The Petroleum Club Dallas Texas. Friday November 22, 1963, 12:37 PM
After a round of laughter Jack said, “The embarrassing thing was at that moment I realized Monique is smarter than any of us.”
Just as Jack was taking a bite of grilled swordfish a man called the room to order, “Gentlemen attention please! We just received word that President Kennedy had been shot in Dealey plaza.”
The room erupted in a barrage of questions. Was he wounded? Was he alive? Jack looked across the table at Hugh Andross and said, “Dead or wounded they have to take him to a hospital. Where would they take him?”
Hugh looked at Tom Raleigh and said, “Tom you know your way around the police department, can you find out for us?”
“If you’re serious, I can make a call,” Raleigh said as he rose from the table and walked to the lobby.
A minute later Raleigh was back and said, “I’ve got a senior source. He tells me that they’re not saying if he’s alive or dead but it’s not good and they took him to Parkland Hospital.”
“Nicolas, you stay here and finish lunch. I don’t want to crowd them, but I need to go down there,” Jack said.
Tom Raleigh said, “They know me. I can take you over and get you in further than you could get in by yourself.”
It helped to have Tom Raleigh there because the police knew him. His brother Walt handled a high-profile case for the FOP.
They were just walking down the hallway to Trauma Room One when Lyndon Johnson and a shorter man emerged from the emergency room and were talking.
LBJ looked up, did a double take, and said, “Jack, speak of the sun and feel its rays. How did you know I need you?”
“Lunch at the Petroleum Club. When I heard the news I figured I should at least come over here and see if there’s anything you need.” Jack said.
“Damn straight, I need you in Washington. Is there any reason why you can’t fly back on Angel, oh hell I mean Air Force One with me and Jackie and the body and those damn Harvard sums a bitches. Sorry about that Tom I know how you Harvard guys are,” LBJ said, “This is Jack Valenti. Jack, you take Donahue and get him on the plane. I need both of you with me in Washington.” Then LBJ turned to a tall gaunt looking man who was keeping an eye on them, “Rufus you know Jack Donahue. I need him. I’m taking him back; make sure your people know he’s going to be on the plane. Make sure he and Valenti are on the plane even if we have to bump some of the Kennedy people.”
“Yes sir,” Jack Valenti said, “I’ll make sure he gets on. Right Rufus?”
“Donahue, on the plane we’re going to talk. I’ve got three questions: Russia, Cuba, and Vietnam. You be ready,” LBJ said.
“Jack, I guess I’ll leave you here,” Tom Raleigh said. He was looking at Donahue with an amazed look as if he could not really believe what was happening in front of his eyes, “is there anything you need me to do or tell Nicolas?”
“Thanks, tell him to get word to Monique that everything is okay, and she can fly back and meet me, or she can stay a few days in Midland. It’s fine either way. Also tell him to call my house and have them send somebody down to Washington with clothes and everything I need. They will know what to do. Tell him to put it in a room at the Hay Adams and if not there get word to the vice president’s office. Excuse me I mean the president’s office,” Jack said, choking up a little as he corrected himself and he felt a tear in his right eye.
As Tom Raleigh walked out of Parkland Hospital, he could not help thinking that the whole Jack Donahue story sounded like so much bullshit. But after seeing him with Johnson he did not have any more questions. Besides the way Ouest was growing it was a perfect client for Vinson, Crocker, & Wood.
“Come on Jack, I’ll get us a ride,” Jack Valenti said, as he flagged down secret service agent Lem Johns, and said, “Volunteer wants us on the flight to DC can you help us?”
“Rufus Youngblood sent me to find you. I know what to do. They’ll give us a police car.”
They just started to pull away when Cecil Stoughton flagged them down. Johns looked at Valenti and said, “okay?”
“Yeah, get him, he’s the president’s photographer, we’re going to need him,” Valenti said.
It was a mob scene at Love Field. Thirty police officers surrounded Air Force One in a defensive perimeter. They had to push their way aboard but with secret service agent Lem Johns they got through.
Jack did not know as many of the Johnson people, but he immediately spotted President Kennedy’s staff. He made his way over to Mary Gallagher and Evelyn Lincoln, “Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Gallagher; I am so sorry.”
Mrs. Lincoln, who normally was not a very effusive person, hugged Jack and said, “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
It seemed like forever, but it was not that long a time when the hearse pulled in and the Kennedy men set to bring the president’s casket on to the plane. Dave Powers was a good guy. Larry O’Brien was the political guy. He was not as anti-Johnson as some of them, but he still did not think much of LBJ.
Kenny O’Donnell tended to be a horse’s ass. He was devastated because among his duties on this trip he was the Kennedy staffer to oversee security. Everybody knew the president never paid much attention to anything O’Donnell said but O’Donnell knew that people were thinking that he oversaw security.
The Kennedy men had a hell of a time with the casket. They did not realize that to keep the casket from rolling around in the back of the hearse it was locked to the floor. They ended up breaking the lock and doing a lot of damage to the casket. Then they had even more trouble manhandling the casket which was around a thousand pounds into the plane. They had to take the handles off the casket, and it was just a general mess.
The Kennedy staff was in a panic. Kenny O’Donnell told them that they had to get JFK’s body out of Texas as quickly as possible or else the Dallas Police Department was going to seize the body which would be devastating for Jackie Kennedy. Of course, O’Donnell was not dealing in reality. Otherwise, he might have realized that the Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry was on Air Force One to make sure nothing happened. But Kenny certainly got everybody worked up though.
Immediately after the casket Jackie Kennedy followed up the narrow stairs into the airplane and then they moved the casket all the way to the back, and she went back and sat there. Jack Donahue spotted her, so he headed back to extend his sympathy. As he walked towards Jackie Kennedy Kenny O’Donnell stood up and blocked his way down the aisle and said, “the Johnson people are sitting up there.”
Donahue sized up O’Donnell and was considering what to do when Jackie Kennedy said, “Jack, thank you for being here. Please come sit with me.”
Jackie was as gracious as she could be, but she was obviously in shock. Jack looked and saw that she was still splattered with her husband’s blood. It was disconcerting to talk to somebody with bits of brain and skull and blood on her outfit, “I am so sorry Mrs. Kennedy. This is devastating.” Jack was feeling his insides tighten up the combination of shame, grief, and anger. Being part of the assassination plot was not an easy weight for him to carry.
“Where is Monique? You did not bring her, did you?” Jackie Kennedy said.
“She was shopping and looking for locations for her store. I was at the Petroleum Club when I got word. She is going to be furious, but she will catch up with me soon,” Jack said.
“I will always count Monique as my friend,” Jackie said, “I want you to promise that you will marry her and when you marry her, I want to be there.”
On the plane it was almost like two different sporting teams. Playing for team Kennedy was Admiral Dr. George Burkley, General Clifton, Mac Kilduff, Larry O’Brien, Kenny O’Donnell, and Dave Powers. They were extremely stressed out. Jack Kennedy was the center of their world. They did not really like Lyndon Johnson, some of them like O’Donnell hated LBJ and the idea that LBJ was now going to be president was devastating. The women were not as partisan. Gallagher, Lincoln, and Turnure were not Johnson people by any stretch of the imagination, but they were not as keyed up and ready to explode as the men.
They were still on the ground which meant no air conditioning, but they were waiting for LBJ’s special judge to come and administer the oath of office. Whether they liked him or not he was the president and LBJ said he was not leaving until Judge Hughes was there to administer the oath of office. When she arrived, he sent someone back to invite Mrs. Kennedy to come up for the swearing in.
At that point Kenny O’Donnell went into a meltdown. He threw a temper tantrum that there was no way that Mrs. Kennedy should put herself through that. It was far tenser than it ever needed to be and could have turned ugly. Then Jackie said, “I think I should.”
After the swearing in LBJ spoke with Jackie Kennedy and without thought she called him Lyndon. Then she caught herself and apologized saying she would never call him Lyndon again and she said “Mr. President.”
“I hope you’ll call me that for the rest of your life,” Johnson replied. LBJ could be a little bit coarse and a little bit crude. More than a little bit but deep down he was always a gentleman. The Kennedy people for the most part were arrogant and pretentious posers. But Jackie really was a lady.
Donahue could not help thinking as he watched this bizarre ritual that the Kennedy aides tended to have the emotional maturity of 13-year-olds. He realized by far the toughest one of all was Jackie Kennedy. She was going to do exactly the right thing. She is going to do exactly what was expected of her. She could have thrown a temper tantrum. She could have refused to do anything, but she wanted to do the right thing. Jack realized that was a strength that none of the Kennedy aides or relatives or people like Ethel Kennedy could ever really understand. If anything, maybe the one who would understand was the president’s mother, Rose.
Jack was still sitting back with Jackie and the Kennedy aides when Johnson’s secretary, Marie Fehmer came back, “Jack, the president would like to see you now.
Jack stood up and said, “Sure.” But he noticed the look on Kenny O’Donnell’s face when Marie Fehmer said the president. He looked stunned, surprised, and angry. Lyndon Baines Johnson as president of the United States was not an easy thing for him to swallow.
Jack walked into the stateroom and said, “Mr. President, you want to see me?”
‘Sit down Jack,” LBJ said, “I wanted this God damned job for years. But I never wanted it this way. The question of the hour; Russia, Cuba, or Vietnam?”
“Cuba doesn’t make sense. They got everything they could want from President Kennedy. He virtually guaranteed them hands off by the United States. What do they gain by killing him? I don’t see it.”
“I’m thinking pretty much the same thing. He did everything short of bending over in the shower and passing them the soap. What about Vietnam?” LBJ said.
“I am inclined to think no. Madam Nhu was about the only one who might, and I don’t think she could. She left before the assassination and is with her parents in California,” Jack said, “The president was wrong about the need to kill President Diem. If he was alive or his brother Nhu Then they might have a chance of raising a rebellion against the new government. But there’s no possible way that either the people or the military in Vietnam are going to support Madame Nhu.”
“Jack, do you know the true test of a man’s intelligence?” LBJ asked, “the true test is how much he agrees with me, and I think about the same thing on that. I don’t see it as Vietnam. So that leaves Russia.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, sir. Outside of the fact that they oppose us, and we oppose them; I am not sure what they gained by killing the president. Have you given any thought to the possibility of a domestic terrorist plot? You have got some crazy people out here. Texas seems to be one of the places where they congregate. I would not rule out local crazies,” Jack said.
“No, we can’t. You know during the sixty campaign we got ambushed by a group of Nixon supporters right here in Dallas at the Adolphus Hotel. Those rotten sons a bitches spat on Lady Bird. They spat on me, but the important part is they spat on Lady Bird.”
“The line between attacking a lady and shooting a president is not that far apart,’‘ Jack said.
“I’m going to have to cut this short. There are so many things to do and so many calls to make but I need you. Can you take a leave of absence from your business and help me in Washington? I have to keep those Harvard bastards close. But you know they have been wrong about just about everything, so I need to bring in my own people to keep an eye on them. I need you to work in parallel with McGeorge Bundy. He’ll still be the national security aide; your job will be to tell me when and how he’s wrong.”
“I can do that Mr. President but let me just say one last thing before I go. Up the alert status on American troops in position to hit the Soviet Block. I am not suggesting you hit them, I think you just need to remind them that you’re thinking about it. Right now, Khrushchev is asking his men what sort of man you are,” Jack said as he left the stateroom.
Jack did not feel like going back and sitting with the Kennedy crowd, so he sat in an empty seat up among the Johnson people. After a little bit Jack Valenti came over and said, “Move in a seat Jack. We need to talk.”
Jack moved to the window seat and Valenti sat down next to him, “How can I help you, Jack?” Donahue said.
“I understand that you are coming on board the team. That puts you in a ticklish situation. The Kennedy crowd is going to try and knock us down. They can’t believe the boss is the boss,” Jack Valenti said.
“I know; I was sitting back there with them when I came on board. Jackie has always been incredibly sweet to my fiancé Monique and myself. But the rest of them, not so much,” Jack Donahue said, “I’m glad to help out. I take it he wants me to be some sort of shadow staff to keep an eye on the Kennedy guys. I can do that but how long do you think you need me for?”
“Didn’t he say anything? He wants you on board for the duration,” Valenti said.
Jack sat back in the seat and thought back on surprise meeting 367 days before: