Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
(800) 937-3880
SELL

Lot #262
Kennedy Assassination Naval Message Archive

This lot has closed

Estimate: $200+
Sell a Similar Item?
Share:  

Description

Historic archive of 32 pages of original Naval Message documents dated from November 22-25, 1963, detailing the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas and providing directives and protocols to the US Naval fleet in its aftermath. Include a significant initial report on the shooting: "President Kennedy has been shot. He was shot as his motorcade was moving along the outskirts of Dallas. A presidential aide, Lawrence O'Hara says he has no information on whether the president is alive…When the president was shot, Mrs. Kennedy jumped up and grabbed him. She cried oh no. The motorcade was ordered by Secret Service to speed on to the nearby Parkland Hospital…The president apparently was shot in the head. He fell face down in the back seat of the car. Blood was on his head."

Another announces the president's death: "Texas Governor John Connally also was shot. There is no word on his fate. There was a report that Vice-President Johnson also had been wounded, but this was denied by Mrs. Johnson. First word of the president's death came from two priests as they left Parkland Hospital emergency ward, where the president was taken. Their announcement brought audible sobs from a crowd of scores of newsmen and other citizens…Police already have spread a dragnet around the city searching for the assassin. The man being sought is described as a white man, about 30, of slender build."

Further messages include a message from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, several orders for flags to be flown at half-mast, and announcements of mourning periods as directed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In overall very good to fine condition.

From the collection of Ronald E.F. Hoskins.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Fine Autographs and Artifacts
  • Dates: #595 - Ended November 11, 2020