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| JFK assassination: Dallas marks its darkest day with sober ceremony | JFK assassination: Dallas marks its darkest day with sober ceremony |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sleeked in drizzle and shivering in the cold, the city of Dallas marked one of the lowest moments in its collective memory yesterday when thousands gathered outside the Texas school book depository, from whose sixth floor 50 years earlier Lee Harvey Oswald fired the three shots that killed the 35th president of the United States, John F Kennedy. | Sleeked in drizzle and shivering in the cold, the city of Dallas marked one of the lowest moments in its collective memory yesterday when thousands gathered outside the Texas school book depository, from whose sixth floor 50 years earlier Lee Harvey Oswald fired the three shots that killed the 35th president of the United States, John F Kennedy. |
| Just after 12.30pm, the moment when Kennedy was struck as his motorcade passed through Deaely Plaza, a moment’s silence was observed as the nation remembered the youngest president ever elected to the office. | Just after 12.30pm, the moment when Kennedy was struck as his motorcade passed through Deaely Plaza, a moment’s silence was observed as the nation remembered the youngest president ever elected to the office. |
| Commemorations began shortly after sunrise when attorney general Eric Holder had paid his respects at Kennedy’s recently refurbished grave at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington. A British cavalry officer stood guard, bagpipes played and a flame burned steadily, as it has for the last half-century. | Commemorations began shortly after sunrise when attorney general Eric Holder had paid his respects at Kennedy’s recently refurbished grave at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington. A British cavalry officer stood guard, bagpipes played and a flame burned steadily, as it has for the last half-century. |
| About an hour later, Jean Kennedy Smith, 85, the last surviving Kennedy sibling, laid a wreath at her brother’s grave, joined by about 10 members of the Kennedy family. They clasped hands for a short, silent prayer and left roses as a few hundred onlookers watched. | About an hour later, Jean Kennedy Smith, 85, the last surviving Kennedy sibling, laid a wreath at her brother’s grave, joined by about 10 members of the Kennedy family. They clasped hands for a short, silent prayer and left roses as a few hundred onlookers watched. |
| In Dallas, about 5,000 people gathered under a bitterly cold drizzle for the understated ceremony in Dealey Plaza. In a nod to Kennedy’s military service, the US naval academy men’s glee club performed America the Beautiful. | |
| Access to Dealey Plaza was tightly controlled: distributed through a lottery, and Dallas police conducted background checks on the winners. | Access to Dealey Plaza was tightly controlled: distributed through a lottery, and Dallas police conducted background checks on the winners. |
| The mayor, Mike Rawlings, told the crowd that the US had been forced to “grow up” on the day Kennedy died. He called the murdered president an “idealist without illusions who helped build a more just and equal world”. | The mayor, Mike Rawlings, told the crowd that the US had been forced to “grow up” on the day Kennedy died. He called the murdered president an “idealist without illusions who helped build a more just and equal world”. |
| The stage for the memorial ceremony, just south of the depository building, was backed with a large banner showing Kennedy’s profile. A big screen played archive footage of Kennedy’s career and a giant image of him hung at the eastern end of the plaza. | The stage for the memorial ceremony, just south of the depository building, was backed with a large banner showing Kennedy’s profile. A big screen played archive footage of Kennedy’s career and a giant image of him hung at the eastern end of the plaza. |
| The US and Texas flags flew at half mast. | The US and Texas flags flew at half mast. |
| Onlookers began assembling for the event hours ahead of time. | Onlookers began assembling for the event hours ahead of time. |
| “President Kennedy has always been kind of revered in our family,” said Colleen Bonner, 41. “I just wanted to honour his memory, and I wanted to be a part of history.” | “President Kennedy has always been kind of revered in our family,” said Colleen Bonner, 41. “I just wanted to honour his memory, and I wanted to be a part of history.” |
| Mark Monse, 59, said he had come to the site of the assassination “just to see where it took place … I think this [ceremony is appropriate, far more so than the cottage industry that has developed with 500 books in 50 years and all the conspiracy theorists.” | Mark Monse, 59, said he had come to the site of the assassination “just to see where it took place … I think this [ceremony is appropriate, far more so than the cottage industry that has developed with 500 books in 50 years and all the conspiracy theorists.” |
| While Dallas has grown dramatically over the past 50 years, Dealey Plaza has changed little since the assassination; the three-way traffic junction is part historical relic, part morbid circus. | While Dallas has grown dramatically over the past 50 years, Dealey Plaza has changed little since the assassination; the three-way traffic junction is part historical relic, part morbid circus. |
| Only about 300 yards away from the stretch of grass at its centre stands the former Texas school book depository, from where Oswald took aim the president’s motorcade, according to the Warren Commission – though on any typical day, people hawking books, pamphlets and DVDs on the grassy knoll are keen to tell you otherwise. The Depository is now a museum dedicated to the assassination. | Only about 300 yards away from the stretch of grass at its centre stands the former Texas school book depository, from where Oswald took aim the president’s motorcade, according to the Warren Commission – though on any typical day, people hawking books, pamphlets and DVDs on the grassy knoll are keen to tell you otherwise. The Depository is now a museum dedicated to the assassination. |
| Unable to conduct their own ceremonies on the plaza, as they have done annually since the murder, groups of conspiracy theorists – they prefer to be called “assassination researchers” – held conferences at nearby hotels. One group of about 50 people marched through through the crowd on Main Street chanting “no more lies”. They fell silent as they joined the larger crowd watching the screen showing the event. | Unable to conduct their own ceremonies on the plaza, as they have done annually since the murder, groups of conspiracy theorists – they prefer to be called “assassination researchers” – held conferences at nearby hotels. One group of about 50 people marched through through the crowd on Main Street chanting “no more lies”. They fell silent as they joined the larger crowd watching the screen showing the event. |
| But despite fears of possible disruption, the event passed off without interruption, with the weather proving the biggest challenge. | But despite fears of possible disruption, the event passed off without interruption, with the weather proving the biggest challenge. |
| A planned military flyover and a performance by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra were cancelled because of the wet, near-freezing weather – far different from the bright sunshine of the day Kennedy died. | A planned military flyover and a performance by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra were cancelled because of the wet, near-freezing weather – far different from the bright sunshine of the day Kennedy died. |
| But thousands of people still congregated on the plaza, many arriving hours before the half-hour long ceremony, which featured prayers, speeches and a moment of silence. | But thousands of people still congregated on the plaza, many arriving hours before the half-hour long ceremony, which featured prayers, speeches and a moment of silence. |
| Howard Stiller, 64, had come from Georgia. “I’d never been to Dallas or Dealey Plaza and wanted to be here today,” he said. | Howard Stiller, 64, had come from Georgia. “I’d never been to Dallas or Dealey Plaza and wanted to be here today,” he said. |
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