JFK San Antonio visit (Austin, Center: house, live, military)

[gtoman67z]

Have been enjoying reading volume 4 of Robert Caro's LBJ bio but am kinda stumped by this assertion:
"The President was to land at San Antonio's Bergstrom AFB at 1:30 and lead a motorcade through the city to the new Aerospace Medical Center" (page 300)
Bergstrom gets a few more mentions, so I hesitate to write it off as a typo. I presume the Aerospace Medical Center was at Brooks AFB instead of being a reference to Wilford Hall.
Anyone here recall where the presidential party arrived/departed on November 21?

[ged_782]

San Antonio International Airport.

[pobre]

Yes, the airport has/had a display of photos taken that day, including at the airport.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by gtoman67z

Have been enjoying reading volume 4 of Robert Caro's LBJ bio but am kinda stumped by this assertion:
"The President was to land at San Antonio's Bergstrom AFB at 1:30 and lead a motorcade through the city to the new Aerospace Medical Center" (page 300)
Bergstrom gets a few more mentions, so I hesitate to write it off as a typo. I presume the Aerospace Medical Center was at Brooks AFB instead of being a reference to Wilford Hall.
Anyone here recall where the presidential party arrived/departed on November 21?

If I recall correctly, he arrived at Kelly AFB and departed San Antonio International. He dedicated the new Aerospace facilities at Brooks and then a run downtown in his motorcade. I watched the motorcade pass by on Military Drive (Loop 13) between Flores and Roosevelt Streets. Bergstrom is in Austin. Obviously an error.

This was discussed and had links and back up in the GBNF thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...tonio-276.html

[gtoman67z]

Thanks for clarification, figured the author had it wrong when he misplaced Bergstrom in San Antonio. I know several other Presidents have visited SA since our arrival in 1980 but don't recall seeing media coverage of Air Force One arriving at SAT. Did I just miss the coverage, or were some of those visits through Lackland/Kelly or Randolph?

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by gtoman67z

Thanks for clarification, figured the author had it wrong when he misplaced Bergstrom in San Antonio. I know several other Presidents have visited SA since our arrival in 1980 but don't recall seeing media coverage of Air Force One arriving at SAT. Did I just miss the coverage, or were some of those visits through Lackland/Kelly or Randolph?

You're welcome. For obvious reasons, arrivals and departures along with destinations for the President are not widely known. I couldn't answer on other presidents.. Someone has to be lucky and see the commotion most likely.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by SATX56

If I recall correctly, he arrived at Kelly AFB and departed San Antonio International. He dedicated the new Aerospace facilities at Brooks and then a run downtown in his motorcade. I watched the motorcade pass by on Military Drive (Loop 13) between Flores and Roosevelt Streets. Bergstrom is in Austin. Obviously an error.

This was discussed and had links and back up in the GBNF thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...tonio-276.html

I witnessed Kennedy's motorcade travel south on Broadway through AH on the morning of November 21. If he arrive at Kelly, then for some reason he would have had to travel north, then back south towards town.

As another poster mentioned, there was a photo mural in the old Terminal 2 at SAT that showed Kennedy being greeted at San Antonio International. I also have a photo that was snapped by another person near where I was standing on Broadway, that clearly shows JFK and Jackie in the open-top limo.

[huckster]

Those four volumes on LBJ by author Robert Caro have been called the best biographical history ever written. I too, have all four volumes. The prose is excellent and to me these are the best books I've ever
read. Meticulous down to the minutae details of LBJ's every day existence these- books have taken Caro
35 years to pen.
A Jew from New York City he and his wife Ina moved to the Hill Country for two years to authenticate
much of his research. A look at the pictures on dust jackets of the four books of Caro his aging is evident.
The LBJ story is a fantastic , white knuckle, hair raising tale of political intrigue and genius. A master
politician, that LBJ. On top of this Caro is a great story teller.
With no resources and a third rate education, at best, rose politically through sheer cunning
and political manipulation-LBJ changed the country.
Do you recall the tale of the- winning, GTOman, his 1948 U.S. Senate seat by only 87 votes out of nearly 1 milion cast here in Texas, within the pages of the second volume ? Against Coke Stevenson? When Stevenson had carrried every county in the state in the previous gubernatorial election ?
I wonder if anyone else here has read these biographies. Great political info on Texas politics, isn't it ?
As I heard said in an interview by an LBJ aide," It is one of the great stories of history." It is.
LBJ was a driven man. I do not believe we will see the likes of him again.
Caro has two volumes to go. He has written four and has not even reached the White House years.
I heard him say on Book TV on C-Span where he gave an address on volume 4 -that Volume 5 will address the Viet Namese war, where he will live, to experience personally what Viet Nam is like...
One of the most interesting things about this guys books is that he is not even a historian and has only a Bachelors Degree in english. He was a reporter before writing his first book.
All five of his books are bestsellers- historians do not like him very much, do they? He writes to well.

Originally Posted by gtoman67z

Have been enjoying reading volume 4 of Robert Caro's LBJ bio but am kinda stumped by this assertion:
"The President was to land at San Antonio's Bergstrom AFB at 1:30 and lead a motorcade through the city to the new Aerospace Medical Center" (page 300)
Bergstrom gets a few more mentions, so I hesitate to write it off as a typo. I presume the Aerospace Medical Center was at Brooks AFB instead of being a reference to Wilford Hall.
Anyone here recall where the presidential party arrived/departed on November 21?

[Merovee]

The President landed at the Airport and departed from Kelly. His motorcade route is below. Aerospace Medical Center was indeed at Brooks.

http://drtlibrary.files.wordpress.co...de-mapwtmk.jpg

Previous discussion of this is also on the following thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...antone-14.html

[gtoman67z]

Originally Posted by Merovee

The President landed at the Airport and departed from Kelly. His motorcade route is below. Aerospace Medical Center was indeed at Brooks.

http://drtlibrary.files.wordpress.co...de-mapwtmk.jpg

Previous discussion of this is also on the following thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...antone-14.html

Thanks Merovee for posting the route map, and the link to the pertinent pages of the other thread. Somewhere in page 15 was a link to the Secret Service duty roster for the Texas trip Secret Service Duty Rosters for JFK's Texas Trip which I found of interest as well.
I wasn't meaning to ding Caro as a biographer with my original post, I see his work as THE definitive LBJ bio...my in-laws gave me volume one shortly after I married..and that was a long time ago! Hope he finishes volumes five and six!!!