Something Serious Has Happened on Air Force One (a Tl/story by Geon)

Nice chapter there @Geon - good to read its not all doom and gloom.

Many will of course think Bobby was just doing a stunt for the publicity.

"Jesse Jackson Memorial Fund" - well that is not a good sign.

Wonder if Booby or George kept up the practice after this? Or at least some of the exercise regime? Hopefully Bobby will be a fitter President than his brother was.
 

Geon

Donor
Nice chapter there @Geon - good to read its not all doom and gloom.

Many will of course think Bobby was just doing a stunt for the publicity.

"Jesse Jackson Memorial Fund" - well that is not a good sign.

Wonder if Booby or George kept up the practice after this? Or at least some of the exercise regime? Hopefully Bobby will be a fitter President than his brother was.
If Ethel has her way, she won't let Bobby get within a mile of a trapeze. But Bobby being Bobby will still likely keep in shape. He likes feeling better and the exercises help him to keep fit. Who knows if he becomes president, he might even push for a greater emphasis on fitness among youth using this video or pulling this stunt again, much to the chagrin of the secret service! Not likely but fun to think about.

And Bobby isn't the only one to be bit by the "circus bug." I didn't mention this in the story, but Jacqueline and her children "just happened" to be in the audience and another Kennedy daredevil may be considering something later down the line. Who you ask?

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Chapter 44 Meanwhile in Dallas

Geon

Donor
And here is an extra Christmas present for everyone!

Chapter 44: Meanwhile in Dallas​

February 11, 1964; Federal Courthouse, Dallas, Texas; 9:30 a.m.:

It would be stating the obvious to say that the courthouse was well guarded on this bright chill February. Thankfully the riots and unrest that were still gripping other parts of the South had not – for the most part- spread to Dallas. Nevertheless, the mayor had ordered off duty police to be on duty in case there was trouble and Governor Connelly had the National Guard on standby.

At 9:00 a.m. two police vans drove into the garage of the courthouse and five men were escorted out – four of these were the police officers who had been aboard Air Force One during the Incident. One was Jesse Curry, former commissioner of the Dallas Police Department. For their safety each man wore a bullet proof vest under their street clothes. The DPD was taking no chances.

Outside the atmosphere was surprisingly calm. There were a few with signs reading – WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON AIR FORCE ONE and FREE THE DALLAS 5. But for the most part the crowd was peaceful.

In the courtroom the five were seated with their respective attorneys. The gallery was for the most part empty except for a group of select reporters. The judge had made it clear he wanted no spectators other than the press. Even family members of the accused were not allowed in the courtroom. If they wished to talk with their loved ones, they would be able to do so after each session in rooms set aside for that purpose.

The trial began with the attorney general once again petitioning the court for a change of venue. The reasoning was given the publicity and potential animosity of the DPD the trial might be biased in the accused’s favor. The judge already had heard other petitions and once again dismissed this one on the grounds that as far as he could see the prosecution wanted to bias things in the other direction against the accused. The motion was denied.

The judge then asked the Defense Attorneys who were representing the accused if they were ready. All five of the attorneys said they were.

Finally, the judge asked the accused if any of them wanted to change their plea of “not guilty”. Of The Dallas Five as they were now called in the news four were charged with two counts of involuntary homicide and one count of discharging a firearm in a federal installation. Chief Curry was charged with one count of lying to a Federal officer and one count of trying to conceal evidence. The charges were the ones the Federal prosecutor felt were the ones that could be made to stick given the still uncertain facts behind the actual incident aboard Air Force One.

Satisfied the judge asked that the jury be brought in. Several minutes the jury was seated. Finding an unbiased jury in Dallas had been one of the reasons the trial had been delayed by a month. Both sides had objections to various potential jurors. The present jury was made up of 7 men and 5 women of which 1 man was black and 1 woman was Hispanic.

Once the jury was brought in opening arguments began. The trial of the Dallas Five was underway.
 
Finally the Trial gets going and the public will learn the truth of what happened that day on Air Force One.

Just need Oswald on trial now.
 
Chapter 45 Back in Macon

Geon

Donor
Chapter 45: Back in Macon

The C.B.S. News with Walter Cronkite, February 12, 6:55 p.m.; EST:

The evening news was coming to an end with Walter Cronkite preparing to say good night in his traditional manner to his listeners. The news from the south that day was better than it had been for the last day or so. Most of the rioting had died down in almost every major city where there had been a flare up. Only in Macon, Georgia was the violence still occurring and National Guard and Army units were still having trouble bringing areas of the city under control.

As Cronkite prepared to say goodnight to the nation, he paused and said, “Before we say good night, I want to give a personal thank you to all of those out there who have sent in cards and letters of well-wishing for the Rather family. We here at C.B.S. news appreciates your kind concern and prayers for our colleague, Dan Rather…”

At that moment someone off camera handed Walter Cronkite a sheet of paper. After pausing a moment to look at it Walter looked up and said, “It appears we have some breaking news out of Macon, Georgia and we take you now to local C.B.S. affiliate reporter Brad Cooper [fictional name] in Macon.

A moment later a youngish looking man appeared on screen standing on a street outside across the street from a house that was surrounded by police cars and an armored personnel carrier.

After a moment to ensure he was “on the air” Brad began. “Walter, we are outside a home in the Macon suburbs where behind me you can see that a joint operation is coming to a conclusion by the Georgia National Guard, members of the 101st Airborne Division, and the Macon City Police Department.”

“According to a report given to the press just 15 minutes ago, an anonymous source had tipped the police that kidnapped reporter Dan Rather was being held here. Thirty minutes ago, the combined forces I mentioned earlier staged a raid on the house behind me. The press arrived barely ten minutes after the shooting stopped. According to the press release we’ve been given this was one of the headquarters for the Macon White Citizens’ Action Council, the group who kidnaped Mr. Rather on live TV.”

“The combined team of guardsmen, soldiers, and police conducted a swift assault of the house. According to the statement they engaged four men inside in a firefight. During the fight evidently all four of the men in the house were shot and killed. It is also reported that one Macon Police officer is dead, and another seriously wounded, and a National Guardsmen is also shot and is reported in serious condition. Mr. Rather was found in one of the house’s bedrooms. He appears to be uninjured and has been taken to the nearest hospital for observation.”

“To repeat, an early evening raid by a combined force of Macon Police, National Guard and Army troops has resulted in the freeing of C.B.S. reporter Dan Rather, however at this time we can confirm 5 dead and 2 injured as a result.”
 
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Just been through this TL.

Great work - US history generally isn't my thing, but I loved the 'whodunnit' (and 'whatdunnit', and 'whydunnit') approach you took here, as the Feds try and find out what actually happened!
 
This is GREAT! (Glad the kidnappers were foolish enough to resist and save the expense of a trial.)
Even some papers that might be more "balanaced" normally, meaning giving credibility to the white supremacists, are likely to be less freindly. (Of course, the pro-Kank media will post this as "dead martyrs ruthlessly murdered by the northern invasion, aided by scalawags."
Great to see this back!!!
 
"has resulted in the freeing of C.B.S. reporter Dan Rather," - well that is good news.

I suspect Mr Rather got more of a 'special report' than he wanted.
 
"has resulted in the freeing of C.B.S. reporter Dan Rather," - well that is good news.

I suspect Mr Rather got more of a 'special report' than he wanted.
Well, now he can write a book on it (in OTL I think his first book came out in 1974, that's very likely to change here).
 
Chapter 46: Aftermath

Geon

Donor
Chapter 46: Aftermath​

The riots in the Deep South (Georgia, Atlanta, and Mississippi) lasted for 5 days gradually petering out. But they would leave a deep scar on the nation.

A total of 358 people died in the riots throughout the South, with most of those deaths being in Macon Georgia (215). Thousands were injured and, in some cases, hospitals turned away the injured not because of any issue with color but because there was simply no more room. The arrival of the National Guard and medical units of the 101st Airborne proved to be literally lifesavers for many victims.

Property damage would later be tallied at 1.2 billion dollars in 1964 terms. Again, the worst damage was in Macon where a good part of the poorer sections of the city was destroyed displacing hundreds of people whose only crime was the color of their skin.

Yet, it was not only black people who suffered. It would later be determined that 53 of the deaths that occurred over those 5 days were white people. Most of these deaths were the result of black heads of families and others defending their homes against white “action councils”. But sadly, there were several instances of white people being in the wrong places at the wrong times. The story of a white family trying to get away from the rioting only to be stopped and the father dragged out of the car and beaten to death in front of his wife and 3 children would make the newspapers throughout the South and beyond and would only add fuel to the fires that were already burning.

The riots would have several aftereffects. The first of these was a mini migration of those left homeless by the violence to the north. For many, left homeless by the riots there wasn’t much left to keep them and the promises by the mayor of Macon, Georgia that homes would be rebuilt quickly fell on deaf ears of people tired of promises that were never kept.

Among black people the riots created a rift. Most still hoped that Dr. King’s non-violent approach to civil rights would eventually run through all the hatred. But there was a growing and vocal minority who felt that the time of talking, and moderation was ended, and it was now time to seek more radical and if necessary violent solutions to the issue of civil rights.

Dr. King wept and fasted for days following his broadcast on national television. He refused any interviews and spent much time at his church in prayer. After the violence ended Dr. King emerged more determined than ever to go ahead with his plans for a second march on Washington come October. He was also equally determined that the peaceful protests would continue.

But there were others such as Malcolm X who saw the riots in the South as the wake-up call for the black minority. In one speech following the riots Malcolm X proclaimed, “There are those who still think we can negotiate with the “white devil”. Those people will probably want to keep talking right up to the time they are shoved into the gas chambers by the very people they are talking to who seek to destroy us!” Malcolm X stopped short of calling for an armed rebellion but not by much.

On the other side many white people were coming to sympathize with the views of the Klan. To be sure the number was not large, but it was significant. Many feared this was the beginning of a race war being incited by communists. After the violence of early February 1964 more militias began to crop up throughout the south mostly but also in other parts of the country.

Although the riots had a polarizing effect on many, they also had the opposite effect of bringing people together. In many of the cities hit by the riots white families opened their homes to homeless black families. In many of the cities hit by the riots groups of churches began to band together – black and white – to help with rebuilding and to try to start building relationships. It would be noted that more sympathetic white clergy and laity started appearing at SCLC meetings and likeminded gatherings.

Over the remainder of that winter the people of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi would bury their dead, care for the living, and try to put the pieces back together in the cities where the violence had flared. While there would be some on both sides that seemed to be gearing up for war others sought to seek a way to end this cycle of violence once and for all.
 
I was worried people would start to lose faith in King, a person can only get stompted on so many times before they wanna fight back.
 
Wonder what the Federal response will be?

Will the President flood the area with money to rebuild? Or try and leave it to his successor?

I could see lots of speeches blaming both sides here.
 
I was just thinking that with the death of Johnson, and the riots in the south, will NASA build/move their infrastructure to northern states? That could be quite an economic blow to Alabama, Texas, etc.

ric350
 
I was just thinking that with the death of Johnson, and the riots in the south, will NASA build/move their infrastructure to northern states? That could be quite an economic blow to Alabama, Texas, etc.

ric350
Well, the launch systems will still benefit a lot from being further south (closer to the equator, and with the open ocean east of the launch site), though South Florida at this time might already be less culturally 'southern' than Alabama.
 
All of this is also visible on the world stage and even if the leaders of the USSR are busy with their 'issues' with Khrushchev, there are plenty of ambitious mid-level bureaucrats that will be hard at work, milking all of this for all the anti-capitalist propaganda that they can. And the Macron Riots are going to be worth a lot, especially in Africa in this era.
 
Chapter 47 : First In First OUt

Geon

Donor
It's been a while since I last posted but here is a short chapter. Please enjoy!

Chapter 47: First In, First Out​

Montgomery, Alabama; February 14, 1964, 8 A.M. EST:

Governor Wallace sat at his desk looking over the reports of the damage in Montgomery and elsewhere in the state following the riots in the south which many newspapers were now calling the Southern Days of Rage.

Alabama had gotten off relatively lightly from the riots with “only” 45 people having been killed and over 100 injured. Damage in Montgomery was moderate but still enough that over 200 families were now homeless. And the damages were likely to tally into the million-dollar mark. Still, it was not as bad as what had hit Georgia.

For Wallace the past few days had caused him to do some hard thinking about what was happening in the South. Rev. King’s warning at their earlier meeting was now resounding in his ears. The riots were proof of just how bad the situation was. It wouldn’t take much for another such incident to start another series of riots perhaps worse then the first. And on and on the cycle would go. And how many people on both sides of the color barrier would pay the price next time and the time after?

Over and over again in Wallace’s mind the question had been asked especially this past week. What price are you willing to pay to sit in the White House?. How many dead bodies would he have to climb over to reach there?

After several minutes pondering the question Wallace reached for a pad of paper and began to write a statement that would be delivered to the press later on in the day.

His conscience could no longer stay silent. He would not ride into Washington, D.C. over the bodies of innocent people. He would not sit in the White House if it meant others would sit homeless because their homes were burned down by riots.

Wallace was withdrawing from the presidential race.

And he would make it his business to ensure that somehow this “race bomb” as he would later call it would be defused throughout the south.
 
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"Wallace was withdrawing from the presidential race." - well that is going to shake things up a bit!

And all good luck solving the South's race crisis.
 
NICE! This is going to stir things up even more. Perhaps a withdrawal from conscience will help calm things down.

Klansmen need to be prosecuted for murder and fried/hanged/gassed/whatever the south does. So do others--regardless of race.

(We still have Dallas cops to put on trial, and now, a lot more cops all over the south. I really hope that, whatever else comes out of this, the willingness of the cops to strike if their members were put on trial backfires, and a mentality of "Cop does something wrong, it goes to jail!" prevails.)

One good line for a speech.

"People have talked about how we will have equality "someday." Someday starts today."
 
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