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Image of the Kennedys disembarking from Air Force One at Love Field
Image of the Kennedys disembarking from Air Force One at Love Field

Image of the Kennedys disembarking from Air Force One at Love Field

Object number1994.003.0004.0002
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Tom C. Dillard
ObjectNegative (b&w)
Credit LineTom C. Dillard Collection, The Dallas Morning News/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions15/16 × 1 7/16 in. (2.4 × 3.6 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOriginal black and white 35mm negative by Dallas Morning News chief photographer Tom Dillard. The image shows First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and President Kennedy disembarking from Air Force One at Love Field on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. At the base of the stairs is a line of local dignataries waiting to greet the President and Mrs. Kennedy. At the head of the line is Vice President Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson.
Curatorial Commentary
This Boeing VC-137C aircraft, designated Air Force One when the president of the United States was on board, ultimately carried eight sitting presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton.  It was officially retired in 1998 and today can be seen at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
In addition to Vice President and Mrs. Johnson, the official welcoming party at Dallas Love Field included Mayor Earle Cabell and his wife Dearie, who presented the bouquet of red roses to Mrs. Kennedy, as well as future Dallas Mayor J. Erik Jonsson, a co-founder of Texas Instruments, Inc. and then president of the influential Dallas Citizens Council. A little over one hour after this photograph was taken, solemnly remarking that he felt like he did when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Jonsson informed the luncheon crowd at the Dallas Trade Mart that President Kennedy had been shot. Also visible in this receiving line is U.S. district judge H. Barefoot Sanders, who - about three hours after greeting President Kennedy at Love Field - helped arrange the swearing-in of Lyndon B. Johnson aboard the aircraft seen in this photo. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator