Has It Really Been 50 Years?

   A warning that some of the images and descriptions in this post are extremely graphic.

   It was 50 years ago to the day, Friday November 22, 1963, the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated as he rode in an open topped car through downtown Dallas, Texas. In 6 short seconds, shots rang out in Dealy Plaza at 12:30 p.m local time, and Kennedy was confirmed dead about half an hour later at Parkland Hospital.
   He was the first President elected in the 20th century to have been born in the same century, in 1917. He was also the first, and so far only, Roman Catholic elected to the post.
   I remember that day well. I was a 7 year old boy in grade 2 at Brentwood Elementary School in Calgary, and had just got home for lunch that noon hour. I remember it was snowing that day, but not very hard. The assassination's immediate impact on me was the news breaking into my favourite kiddie program at the time, Colonel Lunar. Mom came running into the living room, and sat there stunned as the events unfolded.
   According to the Warren Commission report, Kennedy was gunned down by this man, who they said acted alone:

   Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939, spent time with the Marines and even moved to Russia, where he met and married his wife, Marina.

   The most famous, or infamous, film of the killing was taken by a dressmaker, Abraham Zapruder, and documents the last few seconds of Kennedy's life.
   This may well be the last image of the President alive:

   Frame 312 of the 8mm home movie he captured. In the very next frame, 313, Kennedy is hit in the head:

   That was just the beginning of what turned out to be a hectic weekend. Not only was Kennedy killed, but his alleged murderer, Oswald, was also gunned down as he was being transfered between jails:

   Jack Ruby was arrested and convicted in Oswald's killing, which happened on live TV. Ruby died in jail of lung cancer in 1967.

   Flash forward 30 years to August 1993 in Sudbury, Ontario. I had the opportunity to not only attend, but have media accreditation to a symposium on the assassination. One of the speakers was Bev Oliver, who was standing opposite from Zapruder, and also filmed the killing. But she was approached by people claiming to be law enforcement who took her camera and film.
   But even so, she described in grisly detail what she saw. She said at the moment of impact, the back of Kennedy's head literally exploded, spraying blood and brain tissue from the back of his skull, which is an important point. The Warren commission claimed Kennedy was shot from behind, not the front. Oliver's testimony would refute that.
   I also had the opportunity to ask 2 questions of Oswald's widow, Marina Porter, but for the life of me I cannot remember what I asked.
   Now, 50 years later, a lot of questions remain unanswered. Did Oswald act alone? Did he even fire any shots that day? What direction did those shots come from? An analysis of Kennedy's brain would solve that quickly, but his brain was removed from the National Archives, and has not been found. The only other way to prove the trajectory would be exhume Kennedy's body for examination. But that's not going to happen either.
   Quite a bit of information has been released, but a lot more remains classified and will remain that way for at least 25 years.
   Was there a conspiracy? Very likely there was, as a report done in 1978 on the assassination suggested there was more than one shooter.
   Will the case ever be solved? That's the question I can't answer, but if it is, it won't be in my lifetime.
   And as hard as it is to believe, it did happen 50 years ago today.

TTFN