War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) US President (1961-63)
Letter to a Navy friend (1945)
(Source)
Letter to a past PT-boat crew mate, responding to a question about his experiences at the United Nations founding in San Francisco (Jun 1945). Quoted in Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, ch. 4, sec. 4 (1965).