books featured at provoke thought, one awards come let significant societal changes and they are still talked about today. hear from future been out experts who will shed light on the profound impact these iconic works and virtual jurors to significant locations across the country intricately tied to the celebrate offers and unforgettable books about our future books, common sense by thomas bay, huckleberry finn by mark twain, their eyes were watching god by zora neale hurston and free to choose by milton and rose friedman. watch our ten part series books that shaped america starting monday september 18th at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span there our free mobile video out online at c-span.org. >> weekends on c-span2 are an intellectual feast. every saturday american history tv documents american stories,

and on sunday tv brings you the latest in nonfiction books and authors. funding for c-span2 come from these television companies and more including wow. >> the world has changed but to date fast level internet connection something no one can live without some wow is there for our customers with speed, reliability, value and choice. now more than ever it all starts with great internet. >> wow along with these television companies supports c-span2 as a public service. >> as many of you know the most divisive perhaps one of the most divisive elections in our nation's history was election of 1800. president john adams ultimately lost the vice president thomas jefferson. and while the transfer of power was ultimately peaceful, adams did forgo his successors

inauguration. i think that'sha a also happened another time or two, but i won't bring that up. [laughter] and those treatments actually remain at odds for many, many years here it was only later during their retirement did they actually rekindle their friendship, discussing many different topics in their correspondence, including the topic of death. adams actually wrote to jefferson in 1822 these words, quote, i answer your question, is death and evil? it is not an evil. it is a blessing to the individual, and to the world. yet we ought not to wish for it, to life becomes insupportable, end quote. he was 86 years old when he

wrote this note, perhaps adams had become comfortable with the idea of leaving the world but it was four years later that both men, adams and jefferson, passed away on the same exact day, jul. and while he was not present when his father died, john quincy adams later recorded his father's last words, three very poignant words, thomas jefferson survives. he had no way of knowing that jefferson had died on the very same day. as americans then gathered across the country to honor the 50th anniversary of the declaration of independence, news of adams andnd jeffersons passing spread here and what had

begun as a month of celebration was now one of the mourning and commemoration, as the citizens began to listen to eulogies, speeches and tributes in churches, government buildings and in public spaces. while jefferson and adams have their own opinions on how they should be remembered, it would be up to those living in 1826 and successive generations, even up until now, to define and to shape their memory. presidential sites such as your are frequently called upon to discuss the legacies of people who without the highest office in ourn country, and one way, oe very important way, what iconic weight as we all know these men would eventually die. and its it's how that deaths marked and remembered that it becomes very important. our next barrel will provide wonderful and different perspectives on this process.

one of our panelists has actually planned a presidential funeral. one is a historian, and another oversees a presidential site defined by tragedy. these threeth participants will give greater insight into how these rituals, and how these events, changed over time, and how we can use moments like this to better understand the relationship between the american people and the president of the united states. as well as how presidential mourning at any given time can reflect different elements of american society, politics, and culture. our moderator for this session is a a john heubusch, executive director of the ronald reagan presidentialti foundation and institute. and before i introduce the other panelist i just want to take a moment of personal privilege here and recognize john's 12

years of transformational leadership at the reagan foundation. i had the privilegele of working for andnd with john for several years and planning the reagan, the reagan centennial, and he was a great friend, a great leader, and certainly has been extraordinary in transforming the work of the reagan foundation and preserving and continuing to advance the legacy of our 40th president of the united states. so congratulations, john, under great achievement. [applause] joining john onstage are my friend jean becker former chief of staff to president george h.w. bush and first lady barbara bush, louis picone historian and board trustee for the grover cleveland birthplace memorial association and author of grants to come for epic death of ulysses s. grant in the making of an american pantheon.

and nicola longford executive director of the sixth floor museum at dealey plaza. nicola thank you for welcoming so many of our guests the other day to your wonderful museum. please welcome us and our panel as we continue the program. [applause] >> thank you so much, stuart. as stuart mentioned, he and i had the chance to work in the past both at the red cross and stewart was just an absolutely remarkable head of the reagan centennialm in 2011. he has saved me from one disaster another, at the reagan library. wonderful to be with youni allll this morning. i had a little trepidation when

stuart told me that what he wanted me to discuss with our panels is death and destruction and tragedy, and i thought okay, this will be quite a challenge. but when i saw who our panelists were that you will be hearing from this morning, it's really, this is i think you're going to learn a lot and you will find this to be a real pleasure, even though the subject is a difficult subject for all americans, and you will learn more about that in just a moment. i did a little bit of homework. and not a good mathematician, but i delved into some of the documents at the white house historical association pulled together on this very topic of presidential funerals, assassinations, morning and the like. and the math, today we have six living presidents today including our current president in the white house.

32 have died outside of the white housena of various natural causes. eight presidents have died while in office. four of those assassinated. now, as you can imagine depending on the circumstances very, very different situations with respect to america and morning, depending on the particular presidents. these experts have studied just about every one of them. so when we get to the q and a portion, have your questions ready. i think we know today americans are having quite a lot of difficulty unifying, coming together on just about anything. but when you experience, when you plan, when you study the death of a united states

president, we find that some of these very rare moments where americans actually come together as a people to morning, -- to mourn, whether it be incredible shock of an assassination of a president or a natural passing of a president, the morning is there. i read in one of the papers that talked about how there's a quote is no greater shock for the country in the passing of a president. and i remember that, you know, for example, i am probably one of the elder statesman here today. i remember the passing of john f. kennedy. i was just a mere five years old, but it was that very first memory i have as a young boy. and i remember, i was living in

arlington, virginia, and i heard this thunderous noise outside of our home, and i ran out into our backyard and overhead where the jets that were flying with the missing man formation, just moving their way across the skydiving of washington, d.c., and then i ran downstairs to our big black and white television set to see those very same jets on television. and its my very first memory and maybe i'll not forget. i thought a lot about it as i was studying up on our panelists. what you'll find is that presidential funerals, presidential mourning is all about processions, the line in state, writerly sources, teams of six white horses. in thehe modern-day television roadblock coverage across all of

the networks. presidential library burials. i would like to start with a show of hands, can everyone who has only planned and executed, involved in presidential funeral please raise your hand. [laughter] >> you're setting me up. >> i ampyra now, everyone has been to a presidential funeral, one of the events or has watched one on tv, raise your hand you're okay, there's a lot more of the second than the first. so i want, i would like us to start off by talking with someone who has done it all, jeanan becker. jean, take us behind the scenes of what it is like to plan and

involve yourself in a full-blown modern-day presidential funeral. >> it's complete chaos. what you see on tv, i hope, looked really organized and very together it's chaos. and it's a process that goes on for years and years. and i decided the best way to answer your question, not here to promote my book but my editor would not me to show this. [laughter] the last chapter is called the long journey home, and it just going to read something i put in the book, talking about planning the funeral this is before president bush died. one day in maine when i had worked all day on the funeral i chemo two houseguests who were ready to do something fun for the evening. ii was exhausted and a little frustrated at some of the problems i knew i had to solve. all i wanted to do was drink a bottle of light and collapsed. one of my friends was not abused

and with major attitude she said, i do understand what the big deal is. you have been planning this funeral for years. how is it you are not done yet? what is the big deal? my answer, i had a lot of attitude. just imagine you're in charge of an event that will take place over six days in three maybe four if he died in maine it would've been four different cities and involves a cast of thousands including residents and queens and kings and members of a very large family that live out over the united states who need to be moved from where they live to houston to washington back to houston to college station and back to the house, all of which will be carried live on television morning, noon and night for six days. and you have no idea when it's going to happen.

none. when it does happen you have about 48 hours before it all begins to pull it all together before the show begins, again live on television for the next six days. you won't sleep. he won't eat you won't really fake. you just do. my friend never asked that question again. [laughter] so that's just, it's just, one of the dumbest fights i ever had was with the man who was in charge of the super bowl in houston, and we literally had a fight about whose job was harder for her i i said you know when the super bowl is. [laughter] and he said, i do know you're going to agree with me, he says but i don't know the teams until two weeks out you know who's going to die. [laughter] seriously? spirit jean and i have a very close mutual friend, joanna

drake, and when i first met joanne she works at the reagan foundation, the library, one of the very first things that she showed me when it took on this job was a three ring binder, and i think stewart has seen this come about this thick, about sie planning, it was of the plans that the staff put together for president reagan's funeral. so i know of what jean talks about, and this is reagan's was just as thick. >> imagesus and quickly confit after president reagan died, after president ford died, after nancy reagan died, all joanne wrote long memos to me, president ford who was the man in charge of the funeral, demanding grade the ongoing memo. they became my bible of how to do a funeral. it saved my life. and i did the same for the chiefs of staff of president

bush 43, obama, clinton and carter. i wrote this long memo, what went right, what went wrong, we can talk about later some of those big challenges. but those memos save my life. >> in the moment will talk about the sharing of those memos, but this is one of those best laid plans of mice and men, and i want to put a photo up and ask jean to comment. here we go. jean, best laid plans but sometimes there are surprises come big surprises that might occur unexpected vote in presidential funerals and here's just onene pair. >> this is one of the best unexpected moments. of president bush's funeral pair many of you will remember that president bush andnd bob dole we big political rivals but they had a very nasty 1988 republican primary contest, and both said some things that they probably

wish they had not said they beme huge friends here and when senator dole, thi is when president bush was lying in state in the rotunda, and insisted on standing and saluting the casket he's in a wheelchair now, and i had an opportunity to ask him why he did this. why he insisted on standing, and i can'tg tell you the answer without crying. he said i had to stand and salute that great man peter this is one of the big pictures of the funeral that went viral. everyone, such a wonderful moment, you know. >> lewis, why select spectacle parts i mean, everyone passes at some time or another, but why pop and the circumstance? what's the history behind it? >> that the good question because it's something that is built up over time and jean is

hinting that all of these plans going into six days of a funeral, going back to the beginning with george washington, with the very first presidential funeralal in 1799, just to show how far we've come george washington in his will asked for no funeral oration. he didn't want any funeral. one of the reasons that i surmised is that washington had such a strong sense of republican virtue, and that in america, our leaders were citizens first and we were much different from the monarchs and the tirades of old europe. so he asked for no funeral pair that washington was a freemason, so the freemasons had asked martha if they could hold a moderate funeral for him have edited anything just made an image of the funeral. and it i was just a couple hundd marchers that were in the

funeral. he died and was interred at mount vernon. but the funeral did set some precedents that are still in practice today, the military forces, the 21 gun salute, a vital resource that we still see today. now over time with advances in technology and as the country grew, funerals began to become more elaborate. and significantly when a president died in office like william henry harrison being the first president to die in office in washington, d.c. there was a funeral procession which might a little bit resemble what we see today with hundreds of marchers that march from the white house to congressional cemetery where he was temporarily entered. and then over time with again with advances in technology like

the train and with involving with abraham lincoln where there can be these more elaborate elongated ceremonies before the president was interred. but still these modest funerals would still be in practice even into the 1900s. grover cleveland funeral from beginning from with the funeral first started at his home in princeton to when he was placed in the ground was barely one hour in princeton, new jersey. so extremely modest. calvin coolidge is was probably the last of the mods funerals in 1932 with just several hundred guests attended his funeral in northampton, massachusetts. after that we see where franklin roosevelt died in office in 1945 and there was this major event but it was unplanned because no

one expected him to die. and that leads us into john f. kennedy the next president to die, just very quickly, after john f. kennedy who also died unplanned is whenn presidents started tohi do this we plan funerals. and one ring binder that turned into three or that grew over time so that's when we see the modern, the modern-day state funeral that we are so familiar with now really starts to form after kennedy, willie herbert hoover's was the first one that had that preplanning had gone into it. >> and as you pointed, we both pointed to the client of it, as jean has said okay, you don't know when it's going to happen, my gosh, with john f. kennedy you really, really don't know when it's going to occur. yet a funeral still needs to take place and needs to take place relatively quickly.

so nicola, if you could talk to us you've got h this fabulous museum here in dallas, the sixth floor museum, but a great deal of it covers jfks funeral i was able to do that? >> i think the last thing the presidential couple expected when the beta visited texas anti-dallas was to have the four days in november at a national funeral and uniting the world and sort of desperate sorrow. mrs. lincoln was inspired by lincoln procession with enormous grace and support from her team. but the museum really chronicles the assassination and addresses those chaotic days leading up to the assassination, the aftermath and how the nation and the world mourned ny there are still questions today. >> yeah, i remember at the time,

so i grew up and i found a book on our shelf at home, it was called the torch has passed, famous book about the jfk funeral. i remember leafing through it and seeing these iconic images of the funeral. i thought i would pull one up, yeah. tell us aboutt this moment. >> one of the strengths of our museum collection is what we have been given donated so many wonderful images and films and home movies byby innocent bystanders this photograph was taken by dr.ma thomas mcconnell who actually was a doctor at park land hospital before and after the assassination, but he was here documenting this tragic, very sad moment of mrs. kennedy coming up wit the children just before little john-john raised his hand in salute. so we have a lot of material that we haven't yet been able to put on display but this is one example where people have wanted

to express powerful memories s not necessarily thinking that the stories are important but it adds so much rich texture and dimension to the story so e able to do through programming. >> nicola, tell me, i'll use the word tourist site, you know, and whether we are dealing with ford's theater, the site at the lincoln assassination, or your own exhibit. tell me how do museums, exhibits evolve dealing with anli assassination when you're rubbing up against something so extremely delicate and the morning. how does the community come together and decide it's time for us toem commemorate this? does it take a long while? does it happen instantly? >> well, it takes a very long time. on the date of the assassination the grassy knoll dealey plaza became an instant memorial site so we were just sitting and

dennis was overwhelmed with mourners coming to try and understand what it happened. our story has been a very long journey one of the great struggle and endurance over the decades. obviously the assassination took place in 1963 per the museum exhibit didn't open until 1989 entered 1993 the dealey plaza area was designated as a national historic landmark district designation. the museum open after at least a decade of struggles can figure out what to do. thank god dallas county state of the building entered into dallas county administrative offices through the first and fifth floors. the sixth floors left vacant and wonderful lady who ended up becoming oliver ferry godmother linda adams literature of the dallas ken historical commission that she along with civic leaders lobbied throughout dallas to gain support to create

an exhibit to explain to the world the events that that up to the assassination. we had to find a way to address all the people that were flocking to dealey plaza trying to seek their own meaning. that piece in this tragic piece of history. >> yeah. jean, i didn't figure this out until he went to the reagan, but you know it's on the tip of your tongue here how do you approach a present to say, listen, it's time to start talking about your death. we've got to get on with this thing. how so will the president engage in this sophisticated planning effort? and is it a delicate moment? >> okay, so many ways i had the best job inn america being geore bush's chief of staff. he loved talking about his funeral. [laughter] first of all, to answer part of

your question i think this is because of the assassination of kennedy. you had your first meeting of the white housere when you're president. i obviously was not part of that meeting but i know that they make sitting presidents at least to some kind of outline of a funeral in case he dies in office. so when it became his chief of staff i i inherited a very small folder of plans, and by the time we were done it was a credenza. he come about, after he turned maybe 80,0, i want to get ice tt we need to talk about your funeral. and he's like a old good. [laughter] you know? i know it's really odd. the other thing he did is every presidential funeral he attended he changed his mind about something. after president nixon's is when he decided to be buried at his library, he and mrs. bush will be buried at kennebunkport maple

after project read he said he did not want the writer this horse he thought it was too dramatic after president ford's wanted all the same music. hereby to favor phone callsal that was rick scowcroft and henry kissinger after president ford they informed me that no one who was 80 or older should be honorary pallbearers because they were exhausted and difficult and they were hungry. [laughter] as i told president bush, honorary pallbearers with the captains of the uss which h.w. bush we kick out all the old people and then my other favorite was the 43rd president of the credit who called mcneil after john mccains funeral, jean, i do at the funeral talked to long except for me. [laughter] dads funeral, no one talks more than ten minutes. ten minutes. got it? i'm like yes, sir. president b bush, and in this te

to talk about the train? >> we will get to that. >> should we say that for later? we will save the transfer later he enjoyed talking about the funeral and one quick story, this is a little bizarre but even the national media has to get really organized because it all have to hit the ground running on the networks divide up who's going to be the pool camera for the big events to fox news was a pool camera at the gravesite, and they called and wanted permission to come advanced at. we ended up closing it to the media. the great, the burial turned out to be 100% private but for a while it was going to be a pool camera for so i just told president bush, sort of as an fyi pic i said you're not going to believe this but fox news as advancing your gravesite at the library today for he says, i have an idea. he says i'm going to go and when they get out there on going to be laying on top of the grave. [laughter] with my arms crossed like i'm

dead. i said no. [laughter] you're not doing that. spur i told you this would not be all bad news. >> louis. >> how is it that in america the death of the present drives ever so briefly, i do want to know why so briefly, these moments of national reconciliation. >> well, president is one person who unites everyone. all vote forso president the president represents everyone. so presidential funeral traditionally when the nation is divided is something that unites us. history there have been periods of reconciliation, some briefly, some more per minute that if come out of it

that have, where the presidential funeral has been the catalyst. one of the brief examples can go back to washington's funeral again when the country was becoming greatly divided over the formation of political parties. and george washington's funeral briefly brought together the federalists and democratic republicans tomorrow together but ultimately political forces were outplayed that were bigger than george washington. a couple of successful examples of how presidential funerals and presidential have several different catalysts for change, one being actor james garfield had died when he was assassinated in one of the reasons one of the divided issues of the time was over civil service reform. and the spoils party. out of that assassination shortlyy after the pendleton act is signed and civil service reform begins to take shape.

perhaps one of the most potent examples ofen reconciliation beg spawned by apr presidential deah and funeral is ulysses s. grant. because grant had died 20 years after the civil war so a generation after the civil war when thehe country so greatly divided north and south. grant was really perhaps the one individual that was delivered north and south of the mason-dixon line, and died a generation after the civil war, the nation was really ready reconciliation. so he was really the perfect man almostos perfect time to really bring about some of that reconciliation. during his funeral there's confederatee marchers who march with predominately junior but also confederate marchers.

there's two former confederate generals who were pallbearers at his funeral. and his two which comes 12 years later in 1897 really becomes a place -- to -- where all sections of society come tomorrow and pay respects at the same location period again, there's north and south of the border, that white americans, african-americans convince men and women, democrats, republicans.ub he's really the one man and this becomes perhaps the one place that can really bring about this reunification now, we know the history of reunification, that it was largely also the reunification of the north and the south was also built upon, upon african-americans in the south losing their c civil righs unfortunately that's a very important part of the story also.

but grants funeral was a point that really began to reform the united states of america that had still been greatly divided in 1885 when he died. >> nicola, back to assassination for a moment. fortunately the exhibit at the reaganor library portrays what was, that god, an attempted assassination. but in jfk's case and actual assassination and death of a president. how do you go about determining what artifacts, what objects involving an assassination are appropriate for public display? i'm sure that must be a difficult situation. >> i get to that end a minute but i do say that john hinckley who attempted to assassinate

president reagan actually lived in dallas so that was another shot dallas that is still really be leaving for the effects of having the city with the president lost his life. president kennedy's assassination happened at the dawn of television and satellite broadcasting, so the news ricocheted all around the world. there's been an outpouring of interest all across the world since the assassination and finding out find out what happened or so people come to gallus trying to seek meaning, at the careful crafting of the original exhibit john f. kennedy in the memory of a nation was designed to reach people who had lived through this traumatic time. the idea was not that this was a museum or a memorial. this was an exhibit that would help put in the context historical context the events that happened and to allow those people who remember to find their own solace and reflect. they have no idea that 33 years

later that there would be a sixth floor museum at dealey plaza with that is an accredited museum by the american alliance of museums and also holding 90,000 artifacts. originally the exhibit had very few artifacts it was designed to be a floating chronological look at the events leading up to presidentte kennedy's trip to texas. what was the climb in dallas at the time? the enormous welcome reception in the wonderful motorcade, endemically through dealey plaza which wasas assigned as a wpa project as a a gateway into the city and it still works as such. and nobody could imagine what happened. butt then the series of investigations afterwards, so the responsibility of the original project developers was to address the controversy but walk a very fine line to be factually based, not to tell you what l to believe that to lead e

visitor through and to come to their own conclusions atve the very end. so over time w' tried to update put in ait and artifacts as we have been lucky recipients of donations. there is a gentleman here also to estimate a very important artifact, that's thes place setting that would eventrk at te trademark for the president. we have taken our display of artifacts very carefully. this is not to be ever display of curiosities. it's not ripleys believe it or not. most of the evidentiary materials in the national archives probably will not see the life, we will not see in our lifetimes perhaps on display. the most controversial artifact that we put on display in preparation for the 50th anniversary commemoration was the rightful, it's an exact copy of the one that lee harvey

oswald use to assassinate the president. that's carefully displayed the people don't even notice that there another artifact was the wedding ring that lee harvey oswald left on the dressing room or nightstand the morning of the assassination of his cash $187. but we wanted to display these things to provoke questioning what was behind the mindset of this man that had he not left his ring and money in the teacup, and have not argued with his wife the night before would he have taken this drastic action credited that cause such tragedy? >> jean, we've talked abouthe bg binders and planning books and the rest of that but you also touched on how different staffs of different presidents, and it might be presidents of opposite parties at each other's next at times victor seems to develop in

the modern timesst like a camaraderie almost as it were amongst presidential staffs reaching out to help each other in these really difficult times. talk about that a little. >> it really is, we have each other's back. and as i mentioned earlier, certainly president reagan's chief of staff, it was really president ford's lawyer who planned his funeral, and they give you a heads up of the landmines that are ahead. and without those, they saved my life, and how to organize it before and how to stay sane during the one of the bigger challenges that i face is is this a good time to talk about what i learned from both president reagan and president ford? for the state funeral in washington, d.c., all of

congress is invited and their spouse. all the governors are invited and their spouses. of the diplomatic corps is invited to a don't overcome. and what happened is about 5:00 the night before the funeral you find out how many tickets come back to you, 5:00 the night before. the reagan and the four people were caught so flat-footed by this for a couple of reasons fa bust in boy scouts there i was ready because they want me to be ready. i way over invited, and for about 12 hours we had 281 people coming that it did not have a seat for, and the funeral team was a very nervous i was a size six when president bush died. [laughter] i just say. but sure enough at 5:00 the night before the funeral i got 500 seat back there and i was ready, 281 hadad always been invited i won't go into detail but there were other, we filled

every seat was the b list that immediately got invited but one of the pieces of advice for katie was identified a group of people you could invite at the last minute to be your seat fillers, someone who meant something to the president or so we chose the cia he had a very close relationship with the cia. so i asked them if they could use some tickets in the end, and they were thrilled to hear it i had 75 seats left, and i gave them to the cia and i said i will need names because the security was very tight, as you can imagine, and those were my favorite moments that week that the person at the other end of the phone said yeah, don't worry about that.w, [laughter] you know you got to love those guys. [laughter] but that's just an example of working together. so now all the chiefs of staff

now, they know be ready for the states to come back to you. >> louis, you mentioned it, and as did you, jean, the whole concept of funeral trades i want to put up a photograph for people to see. where did thert tradition start? when did it stop and go to jean. >> so the first presidents who was, presidents remains was placed on a train was william henry harrison, but that wasn't part of his funeral he was temporarily entered by congressional center before being brought to ohio. but the first funeral train was 1848 when john quincy adams died. he had died in washington, d.c. he was also temporarily entered but for a shorter-term at

congressional cemetery before being brought up north to boston to be buried in quincy. so the train was almost, it wasn't really meant to be in funeral trinket was just meant to be a form of transportation to take in north. but meanwhile people would gather at the tracks and they would come member take off their hats when the train passed and really became a place of boring, the funeral tracks. of the people didn't have the means to go to the funeral in d.c. or didn't have the wherewithal to go to quincy for any ceremony were able to have that brief moment with the former president to pay their respect. abraham lincoln's funeral train

in 1865 really is probably the funeral train that is the most famous funeral train of them all and again i mentioned it earlier there's the intersection of railroad technology but also involving which was perfected during the civil war so mary todd wanted her husband buried in springfield which was 1700 miles away from where he was assassinated so there was a long funeral train that spanned two weeks, stopped in multiple cities where abraham lincoln's remains were removed from the train and put out for public viewing in a prominent building. but during those 1700 miles there was hundreds and hundreds of displays and bonfires for people that would be singing hymns to pay their respect. salena and there was billions and billions of people who

either saw onehe of the many, oe of the many processions over a long those railroad tracks. it was a v very personal way tht people can pay their respects to the president's, and thewo coffn would be placed on display with windows so people can actually see the coffin when they passed by. now, over time, again with technology changing, the funeral train kind of went out of style, if you will. dwight eisenhower's funeral in 1869 was the last funeral train before president bush's calm and one of the reasons reported was because mimi didn't like to fly. so she p preferred the train but it really, it's very important because it really creates a way

for just everyday citizens to be able to pay their respects. >> sure. jean, i'm going to give you -- >> i believe president eisenhower's train, i grew up on a farm in missouri and distraint went through my helped out at like 10:00 at night and we went there we went -- we wouldn't miss it for the worker definitely can they see the pictures we are seeing? can you alll see them? you can? there you go. so president bushn love the trains. he was in love with a train spear he decided he wanted a train. is second funeral service was in houston. that was her family and friends funeral.ry he was buried at as library t 90 miles away in college station, texas. and he wanted trains. you love talking about distraint or you are not going to please don't judge me for one day we're talking about the train, he so excited he really viewed his funeral as a big event and he said jean, it would be great

will be exhausted from all those events and we can eat lunch on the train and we can visit and rest and relax before the burial. and i, i don't know what, why, but i said, sir, your family said, and i more or less said to them, but you're not there and he said, jean, i will be on the trinket i may not eat lunch but i'll be on the train. [laughter] anyway, this is a union pacific train, union pacific was amazing. they had this enginee specially made as they have now donated it to his library in college station.l it is under a tarp ticket will be unveiled onrt president bushs 100th birthday june 12th, 2024 per you are all invited to this is an. amazing train. this was one of the more touching moments. we're coming, the track was packed just like all the historic trains but there was a group of cowboys waiting under

horses, and as a train went by they tip their cowboy hats. what i didn't know until later, there was about 20 cowboys. the engineer decided to toot the horn to greet him and most of the horses ran off. [laughter] these were the only five left. we all cried. it was really special. there had been 20 of them, i don't know what we would've done. but it was a really special part of his funeral. >> great, great story. i've got a hundred more questions but i bet a few of you in the audience you as well. we are bringing microphones upfront and i promise that if you are too afraid to ask a question, i'm not and i've got a lot more. if you would come we've got 20 minutes for questions. please feel free to come

forward. >> i don't have a question, but i wanted to give you an eyewitness account of being the capital when they brought the casket in. my father was the united states that are from the state of wyoming, and on the day of the capital event, he put the family in the car and he said let's go down and let me see if i can get you into the capital. so we drove downtown and we can get anywhere. it was totally gridlocked. and you leaned out the window said to a policeman, i senator mcgee. i need to be in the capital. and immediately he got as a police escort who took us over

to constitution avenue, the site that jackie kennedy would be on just a few minutes later so we drove by all the faces that she would see, and we were taken up behind the capital where all the dark cars were parked. my dad drove a blue and white chrysler with big fans on the tail -- fins.n our car was parked right in there and appeared in all the pictures as this one light car. but we were taken up the steps intohe the capital, right behind the rope line with the casket was, and that's right where mrs. kennedy and i think only caroline came up to the casket. it was just that far away from me. and it was the first time i had

ever had, i had ever experienced death.ac and i finally couldn't, i was trying to hold back tears. i did want to cry in front of my father. but i started to cry, and right as i was wiping a tear way, a reporter snapped my picture. i had a copy of the picture, but my parents never told me that it appeared in different places around the country, so it's become a big treasure of mine. and then my father told me that however many days later that they put the senate on the bus, all the senators controlled them out to arlington, and he was there and we turned around, i've never seen this reported, president nixon was standing by himself under a tree behind all those, all those people.

.... room that was there. but i was yeah, can i ask how old you were at the time i was probably about 16 and 11th grade if i could just thank you so much for sharing that story. this is still very much living memory and it's important to record all these memories and we'd be delighted to do an oral history with you we have over 2,000 growing oral histories in this new material add so much dimension in texture to our storytelling and we do wonderful public programs and they're all on youtube. so that's a shameless promotion for looking at our youtube channel for all a wonderful programs and people like you people like you sharing. thank you.ic >> how important for the museum so i do hope you can. >> my name is tracy with chauvin

coolidge foundation, thank you for being here this morning. costly occasions mr. coolidge were a block armband is a death of his predecessor, the death of his 16-year-old son kelly junior's death of his father and i was wondering if you could comment on the tradition of wearing a black armband as a sign of warning. when did it start and when did it seemed to go out of fashion? >> i know i should be able to comment on this but i don't know the history of that. it is something now you don't really i see but yes, it is a gd question and i don't have the answer.

the owner country enlarged in the procession and the national geographic magazine at the lincoln memorial, west point naval academy, air force academy and finally coast guard academy and that is a memory i will take to my grave. i was the t class of 1964 and ts

was january -- i mean, september 25, 1963 and i can't remember the people on the streets and in the trees to get a better view of the funeral procession being in tears. my question for you is, we all remember john jones salute in front of the catholic church on rhode island avenue, do you know any background on the salute? >> i think might have been salute, but i can't verify that.

>> i think that is the case and prompted him, it was his birthday, john john's third birthday. >> thank y you again for sharina memory, an example created in 1989, a lot of controversy. we walk a very fine line but it adds power and meaning and younger generations were such significant events yet president kennedy's legacy inspires us to become engaged citizens and the conversations we've had about civic engagement leadership

educating our youth and these are all points i hope we will take to the anniversary. >> the correspondence prior to this event, one of the topics you wrote about was the kind of moments we are seeing exhibits to the medium provide opportunity for closure and i sense that is the case for so many that have participated in these events. >> help provide close in the same shift and opening up more audiences and be more conclusive as they are more affected by the assassination and one of the difficult challenges we have is getting full silver to come and

there are multiple factors and as we have more face to expand, i think all of us are talking eabout relevancy and being curious about the past and take actionnk. >> i have a friend who is a historian and he tells me to get phone calls, so and so found so-and-so in the attic which is a copy of the declaration of independence, so-and-so has this bit of evidence so and so's office but as far as not so much evident but do you get more photographs of people who come forward? i know many went to thee fbi and under investigation a but you se people who say these are

photographs from that day that you are still getting now? >> we do. i'm looking at a collection and education, we do still receive wonderful things that have never been seen before a lot of people knowa. huge collections of kenny memorabilia, some of the things in the museum. weat hope guide this story but e things we have in the collection, they have never been on display so these photographs,

they don't think they are very consequential. anything that can help people understand. >> being immersed in what you do, do you personally believe there are other films that may show what happened? >> i have no personal opinion. [laughter] >> it's possible. ii think after all these years, it has two soul the mystery, we worked very hard over the years because it's so controversial to

confront conspiracy more directly everybody thought would be on this exploitive exhibit. >> thank you very much. >> i read in 2018, still over 60% of americans believe there is a flaw conspiracy. >> it is a complicated story and during that period, the shock of the television, it was an absolute crisis one after another. helping people understand that

chaos. >> you mentioned prior, these are on planes so there you can light on compared to the 20 for the moment with balance expectation of showing the office with the obligation to continue. >> they managed both from a there was always the transition of power after lincoln, stanton probably have more power than resident johnson but the funerals were paramount, there was this urge especially in the case of presidential assassinations, this mass public urge to say farewell and to see

the president one last time where they managed to president wasn't largely involved, he was going about the business notably thrown in h after he had a crash courseas of what was going on wh the government and the funeral train so they managed to uphold the expectations for the public funeral.

from the back to come up the back steps income and they would meet us there so we stand there, there are seven of us standing there and nothing has been

touched, is the samee way it wa. you go first, you go first. none of us want to go in because it's part of history there so i went in andhe the boxes were the and it was one of the best expenses in my life, exactly the place and time in history and walk us through where the boxes were and if he didn't get the experience take the time tomorrow to do that. we ran around and pulled the

story and they came into our city. >> some of the artifacts but we couldn't have a in another place and it is tremendous power and it was prettyse much left in its original place and they were involved in the. >> thank you. i think we have time for probably one last question. apparently one of the first ladies who passed away while serving as first lady stop this made me curious, i know more about president and first ladies

in theon conversation, what they have for those plans in place. >> the funerals of four simply because one service in the home church physically, she took me with her buddy ford's funeral, she had two, one in california and one in michigan and she wanted me to go with her. we talked about the funeral all the way home and it was really had aboutmeeting we her funeral but she was very hands-onsi planning the funeral, the music and they saw it as just another event. >> i might add to that, the three ring binder, very

sophisticatedth and we had to execute and used to make it a practice once a year for eight or nine years to approach mr. reagan for the changes, perhaps she might change her mind over the years. >> i think we got six seconds left. one particular photo. >> i want you to talk.

>> after bush died, he was that. if you have a service dog solely became quite famous and will in houston the day after bush died and on the casket he took a picture and came to office and said do you think this should send help? release it to the media and i said yes, i do is it will change touched the nation's heart so this is how famous soli was.

with t us to washington d.c. and theho assignment was the hospitl we had a problem with who would take care of it and i said let's take them with us got permission from air t force and was given e job of walking air force one for some reason they would like to interview you. [laughter] she said the press wants to know you could not be between kelly and the camera. [laughter] because you are blocking. it was a humbling moment but

only has an instagram account, 5000 followers. but that and bob dole, the two iconic ones out of the funeral. >> thank you for your time. [laughter] ♪♪ >> if you enjoy american history tv, sign up for our newsletter using the qr code on the screen. a weekly schedule of upcoming programs like lectures and history the presidency and more. sign up for the american history tv newsletter and be sure to watch american history tv every saturday in the history.

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