>> IF JOHN KENNEDY WERE ALIVE TODAY, HE WOULD BE 96 YEARS OLD.

THOUGH HE WAS ASSASSINATED FIFTY YEARS AGO, THE MEMORIES OF KENNEDY ARE VERY MUCH ALIVE.

AS A CANDIDATE, HE WAS THE YOUNG, WEALTHY, WAR HERO AND SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS.

THE DYNAMIC, ENERGETIC, WELL-EDUCATED IRISH CATHOLIC WITH A BEAUTIFUL WIFE.

MANY IN THE PUBLIC AND THE MEDIA WERE ENAMORED WITH HIM.

KENNEDY HAD A CLOSE AND IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP WITH WISCONSIN.

EVEN IN THE 1960 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY, IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT A GIVEN HEç WOULD WIN.

MANY THOUGHT THE PEOPLE'S FAVORITE WOULD BE HUBERT HUMPHREY, THE SENATOR FROM NEIGHBORING MINNESOTA.

>> IN OUR HANDS ESPECIALLY IN THE NEXT 40 YEARS WILL GO THE GREAT DECISION AS TO WHICH DIRECTION THE WORLD WILL TAKE.

I DON'T THINK ANY PEOPLE AND CERTAINLY NOT ANY POLITICAL PARTY, HAVE EVER BORNE A COMPARABLE RESPONSIBILITY.

>> THIS DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OURS IS NOTHING UNLESS IT IS A LIBERAL PARTY.

>> POLLS SHOW YOU IN THE LEAD IN WISCONSIN.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOU HAVE SELF THE UNDERDOG HERE?

>> WELL, THERE'S SEVERAL POLLS.

THERE'S A POLL THAT I SAW4&-- YESTERDAY, THAT IT WAS TAKEN LAST FALL BY A MAGAZINE HERE, WHICH SHOWED ME RUNNING BEHIND, I'VE SEEN SOME POLLS THAT -- >> I WOULD SAY WE'RE QUITE CLOSE IS MY GUESS.

>> YOUR OWN POLLS SHOW YOU AHEAD.

>> NO, IN FACT, THEY SHOW ME VERY CLOSE.

>> DO YOU CONSIDER YOU HAVE SELF AN UNDERDOG?

-- YOURSELF AN UNDERDOG?

>> VERY CLOSE.

>> DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF AN UNDERDOG IN THIS RACE?

>> I NEVER ATTEMPT TO PUT MYSELF IN ANY CATEGORY.

I WOULD SAY IT'S A VERY TOUGH FIGHT FOR THE OBVIOUS REASON THAT I'VE GIVEN.

THIS IS A -- IN THE SAME WAY THAT I WOULD CONSIDER SENATOR HUMPHREY HAVING A VERY TOUGH FIGHT IF HE WOULD COME IN TO NEW HAMPSHIRE.

I AM GOING INTO A STATE WHICHç IS ADJOINING MINNESOTA.

>> BUT KENNEDY WENT ON TO WIN THE PRIMARY AND THE NOMINATION OF HIS PARTY.

AGAIN, VICTORY IN THE GENERAL ELECTION WAS CERTAINLY NOT ASSURRED.

HIS OPPONENT WAS RICHARD NIXON, THEN THE VICE-PRESIDENT UNDER DWIGHT EISENHOWER.

KENNEDY CAMPAIGNED HARD IN WISCONSIN.

HE WAS SO OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE.

GUIDING THE CAMPAIGN HERE, AND WITH KENNEDY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, WAS PAT LUCEY, THEN HEAD OF THE STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

LUCEY HAD BROKEN PARTY TRADITION EARLY ON BY COMING OUT IN FULL SUPPORT OF KENNEDY BEFORE THE PRIMARIES EVEN GOT UNDERWAY.

YEARS LATER, LUCEY HIMSELF WOULD SERVE AS GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN, AND THEN UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO.

IT IS UNLIKELY THERE IS ANYONE IN WISCONSIN WHO KNEW KENNEDY ASç WELL.

TODAY, LUCEY IS 95 YEARS OLD AND LIVES IN MILWAUKEE.

>> WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT CAMPAIGN, WAS IT THE MAN HIMSELF OR DID YOU JUST THINK, THIS IS THE LEADING CANDIDATE D AS STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR, I HAVE TO GET ON BOARD, WHAT INSPIRED YOU ABOUT HIM?

>> OH, I POLES -- I SUPPOSE THE FACT THAT WE WERE BOTH IRISH AND CATHOLIC HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, BUT IT WAS -- I THOUGHT THAT HE SHOULD BE DESTINED TO BE PRESIDENT, AND TURNS OUT THAT HE WAS.ç HE SAID ONE TIME -- IN FACT, I THINK THE LAST TIME I SAW HIM, THAT IF I HADN'T BECOME PARTY CHAIRMAN OF WISCONSIN, HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ELECTED PRESIDENT.

THE POINT WAS THAT IN ORDER TO GET THE NOMINATION, HE HAD TO WIN THE PRIMARY IN WISCONSIN, AND IN WEST VIRGINIA.

AND IF I HADN'T BEEN THE PARTY CHAIRMAN, THE PARTY CHAIRMAN WOULD HAVE BEEN A HUMPHREY GUY, AND PRESIDENT KENNEDY SAID IF HUMPHREY HAD CONTROLLED THEç PARTY IN WISCONSIN, I WOULDN'T HAVE RISKED IT.

AS IT TURNS OUT, I HAD TO HAVE IT.

AND SO HE SAID ACTUALLY, YOUR DECISION TO RUN FOR PARTY CHAIRMAN AND GET ELECTED, THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO BECOME PRESIDENT.

>> THE GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE, AND THE VOTE COUNTING WENT ON THROUGH THE EVENING.

BY EARLY MORNING, NIXON KNEW IT WAS OVER.

>> I WANT TO SAY THAT ONE OF THE GREAT TEACHERS OF AMERICA, IS THAT WE HAVE POLITICAL CONTESTS, THAT TZEY ARE VERY HARD FOUGHT AS THIS ONE IS HARD FOUGHT, AND ONCE THE DECISION IS MADE, WE UNITE BEHIND THE MAN WHO WAS ELECTED.

I WANT ALL OF YOU TO KNOW -- I WANT ALL OF YOU TO KNOW -- I WANT SENATOR KENNEDY TO KNOW AND I WANT ALL OF YOU TO KNOW THAT CERTAINLY IF THIS TREND DOES CONTINUE, AND HE DOES BECOME OUR NEXT PRESIDENT, THAT HE WILL HAVE MY WHOLEHEARTED SUPPORT AND YOURS TOO.

>> TO ALL AMERICANS, I SAY THAT THE NEXT FOUR YEARSç ARE GOING TO BE DIFFICULT, AND CHALLENGING YEARS FOR US ALL.

THE ELECTION MAY HAVE BEEN A CLOSE ONE.

BUT I THINK THAT THERE IS GENERAL AGREEMENT BY ALL OF OUR CITIZENS THAT A SUPREME NATIONAL EFFORT WILL BE NEEDED IN THE YEARS AHEAD TO MOVE THIS COUNTRY SAFELY THROUGH THE 1960'S.

>> DO YOU, JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY, SOLEMNLY SWEAR, THAT YOU WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND WILL TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY.

>> AND WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABIDIUY.

>> PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

>> PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

>> SO HELP YOU GOD.

>> SO HELP ME GOD.

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] >> THE WORLD IS VERY DIFFERENT NOW, FOR MAN HOLDS IN HIS MORTAL HANDS THE POWER TO ABOLISH ALL FORMS OFç HUMAN POVERTY AND ALL FORMS OF HUMAN LIFE.

AND YET THE SAME REVOLUTIONARY BELIEFS FOR WHICH OUR FOREBEARERS FOUGHT, ARE STILL AT ISSUE AROUND THE GLOBE.

THE BELIEF THAT THE RIGHTS OF MAN COME NOT FROM THE GENEROSITY OF THE STATE, BUT FROM THE HAND OF GOD.

WE DARE NOT FORGET TODAY THAT WE ARE THE HEIRS OF THAT FIRST REVOLUTION.

LET THE WORD GO FORTH FROM THIS TIME AND PLACE, TO FRIEND AND FOE ALIKE THAT THE TORCH HASç BEEN PASSED TO A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS, BORN IN THIS CENTURY, TEMPERED BY WAR, DISCIPLINED BY A HARD AND BITTER PEACE, PROUD OF OUR ANCIENT HERITAGE, AND UNWILLING TO WITNESS OR PERMIT THE SLOW UNDOING OF THOSE HUMAN RIGHTS TO WHICH THIS NATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN COMMITTED AND TO WHICH WE ARE COMMITTED TODAY AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD.

SO LET US BEGIN ANEW.ç REMEMBERING ON BOTH SIDES THAT STABILITY IS NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS, AND SINCERITY IS ALWAYS SUBJECT TO PROOF.

LET US NEVER NEGOTIATE OUT OF FEAR.

BY LET US NEVER FEAR TO NEGOTIATE.

[APPLAUSE] >> IN THE LONG HISTORY OF THE WORLD, ONLY A FEW GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE ROLE OF DEFENDING FREEDOM IN MAXIMUM DANGER.

I DO NOT SHRINK FROM THISç RESPONSIBILITY.

I WELCOME IT.

[APPLAUSE] >> I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANY OF US WOULD EXCHANGE PLACES WITH ANY OTHER PEOPLE OR ANY OTHER GENERATION.

THE ENERGY, THE FAITH, THE DEVOTION, WHICH WE BRING TO THIS ENDEAVOR WILL LIGHT OUR COUNTRY AND ALL WHO SERVE IT AND THE GLOW FROM THAT FIRE CAN TRULY LIGHT THE WORLD.

AND SO MY FELLOW AMERICANS, ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUZç COUNTRY.

[APPLAUSE] >> ELECTED PRESIDENT AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 43, KENNEDY WAS A ROLE MODEL FOR MANY POLITICAL WANNABES.

ONE WAS MILWAUKEE'S MARTY SCHREIBER, WHO IN 1963, AT THE AGE OF 23 BECAME THE YOUNGEST EVER TO BE ELECTED STATE SENATOR IN WISCONSIN.

SCHREIBER WOULD GO ON TO SERVE AS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR UNDER PAT LUCEY, AND THEN GOVERNOR WHEN LUCEY ACCEPTED THE JOB OF AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO.

>> YOU WERE ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE WHEN YOU WERE 23 YEARS OLD.

THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO EVER BE ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE.

KENNEDY ALSO Aç RELATIVELY YOUNG MAN.

WAS HE AN INSPIRATION TO YOU AT THAT TIME?

>> NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.

NOT ONLY AN INSPIRATION, BUT HE PROBABLY WAS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I WON.

FOR A 23-YEAR-OLD PERSON TO BE ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE, THERE HAD TO BE A PARTICULAR CONFIDENCE THAT THE VOTER WOULD HAVE IN A YOUNG PERSON.

AND I THINK THAT JOHN KENNEDY, BEING ELECTED BACK THERE IN 1960, JUST SIMPLY MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

PLUS, HE HAD A CHANCE TO INSPIRE THROUGH HIS SPEECHES AND THROUGH THAT INSPIRATION, I THINK, ALSO GAVE THOSE OF US WHO WERE RUNNING, WHO WERE YOUNG, ALSO AN INSPIRATION, BECAUSE WE BELIEVED IN WHAT HE BELIEVED IN, AND THAT IS THAT IF YOU DO THINGS RIGHT<ç YOU CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE STATE AND FOR THIS COUNTRY AND FOR OUR PEOPLE.

>> WHY DO YOU THINK HE WAS SUCH AN INSPIRATION?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN LEGIONS OF BOOKS WRITTEN TRYING TO GET THAT ANSWER.

HE PROBABLY HAD WITHIN A SPECIAL KIND OF FORCE THAT CREATED A COMPELLING NATURE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, TO WANT TO IMPROVE THINGS.

ALSO, HE HAD A WAY OF SPEAKING.

YOU KNOW, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOURç COUNTRY.

THOSE KINDS OF PHRASES, ALTHOUGH VERY SIMPLE IN NATURE, HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON ONE'S THINKING, PARTICULARLY SOMEONE WHO LOOKS AT THIS NATION AND SAYS, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE THINGS BETTER, AND I THINK HIS YOUTH, HIS VITALITY, ENERGY, ALL PLAYED A ROLE IN GIVING HIM THE KIND OF ADMIRATION FROM THE PEOPLE THAT HE RECEIVED.

>> WHEN KENNEDY RETURNED TO WISCONSIN FOR A DEMOCRATIC PARTY APPEARANCE AT THE MILWAUKEE ARENA IN 1962, CROWDS LINED THE STREET JUST TO WATCH HIM DRIVE BY.

AGAIN, NOTICE HOW OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE HE WAS.

HE MADE IT VERY CLEAR HOW IMPORTANT THE STATE WAS TO HISç VICTORY, THANKED LUCEY, AND AGAIN WOWED THE CROWD WITH HIS WIT AND HUMOR.

>> MY FRIEND, PAT LUCEY, THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE AND IT WAS DONE AND I WANT TO EXPRESS MY COMPLIMENTS TO HIM IN FULFILLING HIS RESPONSIBILITY AS THE LEADER OF A STATE ORGANIZATION HERE, A STATE WHICH HAS HAD A GREAT TRADITION OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP.

I AM GLAD TO BE BACK IN WISCONSIN AND I WANT TO EXPRESS MY THANKS TO YOU, FOR A MOST GENERMu& WELCOME.

IT IS NOT ALWAYS ENCOURAGING, THE NEWS WE READ IN WASHINGTON, SO IT IS NICE TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE FROM THE AIRPORT HERE IN MILWAUKEE INTO TOWN, AND GET WAVED AT, SO I'M GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL.

AND I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE KIND OF FARMS THEY HAVE IN THE 7th DISTRICT AND THE 1st DISTRICT AND I KNOW WHAT A DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY CAN BE IN MADISON, WISCONSIN, AND I KNOW ALL ABOUT VINCE LOMBARDI IN GREEN BAY LONG BEFORE THEY WON THE -- [APPLAUSE] >> AND INIAL ABOUT THE BRAVESç BEFORE YOU DID WHEN THEY WERE BACK IN BOSTON.

>> AND SITTING RIGHT THERE, RIGHT NEXT TO THE PODIUM, WAS A YOUNG VEL PHILLIPS.

IN 1951, PHILLIPS HAD BECOME THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN TO GRADUATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LAW SCHOOL.

A FEW YEARS LATER, SHE WAS THE FIRST WOMAN, AND THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO BE ELECTED TO THE MILWAUKEE COMMON COUNCIL.

IN THIS YEAR, 1962, SHE HAD INTRODUCED THE CITY'S FIRST OPEN-HOUSING ORDINANCE.

SHE ADMIRED THE YOUNG PRESIDENT, JUST A FEW YEARS HER SENIOR, AND THEY HAD GROWN TO BE FRIENDS.

BUT SHE REMEMBERS THE FIRST TIME SHE MET HIM AND HE ASKED FOR HER SUPPORT.

SHE DECLINED, TELLING HIM HIS VOTES IN THE SENATE WERE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS.ç >> HE TOOK ME REALLY BY SURPRISED BUT I SAID OH, I'M SO SORRY, SENATOR KENNEDY, I CAN'T HAVE BOTH OF YOU, AND HE SAID -- HE SAID, OH, I'M SORRY, WHY.

I SAID BECAUSE YOU VOTED WRONG ON -- AND THEN I NAMED THE THINGS THAT I HAD CHECKED AT THE LIBRARY.

AND HE WASN'T A BIT DISTURBED, HE SAID OH, I CAN EXPLAIN THAT.

YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW.

AND HE SAID, I WAS REALLY STUCK BY HISç CANDOR, HE SAID I KNOW -- I WAS REALLY STRUCK BY HIS CANDOR, HE SAID I KNEW FOUR NEGROES IN MY WHOLE LIFE AND HE NAMED THEM, I'M MAKING IT UP, HE SAID JOHN JONES, HE LIVED DOWN THE STREET FROM ME AND HE NAMED THE SECOND ONE, I KNEW HIM FROM CAMP, HE WAS IN CAMP, THE THIRD ONE WAS SOMEONE WHO LIVES ON THE SAME FLOOR WITH HIM AT HARVARD.

AND SOME -- LET'S SEE, THERE WERE FOUR OR FIVE MAYBE, BUT FOUR, I THINK THERE WAS FOUR AND EACH ONE, HE RIGHT AWAY SAID,ç HE LIVES ON THIS SAME BLOCK, HARVARD, HE SAID, AND I CHECKED WITH THEM AND THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLD ME.

HOW I SHOULD VOTE.

AND I SAID, WELL, THAT'S REALLY TOO BAD.

IF YOU KNOW FOUR BLACK -- I DIDN'T SAY BLACK BECAUSE NEGRO -- NEGROS, THEY CALLED THEM UNCLE TOMS, AND HE SAID CAN YOU CALL ME LATER, I SAID YOU CAN CALL ME, BUT I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND HE SAID I'LL CALL YOU AND HEç DID AND FROM THERE ON, WE WERE VERY -- REALLY GOOD FRIENDS.

>> SHE'LL BE 90 IN A FEW MONTHS, AND LONG AGO SHE SECURED HER POSITION AS A CIVIL RIGHTS LEGEND.

>> DID YOU THINK THAT J.F.K.

WAS A TRUE FRIEND OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT?

>> I THINK SO.

BUT HE WAS CAUTIOUS, VERY CAUTIOUS.

ALL THE TIME.

BUT I THINK HE -- HIS HEART WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE, PAT LUCEY WOULD SAY, MR. PRESIDENT, SUCH AND SUCH, YOU KNOW, AND HE SAID, VEL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO CALL ME MR. PRESIDENT.

DON'T WORRY ABOUTç IT.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CALL ME?

I SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST SAY J.F.K.

AND HE SAID, DONE.

SO THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS SAY, HEY, J.F.K., YOU KNOW.

OH HE WAS DEAR.

>> DURING HIS SPEECH, KENNEDY WAS REMINDED THAT HE HAD BROKEN A PLEDGE TO VISIT A MILWAUKEE SUBURB DURING HIS EARLIER CAMPAIGN.

HE SAID HE'D MAKE GOOD ON THAT PROMISE.

>> WHEN I WAS A CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY, I WAS GIVEN THIS AND SIGNED IT.

ADVISING US THAT IN ORDER TO ATTEND A STEELWORKERS MEETING IN PIT BURG, THAT YOU HEREBY PROMISED TO COME TO OUR TOWN AFTER YOU WEREç PRESIDENT, SIGNED WILLIAM HERLING, PRESIDENT.

WELL, I CAN'T GO THERE, BUT IF THERE'S ANYBODY THERE FROM MUKWONAGO, MUKWONAGO.

[APPLAUSE] >> I HATE TO THINK HOW MANY OF THESE ARE DISTRIBUTED ALL OVER WISCONSIN, AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GO.

YOU MAY HAVE TO GIVE ME SEVERAL YEARS, BUT I WILL GO.

BUT I DID WANT TO SAY THAT I'M GLAD TO COME BACK TO WISCONSIN.

THIS IS A GREAT STATE.

OUT OF IT HAS COME A GREAT MANY INFLUENTIAL AND POWERFUL FORCES.ç [APPLAUSE] >> KENNEDY WAVED GOOD BYE TO MILWAUKEE, IT WAS MAY OF 1962.

IN NOVEMBER OF 1963, KENNEDY MAKES A CAMPAIGN TRIP TO TEXAS.

THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 21, IT WAS A STOP IN SAN ANTONIO.

>> TZE AFTERNOON WAS SPENT IN HOUSTON.

>> IT WAS ONE SPEECH EARLY THAT EVENING IN HOUSTON, FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER A SHORT TIME LATER.

FRIDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 22, THE DAY STARTS EARLY IN FORT WORTH.

THERE'S A SHORT SPEECH AND MORE HAND SHAKING.

THUS BEGINS THE LAST DAY OF HIS LIFE.

KENNEDY WILL LIVE ONLY FOUR MORE HOURS FROM THIS MOMENT.

>> THERE'S ANOTHER SPEECH THAT MORNING BACK AT HIS FORT WORTH HOTEL.

IT WILL BE HIS FINAL SPEECH.

THE CROWD GOES CRAZY WHEN THE PRESIDENT ARRIVES, AND CRAZY AGAIN WHEN HIS WIFE ENTERS THEç ROOM.

>> THREE YEARS AGO, I INTRODUCED MYSELF IN PARIS BY SAYING I WAS THE MAN THAT ACCOMPANIED MRS. KENNEDY TO PARIS.

I'M GETTING SOMEWHAT THAT SAME SENSATION AS I TRAVEL AROUND TEXAS.

>> THERE'S A SHORT FLIGHT TO DALLAS LATER THAT MORNING, WHERE KENNEDY HAS A SCHEDULED LUNCHEON ADDRESS.

>> THOUGH HE'S RUNNING BEHIND SCHEDULE, HE PAUSES TO SHAKE HANDS.

SHORTLY BEFORE NOON, THE MOTORCADE BEGINS THE ELEVEN MILEç RIDE TO THE DALLAS TRADE MART WHERE KENNEDY IS TO GIVE HIS ADDRESS.

IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS, A GUNMAN WAITS IN A 6TH FLOOR WINDOW, A HIGH POWERED RIFLE BY HIS SIDE.

A RADIO NEWSMAN DESCRIBES THE SCENE.

>> WE'RE AT THE TRADEMARK, THE MOTORCADE IS COMING BY HERE.

I CAN SEE MANY, MANY MOTORCYCLES COMING BY NOW.

POLICE MOTORCYCLES.

JUST HAD A CALL ON THE RAIDER FOR ALL UNITS ALONG INDUSTRIAL TO PICK UP THE MOTORCADE.

SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED HERE.

WE UNDERSTAND THERE HAS BEEN A SHOOTING.

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAR IS.

COMING UP.

WE CAN SEE MRS. KENNEDY.

THERE'S Aç SECRET SERVICEMAN SPREAD EAGLE OVER THE CAR.

WE CAN'T SEE WHO HAS BEEN HIT, IF ANYBODY HAS BEEN HIT, BUT APPARENTLY SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE.

SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG.

I'M IN BEHIND THE MOTORCADE.

THEY'RE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL.

WE'RE ON THE ROAD AT THIS TIME.

SECRET SERVICEMAN IS STILL SPREAD EAGLE OVER WHOEVER IS IN THE CAR, THE PRESIDENT, MRS. KENNEDY AND WE UNDERSTAND, GOVERNOR AND MRS. CONNELLY.

IT LOOKS AS IF IT COULD HAVE BEEN ONE, TWO, OR ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR MAY HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM, MAY HAVE BEEN STRUCK BY SHOTS.

WE DON'T KNOW.

JUST NOW WE RECEIVED REPORTS AT PARKLAND THAT GOVERNOR CONNELLY WAS SHOT IN THE UPPERç LEFT CHEST AND UNCONFIRMED REPORTS THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS HIT IN THE HEAD.

THE PRESIDENT'S WIFE, JACKIE KENNEDY WAS NOT HURT.

SHE WALKED INTO THE HOSPITAL AT HER HUSBAND'S STRETCHER SIDE AND A DALLAS NEWS MAN SAID HE WAS RIDING SHORTLY BEHIND THE PRESIDENT IF THE PARADE.

AFTER THE SHOTS WERE FIRED HE HAPPENED TO LOOK UP AT THE FIFTH OR SIXTH FLOOR AND HE SAW THE RIFLE BEING PULLED BACK IN.

>> PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN GIVEN A BLOOD TRANSFUSION AT PARKLAND HOSPITAL HERE IN DALLAS IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE HIS LIFE AFTER HE AND GOVERNOR CONNELLY OF TEXAS WERE SHOT IN AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.

A PRIEST HAS BEEN ORDERED.

EMERGENCY SUPPLIES OF BLOOD ALSO BEING RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL.

>> JUST A MOMENT.

JUST A MOMENT.

WE HAVE A BULLETIN COMING IN.

WE'RE LISTENING DIRECTLY TO PARKLANDS HOSPITAL DIRECTOR.

>> THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS DEAD.

I HAVE JUST TALKED TO FATHER OSCAR HUBERT OF THE HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH, HE AND ANOTHER PRIEST TELL ME THAT THE PAIR OF MEN HAVE JUST ADMINISTERED THE LAST RITES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO PRESIDENT KENNEDY.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN ASSASSINATED.

IT'S OFFICIAL NOW.

THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER IN 1963 WHEN YOU HEARD HE HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED WHERE YOU WERE AND WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR HEAD?ç >> I WAS DRIVING TO THE AIRPORT TO GO TO CLEVELAND.

I HAD BEEN TOLD THAT OHIO WAS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO HIS REELECTION.

AND I HAD BEEN ASKED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OHIO.

AND SO I WAS -- I WAS HEADED FOR THE AIRPORT, AND I GOT OUT OF THE PLANE, THE PLANE WAS ACTUALLY TAXIING DOWN THE RUNWAY IN MADISON, AND THE PILOT ANNOUNCED THAT THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD.

AND I COULDN'T ASK HIM TO STOP THEç PLANE, SO I FLEW AS FAR AS CHICAGO, AND I HAD TO CHANGE PLANES THERE, SO I GOT OFF THE PLANE, AND CAUGHT ANOTHER PLANE BACK TO MADISON.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE OR WHAT YOU WERE DOING AND HOW YOU FELT?

>> OH MY GOSH.

PRECISELY.

I WAS -- I WAS WITH A FRIEND, AND WE WERE PLAYING RACQUETBALL AND SOMEONE SAID THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT, AND CERTAINLY IN DISBELIEF, YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T BELIEVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT WOULD HAPPEN.

BUT IT -- YOU KNOW, YOU STARTLING NEWS AND YOU HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME ACCEPTING IT.

AND BELIEVING IT AND UNDERSTANDING IT AND I THINK IT TOOK ME A WHILE.

OVER THE WEEKEND TO SEE ALL OF THOSE OTHER THINGS TRANSPIRE WITH LEE HARVEY OSWALD BEING SHOT AT, SO ON, BEFORE I GRASPED WHICH WAS HAPPENING, WHICH WAS A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE DYNAMICS OF THIS COUNTRY.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER TO THIS DAY HOW YOU FELT WHEN YOU HEARD THAT J.F.K.

HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED?

>> YES.

I WAS HOME HAVING LUNCH, AND IT WAS AROUND -- IN MILWAUKEE, ITç WAS AROUND 11:00 A.M., ABOUT 12:00 P.M., LUNCHTIME AND I HAD BEEN AT CITY HALL EARLIER, AND I DIDN'T HAVE ANOTHER MEETING UNTIL 2:00 P.M. OR 3:00 P.M., AND SO I CAME HOME TO HAVE LUNCH.

I JUST -- I WAS WASTED.

I COULDN'T EVEN GO BACK TO CITY HALL.

>> HARVARD EDUCATED MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR JOHN MCADAMS IS AN AUTHOR AND EXPERT ON THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION.

>> BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH, AND YOUR OPINION, HOW DID JOHN KENNEDY DIE, HOW WAS HE ASSASSINATED?

>> HE WAS HIT BY TWO SHOTS FROM BEHIND.

FIRED FROM Aç 6.5-MILLIMETER RIFLE.

THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF THEORIES ABOUT OTHER SHOTS, SOME KIND OF MAINSTREAM, THE IDEA OF A GRASSY KNOLL SHOOTER IS SORT OF A MAIN EXTREME CONSPIRACY THEORY.

THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT AND THE MEDICAL EVIDENCE SEEMS TO FLATLY CONTRADICT IT IT.

MEDICAL EVIDENCE PRETTY CLEARLY SHOWS THAT JOHN KENNEDY WAS HIT IN THE HEAD ONCE FROM BEHIND, BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE HARD EVIDENCE, THE HARD MEDICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS HE WAS HIT IN THE HEAD ONCE FROM BEHIND, THEN OF COURSE, HE WAS HIT IN THE TORSO ONCE FROM BEHIND TOO, A WOUND THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN FATAL.

>> LET'S JUST SAY THAT THE STANDARD CONSPIRACY THEORIES AREç PRETTY THIN.

HAVE VERY LITTLE EVIDENCE TO BACK THEM UP.

ESSENTIALLY, VIRTUALLY NO EVIDENCE THAT THE C.I.A.

MOUNTED A PLOT, VIRTUALLY NO EVIDENCE THAT THE MAFIA MOUNTED A PLOT.

VIRTUALLY, ESSENTIALLY NO EVIDENCE THAT THE ANTI-CASTRO CUBANS MOUNTED A PLOT.

CONSPIRACY BOOKS WILL GO INTO GREAT DETAIL ABOUT HOW ALL OF THOSE GROUPS WERE INVOLVED IF SINISTER THINGS AND YES, THEY WERE INVOLVED IN SINISTER THINGS.

IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY FOLLOW THAT THE ONE SINISTER THING THAT PEOPLE ARE MOST CONCERNED WITH, THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION WAS SOMETHING THEY WERE INVOLVED IN.

>> WHEN HE WAS ASSASSINATED, DID THAT AFFECT AT ALL HOW YOUç LOOKED AT POLITICS?

DID YOU THINK AT ALL, I DON'T KNOW IF I WANT TO BE IN THIS GAME?

>> NO.

AND I DON'T THINK VERY MANY PEOPLE SERVING IN PUBLIC LIFE LOOKED AT IT THAT WAY.

I THINK THIS WAS A SITUATION WHERE A SINGLE HUMAN OF COURSE, LEE HARVEY OSWALD, JUST HAD THIS FEELING ABOUT WANTING TO TAKE THE PRESIDENT'S LIFE.

AND I UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES THINK THAT WOULD HAVE ANYONE THINK THEY DON'T WANT TO CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED IF GOVERNMENT.

MAYBE QUITE THE OPPOSITE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S -- WHEN THEY HAD THESEç STANDARD BEARERS IN THE CIVIL WAR, THE STANDARD BEARER, THE FLAG BEARER WOULD BE SHOT DOWN, PEOPLE COULDN'T WAIT TO GRAB THE FLAG, TO PICK IT UP AND TO MARCH IT FORWARD AGAIN, AND I THINK THAT HAPPENED IN THE LIVES OF MANY PEOPLE AND I THINK WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A LOT OF THE OUTSTANDING LEGISLATION AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

PEOPLE WANTED TO PICK UP THE BANNER THAT JOHN KENNEDY WAS CARRYING.