Although many present-day Americans weren’t alive during John F. Kennedy’s tragic demise, the speculation about his assassination remains fervent. Saving Jackie K, a novel adept at blending reality with imagination, aims to uncover the elusive “truth” behind these pivotal events. But what do the historical records truly reveal?
At 12:30 pm on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy became the target of sniper bullets while passing through Dealey Plaza in Dallas in an open limousine. The gunfire echoed through the plaza, shocking bystanders as they witnessed the fatal headshot that stained Kennedy’s Lincoln convertible with blood.
Just eighty minutes later, Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee at the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza, was apprehended for the murder of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. Subsequently, Oswald faced allegations of assassinating the president, purportedly firing shots from the book depository’s sixth-floor window using a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle.
Despite these accusations, Oswald never stood trial. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald in the basement of the police headquarters as officers prepared to transfer him to jail—an event broadcast live on television, shocking the nation. President Lyndon Baines Johnson appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to lead a committee tasked with investigating the assassination. Following ten months of hearings, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone. Nonetheless, widespread skepticism persists, with many Americans suggesting a broader conspiracy and alleging a cover-up. As highlighted by JFK author and assassination historian L.D.C. Fitzgerald in a recent interview, the discourse surrounding Kennedy’s assassination remains a captivating and perplexing topic for generations to come.