What really happened on November 22, 1963?
This is a question our member, John Muto, has puzzled over and researched for many years. He has been in good company, as there have been more than 2000 books written , dozens of television programs and many movies filmed, all filled with theory, conjecture and myth as to why President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in broad daylight on Elm Street in Dallas, Texas nearly 53 years ago.
Thirteen year-old John Muto was on his way with a friend to music class when he heard the news and was greatly flummoxed by it. When he arrived at his class, the music teacher turned on the radio and they just sat and listened. When he was in his 20’s he picked up a copy of Skeptic Magazine, a science education and science advocacy magazine published internationally by The Skeptics Society. The issue he picked up featured an article on the Kennedy assassination and the surrounding conspiracy theories of the day. This article piqued his interest and prompted him to do more research - research and study that continued for many years to come.John led us through a detailed power point presentation discussing much of the tremendous amount of controversy surrounding this tragedy. First, why was Kennedy in Dallas? He was preparing for the next presidential campaign and was aware of a developing feud among party leaders; his aim was to bring the Democratic Party together. He was eager to get out among the people and even though he knew that a relatively small but vocal group of extremists would probably make their presence known, he decided to go against the advice of the Secret Service to use the bubble top on the car and ordered it removed.
Crowds of excited people lined the streets as Kennedy’s motorcade traveled from Love Field along a ten-mile route that wound through downtown Dallas. The car turned off Main Street at Dealey Plaza around 12:30 p.m. As it was passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire sounded in the plaza. Bullets struck the president’s neck and head. The car sped to Parkland Memorial Hospital and the president was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m.
The nation and much of the world stopped! John recounted the gripping chain of events that followed – the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, the fatal shooting of Patrolman J.D. Tippit on a Dallas street, the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby as Oswald was being transferred to the county jail, the swearing in of Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson on Airforce One as the President of the United States, with Jackie Kennedy standing by his side still wearing her blood-stained pink suit, then, the funeral three days later, November 25th, 1963.
As some of the shock and horror passed, the conspiracy theorists surfaced and began raising questions. John detailed some of his and their questions for us: the actions of the FBI, the Secret Service, the manner of the investigations, the Umbrella Man, the Babushka Lady, the unidentified couple in Dealey Plaza, The Three Tramps, the past life, activities and relationships of Oswald and Ruby. Was Cuba, Russia, the Teamsters, the Mafia, or Big Oil involved? Was there more than one gunman? Did the film taken by Abraham Zapruder capture the entire assassination?
These questions, and many more, have all been answered officially one way or another, but the official answers are not satisfactory to all and will always remain unanswered in the minds of many. John shared his conclusion with us that after all the time and thought he spent on studying and researching this event, he became convinced it was Lee Harvey Oswald who assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
On the 49th Anniversary of the assassination, John Muto was in Dallas and crashed the 49th Conspiracy Conference where he and his friend were warmly received. As well, he visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. He reports that he had a very eerie feeling as he stood close to the sixth floor window where Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marine trained marksman, sat and waited for the president’s motorcade to come into view and then looked through the sights of his Carcano Model 91/38 Carbine rifle and shot the much beloved 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy and Camelot died.