President Kennedy motorcade 5/12/62 Milwaukee, WI: building rooftops guarded

[Vince Palamara]

 

[Joseph McBride]

My mother, Marian McBride, was in that Milwaukee motorcade on May 12, 1962. She was vice chairman of the Wisconsin

Democratic Party and was riding several cars behind the president along with Evelyn

Lincoln and Admiral Burkley. Earlier she had been among

the group greeting JFK as he deplaned at General Mitchell Field. My mother helped set up some of the events along

the long motorcade route from the airport to downtown, including having school bands playing as the president passed. She later

complained that the Secret Service was difficult to deal with. I wish she were

around now so I could ask her what she meant by that. I kick myself for not watching

that motorcade. That night I was part of the "honor guard" for the president

at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner at the downtown Milwaukee Auditorium and Arena and had a brief

exchange of greetings with JFK afterward as he passed backstage five feet away before he turned to walk down a ramp

into the limousine in which he would be killed the following year. At the VIP

reception beforehand, my father, Ray McBride of the Milwaukee Journal, was

introduced to the president and had time for one question. So he asked Kennedy

if he ever worried about being assassinated. JFK said he recognized that possibility

but couldn't think about it or he would not be able to do his job.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Joseph McBride

[Matt Allison]

For some insight into what motorcade and personal security was like for JFK, I suggest a full viewing of this video, of his trip taken 2 months prior to his death.

 

https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHF/WHN07/JFKWHF-WHN07/JFKWHF-WHN07

[Vince Palamara]

17 hours ago, Joseph McBride said:

My mother, Marian McBride, was in that Milwaukee motorcade on May 12, 1962. She was vice chairman of the Wisconsin

Democratic Party and was riding several cars behind the president along with Evelyn

Lincoln and Admiral Burkley. Earlier she had been among

the group greeting JFK as he deplaned at General Mitchell Field. My mother helped set up some of the events along

the long motorcade route from the airport to downtown, including having school bands playing as the president passed. She later

complained that the Secret Service was difficult to deal with. I wish she were

around now so I could ask her what she meant by that. I kick myself for not watching

that motorcade. That night I was part of the "honor guard" for the president

at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner at the downtown Milwaukee Auditorium and Arena and had a brief

exchange of greetings with JFK afterward as he passed backstage five feet away before he turned to walk down a ramp

into the limousine in which he would be killed the following year. At the VIP

reception beforehand, my father, Ray McBride of the Milwaukee Journal, was

introduced to the president and had time for one question. So he asked Kennedy

if he ever worried about being assassinated. JFK said he recognized that possibility

but couldn't think about it or he would not be able to do his job.

thanks for sharing!