60 years later, San Diego woman recalls motorcade route, JFK assassination

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – On the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F Kennedy, the fateful day is being remembered by witnesses, including one San Diego woman who was part of Kennedy’s motorcade.

“My memory is very intense. Those memories are clear,” said Rita Vandergaw.

“That November day started off as an exciting one for Vandergaw, a 17-year-old college student and part-time employee at radio station WRR. Her bosses had sent her out to help cover a Presidential visit to Dallas.

The radio van she was riding in was three vehicles behind President Kennedy’s limo.

Vandergaw was tasked with helping her crew cover the Kennedy’s appearance at the trade mart in Dallas. She remembers the fanfare, then this.

“We get to where there is a major turn headed toward the merchandise mart. We hear a ‘pop, pop, pop.’ The reporter said, ‘We’re following the limo. Something has happened,’” said Vandergaw.

The radio van followed the limo to Parkland Hospital, where she saw stretchers being wheeled in.

Vandergaw went back to the radio station, and learned President Kennedy had died.

For 72 hours, she did it all, from writing stories on the teletype to operating the plug-in switchboard, taking in calls from across the world.

“Emotionally it was just, we have to get the work done,” said Vandergaw.

She went home for the night.

Then Lee Harvey Oswald was shot to death on live television, and it was back to the radio station.

When asked when the weight of what she witnessed finally sank in, Vandergaw said, “Really not until the funeral service … and the grief of the American people.”

60 years later, the emotions of that day remains closely linked to the memories of a former college student who knew the world had changed forever.

“I’m doing this really to spread awareness of history, it’s importance, what we can learn from it … I worry people will forget about these things. They can still happen … These are not good stories, but it’s history,” said Vandergaw.

Vandergaw worked at the radio station for several years, and eventually ended up in San Diego, where she served on the executive team for the Port of San Diego for more than two decades. She’s the current executive director of the Comic-Con museum.