Sid Davis, a veteran reporter who covered the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, spoke about his experiences to a crowd of just over 40 people in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism on Monday, November 18th.

On his way to cover President John F. Kennedy’s campaign for re-election, Sid Davis realized he had left his reporter’s notebook at home. During a stop at a San Antonio airport, he purchased a simple red notepad for 15 cents. 

It was on those pages that he would scrawl these historic words: “President John F. Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. CST today in Dallas.”

Davis, who was working for Westinghouse Broadcasting Company at the time, shared his memories from Nov. 22, 1963, with a crowd of students and faculty members in Richard Eaton Broadcast Theatre in Knight Hall yesterday. The 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination is Friday.

“There was nothing unusual about going to Dallas,” Davis said. “Secret Service was a little concerned because there had been two incidents where a Democrat was mistreated verbally, but that was the only thing we expected. We never expected anything like what happened.”

Davis remembered seeing the president and first lady exit Air Force One at Love Field. He noticed the couple was holding hands — a rare occasion, he said, as the commander in chief was very private about his marriage. 

When he saw what fashion icon Jacqueline Kennedy was wearing that day, Davis asked a female reporter what color her outfit was. He planned on writing that it was pink, but she assured him it was raspberry. 

About an hour later, Davis was sitting on the press bus about eight car lengths behind Kennedy’s uncovered Lincoln when he heard three shots fired.

“We saw the car just take off,” Davis said. “We saw the raspberry color of Mrs. Kennedy’s dress just disappear; they were going so fast to get away.”

Davis was one of three reporters and 27 people total on Air Force One when Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in later that day. In the iconic black-and-white photo of the ceremony, the left side of Davis’ face and his glasses are visible. 

“That was Johnson’s finest hour,” Davis said. “He was calm, reserved; he knew what he had to do. His treatment of Mrs. Kennedy was very compassionate. There was nothing in his heart at that time but to lead the country.”

The hours after the assassination were difficult, Davis said. Between rushing to Parkland Hospital and flying back to Washington, there were moments when he broke down in tears. 

“If you stopped to think ‘Oh God, the president is dead,’ you couldn’t get through the day,” Davis said. 

He called upon the final stanza from Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” to explain how he felt.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep,” he recited. 

Davis started his presentation by joking about his most recent experience speaking at a university.

“Last time I did a university speech, it was followed by a letter that said ‘Dear Mr. Davis, if my doctor gave me only one hour to live, I’d like to spend it in one of your lectures. One hour with you is like an eternity,’” he said.

But senior journalism major Samantha Medney disagreed, saying his presentation was fascinating. 

“I was really impressed by the way he was able to convey the emotions and feelings of that horrible day. His stories were incredible, and I was so happy I could be there. I would love to go to another lecture like this one,” Medney said. “It really helps give [students] perspective on historical events and gives journalism students an idea of the type of work we might do when we head out into the real world.”

Carm Saimbre, a freshman journalism major, said Davis knew how to tell a story, which kept the lecture enjoyable and enlightening. 

“It was awesome to get perspective about JFK’s assassination from a reporter who was actually involved with Kennedy’s inner circle,” Saimbre said.