The Boss's Boss has passed...

Another link to our American past has gone. Margaret Truman has died. Given the nickname The Boss's Boss by her father, President Harry Truman, she was well known performer as well as author of a very popular series of detective novels based in Washington DC. Her singing and performing career was not without some controversy. Following her performance at Constitution Hall in 1950, said one reviewer:

"...Yet Miss Truman cannot sing very well. She is flat a good deal of the time -- more so last night than at any time we have heard her in past years..."

Said her dad in response:

"...I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppycock . . . it shows conclusively that you're off the beam. . . . Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below...."

Source: Washington Post


I did a quick check of NARA and found quite a few digital images concerning her as well as travels with her father and mother. Here is one:

Title:

Photograph of President Truman, with Mrs. Truman and Margaret Truman at Washington National Airport, preparing to leave for a vacation in Florida., 11/28/1949 Source: NARA

More Links:

NY Times Obit

Boss's Boss Nickname

Wikipedia entry: Includes Time cover from 1951

Assassination, Triangulation and the Magic Bullet Theory!

After Friday's post on the Sinatra stamp, I couldn't help but begin to think more about Sinatra, the Rat Pack and JFK. Logically, I drifted to the Fall of 1963. President Kennedy had traveled to Dallas to meet with Democratic party leaders on a variety of issues. Shortly after lunchtime, Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as his motorcade drove past the Texas School Book Depository :

"...We interrupt this program to bring you this special bulletin from ABC Radio. Here is a special bulletin from Dallas, Texas. Three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade today in downtown Dallas, Texas. This is ABC Radio...."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_John_F._Kennedy_assassination

Tragically altering the course of history as well as many American's perception of the nation itself, this single event sparked a decade of change. Officially, Lee Harvey Oswald is listed as the assailant. Unofficially, many people take a different approach. The best way we can find our own answer is to look at the evidence ourself, including photos, reports, and eyewitness accounts.

With this in mind, there are some excellent sources at NARA that I stumbled across in my research. In particular, a color photo of the "magic bullet" which ended up on the stretcher beside Connolly* according to the source on Wikipedia.


*"...found not on Governor Connally’s stretcher, but on the stretcher next to his in the corridor at the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas..."

As a side note, the archives also has a color photo of the Zapruder camera. The film taken by this camera is probably one of the most famous of this unfortunate tragedy.


In the interest of not being sensationalist, I will not post the film here, but YouTube has quite a listing of the short film. If you are interested, check here.


Have a great Monday! Check back tonight for my second posting of the day.


List of sources:

Magic Bullet Theory: Wikipedia

JFK Presidential Library

BBC Timeline of Nov. 22, 1963

Wikipedia main entry on the assassination

Zapruder Resources (includes manuals, etc.)

Area near the Texas Schoolbook Depository (courtesy Google Maps)


View Larger Map

NARA Resources*

*Remember keyword searching and limiting to digital resources will provide the best results. I used FBI as one search term, while John Fitzgerald Kennedy provided multiple hits as well.