/internal/media/dispatcher/24807/fullImage of the Kennedys disembarking from Air Force One at Love Field11/22/196315/16 × 1 7/16 in. (2.4 × 3.6 cm)FilmTom C. Dillard Collection, The Dallas Morning News/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza1994.003.0004.00020Black and white 35mm negative showing Jacqueline and President Kennedy disembarking from Air Force One at Love Field on November 22, 1963. The image was taken by Tom C. Dillard, Chief Photographer at The Dallas Morning News.
The photograph shows the back of Air Force One with a flight of stairs connecting the airplane to the ground. The plane's wing appears on the left side of the image, and its rudder with an American flag and the number 26000 on it appears on the right. The plane's body runs more or less across the middle of the image. "STATES OF AMERICA," is visible on the side above the row of windows.
Standing on the left side of the stairs is a line of dignitaries waiting to greet the president and first lady. Vice President Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson stand at the head of the line, Mrs. Johnson holding a bouquet of yellow roses. There is also a small cluster of men standing to the right side of the stairs.
Mrs. Kennedy, wearing her pink suit, is at the top of the stairs, stepping out of the plane. She is looking downward but appears to be smiling. She holds the strap of her purse in her left hand. President Kennedy is behind her; his head and shoulders are outside of the plane, the rest of his body standing inside. On the open door, on the left side of Mrs. Kennedy, is a presidential seal. On the right side, on the body of the plane, "U.S. AIR Force," is printed. "Eastern Air Lines," is printed in several places on the steps.Photographs650283.60000000002.400000000011792Negative (b&w)0E-10Original 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.Air Force OneRosesTrip to TexasPhotographsDillard, Tom C.Kennedy, JacquelineKennedy, John F.Johnson, Lyndon B.Johnson, Lady BirdSanders, BarefootSmith, James E.The Dallas Morning NewsLove FieldDallasThe only African American on the airport reception committee for the Kennedys on November 22, 1963 was community leader and civil rights advocate James E. Smith, then president of the Dallas Negro Chamber of Commerce. He is visible in the center left of this photo, standing next to U.S. Attorney Barefoot Sanders. Smith's son, Lee Stanley Smith, recorded an oral history with the Museum - and donated his late father's Airport Reception badge and Dallas Trade Mart luncheon invitation - in 2025. - Stephen Fagin, Curator 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, CuratorIn 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