Discussion»Questions»History» JFK was assassinated on 11/22/63, Friday before Thanksgiving like today. I was 3, so I learned about it after the fact. Do you remember it?
I do remember it. I was at my first job after high school. One of my friends came into the ladies room and told me that he had been shot. At that point, we didn't know whether or not he survived. Those were very dark days.
Every time I see the film of it, I see the second bullet blow the side of his head off and am amazed that anyone thought he might survive. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20.
There was much that they kept out of the media when it actually happened. It wasn't until later that we got to see the footage and realized that he could never have survived that head shot and, even if he did, would probably never be mentally capable of returning to office.
Yes, I recall it vividly. Every detail is clear after 56 years. As a matter of fact, the president was buried on my 12th birthday. In the days before satellite or cable television, it was very unusual to have broadcasting around the clock that weekend. I saw Oswald murdered live as it happened after my mother made a chilling prediction about Oswald's death only minutes before it happened. There was, I suppose, a general apprehension that Oswald wouldn't live to stand trial but no one really expected to see it televised as it was.
You may also remember that it was JFK Jr's third birthday. The funeral was in the morning, and Jackie returned to the White House for his birthday party that afternoon.
So many of the iconic moments that have been revisited a thousand times over the last half century, created an emotional roller coaster for all of us watching as the events unfolded in our living rooms over a four day period. There are a few moments in our history that are both shocking and mesmerizing as to be sealed in one's mind forever. You just know where you were and what you were doing when the news came.
I was sitting in my 7th grade science class and the teacher told us the news. Everyone was sent home. I remember mom and a visiting aunt sitting down crying. I was too young to understand the implications of such a thing. I think I was born jaded.
SpunkySenior 