John F. Kennedy had told Jackie she looked "smashing" in the pink suit she wore that fateful day in Dallas, but those weren't his final words.
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The love story between John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, was far from perfect and was tragically cut short in 1963 by a sniper’s bullet. Yet it endures as one of America’s great romances, documented in sweet, nostalgic photos like these. And one reason for that may be the way his final moments, and their epilogue, played out.
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was seated beside his smartly dressed wife, who was wearing a pink Chanel-like suit and matching pillbox hat and holding an armful of red roses that had been presented to her by adoring fans. They were seated in the back seat of a dark blue 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible sedan with John Connally, the Governor of Texas and his wife, Nellie. Jack was waving at the crowd that had assembled to watch the presidential motorcade proceed through the streets of Dallas.
And then came the moment of utter confusion. As the motorcade passed the Texas School Book Depository on Elm Street, a loud noise—like the sound of a firecracker or a car backfiring—cracked the air. The vignettes: President Kennedy slumping forward. Jackie putting her arms around him. Then another loud burst, and another, and Jackie abruptly crawling out onto the Lincoln’s trunk. She seemed to be reaching out for something. This is the real reason Jackie Kennedy married JFK.
The look on her husband’s face after he was shot would haunt Jackie for the rest of her life, revealed Christopher Anderson’s These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie. He looked puzzled, as The Mirror describes it. The last words she ever got to say to him were, “I love you, Jack. I love you,” according to Anderson, although Jackie herself recalled it slightly differently in a 1963 interview, as reported by the New York Daily News. All the way to Parkland Hospital, where President Kennedy would eventually be pronounced dead, as she recalled it, she was bent over him, asking “Jack, Jack, can you hear me? I love you.”
Jack Kennedy’s final words to his wife of 10 years were far more mundane, of course. He had no way of knowing what was about to happen. It’s been reported that Jack’s final words were, “My God, I’ve been hit,” but physicians have said this was impossible given Jack’s injuries. Well, historians have now clarified that the last words Jack spoke before the fatal shot were, “No, you certainly can’t.”
No, you certainly can’t?
He was making small talk in the car. “You certainly can’t say that the people of Dallas haven’t given you a nice welcome,” the Texas Governor’s wife had just remarked to Jack, referring to the huge, adoring crowd. Get a look at these rarely seen photos of Jackie Kennedy.
“No, you certainly can’t,” Jack replied, milliseconds before the bullet from Lee Harvey Oswald gun struck. The President was still alive when he was admitted to the hospital less than 10 minutes later, and Jackie did not leave his side or take off the suit which was now blood-soaked and splattered with brain tissue.
At the hospital, when Ladybird Johnson asked Jackie if she wanted to change out of the blood-soaked pink Chanel suit, Jackie refused, saying: “I want them to see what they have done to Jack.”
John F. Kennedy never spoke another word after that fateful day, but many things he said during his lifetime endure and are and incredibly inspiring.
FAQs
Well, historians have now clarified that the last words Jack spoke before the fatal shot were, “No, you certainly can't.” No, you certainly can't? He was making small talk in the car.
What was the last thing Bobby Kennedy said? ›
After several minutes, medical attendants arrived and lifted Kennedy onto a stretcher, prompting him to whisper, "Don't lift me", which were his last words; he lost consciousness shortly after. He was taken to Central Receiving Hospital.
Was Jackie Kennedy's pink suit cleaned? ›
The note read: "Jackie's suit and bag worn Nov. 22, 1963". The suit, which was never cleaned, is kept out of public view in "an acid-free container in a windowless room ... the precise location is kept secret.
What did Jackie do after JFK was shot? ›
Q: Why did First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy climb onto the back of the car after the shooting? A: Jacqueline Kennedy climbed on the back of the car to retrieve fragments from the president's head, though she had no memory of it afterward.
What was the quote at the start of JFK? ›
But let us begin." "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." "Inaugural Address (1)," January 20, 1961, Public Papers of the Presidents: John F.
How long did Robert Kennedy live after he was shot? ›
His main challenger in the race was Senator Eugene McCarthy. Shortly after winning the California primary around midnight on June 5, 1968, Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian, allegedly in retaliation for his support of Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. Kennedy died 25 hours later.
What did JFK say after the Cuban missile crisis? ›
In his speech the President famously states, “Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right- not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this Hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world.”
Who picked out Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress? ›
A Black Couturier, Ann Lowe, Made Jackie Kennedy's Wedding Dress. Getting to know Ann Lowe—and giving the designer her due.
What did Jackie Kennedy wear to her husband's funeral? ›
Next to her pink Chanel designed suit, the black Givenchy outfit Jackie wore to her husband's funeral events is probably her second most famous fashion item.
Where is Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress? ›
Kennedy Onassis's wedding dress, too delicate to exhibit, is currently preserved in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
According to the Library of Congress, soon after President Kennedy was killed in 1963, the former first lady moved into the Georgetown residence, which was provided to them by politician W. Averell Harriman, a former governor of New York, and his third wife, Pamela Churchill Harriman.
How many years after JFK died did Jackie remarry? ›
On Oct. 20, 1968, the former first lady stunned her adoring public by remarrying. Five years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, she donned a wedding dress, entered a candlelit chapel and pronounced “I do” to Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy Greek shipping tycoon.
Is Arabella Kennedy still alive? ›
What quotes are at JFK grave? ›
My fellow citizens of the world, ask not What America can do for you but what together We can do for the freedom of man." A quote of President John f Kennedy near his grave at Arlington National Cemetery.
Who wrote JFK famous speech? ›
Sorensen was President Kennedy's special counsel, adviser, and primary speechwriter, the role for which he is remembered best.
Who said you are no John F Kennedy? ›
"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a remark made during the 1988 United States vice-presidential debate by Democratic candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican candidate Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle's mentioning the name of John F.
What poet does Kennedy quote at the end? ›
Quoting the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, with whom he had become acquainted through his brother's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, Kennedy said, "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
What did Bobby Kennedy say? ›
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Source: Papers of Robert F. Kennedy.
What is the most famous line in a speech that President Kennedy gave? ›
The climax of the speech and its most memorable phrase – "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country" – was honed down from a thought about sacrifice that Kennedy had long held in his mind and had expressed in various ways in campaign speeches.
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