'Whirlwind of tragic history:' Hospital memo recounts hectic two days after JFK death

Fifty-four years ago, Dallas County Hospital District Administrator C.J. Price documented the historical significance of Parkland Memorial Hospital in President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Kennedy was shot Nov. 22, 1963, as his limousine drove around downtown Dallas. He later died from his injuries at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Then on Nov. 24, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s assassin, was taken to the same hospital after Jack Ruby shot him, according to History.com. Oswald later succumbed to his injuries as well.

In the memo, Price remarked about how important the hospital was on those historic days. Parkland became the “temporary seats” of the U.S. and Texas state governments, Price wrote, the sites where Kennedy and Oswald died, and the site of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ascension.

At the same time that all these incidents took place, the hospital staff remained professional and functioned normally, Price wrote.

“What is it that enables an institution to take in stride such a series of history jolting events? Spirit? Dedication? Preparedness? Certainly, all of these are important, but the underlying factor is people,” the letter read. “People whose education and training is sound. People whose judgement is calm and perceptive. People whose actions are deliberate and definitive. Our pride is not that we were swept up by the whirlwind of tragic history, but that when we were, we were not found wanting.”

Matt Ford, a writer for The Atlantic, tweeted a photo of the letter.

The copy of the letter belonged to Margaret Wilonsky, an X-ray technician at the hospital, according to Forbes. Wilonsky was working at the time of the assassination and saw X-rays of Kennedy’s skull and Jackie Kennedy in her infamous blood-stained suit.

This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 7:30 PM with the headline "'Whirlwind of tragic history:' Hospital memo recounts hectic two days after JFK death."