Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation

  Kennedy’s Last Days is completely a work of nonfiction. It’s all true. The actions of each individual and the events that took place really happened. The quotations are words people actually spoke. Those details are made possible in large part because JFK is a contemporary historical figure whose entire presidency was thoroughly documented by all manner of media.

  The sheer volume of material available on the life and death of John F. Kennedy allowed for unexpected research delights when compiling the manuscript. Not only were there a number of first-person manuscripts that provided specific details about meetings, conversations, and events, but there are also numerous Internet videos of JFK’s speeches and television appearances, which brought his words and voice to life during each writing day. For readers, taking the time to find and watch these will add immeasurably to learning more about John Kennedy.

  To hear about life inside the Kennedy White House from Jackie herself, listen to Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy, a series of recordings she made not long after the assassination. It is remarkable to hear the honesty with which the former first lady speaks, particularly when she opens up about so many of the most famous and powerful figures in the world at that time. As with her husband, her wit, warmth, and sheer presence are palpable.

  The author owes a special debt to the team of Laurie Austin and Stacey Chandler at the Kennedy Library. No research request was too big or too small, and suffice it to say that it was quite a historical rush to receive, for instance, copies of John Kennedy’s actual daily schedule, showing his precise location, the names of different people at various meetings, and the time each afternoon he slipped off to the pool or to “the Mansion.” To read these schedules was to see the president’s day come alive and gave a vivid feel for what life was like in the White House. When in Boston, a visit to the Kennedy Library is a must.

  Special recognition must also go to William Manchester’s The Death of a President, which was written shortly after the assassination and built around first-person interviews with almost everyone who was with JFK in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Manchester’s work was written with the complete cooperation of Jackie and the Kennedy family. The level of detail is fantastic for that very fact and proved invaluable as the ultimate answer to many questions when other resources conflicted with one another.

  The backbone of this text are books, magazine articles, videos, the Warren Commission Report, and visits to places such as Dallas, Washington, and the Texas Hill Country. The author owes a debt of gratitude to the many brilliant researchers who have immersed themselves in the life and times of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Their works are listed in the bibliography.

  These are some particularly helpful resources:

  The White House Museum website, which offers a fine map of the entire building, along with its history in words and pictures. The Kennedy Library’s website is also a great source of detail on life in the White House.

  When it was necessary to know what the weather was on a specific day, the Farmers’ Almanac for that year was very useful.

  The reader can go online and watch Jackie’s excellent White House tour.

  The Kennedy Library’s website has a feature that allows you to browse the New York Times by date. This provides much of the background information on the travels of the president, the atrocities in East Berlin, and other events.

  FBI special agent John Fain’s recollection of Lee Harvey Oswald comes from Fain’s Warren Commission testimony.

  Believe it or not, the Mona Lisa’s unveiling can be found on YouTube.

  The Warren Commission Report includes a solid summary on the history of presidential assassination and the need for a Secret Service. The Secret Service’s own website shows this, too. Much of the behind-the-scenes information about the various agents and their details can be found in Clint Hill’s fascinating Mrs. Kennedy and Me, and in Gerald Blaine’s The Kennedy Detail.

  Many details about the freedom marchers came from Washington Post coverage the following day. Glenn Eskew’s But for Birmingham and Diane McWhorter’s Carry Me Home provide additional awesome detail. Shelley Tougas’s Birmingham 1963 speaks of how a single photograph changed so many minds.

  Martin Luther King Jr.’s entire “I Have a Dream” speech can be heard online at www.americanrhetoric.com.

  Special agent James Hosty’s Warren Commission testimony provides the details about his visit to Ruth Paine.

  The Warren Commission Report and David Kaiser’s The Road to Dallas provide unique insight into the days leading up to the assassination.

  There is still some question as to whether Oswald was actually the shooter whom Sterling Wood witnessed, since the owner of the shooting range swore he saw Oswald there on a completely different date. The fact that a lone man was seen firing a unique Italian rifle, however, is not in doubt.

  A wide range of websites and books were used to sift through the vast number of facts surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The timing, crowd descriptions, and arrival scene, as well as all other aspects of the shooting and drive to Parkland Hospital, are standard facts. However, the primary sources for specific conversations, private moments, and otherwise particular details are The Death of a President, the Warren Commission Report, Mrs. Kennedy and Me, Vincent Bugliosi’s Reclaiming History, Robert Dallek’s writings on JFK’s medical woes and on the assassination itself, and, of course, the Zapruder film. The author watched it time after time after time to understand the sequence of events, and it never got less horrific—nor did the outcome ever change.

  Jackie’s filmed newsreel thanking the nation for its sympathy can be found online, and her grief is still startlingly painful to watch.

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Adams, John

  Air Force One

  Albert, Raymond

  Aldrin, Edwin, Jr. “Buzz”

  Alphand, Herve

  Alphand, Nicole

  Amagiri (Japanese destroyer)

  Anderson, Rudolf, Jr.

  Arlington National Cemetery

  Armstrong, Neil

  Azcue, Eusebio

  Baker, Marrion

  Bartett, Charles

  Baughman, U.E.

  Bay of Pigs invasion. See Cuba

  Berlin Wall

  Bessette, Lauren

  bin Laden, Osama

  Birmingham, Alabama

  Blackett Strait

  Black Jack (riderless horse)

  Bono

  Brigade 2506

  Brown, Arnold J.

  Brown, Jim

  Bumbry, Grace

  Bundy, McGeorge

  Casals, Pablo

  Castro, Fidel

  Bay of Pigs and

  Cuban missile crisis and

  U.S. visit of

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

  Bay of Pigs and

  de Mohrenschildt and

  Oswald and

  Warren Commission and

  Cézanne, Paul

  Chaminade High School

  Charlie (dog)

  Checker, Chubby

  Chicago Sun-Times

  Children’s Crusade

  Churchill, Winston

  Cincinnati Reds

  Civil Rights Act (1964)

  civil rights movement

  Children’s Crusade

  Freedom Riders

  JFK’s meeting with King and

  JFK’s speech on

  King’s Nobel Peace Prize and

  March on Washington

  Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing

  Clark, Dick

  Clark, Dr. William Kemp

  Clipper (dog)

  Clooney, George

  Cold War

  Colli
ngwood, Charles

  Collins, Addie Mae

  Collins, Michael

  Communism

  Connally, John

  Oswald shoots

  Connally, Nellie

  Connor, Eugene “Bull”

  Cooper, Gordon

  Cronkite, Walter

  Cuba

  Bay of Pigs invasion

  missile crisis

  Oswald and

  revolution in

  Cuban exiles

  Curry, Jesse

  Dallas. See also Dealey Plaza; Texas School Book Depository

  anger at JFK in

  JFK arrives in

  JFK assassinated in

  JFK memorials in

  JFK’s trip planned

  motorcade begun

  motorcade route

  O’Reilly as reporter in

  Oswald moves to

  Oswald’s escape attempt and

  Dallas Police

  Oswald arrested by

  Oswald’s murder and

  Walker assassination attempt and

  Dallas Times Herald

  Dallas Trade Mart

  Dante Alighieri

  da Vinci, Leonardo

  Dealey Plaza

  De Gaulle, Charles

  Democratic Party

  de Mohrenschildt, George

  Diem, Ngo Dinh

  Diodati, Brother Carmine

  Dugger, Ronnie

  Dulles, Allen W.

  Dulles, John Foster

  Eisenhower, Dwight D. “Ike”

  JFK’s inauguration and

  presidency of

  Eisenhower, Mamie

  elections

  of 1946

  of 1960

  of 1964

  of 1968

  Emancipation Proclamation

  Essex (U.S. aircraft carrier)

  ExComm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council)

  Fain, John

  Fair Play for Cuba Committee

  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  Dallas motorcade and

  death of JFK and

  Marina and

  Oswald and

  Paine and

  Warren Commission and

  Ferguson, Anne

  Ferguson Passage

  Ford, Gerald R.

  Fort Worth, Texas

  Foster, Robert

  Fox, Michael J.

  Frazier, Wesley

  Freedom Riders

  Frost, Robert

  Fulbright, J. William

  Gadsden, Walter

  Germany. See also Berlin Wall

  WW II and

  Gold Star Mothers

  Graham, Billy

  Greer, Bill

  Gromyko, Andrei

  Harris, Charles A.

  Harvard College

  Hayes, Rutherford B.

  Hill, Clint

  Hitler, Adolf

  Hoover, J. Edgar

  Hosty, James, Jr.

  Hudson, Bill

  Hughes, Sarah

  Ireland

  Irish Americans

  Jackson, Michael

  Jaggars-Chiles-Stoval

  Japan

  John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

  John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza

  John F. Kennedy National Historical Site

  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

  John F. Kennedy Space Center

  Johnson, Claudia “Lady Bird”

  Johnson, Lyndon Baines “LBJ,”

  Caroline and

  civil rights and

  Cuban missile crisis and

  Dallas trip and

  death of

  JFK’s assassination and

  JFK’s inauguration and

  as president

  Secret Service and

  space program and

  sworn in, as president

  as vice president

  Warren Commission and

  Johnston, William

  Joint Chiefs of Staff

  Justice Department

  Kellerman, Roy

  Kennedy, Arabella (daughter)

  Kennedy, Caroline (daughter)

  childhood in White House

  JFK’s departure for Dallas and

  JFK’s funeral and

  later in life of

  pony of

  Secret Service and

  Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette

  Kennedy, Edward “Teddy” (brother)

  elected Senator

  JFK’s funeral and

  Kennedy, Ethel (sister-in-law)

  Kennedy, Eunice (sister)

  Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier “Jackie” (wife)

  Cape Cod and

  childhood and youth of

  children and family life and

  Dallas motorcade and

  Dallas trip and

  death of

  Emmy Award and

  famous words of

  France and

  glamour and style of

  at hospital after assassination

  JFK’s assassination and

  JFK’s funeral and

  JFK’s inauguration and

  Kennedy Center and

  later life of

  LBJ and

  Mona Lisa and

  Secret Service and

  White House entertaining and

  White House renovated by

  White House TV tour by

  Kennedy, Jean Ann (sister)

  Kennedy, John Fitzgerald “JFK,”

  assassination of

  awards and honors of

  back problems of

  body returned to Washington

  brother Bobby and

  brother Joe and

  civil rights and

  coconut shell and

  Cuba and

  Cuban Bay of Pigs and

  Cuban missile crisis and

  culture of 1960s and

  Dallas trip and

  death of, announced

  elected president

  elected to Congress

  enemies of

  family life and

  famous words of

  father Joe and

  favorite quote of

  funeral and burial of

  Graham and

  inaugural address

  inauguration of

  Irish background of

  King and

  legacy of

  Mona Lisa and

  Oswald plots to kill

  Oswald reads about

  places to visit commemorating

  popularity and style of

  as president

  press and TV and

  Profiles in Courage and

  PT-109 and

  sculpture of

  Secret Service and

  speech at Fort Worth

  speech at inauguration

  speech on civil rights

  speech on Cuban missile crisis

  speech on Gold Star Mothers

  speech on Peace Corps

  sports and

  timeline of

  travels to Ireland

  travels to Montana

  vacations and

  Vienna summit and

  Vietnam and

  Warren and

  Warren Commission and

  Zapruder film and

  Kennedy, John Jr. (son)

  childhood in White House

  death of

  JFK’s departure for Dallas and

  JFK’s funeral and

  later life of

  Secret Service and

  Kennedy, Joseph, Jr. “Joe” (brother)

  death of

  Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. “Joe” (father)

  JFK’s inauguration and

  Kennedy, Kathleen Agnes (sister)

  Kennedy, Patricia (sister)

  Kennedy, Patrick (son)

  Kennedy, Robert Francis “Bobby” (brother)

  assassination of

  Bay
of Pigs and

  civil rights and

  Cuban missile crisis and

  JFK’s assassination and

  JFK’s inauguration and

  JFK’s relationship with

  Kennedy, Rose (mother)

  Kennedy, Rosemary (sister)

  Kennedy, Winifred (O’Reilly’s great grandmother)

  Khrushchev, Nikita

  Cuban missile crisis and

  nuclear test ban treaty and

  U.S. visit by

  Vienna summit and

  King, Martin Luther, Jr.

  assassination of

  awards and honors

  “I have a dream” speech of

  JFK’s funeral and

  JFK meets with

  LBJ and

  March on Washington and

  Kirksey, Andrew Jackson

  Ku Klux Klan

  LaLanne, Jack

  Landis, Paul

  Lawson, Winston G.

  Leavelle, J.R.

  Lemass, Sean

  Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)

  Lincoln, Abraham

  Lincoln, Evelyn

  Los Angeles Dodgers

  Macaroni (pony)

  Mafia

  Maguire, John E.

  Mahfouz, Naguib

  Malraux, André

  Malraux, Marie-Madeleine

  Manchester, William

  Mao Zedong

  March on Washington

  Marney, Harold W.

  Mauer, Edman Edgar

  Mays, Willie

  McDonald, M.N.

  McGovern, Elizabeth

  McIntyre, Bill

  McMahon, Patrick Henry

  McNair, Denise

  McNamara, Robert S.

  Mexico City

  Mona Lisa (da Vinci painting)

  Monroe, James

  moon landing

  Murphy, Eddie

  Mussolini, Benito

  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

  National Archives

  National Gallery of Art

  Nelson, Ricky

  Newsweek

  New York Times

  Nicaragua

  Nixon, Richard M.

  Oswald targets

  nuclear weapons. See also Cuba, missile crisis

  bomb shelters and

  test ban treaties

  Obama, Barack

  O’Donnell, Kenneth P. “Kenny”

  Onassis, Aristotle

  101 Dalmations (movie)

  O’Reilly, Bill

  de Mohrenschildt and

  early life of

  heroes of

  Kennedy ancestors of

  memories of JFK

  Oswald, June Lee

  Oswald, Lee Harvey

  arrest of