The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, goes down in history as one of the most jarring moments for America as a country. Right beside him in the presidential limousine was his wife, Jackie Kennedy, and she witnessed the traumatic event firsthand.
As the motorcade moved through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, the killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, fired at the limo containing JFK and Jackie, who held her husband as he got hit. speaking to him in his final moments. Despite the chaos surrounding her, Jackie was focused on comforting JFK.
What were Jackie Kennedy’s last words to JFK?
First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s last words to JFK in the moments after he was shot near Grassy Knoll have been debated across different sources. According to the JFK: One Day in America docuseries, she reportedly cried out, saying, “They shot his head off! I love you, Jack.”
Others like Christopher Andersen claim she repeatedly said, “Jack, Jack, Jack, can you hear me? I love you, Jack. I love you,” per his book These Few Precious Days. In both accounts, the fact that Jackie hoped for a response from JFK was not disputed as she continued to cradle him.
What were JFK’s final words to Jackie Kennedy?
In an instant, Jackie’s life changed forever, and she dedicated the rest of her years until May 1994 preserving JFK’s legacy. Unlike her final words, JFK’s last recorded statement was something casual as he was speaking to Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie Connally when the chaos broke out.
Marveling at the joyous reception of the president in his motorcade, Nellie remarked that JFK certainly cannot say that the people of Dallas did not give him a nice welcome. JFK reportedly responded with, “No, you certainly can’t,” and those were his last words before the fatal shooting. At the time, JFK was working on his re-election campaign and had no idea his life was about to be over.