JFK: 53 Years Later
- netrom88
- Nov 22, 2016
- 7 min read
“Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
-John Harrington
On the sunny day of November 22nd, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was shot in Dallas, Texas. He was rushed to the Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead, approximately half an hour after the fatal shots.
Those are the facts. The undisputed facts.
Today, 53 years have passed since America lost its president in Dallas. No one will argue that. It definitely happened. But how, why, and by who, is still a mystery to most. There's almost as many theories about what happened on that day in Dallas as there are stars on the American flag, and people are still trying to figure out exactly what happened.
Here is how the official story goes:
On the sunny day of November 22nd, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy arrived in Dallas, Texas. He was greeted by thousands of people as he drove through the streets as he made his way to meet with Dallas civic and business leaders. As the presidential caravan made its way through the area called Dealey Plaza, three shots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository. One bullet missed completely, while the two remaining bullets hit the target. The projectiles were fired by a lone gunman by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald, who was arrested not long after the shooting. Unfortunately, two days later, as Oswald was being escorted by the police to a car, Oswald was shot on live TV by a man named Jack Ruby, and died not long after.
Case closed.
That is the conclusion of the Warren Commission. The Warren Commission was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of JFK, just days after it happened. Among its members were several important members of government, including the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford. They spent a year gathering any information they deemed relevant, but the result of their investigation has been the cause of great controversy.
In an attempt to make it as clear as possible, the main actors and plots, as well as some of the theories surrounding them, will be listed here:
John F. Kennedy:
The who, when, where, and what is pretty clear. President Kennedy, on November 22nd, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, was shot and killed. The mystery is why. Why did it happen? Was it because a young Marxist by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald felt enough hatred for America to kill the president, as the Warren Commission claimed? Several theories claim otherwise. Some say Kennedy was killed because he was either too soft, or too hard, in regards to Cuba. Others say it was because Kennedy wanted to pull out of Vietnam, which pissed off the military establishment. Then, there are those who say he was killed by a faction within the Central Intelligence Agency because he had threatened to “splinter it into a thousand pieces.” There are also those who thinks Kennedy was killed by a Secret Service agent who accidentally shot the president.
Lee Harvey Oswald:
Oswald was only 24 years old when he died. Who was he? Was he, as he claimed himself, a patsy? A scapegoat? Or was he, as the Warren Commission claimed, a disturbed loner who wanted to weaken America in search of attention? Since his name became famous all over the world, many things have surfaced that provides a more clues about who Oswald really was. Apparently, Oswald served in the United States Armed Forces, aiding them in a effort to spy on China and the Soviet Union. After leaving the Armed Forces, Oswald defected to the Soviet Union. He then changed his mind, and went back to the United States. Some say this is suspicious, since each person to do this before Oswald was thoroughly debriefed upon their return to the United States. Oswald was not. This leads people to claim that the defection was staged by the US government, and that Oswald was in fact a US agent, working for some intelligence agency.
The Grassy Knoll:
One of the hottest locations in many of the theories surrounding the JFK assassination. Was there another shooter on the grassy knoll? Many believe so. The knoll was located towards the front, and to the right, of the vehicle Kennedy was riding in when he was shot. Many witnesses have said that they saw smoke coming from behind a fence on the grassy knoll. Many of the ones who were there that day rushed towards the grassy knoll right after the shooting, hoping to find whoever they thought had fired shots from that location. Some theories claim that the only reason why the shots were fired as the president was moving away from the school book depository is that the conspirators wanted to get Kennedy in a kill zone between several shooting teams. This would minimize the risk of Kennedy escaping with his life.
The Shots:
According to the Warren Commission, three shots were fired towards Kennedy. They were fired from the Texas School Book Depository building, which was located behind the president. The amount of time that passed from when the first shot was fired, to when the third shot was fired, has been measured to be around six seconds. Several reenactments of the shooting have been staged, in order too see if it's even possible to shoot a gun like the one Oswald supposedly used, in that short amount of time. The results from the tests show that to do what the Warren Commission claims Oswald did is next to impossible. Additionally, the tests were done by expert shooters. Oswald was not considered to be a good shot.
The Magic Bullet Theory:
Maybe the most controversial part of the Warren Commission's report was the section that has become known as “The Magic Bullet Theory.” Here is Kevin Costner, in the movie “JFK,” explaining the theory:
Now, it is important to remember that this clip only tells one side of the story. All the facts may not be represented as they should. For instance, it has been shown that the seating positions in the vehicle Kennedy was in when he was shot, was not as it is shown in the clip. The movie shows the man representing President Kennedy having the man representing Texas Governor John Connally seated in front of him, as if their seats were positioned in a straight line. It has been shown that the seats they were sitting in were, in fact, not positioned in a straight line. The governor's seat was positioned slightly more towards the middle of the vehicle. When taking this into consideration, it is possible to see how the “Magic Bullet Theory” might be a plausible explanation.
The Carcano Rifle:
This was the type of rifle that Oswald supposedly used to kill the president. It has been called the “humane gun” because of its lack of accuracy. Additionally, the scope on Oswald's rifle is supposed to have been crooked, which would make accurate shooting much more difficult. On top of this, other evidence makes it clear that two different types of ammunition was used during the assassination. The president is hit by two bullets. The first bullet is the one entering his body from the back, and exiting around the throat area. The second bullet is the fatal head shot. As you can see from the evidence, the second bullet causes Kennedy's head to explode. The first bullet causes no such effect. This is because the two bullets are not of the same type. Now, is it possible that Oswald used two different types of ammunition? Of course. Is it possible for him to have done all the things the Warren Commission claims he did? Maybe. It seems unlikely, but it might be possible.
The Zapruder Film:
This was, according to the “JFK” movie, the piece of evidence the conspirators didn't expect. On the day of the shooting, Abraham Zapruder had taken position on top of a concrete pedestal, with perfect view of Dealey Plaza. The tool that would make his name known all over the world was a camera. With it, he filmed the entire assassination, including the fatal head shot. It is this film that establishes at what time the different events took place. It has been used as an important evidence for the ones who believe there was a conspiracy, as the video shows President Kennedy's head being forced back, and to the left, when it is hit. We also see Mrs. Kennedy climbing on the back of the vehicle to pick up pieces of President Kennedy's head. It seems plausible that if the president was shot from behind, the fragments of his head would be located in front of him.
The events caught on the Zapruder film, as well as the movie “JFK,” was the inspiration for this clip from a Seinfeld episode. It might help cheer people up a little bit while processing this tragic incident in American, and world history.
With the squeeze of a trigger, the life of one of America's most beloved presidents was ended. But the stories of him still live on. The questions surrounding him are still left unanswered. Was he just a victim of Lee Harvey Oswald? Or, was he the victim of a major conspiracy? Was the CIA involved? Or, maybe the Cubans? Or, the mafia? And how is Jack Ruby really tied to all of this? What about Clay Shaw? Or, even President Lyndon B. Johnson? The questions are more numerous than the answers. Will there come a day when all the questions have been answered? Maybe.
It is hard to find answers. The Warren Commission does not provide all the answers we seek. Neither does the “JFK” movie. But both are historical pieces that adds to our common understanding of this subject. Now, if you are sufficiently interested, it is your job to go out and find as much information as possible, so that you can make up your own mind, and maybe get closer to the truth.
People deserve to know the truth. Maybe we already do know the truth about the JFK assassination. We probably don't. But until we're certain that we know the truth, it is OK to look back at a time when a president challenged a nation to go to the moon. Look back at what that president stood for, and instead of thinking of it as the reason why he died, think of it as the reason why he lived.
“Don't let it be forgot,
that once there was a spot,
for one brief, shining moment
that was known as Camelot”
- Jacqueline Kennedy
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