HAPPY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) We would like to wish everyone in the United States & all Americans throughout the world, a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.
While Thanksgiving is celebrated in the U.S. on the 4th Thursday of November, it is celebrated in Canada on the 2nd Monday in October.
The American Thanksgiving holiday is traced back to the 1621 celebration held at Plimoth Plantation.
"The First Thanksgiving"
by Jennie A. Brownscombe (1914)
November 23, 1961
SOVIET BORDER GUARDS STOP US TRAIN IN BERLIN
West Berlin, Germany (JFK+50) Last night a train carrying 74 U.S. troops & their families was stopped & detained by Soviet border guards here in Berlin.
The Soviets were not permitted to board the train despite claims that there was an East German "stowaway" on board.
After a brief standoff, an East German citizen was turned over to the Soviets & the train was allowed to pass.*
*JFK was briefed on this development while celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday in Hyannisport.
West Berlin
Truman Library Photo (1952)
November 23, 1963
JFK'S BODY LIES IN STATE AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington, D.C.(JFK+50) After undergoing autopsy at the United States Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, the body of President John F. Kennedy arrived at the White House at 4:30 a.m. Washington time.
A military honor guard removed the flag draped coffin from the Navy ambulance & placed it in the East Room.
Mrs. Kennedy, still wearing the pink suit stained with her husband's blood, followed the procession.
JFK's Casket in the Entrance Hall
White House
Washington, D.C.
November 23, 1963
A private funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. & members of Congress, the Supreme Court & other government officials may pay their respects afterward.
The new President, Lyndon B. Johnson, issued a proclamation making the day of JFK's funeral, November 25, 1963, a national day of mourning.
In issuing the proclamation, LBJ said:
"I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this day of mourning & rededication."
November 23, 1963
WORLD MOURNS THE LOSS OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Millions of people around the world, including Pope Paul VI, are mourning the death of President John F. Kennedy today.
Here in Washington, hundreds of people have gathered outside the gates of the White House.
In Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev paid a personal visit to honor President Kennedy at the American embassy.
In a telegram to President Johnson, Khrushchev said:
"John F. Kennedy's death is a serious blow to all people who cherish the cause of peace & Soviet-American cooperation."
In London, Sir Winston Churchill issued a statement that said JFK's assassination has "taken from us a great statesman & a wise & valiant man."
November 24, 1963
OSWALD SHOT BY DALLAS NIGHTCLUB OWNER
Dallas, Texas (JFK+50) The lone suspect in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, was shot today by a Dallas nightclub owner as he was being transferred to the Dallas County Jail.
Lee Harvey Oswald (1959)
The shooting took place this morning as Oswald was being led out into the garage area of the basement of Dallas City Hall & Police Headquarters.
A stocky man in a suit & hat suddenly appeared from a line of reporters & fired a shot into Oswald's abdomen at close range.
The man who did the shooting, Jack Rubenstein, was immediately disarmed, wrested to the ground & taken into custody.
Oswald was rushed to Parkland Hospital, where President Kennedy died on Friday afternoon, for emergency surgery.
Oswald, who had a massive wound, was pronounced dead at 1:07 p.m. Dallas time.
Rubenstein, who goes by the name of Jack Ruby, owns the Carousel Club here in the city. Mr. Ruby's motive is not known.
The shooting was being televised live nationally at the same time President Kennedy's body was being taken from the White House to the Capitol.
