James Tague
James Tague | |
---|---|
Born | James Thomas Tague October 17, 1936 |
Died | February 28, 2014 | (aged 77)
Alma mater | United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine |
Occupation | Car salesman |
Known for | Witness of John F. Kennedy's assassination |
James Thomas Tague (October 17, 1936 – February 28, 2014)
Life
Tague was born on a farm near
Kennedy assassination
Tague had been driving to Downtown Dallas to have lunch with his girlfriend, and future wife, when he came upon a traffic jam caused by the presidential motorcade that was traveling west on Elm Street.
As with many other witnesses, Tague remembered hearing this first shot and likened it to a firecracker. He later testified that the first shot he recalled hearing had occurred after the presidential limousine had already completed the 120-degree slow turn from Houston Street onto Elm Street and then straightened out. The motorcade then proceeded in his direction down Elm Street, parallel to Commerce Street.
Soon after the shots were fired, Tague was approached by Dallas Detective Buddy Walthers, who noticed specks of blood on Tague's right cheek.[3] Tague also had a small left facial scab from a cut, which occurred a week before the assassination. The detective asked Tague where he had been standing. The two men then examined the area and discovered, on the upper, curved part of Main Street south curb, a "very fresh scar" impact that they believed indicated that a bullet had struck there and had taken a small chip out of the curb's concrete. They came to the conclusion that one bullet had ricocheted off the curb and the debris then hit Tague.[3]
The curb surrounding the scar chip was not cut out until August 1964, after Tague had repeatedly reminded authorities of also being wounded during the shots, and it is now in the National Archives. The scar chip was 23 feet 6 inches (7.16 m) north of the south edge of the triple underpass railroad bridge, about 20 feet (6 m) from where Tague stood during the attack. The detective told Tague that it appeared that a bullet had been fired from either the Texas School Book Depository or the Dal-Tex Building.[3]
After assassination
Warren Commission and FBI
Tague was called by the
According to the Warren Commission's final report, forensic tests by the
Books and events
In 2003, forty years after the assassination, Tague published a book called Truth Withheld (
In 2011, Tague revisited the scene of his injury for the researcher Max Holland's investigation into the first shot for the documentary JFK: The Lost Bullet.
In 2013, Tague published his second book, LBJ and the Kennedy Killing (
Later life and death
Tague became a car salesman in Bonham, Texas, where he retired.[6] He died there on February 28, 2014, at the age of 77.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "James Tague - obituary". The Telegraph. April 29, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ a b "Testimony of James Thomas Tague". Hearings before the President's Commission on the Assassination of John F. Kenney. Vol. VII. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp. 552–558.
- ^ a b c d e "James Tague: Unintended Victim in Dealey Plaza". mcadams.posc.mu.edu. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
- ^ "Chapter 3: The Shots from the Texas School Book Depository". Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp. 116–117.
- ^ JFK - L. Fletcher Prouty; Chapter 19, Page 300, Paragraph 3
- ^ McNichol, Tom (November 21, 2010). "The Kennedy Assassination's Accidental Victim". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ^ "Obituaries: James Thomas Tague". www.americanfuneralservice-fh.com. American Funeral Service. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
External links
- James Tague at IMDb
- William M. Goggins, James Tague: Unintended Victim in Dealey Plaza.
- James Tague at Find a Grave