Dealey Plaza

(April 5, 2002 Chautauqua)

The first time I saw President Kennedy, he was dead. I don’t remember hearing about his death (I was only four), but I remember my mother keeping me inside to watch the funeral. The sight of the flag-draped coffin stuck with me throughout my life, and spurred my interest in finding out what happened in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963.
While I was visiting my brother in Texas at the beginning of the year, one of the places I most wanted to see was Dealey Plaza. I had to go alone, as my brother and his wife were both working. I took the bus from San Marcos to Dallas. I cannot describe my excitement when the bus exited the freeway, and pulled into the city. The plaza was only a few blocks away from the bus station, and I made my way there on slightly unsteady legs. The dream of a lifetime was about to be fulfilled.

My first view of the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza

As I turned the corner and beheld the Texas School Book Depository for the first time, all I could think was, “ I’m really here. I’m really here. I’m really here.”

The sign reads: Dealey Plaza
Birthplace of Dallas
Within this small park was built the first home which also served as the first court house and post office. The first store and the first fraternal lodge.
Dedicated to the pioneers of civic progress by order of the Park Board

I passed the marker that explains that Dealey Plaza is the place where Dallas began. It is the site of the first buildings that made up the town that grew into the city. The entire Plaza and the buildings surrounding it have now been designated as a National Historic Site. It has not changed very much at all since that day, the day President Kennedy died.

This picture shows (l to r) the Grassy Knoll, the Depository, the Dal-Tex Building, and the County Records building

The Depository is the building where the official government findings say that Lee Harvey Oswald shot at, and killed, the President. Most of it is now filled with city government offices, but the sixth floor, where investigators found the “sniper’s nest,” is a museum, dedicated to displaying artifacts and information about what happened.


I was able to stand only a few feet from that window, and examine the view that a shooter might have. There is a display of the FBI’s model that was used in their investigation; there are cameras, which took the various photos of the assassination; there are short documentaries about the events of Nov. 22nd, Kennedy’s life, and world response to his death.

This is the point of view of witness Howard Brennan, who said he saw Oswald take the last shot

Of course, everybody knows that the official story is no longer believable, and that a conspiracy took the president’s life. This becomes apparent after a viewing of the “Zapruder film.” Abraham Zapruder was a Dallas dress manufacturer, and his film shows the assassination in its entirety. Using the film as a “clock,” it becomes apparent that the timing of the shots is all wrong, if you are trying to conclude that one man did it alone.
There were three spent shells found on the sixth floor, and the government had to account for them all. A bystander, James Tague, was wounded by fragments of a bullet that struck the curb near him. President Kennedy was struck in the head by another bullet, leaving a single bullet to account for all the remaining wounds, which included not only wounds in President Kennedy, but Texas Governor John Connally.
An FBI demonstration of how a gunman used Oswald’s rifle includes the number of seconds it takes to fire, reload, and fire again. A careful examination of the “Zapruder film” shows that Kennedy was wounded before Connally. The time it took for Connally to react to being shot is too long for it to have been the same bullet that struck Kennedy, and too short for it to have been from the same gun. Obviously, at least one other man was shooting that day.

The Grassy Knoll. This is where the bullet that hit Kennedy in the head came from

Then there is the shot that struck Kennedy in the head. Kennedy’s body is flung back and to the left. The laws of physics prove that the president must have been shot from the front and to the right. Many bystanders heard at least one shot from the so-called “Grassy Knoll”, and one even reported seeing (and smelling) gun smoke.

Zapruder's POV. Right by the truck's front wheel, there is an "X" on the road that marks the spot where the presidential limousine was when JFK was struck in the head

There are many mysteries surrounding the events of November 22nd, and a lifetime of investigation has only been scratched at the surface by this article. Indeed, there is a library’s worth of books about Kennedy, and his death. I know, because I’ve read most of them.
My trip, as I said, was the fulfillment of a dream of a lifetime. President Kennedy had dreams, and he instilled those dreams not just for many Americans, but people around the world. His words inspired many of them to accomplish great deeds, and do much good work. It’s true that some aspects of Kennedy’s personal life leave a lot to be desired, but doesn’t the dream ask us to never mind all that, and at least try to live up to a higher ideal?