Jackie Kennedy despised Lyndon Johnson and twice turned down a Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor

 

LBJ tried twice to give Jackie Kennedy the “Medal of Freedom.” Jackie hated LBJ and refused to accept the honor

Bill Gulley, who was close to LBJ:

            “To do that he [LBJ] wanted to give her [Jackie] the Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed on an American.

            Johnson tried twice, but there was always a problem. Then in September 1966 word came to our office, which handled them, to have a Medal of Freedom with Distinction engraved for Jacqueline Kennedy. The citation was written and everything was set when Marvin Watson called and said to scrub the ceremony. Jacqueline Kennedy had turned down the President again - she refused to come.

            The President was really hurt by that. I don’t know what Mrs. Kennedy’s reasoning was, but I do know she didn’t like Lyndon Johnson. She didn’t like him at all.

            When LBJ was getting ready to leave office, I called Juanita Roberts and told her I still had the Medal of Freedom for Mrs. Kennedy and asked what the President wanted me to do with it. She called me back and she said, ‘Bill about that medal. The man’s made you a present of it.’ I’ve still got it, or rather I gave it to my son, and he still has it.”

            [Bill Gulley, Breaking Cover, pp. 66-67]