On February 23, 1945, the 29th Division executed its most successful offensive of World War II by launching an attack across the flood-swollen Roer on either side of Jlich. We had an unmarked police carparked in front of the theater, and as we went out there were numerous peoplepolice officers and civilian people out in front of the theater.As we were bringing him out of the theaterhe was telling meOh, the handcuffs are too tight. I reached back and felt that I could get my middle finger in between his wrists and the handcuffs, and in my opinion, they were not too tight. I took her down to where the president was speaking, remained with her during the speech and accompanied she and the president back up to thefifth floorremained on that floor until we left, went downstairs, got into the motorcade, and departed the hotel for the airport to leave Fort Worth for Dallas. Our next move is to get Mrs. Kennedy off from the seat, which was a little difficult, but she was removed. I said, No, thats rifle fire!. The tremendous impact had thrown Kennedy into the cockpit where he landed on his bad back. So I hollered.I whistled a time or two before I got anybody to see me. Some men had drifted a hundred yards into the darkness. and all those inspired by the Blue and Gray Division. The men worked until mid-May to ready it for sea. We had prearranged for me to pass my film to a reporter who was standing at the corner [of] Main and Houston. He was injured in the arrest in the Texas Theatre, but he certainly wasnt being beaten on by the Dallas police force. It was a calling based on his skills and passions from a life of growing up on Cape Cod among the sleek and fast luxurious wooden hulled motorboats effortlessly skimming across the waves on weekends. One of the floor men who was up on the balcony there with me said, They want to talk to you in the truck.One of the engineers in the truck said: Hey, somethings happened. But the Rules Committee remained a problem. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Perfect spot for them to get him. That was part of the tension that somebody would try to do something to Kennedy. I had seen him around the White House. And it was his fathers media savvy that helped turn an embarrassing disaster into a tale worthy of Homer. On March 1, 1945, the 29th Division seized Mnchen-Gladbach, the largest German city captured by Gerhardts men in World War II. Around 0200 with. I jumped from the follow-up car, ran up and got on top of the rear portion of the presidential automobile to be close to Mrs. Kennedy in the event that someone attempted to grab her from the crowd or throw something in the car. The gist of [what I said] was thatshots had been fired, and that the motorcade had gone by, it did not stop. The division began incessant training in central and southwest England, which would continue for twenty consecutive months. How do we get the story out? I grabbed it and then I turned to my right just right around with his arm and began to twist and tell him to turn that gun loose with a few choice wordsI think I called him a son of a bitch and told him to turn that gun loose before I broke his arm off. He called me just as I got back to the office and he said, Now, theyre having a fight over John F. Kennedys body.You have the Secret Service, the FBI and Jackie Kennedy trying to take the body on to Washington, and on the other side, you have Dr. [Earl] Rose, the medical examiner here, who wants to do the autopsy.And so, Dallas police and the sheriff because theres a state law that says you cant take a body out of the state without an autopsy but the fine is $100 they wanted to do the autopsy here. I used the powder on them and didnt find any prints there, which is not unusual on a cartridge case or bullet.While we were working with that, Captain Fritz sent word for me to come to thenorthwest corner of the building.They had found the gun. I can remember seeing the car turn right onto Houston Street off of Main, going the one short block and turning left on Elm. was jfk in the 29th division On July 15, three months after Kennedy arrived in the Pacific, PT-109 was ordered to the central Solomons and the island of Rendova, close to heavy fighting on New Georgia. Ninth Army divisions on either side of the 29th were pulled out of theline and rushed to the Ardennes as Gerhardt extended his front along the Roer River to cover the vacated space. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until 1963. Kennedy, whod been on the Harvard swim team, took charge of him and pulled him back to the boat. His eyes are open and he is looking at me, and I am fairly sure he is alive. . He says, They dont have any over here in Fort Worth. And I said, Sure. And he said, Well, get me about a half a dozen. I said, Fine. and got him six Macanudo cigars that I was going to give him at the luncheon. SPECTATORS WAIT AT DEALEY PLAZA To keep alive the spirit that never knew defeat; to glorify our dead, and to further keep before our country, the record of the 29th Division in all wars. He jumps out, shoots him right in front of me.I heard footsteps, and then boom! Kennedy received neither warning, perhaps because his radioman, John Maguire, was with him and Ensign Thom in the cockpit. He read from a list prepared by Special Assistant for Congressional Relations Larry OBrien of likely votes in the House and Senate. Joe Kennedys friend James Forrestalwho helped Jack win transfer to the Pacificbecame secretary. One of his officers argued that this was suicide; the Japanese would fire on them from both banks. Liebenow fired twice and also missed. We were on the 12th floor, and so we were kind of watching [Commerce Street]. Wesley Frazier recounts the ride to the Texas School Book Depository, departing at 7:20 a.m. Wesley Frazier: I was sitting there eating my breakfastmother just happened to glance up and saw this man, you know, who was Lee looking in the window for me and she said, Who is that? And I said, That is Lee. He just walked around there on the carport right there close to the door and so I told her I had to go, so I went in there and brushed my teeth right quick and come through there and I just walked on out and we got in the car.When I got in the car I have a kind of habit of glancing over my shoulder and so at that time I noticed there was a package laying on the back seatand I said, Whats the package, Lee? And he said, Curtain rods, and I said, Oh, yes, you told me you was going to bring some today. so I didnt think any more about it. Asst. THE PRESIDENT LIES IN STATE I asked him what had happened. He was bitter that other PT boats had not moved in to rescue his men after the wreck, Cluster said. It was Kennedys presence, of course, that made the collision big news. It was ready to fire again.I told Captain Fritz this is not the place to try to work on this gun. After the rescue boats picked up the 109 crew, Kennedy kept to his bunk on the return to Lumbari while the other men happily filled the notebooks of the reporters on board. Nothing had happened by the time the limo was exactly opposite us. I have a dream that on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low; the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together And when this happens, we will be able to speed up that day when all of Gods children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! His first thought was another friendly PT boat slowly approaching. They set out for yet a third trek this time to the tiny Island of Nauru several miles away faintly seen on the horizon where they were confident they would find local friendly natives. It was an old Cadillac where they had put running boards on the sides so that they could stand. But he seemed to be going along with the joke, you know. They killed him! and the people that I met on the way didnt even know what happened, and they kept yelling: What happened? I showed him a picture of him holding a rifle and wearing the pistolhe said: [Someone has taken my picture and that is my face and put a different body on it. I heard Agent Youngblood speaking over his radio transmitter. I was just beside myselfand I began to cry. And I was just so nervous, they took me offwith the children, and Julie Benell fixed both of the boys a ham sandwich and tried to calm me down with coffee, and I didnt drink coffee. Malcolm Couch: When Jackie and President Kennedy got off the plane, the press was supposed to stay back about 100 feet, but we didnt. memo: review of selected items in the lee harvey oswald file regarding allegations of castro cuban involvement in the john f. kennedy assassination. Ruby was then taken away toothen, a detective came out, and I said, Who was that? And he said: It was Jack Ruby. I did have my revolver in my hand at that particular time.Once I got to the balcony I could see several officers coming in from the stage or back entrance. The D-Day landings turned the tide of World War II and marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. Connally. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. I was bent over under the weight of Agent Youngbloods body, toward Mrs. Johnson and Sen. [Ralph W.] Yarborough. By this time Mrs. Connally had raised up, and the governor is lying in her lap, face up. I ran in with him. The crew set out for a second arduous journey again with Kennedy tending to his wounded sailor. Graves are assigned to escort Oswald to the county jail. At the Trade Mart, TV reporter Eddie Barker receives an early report that the president is dead. He didnt even stop. THE MOTORCADE REACHES PARKLAND 12:36 P.M. In May 1962, the division staged the large-scale Exercise Iron Dragoon, still remembered among National Guard armor exercises. To get the votes we need we have, first, to oppose demonstrations which lead to violence, and, second, give Congress a fair chance to work its will.. Theres also a question of whether the navy adequately prepared Kennedys men, or any of the PT crews. As president, Kennedy would appoint White to the Supreme Court. With financial backing from his father and the help of New York Times columnist Arthur Krock, he had turned his 1939 Harvard thesis into Why England Slept, a bestseller about Britains failure to rearm to meet the threat of Hitler. Lyndon Johnson: This is a sad time for all people. With the three boats back on patrol, a PT to the south spotted one of the northbound destroyers and attacked, without success. I will do my best. Kennedys analysis of congressional resistance moved Randolph to ask the president to mount a crusade by going directly to the country for support. I noticed a police car coming. I didnt even realize it was swollen. They were willing to help. The following week, on June 19, Kennedy requested the enactment of the most far-reaching civil rights bill in the countrys history. Darkness and time took the place of a mind in his skull.. And then he sort ofput his hand to his forehead and fell in my lap. World War II Victory Medal by Joseph Balkoski. Harold Marney, stationed at the forward turret, was the first to see the destroyer. He was at the front of the lunchroom, not very far inside.When I reached there, the officer had his gun pointing at Oswald.He didnt seem to be excited or overly afraid or anything. By that time, we [Star-Telegram] had 17 reporters on the scene. The tiniest shard of hot metal might ignite the 3,000-gallon gas tanks. Still, Kennedy apparently couldnt shake the deaths of his two men in the Solomons. I accompanied them to the White House. 29th Div Association Frosted Beer Glass with Handle. Deputy Mooney: By that time there was a number of officers up there.And we were searching, trying to find the weapon at that time. One of them told me I could help them. In the seconds after the motorcade turns left onto Elm St. and before the triple underpass, the assassin strikes. I think all these things came together.. I remember it occurred to me that this man wants on top of the building. Fully recovered from the debacle in Normandy, the Germans gave little ground and inflicted heavy casualties each time the 29ers launchedan attack. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. BODY MOVED FROM PARKLAND TO AIR FORCE ONE 2:20 P.M. As I first got over in front of the White Plaza Hotel the people of course were jamming the sidewalks. An incredible 48 hours in Dallasthe presidents murder in broad daylight and the astonishing killing of his alleged assassin on live televisionhas spawned countless conspiracy theories. Hewanted to pay the Japanese back. After six long days, their skipper came through and they were going home. During World War II, the 29th Infantry Division suffered 3,720 killed in action, 15,403 wounded in action, 462 missing in action, 526 prisoners of war, and 8,665 non-combat casualties, for a total of 28,776 casualties during 242 days of combat. Abraham Zapruder: As the car came in line almost I believe it was almost in line, I was standing up here and I was shooting through a telephoto lens.I heard the first shot, and I saw the president lean over and grab himself. To increase the boats firepower, Kennedy scrounged up a 37mm gun and fastened it with rope on the forward deck. After a short rest behind the front, the 29th joined in the destruction of the enemy in the Falaise Pocket by advancing southward from St. The next thought that I had isthis is history and upon these words youll be judged as a reporter and as a human being. We telephoned Judge Hughes office. During his presidency, Kennedy gave many inspiring speeches; these speeches, rather than his legislative accomplishments, became his legacy. That is a picture that someone else has made. I think I described it in my statement as though someone was shooting a revolver into a hard object it seemed to have some type of an echo. 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