JFK Assassination

Authors: Various Readers

Historic Era:

Historic Theme:

Subject:

Winter 2021 | Volume 66, Issue 1

Text Complexity Grade Level

Editor's Note: One of our most popular Facebook posts last month was about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which marked its 57th anniversary on November 22. The post received over 6,000 likes and 1,000 comments, underscoring how deeply embedded the event remains in American memory. Read some of them here, and don't forget to like our Facebook page for more posts like this:

"I was just a little girl when this tragedy occurred. Over the years I've heard so many theories connected to his death. One thing that always stuck in my mind was his little boy saluting. We'll probably never find out what actually happened in Dallas that sad day."

-- Sheila Bradley Tackett

"An Honest American! This was a sad day, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in biology class in school. When they finally announced that our President was dead, the entire school was quiet. Study halls the rest of the day, and the bus ride home was deadly quiet too. I hope our country never has to go through that again!"

--Twila Simko

"I will always believe that there was more than one shooter. Robert Kennedy pissed off alot of big bosses in the crime world and along with JFK not wanting to stay involved in Vietnam and all the stuff going on in the deep south I will never believe Oswald acted alone. A doctor that was in the ER said that there was a 5 inch round chunk of the back of his head missing, the fatal shot came from the front. IMO. The puffs of smoke that witnesses saw from the grassy knoll area makes one wonder. A very terrible time for this country, I wasn't born until '64 but my parents told me all about how shocked the whole nation was."

--Tommy Ripple

"That was one of the saddest days in our History. I was ironing and watching a program on TV and saw the first bulletin come on that there was a shooting in Dallas, Texas. Walter Kronkite then came on spoke that President Kennedy had been shot and taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and has died. From then on it was chaos. I was stunned. Life was really not quite the same after this happened."

--Gertie Loder

"It is quite evident that the Warren Commission was a sham to cover Lyndon Johnson's involvement. He was up to his eyeballs in the plot. There was the jurisdiction and custody dispute, magic pristine bullet found on the stretcher, loss of vital forensic evidence, permanently silenced eyewitnesses, Oswald's presence in the break room and his prints not on the weapon initially, (curious how the FBI managed that). How was it that they determined that he shot officer Tippet as they were already searching for him? Remember the altered photo of Oswald holding the rifle?"

--Donald Grant

"If any one still believes Oswald was the only shooter, I will say this. The rifle used

was a small caliber Carcano(?) military rifle. The shots that were fired were fast and at a moving target. No way. I believe there was another shooter on the hill in the bushes. I believed my opinion back then, and I still do today."

--Phil Sharpe

"It seems the government, as usual, went about things in a manner that would always cause questions. There was a top forensic pathologist at Lakeland hospital, at that time. Instead of having him do the autopsy, they flew the body to DC where a less qualified person did it. The Warren Report was a joke. It seems to have been designed to cause questions and fuel conspiracy theories. We may never know the truth. Same with Bobby."

--Paula Keller

"It was a mob hit!....End of story. Watch Michael Franzese discuss the matter on a YouTube interview. I had the same story told to me by a former foot soldier for the Gotti family who was let out for reasons known only to he and the capos who let him out."

--Steve Grutzmacher

"Much more likely that Oswald was recruited by the Mafia and anti-Castro Cubans, pretending they were fellow travelers. Oswald was a Marxist, but he was played excellently by the other side - who had the motive and the money to pull it off."

--Jerry Mastriano

"People should read Reclaiming History by Vincent Bugliosi, who thoroughly disputes the conspiracy theories. It turns out that Oswald was a crack shot. In addition to this, the Book Depository was so close to the motorcade, even a shooter with moderate skill could have done the evil deed. I have heard people who visited the location say they agree with the close proximity of the building to the street."

--Merry Kanawyer Clingen

"Oswald was a loser wanna be who was turned down by the USSR and who later shot at and failed to kill General Walker, a local Dallas John Bircher with the same gun he used to shot JFK. Sometimes life is just that simple."

--Stanley Gilbert

"Today was a sad day in history. I was a 9 years old and remember it well. This is not a day for conspiracy theories, just remember the President and his family on this day. Rest in Peace John F. Kennedy..."

--Johnny Cooper

"I loved him as a president, I've never gotten over his death. The who's and whys are old and stale now. We lost a world class leader, we'll never see his equal again. RIP...J.F.K"

--Sherryl Callander

JFK Assassination (Winter 2021 | Volume: 66, Issue: 1)

JFK Assassination

Text Complexity Grade Level