Color photograph of the Kennedys boarding Air Force One in Fort Worth

Object number2013.023.0022.0009

Date11/22/1963

ClassificationsPhotographs

Photographer David F. Powers

ObjectPhotograph (color)

Credit LineEstate of David F. Powers Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumPaper

Dimensions9 1/2 × 11 11/16 in. (24.1 × 29.7 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionColor photographic print of image taken by David F. Powers, Special Assistant to the President. The image shows the Kennedys boarding Air Force One at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas on November 22, 1963. Powers was a longtime friend and advisor to John F. Kennedy, and he was positioned at the top of the sky stairs to Air Force One. Several members of the press as well as U.S. Secret Service agents Clint Hill (smiling, wearing sunglasses) and Roy Kellerman (immediate right of Hill) are visible at the bottom of the stairs.

Curatorial Commentary

The moment that presidential advisor Dave Powers captured this unique perspective of the Kennedys boarding Air Force One at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth is seen in black and white 16mm newsfilm in the Museum's Roy Cooper, KTVT-TV Collection. The footage shows Mrs. Kennedy brushing her hair back, as captured in this still image, just before Powers lowers his camera and greets the Kennedys at the top of the stairs. The three of them, all smiling, pause for a moment and speak to one another before entering Air Force One for the short flight to Dallas Love Field. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

Curatorial Commentary

Object featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 28, 2024.

Curatorial Commentary

David Francis Powers (1912-1998) was Special Assistant and assistant Appointments Secretary to President Kennedy. Powers first met Kennedy in 1946 when the young war hero was running for Congress in Massachusetts. The two maintained a close friendship for the rest of Kennedy's life. Powers personally documented the president's trip to Texas in 1963. In addition to this poignant image of the Kennedys boarding Air Force One at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, while riding in the Secret Service follow-up car directly behind the presidential limousine in the Dallas motorcade, Powers shot color home movie footage of the Kennedys from his unique vantage. Powers later recalled that he ran out of film at 12:17PM, a little less than fifteen minutes prior to the assassination. Following President Kennedy's death, Powers served as the first curator of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. He also co-authored, with fellow Kennedy advisor Kenny O'Donnell, the 1972 book, Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye.

The Museum's Estate of David F. Powers Collection includes Powers' sworn statement from his account of the assassination, a letter written by First Lady Jackie Kennedy regarding the comedy album The First Family, as well as personal files, photographs and notes related to President Kennedy and the day of the assassination. - Stephen Fagin, Curator