The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, shocked the nation and left a legacy of grief, conspiracy, and unanswered questions. For many Americans, it felt like the country had lost more than a president. Some believed the nation had lost its innocence.
Kennedy was riding in a presidential motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline, when the nightmare unfolded. As he waved to the crowd, he was struck in the back, with the shot exiting his throat. Reports suggested he could have survived that wound, but a second shot followed, this time a fatal blow to the head.
What happened next became one of the most haunting images in American history. Jackie Kennedy, wearing her pink dress, climbed onto the back of the vehicle in an act of desperation she later said she had no memory of. Secret Service Agent Clint Hill believed there was a devastating reason for her actions. According to him, Jackie was reaching for a piece of her husband's skull.
When she returned to her seat, she began repeating two sentences over and over. "They have killed my husband," she said. "I have his brains in my hand."
Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended and denied any wrongdoing. Many hoped the truth would emerge in a trial, but that never happened. Before Oswald could face a judge, nightclub owner Jack Ruby gunned him down. Some believed Ruby had silenced Oswald so the truth about Kennedy's death would never be known. Before Ruby could be convicted, he died from cancer.
The aftermath of the assassination was not the only chapter of the Kennedy story marked by tragedy and secrecy. Behind closed doors, there was far more to John F. Kennedy than the public image of a shining president.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, into a successful Irish American family living just outside Boston. His father, Joe Kennedy, was a businessman and politician, and his mother, Rose, was a well-connected socialite and philanthropist. Joe had carefully plotted a political future for his children.
When Rose suggested sending John and his older brother to a Catholic school, Joe insisted it would not be good for their political futures. The boys attended a Protestant school instead, where John was named most likely to succeed. He later graduated from Harvard with a degree in government and international affairs.
His plans for Yale Law School were put on hold by the outbreak of World War II. An injury to his back from college football made him unfit for service, but Joe Kennedy was not above meddling. Using deceptive medical records, he got his son onto a boat fighting the Japanese in the South Pacific.
When an accident cut his ship in half, Kennedy found himself in a life-threatening situation. Two crew members lost their lives, and survivors had to swim to the nearest shore. Kennedy became a hero when he pulled a shipmate to safety on what is now called Kennedy Island. His back problems worsened, and he was eventually discharged from the Navy Reserve.
Some believed his older brother, Joe Jr., felt he had to outdo his younger brother's heroism. He was killed during a doomed air mission, leaving John as the oldest surviving Kennedy son with a huge weight on his shoulders.
In 1944, John visited a movie set and was introduced to Gene Tierney, who some believed was the most beautiful woman in movie history. Kennedy pursued her and succeeded, even though she was still married to fashion designer Oleg Cassini. Ironically, Cassini would later design clothes for Kennedy's wife.
With Joe Jr. gone, Joe Kennedy shifted his hopes to John. The first step was getting him to Washington, where he used his wealth and power to get his son elected to the House of Representatives. But John showed little interest in being a congressman, with the most no-shows of any congressman at the time. One explanation was his poor health, another that he was too shy. He also found the bureaucracy exhausting.
The next step was the US Senate, and Joe Senior used his usual tricks to ensure his son won. It became a family affair. Kennedy's younger brother, Robert, became his campaign manager, and the women of the family helped attract the women's vote.
While preparing for the election, JFK met a woman who would change his life forever. In 1952, at a dinner party, he met journalist Jacqueline Bouvier. The two began dating, and after Kennedy won the Senate seat, he asked her to marry him. Before the wedding, he squeezed in one more affair, with a Swedish aristocrat named Gunilla von Post.
The wedding took place on September 12, 1953, and difficulties arose right away. Kennedy underwent back surgery the following year, and it looked like he would not recover. It was so dire that he was read his last rites. While recovering, he got the idea to write a book about US senators who had risked their careers for their beliefs. Titled "Profiles in Courage," it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.
That same year, Kennedy and his brother Bobby faced off against Union Leader Jimmy Hoffa with accusations about racketeering in the unions. The Kennedy brothers had heated arguments with Hoffa that the public witnessed on TV and radio. Kennedy was making dangerous enemies, but also dangerous friends.
In 1958, he met Diana de Vegh. Despite a 20-year age gap, she fell head over heels in love. Keeping the affair secret was challenging now that Kennedy had a wife. Some of his staff were in on his affairs and worked to hide them from the public. A secret driver would bring de Vegh to where Kennedy was campaigning, and his staff treated her like part of the organization so she would not stand out.
As it turned out, she had a surprising connection to Kennedy's work. He had been meeting with an economist to discuss economics and was shocked to find out the man was de Vegh's father. Kennedy had no idea, and the affair fizzled out.
Some were critical of Kennedy's work as a senator. Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson called his work pathetic and described him as a playboy. Kennedy was not making friends in the Senate, but he still convinced the public to reelect him in 1958. Now he and his father thought he was ready for the top position in the country.
In January 1960, JFK announced he would run for the Democratic presidential nomination. The big obstacles were his youth, his lack of experience, and the fact that he was a Catholic. What he had in his corner was magnetism and skill as a narrator. Against the odds, Kennedy won on the first ballot.
He faced Richard Nixon in a televised debate on September 26, 1960. Kennedy was much more clever about optics. He chose a suit that would reduce glare and even spoke with technicians about camera placement. He left nothing to chance, and it showed.
On the day of the debate, Nixon suffered. His suit made him blend into the background, and he did not know it was better to look at the camera rather than the reporters. The heat of the lights caused him to sweat profusely. Kennedy came across as cool, relaxed, and dashingly handsome, his gaze confidently penetrating the homes of voters across the country.
JFK went on to win the election, and he and Jacqueline headed to the White House. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy delivered his famous inaugural address, urging Americans to ask not what their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country.
Mimi Beardsley was only on her fourth day working for the White House press office when she got an invitation. JFK's assistant, Dave Powers, invited her to use the White House swimming pool, where Kennedy himself showed up. This led to another invitation to a cocktail party. The 19-year-old could not believe her luck. Kennedy then invited her to a personal tour of the residence. When they got to Jackie Kennedy's room, they made an unscheduled stop. The two had an intimate encounter.
Kennedy also had trouble resisting the temptation of beautiful Hollywood stars. At the time, there was no one more alluring than German-born Marlene Dietrich. While she later said she did not remember much of the affair, she may have suffered from confusion because she had also had an affair with Kennedy's father.
Before he became president, Kennedy started hanging out with the Rat Pack, including Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Through them, Kennedy met Judith Exner. The Rat Pack and Exner had associations with the mafia, associations Kennedy would dangerously use for his own gain. Soon Kennedy was in a heated affair with Exner, and worse still, he was allegedly doing business with Sam Giancana of the Chicago mob. He was using the mafia to try to get Fidel Castro out of power in Cuba. Exner eventually grew tired of keeping Kennedy's secrets and exposed everything, even claiming she had gotten pregnant by him and had an abortion.
On May 19, 1962, Kennedy celebrated his 45th birthday at Madison Square Garden. When actress Marilyn Monroe got up to sing a sultry rendition of Happy Birthday, tongues started to wag. Kennedy's involvement with Monroe allegedly went back to 1954 when the two first met. It is alleged that by 1962, Kennedy was done with Monroe and passed her off to his younger brother, Bobby.
Three months after singing at the president's birthday party, Monroe died under suspicious circumstances. On the surface, it looked like she had purposely taken too many barbiturates. When she died, Monroe was in a bad way. Three marriages had ended in divorce, and her film career was at a standstill. It was well known that she struggled both mentally and emotionally, which could have been a liability to any affair she was supposed to keep secret. Her second husband, Joe DiMaggio, felt strongly that the Kennedys had some involvement in her death. Many conspiracy theorists believe Monroe's last night alive involved some sort of cover-up by the Kennedys. The case was reviewed by the Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney in 1982. In conclusion, they found no evidence of foul play, though their official report admitted there were unanswered questions and factual discrepancies.
Mary Pinchot Meyer was the ex-wife of CIA operative Cord Meyer when she started a relationship with Kennedy. Meyer had been a neighbor and friend to both John and Jackie. JFK spent many evenings in the White House with Meyer, usually when Jackie was out of town. But tragically, on October 12, 1964, Meyer was the victim of murder. Officers charged a suspect who was later acquitted. The case is still unsolved. Meyer's biographer, Nina Burleigh, later made a bold claim, drawing a connection between her demise and JFK. She went so far as to say the theory is that she had to die because she knew too much.
However, it was not only his mistresses who met tragic ends. Fate had a horror show in store for Kennedy himself. As US president, not to mention his connections to the mafia, communists, and angry union leaders, Kennedy's life was always at risk.
John F. Kennedy was one of the most loved American presidents of all time. When his life ended in Dallas that afternoon, Americans felt the loss of much more than a president.