Nov. 22, 1963: The Death of a President

[alienlovechild 75]

It seems so long ago, and so recent.

Those of a certain age will remember where they were 47 years ago today when they heard about the shots ringing out in Dallas. Subsequent assassinations of public figures did not quell the pain felt by the nation when President John F. Kennedy was killed, less than three years after entering office, at the age of 46.

Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was waving to the cheering crowd as his motorcade passed the Texas School Book Depository on Elm Street when gunfire was heard.

The president slumped into the back seat of his open limousine with gaping wounds in his head and neck.

A third bullet tore through the chest and arm of Texas Governor John B. Connally, Jr, who was riding in the limo along with the Kennedys.

The car sped to nearby Parkland Hospital where the president, 46, was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

The governor's wounds were severe but not fatal. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, seated next to her husband, was not injured.

Two hours after the shooting, police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald and charged him with murder.

Oswald, 24, a former Marine who once tried to defect to the Soviet Union and had been active in the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, was believed to have fired at least three shots at the presidential motorcade from a rifle as he stood in the book depository building where he was employed.

Just 99 minutes after the shooting, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States aboard Air Force One. Still wearing the stockings splattered with the blood of her murdered husband, Jackie Kennedy stood next to Johnson during the ceremony.

The plane bearing the new President and the body of the slain head of state then flew to Washington, D.C. Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, saluted by a nation and his little boy.

Two days later, while in police custody, Oswald was killed by a local nightclub owner, Jack Ruby.

In later testimony, Ruby said he got "carried away" and killed Oswald in order to spare Mrs. Kennedy the pain of a trial. Ruby himself died in jail in 1967 while awaiting a second trial.

But the murder of Oswald - as well as the later release of the Warren Commission Report, which stated only one gunman was involved in the president's assassination, and an 8mm amateur film of the assassination taken by witness Abraham Zapruder - only stoked decades of talk about conspiracy in the death of JFK.

Forty-seven years later, the shots in Dallas can still be heard, the pain still lingers.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/22/national/main7078492.shtml

[TracyTN 237]

Thanks for this. I was not alive at the time, but something about it has always just crushed me.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

a shame really... figuring Oswald didn't do it...

[Matt&Divorced 0]

a shame really... figuring Oswald didn't do it...

The world would have been different if Kennedy had averted that particular fate, who knows what might have happened. Lincoln and Kennedy left this earth after achieving their destinies. For both men, their names are placed in places such as the Lincoln Memorial and Kennedy Space Center. The two leaders became Presidents a hundred years apart and there's a list of similarities between the two, you might have thought they were each other in another life...

[slim 1,525]

There is ZERO evidence of a conspiracy in this case yet over 80% of Americans still believe it was a cover-up.

[Pooky 3,781]

There is ZERO evidence of a conspiracy in this case yet over 80% of Americans still believe it was a cover-up.

The Comedian did it

Edited November 23, 2010 by Pooky

[peejay 327]

Thanks for this. I was not alive at the time, but something about it has always just crushed me.

I was a kid living in Dallas at the time. I was in the 2nd grade in elementary school and the school was let out early for kids to have the opportunity to go see the Kennedy motorcade. I didn't go.

The most vivid moment of that event for me was watching live local TV with my dad when Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. My dad was stunned. It was rather bizarre that the accused assassin of Kennedy was himself assassinated days after the event. And live on TV to boot. Strange days indeed.

[scandal 951]

I was a kid living in Dallas at the time. I was in the 2nd grade in elementary school and the school was let out early for kids to have the opportunity to go see the Kennedy motorcade. I didn't go.

The most vivid moment of that event for me was watching live local TV with my dad when Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. My dad was stunned. It was rather bizarre that the accused assassin of Kennedy was himself assassinated days after the event. And live on TV to boot. Strange days indeed.

JFK

followed by

RFK

MLK

Malcolm X

the 60s in America were a turbulent decade.

"I shouted out

Who killed the Kennedys?

When after all

it was you and me"

-- Glimmer Twins

The reaction of Americans to the JFK assassination was recently captured in breath-taking fashion on Season 3 of Mad Men. It authentically recreates the "you will always remember exactly where you were when you heard the news" recollection. I was born in 1965 so cannot bear personal witness. I do recall vividly however the assassination of John Lennon and the attempted assassinations of John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 happened on my birthday .

[trillium13 84]

Dealey Plaza is really a surreal place. I encourage everyone who has the chance to go there and check it out. There is some element of touristy schlock, but it's well worth the trip. It's hard to explain.

The former Texas School Book Depository has a museum on the 6th floor.

http://www.jfk.org/

Taken by me last year.

[luckytxn 2,264]

He was warned not to come to Texas.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

The country was in shock, it was a devastating day for America. I was in first grade and they announced it over the PA system. I remember teachers crying and my mom too. Too young to really understand the significance of what happened, but remember seeing on the news that traffic came to a standstill everywhere as people were overcome with shock and emotion.

I watched the funeral and all with my family, even saw Oswald get shot on live tv.

[scandal 951]

He was warned not to come to Texas.

Just like you warned us what would happen when we elected the Socialist. See what happens when people ignore warnings?

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

There is ZERO evidence of a conspiracy in this case yet over 80% of Americans still believe it was a cover-up.

So tell us again why the government refuses to open up the files in regards to Kennedy's assassination.

[scandal 951]

So tell us again why the government refuses to open up the files in regards to Kennedy's assassination.

For the same reason Obama won't divulge his birth certificate, duh.

It's all a cover up. We're just sheep being duped, but thank goodness we have you here to lead us out of the darkness.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

For the same reason Obama won't divulge his birth certificate, duh.

It's all a cover up. We're just sheep being duped, but thank goodness we have you here to lead us out of the darkness.

Stop bringing sheep into every discussion.