On this, the 40th anniversary of President John. F. Kennedy's assassination, we pause to remember the life of a man who left behind a legacy.

After graduating from Harvard in 1940, Kennedy entered the Navy where he earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for leadership and courage.

Upon returning from the war, Kennedy began his political career by winning a seat in Massachusetts' 11th congressional district in 1946. He went on to serve three terms in the House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952.

After losing the Democratic nomination for vice president in 1956, he began touring the U.S. every weekend to earn candidacy in the next election.

His hard work paid off - along with Lyndon B. Johnson as his vice presidential running mate, Kennedy was victorious over Republican Richard M. Nixon.

In one of the most famous inaugural speeches to this day, Kennedy set the tone for his time in office by asking all Americans to be active, passionate citizens. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," he said.

He also addressed international relations by asking the nations of the world to team up against what he called "the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself."

As the United States' 35th president, Kennedy was the youngest man ever to serve in the Oval Office - and three years later, he also would be the youngest to die. Kennedy brought new life blood to the White House with his young wife and two small children.

He also promoted humanitarianism through the creation of the Peace Corps, which still exists today. But two of the largest issues Kennedy is remembered for are his work with the civil rights movement and his strategic handling of the Cuban missile crisis.

On June 11, 1963, Kennedy made a bold move by proposing a new civil rights bill to Congress. He also made a televised appearance asking all Americans to end racism. "One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free," he said.

By joining the movement already led by Martin Luther King Jr., Kennedy became one of the founding fathers of modern-day civil rights. Just as some of Kennedy's endeavors paid off in the end, others nearly resulted in disaster.

After examining intelligence information, Kennedy announced to the entire world on October 22, 1962, that the Soviet Union was constructing secret missile bases in Cuba, only 90 miles from Florida's coast.

But instead of launching attacks, Kennedy decided to call Russian Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev's bluff. The two leaders of the world's nuclear superpowers remained deadlocked for seven days, until Khrushchev decided to back down and agreed to remove all missiles from Cuba's mainland.

Kennedy was not a perfect president - as no president is. The Bay of Pigs invasion is an ugly blemish on his political record, just as his rumored affairs with other women, such as Marilyn Monroe, are blemishes on his personal record.

But without even trying, Kennedy became an icon in pop culture. Americans are enamored with the Kennedy family name because it represents so many facets of our society.

Part of the reason his death is so well-remembered is because it was the first broadcast of such a horrific sight. These images have become immortal, along with his presidency, life and work.

People all over the country still try to obtain any kind of remembrance of his life. In Hartford, Conn., his white, 1963 four-door Lincoln Continental convertible is for sale. The last car President Kennedy got out of alive is selling for $1 million.

Along with this car, other items of JFK's are being sold at auction. Memorabilia collectors in 1998 paid $772,500 for Kennedy's alligator briefcase. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Kennedy memorabilia is not the only way the famous president lives on.

Kennedy is such an icon that 40 years later, people still wonder what exactly happened on that day in Dallas. Some people have spent decades studying the traumatic day in 1963.

People have made computer-generated reconstructions and 3D models to try and decipher what happened. There have been several amateur films, maps, blueprints and photos created to view the assassination from multiple angles.

It now is possible to see what it looked like from the grassy knoll, from the sniper's lair on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building and even from the front seat of the car the president was traveling in.

Everyone wants to analyze it and figure out the solution, because JFK had such an impact on so many American lives. This is the reason this event has gone down in the history books.

Kennedy is remembered as he should be - as a man who was not afraid to take the chances that come with standing up for his sometimes unpopular beliefs.

His brother Bobby Kennedy also should be remembered for carrying the torch after his brother's death. Both lost their lives for fighting for causes they believed in.

The repercussions of Kennedy's death still are felt today, as there are many Americans still touched by the tragedy as well as the fact that there are so many questions left unanswered.

The public will and should continue to entertain conspiracy theories until the government finally discloses all information about Kennedy's assassination.

There is no reason why all the facts should not be publicly known by now, when the nation is eight presidents past Kennedy's death.

While current students can't remember hearing the news of Kennedy's death, they can, along with other Americans, reflect on the legacy this great president left behind.