Jefferson Davis Tippit
Jefferson Davis "J.D." Tippit (September 18 1924-November 221963) was a police officer with the Dallas Police Department who was slain, allegedly by Lee Harvey Oswald after Oswald was stopped by Tippit following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Biography
Tippit was born in Clarksville,Red River, Texas to Edgar Lee Tippit and Lizzie Mae Rush. Tippit attended public schools through the tenth grade. Tippit was a member of the Baptist denomination.
Tippit entered the United States Army on July 21 1944 and was assigned to the US 17th Airborne Division where he served until June 20 1946.
Tippit was married to Marie Frances Gasaway on 26 December 1946 and had three children. That same year he went to work for the Dearborn Stove Company. He went to work for the Sears, Roebuck and Company in March 1948 and worked in the installation department until September of 1949 when he moved to Lone Star, Texas and attempted cattle farming.
He attended a Veterans Administration vocational training school at Bogata, Texas from January 1950 until June 1952. He was then hired by the Dallas Police Department as a patrolman on July 28 1952. He served capably and was cited for bravery in 1956 for his role in disarming a fugitive.
Death
On November 22, 1963 Tippit was assigned to patrol the Oak Cliff area of Dallas during the chaos immediately following the shooting of President Kennedy. At approximately 1:15, 45 minutes after the Kennedy shooting, Tippit stopped a man who fit the general description of the assassin being broadcast to Dallas police. Tippit called to the man from the car, they spoke, and Tippit got out of the car. The man shot Tippit with a .38 and Tippit died instantly. Thirteen witnesses identified Lee Harvey Oswald as either the shooter or as fleeing the scene.
In January 1964 Tippit was awarded Medal of Valor from the
