there is nothing disrespectful towards John written in that book.🙄🙄

[@peterwolf2832]

It’s like who cares if he smoked cigarettes or pot or crack Hoda? His Father lived on a daily cocktail of every drug on the planet just to numb the pain he lived with everyday! JFK jr was as humble and real as it gets! And the fact that you felt the need to mention his personal life struggles instead of the class that he displayed every day speaks volumes about your intent with this interview! I got one for you to ask? Why did it take 8 hours for the coast guard to launch a search and rescue operation after phone call after phone call after phone call to them to report his disappearance? And they only launched the search and rescue operation after uncle Teddy’s phone call to P Clinton begging for his influence to call the coast guard himself and order them to commence the search and recovery operation immediately!

[@magnapack]

Rosemarie Terenzio found her cash cow and she’s milking it.

[@timothygouldjr8384]

For some reason he looks like Rob Kardashian

[@elizabethheyenga9277]

get your eyes checked

[@jocelynharris-fx8ho]

I think that he had more of a resemblance to the late singer Glenn Frey. ❤

[@lisabradford8180]

@@jocelynharris-fx8ho Glen was another gorgeous man💖

[@HurricanePatrick]

Who cares? We Republicans most certainly don't

[@WR86948]

1) Why are you here then? 2) Yes, we know. The Republican party does not appear to care much about anything these days.

[@HurricanePatrick]

@@WR86948 and the Democrats these days only want violence so what else is new

[@krugerfuchs]

And we don't care about you

[@MeMeDaVinci]

Even after 25 years, you fear discussion of the son of popular president--and they are both dead. That says a lot.

[@rizzo3170]

@@WR86948 Only about themselves as always and their God Trump

[@Sunshine-do3yv]

I remember minute of the search...the world, United States praying, crying, holding a collective breath ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹🫂🫂🫂🫂❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@alexateachey9680]

My mom’s maiden name was “Bass” and she loved the Kennedys so she made my middle name “Bassett” which is a combination of ‘bass’ and ‘bessette.’ (It’s pronounced buh-sette) 🫶🏻

[@johnjacobsen4003]

He'll be back, just wait and see!

[@adolphesax1982]

Dead for 25 years.

[@April-yu8ry]

No unfortunately he won’t. I understand that you aren’t playing with a full deck but commenting things like this is beyond disgusting and disrespectful to the Kennedy and Bessette families. Please seek help.

[@caroljohnson5655]

I have see him he has dressed like a chic go don’t know if he does that anymore Jon jon

[@caroljohnson5655]

Two kids i think a boy and a girl