Beyond the headlines of November 1963 were the families, officers, and everyday citizens whose lives changed forever in the aftermath of President Kennedy’s assassination.

In Part Two, we explore the emotional heart of the story:

• Marie Tippit, widow of Officer J.D. Tippit
• Jackie Kennedy’s private grief and her letter to Dallas
• Clint Hill’s reflections decades later
• The experiences of Detective Jim Leavelle
• Elsie Graves and Temple Bowley, two overlooked eyewitnesses whose voices shaped the investigation

These firsthand perspectives reveal the shock, sorrow, and strength inside Dallas — stories rarely told, but essential to understanding the human dimension of the JFK assassination.

Subscribe for Part 3, where we explore the legacy and meaning of those days.

Presented by: CitizensBehindTheBadge.org

Podcast Series: Heroes Behind the Badge

In episode one, we followed the frantic hours

after President Kennedy was shot.

The escape through Oak Cliff, the struggle inside the Texas theater,

and a shock of Jack Ruby stepping into history today, the story turns personal.

The letters, the friendships, the moments of grace and pain that

shaped the people behind the case.

This is episode two.

Rick one, one of the, artifacts I visited the museum and I had

the privilege of seeing, you showed it to me personally, was a letter from, Jackie

Kennedy, right after the assassination and the murder of J.D. Tippit.

She sent a letter to Marie Tippitt, J.D.’s wife.

could you share that, that letter with us, what, were the contents and,

and the timing of when it was sent?

After the assassination, grief linked to families forever.

Jackie Kennedy's handwritten letter to Marie Tippit became one of the most

intimate artifacts from that week.

Through my work with the museum and Jeff Lucio

was my, mentor and friend.

He got, he said, let's go have lunch with Jim Leavelle.

Okay, who, who would turn, who had turned that down?

And that Jim and I became a real strong friendship.

And a few times early in our relationship, Marie would be

coming to join us for lunch.

And I find her found her such a kind-hearted human being.

And I really thought.

And she was my second mother.

She was that motherly person that would just be so kind.

And, she started sharing information with me and she showed me the letter.

And soon after the president's assassination, she got a handwritten

letter from Jackie Kennedy.

And I'll just paraphrase the part that really just stuck with me for a, for,

it'll stick with me for all my life.

As Jackie told Marie, my husband was killed.

Your husband was killed because my husband was in town.

And we will always share that bond.

And when she lights the eternal flame, that eternal flame in Arlington

National Cemetery will be lit for J.D. Tippit and for the president of

the United States, John F. Kennedy.

And that's pretty powerful.

That letter was only the beginning in the years that followed.

Marie Tippit carried her husband's legacy into every place.

His name was written.

I'll never forget.

you, were kind enough to bring Marie to the National Law Enforcement

Officers Memorial and it was during National Police Week.

And it was the day of the candlelight vigil that evening.

And, I remember, taking Marie to the wall where her husband's name,

J.D. Tippit, is inscribed along with, more than 24,000 other fallen

American law enforcement heroes.

And his name is on that wall next to another officer from New York

City, killed earlier in the 1900s.

His name was John Kennedy and we put those names side by side.

It was not a coincidence, of course, to remind all visitors of the link

between, J.D. Tippit and John Kennedy.

There is a very strong bond there, and, you've, talked about it.

Jackie Kennedy recognized it, and we were so proud to have Marie there

that day and then that evening.

And, our candlelight vigil attended by some 30,000 people, a very moving moment.

Marie was recognized on the day as, as the, surviving, wife of J.D. Tippit.

It was a moment I'll never forget, and I was so appreciative

to you for bringing her there.

Another figure whose image became inseparable from that

weekend was Detective Jim Leavelle.

Jim is the detective standing beside Oswald in one of the most

recognized photos in American history.

As you did with Jim Leavelle.

Jim Leavelle came and visited, the National Law Enforcement Museum after

it was dedicated, and he also became our first witness to history speaker.

We started a whole series of events, law enforcement officers that were

involved in historical moments.

And Jim Leavellee was kind enough at the age of 90 to fly from Dallas, Texas

to the, to Washington DC to do an oral history about his experience and he,

just, amazed us all with his recollections from, those days in November of 1963.

I thank you so much for all of that.

Yeah.

One question I have, I, have hundreds and, I'm sure, Dennis and Bill do too,

but, one question I want you to clear up.

I seem to recall somewhere that the suit, the tan suit that Jim Leavellee

was wearing right behind you in that iconic picture was borrowed.

It was not his suit is, that factually accurate?

Yes, it is.

Actually, he purchased it from somebody.

And he told, he said that the guy he brought it from got too fat to wear it.

So he bought it from Jim.

He called it his Neiman Marcus suit.

And so he had a tailor to fit him and he wore that, suit actually

pretty much his entire career.

And it, does remain in the, museum at the Sixth Floor Museum, to this day.

And his, original hat.

And, he always will tell you, everybody says, oh, you're the white

suit and you're correct, Craig.

That is a tan suit.

Tan.

And we were talking earlier about the hat.

I've always been intrigued.

I, think in Texas, a lot of cops wear those, hats.

But you have a story, Rick, about that hat.

Tell, our audience the story behind the hat.

Yeah.

The hat is a,

when Jim transferred into the robbery homicide, who was the elite detectives

in the Dallas Police Department.

They were called the Fritz Hot Hats.

And Captain Fritz, Will Fritz was the commander over the Fritz Detectives,

and they were encouraged to wear a fritz hat or this Beaver 10 x

hat that Jim was wearing that day.

But before Dallas Leavelle had already survived the attack that

launched America into World War II.

And Jim has always recognized to the day he passed.

We were wearing that hat and the hat and we, I took it.

We had the honor later in life to take Jim on an honor flight.

'cause a lot of people don't know.

Jim Leavellee was, stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7th.

Really?

During the Japan, yes, during the Japanese attack.

And so I arranged to be his guardian on an honor flight, which we take Washington,

we take veterans to Washington DC and we had decided when Jim was gonna go

that he was going as a World War II survivor, Pearl Harbor survivor, not as

Jim Leavelle, the homicide detective, but the president turned to be said.

But Rick, if he doesn't wear that hat, you gotta go back to his house and get

it 'cause I want him wearing that hat.

And so during the trip, Jim wore his hat and we tried to keep his

anonymity about the president's assassination his work in the, or his

fame but one of the other veterans.

Found out he was a retired detective.

He said, you probably know a lot about that JFK investigation, don't you?

Oh boy.

And Jim with his mouth says, yeah, I know a little bit about it.

Little bit.

And he was, confronted then by the, in infamous Jim Leavelle in the tan suit.

Leavellee wasn't alone in the basement that day.

Another detective almost completely forgotten, may have

prevented a second murder.

But there's people like, Elsie Graves, who is the

un, another unknown detective that was on Oswald's other side.

And Jim told me one day that Elsie Graves saved his life.

And so during capturing Oswald, we emphasized that the other people that were

down there, 'cause without Elsie Graves actions of grabbing that pistol that day.

And you think about if you've ever shot a firearm, how hot that revol,

how that, how hot that pistol is after firing just one shot can be.

But Elsie Graves, but his death grip on that.

On Ruby's revolver and wrestled it from Ruby, and we, the, story

of capturing Oswald goes a lot deeper than just, than we know.

This video that the military channel produced, Uh, I saw an interview of

Elsie Graves and he was so humble, as humble as Jim is, and they tried

to interview him with it and said, what'd you do with the pistol?

And Elsie Graves's response was, I put it in my pocket.

And what'd you do with it?

After that?

I gave it to Captain Fritz and Jim told me without, Ru, without Elsie Graves

grabbing that gun, he could still see Ruby trying to fire more shots out.

Continuing to try to fire that, to try possibly kill

Jim or other police officers.

Beyond Dallas police officers, another man's bravery defined

those chaotic seconds in Dealey Plaza.

I, just wanna acknowledge one person that we haven't talked about,

that was an, a key player in all this.

His name is Clint Hill.

And I think we've spoken about him in the past in some of our podcasts,

but Clint Hill was the Secret Service agent who, leaped on the back of the

limo after the first shots were fired and, President Kennedy was shot.

It was Clint Hill who tried to save him and Mrs. Kennedy, with his

gallant, and very courageous act.

Clint Hill died earlier this year.

He was a friend of mine.

He came to the National Law Enforcement Museum and I just wanna make sure

our, audience knows that there was a, another key player in all of this,

another hero behind the badge, and his name was Clint Hill, and he's a

hero and really an iconic figure in American law enforcement histories.

I had the honor of at the 20, at the 50th commemoration

to escort Marie Tippitt into the, to the ceremony and they called me for

another, ano a secondary, duty to escort Clint Hill into the, ceremony.

And so I took Marie over to where Clint Hill is, was getting outta his

squad car, and I said, Marie Tippit, I'd like to have you meet Clint Hill.

And I remember Clint Hill says i've always wanted to meet that

woman and it's nice to meet you.

And Clint and Marie walked down arm in that ceremony.

And I'll never forget that site because there are those two people

suffer the most of this whole tragedy.

Of course, Jackie Kennedy as well.

But those two pe, those two people had were connected to this

tragedy, an unbelievable tragedy.

And it was so nice to see those two together.

They sat together.

I know they talked and Marie was just a charming lady, and Clint, I'm sure

had a, had a very nice conversation.

I just backed off.

I said, my life is good right now.

Two people together that, that had never met and always wanted to meet each other.

And some heroes weren't officers at all.

One was a civilian who heard Tippet's final radio call and acted.

There was a man named Temple Bowleyy that if you hear,

listen to the radio traffic when Tippet was murdered, Temple Bowleyy got on

Tippet's radio and got Tippet help.

So he got on the radio and said, this officer needs help.

And he described where he was at and I looked in the records and we had

never given Temple Bowleyy any type of recognition on that day and without

Temple Bowley getting on that radio.

He got Tippit help, faster, right?

So I got Chief David Brown to sign off a special Certificate of Merit, and we

were presented at the Temple Bowley for his actions on November 22nd because

nobody had even, and I, walked up to his door in the, in my police uniform,

he goes, I bet you want to talk to me about that incident, don't you?

I said, yeah, I do.

I said, and I am so sorry it took nearly 50 years to do this.

He goes, I was, I, he goes, I eventually thought somebody would knock down my door.

I said, it's time now.

And it was so nice to meet him and to thank him.

And I had set up, Murray was gonna be at the ceremony for Mr. Bowley and I

said, Temple said, Marie's gonna want to ask the question and I'm gonna

get you guys together and have your.

have your chat.

And Marie said that it would be okay to ask him the question

whether J.D. Tippit was alive.

And so I let them chat and, I, read their lips and, they asked Mr. Bowley, I said,

was there, had dad or husband alive?

And he just shook his head and said, no he wasn't.

And so Marie got some solace and some closure there, and

the whole Tippet family did.

And once again, I did, something great.

These untold stories, small moments in private actions are the

difference between headlines and history.

That's what makes this type of interview so special

because you're able to fill in the details of those little small things.

That made a big difference.

They made a big difference.

Yeah.

They made a, big difference.

And yet in the media, you're never gonna hear that.

No, You're not gonna hear this, in the news, but you hear it from Rick

Janich, the, the, historian emeritus.

That's a great title.

And you certainly did your job today filling in some of the blanks.

The human, the, real, the vulnerable stuff.

The real stuff.

In the years that followed, Dallas struggled under

the weight of its new identity.

A city tied to tragedy, but the legacy didn't end there.

In episode three, we look at the aftermath, the federal tensions, the birth

of the museum of, unanswered questions, and how Dallas rebuilt its reputation.

Subscribe now to catch that final chapter and the story that

started in November of 1963.