And because Mrs. Kennedy did not want her children seeing guns at Camp David, all hid behind trees while guarding the family.
Lieutenant Lee, their superior officer, was 29 and sensed the historical significance as he stood by the coffin.
“You don’t want to get emotional,” he said, “but I had several reflections.”
The February before, during a reception at the National Gallery of Art, the Kennedys were supposed to take an elevator to greet their guests. But the elevator was not working, and when they stepped out, the lieutenant said, he was so close to Mrs. Kennedy that he could smell her perfume. Here is how he remembers what happened next:
“I’m in my mannequin face, and she said words to the effect, “Jack, let’s take the stairs.’ And he said, ‘We can wait.’ They go back and forth a few times, and then her tone changed just like any other wife. ‘Jack, people are waiting.’ ‘O.K.,’ he answers her and turning his head toward me, says, ‘Don’t worry — I make all the big decisions.’ ”
Lieutenant Lee worked at pushing aside such thoughts during the death watch.
“There’s nothing to do but stand and stare and get lost in your thoughts,” he said. “I don’t care how tough you are, he’s two to three feet away.”
The reunion on Friday is being held near Dallas but not because it is the site of the assassination. Mr. Lee is 79 and unable to travel, and his men cannot envision a reunion without him. “My wife’s not well,” he said on Thursday, “and my first duty is to her now.”
When they were 20, they imprinted on him the way ducklings do with their mother — that is, if the mother duck were a 6-foot-2 squared-away Marine lieutenant. Mr. Pittman, who was raised by his grandmother and served at a time when racism was common, said: “He was a father figure for us, a stern disciplinarian who talked a lot about what being a man was about. I was comforted by him.”
Mr. Lee was fair, Mr. Pittman said.
At the other reunion, a few held back when they saw Mr. Lee. “I was still a little scared of him,” Mr. Cunningham said.
As for Mr. Lee, he is looking forward to the reunion. “These were fine, fine young men,” he said. “They really did one hell of a job.”
