JFK

[Free To Canoe]

I remember I was in third grade in Catholic school. The whole grade school was emptied out and moved over to the church with one instruction. Pray!

[SumDay]

I was in grade school. I remember my mom sobbing in front of the TV. My father kind of an Archie Bunker type, and wasn't even remotely upset.

I'm pretty obsessed with Camelot and have probably read 50+ books about it.

[grasshopper]

I had just returned from lunch recess in 7th grade, when our English teacher told us. Gee I can't remember anything but little John and the riderless horse at the funeral.

[tinlizzy]

I was born in 1967.

I remember my mom falling down the steps at age 2 - it was probably her shriek that cemented it in my memory.

I remember ducking behind my dad when a tall man with a rainbow afro came around a corner and gave him the peace sign. My dad picked me up and whispered, "it's alright, he's just a hippie."

The first news event I remember is Nixon resigning. The conversation between my parents was like a foreign language.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko Not to get off topic, but.... Maybe it's me, but I can remember being in my crib, being in my carriage, crawling/being carried (because I couldn't walk), not being able to talk yet, all sorts of stuff from a very young age. Not everything mind you, but I have tons of memories from when I was 1 and 2 years old, very clear, vivid and confirm-able. Is it just me? DW thinks I"m crazy, but mom confirms these things.

I'm pretty sure I remember getting in a tub at 3 with chicken pox. I remember it because the sores were stinging badly!!! That's probably my earliest memory.

Well, I might remember knocking my high-chair backwards and the view out the back sliding glass door - earlier than the above.

[Htown Harry]

Oh my, what an impression the riderless horse made on a 4-year-old Dallasite.

And so many big words to learn - eulogy, cortège, caisson, dignitaries, caparisoned horse, muffled drums, lying in state ("Mom, is that the same as a state funeral?", "Is Washington a state?").

[Lisa99]

I have some very early memories as well. I vividly remember my first haircut that happened on my second birthday in a beauty salon across the street from my grandmothers house.

I was 2 years and 3 months when Kennedy was shot. My aunt was my babysitter and she was watching "Days of our Lives." I remember the show stopping and a man coming on and saying words I didn't understand. Then I remember my aunt started crying which scared me badly. I mostly remember images, few words and a lot of crying.

[Nodak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I'm pretty sure I remember getting in a tub at 3 with chicken pox. I remember it because the sores were stinging badly!!! That's probably my earliest memory. Well, I might remember knocking my high-chair backwards and the view out the back sliding glass door - earlier than the above.

I also have memories of being in a crib and a stroller. Also remember my Dad holding me and singing to me. There was a serious flood in my hometown when I was 2. I can remember looking out the living room window of the house and seeing 2 guys rowing down the street in a boat.

[JakeBrake]

I was stationed at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego. I was attending radio school. I was attending night classes so I was off-duty during the day. I was walking from my Quonset hut to the PX. One of my class mates passed by and told me the news. Within a couple of minutes word was passed down by loud speakers on MP trucks for all military personnel to report to their company quarters. (MCRD is a very small base compared to other Marine bases). My class attended the next regularly scheduled night class but were told to not leave the area after class. The FMF (Fleet Marine Force) was placed on alert for a few days.

[Dwhit]

I was in the first grade, and I remember leaving the school and seeing Mrs. Mooney, a third grade teacher,standing with her hand over her heart staring up at the flag on theFlagpole. Tears were running down her cheeks.

At the time I did not know the reason why she was crying, and I don't remember much else about it, but that image is as crystal clear to me today as if it happened yesterday.

[clifp]

I was 4 and had no memory of the day. But the day of the funeral is one of my earliest memories.

Mom was balling her eyes out and I ask what was going on. She said there burying the President. and I said "but isn't he a Democrat". Mom said something about how that didn't matter at all, that he was the President for everybody.

[gindie]

I was 4 at the time, living near South Bend, IN. The only thing I remember was LBJ's speech that night at Andrews AFB with Air Force One in the background.

I now work at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, OH and that Air Force One plane is part of the Air Force Museum. Have walked through it several times.

[seraphim]

I was in the second grade, and the announcement came over the intercom of Kennedy's death. I remember a lot of girls in the class crying.

[imoldernu]

Wanted to share this here, (posted on the other 50 yr. thread)....
.................................................. ........................................
Etched in memory.
I had just been transferred from managing the Sears store in Vineyard Haven, Mass, to managing the store in Falmouth Mass.
My assistant manager called me to the front of the store, where the TV display was located... near the front window.
"The president has been shot!"
...and with that, the world turned upside down.
For the next few hours, my store filled with people, watching, crying... then heading home to try and manage their lives. How to tell the children, and where do we go from here? The president was the dream of every dad and mom... the highest wish and hope for their own children.
Yes... the world stopped for the next two weeks.

DW reminded me that she was in Hyannisport, at the same time... shopping with our kids and a neighbor and her kids. The store and the town basically closed down... and they all drove home, without speaking, because the kids were too young to understand.
.................................................. .........

It was only during the previous summer, when we were still living on Martha's Vineyard... (DW and I, two very young sons, aged three and four, and a brand new baby son who was born on the Vineyard)... that we had been over to Edgartown, by the ferry slip for the boat that goes over to Chappaquiddick. We were with our next door neighbors, who also had young children. The little girl, age 7 and the boy age 5, were good swimmers, and swam out into the channel, to where the Honey Fitz was anchored.

JFK and Jacqueline invited the kids aboard for about 20 minutes to play with Caroline and John John. A very exciting time for all of us.
.................................................. .........

Perhaps it's just age, and a faltering memory, but somehow those years were different... The awe of the presidency, the feeling of respect for government leaders, and the pride in being an American was a warm place of comfort and safety. My own kids grew up with that and still remember it that way.

[haha]

I was doing acid/base titrations in a biochemistry lab. I was so focused on the work that the significance of a President getting shot kind of went above my head. Only much later did I kind of understand.

When I later went to Latin America, I saw what a giant hero he was among many people down there. My social circle here in the US were not truly in the JFK worshipping camp, though they were respectful. I had basically no opinion, but I did know that having a US President shot had to be bad news. I sure found myself deeply impressed by Mrs. Kennedy's bravery and control.

Ha

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nodak I also have memories of being in a crib and a stroller. Also remember my Dad holding me and singing to me. There was a serious flood in my hometown when I was 2. I can remember looking out the living room window of the house and seeing 2 guys rowing down the street in a boat.

I do remember the crib being in the house, but can't remember being in it. I was 6 years younger than my brother so it had to be for me. My pre-school memories are pretty foggy.

I was in the 3rd grade I believe when JFK was killed. I remember the class being ready to go outside for our break when the play teacher came in and told the class teacher who relayed the news to us. I don't remember it really changing anything the rest of the day for us as we had our play period anyway. But I remember when I went home my mom and grandmother talking about how tragic it was for a president to be assassinated. As a kid, the funeral march was what really drove home the significance for me.

Funeral March - State Funeral Of John F. Kennedy 1963 - YouTube

[Ronstar]

I was in 3rd grade and remember teachers crying in class. They explained that JFK had been shot, and wheeled a tv into the classroom to watch the coverage. I believe that school was let out early that day. Like Dawg, the funeral march has been a lasting memory for me and emphasized the tragedy.

[HappyOutsourced]

I was in fourth grade in Chattanooga, TN and heard the news from a fellow student as I was leaving school that day. My parents were not fans of Kennedy but, as a child, I took things to the extreme and thought it was great news that we were rid of him. I quickly walked home eager to tell my mom. She was a nurse and had worked third shift the night before. She had been asleep all day and not heard the news. I was so excited and happy to tell her such big good news. I'll never forget her reaction. Instead of being glad, she looked stunned and deeply concerned. She quickly turned on the TV to see what was going on. She was not happy at all!
Looking back, I'm sure the older generation was terrified- wondering if the Russians had done this. They had just been through the Cuban missile crisis and a couple decades back, WWII.
I learned respect for the office of the president that day.
Another thing I learned from this was to have respect for other people's religious beliefs. My mom wanted us to watch part of the Kennedy funeral. This was because we had older relatives who were Catholic and she wanted us to be familiar with the formality of their funerals back then. I remember making a wise crack and my mom quickly gave me a lesson in respect for others in matters of conscience.
Bless you, Mama!

[Mel-honey]

I was in school (3rd grade) and had just returned from lunch. I remember our teacher—a nun, never one to miss an opportunity to administer a little guilt—telling us that if we had been praying for the souls in purgatory while waiting in line for lunch, we would have been praying for the president.

President Kennedy’s death was very traumatic for me.
1. He was Irish Catholic, I was Irish Catholic.
2. His middle name was Fitzgerald—my last name was Fitzgerald.
3. My teenage sister worked on his presidential campaign.
4. He had recently visited Tampa and our (Catholic) school had gathered outside in the parking lot to wave at his helicopter as it flew over, going from MacDill AFB to Tampa International Airport. There had been a great deal of excitement among my older sisters and their friends about how they would try to get his attention as his motorcade drove down (what is now) JFK Boulevard, just half a block from our house.
5. He was a father figure and he died, and my father (another handsome Irishman) had died just the year before. When JFK died, it was like my father died again. I came home from school and my mother was crying again.

For many years, when I watched the films of the assassination I think I was hoping that, this time, it would end differently. I finally stopped watching when I saw the whole film and saw his head explode.

[Bikerdude]

I was 16 and in school when the principal came on the PA system and announced the news. School was dismissed. I spent the next few days watching TV coverage and witnessed Oswald being shot in real time on TV.