Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Auction: November 12, 2020 10:00:00 AM EDT
Original Dallas Police Department uniform shoulder patch, worn by motorcycle patrolman Bobby Hargis while serving in JFK's motorcade on the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963. Extremities fraying and chipping; mounted to a red card with Velcro, with a photograph of Hargis mounted below. Lot includes an 11 x 14 in. (279 x 355 mm) photograph depicting Hargis in the motorcade on that day, moments before the shooting, and is inscribed by him on mount: "To My Friend John Jovich Bobby Hargis, Best of everything." Lot also includes one modern reproduction still from the Zapruder film, showing position of Hargis at the moment of the fatal shot.
Bobby Hargis was among the closest motorcycle patrolmen to the presidential limousine that tragic day, riding along the left rear of the car, closest to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, when the president was assassinated. Hargis later testified before the Warren Commission, stating "I was next to Mrs. Kennedy when I heard the first shot and at that time the president bent over" then he further testified that he was so close to the limousine that "it seemed like his head exploded, and I was splattered with blood and brain..." During the immediate aftermath of the shooting Hargis remained in Dealey Plaza searching for the gunman, and eventually stood guard in front of the Texas School Book Depository when it was ordered sealed. This embroidered patch is the only surviving remnant of his uniform, as the rest of it, as well as his helmet, and the motorcycle, have since vanished. A rare survival, testifying to one of the saddest days in American history, one still mired in controversy.