Skip to comments.
Ambulance That Carried JFK's Coffin Goes on Sale
Fox News ^
| Jan. 4, 2011
| Fox News
Posted on 01/05/2011 7:29:43 AM PST by re_tail20
click here to read article
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-38 last
To: Responsibility2nd
Sitting fine because it doesn’t have a casket in it yet (see it being unloaded).
To: Jackson57
Jackie and RFK were in the hearse, according to the lede and the ambulance was traveling from Dulles to Bethesda, so it would be traveling on public highways.
22
posted on
01/05/2011 8:21:27 AM PST
by
Lonesome in Massachussets
(Socialists are to economics what circle squarers are to math; undaunted by reason or derision.)
To: re_tail20
We all know Kennedy's body never rode in that buggy. The CIA shuttled the body to area 51 to let the CIA do experiments on it. Wake up people.
I bet this Pontiac does not bring the money they expect it to.
23
posted on
01/05/2011 8:22:08 AM PST
by
Lazlo in PA
(Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
To: Jackson57
Jackie was in that ambulance with her husband. So were the Secret Service agents
Last month - on the History Channel - there was a rather interesting show about Secret Service agents who were working night and day with the first family before, during and after the assassination.
They - to this day - still teared up as they personally related the events as they happened.
I got a lump in my throat just watching them tell their stories.
24
posted on
01/05/2011 8:23:17 AM PST
by
Responsibility2nd
(Yes, as a matter of fact, what you do in your bedroom IS my business.)
To: hoagy62
The way I understand it, the coffin they hastily procured in Dallas was extremely heavy. A White House staffer told them to go out and get the best they could buy. They got the most ornate one they could find which had a lot of brass and metal on it.
_________________________________________
See post 24 re: the TV show I was watching.
One of the secret service agents who was there related that that casket was very heavy. And remember - it had to go up and down the stairs to Air Force One. It took 8 agents to handle it.
Further complicating the transport was the handles on that casket. They had to break them off as the extra width of the handles and the casket made it too wide to go through the door of AF1.
Whew! What a mess. And based on the Pontiac sitting that low - I don’t doubt that the casket alone weighed 1000 lbs or more.
25
posted on
01/05/2011 8:29:48 AM PST
by
Responsibility2nd
(Yes, as a matter of fact, what you do in your bedroom IS my business.)
To: Jackson57
Presumably, the hearse was relatively new at the time it was used for JFK, so it shouldnt be sagging so much. Also, Ive been a pallbearer numerous times and have never seem a hearse that kneels for easier access.Depends. Is the photo shown from the 60s or today? If it's today, even an unused vehicle will sag on its springs, especially after almost 5 decades. Another likelihood is that the shocks are shot, as the rubber in the shocks would certainly have degraded without use over this amount of time.
One would think the heavier-duty shocks and springs for the modified vehicle wouldn't be sagging that much, though.
Who knows. I do know some station wagons from that era seem to have more sag in them than the sedans they were based on, even in the original brochures.
26
posted on
01/05/2011 8:31:53 AM PST
by
IYAS9YAS
(Liberalism can be summed up thusly: someone craps their pants and we all have to wear diapers)
To: IYAS9YAS; Jackson57
After reading other posts here, and looking at photos of this and other Bonneville ambulances of the era, I’d say the casket tweaked things and it never returned to original ride-height.
27
posted on
01/05/2011 8:39:06 AM PST
by
IYAS9YAS
(Liberalism can be summed up thusly: someone craps their pants and we all have to wear diapers)
To: Jackson57
The empty bronze coffin weighed around 800 pounds, add a body that weighed about 200 pounds and you've got nearly 1000 pounds of dead weight on the left side of the vehicle; two jump seats, where RFK and JBK sat, one on the right and one in front of the coffin on the left. Also that
ambulance was designed to carry a gurney/patient/attendant combo not a casket/sarcophagus/body combo.
28
posted on
01/05/2011 8:53:27 AM PST
by
A.A. Cunningham
(Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
To: Lonesome in Massachussets
and the ambulance was traveling from Dulles to BethesdaAndrews to Bethesda
29
posted on
01/05/2011 8:55:54 AM PST
by
A.A. Cunningham
(Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
To: hoagy62; Responsibility2nd; A.A. Cunningham
The original casket was damaged by the Secret Service while it was being unloaded at Andrews AFB. The replacement mahogany casket was considerably heavier (1,300 pounds) than the original one.
That’s over 200 pounds for each of the normally six pallbearers to carry, so the the casket team had to be increased to eight bearers plus the OIC of the team, Lt. Bird assisted as well. It was quite a load according to a member of that casket team, Doug Mayfield.
30
posted on
01/05/2011 9:22:14 AM PST
by
shove_it
(old Old Guardsman)
To: dead
I love mid-60’s Pontiacs. I’ve owned two of them (so far).
31
posted on
01/05/2011 9:47:19 AM PST
by
Disambiguator
(Political Correctness is mandatory stupidity.)
To: Jackson57
Bet me: They had Secret Service with that body every minute.
32
posted on
01/05/2011 12:27:55 PM PST
by
Venturer
To: re_tail20
That Navy hearse just sold on Barrett Jackson for #120k.
33
posted on
01/22/2011 5:45:40 PM PST
by
shove_it
(have a nice day)
To: re_tail20; JoeProBono; a fool in paradise
You gonna tell me this wasn't it?
To: Revolting cat!
Use it to drive Sirhan Sirhan into to lake at Chappaquiddick and you can put an end to the entire Kennedy legacy.
35
posted on
01/24/2011 3:27:40 PM PST
by
a fool in paradise
(The biggest waste of brainpower is to want to change something that's not changeable. -Albert Brooks)
To: re_tail20
Jalopnik proved the car is counterfeit, the real one was crushed, and some idiot still paid $120 grand for it @ Barret-Jackson
http://jalopnik.com/5739333/president-kennedys-ambulance-is-a-fake?skyline=true&s=i
To: nascarnation
37
posted on
01/24/2011 3:45:07 PM PST
by
Waco
(From Seward to Sarah.)
To: Waco
I know I over bid it, but I wanted to make it look good. I change my bid to 15 cents.
38
posted on
01/24/2011 9:24:52 PM PST
by
Waco
(From Seward to Sarah.)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-38 last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson