For most Baby Boomers, I don’t suppose that there was an event any bigger during our youths and burned
into our minds than the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I’ll wager a guess that you remember something in
your life that day. Though I was only a snotty-nosed four year old living with my mom and dad in Universal City, Texas, I
have vague memories (queue up the Twilight Zone theme and some fog) of the shock and anxiety felt by my parents.
I guess that is why I have always had an intense interest about the theories surrounding that horrible tragedy
that is still alive and well today. I’ve read many books and watched many documentaries and movies
(yes, including Oliver Stone’s, JFK, which I watched him film in Dealey Plaza one day. I’ve been on the
infamous grassy knoll and have toured the Sixth
Floor Museum twice. For those of you who don’t live in the Dallas area, you can avail yourself to a
live, real time view from the alleged sniper’s perch via a webcam that is in place here.
However, my most memorable excursion into all things JFK took place a few years ago on the 40th
anniversary of the president’s assassination. Late that morning, I jumped into my car, armed with
my digital camera, and took off to the south part of Dallas to check out some of the key landmarks tied to that fateful day.
I avoided Dealey Plaza
since I already knew that that chunk of real estate was jammed with people. So, my first stop was to find
the house where Lee Harvey Oswald was renting a room while working at the Texas School Book Depository.
With the house still
occupied, I snapped a picture from across the street and headed to my next stop which was where Officer J.D.
Tippet was murdered, allegedly by Oswald. There were no markers that I could find indicating the huge,
historic event that took place on that street. I found that both sad and uncalled for. With everything
else memorialized with a plaque tied to that day, I couldn’t (and still don’t) understand why that spot isn’t
marked for everyone to remember. More about Officer Tippit in a moment.
From that street, I located
the two story duplex that was once rented by Oswald and his lovely wife, Marina. This is where the famous
photo of Oswald holding a rifle and some documents was taken. Both units of the duplex were apparently
unoccupied so I went into the backyard where the famous photo was taken. Three others came in behind me
who were apparently of European or Russian descent. We took each other’s picture while standing on
the spot of where the famous image was shot over forty years prior.
No, the oddity and irony of that isn’t
at all lost on me. Like looking at modern art, I just cock my head at the thought and think of how odd
and interesting that was. But I digress.
After shaking hands and thanking the foreign visitors for taking
my picture, I went by the Texas Theater where Oswald was arrested and then on over to Laurel Land Memorial Park to see if
I could find Officer Tippet’s grave.
Once I arrived at the cemetery, I began methodically trying
to locate the brave officer’s final resting place. The information I had was not that detailed so I had to individually
scan each grave in my search. As I made my way from west to east, my search was temporarily halted as I
respectfully waited as an elderly lady and a younger couple visited a grave in the area I was about to search next.
After the elderly lady and the couple left the area, I immediately found Officer Tippit’s grave.
I was tired so I wasn’t putting two and two together.
You know where I’m going with this.
That evening on the 10
o’clock news, some of the video shown was of Officer Tippit’s widow, Marie. I instantly flashed
back to my Laurel Land stop earlier that day. The elderly lady that I saw at the cemetery was none other
than Mrs. J.D. Tippit.
I have often thought about how our world changed so drastically on November
22, 1963. And, as I’ve already stated, I’ve thought a lot about who could have killed the president
if it wasn’t Oswald. Whether it was others within our government, organized crime or a foreign government,
it’s unlikely the nation will never ever be completely satisfied with any answer given. This brings
to mind what I’ve often seen written: that our nation’s innocence (if not gullibility) was also murdered that
day.
That is likely very true. At least it is for the Kennedy’s,
the Tippit’s and the Oswald’s.
