THE ASSASSINATION OF A PRESIDENT
Where Were You?
I
was 13 yrs. old living with my parents & brother, Norm, in
Pompano Beach, Florida. I heard about the terrible event on the school
bus, on my way home. The bus was full of children. As a teenager, I
was well aware of who the President was and who my parents had voted for
(it wasn’t President Kennedy). Politics were discussed in our home and
you can’t help but over hear the conversations.
All
of the children on the school bus were SHOCKED and some began to cry. I
don’t think I cried then, but I certainly cried in the coming days.
The
next three or four days aren’t very clear in my memory, except that we
were glued to our television as the events unfolded.
I
clearly remember watching the funeral procession with JFK’s casket and
the rider less horse following behind. I also remember seeing Caroline
& John-John (as he was called by so many of us), and thinking
how awful it would be to lose your Daddy. Especially in such a horrible
way.
How
this changed our country? I don’t really know. There’s been so much
speculation about “what if.” But, this is how history unfolded and we
can’t change a thing. If only we could.
God Bless Caroline today, as she is the only surviving member of that little family foursome.
As
a young girl I was interested in history (yes, even back then). I
saved all the newspapers and the Saturday Evening Post from those few
days. I haven’t enhanced them at
all as I believe that leaving them faded and yellowed best represents
the 50+ years that have passed since that horrible day.
HERE ARE THE FRONT PAGES OF THE NEWSPAPERS AND THE COVER OF THE SATURDAY EVENING POST
In thoughtful remembrance,
Michigan Girl
Copyright © 2015 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO
USE WITHOUT PERMISSION
Love that you saved the newspaper! I was in third grade and remember that I was getting off of the school bus when another child told me that President Kennedy had died and that his brother was now the president. I had not experienced the death of close family or friends so this very public loss was my first involvement with death. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteDiane,
DeleteI was a little older than you and was on a school bus when I heard. I know my parents didn't vote for him, but we were all very sad nonetheless. I guess I knew even back then that I liked history huh? So glad I saved those papers and many other things through the years.
Thanks for stopping by.