WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 1963 (UPI) - A lonely little boy who observes his third birthday Monday wandered through a big Washington house today complaining, "I don't have anyone to play with."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., says his father was killed by "a bad man." But still he doesn't seem to understand why the slain president is not there to walk the White House corridors with him or why he is not allowed in the presidential offices.
It is different for Caroline Kennedy, to be six years old on Wednesday. Bright beyond her years, she seemed to comprehend death.
The children were told Friday night that their father was dead. The White House did not say who told them, but presumably it was their mother.
Friends said Mrs. Kennedy, not given to public displays of emotion, was making it a point to try to hold up under the strain. They said she "hasn't yet realized completely what happened."
She has kept a steady vigil with death since she saw her husband fatally wounded in his open car in downtown Dallas Friday afternoon. She cradled him in her arms, his blood splattering over her as she cried, "Oh, no."
Mrs. Kennedy kept a vigil outside the emergency room in the Dallas hospital. On the plane back to Washington, she remained transfixed, staring at the casket in an alcove. She declined to be comforted by those who wanted her to lie down and rest. Those who wanted to sponge her face were turned away gently, with "Thanks, I'm fine."
The 34-year-old widow kept her children by her side today. She took them to the East Room where the Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, former president of the University of Notre Dame, said mass at 10:30 a.m. The children saw the closed bronze casket, flanked by the flickering tall silver candlesticks.
At Bethesda Naval Hospital where the body lay during the night, Mrs. Kennedy was comforted by her obstetrician, Dr. John W. Walsh, a close personal friend who gave her a mild sedation to help her sleep for a while. The president's brother, Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, went to the hospital with her.
When she saw her husband's body for the last time, Mrs. Kennedy placed her wedding ring on the finger of the man she alternately called "Jack" and "the president," and kissed him.
After attending the private White House services, Mrs. Kennedy went back to the family quarters. President and Mrs. Johnson came up to see her, as did former President Harry Truman, and others.
The late president used to take a break from the strains of office by walking across the lawn to where his children were playing. They would run to hug their father. When he went home at night he would clap his hands, saying "where are my rascals." The children came running.
