LBJ SUFFERS MASSIVE HEART ATTACK
Stonewall, Texas (JFK+50) On January 22, 1973, Lyndon B. Johnson*, 36th President of the United States, passed away at the LBJ Ranch here in Stonewall**.
The former president had been in ill health since he suffered a massive heart attack in April 1972. He took nitroglycerin tablets and used an oxygen tank beside his bed. Two of his coronary arteries were "useless" but he was too great a risk for surgery.
LBJ was in his bedroom at the time of the last heart attack and was pronounced dead at 4:33 p.m. (CST). In his last days, Mr. Johnson was said to be "tormented" by the failure of the Vietnam War***.
When Lady Bird Johnson heard the bad news, she called aide Tom Johnson and said..."Tom, this time we didn't make it. Lyndon's dead!"
*Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) was born in Stonewall, TX & earned his B.A. at Texas State University. LBJ served in the Navy during WWII & was one of only 4 people to serve as President, Vice-President, U.S. Representative & Senate Majority Leader.
**Stonewall, Texas is located in Gillespie County & was named for Confederate general Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson by Israel P. Nunez who established a stage station near the site in 1870.
***Michael Beschloss writes..."Feeling like an unappreciated outcast, (LBJ) often depressed, repeatedly listened to Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.
SOURCES
"LBJ Agonized Over His Legacy," by Michael Beschloss, www.pbs.org, December 4, 2012.
"The Last Days of the President," by Leo Janos, The Atlantic, July 1973.
www.theatlantic.com/
