The Assasination of JFK

Contributed by Victoria Crincoli

 

The Assassination of JFK

 

In 1976, the US Senate ordered a fresh inquiry into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was murdered in 1963 during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas while campaigning for re-election. People who had been involved in the original Warren Commission investigations were asked to make fresh statements. The FBI and the CIA were persuaded to release more of their documents on Oswald. New lines of inquiry were opened and individuals who had not previously given evidence were persuaded to come forward. Most important of all, pieces of evidence such as photos and sound recordings were subjected to scientific analysis using the most up-to-date methods and equipment. The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) completed their investigation in 1979 and they finally came to a discrete verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots at Kennedy, one of which killed the president. A fourth shot was fired from the grassy knoll, which was contradictory to the statement printed by the Warren Commission 16 years earlier. They concluded that John Kennedy

was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy.

For many years the American public had to be content with the Warren Commissions verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald had been the sole assassin in the murder of John F. Kennedy. However, after the report was published on September 24, 1964, fresh evidence continued to surface, as did inconsistencies with the findings of the Warren Commission. There was a general feeling that they had disregarded evidence if it contradicted their conclusion. They had been under immense pressure to reach a verdict and, had no doubt been influenced by public opinion. In fact, three days after the assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson received a memo saying; "The public must be satisfied that Oswald was the assassin, and that he did not have confederates."

 

Interview

Assassination of JFK

Joan Crincoli (My Grandmother)

What do you remember about the days preceding the Presidential motorcade?  Was there any voiced concern in the media that the President was going to be in a convertible?  The Secret Service wanted him in an enclosed car, but the President wanted to have access to the people.

 

Were you watching when the President was shot and where were you at the time?  What do you remember from the event?  I was not watching because I am a teacher.  I was in school.  When we heard that the President was shot we were all dumbfounded.  It was unfathomable.  Everyone was confused and teachers and students were crying. 

 

What was your immediate reaction to the shooting of President Kennedy?  How did your reaction change over the following days and weeks?  I was shocked.  It was like time stopped.  It was a life changing event.  We all thought that we lived in a safe and secure place.  So many people became depressed the weeks afterwards.  It was a very bleak time.  It took a while for me to realize that these things really do happen.  It hadn’t happened in my lifetime.

 

Did you also watch the broadcast on the President’s Funeral?  What was the most memorable event during that funeral do you remember?  Everyone was glued to the TV.  We only had 13 channels but every channel was talking about the President.  We watched the funeral procession and Jackie and her two children walking behind the horse drawn hearse.  Everyone remembers John saluting his father.  He was so little.  We were in such disbelief.  We just watched it over and over.

 

What was the general public opinion of the Vice President that took office?  Were there any statements made by the Vice President regarding President Kennedy that you still remember today?  I didn’t follow politics very much.  The Vice President was sworn in immediately.  Everyone so admired JFK.  It wasn’t until later when the stories about the women came out that he lost some of his shine.  To this day I wonder what the truth is because so many thought there was a second shooter.  They said we wouldn’t find out until 50 years later, but even then the story didn’t change about there being one shooter.

For more information on the assassination of JFK, see:

"Warren Report." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 33-34. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
 

"The 'Magic Bullet' that Killed JFK?" The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained. Ed. Brad Steiger and Sherry Hanson Steiger. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 35. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
 

Routledge, Chris. "JFK." International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. 4th ed. Vol. 1: Films. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 593-595. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
 

Karabell, Zachary. "Kennedy, John Fitzgerald [1917–1963]." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Ed. Philip Mattar. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 1288-1289. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.