Blockhead's Reflection: The 50th Anniversary in Dealey Plaza

It would be so easy to regurgitate Blockhead's opinion about what 'really happened' in Dealey Plaza 54 years ago today...

It would be interesting to 'stir the hornet's nest' and get all the conspiracy theorists and critical historians wound tighter than a snare drum...

Instead, I would rather honor the memory of my favorite American president in U.S. history.

**Disclaimer: I didn't say 'greatest' president. I said 'favorite' president. That's a discussion for another day.**

If you have a moment, grab yourself cup of coffee (preferably Koa Coffee that you can purchase through the link below) or  your favorite glass of “holiday cheer”, and read along as I share my thoughts and walk you through the entire 50th Anniversary Commemoration event I attended in 2013. You, the reader, can visualize the event through the eyes of a curious Navy veteran/  U.S. history student…

"Early in the morning on Nov. 22nd, 2013, I made my way to the reserved parking lot for all attendees of this event, which was the Audi parking lot next to the American Airlines Center. Dealey Plaza could only hold 5,000 bodies total for this event in order to preserve room for the participants consisting of the Mayor of Dallas, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough, the Navy Glee Club, Color Guard, the jumbo-tron, permitted photographers, media personnel, etc. You had to park in the garage at an allotted time to ease traffic, and then pick up your wristband that allowed you into Dealey Plaza. 

Once my barcode scanned, I boarded  one of the courtesy shuttles provided to get guests into downtown Dallas. It seemed like not two minutes into the ride that we were dropped off on the other side of the Sixth Floor of the Texas School Book Depository, the “sniper’s nest” where Oswald perched in silence, waiting for Jack to arrive on Elm Street. 

‘Rain or shine’ was the harsh reality we all felt in a matter of seconds. The grey sky released her tears in spurts all through the morning, chilling all attendees to the bone. Constantly, other security came through the crowds, asking to see our wristbands. As we finally ‘snaked’ our way to the hill on the other side of Elm, the jumbo-tron grabbed my attention. 

It was not depicting JFK’s impact on America but of speeches that he delivered on his European tour in ’63 before his death. His speech in Berlin was uninterruptedly revealed from start to finish. A wave of pride momentarily allowed me to ignore and withstand the chill in the air. 

As the event began, constant reiterations and phrases of President Kennedy abounded. Although somewhat unoriginal, every speech by all participants would speak Kennedy’s words verbatim out of utmost respect. 

As the Mayor of Dallas concluded his speech, a plaque revealing the words Kennedy intended to say at the Trade Mart on the afternoon of his death was exposed and placed on the hill in Dealey Plaza. Despite the fact that these words never departed from the lips of the infamous young President, they are still as applicable today as they were fifty years ago.

"We, in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than by choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of “peace on earth, good will toward men.” That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: “except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.”

For at least an hour, the impression of the New Frontier was alive and well once again in Dallas that day. I am also positive that the overwhelming security measures and precautions were set in place that day to assure that no one would dare try to replicate the same act on the 50^th anniversary, which is always a possibility, and would have to be constructed by a wicked ‘disease-ridden enemy hiding in the shadows of our homeland’. 

This tragedy left a scar on Dallas, Texas, that most U.S. citizens with a mere shred of patriotism can feel in their blood when they visit Dealey Plaza. This event was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the commemoration that would, finally, allow some healing to Dallas’s wounds and preserve the memory of John F. Kennedy"

- YFB, revised 11/22/2017

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