Moving right along...
Today -- November 25, 1963 -- is the 50th anniversary of the funeral of President John F. Kennedy.
Blackjack (or, more accurately, Black Jack) was the name of the horse that, riderless and with a boot turned backward in the stirrups, followed the caisson bearing the casket of President John F. Kennedy during his funeral.
Black Jack performed a similar role in the funerals of President Herbert Hoover, President Lyndon B. Johnson, and General Douglas MacArthur.
As horses go, one might say that Black Jack reached the pinnacle of his profession.
If you would like to know more about him, read this.
Thank you for a very different perspective. I was fascinated reading about Black Jack - and love that he was a 'difficult' character.
ReplyDeleteWell, there you go. A horse by any other name would look as fine.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard about caparisoned horses before so you Mr Brague are now my teacher!....Arggh! Please don't hit me sir! You brute!
ReplyDeleteHello dear RWP,
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely, interesting story and what a beautiful, feisty horse. Wonderful and a pleasure to read it.
Thanks for thinking of me :-)
I know I should post more often. Or... I should post! haha I know, I know... feeling guilty enough for not visiting my friends here.
I hope he was retired happily eventually.
ReplyDeleteWishing you and your family a very happy thanksgiving on this day *smiles.
All Consuming, thank you for your happy thanksgiving wishes on this Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., a day when many will O.D. on L-tryptophan (turkey ingredient) and fall asleep watching football games in the afternoon. Today commemorates the feast in the fall of 1621 on Cape Cod when the local indigenous population joined with the English settlers to celebrate a good harvest that first year. Half of the colonists did not survive the winter of 1620.
ReplyDeleteBlack Jack retired in 1973 and died at the age of 27 in 1976, which you would know if you had read the linked article all the way to the end! He was cremated and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. A close-up of his tombstone is in the article also. *rolls eyes and thinks, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." (not that I'm calling you a horse, but it cried out to be said.
*pushes a pumpkin pie into his face.
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