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Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings (April 15, 1916 – May 28, 1981) was a close friend of the Kennedy family, who had his own room at the White House during the Kennedy presidency. Billings had been a prep school roommate of John F. Kennedy, an usher at his wedding, and a campaigner for his successful 1960 presidential bid. Joseph Kennedy, Sr. called him "my second son" and he acted escort to several of the Kennedy women. Many noted his unusual intimacy with Kennedy, supposedly linked to his confidential knowledge of the president’s chronic medical conditions. Although he was friendly towards the younger generation of the family, they were advised to distance themselves from him on account of his increasing alcohol and drug use. Billings served with Sargent Shriver as a trustee for the Kennedy family trusts. ==Early years== Billings was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 15, 1916, the third child of Frederic Tremaine Billings (1873–1933) and Romaine LeMoyne (1882–1970). His father was a prominent physician and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. His mother was a ''Mayflower'' descendant and had ancestors who were prominent abolitionists linked to the underground railroad and negro education.〔Pitts, 319-20〕 The Billings family were Episcopalian and Republican.〔Pitts, 120; Smith 30〕 Billings, a 16-year-old third-year student, and Kennedy, a 15-year-old second-year student, met at Choate, an elite preparatory school, in the fall of 1933. Billings as a teenager was 6' 2", weighed 175 pounds, and was the strongest member of the Choate crew.〔Perret, 35-6〕 They became fast friends, drawn to each other by their mutual distaste for their strict school. From Billings's first visit with the Kennedy family for Christmas in Palm Beach in 1933, he joined them for holidays, participated in family events, and was treated like a member of the family. The Depression had hurt the Billings family financially, and Lem Billings was at Choate on scholarship. Billings repeated his senior year so that he and Kennedy could graduate from Choate together in 1935. They spent a semester together at Princeton University until Kennedy withdrew for medical reasons.〔Smith, 30〕 While attending college, they frequently spent weekends together in New York City. Billings and Kennedy took a summer trip through Europe in the summer of 1937. Between Munich and Nuremberg, they bought a dachshund they named Offie, after State Department official Carmel Offie who helped host them in Paris, but had to give him up because of Kennedy's allergies.〔Pitts, 52–67; Perret, 61〕 In 1939, Billings graduated from Princeton where he majored in art and architecture〔Pitts, 123, 322〕 and wrote his senior thesis on Tintoretto.〔Smith, 113〕 In 1941, Billings failed medical tests required by the military.〔Pitts, 81-2〕 In 1942, supported by a recommendation from Joseph Kennedy, Sr., his friend's father, who called him "my second son," he won admission to the American Ambulance Field Service, where his poor eyesight was not a disqualification.〔Pitts, 87–88〕 He saw action in North Africa in 1942–43.〔Pitts, 93–95〕 In 1944 he received a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve and served in the South Pacific until being discharged in 1946.〔Pitts, 99–101, 115〕 After working on Kennedy's successful campaign for Congress in 1946, Billings toured seven Latin American countries with Robert F. Kennedy.〔Pitts, 277〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lem Billings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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