My story is not much different or more extraordinary than any of yours. I was in seventh grade at St. Philomena School. The school secretary came into the classroom to tell us that the President had been shot and was not expected to live. I also remember that our teacher, Sister Theodore, would not allow us to turn on the classroom TV set until the all-important weekly spelling test had been administered. Then the TV set was turned on, the class watched, and I believe, but am not absolutely certain, that school was dismissed early.
Then it was sitting in front of the TV set at home for the next four days. The arrival of Air Force One from Dallas, the lying in state at the Capital Building, the Oswald shooting, and the funeral in Washington and the burial at Arlington.
I also remember that that weekend was the first time I ever saw my Dad cry.
******
Yesterday, I read a book called "The Torch Is Passed". This was a special commemorative book published by the Associated Press and released shortly after the Assassination. I can recall this book being offered for sale by the Post-Gazette via mail order and sending in my very own money - $3.00 - for a copy. It was filled with pictures of the four days, and written by staff writers of the AP. Over the years, the book got lost or thrown out, but I found a copy of it a few years ago at a used book sale, and I pulled it out again this week to re-read it.
With perspective of fifty years of history, it is interesting to read an account of the event that was written at the time it occurred. A couple of things struck me.
Foremost among them was the way that Jacqueline Kennedy acted in the face of losing her husband in such a sudden, violent, and very public way. She truly was extraordinary during those four days.
And she was only 34 years old.
It also was interesting reading something that was written before the Warren Commission Report. Before Conspiracy Theories that claim to state What Really Happened became a cottage industry that continues to this day, and will no doubt continue forever. The AP did do a great job in capturing Lee Harvey Oswald. For example:
"Lee Oswald's fourth grade teacher says 'He wasn't for anything. He wasn't against anything. He just wasn't anything.' "
The mystery of WHY Oswald did what he did will never be solved, and anyone with a keyboard and a modicum of imagination can spin out a semi-plausible conspiracy theory. They have been doing it for fifty years now, but it must be noted that none of these theories, not a single one of them, has ever been proven to be true. Of course, Conspiracy Theorists would no doubt respond to that statement by saying, "well, that's just what THEY (whoever they are) want you to think!"
Tomorrow, Turner Classic Movies are showing a number of movies about JFK's campaigns, his Presidency, and his death. One that I will be watching will be the 1964 documentary called "Four Days in November" which, as the name says, documents those four stunning days.
And if you want to read more on those four days, I suggest the following by Dallas reporter Hugh Aynesworth:
I read this book myself earlier this month and it is excellent. It describes the reporting done by Mr. Aynesworth at the time, and it also puts to rest all of the conspiracy theories.
As for Jack Kennedy, history has proven that he was not the saint that many thought he was at the time of his death, and his legacy is still being debated and discussed by historians. I am no historian, but my own thought is that whatever else his Administration did or did not accomplish, or did not have the time to accomplish, Kennedy earned his stripes and his place in history for stewarding this country during the thirteen day Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962.
RIP President Kennedy, and Mrs. Kennedy.
No comments:
Post a Comment