BOB KENNEDY

“‘We’re going to carry two states next year if we don’t carry any others: Massachusetts and Texas.’

The speaker was John F. Kennedy. The time was Friday morning, November 22, 1963… They were the last words John Kennedy ever spoke to me.

I was just going out the door when he said this. I turned and smiled at him. ‘Oh, we are going to do better than that, Mr. President,’ I replied. He returned the smile and nodded.”

Taken on Air Force One just hours after John F. Kennedy’s assassination by Kennedy’s official white house photographer, Cecil W. Stoughton, the photo clearly showed the absence of John F. Kennedy in the intimate quarters of the Air Force One. Although Lyndon B. Johnson is the focus of the ceremony, grief-stricken Jackie seems to be more the focus of the picture. Jackie Kennedy joined the ceremony last-minute and still had her husband’s blood stains on her skirt. Stoughton adjusted the frame to cut the stains out. The photo was released to the public very quickly to reassure the public that Johnson was in control of the situation, while the actual assassination photos weren’t out for a few days.