Although many modern-day Americans were not alive when John F. Kennedy met his tragic demise, the speculation surrounding his assassination continues to be intense. Saving Jackie K, a novel adept at blending reality with imagination, aims to unearth the elusive “truth” behind these pivotal events. But what do the historical records truly unveil?
At 12:30 pm on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy became the target of sniper bullets while traversing Dealey Plaza in Dallas in an open limousine. The gunfire reverberated through the plaza, shocking bystanders as they witnessed the fatal headshot that stained Kennedy’s Lincoln convertible with blood.
Merely eighty minutes later, Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee at the Texas School Book Depository situated 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 underwent 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 head 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 positing 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.