True in Theory

In the hours after gunshots cracked across Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963, Americans found themselves playing a novel role in a fast-paced drama. Within just six minutes, they heard over national radio that the president’s motorcade had come under fire. Four more, and Walter Cronkite told the CBS television audience that President John F. Kennedy Jr. had been hit. Another 58 minutes, and millions gathered around televisions heard Cronkite’s emotional announcement that the president was dead. Stunned viewers still remember that moment, but the search for answers was just beginning.