DALLAS - For Marie Tippit, seeing the replica of a Dallas squad car from the sixties wasn't just about getting a glimpse of history, it was personal.
The replica was based on the 1963 Ford Galaxie her husband, Officer J.D. Tippit, drove the day he was killed while working his beat in 1963.
Mr. Tippet was killed by multiple shots fired at him after pulling over Lee Harvey Oswald after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
After hearing a description of the shooting suspect, Tippit stopped Oswald in Oak Cliff. He was as he approached Oswald's car.
“It’s very important," Mrs. Tippit said of the car. "It's a part of history."
The Texas Fire Museum restored the old car they found in an Arlington junkyard. It took 365 man hours to finish.
“It’s quite a blessing to us to restore the car in memory of him and what happened that day,” said Scott Simpson, president of the Texas Fire Museum.
The entire Tippit family stood with total strangers in awe of the car that represents so much.
“I think it’s the most magnificent thing that ever was," Tippit said. "It's beautiful."
Family members said the pain from that day has faded, but never went away.
“Of course we feel sad," Tippit said. "A lot of times we feel sad because you never stop missing him; you never stop wanting to see him or ask him a question. That's always there, but you just have to learn you have to live without him."
E-mail sslater@wfaa.com
