I remember the JFK assassination. I was in 4th grade. I also remember W Cronkite. Great announcer. The world is poorer with the loss of these two men

Hi, Bobby,

I was 6 years old and in 1st grade on the day of President Kennedy's assassination. Because of the trauma that occurred that day, then realizing that President Kennedy had a daughter my age, I have repressed that specific memory of the events that took place in my mind throughout my entire life.

All I remember is the funeral held on Monday, (Nov. 25th, 1963) and watching it with my mother as soon as she began crying so didn't I.

Supposedly as it happened at exactly 1:30 pm EST, (12:30 in Dallas) and the fact that news traveled much slower back then with no Internet, supposedly we were told in elementary school late that day by our principal Miss Grandstrom that President Kennedy had been shot. I have been told that all school children, teachers and staff members were let out of school a little earlier. I have absolutely no recollection of that taking place.

To show how the human mind works, I can remember quite well things taking place the year before in the summer of 1962 when, turning 5-years old in early August, I stayed with my grandmother and aunt for a few months at their house as my parents were moving to a different state, (and with my then 1-year-old sister). I can remember very well the events of that summer in 1962 and being taken every day first to see the planes take-off and land at a small airport and later to get what has always been my favorite flavor of ice cream -pistachio walnut at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT.

My mother in late August of 1962 was to send me a photo of the new house my parents were in the process of buying as we would move from Massachusetts to Connecticut. The cost to mail that letter then was 8 cents. The closing was in late September, so I started kindergarten late that school year, still probably living with my grandmother and aunt up until the time the move was completed and my family could actually occupy the new house. I know all of this, as I still have the envelope and photo mailed to me by my Mom. I must have then left it at this house as many years later this same aunt who I had stayed with as a young boy gave it to me again decades later before she passed.

As I said, I do not recall the JFK assassination at all on the day it took place on 11-22-63 over a year later. A terrible day in our nation's history.

By the way if anyone wants to read a fascinating and detailed book about the two weeks that led up to the assassination I would encourage you to pick up a copy of a book entitled: "The Kennedy Detail" which at one time was on the NY Times Bestseller list.

The book, published in 2011 was co-written by Gerald Blaine a member then of the Secret Service who years later was still alive and in his mid-80s. The morning of the assassination, it was Mr. Blaine who knocked on the Kennedy's hotel suite door in Ft. Worth to make sure that they were awake in time to eventually take that short flight aboard Air Force One into Dallas.

Blaine was not actually in Dallas at the time of the assassination itself. After seeing that the Kennedy's were awake as part of his assignment, Blaine had gone on to Austin, Texas which was supposed to have been the last stop of the day with Kennedy in the state to rally support as he planned on running for office again in the 1964 Presidential election.

A foreword is also presented in this book by Clint Hill. Hill also a member of the Secret Service is infamously the individual who pushed Mrs. Kennedy back into the limousine seconds after President Kennedy had been shot as it started to speed off towards the hospital. Mrs. Kennedy in total shock was to tell Hill that she believed that she had seen part of her husband's head blown off by the force of that bullet and she was going back to try and retrieve it. All of this info is in the book including the fact that early in the processional two things took place:

1). A 1st grade Dallas public school teacher had brought her entire class of kids to the parade. Seeing them standing off on the street, President Kennedy ordered the procession of cars to stop. He was to get out of the limousine and for a few minutes talk to the kids who would have been the same age as his daughter, Caroline.

2). A young man around 19-years old later got too close to the Kennedy limousine, (then Governor Connelly and his wife also in the car) as it proceeded slowly down the street. Not knowing of this young man's intentions, the Secret Service around the car including Clint Hill proceeded to beat the living crap out of this young man. The processional then continued until it fatefully reached Elm Street in Dallas which sadly was the very end of the parade.

Also a week earlier in Tampa Bay for a previous parade, several of President Kennedy's Secret Service staff were actually on the running board of the car doing their duty in protecting him. As revealed in the book, President Kennedy did not like this at all. After the Tampa Bay parade, the President told the Secret Service detail to stay off of his car.

It can be speculated that this decision by Kennedy eerily led to what happened to him a week later. With the Secret Service instead being right on the car in Dallas and as the 1st bullet only grazed him in the arm also hitting Connolly, (the second bullet missing entirely and instead hitting a spectator in his wrist) they might have reacted in time before that 3rd bullet could have been fired and which killed him.

People have gotten it wrong as to where Caroline Kennedy was at the time of the assassination and the news of this event first breaking. She was not at the White House along with her brother, John-John who was there as speculated by many. As revealed in this book, Caroline, after school had let out early for the day, was with a school-age friend of hers in this friend's mother's car. She was on her way to a sleepover at this friend's house for the night Friday into Saturday. Caroline's assigned Secret Service agent was in a car behind them.

When the news broke on the radio, the girl's mother quickly shut off the radio. The Secret Service agent also hearing the news on his car radio, immediately signaled to the mother for her to pull her car off to the curb. Getting out of his car, the agent walked up to the mother and asked if Caroline had heard the news. The mother didn't think so as she shut off the radio as fast as she could. The Secret Service agent then told this mother that he had to take Caroline and bring her back to the White House immediately for safety precaution and as a part of protocol.

The mother at first tried to assure the Secret Service agent that Caroline would be alright with her and her daughter. That was not going to happen. Overhearing this conversation, for perhaps the first time in her young life as still a 5-year old, (her 6th birthday would be the next week), Caroline became obstinate. She did not want to go back to the White House and she asked the Secret Service agent, (who she obviously knew well) why she suddenly could not spend the night at her friend's house. In the book, apparently Caroline in the car took a little tantrum completely unaware of what had happened. In answer, the Secret Service agent just told Caroline that she had to go with him, which I can only assume she eventually accepted without knowing the reason why.

Of course, Caroline was taken away, again for security reasons. Later on it was Caroline's nanny, an older woman who was asked by Mrs. Kennedy before she had even arrived back in Washington DC later that night if she would be so kind as to break the news to Caroline about her father. They say that Caroline has repressed the memory of her father's murder throughout her life.

I read that book 5 years ago shortly after it came out to help me try and understand what happened that fateful day as with my memory of it repressed ever since I was a 6-year-old boy, I have had occasional nightmares - especially on the 10th anniversary, (1Nov. 973) and 25th anniversary, (Nov. 1988) about the assassination.

My mother at home that day taking care of my preschool age sister always told me that in watching a soap opera on television, Walter Kronkite suddenly came on the air to announce that President Kennedy had been shot. No more soap opera that day.

Seeing the footage of this broadcast many times in my life, of course at the time of Kronkite first coming on the air, no one knew of President Kennedy's fate; only made aware by Kronkite of the fact that he had been rushed to Dallas Parkland hospital. By the time Kronkite came on the air that day, in all likely President Kennedy probably had already been declared dead. As I said with no Internet back then and television coverage at a glacial pace, news traveled very slowly.

Also in the book it was revealed that there was almost a brawl between the Secret Service and Dallas police. After her husband was declared dead by medical staff, Mrs. Kennedy immediately wanted to fly back to Washington DC, along with the body of President Kennedy. The problem was that the body was considered evidence in a murder and the Dallas police stationed at the hospital at first told Mrs. Kennedy that her husband could not be released. As I said fisticuffs almost broke out right in the hospital as members of the Secret Service were enraged by the insensitivity of those handful of Dallas police.

Luckily before punches could be thrown, someone thought to get a local district judge involved in making the final decision. This judge ruled that President Kennedy's body could be immediately removed out of the hospital and brought back to Washington aboard Air Force One.

In one last bit of irony in what almost happened that day, it took place early in the morning on Saturday, (the 23rd). By then Lyndon Johnson had of course been sworn into office. Well, very early in the morning and, out of respect for Mrs. Kennedy spending his first night in office at Blair House, the Secret Service were now tasked with protecting Johnson. Stationed around Blair House, as revealed in the book some of the Secret Service on duty worked out the fact that every hour they would rotate counter-clockwise to the next station over.

At around 3 in the morning, President Johnson quite upset at the events of the previous day and overwhelmed by thoughts of his now being Commander in Chief decided to take a walk outside Blair House. Only President Johnson was walking around in a clockwise motion around the structure. Hearing slow footsteps and coming from a direction not according to the plans of the Secret Service,(clockwise instead of counter-clockwise) it was the co-author of this book, Gerald Blaine who when Johnson came around the corner not seeing him at first, pulled his shot gun right up to the new President's face and prepared to shoot thinking it might be an intruder; that is until Mr. Blaine at the last instant realized it who was. One cannot fathom what might have happened if the trigger on that shotgun had been pulled by Mr. Blaine.

As I said much earlier, it is a fascinating book and one recommmended for anyone to read who wants to know exactly what happened on Nov. 22nd, 1963.


Both of my parents have since passed on but as I would have been let out of school a bit early, (and my father was a teacher at work) it was probably my mother who told me upon my arrival home that President Kennedy was dead. I just cannot recall it. I never thought to ask her that specific question during her life time, especially when I was an adult if she had been the one who broke this terrible news to me on that Friday.

Anyway, I would have been in school that day. The other thing is that I have absolutely no recollection of my 1st grade teacher or her name. I know that it was a female as from grades K - 6th grade I had all female teachers.

Thank you for reading,

Jeff

I was in the womb awaiting d-day! :)

that was long before I was born

I was in classes at Oregon State university. When I came out everybody was chatting and getting the news on portable radios!

I was in 8th grade in the library. One of the kids was sneaking a transistor radio on who heard the report and went up and told the librarian. I guess he didn't get in trouble this time as shortly thereafter the school was closed and we were all left to walk home by ourselves. That was before the times that kids were coddled and able to take care of themselves without having their parents called. I can remember walking home all scared.

I was in my 1st grade glass in Indiana. I did not know the significance of the event at that time.

I was somewhere in South Western Ontario probably still in diapers. I do remember the hoopla and the sadness.and that everyone was riveted to our only black and white TV with rabbit ears.

I was a freshman in high school. Remember everyone looking shocked in the hall way as we heard it over the loud speaker

I was traveling through space in search for Earth to visit it, especially finding Wealthy Affiliate as the biggest known Affiliate University to Mankind, somewhere in the near future. :D