47 YEARS AGO TODAY, November 22, 2010

That would be November 22, 1963. It was the day that President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline visited Dallas, Texas. At Love Airfield, Texas Governor John Connolly and his wife Nellie, greeted the Kennedy’s and the four of them were riding in an open “presidential limousine” on the way to a speaking engagement at the Texas Trade Mart.

As they turned to pass the Texas Book Depository, there were shots, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Many people were either not born, or too young at the time to remember the events of that day. At the end of this article, I am including a few links for research purposes.

For me, I was at work that day. I was serving in the U.S. Air Force, Air Defense Command, at the NORAD facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana. My job was ‘INDT’ or Interceptor Director Technician, meaning that I worked with an officer to control interceptors. Together we would use verbal or computer commands to direct interceptors to target aircraft. It was a constant practice, practice, practice, to defend against any attack on North America by the Soviet Union.

If I recall correctly, it was a Friday, and there were a few ‘missions” scheduled. I just finished working a mission and was having a sitting rest. We could “sit rest,” tilting back in a chair with one up on another chair, and the other foot on the floor, and with our eyes closed – as long as we could respond if someone called our name. I was doing that when the NORAD Hot Line phone rang. It had a strange sound, sort of a “BWEEDLE, BWEEDLE, BWEEDLE” sound instead of the regular phone ring sound. Everyone in the room would hear that and know that it was NORAD Headquarters on the phone. It was about 35 past the hour.

I sat up in my chair and looked toward the raised dais, where the Senior Director and his staff sat. There were two Majors and two Senior Master Sergeants at that location. All listened intently, and verified the authenticity of the message by using something then known as a CAC, a secret cryptographic message verification process, to assure the message was real and coa ming from NORAD.

As soon as they completed that call, Major Van Quince looked around the room and spotted me sitting by myself. In a voice loud enough for me to hear him clearly, he said, “Airman Clark report!” That was an order, and it meant that I had to hop right to it, and present myself – at attention, and with a salute, which I did.

He told me, “I want you to listen to me very carefully. I am going to tell you something very important, and I want you to go around the room and tell everyone what I am going to tell you. Is that understood? I replied with a “Yes Sir!”

Major Van Quince continued, “President Kennedy has been assassinated, and the governor of Texas badly wounded. During a presidential motorcade, assassins fired from an overpass and killed President Kennedy. Lyndon Johnson is now the president of the United States. We do not believe it was an attack by the Soviets or another foreign country. Do you understand what I have just told you?”

I said, “Yes Sir!” and repeated the information to him, almost verbatim.

He said, “Good, now, go around the room and inform each and every person in this room. When you are done, report back to me.”

I saluted and went off to perform this order.

That ‘room’ was “The Weapons Room” and next-door was “Air Surveillance.” The Weapons Room had four areas consisting of a “Weapons Director” console, and six Interceptor Control console stations. Three of those areas were in use during this mission. It meant there were about 38 people at work controlling interceptors during that mission.

I began my task and very quickly got some hostile responses from officers and airmen. “Clark, if you are making this up or lying to me I will Court Martial you!” was the response from the first couple of Lieutenants and Captains.

Finally, a light went on in my head. “Sir, I have a message for you from Major Van Quince, he asked me to inform you that…”

Nearly everyone was in shock and disbelief, as I completed the rounds with this terrible news. Detail done, I reported back to Major Van Quince. He thanked me for doing that, and suggested that I go get a cup of coffee.

Instead, I went to the break room and just sat there. I was almost numb. Some of the civilian employees were eating their lunch and watching a game show on TV. A few minutes passed before the “NEWS BULLETIN” sign came onto the TV screen.

As soon as it appeared, I mentioned that they were going to say that President Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. The several people in the room turned to look at me, in mid bite of their sandwiches, as if I was evil incarnate. All of us watched as a jittering camera focused on the chaos at the emergency entrance at Parkland Memorial Hospital, and the news that followed.

A few days later, I was in the hospital for a tonsillectomy that had been scheduled for many moths. I damn near died from loss of blood during that surgery, and was in the hospital during the Kennedy funeral. I also remember the Thanksgiving a few days later, on the 28TH, and how everyone else got a nice turkey dinner while I had water and Jell-O.

I always found it interesting that NORAD knew President Kennedy was dead almost immediately, and that it took 15 to 20 minutes or more for the news media to react to it. That day lingers in my mind, as if it happened this morning. It leaves me with two particular somethings to ponder - assassins and overpass.

Major Van Quince was a very intelligent person, and the only person I ever met who had a near photographic memory. He was always calm and was reasonably kind toward all who served under him. He flew B–24 bombers during WWII, and had some of the best war footage film I have ever seen.

Those were films taken from inside his planes during the bombing runs. It was riveting to see the plane shake with near misses from German artillery shells and anti-aircraft “ack-ack” guns. He and his co-pilot filmed things like their bombing raid on the oil fields of Ploesti in German held Yugoslavia. Major Van Quince was there and lived to tell about it.

In 1963, I had no idea that Major Van Quince was a hero, as well as the others who served with him; but, I know it now in 2010. God bless them all. This video clip shows what that combat was like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWO7UqP7acc

Therefore, more than likely, Major Van Quince was not someone who would make an error with a message from NORAD. I distinctly recall that he said overpass, and, assassins – and that is with an ‘s’ meaning more than one; and, that was information he received direct from NORAD Headquarters.

A few days ago, Jesse Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory program aired information about the murder of President Kennedy. It is hard to know what to believe. However, I am sure that Lee Harvey Oswald would not have been able to fire three accurate shots at a moving target within about six seconds, using the rifle the authorities said he used.

Instead, I have long suspected that this was a very professional hit, probably involving highly trained and experienced government or organized crime snipers. More than likely, others in the government, including Vice President Johnson, “might have acted in what they believed was the best interests of the country,” to prevent President Kennedy from doing something.

There are so many theories about the Kennedy assassination. However, I only know what Major Van Quince told me, and to this day, I believe him. “Overpass and assassins.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_John_F._Kennedy_assassination

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/kennedy/kennedy-assassination-22-2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Connally

http://www.rense.com/general70/connol.htm

STAY AWAY FROM DOWNED WIRES

It is a very good idea to STAY AWAY FROM DOWNED WIRES. Very few people realize that electricity can "reach out and touch someone."

You could be standing several feet from charged utility pole wires that crashed down due to wind and storm activity. There is a tendency for some people to get closer to something, to have a better look. In the case of downed wires, it could be the last time you look at anything, because the electricity can reach toward you, and cause very serious burns or death.

The best course of action is to report the situation to 911, or your local fire department, and let them contact the utility company. Linger in the area - at a safe distance - to warn other people away from the danger.