Where were you when JFK was assassinated?
- Thread starter Dryburn
- Start date
I was 4, and actually remember this part only of the events, the funeral on TV. Someone must have pointed out or I must have noticed the riderless horse and the boots in backwards in the stirrups. A caparisoned horse .
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Beat me by a month! 3 years, 9 months. I can remember clear as day sitting in the family room watching the clip of the shooting over and over, without really understanding the significance of it. I think I remember a lot of adults crying about this.
I had never even heard of her before that day - my aunt was visiting from New Zealand and I remember her crying a lot.
My dad was 6 and my mom was 5 when JFK was shot. I should see if either of them remember it, I've never asked.
I just vaguely remember the OKC bombing - they talked about some kids my age being killed and that's about all I remember. Like most of us, 9/11 was my big memory. Got into the house just in time to see the 2nd tower get hit. Watched it with our milkman, of all people.
I had just turned 8 a few days prior. Was in the 2nd grade. I don't remember much about the day or what happened in school. I do remember there was literally nothing else on TV for approximately 2 weeks afterwards (Think 9/11 and add 10 days). An eternity for a young kid who loved to watch his favorite shows.
I do remember when Ruby shot Oswald I was confused why everyone was so upset. Of course my sense of justice was warped from watching all those early Westerns. I thought, "If he shot the president he should have been shot."
I do remember a couple years later my oldest brother did a serious research paper in high school on the JFK assassination - including referencing articles and so made actual Xerox copies of magazine pages at the Musser Public Library in Muscatine. The first time I knew there was such a thing as photocopies. And they cost 10 cents each, which seemed like an awful lot of money just for a piece of paper that looked like a magazine page.
For the Challenger crash I was working outside and came back into the office. One of the tech's told us the Challenger crashed and everyone was dead. I interpreted it as a bad joke and made a dumb-*** remark only to find out later he was serious. In my defense he had that reputation for poor gallows humor.
I do remember when Ruby shot Oswald I was confused why everyone was so upset. Of course my sense of justice was warped from watching all those early Westerns. I thought, "If he shot the president he should have been shot."
I do remember a couple years later my oldest brother did a serious research paper in high school on the JFK assassination - including referencing articles and so made actual Xerox copies of magazine pages at the Musser Public Library in Muscatine. The first time I knew there was such a thing as photocopies. And they cost 10 cents each, which seemed like an awful lot of money just for a piece of paper that looked like a magazine page.
For the Challenger crash I was working outside and came back into the office. One of the tech's told us the Challenger crashed and everyone was dead. I interpreted it as a bad joke and made a dumb-*** remark only to find out later he was serious. In my defense he had that reputation for poor gallows humor.
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My parents were in Junior High then.
Really odd now though, thinking back to when I was a kid and we talked about it like it was ancient history, especially when we talked about it in school, but to think it was only like 15 years ago at that time is some pretty freaky stuff. Makes me really think about how old I am now. I guess it's similar in thought though to how if "Back to the Future" were just released today, they'd be going back to 1983. And the Fifties looked like so long ago at that time.
Really odd now though, thinking back to when I was a kid and we talked about it like it was ancient history, especially when we talked about it in school, but to think it was only like 15 years ago at that time is some pretty freaky stuff. Makes me really think about how old I am now. I guess it's similar in thought though to how if "Back to the Future" were just released today, they'd be going back to 1983. And the Fifties looked like so long ago at that time.
I was giving my mom false labor pains in the hospital, vaguely remember grieving voices through the womb. I was born 13 days later.
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I was in eighth grade biology class.
We had an away junior high BB game that night that for some reason they didn't cancel.
I remember being on the court and looking into the stands and seeing the school superintendent sitting there reading a newspaper with the gigantic headlines.
Whatever really happened, history was forever altered.
We had an away junior high BB game that night that for some reason they didn't cancel.
I remember being on the court and looking into the stands and seeing the school superintendent sitting there reading a newspaper with the gigantic headlines.
Whatever really happened, history was forever altered.
Joining in with the other oldies here. I had just turned 3. It is the earliest memory I can recall. One of my older brothers was home with the measles. My father worked nights at the time and was sleeping. My mother was rocking my brother and watching "As the World Turns." I was playing with Lincoln logs on the floor when they cut into the programming.
My mother started to cry and woke up my father. The neighbor came over to watch my brother and my parents bundled me up and went over to church to pray.
I think some more of us had the measles by the time Oswald was killed. We saw him shot on TV. Kind of shocking. It was a frightening time.
My mother started to cry and woke up my father. The neighbor came over to watch my brother and my parents bundled me up and went over to church to pray.
I think some more of us had the measles by the time Oswald was killed. We saw him shot on TV. Kind of shocking. It was a frightening time.
Mom was 15, dad was 19. I've never heard my dad talk about it, but mom has talked about it several times. She and her friends were very caught up in the First Lady and the whole Camelot idea, so it was a very jarring and devastating experience for them. She said there were a lot of tears and the nation was truly in mourning.
A few people have mentioned the Challenger explosion. I was a junior in high school. Someone came in the classroom I was in and mentioned that it had happened. For some reason, this particular classroom was the only one in the school that had a cable connection, so a tv was pushed into the room and we watched until the bell rang. It was rather shocking to contemplate, because I knew of a couple of teachers that had applied to be the "first teacher in space," the honor that went to Christa McAuliffe. It would have been them on that shuttle had they been selected.
A few people have mentioned the Challenger explosion. I was a junior in high school. Someone came in the classroom I was in and mentioned that it had happened. For some reason, this particular classroom was the only one in the school that had a cable connection, so a tv was pushed into the room and we watched until the bell rang. It was rather shocking to contemplate, because I knew of a couple of teachers that had applied to be the "first teacher in space," the honor that went to Christa McAuliffe. It would have been them on that shuttle had they been selected.
I was in 5th grade. We were just walking into the library and noticed the librarian was crying. She sent us back to our room. The teacher announced that school was being dismissed early. I didn't know what happened until I got home. I saw Oswald being shot when we got home from church. That seemed unreal at the time. It was tough being a kid having that many days off from school and nothing on tv except news.
I too was in 7th grade study hall on that day. It was a rather chilly, grey and gloomy day outside. Since it was study hall it was pretty quite anyway, but I remember our high school principle coming into the room. He always wore these soft rubber sole shoes so he didn't make any noise as he walked,( it is funny the little stupid things you remember about a huge event like that.) I don't think there was much commotion in the room before he came in but, of course it became totally silent as he walked to the study hall teachers desk. He simply turned and faced the classroom and said," President Kennedy was assasinated in Dallas Texas. He died at 1:00. I still can see the clock above him showing about 1:30.
There were doors to 2 adjoining classrooms in study hall and I he went into each classroom and repeated the exact same message to each of those rooms. The silence was stunning. They were able to scramble up a few radios to put in some of the rooms and we all sat listening to the network bulletins and coverage. As with Dryburn, school was dismissed as soon as they could get the drivers in. By the time we got on the bus is the weather had turned to light showers with snow mixed in and I can still see the fogged up windows on the bus sitting next to my friend Bob as we rode home. (Again, funny what you remember.)
That evening the networks had live coverage of the plane bringing the President back from Dallas and the casket being lowered from the plane for the awaiting ambulance. Even in the black and white TV picture we had then, you could see the dark stains (blood) on Jackie's dress, and later that evening newly sworn in Lyndon Johnson came on to speak to the nation. Again as Dryburn said the nation watched live as Jack Ruby shot Oswald. Even as a kid I remember wondering what had become of our nation as you watched things unfold live. Since we had just gotten out of the Russian missle crisis, there was speculation if they or some other nation would try anything against us with the seeming chaos of that leadership change.
My parents can tell you everything about where they were and what they did after Pearl Harbor, and my kids can do the same with 9-11. Again, it is funny what you remember from events like these.
There were doors to 2 adjoining classrooms in study hall and I he went into each classroom and repeated the exact same message to each of those rooms. The silence was stunning. They were able to scramble up a few radios to put in some of the rooms and we all sat listening to the network bulletins and coverage. As with Dryburn, school was dismissed as soon as they could get the drivers in. By the time we got on the bus is the weather had turned to light showers with snow mixed in and I can still see the fogged up windows on the bus sitting next to my friend Bob as we rode home. (Again, funny what you remember.)
That evening the networks had live coverage of the plane bringing the President back from Dallas and the casket being lowered from the plane for the awaiting ambulance. Even in the black and white TV picture we had then, you could see the dark stains (blood) on Jackie's dress, and later that evening newly sworn in Lyndon Johnson came on to speak to the nation. Again as Dryburn said the nation watched live as Jack Ruby shot Oswald. Even as a kid I remember wondering what had become of our nation as you watched things unfold live. Since we had just gotten out of the Russian missle crisis, there was speculation if they or some other nation would try anything against us with the seeming chaos of that leadership change.
My parents can tell you everything about where they were and what they did after Pearl Harbor, and my kids can do the same with 9-11. Again, it is funny what you remember from events like these.
I was in 3rd grade, teacher came into the room crying, school was dismissed for 2 or 3 days I think, until the funeral was over. I remember watching the funeral on TV. It it still in my memory like it was yesterday.
I did! It was a Saturday AM. I had the lunch shift at work and I was the only one who seemed to know anything about it for some reason. At the HS basketball game (I think that's what it was) that night they held a moment of silence.
