11/21/2012

Dallas to mark 50th anniversary of JFK's killing

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By Ken Kalthoff, NBCDFW.com

Dallas is planning a major public memorial ceremony in 2013 to mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination at Dealey Plaza, it was announced Tuesday.

"The tone is very important," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said. "We want to mark this day by remembering a great president with a sense of dignity and honor he deserves. The 50th will be a serious, respectful and understated public memorial."

Rawlings said public donations are being taken to cover the cost and no tax money will be used for the event, which will take place on Nov. 22, 2013.

Tickets will be issued for the Dealey Plaza event because organizers expect more people will want to attend than the plaza can safely hold.

Secret tapes of JFK's last days released

The service will include a moment of silence at 12:25 p.m., the time the shots rang out.

A committee appointed by Rawlings is planning the memorial, some details of which are already on an official website.

"I'll never forget the faces of all the weeping women and the men who were just stricken, I mean you can imagine how shocking this was," said Dallas Citizens Council leader Ruth Altshuler, the committee chairperson.

Democrat Joseph Kennedy III wins the seat vacated by Rep. Barney Frank, defeating Republican Sean Bielat in Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District. The 112th Congress was the first in almost five decade in which no member of the Kennedy family served in the House or Senate.

Another murder that same November 1963 day was the killing of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit who was on patrol in Oak Cliff looking for the president's killer.

Witnesses said Lee Harvey Oswald gunned Tippit down before Oswald was eventually arrested at the Texas Theater.

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Nearly 49 years later, a memorial to Officer Tippit was unveiled Tuesday at the corner where the shooting occurred.

In a rare interview NBC's Brian Williams sat down with Bobby Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, where they discussed their home life, her husband's relationship with Lyndon Johnson, and even her grandson's girlfriend, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

Attending the dedication was former Dallas police detective Jim Leavelle, who was assigned to Tippit's case. "I think it's a great honor to Tippit, and he deserves it, and I'm just glad I could be alive to see it," Leavelle said.

Tippit's widow Marie also attended the dedication ceremony. "I think it should be remembered," she said "The president was killed here and Jay was killed here trying to apprehend the killer of the president so I think it should be remembered."

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