JFK50GT #13: Officer Tippit Gravesite Multi-cache

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Oswald murders Officer JD Tippit

This is the second cache dedicated to Dallas Police Officer JD Tippit. Officer Tippit was born in Texas and lived his whole life there, except for his military service with the United States Army during World War II. Tippit, a true military hero, was awarded the Bronze Star in March 1945, when his Parachute Infantry Regiment flew across the Rhine River. After his service in the Army, he worked at several different jobs, until he became a police officer with the Dallas Police Department in 1952. He served a distinguished career for more than a decade in the Dallas Police Department up to the time he was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in the line of duty.

A marker was finally placed for Officer Tippit in 2012 at the site of his encounter with Lee Harvey Oswald. The marker was placed during a ceremony that his wife attended. A year after the marker was placed, as part of the 50^th memorial activities for President Kennedy, Officer Tippit’s wife was finally presented with a folded U.S. flag as is customary for officers that are killed in the line of duty. She had never received a flag, which was a wrong that took half a century to correct.

 At the time of his death, Officer Tippit was married and had 3 young children. Within 2 months of his death, the American Police Hall of Fame posthumously awarded him the Medal of Valor. He later received several more awards for his public service.

Officer JD Tippit was the first official to intercept Lee Harvey Oswald after President Kennedy’s death. Upon seeing Oswald on the side of the road, he pulled to the curb and exited his car to question him. As Officer Tippit approached the hood of the car, still on the driver's side, Oswald fired at him and prevented his advance.

His long and exemplary service, along with absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing, makes any allegations that he was somehow involved in a conspiracy involving President Kennedy’s assassination, ridiculous and extremely unfair to his friends and family. This is a good example of how many of the conspiracy theories that persist surrounding these events are not all harmless and benign. Most, in fact, have obvious profit motives for the authors, film-makers, and others still “researching” these events. There were 12 eyewitnesses at the scene of Officer Tippit’s murder, all of whom saw the murder or its immediate aftermath. For example, 2 ladies watched Oswald cross their front yard while shaking the shell casings out of his revolver and onto the ground. They recovered 2 of the 4 casings, all 4 of which were later found and examined by experts. All 4 were consistent with the gun Oswald had in his possession at the time of his capture, and one was a definite match for his specific handgun. At least 4 separate witnesses independently identified Oswald in a police line-up that same night. There is no legitimate dispute that Oswald, by himself, shot Officer Tippit assassination-style: he shot him through the chest 3 times in rapid succession from across the hood of the police cruiser, then walked around the car and shot Officer Tippit in the head at point-blank range after he was already down on the ground. There was no conflicting report for any of these details by any of the eyewitnesses at the crime scene.

Upon his death, he was interred at the Laurel Land Cemetery.  In one of the more uplifting stories from these sad days, Officer Tippit’s family received an unusual amount of support and well-deserved attention following his death.  JFK’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and new President Lyndon Johnson called Mrs. Tippit to offer condolences. Mrs. Tippit also received a special hand-written note from Jackie Kennedy, which the Kennedy family has only now allowed to be read in public. The Kennedys allowed it to be read for a Tom Brokow television program recognizing the significance of the events 50 years later. In one of the greatest acts of kindness, Abraham Zapruder donated the first $25,000 he received for selling his video of the Kennedy assassination. He gave this money to Mrs. Tippit, which helped start a wave of donations to the Tippiits, eventually reaching nearly $650,000.

To find this cache, start at the posted coordinates. They will take you to visit Officer Tippit. To find the actual cache, which of the following is true of Officer Tippit’s friend on his left? He was a: