The government should release JFK assassination files

Because there's always a Stark County connection, it only stands to reason that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, might have some threads connecting us to the tragedy.

In 1960, Canton was one of the cities in Ohio where Kennedy campaigned, an event that included a speech at the former Memorial Auditorium.

Canton Mayor James Lawhun, who happened to be in Dallas visiting family on the day of the assassination, recalled a city that came to a standstill as people wept in the streets. As a result, Canton is one of the few cities in the world which displays an eternal flame to commemorate Kennedy's life and death.

Lawhun's predecessor, Mayor Charles Babcock, was a friend of Kennedy's and staunch supporter who helped bring the candidate to Canton in 1960.

Stark County ties to John F. Kennedy:JFK and Stark: Many locals had strong ties to president

On the night of Nov. 22, the Rev. Robert Brengartner, a military chaplain from Massillon, greeted a shattered Jacqueline Kennedy at Bethesda Navy Hospital when the presidential party returned to Washington, D.C., from Dallas.

Brengartner gave Ethel Kennedy his rosary when she sought one for prayer.

Tom Krynock, a young Marine from Navarre, was among those chosen to stand sentry over the president's coffin as he lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda days later.

Nearly 60 years later, polls consistently show that more than half of Americans surveyed are not convinced they've been told the whole truth about the assassination.

It's still hard for many to believe that accused killer Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, that one antisocial and disaffected twerp single-handedly changed the trajectory of American history.

As a result, the mythology swirling about of Kennedy's death has outrun what may actually have happened.

Over the last few years, people have gathered at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, propelled by the conspiracy theory that JFK will reemerge to run on the ticket with former President Donald Trump.

More Charita Goshay:Rabbit hole is not a political identity

We saw for ourselves on Jan. 6, 2021, the enormous damage that lies, paranoia and distrust can generate.

For this reason, the federal government should release its files on the Kennedy assassination as it has promised to do for decades.

In violation of a free press and the spirit of transparency, the FBI and CIA have fought mightily to keep thousands of records sealed, citing national security, a catch-all which too often is abused to prevent the American people from learning hard and difficult truths about some of their government's misdeeds.

But resistance only fosters more distrust and further allows people to fill in their own narrative, which is unlikely to jibe with Warren Commission's official explanation.

More Charita Goshay:Conspiracy theories are a threat to democracy

In 1992, Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which requires that all archives related to the killing be housed in a single location, with the fiat that public records related to the incident be released on Oct. 27, 2017.

Former President Donald Trump did release some records but delayed others until 2023 citing national security, a surprise given his affinity for triple-secret-probation documents.

The Biden administration, which also released some archives, is playing the clock on releasing more until Dec. 15, prompting a lawsuit by the nonprofit Mary Ferrell Foundation.

No one is saying we should have a fire sale on our state secrets but Americans have every right to know who killed their president ― and why.

As it has been so eloquently stated: "Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum," or "Let justice reign, though the heavens fall."

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Government should release all the JFK assassination files