Remembering JFK Today, Where were you? Pic of Grave added...

ozzysdad

One of my earliest memories, I was 3, But I remember it. I share the same Birthday, and The Kennedy Half is one of my favorites. Seem's like it's all been downhill ever since that day.

FC57Coins

I was five - playing in the alley between my house and our neighbor's house when my mother came out and told the neighbor lady the news. Odd thing was - I was living in Havana, Cuba at the time. But it still had a big effect on people.

ziggy29

I was a little more than a year away from being a little zygote in mama's womb.

Cam40

i was being baby sat at the time.
mom tells me they were at the movie theatre watching day of the tiffids when
the announcement came over the pa and the lights came on and everybody left
in shock.

Coinhusker1

Pretty darn close to when I was conceived. Born August 18, 1964.

Smittys

I was six and i remember coming home and seeing my Mom
crying. It really effected a lot of people. I was to young to think
much more than it must be bad to make my mom Cry.

Vet

High School

pharmer

On the playground during recess, sixth grade, a teacher came out to tell us.

wam98

I was in second grade and it was announced over the loud speaker. Seemed like the whole world stopped. The school principal couldn't finish talking before breaking down and crying. This made the whole school cry. School turned out and everyone went home to more sadness. I'll never forget that day.

Longacre

I was a twinkle in my parent's eyes (would not be born for another 6 years).

mgoodm3

I was -4 years old.

KenzoT

9th grade math class. The PA came on and I remember the first thing I heard the newsman saying was "and there's a scuffle on the overpass."
That one sentence has bugged me ever since because I didn't hear another word about this scuffle. Nothing in the Warren Report, just nothing.
You are correct that this was the beginning of the decline of Western civilation. Our government learned they can lie to the people and we would just sit there and take it.

ss350camaro

I was 3.............sadly i don't remember anything about that day




(heck.............. i can barely remember what happend 2 yrs ago, let alone 41 )

keets

i was in third grade, Mrs. Jevnikar, it was dad's birthday and they made the announcement over the PA system and sent us home. my mom had the TV on and had stopped ironing to watch and i can remember sitting on the steps and crying, though i wasn't quite certain why. the whole country just seemed shocked and sad.

al h.

ozzysdad

<< <i>9th grade math class. The PA came on and I remember the first thing I heard the newsman saying was "and there's a scuffle on the overpass."
That one sentence has bugged me ever since because I didn't hear another word about this scuffle. Nothing in the Warren Report, just nothing.
You are correct that this was the beginning of the decline of Western civilation. Our government learned they can lie to the people and we would just sit there and take it. >>

How true.... like the following statements:

"I'm From the IRS, and i'm here to help you."
"The Check is in the mail."
"There is no such thing as UFO's, IT was a weather balloon."

Conder101

I have no idea. Gimme a break, I was 2 years old (almost 3). I do remember the funeral though. I was pissed because there was nothing else on TV.

DeepCoin

I was in 11th grade and was off that day because of a religious retreat I was leading. Needless to say, the agenda changed considerable. For those who were too young (or not here yet), in the east it was cold, damp and rainy the whole weekend. It was very fitting for the atmosphere. A seminal moment for my generation, as was Dec 7 for my parents and Sept 11 for the younger folks here. Everyone knows were they were and what they were doing on all those sad days.

kieferscoins

I wasn't born until 1982.

Cameron Kiefer

PhillyJoe

At school, third grade, NW Indiana, Principal visited each classroom, and told us "in third grade terms" and dismissed school early. It WAS the only thing on TV all weekend. Saw Ruby shot on live TV. Unbelievable.

Joe

Elcontador

Was in 7th grade. Just before recess, the P.A. came on and told us the President was shot. Everyone was shocked, many of us cried.

Not to hijack the thread, but five years later, when Bobby Kenendy was shot, my high school physiology teacher, Gene Dirks, was there and saw it all. He apparently couldn't get the next day off, and in the next class, gave us his eyewitness report. I have never seen anyone more upset than he was, and this is 36 years later.

OldUncleUhUh

Was a freshman in high school in Parsippany NJ, we had a half day, was home with Mom watching As The World Turns, sister from S. Jersey called, the show was interrupted several times, finally all programming went away for days. Even more eerie, I was at the local tavern on the 24th with my Dad and Bro-in-law and 40 some-odd other males of the species when someone said "hey, they're bringing that s%#*-bag Oswald out now," then we all watched him get shot live on the little bar black 'n white tv, that was a strange day too. Can't believe it's been 41 years, gads, am I that old already, where did the time go...?

TommyType

I was but a child of about 1 1/2 months. I was baptized the day Oswald was killed, and my Dad and God Father were watching it live on TV after the service.

BillJones

I was in the 9th grade. It was a Friday, and it just so happened that the last class of the day as Phys Ed, which was always a highlight for me since I did not have to sit in a boring class.

I heard that Kennedy had been shot, and my first though was given "modern medicine" that he would survive. I was scheduled for a piano lesson at the home of a lady who lived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. My mother and I were listening to the news on the car radio. It was during that time that it was announced that JFK was dead.

The next day my high school had an exhibition football game scheduled. It was to be a fundraiser for the team, and the school administrators decided not to cancel it. My dad’s comment was, “Everybody in the country has canceled their athletic games except Milton,” which was my hometown growing up.

It rained that day, and the band, of which I was a member played hymns from inside the field house lobby. The “highlight” of the game was our head football coach who got drunk during the game (He had something other than water in his water bottle that day.) and had be restrained from attacking the referee. He got fired on the spot. I missed the excitement because my parents took me home because the weather. I did see him yelling at the officials during the first half, however, which got him a quick penalty. Milton lost the game to Rehoboth Beach, 28-7.

I was watching TV live when Ruby killed Oswald. I ran in to tell my mother, and she could not believe me.

We watched the funeral procession on TV the following Monday. School had been canceled for the day. All of us were amazed by how much dignity Jacqueline Kennedy displayed during that heart wrenching day.

CarsonCityGold

I'm a native Texan and have lived in Dallas all my life. I was in the 8th grade and they called us all down to an assembly, made the anouncement and sent us home. In the late 60's I worked downtown and had to drive under the imfamous triple underpass almost daily. Its always been kinda strange for me to drive past the School Book Depository and under the triple underpass. You just can't go through that area without thinking about Kennedy and the tragic events of that era.

OKbustchaser

Fifth grade...I remember that before they released us from school they held an atomic bomb drill thinking, I guess, that the Russians were about to take advantage of our shock and mental disawray. (Of course, small town Oklahoma was convinced that the Russians were coming at least weekly.)

DominusDeus

My parents were hardly even born by 1963, so I wasn't even a twinkle in either's eyes. Almost sureal that J.F.K. was born in 1917. He'd be around 87 today. That's nuts.

airplanenut

I wasn't born until 1987. I'd heard stories from my grandparents and dad about hearing the news (my mom wasn't living in the country until a few years later)... I never understood how they could remember every detail until September 11, 2001.

CarlWohlforth

My Mom, Brother and I were driving back from my Grandfather's summer house in New Hampshire to our apartment in NYC. We heard the news on the radio. Mom pulled over and was very shocked. My Bro and I were too young to know what it meant but we were shocked and cried along with my Mom because she was.

EagleEye

I was in 1st grade and we were all sent home. Everyone was so somber, but a six year old doesn't quite understand. I don't know how I felt exactly at the time, although I'm sure I learned that exact feeling the night of December, 8, 1980.

Now, September 11, 2001 is the date that will bring that little tear to the our eye.

DorkGirl

I was in 5th grade, it was recess time. The male teacher that came out on the steps to tell us the news broke down and cried. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen a man cry, it just didn't happen back then. I think at the time, I didn't really understand about the president dying, but I sure understood the amount of pain that it caused.

F117ASR

My mom wasn't even born yet. Though it is my favorite series

oreville

Was in elementary school in New Rochelle, NY (made famous by Thomas Paine and Dick Van Dyke). We were sent home early. I was 10 years old.

The next major news that occurred within the year (1964) that had a major impact on us was the overthrow of the Soviet Union ruler Nikita Khrushchev. I did like the way he banged his shoes on the table! I remembered doing a book report titled "What You Should Know About Communism" I still have it! We went through years of scrambling under the school desks in fear when the sirens shrieked in an endless number of "atom bomb drills." But that was the Chinese doing.

We had the beginnings of a very turbulent childhood.

phut

I was 11 months old (22Dec62). Don't remember very much.

stev32k

I was 20 years old and a sophomore in college. At the time the news came out I was working in a part-time job at the Bunte Candy Company in Oklahoma City. I had been married for three weeks and my wife called me at work crying so much I couldn't understand what she was saying. It was a day no one alive at that time will ever forget.

AuldFartte

I was 14 years old, sitting in Civics class when it was announced over the PA system. I remember the blank stare on the face of the teacher, followed by him removing his glasses, putting his head in his hands and weeping.

The next few days were spent in front of the tube for the news, funeral, etc.

TwoCentDotCom

For those of us whose birthday is November 22nd (probably now about 1/6 of one percent of the population), and for those of us who were old enough to understand the gravity of the events as they unfolded, that Friday will always be a defining moment. I was in Latin class. I collected Lincolns and two-cent pieces then.

But that's not what I wanted to write about.

There are coincidences and then there are these nearly unexplainable occurances: My birthday, 11/22, is JFK's assasination; my father's birthday, 6/5, was RFK's assasination, and he was buried on my grandfather's birthday 6/8; Nixon resigned on my mother's birthday, 8/8; Reagan was shot on my little sister's birthday 3/30; my son's birthday is 12/7, "A day that shall live in infamy..."

Several years later I was working a "get a job in Europe" in Brussels, Belgium. I carried several dozen JFK half dollars. They were instant hits with all who saw them. I was able to sell them for a premium.

Outhaul

I don't get it. Every year at this time someone inevitably asks this question. Why? WGAS? It's forty-one years ago...give it up already. As a MA native I have no love nor respect for this corrupt, drunken clan. The old man's bootlegging and weapons-running money (and some connected guys) bought JFK the presidency. It also got Joe Jr. killed. Then fat Teddy goes to the submarine races...literally, and gets away with murder.

Just my eversohumble opinion.

Cheers,

Bob

mtnman

I was a 19 year old college freshman sitting in my college algebra teachers office talking about my lousy grade when another professor stuck his head in the door and told us the President had been shot. Didn't find out until I got back to the dorm that he was dead.

LindeDad

I was in the second phase of Basic Training for the USAF. Denver Colo. Waiting for my Basic Electrinics class to start.

19Lyds

Sophomore in High School. Truly a dark day.

BAJJERFAN

In high school shop class I believe. Twas a sad day for America and the world.

fcloud

I was in fourth grade. We were told over the loud speaker, and asked to say a prayer. Yes, back then you could actually pray in school. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Fairlaneman

Junior in High School and in one of the math classes taken that year. Cannot remember if we got out early but if we did I'm sure a beeline was made to the Gym to play some hoops.

9-11 had a much greater impact than this.

Ken

Lakesammman

3rd grade. Our teacher had us pledge alliegance to the flag and sing the national anthem. TV coverage was different back then - it was all very new and strange.

Lakesammman

3rd grade. Our teacher had us pledge alliegance to the flag and sing the national anthem. TV coverage was different back then - it was all very new and strange.

Cocoinut

I lived in Ohio at the time, and was in 9th grade study hall when the news came that JFK had been shot. It was about a half hour later that he was pronounced dead. A few girls wept, but most people just sat stunned, except for one kid who clapped. The study hall monitor, who was also a football coach, picked the kid up out of his seat, threw him against the wall, and would probably have really hurt him if he hadn't been restrained by another teacher. That was a Friday, and the whole nation was glued to their TV's through Monday, when JFK was laid to rest in Arlington. My family was getting ready for Sunday dinner when we watched Lee Harvey Oswald get shot in the stomach, LIVE on TV! My class went on a field trip to Washington the following spring, and I took these pictures. You're really old if you remember JFK's gravesite when it looked like this.

I was commenting to someone at work today that it used to be that you could ask just about anyone what they were doing on 11/22/63, but now there's only one other person in my office that's old enough to remember that day. Makes me feel old!! (But I'll get over it.)



Jim

coolkarma

I was in the 7th grade in Oklahoma City. I was the last one into my Orchestra class and wondered why people were sitting around crying. I was absolutely stunned when someone whispered to me that Kennedy had been shot. I'll never forget.

xbob

Yet to be conceived (born in '67). I have been to Arlington Cemetery though to see the grave.

SarasotaFrank

in the fifth grade at #7 school. We were sent home. Managed to see Oswald shot on live (black and white) tv. An incredibly intriguing and studied sequence of events. Kennedy has been treated far better in history than he would have been as president. He would never have survived a presidency in the scrutiny of 24 hour cable news.

ccex

I wan't quite five years old at the time, but I remember seeing JFK on black and white TV earlier. I can't remember exactly what I was doing when my parents told me the president had been shot, but I definitely remember I was upset when they told me that all my Saturday morning cartoons would be cancelled because of the news coverage. I spent much of Saturday, 11/23/63 asking my dad about LBJ and who he was.

Boom

Weird, that which imprints in our brains. I remember exactly what I was doing, exactly where I was standing. It was recess, 3rd grade. We had just walked out and were on the way to play with a soccer ball when it was announced over the loud speaker and the whole world just stopped and cried. People... so many people, cried for what seemed like forever. I never saw so many people cry for so long a period of time. It was my very first experience with death and such utter sadness on a tremendous scale.

Like a few others have stated, I was watching live black and white TV and saw Oswald get shot dead in that hallway. JMHO, but I think he was a scape goat, a stool pigeon/ fall guy. I don't think it was him at all. Wrong place, wrong time. I also think Ruby was a hired gun to make sure it all ended the way it did. Having had firearms training, following the trajectory of the bullet(s) that literally blew his brains out, one bullet having gone completely through the President and into the Governor seated in the front seat, the alleged place the rifle was found, the height(the floor this was on) and angle do not match the trajectory at all.

The second shot was way more powerful than the first. Different shots from different caliber rifles in my book. The Government sure botched everything up at the Hospital. To this day no one can account for the whereabouts of his brain, security and protocol was all wrong there and they sure got Johnson in office fast. Seeds of distrust for our Government were planted at a very young age.