1961Scarce JFK White House Presidential Helicopter Flight Certificate

Rare JFK White House Era Presidential Helicopter Flight Certificate – April 22, 1961 – Early "U.S. Army Helicopter" . Examples of Flight Certificates issued during the John F Kennedy presidency are hard to find. Original, of course. 

An exceptionally scarce John F. Kennedy White House Flight Certificate presented to Robert Clark following a flight aboard a U.S. Army helicopter departing from the South Grounds of the White House on April 22, 1961.

Unlike later presidential helicopter memorabilia, this early Kennedy-era certificate refers simply to a "U.S. Army Helicopter," reflecting the transitional period before the familiar Marine One designation became synonymous with presidential helicopter travel.

Attractively printed on heavy stock, the certificate features an engraved vignette of an Army helicopter on the White House lawn and is hand-signed by the President's Military Aide—believed to be Brig. Gen. Chester V. Clifton—and the Chief Presidential Helicopter Pilot.

We believe, though cannot state with certainty, that the recipient was television journalist Robert Clark, a longtime White House correspondent remembered for the extraordinary distinction of being present during both the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.

A particularly attractive and seldom-encountered artifact from the earliest months of the Kennedy presidency.