Political Cartton

LYNDON JOHNSON SWORN IN

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A Day to Remember

DALLAS, Friday, November 22- John F. Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling through Dealey Plaza. As President Kennedy waved to the crowds on his right with his right arm upraised on the side of the limo, a shot entered his upper back. The bullet penetrated his neck, slightly damaged a spinal vertebra and the top of his right lung, exited his throat nearly centerline just beneath his larynx, then nicked the left side of his suit tie knot.

The First Couple left the White House for a political trip to Texas. President Kennedy's motorcade route through Dallas was planned to increase his exposure to Dallas crowds before his arrival at a luncheon with civic and business leaders in Dallas. Kennedy was accompanied by Vice-President Lyndon Johnson and Texas Governor John Connally.

Governor Connally, which was seated in front of the President and three inches more to the left than the President, was also critically injured. Doctors later stated that his wife, Nellie Connally, pulled him onto her lap and the resulting posture helped close his front chest wound.

Nothing could be done keep the president alive. At 1:00 P.M. CST, the President was pronounced dead. "We never had any hope of saving his life," one doctor said.

Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson became President upon President Kennedy's death. Johnson had been riding two cars behind President Kennedy in the motorcade. He refused to leave for Washington without President Kennedy and his widow. At 2:38 P.M. CST, Vice-President Johnson took the oath of office on board Air Force One just before it departed from Love Field, with Jacqueline Kennedy at his side.

Kennedy’s assassination affected America in many ways. For one, security has improved dramatically. Presidents are watched over every second of the day. It’s almost impossible to get close or harm the president due to the United States Secret Service.