Dec. 5, 1963 | Gov. Connally Speaks at Parkland Hospital

Dec. 5, 1963 - Governor John Connally, weak but ruddy-faced and smiling, left Parkland Hospital today for his home in Austin, Tex., where he will continue his recuperation from gunshot wounds sustained on Nov. 22, when President Kennedy was assassinated. Governor Connally, who was riding in the open-topped limousine with President Kennedy, was felled by a bullet that pierced his back, chest, right wrist, and thigh. The Governor said he understood his shattered wrist might stay in its cast at least 90 days. “It will be at least six months before it can be determined if I can have the full use of the hand and wrist,” he added. In response to a question, the Governor said he hoped a Texas court of inquiry, to be convened to study the assassination and subsequent events, would “shed great light” on the tragedy. Before he left Parkland, the hospital personnel applauded the Governor and his wife, Nellie. One final question concerned the strength of extremist groups in Texas. “I think they are flourishing because of a lack of articulation by the people of reason, the people of sound views, people of moderation,” he said. The man whom the police accused of murdering the President, Lee Harvey Oswald, was a self-professed Marxist. Texas — Dallas in particular — has gained the reputation of being a center of right-wing thought and action.

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