US President Barack Obama was joined by his wife and fellow Democrat heavyweights, the Clintons on Wednesday when he laid a wreath at the grave of President John F. Kennedy who was assassinated 50 years ago.

Later Obama paid tribute to the man said to have inspired a generation:

“He stays with us in our imagination not because he left us too soon, but because he embodied the character of the people that he led – resilient, resolute, fearless and fun-loving, defiant in the face of impossible odds and most of all, determined to make the world anew, not settling for what is, but rather for what might be. And in his idealism, his sober square-jawed idealism we are reminded that the power to change the country is ours.”

Americans are expected to come together on November 22 to reflect on the day when Kennedy or JFK as he became known, was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade with his wife in Dallas, Texas.

The death of the handsome, vigorous 46-year-old leader shocked the nation and reverberated around the world – some saying it changed America for ever.