Parkland unveils John F. Kennedy Park as a 'place of reflection and relief'

DALLAS - It was 60 years ago that Dallas' county hospital, Parkland, became known nationwide.

It is where then President John F. Kennedy was rushed after being shot by an assassin's bullets.

Parkland has moved to a new facility since then, but the Parkland Foundation has built a memorial park, honoring the president who died there and the hospital that tried to save his life.

READ MORE: JFK Assassination: Hundreds gather at Dealey Plaza to mark 60 years since president's death

The John F. Kennedy Park of Hope, Healing, and Heroes sits prominently on the new Parkland campus, which was more than a footnote in history that day, but rather thrust into a role it could have never imagined.

"We felt like it was important to have a memorial so that Dallas could remember this part of the history," said Dr. Fred Cerise, president and CEO of Parkland Health System.

The park named after JFK remembers when Parkland became part of American history.

"Became the seat of government for the country, for Texas, with the governor in the hospital here, and so people that were in the hospital business became thrust into an entirely different piece of work with different concerns," Ceris explained.

The primary feature wall in the park is marked by a timeline of JFK’s movements in North Texas, ending when he was pronounced dead.

"I was the chief resident in surgery, and I was 31 years old at the time," Don Jones recalled.

Now 91, Jones did not realize the severity of Kennedy’s injury until he got to trauma room 1.

"I put chest tubes in both sides, and we got an EKG machine hooked up, and it was just a straight line, so all this took place in a matter of ten minutes," he recalled.

Downward water flows in the park mirror the rhythm of the ocean and Kennedy’s belief that each of our lives is reflected there.

On the wall are names submitted by Parkland employees honoring people they see as heroes.

Parkland Police Captain Kristi Tillery is there with her father, retired Dallas Police officer John Rex Tillery, who started with DPD back in September 1963.

"[He] was on duty the day that JFK was shot. Although he was in training in class number 78, he still talks about that day and what it meant," Tillery said. "And being here at Parkland for over 30 years, you know, we need to continue to honor and keep this as a memory and honor everyone that was here."

Present and past president and CEO of Parkland Foundation, Michael Horne and David Krause, spoke about how this park born in a conversation more than a decade ago with Joe Dealey.

"He made the comment over lunch that the president was shot in my park and he died in your hospital, we need to do something at new Parkland to remember him and to honor him. That was the beginning of that," Krause recalled.

"Certainly, the vision that you were able to bring to fruition here in this park is really symbolic of what, at Parkland, we're trying to continue to do to make healthcare accessible to create spaces to try and convene our communities," Horne said. "The rich tapestry that is Dallas. I think that’s part of highlighting the dichotomy of life, certainly the tragedy of Kennedy’s assassination, but also being located in a hospital where we see hope and healing every single day."

Horne added that they hope this will mean something bigger to the community.

"Really, what better place to honor and uplift the ideals of togetherness of community, of resilience, than here in this park at Parkland Health," he said.

Jones, who was one of those who worked on JFK, said they had no idea their hospital would be the place where the president would come should something happen.

Tragically, something did.

The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will quickly become a place that will draw people in quiet, respectful, reflection.