Congressman Roger Williams recalls being one of the last to shake JFK's hand on the day he died
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Tuesday marks 60 years since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
He spent his final morning at an event in Fort Worth, and Congressman Roger Williams, who now represents the 25th District of Texas, was in the audience.
The then 15-year-old was one of the last people to shake the president's hand, just a few hours before he was killed.
"That morning was a huge day in Fort Worth," said Williams. "A lot of schools had let out, the president had come to town. He'd gotten in the night before."
He and his mother got to attend the Chamber of Commerce breakfast for the president at the Hotel Texas.
"And I remember we had great seats and we were looking right at the president, right where he addressed on the podium," Williams said. "Mrs. Kennedy was not on the stage. She was running late. And she came in and stepped on the stage in that beautiful pink dress. And everybody went nuts and cheered for her and everything."
Williams' dad was a car dealer at the time who supplied several cars for the president's motorcade during his time in Fort Worth. In exchange, he asked if his wife and son could meet the president.
After Kennedy's speech at the breakfast, secret service agents ushered the pair to a small room by the exit.
"Mother and I were standing there, the two agents were there, and all of a sudden Mrs. Kennedy came around the corner, in that pink dress," he said. "And she shook my mother's hand, who was next to me, and she shook my hand, and stood right next to me. And I can't even tell you how I felt. There she was, standing next to me, and then shortly thereafter the president came in. He had a cigar in his mouth. He took a puff out of a cigar and put it in a sand urn...He came around and shook my mother's hand. And came and shook my hand and did not let go of my hand, looked back at my mother, and said you've got a good looking young man here."
Williams says he was unable to get any words out during the interaction.
"Well, I was so nervous and scared, I didn't say anything," he said. I don't think I could have told you my name at that point."
Right after their meeting, the president left the hotel to head to Dallas.
"When they got in their cars and left, mother and I got in ours and she took me to school," said Williams.
He was in class when he heard the president, the man he just met, had been shot.
"The principal came in and whispered something in Mr. Henley's ear—he was my history teacher—and he put his hands on the desk and started crying and said the president had been killed," Williams said.
It was an act that altered the course of history and shattered Williams' worldview.
"Nobody leaves their doors open now, churches lock their doors, people are weary of other people," he said. "It all, I'm telling you, in my lifetime, that's what changed it—that moment. And it's still with us."
Six decades later, every detail remains burned into his memory—the tragedy, alongside the moment that eventually led to his career in public service.
"He wasn't a Democrat or Republican to me," said Williams. "He was the president, and he told me that morning in that speech, you can do this—you can be like me. And it all hit home to me, a guy that wasn't even interested until that day I got to see him."
JFK, the 35th president of the United States, inspired generations to ask now what your country can do for you, "ask what you can do for your country."
