Kennedy possessed the charisma and communication skills to build that kind and size of army. With his assassination, the momentum to "peace corporatize" this different army into the world of nations quickly decelerated. His challenge that other nations should do the same kind of service building, "but what together we can do for the betterment of mankind," seems to have died with him.
Kennedy's momentum helped the Peace Corps reach its apex of about 15,000 volunteers in the field in 1966, a paltry number compared to what Kennedy envisioned; and a number that has bumped downhill since, so that in 2015 it stood at about 6,919.
Kennedy was often heard saying, "I'd rather send the Peace Corps than the Marine Corps."
Without JFK's drive and charisma, the numbers went the other way. During the Vietnam era of August 1964 to May 1975, 9,087,000 military personnel were on active duty.
http://www.nationalvietnamveteransfoundation.org/statistics.htm
From 1950-2000, 118.82 million billets (with "billet" defined as one serviceman for one year) were assigned overseas. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/10/global-us-troop-deployment-1950-2003
What if the idea of sending Peace Corps to the world's troubled spots to contain poverty and "isms" had been imprinted into the American international relations psyche during JFK's Camelot Era?
What if that kind of national service had been fielded much more often as an answer to "what you can do for your country," rather than carrying a gun into what too often has been trumped-up wars?
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