A well-padded individual with a sense of humor about himself, Salinger turned his efforts to avoid the march into an open joke, finally releasing a statement on February 12, 1963, in which he publicly declined the honor.
The President's brother had undertaken the march on an impulse, and although clad in leather oxford shoes, had slogged the distance through snow and slush.
For the more persistent, the council prepared a background letter explaining the origin of the march, again suggesting a sensible walking regimen, and stating emphatically that government agencies were not sponsoring or rewarding hikes.
However the Amos Alonzo Stagg Foundation did present Bronze medals to those who completed the 50-mile (80 km) hike in less than 12 hours during the initial 30 days of the challenge.
In the city of Sittard, situated in the most southern province of the Netherlands, four young people decided to walk the march during their Easter holidays.
The Kennedy March of Sittard has been, and still is, organised largely by members of the Van der Loo family, one of whom was in the four men who initiated the idea in 1963.
[5] After the aforementioned Kennedy March Sittard, the Kennedymars Someren and the 80 van de Langstraat are the biggest events in terms of the number of participants.