Photo: Tony Zappone
He reviewed the military men with the colors and quickly moved over to the other side of the field where school children were waiting for a glimpse of him. I didnt expect that. Here I was trapped atop this flat bed truck, something like four or five feet off the ground, and the President was moving out of sight.
It took me all of two seconds to decide I needed to jump off the truck and bolt away to find JFK. I did exactly that and every photographer atop the truck yelled for me to come back. I remember thinking I probably should have stayed but getting pictures was more important to me. It was a good decision although in retrospect I know I could have at best been tackled and at worst shot by Secret Service agents for running in the direction of the President.
Photo: Tony Zappone
I quickly found him. He had just shaken some hands of students from the Academy of the Holy Names and was walking to his car, a white Lincoln convertible (his Navy blue Lincoln limousine was already on its way to Al Lopez field).