Remembering a President's Assassination, 50 Years Later [Op-Ed]

By James Cressman

“We in this country, in this generation, are—by destiny rather than choice—the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, good will toward men." Cut down by an assassin’s bullet only hours before he was to make his speech, President John F. Kennedy would never speak these words.

Friday, Nov. 22, 1963 is one of the most recognizable days in history. Whether you lived through it or learned of it in history class, most anyone can tell you that it’s the day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Regarded as one of the most popular conspiracy theories in our nation’s history, people have long believed that a sinister force within our own government arranged President Kennedy’s death. According to USA Today, "no less than 61 percent of Americans today believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone." This assassination was the greatest tragedy of the twentieth century.

What started out as a rainy day in Texas on the morning of Nov. 22, quickly cleared up just in time for the presidential parade. President Kennedy arrived on Air Force One at Love Field airport in Dallas at around 11:35 a.m. CST. First Lady Jackie Kennedy exited the plane followed by the President. They then spent around 15 to 20 minutes meeting with the crowds who had lined up hours before to get a glimpse of the arriving President. This was what President Kennedy lived for on political visits. He always loved greeting the crowds and getting to know the people who came out from all over to see him. They walked the entire fenced area, shaking hands and greeting the crowd, which as it always did put the Secret Service on edge. The couple were described as “having a glow about them, they were as they appeared on television.” Of course everyone took notice to the pink Chanel dress, complete with a pillbox hat that the First Lady was wearing. It “was like a King and Queen were visiting,” remarked one of the witnesses in attendance.

The presidential limousine was flown into Texas and a motorcade was lined up for the President and his entourage. They were to ride in through the city of Dallas to the Dallas Business and Trade Mart. Here, the President was due to give a speech at a luncheon. No one could know that within the next half hour the nation would be without a President, a wife would be without a husband, and two children would be without a father.

After the parade was underway, the motorcade made several stops so the President could shake hands with onlookers. At one point there was a little girl who held a sign that read, “Mr. President, Will you stop to shake my hand?” Kennedy did just that, and then the motorcade got back underway. Mrs. Connally, the Texas governor's wife, turned and remarked to the President, “you can’t say Texas doesn’t love you.” This would be the last time she saw the President alive.  

Governor Connally later recalled the scene as the motorcade went down Elm Street. “We had gone, I suspect, oh, 150, 200 feet when I heard what I thought was a rifle shot,” he said. Seconds later the second shot was fired. The bullet passed through the back of the President’s neck, coming out the front and then entered into the back of the Governor. From there it went straight through his chest, through his wrist and finally became lodged in his leg. At that point the Governor slumped into his wife’s lap, realizing that his wound was serious by the amount of blood soaking through his shirt.

It was what the Governor heard next that is the most haunting of all. “I was in her lap facing forward when another shot was fired. I heard it hit. It hit with a very pronounced impact.” What was heard was the third shot hitting the President directly in the head. “Immediately, I could see blood and brain tissue all over the interior of the car and all over our clothes. We were both covered with brain tissue, and there were pieces of brain tissue as big as your little finger. It was something that was unmistakable,” Connally remembered. Immediately after the third shot was fired, Mrs. Connally remembered hearing the First Lady scream, “They’ve killed my husband. I have his brains in my hand.” The motorcade then sped off toward Parkland Hospital.

Upon arriving, Mrs. Connally remembered the Secret Service and hospital administrators having a tough time getting the President and Mrs. Kennedy out of the back of the car. The First Lady wouldn’t let go of him as she cradled his head in her lap, believing that it didn’t make a difference as he was already dead. “Finally someone scooped him up and put him on a stretcher and rushed him inside,” Mrs. Connally said. The First Lady was suffering from shock.

Phyllis Hall, who was an on-duty nurse that day, recalled the chaos that ensued when the President was first brought in; there were men in suits everywhere, some carrying large guns. She was asked to come into the emergency room, where the President was being kept, and remembered the President as being pale, and the color around his eyes a dark blue. One of the doctors pulled the hair up from around his head wound and could see where the bullet had entered. While all of this was going on, she recalled, “Jackie Kennedy was standing nearby, her Chanel suit spattered with her husband's brain matter.” After being asked if she’d like to take a seat in the hall, she refused, stating she planned to stay by his side. As the doctors tried to save the President’s life, Mrs. Kennedy stood at the foot of his bed holding onto the President’s foot, her eyes fixated on his face.

It was only a matter of minutes before doctors made the call, and two priests were summoned to deliver the Last Rites. Thirty-eight minutes later, Walter Cronkite would report live on the news the death of the President. “From Dallas Texas, the flash now official, President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time, 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, some thirty-eight minutes ago.” Cronkite was visibly upset as he reported this, something rarely seen with any newscaster at the time.

That following Monday, a State Funeral was held. Mrs. Kennedy gracefully led a nation into mourning of their fallen President. Understanding her husband’s place in history, she went against his family's wishes. The Kennedys wanted him to be buried in their family plot, but she made arrangements for him to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. One of her first thoughts after the assassination was to make sure she put his legacy in order, so he could be remembered for the man he was and not as the man who was shot and killed. It was her strength and courage which all Americans drew upon in the days ahead, as the nation as a whole tried to move forward. With the exception of a few times during the funeral, Mrs. Kennedy rarely cried in public, because she believed the nation had to see her as a strong figure carrying on with the President’s ideals and legacy, and not as a grieving widow, falling apart. Years later, when interviewed for one of the first times about the assassination of her husband and the days after and how she had coped since, Mrs. Kennedy said it was important to understand that no one can live in the past.        

It’s now been 50 years since the assassination of President Kennedy, and through the years two things are certain: the events and circumstances surrounding his death are still debated and a relevant topic, and President Kennedy’s ideals and beliefs are still a compass for America to use to find its way in bettering not only itself, but also the world. President Kennedy transformed the nation with his youthful outlook and ignited a fire in many Americans by calling them to service during his inauguration speech when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Together during his presidency, our country came together and believed we could reach the goals President Kennedy had set for us—and even 50 years later, we still have college students heading off to the Peace Corps, which only goes to show that President Kennedy’s dreams didn’t die with him on that November morning. This Friday may mark the fiftieth anniversary of a President’s slaying, but truthfully it also marks the fiftieth anniversary of when the country picked up the mantel “dropped” by our slain hero and carried it forward in an effort to fulfill what he started, so that he did not die in vain.

The question most often asked is “why?” Why was a man whose long term goals were for the benefit of America and the world assassinated? Was there a sinister force that was government-driven behind his assassination? Will we ever know the full truth behind that dark November day in 1963? Since the passage of the 1992 Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, many of the classified files on the assassination have been released to the public, and more are still to be released in 2017. While we look for the truth behind this heinous act, we must ask ourselves: if a truth different from that of the findings of the Warren Commission were to be released—one that did prove that our government was behind the assassination, like so many have believed over the years—would Americans and the world be able to handle such a truth?

File photo: President John F. Kennedy rides in the motorcade in Dallas, Texas, shortly before his assassination on Nov. 22, 1963.