After Jackie Read online

  CHAPTER 1

  Dallas

  On the night of November 20, 1963, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy ended her self-imposed exile and re-entered the world of Washington, D.C. Her husband, the 35th President of the United States of America, was hosting a White House reception for the Judiciary including Chief Justice Earl Warren and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. The seven hundred invited guests, many of whom had never before visited the Executive Mansion, were overwhelmed to see and be greeted by the First Lady.

  Elegantly dressed in a red velvet suit with a pink blouse, Jackie greeted her guests. This was her first public appearance since June 30th when she had retreated from the public eye during the late stages of her pregnancy. But as the world knew all too well, baby Patrick Bouvier Kennedy had lost his battle with death on August 7, 1963, after just two days of precious life.

  In the three months since that tragedy, Jackie had secluded herself to regain and rebuild both her physical and emotional health. But now, at last, she felt that she was ready to resume her role as the nation's First Lady. She would tonight once again play the role of hostess for her husband. Her husband needed her. Patrick's death had been as hard for Jack as it was for Jackie but his duties and obligations as President had not allowed him the time or room to grieve. He had to be strong for both her and for the country. Jackie knew it was time for her to return, time to share her portion of Jack's tremendous burden once again.

  Earlier that evening Jackie had hosted a more intimate private party in the family quarters prior to the larger reception downstairs. Robert and Ethel Kennedy joined the First Family as they toasted the Supreme Court Justices and their wives. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was not present. He had not been invited.

  Later as Jackie moved downstairs to the main reception, a spontaneous and prolonged round of applause greeted her as the assembled guests marveled at the courage of the young First Lady. They understood, as all of America did, that in the past few years her life had been at once both blessed and tragic. No one was surprised when, after only half an hour, she excused herself and retired to the family section of the mansion. They were only impressed and relieved that she had begun the process of leaving the painful past behind and returning to the important issues of the present.

  •

  Jack had stepped back and let Jackie enjoy the spotlight. When she left the reception he took over, throwing himself into the crowd with his usual vigor – chatting up the Justices, Cabinet Officers, Members of Congress and the hundreds of other dignitaries who made up the guest list. The burning issue of civil rights was on everyone's mind. It was after all just a few months after the triumphant March on Washington where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had electrified the nation with his "I Have a Dream" speech in which he expressed his hopes for an America in which the color of a person's skin might one day be irrelevant. Like millions of other Americans, President Kennedy had been moved by Dr. King's words. But with the 1964 election less than one year away he also had to find a way not to alienate Southern whites who had always voted solidly Democratic and were, the President believed, essential to his plans for winning a second term.

  There was also a growing crisis in Indochina, or Vietnam as it was becoming popularly known. The Communists under Ho Chi Minh in the North were gaining power as the new government of Nguyen Van Thieu in the South was growing more and more reliant on American military "advisors" who were being sent there in ever increasing numbers. Kennedy was determined that this Indochinese civil war would never become a second Korea. He knew that American involvement there could only turn out badly.

  And then there was Fidel Castro, the single greatest thorn in the President's side. This Communist Dictator of Cuba who from his perch just 90 miles from the coast of Florida grew ever more menacing. It was Castro who had handed Kennedy his first and worst humiliation as President - the Bay of Pigs disaster in April 1961. This under thought and undermanned enterprise occurred only three months after JFK's inauguration. Kennedy had prevailed in their next much more serious encounter, getting the Soviets to remove their missiles from Cuba in October, 1962 as the world teetered on the brink of nuclear annihilation. But the enmity and tension between Kennedy and Castro continued to grow more and more intense. It was just a matter of time before the next confrontation. What would happen then was anyone's guess.

  •

  The next morning November 21, 1963 the President and Mrs. Kennedy left the White House for a campaign visit to Texas. They walked hand in hand across the lawn to the helicopter waiting to transport them to Air Force One. Jack held his daughter Caroline's hand, Jackie her son John Jr.'s. Caroline, just a week shy of her sixth birthday, stood on her toes to kiss her father good-bye. Jackie leaned over to kiss Caroline and then picked up two year old John Jr. and held him up so Jack could say his goodbyes. The first couple then walked up the stairs to the helicopter waving to their children just as they had done so many times before. The President's favorite rocking chair was already on its way to Texas. So was his bulletproof Lincoln limousine.

  •

  Air Force One touched down in San Antonio Texas at 11:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. The President and First Lady disembarked and along with Texas Governor John Connally and his wife Ellie climbed into the Presidential limousine. Because the weather was so fair the President ordered the removal of the car's protective glass bubble top so they could ride in the open air. The limousine sped from San Antonio International Airport to the Aero Space Medical Health Center at Brooks Air Force Base where JFK delivered a luncheon speech -it was, after all, never too soon to start campaigning for the 1964 election and Texas was rich in electoral votes. Sitting beside him on the dais and wearing a white boucle dress with a black tied belt and black hat, Jackie looked beautiful as usual - the perfect First Lady and a great asset, especially in Texas.

  From San Antonio, the Kennedys and the Connallys flew to Houston for a dinner honoring Democratic Congressman Albert Thomas. On the way though, they took a surprise detour stopping at a dinner dance at the League of United Latin American Citizens. To the delight of the crowd, the First Lady who had changed into a black cut velvet dress and her signature three strands of pearls addressed the gathering in Spanish, "The Latin American tradition in Texas began a hundred years before my husband's state Massachusetts was settled but it is a tradition that is today alive and vigorous." As she had done so many times before, Jacqueline Kennedy wowed the crowd and inspired cheers of love and support without even seeming to make much of an effort.

  After the Thomas dinner, the first couple flew to Fort Worth to spend the night at the Texas Hotel. As they prepared for sleep in the Presidential Suite, Jack sat in his rocking chair and smoked a cigar. He and Jackie discussed the next evening's plans. The President was not thrilled.

  "You know," he told Jackie, "after that fund-raiser in Austin tomorrow night we're going to have to go to Lyndon's ranch."

  "Well, " Jackie said trying to put a positive spin on things, "I've never been there."

  "Hell, I've only been there once!" Jack said. They shared a laugh. Then, for what seemed like the millionth time he told her: "I wish to God I could figure out some way to dump Lyndon from the ticket next year.

  "I know Jack. But you need him. You've told me so yourself."

  "You're right and with my poll numbers, especially in the South, I can't afford to take a chance on losing Texas."

  At that moment the telephone rang in the Presidential Suite. It was the White House calling to let Jack and Jackie say good night to their children. After a short conversation, Jack handed the phone to Jackie who became quite emotional and fought hard to keep her children from hearing the tears in her voice. She missed them terribly -they had always been such an important
part of her life but since they'd lost Patrick she had grown even more attached to them if such a thing was possible.

  After hanging up the phone, Jackie sat in front of the mirror and brushed her hair. Now, no longer having to worry about upsetting the children, she let the tears flow.

  "What's wrong, honey?" Jack asked.

  "I was just thinking," Jackie replied sadly.

  “About Patrick?”

  "How did you know?"

  "I know because I think about him a lot, too," he said, rising from his rocker. He walked across the room and placed his hands on her shoulders. Instinctively, Jackie stood up and turned to face him. He drew her close to him. "You know Jackie," he whispered into her ear. "This might be a good time to try again." Looking into his eyes, Jackie nodded. They leaned in to each other for a long kiss. The first couple rose and hand in hand walked over to the king size bed.

  *

  They awoke in each other's arms, the morning light streaming in through the curtains. Jackie felt worlds better than she had the night before. The prospect of having another child comforted her and the bright, sun-filled morning reminded her of all the good things life had to offer. As she and Jack dressed they kidded around laughing and joking about what it would be like at the Vice President's ranch. The President hurriedly put on a dark gray suit. striped shirt and blue patterned tie. The First Lady dressing as always with more care than her husband, slipped on a tailored pink suit with a contrasting navy blue blouse. As the crowning touch she donned a matching pink pillbox hat, the kind which she had already made a fashion must for millions of women around the world!

  Leaving the Texas Hotel, the President and First Lady climbed into their special limousine and were driven to an early morning prayer breakfast at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Both Vice President Johnson and Governor Connally were already there. As the crowd bowed their heads in prayer, Jackie closed her eyes and asked the Lord to bless her with a healthy child.

  After breakfast, the entire entourage drove over to the airport and climbed aboard Air Force One for the short trip to Dallas. Disembarking, the President was greeted in front of his recently transported armored limousine by several Secret Service agents.

  "Mr. President," Agent Roy Kellerman said gravely, "we have to remind you that the FBI still believes that Texas is a hotbed of activity for right-wing organizations especially Dallas."

  "So I've heard," Jack replied. "But why are you telling me now? Have there been threats?"

  "No, but all the same there's always the possibility of a martyr coming forward. I am recommending that you skip the motorcade through the city."

  "I appreciate that," JFK replied, "but the election is less than a year away and I need as much visibility as possible."

  "It's your decision, sir. But will you at least keep the bubble top on the limo today?"

  The President thought for a second. "No," he said. "I think that might be even worse than not going at all. The people will think I'm being, er, standoff-ish. Or worse afraid. No, we're leaving the top off. "

  Then Secret Service agent William Greer added a protest of his own, but the President stood firm. He and the First Lady climbed into the car and the motorcade proceeded to leave Dallas' Love Field just before noon. Jack and Jackie sat in the back seat behind Governor and Mrs. Connally, to allow people in the crowd an even better chance to see them. They waved and smiled at the admiring throngs of people who lined the streets of Dallas just to see them.

  The Lincoln without its bubble top slowly made its way through the streets of downtown Dallas. As the limousine turned into Dealy Plaza, a shot rang out! Then another! A third! And a fourth! As the President and First Lady's bodies lurched forward, Secret Service agents fell on them instantly shielding them with their own bodies. Agent Kellerman shouted, "We're hit! Let's get the hell out of here! Get us to a goddamned hospital now!" Driven by agent Greer, the limousine picked up speed and rushed to Parkland Hospital. An electric charge of panic spread through the crowd. Rumors started spreading that the President and the First Lady as well as Governor and Mrs. Connally had been shot and killed. As the Lincoln reached Parkland, the President and First Lady were placed on gurneys and rushed into the emergency room only fueling the panic and rumors.

  The life and death of a President is always news. The events in Dallas were being covered by newspaper and television reporters and were beamed across the country and around the world as they were happening. On millions of television screens and radios throughout the country, bulletins were being flashed that shots had been fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas and that the President and First Lady were believed to be on operating tables at that very moment. Vice President Johnson and his wife Lady Bird had rushed to the hospital. So had the President's brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy and his wife Ethel who had arrived in Dallas the day before.

  *

  In the hospital waiting room, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was visibly shaken. Bobby Kennedy, on the other hand, just seemed outraged pacing back and forth frantically. Every few minutes Johnson tried to express his concern and sympathy only to meet an angry glare from the Attorney General. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, a cardiovascular surgeon walked through the door from the operating theater into the waiting room. He looked at the four visitors and lowered his head, a grave expression on his ashen face. Bobby stepped forward to meet him. "How bad is it?" he demanded.

  "One of the bullets passed through the back and into the chest coming out the other side. The damage was massive. There was...there was nothing we could do."

  "Are you telling me the President is dead?" Robert Kennedy shouted!

  The surgeon looked up, seemingly confused. "No, the President was just wounded in the leg, a flesh wound. He'll be fine. But the First Lady.....I'm sorry. I am so very sorry. "

  CHAPTER 2

  Good-bye

  Through the pandemonium that filled the streets of downtown Dallas in the wake of the shootings, eyewitnesses spotted a slight man leaving the red brick building known as the Texas School Book Depository. A description of the man went out over police radios and immediately spread through the city. Nearby a patrolman named J.D. Tippett, thought he spotted a man who fit the profile and approached him. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Tippett barely had time to open his mouth and ask the question when the man raised a revolver and shot him three times. Officer Tippett fell to the ground, dead. His murderer fled the scene ducking into the nearby Texas Theater where the movie "War is Hell" was being screened. Suspicious, the theater's manager called the police quickly surrounding the movie house and moved in to arrest the man.

  "I'm innocent! I've done nothing wrong! You have the wrong man!" he screamed out as he was being dragged away. He would say nothing else during the ride to the police station nor did he answer any other questions once he arrived there. Except to tell the police that his name was Lee Harvey Oswald.

  *

  At the hospital, Robert Kennedy, still impatiently waiting to see his brother was informed of the arrest of the suspected assassin. Bobby summoned the doctor and insisted on seeing Jack immediately.

  "I've waited long enough. I'm going in to see my brother."

  "The President is still too weak," the physician protested. "He doesn't even know that Mrs. Kennedy has passed away."

  The Attorney General brusquely pushed past the doctors and, trailed by two Secret Service agents, made his way to JFK's room. Robert Kennedy paused outside the door, drew a few breaths and made his way inside.

  To his surprise his brother was sitting up in bed alert and chatting with a Secret

  Service agent. Seeing his brother come through the door and more importantly seeing the look on Bobby's face, the President stiffened. "She's gone, isn't she?" he asked, softly.

  Robert Kennedy lowered his eyes for an instant, "Yes, Jack, she is."

  The President let out a sigh. "Thought as much. No one would tell me anything."

  "I am so sorry,
Jack."

  "Do they know who did this?"

  "The police have someone in custody. A man named Lee Oswald."

  "Oswald? Who is he?"

  "They don't know. They think he might be a Communist. Maybe he works for

  Krushchev."

  "Or maybe The Beard."

  "The Cubans?" Bobby pondered.

  "I don't know, " Jack said. "But I'm sure as hell going to find out. I want you to call the police right now and tell them that we are taking over. I want nothing to happen to this man. Do you understand? Nothing must happen to this man! If he so much as sneezes, I'm going to have someone's head. We're handing this over to the FBI. I'll send in the Marines if I have to. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

  "Sure Jack. Consider it done."

  "Good. Now let's get out of here."

  "I don't know....."

  What?! They told me it was just a flesh wound. Now get me a cane or something and let's go. I won't stay here any longer. I can't......" The President of the United

  States stopped and tilted his eyes downward. Bobby thought he saw a tear in his brother's eye.

  A few minutes later, leaning on a cane with one hand and his brother's shoulder with the other, President Kennedy walked out of his hospital room. As he passed through the waiting room, Jack paused to hug his sister·in·law, Ethel, who was sobbing. But when an obviously shaken Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson tried to extend their sympathies, the President merely ignored them and continued hobbling toward the exit.

  Even before he reached the door JFK was surrounded by a phalanx of Secret Service agents who hustled him into a waiting bulletproof van. As it pulled out onto the street it was followed by a hearse carrying the First Lady's remains. Together they formed the heart of a motorcade that sped to Love Field where his plane was ready, fueled and waiting to leave this horrible place. As President John F. Kennedy was seated on Air Force One, the white coffin carrying his wife Jackie's lifeless body was lifted into the airplane's cargo area where the limousine was normally stored.