Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Going to Kennedy’s Cortege in Washington, DC

I was in an American History class at Stepinac when we heard the announcement. My parents had friends in Maryland and we went down to see the Cortege and stayed with them. The father of that family worked for the Parks Service and was standing guard in the Capitol Rotunda most of the time we were there. I saw him once when he came home to take a nap and shower before he went back to service.

We were on the back steps of the Capitol watching the procession come up Pennsylvania Ave. to the Capitol from the White House when I heard a commotion in the crowd. I made my way over to it and saw a replay of Jack Ruby shooting Oswald on the first portable TV I had ever seen. Later, as the Cortege got closer, my Father and I made our way to the street and watched as the President passed by. I was transfixed by Blackjack, the stallion, which followed close behind. The horse was saddled with a boot in one stirrup inserted backwards. It was a brilliant partly sunny day and the horse was giving it's handler a hard time, prancing about and shaking his head. The crowds and the drums must have made him nervous.

My Father and I both had cameras and he kept telling me to take pictures, but I was so overcome with emotion, I could only stand at the curb and look. It was a day that I remember like it was yesterday. After the Cortege passed us, we made our way to the front of the Capital. We missed most of the arrival service, but I got to see the First Lady with Caroline and John a few minutes after his famous salute to his father. It was quite an emotional day.

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