MUSIC: California Dreamin' by The Mamas & the Papas
# All the leaves are brown All the leaves are brown
# And the sky is grey... #
And will to the best of my ability. Preserve, protect,
and defend the constitution of the United States.
Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
So help you God.
So help me, God.
We choose to go to the moon in this decade
and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
Because that goal will serve to organise and measure
the best of our energies and skills,
because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept.
One we are unwilling to postpone,
and one we intend to win. And the others, too.
# On such a winter's day. #
MUSIC: What The World Needs Is Love by Jackie DeShannon
# What the world needs now is love, sweet love
# It's the only thing that there's just too little of
# What the world needs now is love, sweet love
# No not just for some,
# Oh, but just for every, every, everyone. #
MUSIC: Stand By Me by Ben E King
# When the night has come... #
ARCHIVE: President Kennedy went to Texas
to take his programme to the people.
He had carried the state by only a narrow margin in the 1960 election.
There was dissension there over his strong civil rights programme.
Ultraconservative elements were critical, bitterly so,
of the administration's foreign policy,
and yet the crowds that greeted the president
and Mrs Kennedy were friendly.
You felt just like he was
a member of your family when you met him.
In fact, it was a little difficult to really realise
that he was a President,
because he was so down on the same level with you.
I mean, you felt a closeness to him.
More than three years I've spoken about the new frontier.
This is not a partisan term,
and it's not the exclusive property of Republicans or Democrats.
It refers instead to this nation's place in history,
to the fact that we do stand on the edge of a great new era,
filled with both crisis and opportunity.
An era to be characterised by achievement and by challenge.
APPLAUSE
ARCHIVE: Thursday afternoon, the presidential plane,
Air Force One, departs San Antonio and touches down at Houston.
Mrs Kennedy is making one of her first
public appearances in several months.
Travelling with the Presidential Party
are Vice President and Mrs Johnson and Texas Governor John Connally.
I can remember waiting,
and I can remember watching the people and getting tired,
and I probably whined a little bit.
People saying, "They're coming. They're coming."
And the motorcade,
it just seemed like a lot of motorcycles, a lot of cars.
In Texas and the nation, change has been the law of life.
Growth has meant new opportunities for this state.
Progress has meant new achievements, and we dare not look back now.
ARCHIVE: The presidential party moves on to Fort Worth,
where the chief executive will spend the night
and deliver several early morning speeches.
A unique lighting display normally seen on only two holidays a year,
Fort Worth's tribute to the President.
MUSIC: I Say A Little Prayer by Aretha Franklin
ARCHIVE: The president's remarks to a group
in a parking lot opposite the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth,
Texas, November 22nd, 1963.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there are no faint hearts in Fort Worth,
and I appreciate... APPLAUSE
I appreciate your being here this morning.
Mrs Kennedy is organising herself.
It takes longer... LAUGHTER
But, of course, she looks better than we do when she doesn't,
but we appreciate your welcome.
Thus begins the last day of his life.
He will live less than four hours from this moment.
The Vice President and Texas Governor John Conley
applaud President Kennedy home,
as he returns to his hotel for a breakfast
with the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
The breakfast party awaits the arrival of Mrs Kennedy.
# Together, together
# That's how it must be to live without you
# Would only mean heartbreak for me
# Nobody but me
# Forever, forever
# You'll stay in my heart and I will love you
# Forever and ever
# We never will part, oh, how I love you
# Together, together... #
ARCHIVE: Mrs Kennedy's entrance
draws another comment from the president.
Two years ago. I said that, uh,
introduced myself in Paris by saying that I was
the man who had accompanied, uh, Mrs Kennedy to Paris.
I'm getting that somewhat, that same sensation,
uh, as I travel around, uh, Texas.
Nobody wonders what Lyndon and I wear.
LAUGHTER
This is a very dangerous and uncertain world.
We would like to live as we once lived.
But history will not permit it.
Balance of power is still on the side of freedom.
We are still the keystone in the arch of freedom,
and I think we'll continue to do as we have done in our past, our duty.
I'm confident, as I look to the future,
that our chances for security,
our chances for peace are better than they've been in the past.
And the reason is because we're stronger.
And with that strength is a determination
to not only maintain the peace,
but also the vital interest of the United States.
ARCHIVE: The presidential jet leaves Fort Worth
for the short flight to Dallas,
where the president has a scheduled luncheon address.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
This is Bob Walker speaking from Dallas Love Field.
This is the control tower at Dallas Love Field,
where a large crowd is gathered now to
await the arrival of President and Mrs John Fitzgerald Kennedy
from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth.
Circling the field all morning long from the early morning hours,
and a huge contingent of police are on hand.
ARCHIVE: Friday morning, 11:37,
the president's jet lands at the Dallas Airport, Love Field.
It was in the newspapers.
Yeah, I thought it'd, it'd be really neat for Dallas to have
a president visit.
So we had the television on,
and we knew when they had left Fort Worth
and then we knew when they landed at Love Field.
And by then, it was getting clearer and more sunny.
There's Mrs Kennedy and the crowd yells,
and the President of the United States.
And I can see his sun tan all the way from here.
Shaking hands now with the Dallas people,
Governor and Mrs Connally, Governor Connally on your left.
He shook hand with us when he got off the airplane, and,
and, uh, said, "You're doing a good job."
I thanked him.
I would have voted for him in that. Come on.
Crowds swarming around the President and First Lady.
Mrs Kennedy stepping in the car first. Now the president.
They're both in the back-seat now.
Now the motorcade will very shortly start to move out.
In 1963,
I was an eighth grade student
at Franklin D Roosevelt High School.
When we heard the president was coming to Dallas,
we decided to skip school, skip some classes.
The secret servicemen, the car behind.
Uh, then comes the Vice President and Mrs Johnson,
Senator Yarborough.
Now people over in this area
are getting a chance to see the President.
Head out for downtown Dallas,
where thousands should already be on the street right now
waiting for a view of the President and his wife.
And she had on that beautiful pink suit,
and she was looking and waving.
And then they moved on through downtown.
And I still can get over the fact that the President
and his wife broke away from the planned,
uh, trick to the automobile and went all along this fence out here,
right up to the fence, shaking hands
and talking with these hundreds of people
gathered inside that fenced off area.
It was a great thrill to them and a complete surprise.
Thousands will be on hand for that motorcade now,
which will be downtown Dallas,
uh, down, uh, Cedar Springs to Harwood.
And on Harwood, it'll turn on Maine,
from which point it'll go all the way down
to the courthouse area, which is the end of Maine.
It'll turn on, uh,
Houston Street to Elm under the triple underpass
out to the mart where the President talks at,
uh, approximately one o'clock.
ARCHIVE: Friday, ten minutes before noon,
the motorcade begins the 11 mile ride to the Dallas Trade Mart,
where the president is to deliver a major address.
Governor and Mrs Connally ride in the presidential limousine.
The reason for the trip was maximum visibility
and maximum exposure for President and Mrs Kennedy,
because they wanted as many people to be up close and personal to them
as they possibly could get.
And so that was the purpose of the trip.
That meant open cars no matter where we went.
The agents were instructed
to back off as much as possible.
There were times when I got up very, very close,
but it was because of the situation that developed.
We knew what the parade route was gonna be.
So we got downtown, and the crowd was just massive.
There were lots and lots of people, and it was very crowded.
And the map of the route was published in the paper,
so people could go stand on a corner and see a president come by.
We couldn't, uh, get up till we were supposed to ride
cos there was so many people.
But, uh, I know one thing.
You don't get in between the President's car
and secret service.
You just don't do it!
Under normal circumstances,
we've tried to stay as far away as we as we could
to make them, uh, feel like
that they were just among their friends
and people along the side of the street
and, uh, wanted the people inside the street
to feel like there was no barrier between them
and the President and Mrs Kennedy.
I was in the immediate car behind with the follow-up car,
which we ran between about three to five feet
between the two cars at all times, no matter what the speed.
Uh, I was on the left-hand side of the running board of that car,
that was also an open car.
There were eight agents in that car
and two members of President Kennedy's staff.
ARCHIVE: President's car is now turning onto Elm Street,
and it will be only a matter of minutes
before he arrives at the Trade Mart.
I was on Simmons Freeway earlier,
and even the freeway was jam packed with spectators,
waiting their chance to see the president
as he made his way towards the Trade Mart.
GUNFIRE
I-It appears as though something has happened in the motorcade route!
Something, I repeat, has happened in the motorcade route.
There's numerous people running up the hill alongside Elm Street
there by the Simmons Freeway.
Several police officers are rushing up the hill at this time.
Standby just a moment, please.
Something has happened in the motorcade route.
Stand by, please.
Well, I screamed at the driver to get to the hospital,
but the agent in the right front seat,
he also, he told the driver to hit it,
get out of there, cos that was what they were supposed to do.
We were supposed to evacuate the area.
When that bullet hit his head,
a plume went up,
and I was behind the car,
and I was trying to...
I went through that plume.
It was all over me and all over my helmet and my glasses,
and, uh, everything.
I seen everybody and was converging on the Schoolbook Depository.
So I also went...
We had the building surrounded.
This lady and I walked casually
one block back to our office,
went back in the building,
the TV was still on, and Walter Cronkite said.
ARCHIVE: Three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade
in downtown Dallas.
I looked around the room and said,
that's the worst joke I have ever, ever heard.
We just saw him.
And we were running about 70mph as we travelled down
the Stemmons Freeway,
and I was lying up on the back of the back-seat.
Parkland Hospital. There has been shooting.
Parkland Hospital has been advised to stand by
for a severe gunshot wound.
I repeat a shooting in the motorcade in the downtown area.
Parkland Hospital has been advised to stand by
for a severe gunshot wound.
First reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously
wounded by this shooting.
The President's car is now going past me.
The limousine is now travelling at a very high rate of speed.
Secret servicemen standing up in the limousine,
they are armed with some machine guns.
It appears as though someone in the limousine
might have been hit by the gunfire.
This hour, as you can see,
there are small clusters of people gathered around
small transistor radios trying to find out
what is the latest regarding the reported shooting of the President.
RADIO: Put me on Phil, put me on!
Phil, am I on?
We're here at the Trade Mart.
The motorcade is coming by here.
I can see many, many motorcycles coming by now,
police motorcycles, just had a call on the radio for all units,
along Industrial to pick up the motorcades.
Something has happened here.
We understand there's been a shooting.
According to the information that we have at this hour,
the attempted assassination took place at Elm and Houston Street
as the President's party was preparing
to go under the triple overpass and come out here to the Trade Mart.
That just couldn't be true. They've given him the wrong story.
It's not so!
I call my mother cos she listened to the radio news all the time,
and she said, yes, that's what she had heard,
and that they were in route to Parkland Hospital at that time.
The presidential car coming up now.
We know it's a presidential car, you can see Mrs Kennedy's pink suit.
There's a Secret Service man spread eagle over the top of the car.
We understand Governor and Mrs Connally are in the car
with President and Mrs Kennedy.
We can't see who has been hit, if anybody's been hit,
but apparently something is wrong here. Something is terribly wrong.
I'm in behind the motorcade trying to follow them,
it looks as though they're gonna Parkland Hospital.
At this time, the announcement has not been made
to the several thousand who are here in the Trade Mart
as to what has happened.
Details are still sketchy.
The only thing that, uh, we have at this time
is the report that the president is at Parkland Hospital,
that Governor John Connally was also wounded
and that a Secret Service agent was killed.
According to the best reports that we have at this time,
there were only three shots fired,
and apparently all of them struck true.
I'm not sure if the City Council, or the Mayor, or who,
but they issued requests that all the companies close
in downtown, send their employees home as soon as possible.
We're on the road to Parkland at this time.
The Secret service man is still spread eagle
over whoever is in the car, the President and Mrs Kennedy,
and as we understand Governor and Mrs Connally.
At this point, it looks as though it could've been one or two
or even all of the people within the car
may have been the victims, may have been struck by shots, we don't know!
We knew something had happened.
The emergency broadcast tone came on,
and he asked everybody to be quiet, and he, uh,
turned up the radio that was on the bus.
And there was an announcement that the President had been shot.
Parkland Hospital in the distance on Harry Hines Boulevard.
Following behind the motorcade,
many, many police officers,
maybe 20 or 25 motorcycle policemen falling in behind at Trade Mart.
A huge crowd left behind, waiting expectedly to see the president.
The motorcade now...
Motorcade now perhaps two or three blocks ahead of me.
They're approaching the entrance now to Parkland Hospital,
travelling at a high rate of speed,
ready police cars converging on Parkland from every vehicle,
from every point.
I'm pulling in now toward Parkland Hospital,
coming to the approach. There's an officer waving me down.
He's waving me around. There's a cordon.
There's already a cordon of police officers running from their cars,
from their vehicles here.
The official party, as I can see it,
pulling around toward the emergency room at Parkland Hospital.
The policeman says, "No, you cannot come in here.
"You cannot come in here. We'll let nobody else in."
It was definitely the President's car.
We can see the First Lady's pink suit.
That's the only identification we could see,
but we know it is the President's car.
Another car directly behind the presidential car.
There were also bodies in that car.
Another secret service man spread eagle over them.
We don't know, perhaps there was some hidden that car as well.
We're not sure.
The shots apparently came from the fifth floor
of the Texas book store depository building,
possibly from an automatic cut weapon.
Police were looking for a young white man
dressed in a white shirt with Levi's
carrying a lever action type rifle.
One witness told reporters that he had seen
the rifle disappearing from that window after the shots were fired.
In downtown Dallas, President Kennedy was shot today
just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas.
Mrs Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr Kennedy.
She cried. "Oh, no!"
The motorcade sped on.
A photographer said he saw blood on the President's head.
It was believed two shots were fired.
And just now we've received reports here at Parkland
that Governor Connally was shot in the upper left chest.
And the first unconfirmed reports say
the President was hit in the head.
That's an unconfirmed report that the president was hit in the head.
After the shots were fired, he happened to look up
at about the fifth or sixth floor.
He has been given a blood transfusion at Parkland Hospital
here in Dallas in an effort to save his life.
In downtown Dallas, a priest has been ordered,
emergency supplies of blood also being rushed.
The president of the United States is dead.
I have just talked to Father Oscar Hubert
of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
He and another priest tell me that
the pair of men have just administered the last rites
of the Catholic Church to President Kennedy.
President Kennedy has been assassinated.
It's official now. The President is dead.
Women here in shock, some fainted.
The Secret Service men standing by the emergency room,
tears streaming down their face.
There's only one word to describe the picture here,
and that's grief, and much of it.
It's official, as of a just few moments ago.
The President of the United States is dead.
From Dallas, Texas. The Flash, apparently official,
President Kennedy died at 1:00pm Central Standard Time,
2:00 Eastern Standard time, some 38 minutes ago.
Vice President Lyndon Johnson has left the hospital in,
uh, Dallas, but we do not know, uh, to where he has proceeded.
Presumably he will be taking the oath of office shortly
and become the 36th President of the United States.
Jacket will fit tightly around the hips,
keeping that straight and sleek look that it should have.
And very often you'll find a zipper hidden in the, uh, arm.
And...
And I'll, you'll excuse me if I am out of breath.
A bulletin, this is from the United Press from Dallas.
President Kennedy and Governor John Connally
have been cut down by assassin's bullets in downtown Dallas.
They were riding an open automobile
when the shots were fired,
the president, his limp body carried in the arms of his wife,
Jacqueline, has rushed to Parkland Hospital.
Here's a, uh, piece of copy that was rushed,
uh, to me and was torn off from the United Press in Dallas.
President Kenny has been shot in Dallas,
has been shot in Dallas, Texas.
He was shot as a motorcade left downtown Dallas.
At 1:33, a White House aide briefs news men.
John F Kennedy died at approximately 1:00 central standard time
today here in Dallas.
He died of a gunshot wound in the brain.
I have no other details regarding the assassination of the president.
Was Mrs Kennedy hit?
Mrs Kennedy was not hit.
Was Connally hit?
Uh, Governor Connally was hit.
I turned to my left. I was sitting in the jump seat.
I turned to my left to look in the back seat.
The president had slumped.
Uh, he had said nothing.
Almost simultaneously, as I turned,
I was hit, and I knew I'd been hit badly.
And, uh, I said...
I knew the President had been hit and I said,
"My God, they're going to kill us all."
The President was shot once in the head.
Where is Mrs Kennedy?
Uh...Mrs Kennedy will be returning to, uh, Washington.
Was he dead on arrival here?
No, he was not.
Did he gain consciousness? No, he did not.
One suspect has been apprehended.
According Dallas Police,
a young man, who denies anything to do with a shooting.
The suspect had entered the Texas Theatre some five blocks away.
If we can, we will try to clear up this arrest,
which is taking place in Dallas.
As Officer McDonald approached a suspect
sitting on the third row from the back of the theatre,
the suspect jumped up, yelled, "This is it!",
and took a swing at the officer.
And some extra news, which has come in since we started.
A 24-year-old man, Lee H Oswald was arrested by Dallas Police
in connection with the murder of the policeman.
He was taken screaming from a cinema.
Police are questioning him to find out whether he's any connection
with the murder of the President.
Officer McDonald started to grapple with the man
as he reached for a gun,
which was concealed under his shirt.
And, uh,
the gun was fired one time by the suspect,
but luckily it misfired.
The pin hit the shell, but it did not fire.
A pistol was taken from Oswald after a scuffle.
The police said, Oswald told them, "Well, it's all over now."
Sir. Did you shoot the President? I work in that building.
Were you in the building at the time?
Naturally, if I work in that building, yes, sir.
Did you shoot the President?
No, they're taking me in because of the fact that
I lived in the Soviet Union.
I'm just a patsy.
Mr Kennedy's body is to lie in state tomorrow at the White House.
President's body is due Washington at 11 o'clock GMT tonight.
It'll be taken first to the Bethesda Naval Hospital.
President Kennedy's two children, Caroline age five,
and John, nearly three,
have so far not been told of their father's death,
a White House spokesman said tonight.
He said the children were at the White House
in the care of their nurse.
President Kennedy's body is to be placed aboard Air Force One
for the flight back to Washington.
And the President's body,
with the police motorcycle escort,
is now pulling away from the hospital.
There we were, three of us with the casket in the back of the hearse,
all the way to Love Field.
It's about one and a half hours since he was shot.
And we got to love Field.
They all carried the casket up the stairs
to the rear door of Air Force one.
We had to tear the handles off in order to get into Air Force One.
The chief engineers, uh, for the Air Force One,
had had all the seats removed
and a certain portion of the back of the aircraft.
Vice President and Mrs Johnson, were also on board.
And, uh, he had been conferring with Washington
and had received instructions that he should be sworn in
while we were still on the ground in Dallas.
At 2:38, in the forward cabin of Air Force One,
a necessary ceremony.
I do solemnly swear. I do solemnly swear.
That I will faithfully execute.
The Office of the President of the United States.
And will to the best of my ability.
Preserve... Preserve. Protect... Protect.
And defend... And defend.
The Constitution of the United States.
So help me God. So help me God.
Air Force one. This is the Air Force Command post.
If possible, request the names of the passengers on board, please.
Uh, we have 40 plus. Go ahead.
40 people. Is that affirmative?
Yes, affirmative.
Uh, can you tell me in regard to, uh,
uh, one and two are, uh, the top people?
Uh, Roger? Uh, the President is on board.
The body is on board, and, uh, Connally is on board.
All right. Can you confirm once again your take off time
and your estimated time of arrival?
RADIO CHATTER
ARCHIVE: A Capitol still paralysed by shock.
Sad tasks are ahead.
It is arranged that the President's body
will first lie in repose at the White House.
Then it will be moved to the rotunda of the Capitol for public homage.
What you see is a special truck that has been moved up to the rear
of the presidential jet.
A special truck on which the coffin will be brought out.
In front of the casket is Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy.
To her right is her brother-in-law,
the Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
They are helping her down
out of that carrier that has just brought down the casket.
So, uh, events which started swiftly,
completely unexpectedly and shockingly in Dallas,
um, only a matter of about five hours ago have,
uh, have gone virtually full circle.
The President and the late President are, in a sense, back home.
This is a sad time for all people.
We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed.
For me, it is a deep personal tragedy.
I know that the world shares the sorrow
that Mrs Kennedy and her family bear.
Well, messages from everybody in the world,
from people all over the world are pouring into Washington.
Here are some of them.
It took my breath away at first, actually,
I couldn't figure out how,
why anybody would want to do such a thing
to a bloke in his position.
Actually, it just took all the wind out of me,
felt absolutely deflated about it.
As a man of God, I would say that I felt the impact
of the snipers bullet.
I would also say that I felt the pain
that the President had in his dying moment.
I was quite shocked, because actually, I'm not from England,
I'm from Australia.
And, generally, he was very well liked there,
and he had great support everywhere.
I was very shocked. I still can't believe it
that he's not there any more.
I think the person who shot him must have been a nutcase.
There's no other word for it.
I think it's...it's terrible what happened.
The assassins and the would be assassins of American Presidents
are an ill assorted collection of men.
It could be said that their shadow has hung over the presidency
ever since George Washington took the first oath of office in 1789.
I was shocked and almost beyond belief.
I was at work when I first heard of it, in Richmond,
and knew somebody came into the office
and mentioned something about it.
It's still almost...it's still too much to believe.
I'm very saddened by the horrible thing that happened.
I will do my best.
That is all I can do.
I ask for your help.
And God's.
# What the world needs now is love, sweet love
# It's the only thing that there's just too little of
# What the world needs now... #
Shortly before the dawn of Saturday morning,
John Fitzgerald Kennedy comes home to the White House.
He had been the Nation's 35th president
for a period of two years and ten months.
# Lord we don't need another mountain
# There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
# There are oceans and rivers enough to cross
# Enough to last 'til the end of time
# What the world needs now is love, sweet love
# It's the only thing that there's just too little of
# What the world needs now is love, sweet love
# No, not just for some, but for everyone... #
There was a deeply human quality about the scene out here
in Lafayette Park today.
While across the street, president Lyndon Johnson
and other high officials of the government have been
going into the White House to see the body of
the late President Kennedy lying in repose.
Out here in the park, despite a grey bleak day,
despite the driving rain,
people have been standing all morning, huddled under umbrellas,
just standing and watching.
# What the world needs now is love, sweet love
# It's the only thing... #
I think that everybody has their own reactions
to this terrible thing that happened
to President Kennedy,
but I think that this weather, this downpour,
sums it up for everybody. I just think it's terrible.
Thank you. What is your name, please?
Dolores Birschback.
And you're from where? Washington.
And what are your reactions today?
I still don't really know what to think.
I'm...I don't think I've ever felt so depressed about anything.
I guess all everybody can do is just pray that
everything works out OK.
Our government is lead in right hands and...that's all.
To Dallas, Texas and Tom Pettit.
There's a person.
There is Lee Oswald.
GUNFIRE
He's been shot!
He's been shot. Lee Oswald has been shot.
We have recalled the agony of November the 22nd, 1963.
We have not tried to ask why,
because we do not believe there is an answer to that question.
We have most humbly tried to build up a memory which can survive.
There's the man with a gun. It's absolute panic.
Absolute panic here in the basement of Dallas police headquarters,
detectives have their guns drawn.
Oswald has been shot.
There is no question about it. Oswald has been shot.
Pandemonium has broken loose here in the,
uh, basement of Dallas Police headquarters.
Now whether the bullet literally hit Oswald or not,
we are not absolutely positive,
but there has been a...gunshot.
Oswald reached for his stomach, doubled up.
It'll be impossible to determine whether he was hit or not.
The sound of the muffled drums sweeps in melancholy waves
over the hushed throng.
A hush broken only by a stifle sob, a murmured prayer.
A whole people is lifted up in common sorrow
and an noble in their hearts.
Down this avenue of sadness,
they bring President John F Kennedy,
martyred hero, to lie in state under the great dome of the Capitol.
Did you see whether or not he was hit? He was hit, wasn't he?
He grabbed himself on the side and, uh, fell to the ground.
That was my understanding.
We were, what, four feet away from him?
I was five feet in front of him when he shot.
What is your name? Frank Johnson. And you're with...?
He did grab his stomach. Yes, he did. I saw him grab his stomach.
Lee Oswald obviously has been shot.
The witnesses around us here seem to confirm that it happened so fast,
and with such suddenness that you can understand,
it is virtually impossible
to determine the direction from which the bullet came.
Although, uh, police obviously, uh,
in a rather, uh, excited state
are attempting to determine where the shot came from.
Mrs Kennedy begins the long hours of her public grief
with the courageous dignity that had marked each moment of her ordeal.
Caroline and John seemed to mirror their mother's poise.
With President Johnson and Robert Kennedy,
she is in the van of the mourners who will pay their respects
in the historic rotunda of the Capitol.
SOMBRE MUSIC PLAYS
# Stars shining bright above you
# Night breezes seem to whisper I love you
# Birds singing in the sycamore trees
# Dream a little dream of me
# Say nighty night and kiss me
# Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
# While I'm alone and blue as can be
# Dream a little dream of me
# Stars fading but I linger on dear
# Still craving your kiss
# I'm longing to linger 'til dawn dear
# Just saying this... #
Members of the Kennedy family, and my fellow Americans...
..there are few events in our national life
that so unite Americans
and so touch the hearts of all of us
as a passing of a President of the United States.
Well, I think that we all, uh,
more than with any other president,
I think the people of the United States have identified themselves
with the Kennedy family.
And I think the grief that we all feel at this event,
this tragedy, is much more real and much more personal
than, uh, if it would've happened to other Presidents.
It, it doesn't seem possible. It, uh...
It seems to be such a waste and such a tragedy.
It's just not...
It doesn't seem possible.
# I'm longing to linger 'til dawn dear
# Just saying this... #
There is nothing that adds shock to our sadness
more than the assassination of our leader.
Chosen as he is to embody the ideals of our people,
the faith we have in our institutions
and our belief in the fatherhood of God
and the brotherhood of man.
Such misfortunes have befallen
the nation on other occasions,
but never more shockingly than two days ago.
He said, "Well, if anyone's ever going to shoot me,
"uh, this would be the day they should do it."
Oh, really? He said, "We'd never top this."
Those things come back now.
You went to the airport today. Yeah.
Did you like it? Yes.
John. What, John, what happened to your father?
Well, so, he's gone to heaven.
He's gone to heaven? Yeah.
Do you remember him? Yeah.
What do you remember?
I-I don't, I don't remember anything!
We in this country,
in this generation are, by destiny rather than choice,
the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.
Ee ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power
and responsibility.
That we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint,
and that we may achieve in our time and for all time,
the ancient vision of peace on earth,
goodwill toward man.
That must always be our goal.
And the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength.
For as was written long ago,
"Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wake us, but in vain."