I’m sure for those who weren’t born when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, hearing about that day seems no more vivid or emotional than hearing about the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, or about what it was like to live during the Great Depression. Yes, we comprehend the importance of past events and may, thanks to photographs, stories, or art, even make an emotional connection to them. But unless you were there, it’s hard to fully understand the drama of events such as the Kennedy assassination. That drama is usually captured in relatively small details: a mother’s silent tears while preparing dinner, an eerie quiet as you drove down Main Street, the clinking of rosary beads against a wooden pew.
November 22 marks the forty-fifth anniversary of that day, and this year, thanks in part to the Obama election, it seems particularly relevant. Lots of comparisons have been made between President-Elect Obama and Kennedy, not the least of which is a mostly unspoken concern for his safety. It seems that popular charismatic leaders bring out both the best and the worst in people. I certainly don’t envy the Secret Service right now, and I admire the incredible job they continue to do.
Many of the images in this week’s blog post are from the book The Way We Were, 1963 the Year Kennedy was Shot by Robert McNeil; from various issues of Life, Look, and Saturday Evening Post magazines; and from the Library of Congress.
Below are a couple of pictures from the early days of the Kennedy administration, when enthusiasm for a young family in the White House was particularly high.
Click on any image for a larger version.
Like the Obamas, the Kennedys had two young children, and the perception at the time was that this was a happy, attractive couple with family values Americans could relate to. Kennedy didn’t win office with as much of a margin as Barack Obama, but in many ways the election was similar: old-school Republic vs. new-generation Democrat. Many pundits referred to those early years as “Camelot.”
By November 1963, a bit of the luster had worn off, but Kennedy made it through the Cuban Missile Crisis and was sympathetic to the growing civil rights movement. He was popular, as was his wife Jackie and daughter Caroline and son John-John.
On the morning of November 22, Kennedy and his wife, vice-president Lyndon Johnson and his wife, and Texas Governor John Connally began the day at a breakfast in Fort Worth, Texas. In these images, the Kennedys arrive in Dallas, where a motorcade was to take them through a pre-determined path through the city.
Waiting in the upstairs window of the Texas School Book Depository, a non-descript government building, was Lee Harvey Oswald, holding a gun he bought through mail order from this ad. Below that ad is Oswald as a soldier and as a two-year-old.
I don’t want to dwell on the shooting part, but as you can see from these photos, it was dramatic and swift. Kennedy was killed and Connally severely injured.
And this is when the story really begins for most Americans. Word quickly spread that the president had been shot. I was in second grade and the principal came to the door, whispered to Sister Mary Eugene, our teacher, and she stood silently at the door for a few minutes before coming back in, fighting tears. I think most people of my generation remember the assassination from school, since it happened fairly early in the day. Here is a picture of New Yorkers gathered around a radio store listening to news reports, a Harvard student crying on the steps of Memorial Church, and two women outside the Parkland Hospital, where Kennedy was taken.
This shooting was one of the first truly historical events to unfold live, on television. My most vivid memories are of adults gathered around the black-and-white TV. I wasn’t really engaged in what was happening, but I could see it was serious, and if you dared to interrupt the broadcasts you were met with a loud “SHHHHHUSHHH!” The nation watched as Vice President Johnson was sworn in as the new president and as Lee Harvey Oswald was himself shot and killed.
And ultimately, we all watched the somber funeral march past the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington Cemetery. There were many tragic photos of the young widow and her children.
America was in mourning and everyone seemed to be part of the sadness. Things weren’t as partisan back then and there was no Fox News to fan the flames of hate. Stores closed, churches overflowed, and the world was part of the sorrow.
One of the photos I find most sad is this one, taken the day after the assassination as White House staff moved out one president and moved the other in to the Oval Office. Kennedy sat in rocking chairs because of a bad back.
Eventually, Kennedy’s presidential desk was put on display in Boston, and is shown here.
Find more images and memories on page 2.
This article was last modified on May 18, 2023
This article was first published on November 21, 2008
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