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존 에프 케네디 응급처치의사 50년만에 입열다

Texas surgeon opens up about scene at hospital on day John F. Kennedy was assassinated  

Dr. James Henry "Red" Duke was a young surgeon at Parkland Hospital on the day John F. Kennedy was killed. Duke, now 84, opened up to a local Houston TV station about what he saw and heard on that grim day 50 years ago.

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Dr. Red Duke’s trauma room drama on day of JFK assassination

khou

Dr. James Henry "Red" Duke was on duty at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, and among the first doctors to receive the mortally wounded President after the shooting at Dealey Plaza.

A Texas trauma surgeon has for the first time opened up about the chilling scene he witnessed at a Dallas hospital the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Dr. James Henry "Red" Duke was a fourth year surgery resident at Parkland Hospital when the mortally wounded Kennedy was brought in after he was shot while riding through Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963.

Recounting that grim day to Houston TV station KHOU-11, Duke, now 84, said he was so busy at the time he didn't realize the President and First Lady were in town.

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He was eating lunch at 12:36 p.m. when the hospital's speaker system crackled with an urgent call for the chief of surgery.

The scene outside Parkland Hospital in Dallas in the aftermath of Kennedy's shooting.

khou

The scene outside Parkland Hospital in Dallas in the aftermath of Kennedy's shooting.

Another doctor told Duke to rush to the emergency ward because "the President's been shot," Duke recalled.

"Being a typical country boy, I thought, 'Golly, I'm going to get to meet a president,'" Duke told the station.

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He realized how grave the situation was after arriving at the emergency unit.

"I saw these people standing there, and I saw Mrs. Kennedy seated by the door, and her clothing was stained," Duke said. "And I realized that this was not a good deal."

President John F. Kennedy is seen riding in motorcade approximately one minute before he was shot. In the car riding with Kennedy are Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, right, Nellie Connally, left, and her husband, Gov. John Connally of Texas.

AP

President John F. Kennedy is seen riding in motorcade approximately one minute before he was shot. In the car riding with Kennedy are Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, right, Nellie Connally, left, and her husband, Gov. John Connally of Texas.

He recalled seeing Kennedy's blood pooling on the floor around his surgeon's feet.

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"I right quick recognized that this was a fatal injury," Duke remembered.

After a few moments, he was rushed past Jacqueline Kennedy into another room, where a man was bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Duke recalled the wounded man's "lovely" wife in an orange dress.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy cradles her husband President John F. Kennedy seconds after he was fatally shot. 

AP

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy cradles her husband President John F. Kennedy seconds after he was fatally shot. 

RELATED: WAS JFK AN ACCIDENTAL VICTIM?

Only later did he realize the man he prepped for surgery was Texas Gov. John Connally, who was wounded while riding in the seat in front of Kennedy.

Duke told KHOU-TV, "Functioning in this kind of situation…you don't care who it is or what it is. You just try to identify the problem and do the things that need to be done to achieve your goal."

Connally later recovered from his wounds.

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Walter Cronkite announcing Kennedy's shooting in the CBS Newsroom. Duke said he rarely talks about his memories from that day. "It's so surreal that it doesn't make sense," he told Houston's KHOU-TV.

khou

Walter Cronkite announcing Kennedy's shooting in the CBS Newsroom. Duke said he rarely talks about his memories from that day. "It's so surreal that it doesn't make sense," he told Houston's KHOU-TV.

Duke said he and his wife had opera tickets for that night, but he never made it home.

In fact, it was several days before he was able to leave the hospital, he remembered.

His wife later told him that their 3-year-old daughter offered a solemn conclusion to the day during that night's dinnertime prayer.

"The words that came out of her mouth was, 'The world is dark and we are very sad,'" Duke said.

Today, Duke is a trauma surgeon and professor in Houston. Even in private, he said he rarely speaks about the Kennedy assassination, which has its 50th anniversary later this month.

"Everyone knew where they were the day they heard it or what they were doing. And that's true of anybody of that generation," he told the station.

PCaulfield@nydailynews.com

Fri Nov 01 20:40:50 PDT 2013

Dr. Red Duke’s trauma room drama on day of JFK assassination

Dr. Red Duke keeps one of those messy offices cluttered with mementoes and souvenirs, all of which seem to come with a story. view full article