This JFK Weekend, 50 Years Later

To commemorate President John F. Kennedy, this blog will update in more or less "real time" as events unfolded on TV and radio 50 years ago, starting with the arrival of Jack and Jackie in Dallas on Friday, Nov. 22, and ending with the president's funeral on Monday, Nov. 25.

At   JFK Memories recount in your own words where you were on Nov. 22, 1963. Find more to read and do at Remembering John F. Kennedy.

As the nation watched the funeral on Monday, Nov. 25, 1963, many were struck by the riderless horse. But for nearly everyone, John-John's salute to his dad, on his third birthday, was the climax of a heartbreaking weekend. As one blogger recalls, it was " Camelot to catastrophe", starting on that long ago November Friday afternoon.

Sunday, Nov. 24, 1963.

Aboard Air Force One, Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States.

Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested. He has also killed Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit.

Walter Cronkite announces the death of President Kennedy:

The Zapruder film of the shooting. One of our bloggers heard the shots:

The motorcade was late starting out, and the president had insisted on not using the "bubble top" so he could be closer to the crowd. One of our Tumblr contributors talked about being there and his " brush with history."

JFK and Jackie land at Love Field in Dallas. George Sickler was there.

Others are engaged in a similar project this weekend. Follow @JFK_1963, from the JFK Library and Museum in Boston this weekend for a sense of what updates would have been like if Twitter existed 50 years ago. Here's their feed:
Tweets by @JFK_1963

And on Friday and through the weekend CBS News will be live streaming the events of 50 years ago as they happened.

 Airport Arrival: Credit: Everett Collection

Motorcade: Credit: Bettman/Corbis

Lee Harvey Oswald: Credit: Dallas police department/WikiMedia

Lyndon Johnson sworn in: National Archives

Also of Interest

• The Words I Wrote the Day After JFK's Assassination
• 5 Tricks to Make Your Airplane Seat Feel Like an Easy Chair
• Support Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund to Aid Elderly Victims
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

See the  AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more