| − | The '''Kennedy Assassination''' occurred on November 22, 1963 in downtown Dallas, Texas when, on a speaking trip to a trade center, President [[John F. Kennedy]] was fatally hit by gunfire from the sixth floor window of a nearby building. The accused assassin - [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] - would himself be shot dead just days later, leading to a series of conspiracy theories involving the [[Mafia]], [[Fidel Castro]], or the [[Soviet Union]] as prime suspects despite evidence pointing to Oswald acting alone. | + | The '''Kennedy Assassination''' occurred on November 22, 1963, in downtown Dallas, Texas when, on a speaking trip to a trade center, President [[John F. Kennedy]] was fatally hit by gunfire from the sixth floor window of a nearby building. The accused assassin - [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] - would himself be shot dead just days later, leading to a series of conspiracy theories involving the [[Mafia]], [[Fidel Castro]], or the [[Soviet Union]] as prime suspects despite evidence pointing to Oswald acting alone. |
| | Lyndon Johnson, as well as the Secret Service, were concerned about security as thoughts of a conspiracy began to circulate; the Secret Service wanted Johnson to leave for the safety of Air Force One, which he did, with the body of the slain president and Mrs. Kennedy joining him less than an hour later. Still, the plane did not take off for Washington until a Texas judge had been brought aboard to do a proper swearing-in of the new president. | | Lyndon Johnson, as well as the Secret Service, were concerned about security as thoughts of a conspiracy began to circulate; the Secret Service wanted Johnson to leave for the safety of Air Force One, which he did, with the body of the slain president and Mrs. Kennedy joining him less than an hour later. Still, the plane did not take off for Washington until a Texas judge had been brought aboard to do a proper swearing-in of the new president. |
| − | Lee Harvey Oswald was born October 18, 1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His childhood included a bad stepfather, constant moving, and poor grades in the schools he was in when not being truant. He came across a pamphlet about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the spies who sold atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, and soon became enamored in [[communism]]. He served in the [[Marine Corps]] from 1956 until 1960, earning "sharpshooter" proficiency with the M-1 rifle, and a court-martial for instigating a fight. Much of his free time was spent reading about Marxism, communism, the revolutionaries who were involved with it, and the Russian language. Nine days after he left the Marines on a hardship discharge, he was in Helsinki, Finland, about the cross into the Soviet Union and renounce his American citizenship. | + | Lee Harvey Oswald was born October 18, 1939, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His childhood included a bad stepfather, constant moving, and poor grades in the schools he was in when not being truant. He came across a pamphlet about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the spies who sold atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, and soon became enamored in [[communism]]. He served in the [[Marine Corps]] from 1956 until 1960, earning "sharpshooter" proficiency with the M-1 rifle, and a court-martial for instigating a fight. Much of his free time was spent reading about Marxism, communism, the revolutionaries who were involved with it, and the Russian language. Nine days after he left the Marines on a hardship discharge, he was in Helsinki, Finland, about the cross into the Soviet Union and renounce his American citizenship. |