J.D. TIPPIT (1924-1963)

In Dallas, Texas there is a city memorial honoring the dedicated men and women of law enforcement who have given their lives in the line of duty. They are Dallas heroes - men and women whose strength of character endured the ultimate test. They leave family and friends who will forever wonder what might have been.

One of those so honored is J.D. Tippit, the 39-year-old father of three who was gunned down on an Oak Cliff side-street on November 22, 1963 - forty-five minutes after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The man arrested for Tippit's murder was Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old employee of the Texas School Book Depository who was later accused of assassinating the President. The world press declared Tippit a hero for trying to stop Oswald's escape. Sympathy and thousands of dollars in donations poured in from the heart of a grieving nation.

Two days later, in a dizzying culmination of violence, Oswald himself was murdered by nightclub owner, Jack Ruby. On Monday the twenty-fifth, amid rumors of conspiracy, the President, his accused assassin, and Dallas' faithful public servant were laid to rest.

Five decades of official investigations into the events of November 22nd have not squelched the curiosity of an increasingly distrustful nation. Conspiracy theorists have demonized all of the major players in this tragic drama - including the Dallas cop who was once called a hero. In the cynical world of conspiracy, Tippit is instead a cop on the take, paid to kill Oswald as part of an elaborate plot to overthrow the government.

To others, J.D. Tippit was just an ordinary man who through a chance encounter stumbled into history. But to those who knew him, J.D. Tippit embodied the essential ingredients of the American hero.

This website is lovingly dedicated to his memory.