I'm a bit of a junkie on all matters concerning the JFK assassination of almost 46 years ago (next month) and am interested in those Swampbubblers who are of an age (I'm sure there aren't many) where they might remember where they were and what they were doing when they learned of the assassination. Also, interested in theories/arguments in regards to single assassin (Oswald) or conspiracy debate.
Check current political debates/philosophies/arguments at the door. It isn't about that..
Kennedy assassination opinions
By McCaskey - Posted on October 31st, 2009
to those perhaps too young to have any personal memory of that day, or have only a passing awareness or curiosity about it, this is what happened to this nation's 35th president in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22, 1963, courtesy of Abraham Zapruder's film of the events (disregard title of link btw; I'm not suggesting it solves anything):
http://www.jfkmurdersolved.com/film/Zapruderstable.mov
Now what are we supposed to do? I've listened to all the theories about it I'm going to listen to.
On Friday, November 22, 1963 at 12:30 p.m. CST I was in elementary school listening to a young Jewish woman who hated me. I was sorry the President was killed, and I wondered what manner of execution would be used on Oswald. Then Oswald was killed by Ruby, who is now dead.
When I learned the particulars I didn't believe that Oswald shot Kennedy. I could shoot, you see, and I knew what it took to run the bolt of a rifle and acquire the target again. I deemed it impossible, because even if I weren't trying to hit something I couldn't work the bolt on a .22 rifle fast enough to produce the three shots, let alone hit anything.
A retired sniper (US Marines, I believe) tried to re-create the shot a few years ago using scaffolding and a moving target, and couldn't do it using modern weapons and professional grade optical sights. His conclusion was that the shot was impossible. Oswald was untrained and was using an Italian Carcano war surplus rifle - not a nail driver by any stretch of the imagination. Oswald also used ammunition purchased over the counter.
Did Oswald shoot at President Kennedy? I believe he did. Was there one or more other shooters involved? I believe there were.
I think it is possible that the US Secret Service or a similar branch of the US Government might have killed the President. My argument for this belief is that Kennedy was something of a hot head. The Cuban missile crisis was still a brand new event, and I believe that it is possible JFK was planning a preemptive nuclear strike against the USSR and possibly China as well.
Another theory is that JFK was killed because of money. Kennedy was pulling the US out of Vietnam, and those war contracts were worth a ton of money to industry.
Those are only theories. It is likely that the US populace will never know the truth.
Mad Jack
Mad Jack's Shack
I was a high school senior sitting in English class.
Our teacher, who was a real character, came in and
said, "the President's been shot". We all waited for the punch line, thinking it was a joke. Tragically, it was no joke.
Oswald may have been involved, but there has to be more too it than a lone gunman. Doubt we'll ever know the real truth.
I know where I was and what I was doing on that horrific day. I was in Canton, Ohio, babysitting when the telephone rang. It was a friend who said, "President Kennedy has been shot and I think he is dead." I said, "Are you kidding?" She got very angry and said, "Why would I joke about something like that?" I knew then that something horrible had happened. Those words change the world for me.
We stayed glued to the television for the next week or so. I was watching the television when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. I could not believe my eyes. It just seemed so impossible that this was played out in front of a television audience. At first I thought it was another joke.
I was a college freshman on my way to an English class when I heard the news. I couldn't believe that the professor carried on with class as if nothing had happened. She didn't even mention it. Now I am wondering if she even heard about it.
Everybody was glued to the black & white televisions for days.
A few short years later, I was living in L.A. a couple of miles from the hotel where Robert Kennedy was shot. I heard the news that morning. Those were crazy times and it seemed as if the whole world was going nuts. Vietnam was turning into a meatgrinder, then MLK was killed, and Janis Joplin overdosed as did Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison later. It was crazy back then.
at Maplewood Elementary in Sylvania. I remember the teacher being summoned to a meeting which we all thought to be pretty cool because here was a classroom of 6 yr olds left unattended. She soon returned and told us that school would be dismissed early because the President had been shot. She told us that we should talk about it with our parents and that we would have a discussion the next day. It wasn't until I arrived home that I learned he had died.
Memories! I was in my apt. and the news came on Walter Cronkite made the anouncement. I was just stunned with disbelief and confusion, I was 20 years old , naive , single, and on my own away from home in Toledo, and living in sunny Calif. and after all things like this didn"t happen in our country. I went to a neighbors apt, a stranger, and asked her did she hear that, she hadn't so we sat glued to her Tv for hours. Needless to say we became friends after that. WE cried and asked WHY!!!! That , to me, was my intro to the real world, as it "really is"!!!! And I am still learning and shaking my head in disbeleif and amazement.
thanks for your comments. These many years later, I still find it a riveting subject matter. As a bonus on this forum, it's given me (and others) insights into other members of SB, a little beyond their screen name.
I'll add my own recollections at some point later. For now, I'm happy to read about others' experiences and thoughts on this.
LOL, Jack: 'I was in elementary school listening to a young Jewish woman who hated me'
This I want to hear about over a couple cold ones at the Village Inn.
All I remember about that day was watching Walter Cronkite on TV and he started crying.
If ''CON' is the opposite of 'PRO', does that mean Congress is the opposite of Progress?
I am fascinated by the subject and have read a lot about the various theories online.
I agree with Madjack, there is no way that someone could use that less then $20 dollar piece of junk to get off 3 shots in less then 7 seconds.
I also read that according to the Warren Commission, the first shot was the supposed "magic bullet", the second was the one that missed and the third was the head shot. They know about where the second shot missed because it chipped the curb on Elm street. They determined that to have fired the shots as the W.C. said the second shot had to miss like, 26 feet left and 33 feet high.
What are the odds that the same guy makes two shots dead on and misses a shot between those two by such a large margin?
Here's a link to some interesting videos.
http://tinyurl.com/yk84j5b
One I found particularly interesting was one that claims the famous LIFE magazine picture of Oswald holding his rifle was faked. They make a very compelling argument.
"We're all riding on the Hindenburg, no sense fighting over the window seats"-Richard Jenni
Jeepmaker I like you but I do disagree with you one this one.
The Magic Bullet wasn't exactly that. As we saw in Stone's "JFK" people who use it to argue conspiracy generally cite it. However they never took into account that Connelly's seat was lower and to the left of JFK's making a straight shot possible and probable.
The second shot resembles a misfire common with bolt action rifles.
And finally the final wound the "explosion" on Kennedy's head resembles an exit wound. Anyone who has seen one up close and personal knows the exit is extremely more violent than the entry. Again using Stone's "JFK" Zapruder segment the "back and to the left" motion of Kennedy's head is easily explained with the speed and slight right turn of the limo which it did as it was exiting the plaza.
As far as a Marine sniper saying the shot was impossible I'd like to question the sniper. I have a slew of Marines and one competitive shooter who would attest that 3 rounds, less than 100 yards, in less than 10 seconds is very doable. In fact we shoot that at least once a year in our planned training and two head shots are very possible.
However if there are any questions that question if anyone else was involved it should be "Why didn't Oswald fire when the vehicle was coming at him?" and that is valid because it's an easier shot and easier repeat shot. (less barrel movement)
But conspiracy theorists who try to act as if Oswald was incapable of or set up in the assassination never factor in that Oswald tried to assassinate General Edwin Walker 6 months prior to the Kennedy assination and was also the probable killer of J. D. Tippit minutes after the Kennedy assination.
MikeyA
I had an eye infection and missed the school-sponsored swimming class at the local Y. Just stayed in class reading or something. On my way to safety-patrol post with my patrol partner he mentioned the kids were told about it coming back from swim class on the bus. I didn't believe what he was telling me.
When we got back to school (our patrol post was for kindergartners who got out early) to finish the last hour or so I mentioned it to my teacher for confirmation, She already knew, then began to break down while firmly telling me not to talk about it to other kids who might not know. She wanted to do it herself before the final bell.
Rest of the weekend my family spent watching it all on TV. Watching Ruby shoot Oswald that Sunday was totally surreal, like being part of some movie. I was watching it alone, rest of family in the house doing other things just then, and I just started yelling.
It was unbelieveable and anyone watching was witnessing history unfold before their eyes.
The funeral procession Monday was dark and foreboding, with the riderless horse (Black Jack) with the boots on backward, and the continual mournful drumbeat.
But I remember the day well. My parents were getting ready to take a trip to Kentucky to visit my grandmother. My mother was washing and ironing clothes to get ready for our trip. When the news about the President being shot came out the telephone started ringing off the hook. All of my mothers friends were calling to talk about the news. When we got to Kentucky my grandmother had cried until her eyes and face were puffy over President Kennedy. Also on that day the new (at the time) I-75 bridge over the Maumee River (the DiSalle Bridge) opened for traffic. The ceremony to open it was cancelled and never held.
McCaskey, there will be a special airing on the Discovery Channel this Sunday called "Did the Mob Kill JFK"? I caught some of an interview with Lamar Waldron, author of Legacy of Secrecy.
According to his book, it was indeed a mob hit. JFK was working with the CIA on a planned coup of Castro in Cuba. The coup was scheduled to take place a week before the assassination. The CIA had recruited the mob, unbeknownst to JFK. But, RFK was at war with the mob and intended on shutting the them out of a post-Castro Cuba, meaning no casinos for them. RFK had also intended on shutting down the casino/mob cartel in Vegas and other places as well. So instead of going after RFK, the mob went after JFK instead--believing RFK would call off the dogs.
I think I have these details right--according to an interview with Waldron that I heard a couple of days ago. There's also something about an October Surprise with Nixon--but I missed that part.
Pink Slip
I'll try to catch it.