Dallas
Crack…crack
“Go, go, go! Drive!”
The Lincoln SS-100-X raced down Elm Street and towards the highway. Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman shouted over the radio that the presidential limousine was going to Parkland Hospital, and that they needed a stretcher and a room prepped for surgery. He had no idea where or how badly the President been shot, but he knew that it was bad. Kellerman was lucky. He had turned around after the sound of the first shot. Reacting quickly, he ordered the driver, William Greer, to slam on the gas. The President was hit a split second later. Governor John Connally slumped forward in his seat, screaming “Oh God! They’re going to kill us all!” The President didn’t say a word, but lurched forward. Behind the limo, in the first follow-up car, Agent Clint Hill heard the shooting too. He instinctively leaped forward and sprinted towards the President’s car. Then came the third shot. Hill was hit, and crashed into the asphalt of the road as the rest of the motorcade swerved out of the way. It was pure chaos.
The limo arrived at Parkland Hospital at 12:38, eight minutes after the first shots were fired. The President was rapidly losing blood, but there was no stretcher or nurses to be seen. Kellerman jumped out of the front seat and ran to get help. The rest of the motorcade arrived moments later, and a makeshift team of presidential and hospital staffers managed to get the President out of the car and into the hospital. Dr. Malcolm Duffy was the first surgeon to treat Kennedy, but he was quickly joined by whoever was available. One of those present was Admiral George Burkley, the President’s physician and one of the few men privy to the knowledge that the leader of the free world suffered from Addison’s disease. This rare medical condition affects the adrenal glands and leads to a shortage in the number of hormones that the body needs. With the President’s life on the line, Burkley revealed to the doctors and nurses assembled that Kennedy needed steroids because of his condition. This choice may have saved his life.
Outside of the operating room, the Jacqueline Kennedy sat with Texas’s First Lady, Nellie Connally, and Vice-President Lyndon Johnson. They were entirely silent. Governor Connally initially hadn’t received any medical attention in the wake of the arrival of the President. But Jacky insisted Connally received medical attention, and soon enough he too was in surgery. The operation took over an hour, and the status of the President and Governor remained uncertain the entire time. Finally, at 1:40, Admiral Burkley left the operating room and told the First Lady of the United States that her husband, President Kennedy, was in critical but stable condition. Governor Connally was in a similar state. Both men had barely avoided death. Assistant White House Press Secretary Malcom Kilduff, Jr. addressed the assembled reporters a few minutes later. All three national television networks had broken off their standard programing once the first news of the shooting reached them. Now they cut to an unsettled Kilduff as he addressed the nation:
“At approximately 12:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time, President John Kennedy was shot. He sustained serious wounds to his upper torso and chest, but was not fatally hit. The surgical staff here at Parkland Hospital has assured me that the President is in stable condition. We will continue to provide updates on his status as the situation develops.”
Across town, Lee Harvey Oswald ran into the Texas Theater movie house without buying a ticket. Julie Postal, the ticket taker that day, noticed the sound of sirens and called the police. Minutes later, and after a brief struggle, Oswald was under arrest for the shooting of Dallas Police Office J.D. Tippit. Oswald was taken to central booking, where it soon became clear that he worked at the Dallas Book Depository. That was where detectives located a Marcano Riffle which they suspected was used to shoot President Kennedy. Oswald, who had already been charged with the attempted murder of Officer Tippit, was now formally charged with the attempted assassination of the President of the United States.
The news of Kennedy’s shooting reached Washington, D.C. moments after it happened. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother, was eating lunch with several district attorneys at his home in Hickory Hill, Virginia. His wife, Ethel, got a phone call from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and immediately alerted the Attorney General. Hoover rarely, if ever, called Bobby at home. The two men were rivals with a personal distaste for one another. As Attorney General, Kennedy had taken a hard-line against organized crime along with a pro-civil rights stance, while Hoover was much more focused on rooting out the certain Communist conspiracy in each and every left-wing organization. Nonetheless, the two men had reached a certain level of détente. Hoover held evidence incriminating the President as a philander who had slept with a woman who turned out to be an East German spy. He used this leverage to force Bobby to approve wire taps of many prominent civil rights leaders, including the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The Kennedy brothers desperately wanted to fire Hoover, or at least force him to retire when his term came up, but were forced to let him work uninhibited or risk the publication of his damming information. But that day, Hoover wasn’t calling to ask for another wire. Instead, he was the one to let Bobby know his brother had been shot. Before knowing any more information, the Attorney General immediately called Evelyn Lincoln, the President’s secretary. He told her to lock every cabinet or drawer in the Oval Office. Then he hopped in his car and sped off towards the Justice Department.
Back in Dallas, Parkland Hospital was in a state of martial law. Secret Service Agents and Dallas Police Officers patrolled the halls and walked around the premises with sub-machine guns and rifles at the ready. No one knew whether or not the President’s shooting was part of a larger conspiracy to bring down the federal government. Vice-President Johnson departed shortly after the President was deemed stable. He arrived in Washington and was immediately whisked back to his residence, and was protected by armed guards for the next several days. Meanwhile, the First Lady spent the rest of November 22nd by her husband’s side. Kennedy had been wounded badly, but he would survive. The bullet had hit him in the left shoulder, and pierced a lung before exiting his body and striking Connally in the chest. The doctors managed to repair his lung and stop the bleeding, but he was still in very bad shape. His Addison’s disease meant that the healing process would take longer, and it would still be several days before Kennedy could return to Washington. The good news was that he was conscious and chatting with the doctors and nurses who were taking care of him. Kennedy was in better shape that Connally or Office Tippit, who barely survived Oswald as well. Agent Hill was less lucky. He was struck in the back of the head by the third shot Oswald fired, and had died before he hit the ground. That night, President Kennedy took the time to call Hill’s widow, telling her that “Your husband made the ultimate sacrifice which his job entailed. He was a brave man, and a good man, and I will never forget what he gave up so that I may live.”
Crack…crack
“Go, go, go! Drive!”
The Lincoln SS-100-X raced down Elm Street and towards the highway. Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman shouted over the radio that the presidential limousine was going to Parkland Hospital, and that they needed a stretcher and a room prepped for surgery. He had no idea where or how badly the President been shot, but he knew that it was bad. Kellerman was lucky. He had turned around after the sound of the first shot. Reacting quickly, he ordered the driver, William Greer, to slam on the gas. The President was hit a split second later. Governor John Connally slumped forward in his seat, screaming “Oh God! They’re going to kill us all!” The President didn’t say a word, but lurched forward. Behind the limo, in the first follow-up car, Agent Clint Hill heard the shooting too. He instinctively leaped forward and sprinted towards the President’s car. Then came the third shot. Hill was hit, and crashed into the asphalt of the road as the rest of the motorcade swerved out of the way. It was pure chaos.
The limo arrived at Parkland Hospital at 12:38, eight minutes after the first shots were fired. The President was rapidly losing blood, but there was no stretcher or nurses to be seen. Kellerman jumped out of the front seat and ran to get help. The rest of the motorcade arrived moments later, and a makeshift team of presidential and hospital staffers managed to get the President out of the car and into the hospital. Dr. Malcolm Duffy was the first surgeon to treat Kennedy, but he was quickly joined by whoever was available. One of those present was Admiral George Burkley, the President’s physician and one of the few men privy to the knowledge that the leader of the free world suffered from Addison’s disease. This rare medical condition affects the adrenal glands and leads to a shortage in the number of hormones that the body needs. With the President’s life on the line, Burkley revealed to the doctors and nurses assembled that Kennedy needed steroids because of his condition. This choice may have saved his life.
Outside of the operating room, the Jacqueline Kennedy sat with Texas’s First Lady, Nellie Connally, and Vice-President Lyndon Johnson. They were entirely silent. Governor Connally initially hadn’t received any medical attention in the wake of the arrival of the President. But Jacky insisted Connally received medical attention, and soon enough he too was in surgery. The operation took over an hour, and the status of the President and Governor remained uncertain the entire time. Finally, at 1:40, Admiral Burkley left the operating room and told the First Lady of the United States that her husband, President Kennedy, was in critical but stable condition. Governor Connally was in a similar state. Both men had barely avoided death. Assistant White House Press Secretary Malcom Kilduff, Jr. addressed the assembled reporters a few minutes later. All three national television networks had broken off their standard programing once the first news of the shooting reached them. Now they cut to an unsettled Kilduff as he addressed the nation:
“At approximately 12:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time, President John Kennedy was shot. He sustained serious wounds to his upper torso and chest, but was not fatally hit. The surgical staff here at Parkland Hospital has assured me that the President is in stable condition. We will continue to provide updates on his status as the situation develops.”
Across town, Lee Harvey Oswald ran into the Texas Theater movie house without buying a ticket. Julie Postal, the ticket taker that day, noticed the sound of sirens and called the police. Minutes later, and after a brief struggle, Oswald was under arrest for the shooting of Dallas Police Office J.D. Tippit. Oswald was taken to central booking, where it soon became clear that he worked at the Dallas Book Depository. That was where detectives located a Marcano Riffle which they suspected was used to shoot President Kennedy. Oswald, who had already been charged with the attempted murder of Officer Tippit, was now formally charged with the attempted assassination of the President of the United States.
The news of Kennedy’s shooting reached Washington, D.C. moments after it happened. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother, was eating lunch with several district attorneys at his home in Hickory Hill, Virginia. His wife, Ethel, got a phone call from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and immediately alerted the Attorney General. Hoover rarely, if ever, called Bobby at home. The two men were rivals with a personal distaste for one another. As Attorney General, Kennedy had taken a hard-line against organized crime along with a pro-civil rights stance, while Hoover was much more focused on rooting out the certain Communist conspiracy in each and every left-wing organization. Nonetheless, the two men had reached a certain level of détente. Hoover held evidence incriminating the President as a philander who had slept with a woman who turned out to be an East German spy. He used this leverage to force Bobby to approve wire taps of many prominent civil rights leaders, including the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The Kennedy brothers desperately wanted to fire Hoover, or at least force him to retire when his term came up, but were forced to let him work uninhibited or risk the publication of his damming information. But that day, Hoover wasn’t calling to ask for another wire. Instead, he was the one to let Bobby know his brother had been shot. Before knowing any more information, the Attorney General immediately called Evelyn Lincoln, the President’s secretary. He told her to lock every cabinet or drawer in the Oval Office. Then he hopped in his car and sped off towards the Justice Department.
Back in Dallas, Parkland Hospital was in a state of martial law. Secret Service Agents and Dallas Police Officers patrolled the halls and walked around the premises with sub-machine guns and rifles at the ready. No one knew whether or not the President’s shooting was part of a larger conspiracy to bring down the federal government. Vice-President Johnson departed shortly after the President was deemed stable. He arrived in Washington and was immediately whisked back to his residence, and was protected by armed guards for the next several days. Meanwhile, the First Lady spent the rest of November 22nd by her husband’s side. Kennedy had been wounded badly, but he would survive. The bullet had hit him in the left shoulder, and pierced a lung before exiting his body and striking Connally in the chest. The doctors managed to repair his lung and stop the bleeding, but he was still in very bad shape. His Addison’s disease meant that the healing process would take longer, and it would still be several days before Kennedy could return to Washington. The good news was that he was conscious and chatting with the doctors and nurses who were taking care of him. Kennedy was in better shape that Connally or Office Tippit, who barely survived Oswald as well. Agent Hill was less lucky. He was struck in the back of the head by the third shot Oswald fired, and had died before he hit the ground. That night, President Kennedy took the time to call Hill’s widow, telling her that “Your husband made the ultimate sacrifice which his job entailed. He was a brave man, and a good man, and I will never forget what he gave up so that I may live.”
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