John F Kennedy: 50 Years later

On November 22, 1963 at 12:31 PM three shots rang out in my home town of Dallas, Texas, most likely fired from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Those three shots injured our 39th Governor, John Connally and proved to be fatal to our 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Later that day Lee Harvey Oswald, a self-proclaimed pro-castro "Marxist-Leninist" was arrested and charged with shooting Governor Connally, killing President Kennedy as well as killing Dallas Police Officer JD Tippit later that same day.

Mr. Oswald was taken to Dallas Police Headquarters for questioning, but admitted to nothing. The following day, at 11:21 AM while being transported from the Dallas Police Headquarters to Dallas County Jail (ironically located across the street from the Texas School Book Depository) Mr. Oswald was shot by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his wounds shortly after 1:00 PM.

The nation mourned the loss of President Kennedy, the dynamic, charming, charismatic president who taught us to dream. The President who told us that nothing was out of reach and that we should (quite literally) reach for the moon.

Many see the events surrounding the assassination of JFK as the mecca of conspiracy theories, which is easy to do. The "lone gunman," Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered before he could even see the inside of a courtroom, the Warren Commission's (which was set up to investigate the assassination) findings have been hammered by all sides as a poor excuse of an investigation. In 1978 the House Select Committee on Assassinations found that there was a "probable conspiracy" in the death of President Kennedy and recommended the Justice Department investigate further. It has never done so. 50 years later so many questions remain
unanswered. No one has ever been convicted of any crime
related to the events that took place that day. Under our system of law, the principle of "innocent until proven guilty," Lee Harvey Oswald died an innocent man.

I am in no way a conspiracy theorist, in fact I am probably the furthest thing from one, and that is not what this posting is about. Rather, it is to remember the lives that were lost or ruined that day. President Kennedy left behind a wife and two young children. Officer JD Tippit left behind a wife and three children who were just 14, 10 and 5 years old at the time of their father's death. While you may not be inclined to mourn for Lee Harvey Oswald you must realize that his death left two little girls without a father.

It was a sad day for the the families of everyone involved, for people of Dallas, for Americans and indeed for people the world over.