On the Anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's death, I thought this would be appropriate to share. (On November 22, 1963, famed movie director, John Ford, was in Moab, Utah shooting his last western. This is an excerpt  of a side story in the book, ‘Disaster at Cane Creek’, that was written about an another devastating event in the Moab area at that time.) At the ranch, Director John Ford was not getting the performance that he wanted from one of his stars. It was the last part of the scene, and both characters, Little Wolf and Red Shirt, were to fight to the death for a woman they both loved. When the smoke cleared, Red Shirt lay dead. Dolores Del Rio, who portrayed Red Shirt's mother, fell to her knees and was supposed to weep uncontrollably for her fallen son. But for the camera, the tears would just not flow the way Ford expected them. Take after take was shot, but Ford was dissatisfied with each one. He was determined to get it right, even if he had to stay there all day.23  It was high noon in canyon country, and Dolores Del Rio was still struggling to cry properly for John Ford's camera. At that same moment, millions of Americans were just starting to learn the president had been shot, among them, were stunned residents of Moab. News reached the set of "Cheyenne Autumn" by way of a local man who had been hired as a movie extra. A transistor radio broadcast the details, as this real-life drama unfolded to an audience who specialized in make-believe. Members of the cast and crew dissolved into tears, but John Ford was not yet ready to release them. Ford forced Dolores Del Rio to recite her lines one last time. This time, the tears flowed freely. "Cut. Print," said Ford grimly. Her performance was perfect, but it didn't require acting. Dolores Del Rio's grief for the fallen President was recorded forever on film.24  On TV, CBS News broke into the regular daytime programming of the soap opera, "As the World Turns" and Walter Cronkite reported the shooting of the president. Just three months earlier, Cronkite had been in Moab covering the mine rescue operation.  "Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded....," Cronkite solemnly reported. The nation waited breathlessly for more news of the president's condition. Following the newscasts announcing the shooting, groups of Moab residents huddled around radios and TV's in homes and in the downtown area, tensely hoping for encouraging words from the Dallas hospital where the President had been taken.25  A short time later, Cronkite reported what no one wanted to hear, "From Dallas Texas, the flash apparently official, President Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m., CST some 38 minutes ago."  On the Warner Brothers' movie set, Director John Ford called a wrap and dismissed his cast, and the group returned to Moab.26 Distraught, Ford spent the rest of the day in his motel room. Later, someone from the cast figured out that when Lee Harvey Oswald shot the President, it was at the same time that Little Wolf (actor Ricardo Montalban) shot Red Shirt (actor Sal Mineo) on the set of Cheyenne Autumn.27 As it did all over the world, the announcement of the President's death left in its wake a stunned and shocked city, which was still trying to move past the grief the last three months because of the Cane Creek Mine disaster. Heavy dark clouds of despair gripped the community once again. A period of quiet, respectful inactivity settled over Moab after the tragic assassination.28  Openly sobbing, some of the school children left their lunches untouched. People went through robotic motions in downtown cafes and businesses, seemingly just to get through the day. All social events throughout Moab were canceled, and throughout the weekend, the crepe-draped, flag-lined streets of the city were virtually deserted. Only vital business operations continued.29  A Requiem High Mass was celebrated in Moab at St. Pius X Catholic Church Friday evening, with Father John Rasbach officiating. He honored the fallen president, the first Catholic of Irish descent to hold the office of the President of the United States. Throughout the long weekend, special church services were held at various other churches in Moab, who conducted memorials to the President. Some of the denominations opened their doors to the public for meditation and prayer. On Sunday, church services around the valley were dedicated to the deceased President, with periods of silent prayer and special memorial words and music. At the Church of Christ, a special patriotic song service and prayer were offered, with J.G. Pinkerton presiding over the music.30  On Saturday morning, the day after Kennedy's death, Director John Ford, who ardently admired the president, donned his World War II fatigue jacket, assembled his cast and crew, and held a memorial ceremony in which taps was sounded, and a flag lowered to half-mast, a purely Fordian gesture. Filming activities ended, and everyone made plans to return to Hollywood the next day. In time, it would be impossible to ignore the analogous nature of the death of "the New Frontier" and the death of the Ford Western. Because of his failing health, Cheyenne Autumn would be the last Western movie John Ford would make.31  American flags draped with black banners flew throughout Moab's business and residential districts during Monday's national day of mourning for the late President John F. Kennedy. All the schools were dismissed to allow students and faculty members to attend services, pay their respects to the late President, and to observe the televised funeral services in the nation's capital. Heads of leading nations all over the world gathered to pay their respects to America's deceased president, and Moab residents withdrew to the seclusion of their homes to witness this tremendous display of respect for the late President Kennedy.32 For so many, the shooting in Dallas was forever etched into their mind and the national psyche.  For three days, Moab looked like every other town and city in America, bound together by a common loss. Americans viewed painful images on mostly black and white TV sets of President Kennedy's funeral. Coming so soon after the Cane Creek Mine explosion, it was particularly poignant for those in Moab to see another widow, and her fatherless children, dealing with such a horrendous death. After going through their own heartbreaking tragedy, it reignited and triggered the pain of their own recent loss. The grief and the sympathy Moabites and family members felt for the fallen president ran especially deep.  As the world watched the funeral proceedings and wept, unforgettable images were broadcast. The body of the murdered president lay in state at the Capitol rotunda. Jacqueline Kennedy draped in black, and hand-in-hand with her daughter, Caroline, knelt and kissed her husband's casket, which was draped in an American flag. The Army squad, with their white cotton gloves, brought the casket out of the Capitol and placed the president's remains on a horse-drawn caisson, as family members and world leaders walked behind to St. Matthew Cathedral. Hundreds of thousands of Americans lined the streets to view the funeral procession and pay their final respects. The spirited, riderless horse, Black Jack, trailed the procession, stirrups fitted with boots, symbolically pointed backward, and with a sword, which hung from his empty saddle.33  Jacqueline Kennedy, in stoic grandeur, stood behind her children, Caroline, and John-John (nicknamed by the press). The adorable three-year-old son, "dressed in shorts with a matching overcoat, cuter than all four of its buttons," gave a final salute to his father.34  Muffled drums swept melancholy waves over the hushed throng.35  Tum—Tum—Tum R-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ll.  Tum—Tum—Tum R-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ll.36  The drums beat as the caisson delivered the young president's body to Arlington National Cemetery. The horse-drawn ride was accompanied by a military escort. Once inside the cemetery, they rolled past endless lines of white headstones reverently marking the military dead. The sad stillness was interrupted only by the steady clack of the hoofs and the slow creak of the caisson wheels.37 After the ceremony, the flag atop the casket was carefully folded by the military honor guard, and then the tri-colored triangle was presented to Jacqueline Kennedy. Through the black veil, the grief could be seen on her face and the blank look in her eyes. The coffin was sprinkled with holy water before Mrs. Kennedy touched a flame to a gas jet, igniting the eternal flame. As the nation and the world said their final goodbyes to the fallen president, it was an unspeakably sad day.38  The young, virile Jack and his radiant wife, Jacqueline, embodied the American dream and the hopes of a nation. He was to lead the nation to a bright future and the world to a united front. All were brought to an untimely end when President Kennedy was shot and killed.39 Both tragic stories, the Cane Creek Mine explosion and the death of the President, coincided and intersected in time and were encapsulated in the early sixties, spanning those iconic moments in history.