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William F. Lee Oral History

William F. Lee Oral History

Object number2007.001.0088
Date11/16/2007
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject William F. Lee
Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
Dimensions111 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with William F. Lee. A lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1963, Lee commanded the 1063 Silent Drill Platoon and was involved in numerous ceremonies at the White House and Camp David during the Kennedy years. After the assassination, he was one of the officers in the "Death Watch" who guarded President Kennedy's casket while it lay in state at the White House and in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda before the funeral. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on November 16, 2007 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and fifty-one minutes long.
Curatorial Commentary

Lt. Lee's Marine Corps sword and scabbard, which he carried during the Kennedy funeral, have been on display at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza since 2008. Initially on loan, Lt. Lee donated the sword and scabbard to the Museum in 2011. In December 2009, many of Lee's Marine Corps colleagues visited the Museum as part of a reunion event. At that time, the Museum recorded oral histories with seven other Marines who participated in the funeral services for President Kennedy.   

Lt. Lee published his memories of the Kennedy assassination and funeral as a novel, The Boys in Blue White Dress, in 2007. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Published in 2007, William Lee recounted his marine corps experience in the book "The Boys in Blue and White Dress". Through the eyes of his protagonist, Lieutenant Barney Quinn, Lee’s work of historical fiction recalls the private details of the funeral of President Kennedy and life among the young 'work hard, play hard' Marines at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. In 2008, "The Boys in Blue and White Dress" won the Book of the Year award from the North Texas Book Festival. The book is available in the Museum's Reading Room. - Mrs. Krishna Shenoy, Librarian
Part of this recording was incorporated into the video content of the Museum's temporary exhibit, "Mourning a President," about the funeral and mourning rites for President John F. Kennedy. The exhibit will be open on the Museum's seventh floor from November 17, 2017 to February 19, 2018. After the exhibit closes, the video associated with it will be available on the Museum's YouTube channel. -- Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections