JD Tippit

About

This Dallas police officer was shot and killed by John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald less than an hour after Oswald had (allegedly) fired the fatal shots at JFK.

Before Fame

Before joining the Dallas Police Department, he earned a Bronze Star for his bravery in World War II as a member of the United States Army's 17th Airborne Division.

Trivia

Shortly after being arrested for the deaths of JFK and Tippit, Lee Harvey Oswald was killed by a Dallas club owner named Jack Ruby.

Family Life

He and his two sisters and four brothers grew up in Red River County, Texas, as the children of Lizzie Mae Rush Tippit and Edgar Lee Tippit. JD Tippit's 1946 marriage to Marie Frances Gasway resulted in children named Charles, Brenda, and Curtis.

Associated With

Following John F. Kennedy's and Tippit's deaths, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wrote a letter to Tippit's widow to express her condolences and reach out in their shared time of grief.