A few minutes later, my father called. My mother could barely get any words out. He was at the department store he managed at the time, Bissett’s, in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, and he told her that when the news of the assassination came on the radio, people started screaming and running out onto the street. Now no one was in the store and he was going to close early and come home. My brother and sister soon appeared, much earlier than they normally did, their elementary school had sent all the kids home early. I remember watching the funeral on TV three days later with my mother and seeing little John-John (one year younger than me) salute as his dad's casket went by. It was John-John's third birthday. And I remember seeing Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey, surely the first murder broadcast on live TV. Should I be concerned that all of my earliest memories are of trauma, confusion, violence, and sadness?
I later became a bit obsessed with both the assassination and the Kennedy family. I never paid too much attention to the wild conspiracy theories, but I still found it difficult to believe that this act sprung solely from the demented mind of Lee Harvey Oswald. I do believe others were involved in some way. Maybe we’ll never know the truth, or maybe facts that would shock the world are already known but being kept under wraps. One of my very first thoughts when I heard President-elect Obama was starting his White House briefings was, “I wonder if they’re going to tell him who really killed JFK.”
When I was growing up, it wasn't as easy to review footage from that day, which only added to the conspiracists' belief that we weren't being told the whole story. We knew about the Zapruder film and saw color stills from it but it was not something that was readily accessible as it is today. Now you can find thousands of images, videos, and documents from that time with the click of a button. Below is a discovery I just made that I'm surprised I didn't know about.
On June 5, 1964, at 4:20 pm, Jacqueline Kennedy appeared before the Warren Commission, the government-appointed group that was investigating the assassination. Mrs. Kennedy arrived at the hearing with her brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy. General Counsel, J. Lee Rankin, and Chief Justice Earl Warren were also there. It is chilling to hear Jackie Kennedy talk about that day in her own words—she certainly never gave interviews on the subject. It's also interesting to note that even though it was less than seven months since the assassination, there were a few times when she couldn't remember if something came from her own memory or if it was something she saw or read about that day. Isn't that how all of our memories work? Here are excerpts from what must have been an agonizing interrogation.
The Chairman.
The Commission will be in order. Mrs. Kennedy, the Commission would just like to have you say in your own words, in your own way, what happened at the time of the assassination of the President. Mr. Rankin will ask you a few questions, just from the time you left the airport until the time you started for the hospital. And we want it to be brief. We want it to be in your own words and want you to say anything that you feel is appropriate to that occasion. Would you be sworn, please, Mrs. Kennedy? Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you give before the Commission will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mrs. Kennedy.
I do.
The Chairman.
Would you be seated.
Mr. Rankin.
State your name for the record.
Mrs. Kennedy.
Jacqueline Kennedy.
Mr. Rankin.
And you are the widow of the former President Kennedy?
Mrs. Kennedy.
That is right.
Mr. Rankin.
You live here in Washington?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
Can you go back to the time that you came to Love Field on November 22 and describe what happened there after you landed in the plane?
Mrs. Kennedy.
We got off the plane. The then Vice President and Mrs. Johnson were there. They gave us flowers. And then the car was waiting, but there was a big crowd there, all yelling, with banners and everything. And we went to shake hands with them. It was a very hot day. And you went all along a long line. I tried to stay close to my husband and lots of times you get pushed away, you know, people leaning over and pulling your hand. They were very friendly. And, finally, I don't know how we got back to the car. I think Congressman Thomas somehow was helping me. There was lots of confusion.
Mr. Rankin.
Then you did get into the car. And you sat on the left side of the car, did you, and your husband on your right?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
And was Mrs. Connally----
Mrs. Kennedy.
In front of me.
Mr. Rankin.
And Governor Connally to your right in the jump seat?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
And then did you start off on the parade route?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
And were there many people along the route that you waved to?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes. It was rather scattered going in. Once there was a crowd of people with a sign saying something like "President Kennedy, please get out and shake our hands, our neighbors said you wouldn't."
Mr. Rankin.
Did you?
Mrs. Kennedy.
And he stopped and got out. That was, you know, like a little suburb and there were not many crowds. But then the crowds got bigger as you went in.
Mr. Rankin.
As you got into the main street of Dallas were there very large crowds on all the streets?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
And you waved to them and proceeded down the street with the motorcade?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes. And in the motorcade, you know, I usually would be waving mostly to the left side and he was waving mostly to the right, which is one reason you are not looking at each other very much. And it was terribly hot. Just blinding all of us.
Mr. Rankin.
Now, do you remember as you turned off of the main street onto Houston Street?
Mrs. Kennedy.
I don't know the name of the street.
Mr. Rankin.
That is that one block before you get to the Depository Building.
Mrs. Kennedy.
Well, I remember whenever it was, Mrs. Connally said, "We will soon be there." We could see a tunnel in front of us. Everything was really slow then. And I remember thinking it would be so cool under that tunnel.
Mr. Rankin.
And then do you remember as you turned off of Houston onto Elm right by the Depository Building?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Well, I don't know the names of the streets, but I suppose right by the Depository is what you are talking about?
Mr. Rankin.
Yes; that is the street that sort of curves as you go down under the underpass.
Mr. Kennedy.
Yes; well, that is when she said to President Kennedy, “You certainly can't say that the people of Dallas haven't given you a nice welcome.”
Mr. Rankin.
What did he say?
Mrs. Kennedy.
I think he said--I don't know if I remember it or I have read it, "No, you certainly can't," or something. And you know then the car was very slow and there weren't very many people around. And then--do you want me to tell you what happened?
Mr. Rankin.
Yes; if you would, please.
Mrs. Kennedy.
You know, there is always noise in a motorcade and there are always motorcycles, besides us, a lot of them backfiring. So I was looking to the left. I guess there was a noise, but it didn't seem like any different noise really because there is so much noise, motorcycles and things. But then suddenly Governor Connally was yelling, "Oh, no, no, no."
Mr. Rankin.
Did he turn toward you?
Mrs. Kennedy.
No; I was looking this way, to the left, and I heard these terrible noises. You know. And my husband never made any sound. So I turned to the right. And all I remember is seeing my husband, he had this sort of quizzical look on his face, and his hand was up, it must have been his left hand. And just as I turned and looked at him, I could see a piece of his skull and I remember it was flesh colored. I remember thinking he just looked as if he had a slight headache. And I just remember seeing that. No blood or anything. And then he sort of did this [indicating], put his hand to his forehead and fell in my lap. And then I just remember falling on him and saying, "Oh, no, no, no," I mean, "Oh, my God, they have shot my husband." And "I love you, Jack," I remember I was shouting. And just being down in the car with his head in my lap. And it just seemed an eternity. You know, then, there were pictures later on of me climbing out the back. But I don't remember that at all.
Mr. Rankin.
Do you remember Mr. Hill coming to try to help on the car?
Mrs. Kennedy.
I don't remember anything. I was just down like that. And finally I remember a voice behind me, or something, and then I remember the people in the front seat, or somebody, finally knew something was wrong, and a voice yelling, which must have been Mr. Hill, "Get to the hospital,"or maybe it was Mr. Kellerman, in the front seat. But someone yelling. I was just down and holding him. [Reference to wounds deleted.]
Mr. Rankin.
Do you have any recollection of whether there were one or more shots?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Well, there must have been two because the one that made me turn around was Governor Connally yelling. And it used to confuse me because first I remembered there were three and I used to think my husband didn't make any sound when he was shot. And Governor Connally screamed. And then I read the other day that it was the same shot that hit them both. But I used to think if I only had been looking to the right I would have seen the first shot hit him, then I could have pulled him down, and then the second shot would not have hit him. But I heard Governor Connally yelling and that made me turn around, and as I turned to the right my husband was doing this [indicating with hand at neck]. He was receiving a bullet. And those are the only two I remember. And I read there was a third shot. But I don't know. Just those two.
Mr. Rankin.
And then from there you proceeded as rapidly as possible to the hospital, is that right?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
Mr. Rankin.
Do you recall anyone saying anything else during the time of the shooting?
Mrs. Kennedy.
No; there weren't any words. There was just Governor Connally's. And then I suppose Mrs. Connally was sort of crying and covering her husband. But I don't remember any words.
Mr. Rankin.
Can you think of anything more?
The Chairman.
No; I think not. I think that is the story and that is what we came for.
Mr. Rankin.
You have told us what you remember about the entire period as far as you can recall, have you?
Mrs. Kennedy.
Yes.
The Chairman.
Thank you very much, Mrs. Kennedy.
Dear Danny,
It seems absolutely amazing that I have never read Jackie Kennedy's testimony before now. I was 9 years old at that time in 1963, and I have the same problem with knowing for sure what I remember about it, and what I read or saw later on. In 1972, I was in college and one of the conspiracy theorists showed a copy of the Zapruder film, which was the first time I had seen the unedited (and graphic) version of it. I have no doubt in my mind that there was someone else involved besides Oswald. BTW, am I the only one who ever noticed that Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe sound very similar when they speak?
Posted by: Gordon | November 23, 2008 at 12:28 AM
Hi Danny, I have been reading your blog for a while now and I really enjoy your historical posts. I am not very familiar with all the JFK assassination theories but seems they run the gamut, from the idea the Oswald didn't act alone to the practically all the evidence we have of the event being faked. What are your main reasons for believing there is more to this story than Oswald? Not trying to open a can of worms, just curious what your take is on this.
Posted by: jonnifer | November 23, 2008 at 05:01 AM
It was amazing to be in Dallas for this election, and then visit the Book Depository Museum two days later. Very educational and extremely emotionally moving. I wrote about it here.
Although I was living in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe - former Rhodesia - at the time, I remember standing in our living room and realizing the shock and sadness from my parents' reaction. I was 14.
Posted by: tamarika | November 23, 2008 at 05:28 AM
Danny,
I already wrote a little on your wall about my experience. Several of my first memories also involve Kennedy, so I share a similar obsession as you about him and the assasination. I was three when he was inaugurated, but I remember watching it with my mom on TV. The other strong memory I have of the assasination, besides my school story and Oswald getting shot, was of the horse, Blackjack, that was following the coffin with boots reversed in the stirrups. The horse was spooked and trying to bolt during much of the procession, and I had nightmares of that horse with its eyes rolling in its head and those empty boots. Wierd.
Posted by: Bob | November 23, 2008 at 08:55 AM
Thank you for posting this Danny. This was so hard to read, but important. I was 8 years old, and old enough to remember that day, as well as watching the funeral on t.v. It was truly the first time I experienced the power of collective sadness. Watching the Obama family really brings back similar feelings of the Kennedy era. It's nice to feel that again.
Posted by: cruisin-mom | November 23, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Thanks for that great post, Danny - it was the first time I had ever read Jackie Kennedy's testimony. It is, indeed, chilling.
Posted by: Elisabeth | November 24, 2008 at 05:28 AM
Thanks for this, Danny! As I said on another blog, my mother was ironing too when I rushed home from school. I think women did nothing back then except laundry.
I was 9, and what I remembered most from that weekend is that there was nothing else on TV all weekend except the news, we got off from school on Monday, and none of the grown-ups yelled at anybody the whole weekend.
I also remember the riderless horse with the boots in the stirrups backwards. Also the drumbeat from the funeral procession. And the President's kids--every family back then had young kids--behaving themselves so well and not even crying.
Posted by: Melinda | November 24, 2008 at 07:15 AM
Another great post. I was three weeks away from my sweet 16 party so I knew enough to be sobbing along with your mom. Home from school that day, and undoubtedly doing my favorite thing: reading. I wasn't watching tv, so a friend called when she came home from school, my mom answered and thought she meant the president of the pta was shot!
Glued to the tv for the whole time, indeed I remember the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. The funeral, everything of those days. The coincidences of the years..1860..1960, the names of his secretary, etc...Later the conspiracy theories, the deaths of those related to the investigation...I also remember Paul Krassner's friend with her conspiracies(can't recall her name. I was so inspired by JFK, my whole life, still hoping for justice. Still believing in the power of the people. Still believing in democracy and equality for all peoples... only now, we add gender and sexual orientation.
Posted by: Judy | November 24, 2008 at 07:41 AM
I was 8 years old in the third grade and on a field trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens when the news broke. I remember our class was lined up ready to get back on the bus and all the teachers and other grownups seemed very shaken but didn't tell us what had happened.
I remember thinking later that afternoon that now we didn't have a president to protect us and the Russians could invade our country (no one had explained to me yet about the transfer of power - I guess a civics lesson was not on my mother's mind at that moment)
That transcript of Jackie Kennedy's testimony is new to me and to quote Woody Allen (not for the first time), I'm still waiting for the non-fiction version of the Warren Report.
Posted by: Debbie W | November 24, 2008 at 09:58 AM
I wasn't born when Kennedy was assassinated, but my mother talked about it a lot. I also took a post modern literature class in college where we read Delilo's Libra and parts of the Warren Commission Report. I've never read Jackie Kennedy's testimony and I have to say, I was riveted.
Thanks for this.
Posted by: churlita | November 24, 2008 at 10:09 AM
It is utterly Harrowing, isn't it? To read her words---I cannot imagine the pain she went through. And the aftermath that never ever stopped.
I was on Broadway in "Spoon River" at the time....I heard the news of him being shot in a cab....It was simply horrifying and unbelievable---I mean, one just couldn't believe it. But he wasn't dead yet. There was still hope that he would not die. That he would survive, Please God. As the cab got closer to my hotel, we stopped at a red light and the cabbie right next to ours yelled over that Kennedy was dead. It was so shocking, one couldn't take it in. Back at the Hotel, I went to Betty's room---she was getting ready to go do an interview---She was crying. I was crying. It was horrific. Every show on Broadway was cancelled that night. Some of us, not knowing what else to do, went to Sardi's to eat dinner. It seemed like a warm caring place to be on this most peculiar night of death and the loss of this President who had brought so much hope to all of us....Sardi's was rather like a tomb. Strangely sundued and so very quiet.
We played the Matinee the next day. The first thing we heard while standing in the wings waiting to go on after the houselights went down, was my voice, coming over the loudspeaker,(as it did to start every show...) singing acapella, "He's Gone Away"....we were deivistated all over again. Everything said and sung on that stage that afternoon was heard in a new most terrible and touchingly painful way---being about people speaking from the grave.
I had to leave the stage because I thought I was going to throw-up....My understudy played the 2nd act. I was in my bed for the next three days...and like you Dammy, saw Jack Ruby shoot Oswald, and watched all the pre-funeral-body-lying-in-state-Jacqueline-kissing-the-casket, etc...and the Funeral.
To read Jacquie Kennedy's exact words is quite stunning. How she managed to testify at all....How she managed to do what she did for those four days after the assassination still astounds me, because she kept the country together as much as anyone possibly could.
It was a terrible terrible time.
Posted by: OldOldLady Of The Hills | November 24, 2008 at 10:31 PM
But the good old days
Posted by: shofar | October 23, 2011 at 05:06 AM
For a guy aged 27 even I am moved by the man. What he proposed to do in his era, no other white upper class male was prepared to do. Sure what MLK did was fantastic in itself, but for JFK to step foward from the white mans comfort zone took moral courage. He is the definition of the American Dream and why us Brits & other europeans aspire to live there.
Posted by: Shaundertaker | October 24, 2011 at 02:29 PM