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JFK, 50 years later: Gainesville man recalls fateful trip to Dallas
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Gainesville resident Nath Hayes was flying to Dallas the day President Kennedy was shot. In addition, Hayes’ hotel was across the street from the Dallas police headquarters where Lee Harvey Oswald, who was accused of killing the president, was shot by Jack Ruby.
With the national convention seven months away, Nath Hayes’ job was to check out where the Georgia Jaycees would be staying during the event in Dallas. The trip on Nov. 22, 1963, would turn into something much more, including being a witness to history. Hayes, following up on Georgia Jaycees President Malone Sharpe’s request to take the journey, flew out of Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport at about 9 a.m., making a stop at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport before proceeding to Dallas.