Forty-seven years ago today

[Flyvåpnet]

[Note:  I was all of 19 years old when President Kennedy was killed.  That awful event affected me greatly even as its memories continue affecting me, so I suppose it's to be expected I'd post something like this.  Plus, I used to be a newspaper photographer (back in the 1970s) and journalistic photography still interests me.]

Friday, 22 November 1963

Conference room aboard Air Force One at Love Field, Dallas, Texas

Whenever I see Cecil Stoughton's photographs made on board the Boeing C-137 Stratoliner (aircraft designation:  Special Air Mission 26000) that day, the entire sad scenario of President Kennedy's death comes to the forefront of my consciousness.  I'm sorry to post such gloomy images, but today is an anniversary of That Day and I recently saw photographer Stoughton on a re-run of the Public Broadcasting Service television program Antiques Roadshow.  I'd never seen him before; and now he's gone, as are nearly all the people in the historic photographs he'd made those many years ago.

Please click on the image to view its full size.

Description:  L-R: Mac Kilduff, Judge Sarah T. Hughes, Jack Valenti, Congressman Albert Thomas, Marie Fehmer (behind Thomas), Lady Bird Johnson, Chief Jessie Curry, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Evelyn Lincoln (eyeglasses only visible above LBJ's shoulder), Congressman Homer Thornberry (in shadow, partially obscured by LBJ), Roy Kellerman (partially obscured by Thornberry), Lem Johns (partially obscured by Mrs. Kennedy), Jacqueline Kennedy, Pamela Tunure (behind Brooks), Congressman Jack Brooks, Bill Moyers (mostly obscured by Brooks).  Photograph:  Cecil W. Stoughton.

Click here to audition President Johnson taking the oath of office as administered by Sarah T. Hughes, U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Texas.  That brief recording was made by Assistant White House Press Secretary Malcolm "Mac" Kilduff with a Dictabelt Dictaphone and is the only audio record of the event.  You can see him holding the microphone in front of Judge Hughes in the photograph above.

Please click on the image to view its full size.

Description:  L-R: Judge Sarah T.Hughes, Jack Valenti, Congressman Albert Thomas (behind Mrs. Johnson), Lady Bird Johnson, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lem Johns, Congressman Jack Brooks, Bill Moyers (in the back), Dr. Burkley.  Photograph:  Cecil W. Stoughton.

Please click on the image to view its full size.

Description:  L-R: Jack Valenti, Jacqueline Kennedy, Congressman Albert Thomas (moving to hug Jacqueline Kennedy), Chief Jessie Curry (wearing eyeglasses), Lady Bird Johnson, Mary Gallagher (behind Mrs. Johnson), Evelyn Lincoln (behind LBJ), President Lyndon B. Johnson, Pamela Tunure (in back), Congressman Jack Brooks, Bill Moyers (behind Brooks), Cliff Carter.  Photograph:  Cecil W. Stoughton.

You may rightly wonder why the photographs are black and white rather than color.  Cecil Stoughton had color film in his camera, but changed it out for black-and-white film when he arrived on the scene.  That's because he knew the photographs would immediately have to be sent as halftone images via telephotography a.k.a. wirephoto - specifically Associated Press Wirephoto - which in those days was confined to black-and-white photography.

Please click on the image to view its full size.

Cecil W. Stoughton (1920-2008), personal photographer to President Kennedy, aboard Gearing-class destroyer U.S.S Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850), September 1962.  Photograph:  Chief Photographer's Mate Robert Knudsen, U.S. Navy.

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The camera:  Model 500C by Victor Hasselblad Aktiebolag, Gothenburg, Sweden.  Hasselblad cameras produce a square negative, but the photographs of President Johnson's first inauguration (seen above) were cropped by photographer Stoughton to avoid showing the blood on Mrs. Kennedy's clothing.

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[Shuji]

Oh wow I didn't know you used to be a photographer fly.

Everyone needs to remember this tragic event.  Thanks for sharing.

[Flyvåpnet]

Thank you, Shuji, for your reply!  I knew that post of mine would scare away most of our board's members due to its length, so I doubly appreciate your interest - and patience.



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[CapeBarnes]

It wasn't the length that discouraged me from posting a reply. I just didn't remember the exact date, nor could I come up with anything relevant to contribute (happens to me all the time).
I guess we can all agree on the importance of history, right?

[Flyvåpnet]

No worries, CapeBarnes!  There are squillions of threads on this board I've never replied to, for that very same reason of not having anything relevant to post.



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