PRESIDENT KENNEDY ASSASSINATEDBODY FLOWN TO WASHINGTON - HARROWING SCENE AT AIRPORTFrom Our Special Correspondent - Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Nov. 22
President Lyndon Johnson returned to Washington tonight and promised: "I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help and God's." It was a nightmare scene at Andrews Air Force Base when the big blue and white presidential jet aircraft unloaded its gruesome cargo. The body of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was unceremoniously bundled out of the back entrance of the aircraft on to a yellow lift, lowered into a simple United States Navy ambulance and driven away. His widow, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, her legs still spattered with her husband's blood, stepped unsteadily from the aircraft on the arm of her brother-in-law, Mr. Robert Kennedy, the Attorney-General.
After the ambulance had driven away before crowds of silent and shocked citizens. President Johnson emerged with his wife and walked over to the microphones. It was at some moments before the helicopter and jet engines could be silenced so that he could speak and even when he did so it was not easy to hear him. He said: "This is a sad time for all people.... For me it is a deep personal tragedy...." FRAIL FIGURE It was a cool, clear evening. A hazy crescent moon hung in the dark sky above the grey expanse of the runway. It was an emotional moment, and reporters who pride themselves on being hard-bitten could not disguise their grief. It was only now, seven hours after the event, the full force of the tragedy began to sink in.
Perhaps it was the gaunt and haggard look of Mr. Johnson, who has been so suddenly catapulted into the hardest job in the world. Perhaps it was the frail figure of Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, the young woman of whom it was said that she never wanted to be in the public eye. Whatever it was, the drama took full and appalling effect at the moment when she stepped from the aircraft. One could not but look back to that day in January when Mr. Kennedy stood in the snow - a symbol of hope. One remembered his astonishing energy, of which your Correspondent had an early wast when he followed Mr. Kennedy around Washington until 3:30 a.m. on his inauguration day. As the aircraft drew up all was confusion. An Air Force guard of honour, the searing arclights, the acrid smells of jet fuel and diesel oil, and crowds of silent, sorrowing people of high and low estate. Supreme Court Justices, Cabinet members, senators, members of diplomatic corps, Mr. Avarell Harriman, representing the maturity of the New Frontier, Mr. Theodore Sorensen, the President's speech writer, Mr. McGeorge Bundy, Mr. Arthur Schlesinger and others representing its youth. Mr. Kennedy's body was driven away along the 14-mile route to Washington where it will lie in state. |
Cuban President Fidel Castro Imprisons Dissident Huber MatosD.I.N. - How does a man like Huber Matos go from riding into Havana with Castro atop a tank to being sentenced to 20 years in prison? In a word: Communism. Two months ago, Matos sent Castro his letter of resignation, stating that he was worried about the creeping influence of Communism in the government. In the letter, Matos states:
"Communist influence in the government has continued to grow. I have to leave power as soon as possible. I have to alert the Cuban people as to what is happening... I don't want to become an obstacle to the revolution, and believe the honorable and revolutionary option is to step down." Castro tried to win back Matos' favor and responded: "Your resignation is not acceptable at this point. We still have too much work to do. I admit that Raúl and Che are flirting with Marxism... but [we] have the situation under control... Forget about resigning... But if in a while you believe the situation is not changing, you have the right to resign." Three days later, Castro branded Matos a traitor. Matos' trial began on December 11, 1959 and promptly ended 4 days later. Today, December 15, it was announced that Matos would serve 20 years for treason and sedition at the Isle of Pines. Matos went on record, saying that he feared for Cuba, sensing that a radical dictatorship would be its fate. He also confessed his fear of the Cuban prisons, as it was common for prisoners to spend long periods of time in solitary confinement or be tortured. Matos' family is making arrangements to flee Cuba and live in Miami where, 20 years from now, they hope that Huber will be able to join them. |