Assassination of John F. Kennedy Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==November 22== {{see also|Timeline of the John F. Kennedy assassination}} ===Kennedy's arrival in Dallas and route to Dealey Plaza=== {{multiple image | align = right | total_width = 500 | image1 = Kennedys arrive at Dallas 11-22-63.JPG | caption1 = President Kennedy and First Lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jacqueline Kennedy]] arriving at [[Dallas Love Field]] on November 22, 1963. | alt1 = Kennedy and the First Lady, dresseing in a pink outfit and holding a bouquet of flowers, depart from Air Force One and greet welcomers. | image2 = Dealey-plaza-annotated.png | alt2 = The route of the motorcade: A right turn from Main Street onto Houston Street, then shortly thereafter a left turn before the Texas School Book Depository onto the snaking Elm Street, passing by the Grassy Knoll and exiting Dealey Plaza udner the Triple Underpass bridge. | caption2 = The route of Kennedy's motorcade through [[Dealey Plaza]]. The shooting occurred on Elm Street. }} On November 22, [[Air Force One]] arrived at [[Dallas Love Field]] at 11:40 a.m.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 23–24.</ref> President Kennedy and the First Lady boarded a [[SS-100-X|1961 Lincoln Continental convertible limousine]] to travel to a luncheon at the [[Dallas Trade Mart]].<ref name="odonnell">[[#O'Donnell|Testimony of Kenneth P. O'Donnell]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref><ref name="warren40">[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 40.</ref> Other occupants of this vehicle{{mdash}}the second in the motorcade—were [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] Agent [[William Greer|Bill Greer]], who drove; Special Agent [[Roy Kellerman]] in the front passenger seat; and Governor Connally and his wife Nellie, who sat just forward of the Kennedys.<ref>[[#Blaine|Blaine (2011)]], p. 196.</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 25, 41.</ref> Four Dallas police motorcycle officers accompanied the Kennedy limousine.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 29.</ref> Vice President Johnson, his wife [[Lady Bird Johnson|Lady Bird]], and Senator Yarborough rode in another convertible.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 30.</ref> The motorcade's meandering 10-mile route through Dallas was designed to give Kennedy maximum exposure to crowds by passing through a suburban section of Dallas,<ref name="odonnell"/><ref name="warren40"/> and [[Main Street District, Dallas|Main Street]] in [[Downtown Dallas]], before turning right on Houston Street. After another block, the motorcade was to turn left onto Elm Street, pass through Dealey Plaza, and travel a short segment of the [[Stemmons Freeway]] to the Trade Mart.<ref name="warren40"/> The planned route had been reported in newspapers several days in advance.<ref name="warren40"/> Despite concerns about hostile protestors{{mdash}}Kennedy's UN Ambassador [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] had been spat on in Dallas a month earlier{{mdash}}Kennedy was greeted warmly by enthusiastic crowds.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 19–20, 30–38, 49.</ref><ref>[[#Death|"November 22, 1963: Death of the President". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.]]</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 51.</ref> {{Clear}} ===Shooting=== {{wide image|File:Dallas Elm Street.jpg|1400px|dir=rtl|alt=A panoramic view of Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, the location where President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22, 1963.|[[Dealey Plaza]] in 2006, with Elm Street on the right and the Triple Underpass in the middle. The white concrete pergola, from which [[Zapruder film|Zapruder was filming]], is at the center, behind the lamp-post, and the [[Grassy Knoll]] is slightly to its left. The red building partially visible at the extreme upper right is the [[Texas School Book Depository]]. Kennedy's motorcade moved from right to left, and Kennedy was struck by the final bullet just left of the lamp-post in front of the pergola.}} {{multiple image | align = right | total_width = 500 | image1 = Robert Croft photo showing JFK's car on Elm Street.jpg | alt1 = John F. Kennedy is seen sitting in a limousine, waving with a crowd on Elm Street, Dealey Plaza. | image2 = Moorman photo of JFK assassination.jpg | alt2 = John F. Kennedy is fatally shot in the head, with Jacqueline Kennedy sitting beside him. Jacqueline can be seen turning over and looking at him at that moment. | footer = Robert Croft's photograph of Kennedy in [[Dealey Plaza]], before the first shot struck Kennedy (left), and the [[Mary Moorman|Mary Moorman photograph]] (right), taken a fraction of a second after the fatal shot. }} Kennedy's limousine entered Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST.<ref name="bugliosixi"/> Nellie Connally turned and commented to Kennedy, who was sitting behind her, "Mr. President, they can't make you believe now that there are not some in Dallas who love and appreciate you, can they?" Kennedy's reply{{snd}}"No, they sure can't"{{snd}}were his last words.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 56–57.</ref> From Houston Street, the limousine made the planned left turn onto Elm, passing the Texas School Book Depository.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 56, 58.</ref> As it continued down Elm Street, multiple shots were fired: about 80% of the witnesses recalled hearing three shots.<ref name="Earwitnesses">[[#McAdams|McAdams (2012)]]</ref> The Warren Commission concluded that three shots were fired and noted that most witnesses recalled that the second and third shots were bunched together.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 110.</ref> Shortly after Kennedy began waving, some witnesses heard the first gunshot, but few in the crowd or motorcade reacted, many interpreting the sound as a firecracker or [[back-fire|backfire]].<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 49.</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 58–60.</ref>{{efn|group=note|After the first shot, witness Virgie Rachley—an employee at the Texas School Book Depository—reported seeing sparks on the pavement shortly behind the president's limousine.<ref name="bugliosi39">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 39.</ref>}} {{multiple image | align = left | direction = vertical | total_width = 230 | image1 = Sbt2.jpg | image2 = Sbt critics.jpg | alt2 = A curve showing the same bullet's trajectory in an alternative scenario where Kennedy sat directly behind Connally, according to conspiracy theorists. | footer = Per the [[Warren Commission]]'s [[single-bullet theory]] (top), one bullet caused Kennedy's nonfatal wound and Connally's wounds. Conspiracy theorists, neglecting that Kennedy was not directly behind Connally, claim that the trajectory required a "magic bullet" (bottom).<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. xxix, 458.</ref> | alt1 = A straight line is shown illustrating the trajectory of the bullet that hit John F. Kennedy and John Connally, according to the single-bullet theory. }} Within one second of each other, Governor Connally and Mrs. Kennedy turned abruptly from their left to their right.<ref>[[#Appendix1|HSCA Appendix to Hearings]], Vol VI. p. 29.</ref> Connally—an experienced hunter—immediately recognized the sound as that of a rifle and turned his head and torso rightward, noting nothing unusual behind him.<ref name="bugliosi39"/> He testified that he could not see Kennedy, so he started to turn forward again (turning from his right to his left), and that when his head was facing about 20 degrees left of center,<ref name="johnconnally">[[#GovConnally|Testimony of Gov. John Bowden Connally, Jr]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> he was struck in his upper right back by a shot he did not hear,<ref name="johnconnally"/><ref name="bug61">[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 61.</ref> then shouted, "My God. They're going to kill us all!"<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 62.</ref> According to the Warren Commission and the HSCA, Kennedy was waving to the crowds on his right when a shot entered his upper back and exited his throat just beneath his [[larynx]].<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], pp. 18–19.</ref><ref>[[#Stokes|Stokes (1979)]], pp. 41–46.</ref> He raised his elbows and clenched his fists in front of his face and neck, then leaned forward and leftward. Mrs. Kennedy, facing him, put her arms around him.<ref name="johnconnally"/><ref name="aarclibrary.org">[[#Shaw|Testimony of Dr. Robert Roeder Shaw]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 61–62.</ref> Although a serious wound, it likely would have been survivable.<ref name="sabato216">[[#Sabato|Sabato (2013)]], p. 216.</ref> According to the Warren Commission's [[single-bullet theory]]—derided as the "magic bullet theory" by conspiracy theorists—Governor Connally was injured by the same bullet that exited Kennedy's neck. The bullet created an oval-shaped entry wound near his right shoulder, struck and destroyed several inches of Connally's right fifth rib, and exited his chest just below his right nipple, [[Pneumothorax|puncturing and collapsing his lung]]. That same bullet then entered his arm just above his right wrist and shattered his right [[radius (bone)|radius bone]]. The bullet exited just below the wrist at the inner side of his right palm and finally lodged in his left thigh.<ref name="posnerbullet">[[#Posner|Posner (1993)]], pp. 335–336.</ref><ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], pp. 85–96.</ref><ref name="sabato216"/> {{multiple image | align = right | total_width = 300 | image1 = HSCA-JFK-neck2-6-43.jpg | alt1 = A sketch shows an arrow illustrating the first bullet that struck John F. Kennedy. The bullet is seen entering into his neck and exiting the throat. | image2 = HSCA-JFK-head-7-125.jpg | alt2 = Another sketch shows an arrow illustrating the second bullet that fatally hit Kennedy in the head. Fragments are shown breaking from his skull. | footer = The trajectories of the two bullets that struck Kennedy, per the [[United States House Select Committee on Assassinations|House Select Committee on Assassinations]]. }} As the limousine passed the [[Dealey Plaza|grassy knoll]],<ref name="haygood">[[#Haygood|Testimony of Clyde A. Haygood]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> Kennedy was struck a second time, by a fatal shot to the head.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 63–64.</ref> The Warren Commission made no finding as to whether this was the second or third bullet fired, and concluded—as did the HSCA—that the second shot to strike Kennedy entered the rear of his head. It then passed in fragments through his skull, creating a large, "roughly [[wikt:ovular|ovular]]" {{sic}} hole on the rear, right side of the head, and spraying blood and fragments. His brain and blood spatter landed as far as the following Secret Service car and the motorcycle officers.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], pp. 111–115.</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. xx, 501.</ref><ref>[[#Hargis|Testimony of Bobby W. Hargis]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref>{{efn|group=note|Student Billy Harper later found a fragment of Kennedy's skull on the road.<ref>[[#Summers|Summers (2013)]], p. 45.</ref>}} Secret Service Agent [[Clint Hill (Secret Service)|Clint Hill]] was riding on the [[running board]] of the car immediately behind Kennedy's limousine.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 29.</ref> Hill testified to the Warren Commission that he heard one shot, jumped onto the street, and ran forward to board the limousine and protect Kennedy. Hill stated that he heard the fatal headshot as he reached the Lincoln, "approximately five seconds" after the first shot that he heard.<ref name="cjhill">[[#CJHill|Testimony of Clinton J. Hill, Special Agent, Secret Service]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> After the headshot, Mrs. Kennedy began climbing onto the limousine's trunk, but she later had no recollection of doing so.<ref name="jacqueline">[[#Jackie|Testimony of Mrs. John F. Kennedy]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> Hill believed she may have been reaching for a piece of Kennedy's skull.<ref name="cjhill"/> He jumped onto the limousine's bumper, and he clung to the car as it exited Dealey Plaza and sped to [[Parkland Memorial Hospital]]. After Mrs. Kennedy crawled back into her seat, both Governor and Mrs. Connally heard her repeatedly saying: "They have killed my husband. I have his brains in my hand."<ref name="johnconnally"/><ref name="nellieconnally">[[#MsConnally|Testimony of Mrs. John Bowden Connally, Jr]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref><ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 42.</ref> Bystander [[James Tague]] received a minor wound to the cheek—either from bullet or concrete curb fragments—while standing by the triple underpass.<ref>[[#Sabato|Sabato (2013)]], p. 221.</ref> Nine months later, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] removed the curb, and spectrographic analysis revealed metallic residue consistent with the lead core in Oswald's ammunition.<ref name="newsweek 112814">[[#behind|Holland (2014)]]</ref> Tague testified before the Warren Commission and initially stated that he was wounded by either the second or third shot of the three shots that he remembered hearing. When the commission counsel pressed him to be more specific, Tague testified that he was wounded by the second shot.<ref>[[#Tague|Testimony of James Thomas Tague]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> ===Aftermath in Dealey Plaza=== [[File:Newman Family.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Witness hunker down on the grassy incline before the grassy knoll after the shooting|Bill and Gayle Newman shielding their children after hearing shots and dropping to the grass. The grassy knoll and its picket fence are visible in the background.{{efn|group=note|The journalists pictured with them arrived as the end of the motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza.<ref>[[#Trask|Trask (1994)]], pp. 38–40.</ref>}}]] As the motorcade left Dealey Plaza, some witnesses sought cover,<ref name="trask76">[[#Trask|Trask (1994)]], p. 76.</ref> and others joined police officers to run up the grassy knoll in search of a shooter.<ref name="haygood"/><ref>[[#Summers|Summers (2013)]], pp. 56–57.</ref> No shooter was found behind the knoll's picket fence.<ref name="bug852"/> Among the 178 witnesses who testified to the Warren Commission, 78 were unsure of the shots' origin, 49 believed they came from the Depository, and 21 thought they came from the grassy knoll.<ref>[[#Summers|Summers (2013)]], p. 35.</ref> No witness ever reported seeing anyone — with or without a gun (except policemen) — immediately behind the knoll's picket fence at the time of the shooting.<ref name="bug852"/> [[Lee Bowers]] was in a two-story [[switch tower|railroad switch tower]] {{convert|120|yd|m}} behind the grassy knoll's picket fence; he was watching the motorcade and had an unobstructed view of the only route by which any shooter could flee the grassy knoll; he saw no one leaving the scene.<ref name="bug852">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 852.</ref> Bowers testified to the Warren Commission that "one or two" men were between him and the fence during the assassination: one was a familiar parking lot attendant and the other wore a uniform like a county courthouse custodian. He testified seeing "some commotion" on the grassy knoll at the time of the assassination: "something out of the ordinary, a sort of milling around, but something occurred in this particular spot which was out of the ordinary, which attracted my eye for some reason which I could not identify".<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 898.</ref>{{efn|group=note|Bugliosi notes that Lee Bowers Jr. did not mention the "commotion" in an earlier affidavit, in which Bowers did take time to list all other suspicious happenings like circling vehicles with "[[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater for '64]]" stickers. Moreover, conspiracy theorist Jim Moore questions whether Bowers could even have seen the area. Bowers testified that he "threw [the] red-on-red [signal]" just after the fatal shot, but the grassy knoll was partially obstructed from Bowers' position at the work panel.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 898–899.</ref>}} At 12:36 p.m., teenager Amos Euins approached Dallas police Sergeant D.V. Harkness to report having seen a "[[Colored|colored man]] ... leaning out of the window [with] a rifle" on the sixth floor of the Depository during the assassination; in response, Harkness radioed that he was sealing off the Depository.<ref name="bug80">[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 80.</ref> Witness [[Howard Brennan]] then approached a police inspector to report seeing a shooter—a white man in khaki clothing—in the same window.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 81.</ref><ref>[[#Brennan|Testimony of Howard Brennan]], Warren Commission Hearings.</ref> Police broadcast Brennan's description of the man at 12:45 p.m.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 64.</ref> Brennan testified that, after the second shot, "This man{{nbsp}}... was aiming for his last shot ... and maybe paused for another second as though to assure himself that he had hit his mark."<ref>[[#Summers|Summers (2013)]], p. 62.</ref> Witness James R. Worrell Jr. also reported seeing a gun barrel emerge from a sixth floor Depository window.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 60.</ref> Bonnie Ray Williams, who was on the fifth floor of the Depository, stated that the rifle's report was so loud and near that ceiling plaster fell onto his head.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 40.</ref> ===Oswald's flight, killing of J. D. Tippit, and arrest=== {{Further|John F. Kennedy assassination rifle}} {{multiple image | align = right | total_width = 500 | image1 = HowardBrennan.jpg | alt1 = A photograph of the Texas School Book Depository, showing its view from a witness of John F. Kennedy's assassination. The window from the sixth floor is marked A, and another window from the fifth floor marked B. | image2 = View from Sniper's nest to Elm Street, CE724.jpg | alt2 = A view through a window to Elm Street, Dealey Plaza, from the shooter's location in the Depository to kill Kennedy, the so-called "sniper's nest". | footer = The view of the [[Texas School Book Depository]] from witness [[Howard Brennan]]: circle "A" indicates where he saw Oswald firing a rifle. At right, the view from the "sniper's nest" in the Texas School Book Depository. }} When searching the sixth floor of the Depository, two deputies found an Italian [[Carcano]] M91/38 bolt-action rifle.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 645.</ref>{{efn|group=note|Three spent cartridges were found on the floor. One live round was found in the rifle. Dallas policemen thoroughly photographed the rifle before its removal.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 86–87.</ref>}} Oswald had purchased the used rifle the previous March under the alias "A. Hidell" and had it delivered to his Dallas [[post-office box|P.O. box]].<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 118.</ref> The FBI found Oswald's partial palm print on the barrel,<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 122.</ref><ref name="bug801"/>{{efn|group=note|Lieutenant Day of the Dallas police examined the weapon prior to its seizure by the FBI. He found and photographed fingerprints on the trigger housing. Although Day believed the prints to be those of Oswald's right middle and ring fingers, the ridges were not clear enough to make a positive identification. Day then discovered a palm-print on the barrel underneath the wooden stock. He tentatively identified it as Oswald's, but was not able to photograph or analyze it in more depth as the FBI took the Carcano.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 800.</ref> In D.C., FBI fingerprint expert Sebastian Latona found the photographs and extant prints to be "insufficient" as to make any conclusion. The rifle was returned to the Dallas police on November 24.<ref name="bug801">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 801.</ref> Five days later, the FBI made a positive identification using a card from Day.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 801−802.</ref>}} and fibers on the rifle were consistent with those of Oswald's shirt.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 124.</ref> A bullet found on Governor Connally's hospital [[gurney]] and two fragments found in the limousine were [[Ballistic fingerprinting|ballistically matched]] to the Carcano.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (1964)]], p. 79.</ref> Oswald left the Depository and traveled by bus to his boarding house, where he retrieved a jacket and revolver.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 110−111, 151.</ref> At 1:12 p.m., police officer [[J. D. Tippit]] spotted Oswald walking in the residential neighborhood of [[Oak Cliff]] and called him to his patrol car. After an exchange of words, Tippit exited his vehicle; Oswald then shot Tippit three times in the chest. As Tippit lay on the ground, Oswald fired a final shot into Tippit's right [[Temple (anatomy)|temple]]. Oswald then calmly walked away before running as witnesses emerged.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 122–124, 127.</ref> {{external media |float=right |title=Oswald speaking in custody |width=20em |video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZYAIiErTNg Oswald professing innocence] |video2 = [https://www.cbsnews.com/video/oswald-holds-press-conference/ Oswald's "press conference"] }} As Dallas police officers conducted a roll call of Depository employees, Oswald's supervisor Roy Truly realized that Oswald was absent and notified the police.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 93–94.</ref> Based on a false identification of Oswald, Dallas police raided a library in Oak Cliff before realizing their mistake.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], pp. 94–95, 101.</ref> At 1:36 p.m., the police were called after a conspicuous Oswald, tired from running, was seen sneaking into the [[Texas Theatre]] without paying.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], pp. 150–152.</ref> With the film ''[[War Is Hell (film)|War Is Hell]]'' still playing, Dallas policemen arrested Oswald after a brief struggle in which Oswald drew his fully loaded gun.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 153.</ref> He denied shooting anyone and claimed he was being made a "[[wikt:patsy#Noun|patsy]]" because he had lived in the Soviet Union.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 161.</ref> ===Kennedy declared dead; Johnson sworn in=== [[File:Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office, November 1963.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Lyndon B. Johnson raises his hand above an outstretched Bible as his is sworn in as President as [[Air Force One]] prepares to depart Love Field in Dallas. Jacqueline Kennedy, still in her blood-spattered clothes (not visible), looks on.|[[Cecil Stoughton]]'s photograph of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] being sworn in as President as [[Air Force One]] prepares to depart Love Field in Dallas. [[Jacqueline Kennedy]], still in [[Pink Chanel suit of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy|her Chanel suit]] (the blood spatters not visible here), looks on.]] At 12:38 p.m., Kennedy arrived in the emergency room of [[Parkland Memorial Hospital]].<ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 85.</ref> Although Kennedy was still breathing after the shooting, his personal physician, [[George Burkley]], immediately saw that survival was impossible.<ref>[[#Arlington|"Biographical sketch of Dr. George Gregory Burkley". Arlington National Cemetery.]]</ref><ref name="hub"/><ref>[[#Bugliosi2008|Bugliosi (2008)]], p. 93.</ref> After Parkland surgeons performed futile [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|cardiac massage]], Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m., 30 minutes after the shooting.<ref name="hub">[[#Huber|Huber (2007)]], pp. 380–393.</ref> CBS host [[Walter Cronkite]] broke the news on live television.<ref>[[#Cronkite|"Walter Cronkite On The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy". NPR.]]</ref><ref>[[#Daniel|Daniel (2007)]], pp. 87, 88.</ref> The Secret Service was concerned about the possibility of a larger plot and urged Johnson to leave Dallas and return to the [[White House]], but Johnson refused to do so without any proof of Kennedy's death.<ref name="boyd">[[#Boyd|Boyd (2015)]], pp. 59, 62.</ref>{{efn|group=note|At the time of Kennedy's assassination, most of his cabinet was on a trip to Japan.<ref>[[#Ball|Ball (1982)]], p. 107.</ref>}} Johnson returned to Air Force One around 1:30{{nbsp}}p.m., and shortly thereafter, he received telephone calls from advisors [[McGeorge Bundy]] and [[Walter Jenkins]] advising him to depart for Washington, D.C., immediately.<ref name="Esquire; September 16, 2013">[[#Jonesesq|Jones (2013)]]</ref> He replied that he would not leave Dallas without Jacqueline Kennedy and that she would not leave without Kennedy's body.<ref name="boyd"/><ref name="Esquire; September 16, 2013"/> According to ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', Johnson did "not want to be remembered as an abandoner of beautiful widows".<ref name="Esquire; September 16, 2013"/> At the time of Kennedy's assassination, the murder of a president was not [[Federal crime in the United States|under federal jurisdiction]].<ref name="kurtz2"/> Accordingly, Dallas County medical examiner [[Earl Rose (coroner)|Earl Rose]] insisted that Texas law required him to perform an autopsy.<ref name=Munson>[[#Munson|Munson (2012)]]</ref><ref name=Stafford>[[#Stafford|Stafford (2012)]]</ref> A heated exchange between Kennedy's aides and Dallas officials nearly erupted into a fistfight before the Texans yielded and allowed Kennedy's body to be transported to Air Force One.<ref name=Munson/><ref name=Stafford/><ref name="bug110">[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 110.</ref> At 2:38 p.m., with Jacqueline Kennedy at his side, [[First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson was administered the oath of office]] by federal judge [[Sarah Tilghman Hughes]] aboard Air Force One shortly before departing for Washington with Kennedy's coffin.<ref>[[#Oath|"President Lyndon B. Johnson takes Oath of Office, 22 November 1963". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.]]</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page