The Assassination of JFK

On November 22,1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Only three bullets were fired. Kennedy was struck twice, once in the head and again in the neck. John Connally ,the Governor of Texas, was shot in the back, but survived. Doctors tried their best to save Kennedy, but he passed away at 1:00 P.M. without regaining consciousness. Governor Connally was wounded severely, but later recovered.

Witnesses reported that the shots were fired from a sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. After a thorough search of the depoisitory they found nothing. They were then informed of an employee who had left the building recently. At about 1:15 P.M. Lee Harvey Oswald, the employee and would-be assassin, was said to have shot and killed a policeman, J.D.Tippit, while resisting arrest.

Oswald was questioned for many hours, but denied both murders. The police said the evidence against him was overwhelming. Even his palm prints were found on the murder weapon. Two days after Kennedy's death, Lee Harvey Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby. Oswald was taken to the same hospital where Kennedy died and at 1:07 P.M. he expired.

After Kennedy's death he was placed in the East room of the White House for twenty-four hours. His funeral was November 25th. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River. At the end of the ceremony Mrs.Kennedy lit an "eternal flame" over her husband's grave.

Above is a picture of President and Mrs. Kennedy
in Dallas moments before the assasination.

Cyber-Visitors' Memories of this Event:



Barbara Sonek
Fourth Grade Teacher
New York City


It was around 2:00 in the afternoon on November 23, 1963, and I was waiting for my drafting professor to arrive in the classroom. My classmates were milling around saying did you hear..JFK has been assassinated in Dallas. Being the college students that we were, we all thought it was some
kind of a dumb joke, and we waited for the punch line. The professor still hadn't come, so I decided to try and call the all news radio station WINS here in New York City. I remember that I couldn't even get a dial tone, all I got was a busy signal. I heard bells tolling on the college campus, and
the realization hit me that this rumor must in fact not be a rumor. I went back to my class, and talked with some of the students who were sitting there in a daze wondering what was going on.
Professor Spinka arrived carrying a portable radio tuned to a news station which was broadcasting to the world that JFK was dead. We were dumbfounded. Some of us cried, some of us couldn't speak. This hit me very hard because this was the first time that I had voted, and the man that I
had voted into office, who seemed to be making such an impact on the world was struck down for seemingly no reason. We cried for JFK, Jackie and the children.
We were told that classes were canceled and that we should go home. I remember other students on campus crying, yet no one wanted to leave. Everyone just hung around wanting to be with someone to share their grief. No one could believe that something like this could happen in the United States.

To this day the assassination interests me, and I have read many books on the subject. It is interesting that your posting is on the net at this time, since they just found 45 minutes of never been seen before footage regarding the assassination.
Regards...Barbara Sonek

Elaine Woods

This is just a short note, a memory of JFK's assassination and a little
perspective:

I was in ninth grade during the fall of 1963. I was fascinated with JFK and Jackie and their family - his was the first political race that I remember, and they were so young and handsome and elegant, but witty and down to earth as well. They were such a stark contrast with Eisenhower. One reason that I noticed them so much, at least at first, was because my parents were staunch Republicans and there was dislike of the Kennedys because of their wealth and religion as well as the fact that they were Democrats. It seems silly now, but some people thought that having a Catholic in the White House was almost like electing the Pope.

I was in study hall when the news came that Kennedy had been shot. My history teacher was in charge of the study hall, and we were all shocked. You could have heard a pin drop after the news came. Some people cried. There was also a sense of danger. Who would do this to the President, and would the Vice President be safe? Would our country be thrown into chaos? I felt like we were all vulnerable, especially with the crisis with the Russians (the Cuban Missle Crisis), and would they take advantage of us?

I watched the news, and of course the funeral. It was event that I will always remember. History was happening, and we were in the middle of it, watching it unfold.


I hope this helps a little. Good luck with your project!

Jane Leingang
Newspaper in Education Coordinator
Evansville Courier Company


I am not surprised at the list of the events you got mail about. The Kennedy assassination in particular was probably the most important event in my memory. Things were different after that.

I remember watching men on the moon during Apollo 11 with my boyfriend. It seemed so unreal that I am not surprised that there were those who did not believe it after it happened. What sticks in my mind is that the timing was analogous to when the Chapaquidick incident happened. (Edward Kennedy driving a car off a bridge in Massachusetts. A young women drowned in the car. He got out OK. There were numerous questions about his behavior and his responsibility for her death.) It
was a momentous summer.


Recent History Home Page
The Great Depression | Holocaust | World War II | Pearl Harbor | D-Day | Vietnam War | Assassination of Martin Luther King | Apollo 11 | Apollo 13
Mt. St. Helens Eruption | Challenger Explosion | Exxon Valdez Oil Spill | Persian Gulf War | Oklahoma City Bombing |