I was just a baby around 8 months old. But growing up I always remember tributes on the anniversary of his death.

Junior high school, 7th grade. The Principal and Vice Principal were sitting on a counter in the hallway of the school and told us about it as we walked by changing classes.

That was a Friday afternoon. It was a strangely quiet weekend, all TV programming was interrupted for coverage of the event. I believe we were at church on Sunday and the priest announced at the end of mass that Oswald had been shot.

I was in school - grade 4. The announcement came over the loud speaker. It didn't really mean all that much to me, being in Canada and being 10 years old. But there was a girl in our class who had just moved from the states and started school with us and I remember her and her sobbing reaction.

As I got older I began to understand the importance and fallout of the tragedy. A path not allowed to develop.

I was only 11 months old, so no memory of it. However, I have visited the 5th Floor Museum in Dallas multiple times. I come away moved and tearful every time.

Remember it so well! Ninth grade biology class. Another teacher came in and told the coach, our teacher. A few minutes later it was announced over the PA system.

I was only four and don't have any memories of the event. My slightly older sister remembers being in kindergarten and the Principal whispering something to the teacher that made the teacher cry. I think whenever you see an adult authority figure cry it's really upsetting.

I had the same teacher the next year and I remember her as very old. I wonder if she was or if it was just my 5 yo perspective of her age. I should ask my Mum, I'll probably find out the teacher was my current age.

I was a junior in high school, sitting in French class, middle row, second seat from the back. I even remember who was sitting behind me.

We had an intercom system. There was a loud crackling sound and the teacher made an annoyed look on his face. Then a radio came on over the intercom and we heard the news broadcast that the president had been shot. Everyone went silent and the teacher said My God. No one knew what to say or do. Soon we changed classes and I went to Newspaper (we got credit for being on the newspaper, kind of like Music or Home Ec).

Then we got the announcement that the president had died. For some stupid dorky reason, I got out my history book and started reading about Lincoln's assassination. I think I just did not know how to react.We had no past experience to draw on at that point and I just felt bewildered. My friend, whose family were ardent Democrats and loved Kennedy, began to cry.

We were all sent home early and had no school the next day. We were glued to the tv. It was all live and we had never seen anything like this in our lives. My brother and I were watching when Ruby shot Oswald. My parents had friends there who had stopped in. My brother and I started screaming "He shot him! He shot him!' My parents thought we were arguing and told us to calm down. We kept sputtering and pointing at the tv until they paid attention. Everyone was aghast and stunned.

Watching the funeral was totally heartbreaking. It is often said that the nation lost its innocence that day and I truly believe it. It was not long until we were hearing about body counts from the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King and even the George Wallace shooting.

Of course, the Kennedy shooting was preceded by the murder of the four innocent girls in Birmingham, AL. I remember that quite clearly on the news and I think perhaps it was what opened my eyes to racial inequality and human rights.

I was at home. I was just a month shy of turning 4. I remember my mother crying.

My parents rented a TV (we didn't own one yet) so that Mom could see the funeral procession. I remember watching that and seeing John Kennedy salute the coffin. That was the first television I ever saw.

My dad was in the military. He was away on a special course to learn how to deal with national emergencies. Someone walked into their classroom and said, "The President has been shot." They all thought it was a training exercise, and it took a couple of hours for them to find out it was real.

I remember Dad packing us all into the station wagon the day before the funeral and driving into DC. He drove the parade route, checking on something--he joked that he was on porta-potty patrol, but I think he was really in charge of some aspect of security.

Nine years old, 4th grade in Miss Favorite's class. She was called out into the hall as were all the teachers. We could hear the principal and teachers speaking in hushed voices, then crying, then another moment before the teachers re-entered their rooms. She stood in front of us and said only that the president had been shot, school was dismissed and we were to go directly home, our mothers were already being called so they'd know we were coming home early. I remember my mother and grandmother standing in the kitchen, ashen. I remember so vividly how the days progressed, the constant tv coverage, the horse Blackjack, my parents hugging tearfully.

I was in junior high, just 45 minutes from Washington, DC. Most people worked for the Naval Propellant Plant in town, so it was a government installation. EVERYTHING closed immediatley. School was dismissed, the plant close except for security personnel and stayed closed for at least a week. I can remember my Dad so wanting to go to the viewing at the Capitol Building. I can't recall if he did or not but he was greatly impacted by Kennedy's death. I think it was partly due to his being the first Catholic president.

dedtired

My experience was just like yours. Only I was a sophmore in a Catholic girls school in a very Catholic city. I remember all the fuss about having a Catholic president and how he would be taking orders from the Pope. We loved JFK. I remember everyone crying before we heard the news of his death.

Yesterday, I went to the 50th anniversary ceremony at Arlington Cemetery. They had over 200 buglers in attendance along with Keith Clark's family. He was the bugler at the funeral that missed the note in Taps. His daughter spoke at the ceremony. The original Air Force Pipe Band that played when Kennedy's casket came off the plane at Andrews Air force Base replayed that music.

The buglers formed a circle around the amphitheater and played Taps, the did it in 4 part harmony . Never heard it like that before. Gave me goosebumps. At noon after the 12 bells had sounded, the buglers had been placed aroung the cemetery and played Taps. I was at the gravesite and when they were done, the bugler at the site was the last to play Taps.

I was truly an amazing day.

I was in sixth grade at Penn Valley Elementary. Another teacher came into our room and walked to turn on the radio. As he did, he told our teacher that the President had been shot. One of the boys said, "You're kidding." Mr. Miller replied that he would not kid about something like that. That is all I remember until climbing in the car in tears and my mother asking me what was wrong. Really? I don't recall any reaction from her.

I was the only one watching tv all weekend.

I was in 8th grade. The janitor came into the room and told our teacher that the president had been shot. Our teacher turned on the radio and we spent the remainder of the afternoon listening to the radio. I remember school being canceled and watching the TV almost constantly until after the funeral.

Cyn, you were just one year behind my brother in school, so he was at WV that day. I was at Harriton and we lived just about four blocks from Penn Valley Elementary. We may have crossed paths that day, who knows. I remember when JFK came to campaign in our area. I did not get to see him but my friend saw him at the BC Shopping Center. Amazing how much access we had to candidates. So little security.

I was just short of four years old. I remember the day but had no understanding of what it meant. My mom had it on TV and was crying , she kept leaving the room to go hysterical only to come back to the TV and cry. I remember her talking and crying off and on to people on the phone.

Pregnant, sitting at work (NASA) in front of a Hound Dog Missile. Will never forgot everyone silent and not moving.

Wow, ded. Yep, security certainly changed after that. I really do need to come up, so we can chat over a glass of something at the Guardhouse.

Eighth grade, Catholic School, outside for PE class. The lunchroom lady (Mrs. Frankford) came running out to the field crying that the President had been shot! We ran in to the cafeteria to hear Walter Cronkite announce that he had died.

JFK had just been in Tampa on the 18th. The only day my mother ever took us out of school was to go to see the motorcade. As most of the people who lined the streets to see him that day remember...."he waved right at me"!

I remember the tears and watching TV the whole weekend.

ML

Second grade. Teacher was called out into the hallway and came back into the classroom teary eyed and told us all.

I remember there were no Saturday morning cartoons that week and my little sister and I were disappointed.

I was too young to understand.

We were just talking about this. I was in the 4th grade, in a one room school. Our teacher pulled out the TV and we watched the news for the rest of the day. We also watched his funeral on TV at school. Current History lesson...

6th grade Catholic school in SoCal so it was almost the end of the school day for us....the principal....Mother C and the parish priest Father M went to each classroom to make the announcement and we were dismissed...most of us walked or rode bikes and most moms were at home so not a big deal to let us out early back then. I'm sure we were off school for at least a few days and on the day of the funeral. ....it was such a big deal then that he was the first Catholic president. I remember my mom crying...

Sitting in 5th grade science class. Everyone was too shocked to react. I remember riding through downtown ( pre malls) and all the store windows were draped in black with photos of President Kennedy and American Flags. It looked like the end of the world.

It was evening in England where I was a 9 year old listening to the news on the radio with my family. I found the news very shocking but I could tell from my father's reaction that this was a major tragedy that was going to impact us all, even thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean.

My family and I were driving down the Pan American Highway through Central America that fall.

We had stopped for a day or so in the Canal Zone to get ship-transit of our truck and camper from Panama to Cartagena in Colombia.

We finally selected an itinerant freighter that happened to be Russian-flagged. Our pick-up and camper were loaded on to the deck and strapped down there. We had staterooms but they were so hot and noisy we spent most of the time in the camper on deck.

About supper time, there was knock on the door of the camper and outside stood the Captain and the First Mate in dark blue dress uniforms, complete with fulminate epaulets, medals, and peaked caps! You have to understand that previously we had only seen these guys dressed in grubby pants and singlet- type T-shirts because it was so hot.

So, there they were, looking very solemn and dignified. They didn't speak very good English, so it was a bit muddled, but as best we could understand they were offering their Official Condolences and reassuring us that their country had nothing to do do with "it." This was very puzzling. I was about fourteen and an avid reader of Time and Newsweek magazines, and I remember wondering if a nuclear attacked had happened.

One of the sailors spoke a little Spanish (which we spoke well) and it seemed that they were trying to tell us someone had been killed in the US. At length we pieced together the idea that they were telling us the President had been killed in Texas, but it seemed so unlikely that my parents decided it was some obscure Cold-War Era disinformation scheme that had no clear point. Notwithstanding that the ship's officers seemed to be saying they'd heard it on their radio.

We were polite, but my parents' privately warned us to not take any of it as true. A day or so later when we finally fetched up on shore, we were as shocked as everyone else, but they had had a few days to process it. I remember my parents going to the Consulate to get the straight skinny on what the Hell was going on. It's very unsettling to be an ex-pat living in dangerous parts of the world, and discovering that even more awful stuff is happening at home.

Liriodendron

In the womb....

I was an infant.

Cyn -- absolutely.

Third grade, we were lined up in the hallway to wash our hands for lunch when another teacher told our teacher that the President had been shot. After lunch we were in the gym watching a basketball game when a high school boy who had been listen to the radio in the lobby walked across the court to where the principal was sitting. When the principal stood up and walked out to speak, I knew he was going to tell us that the President had died and I remember putting my hands over my ears to keep from hearing the announcement. I remember crying as I walked out of gym and watching the coverage on tv all weekend with my family.

I was in second grade. I had an older teacher (ready to retire) and did not hear of it that day. Our bus picked up the high school kids and they got on the bus talking about it.

One of my DD's and I have since visited the Museum in Dallas ad both found it quite moving.

On a upbeat note, my baby sister was conceived that night as my parents mourned the death of "their" president.

Not born yet. My mother lived overseas at the time and she has mentioned how it was big news even outside the US.

I was in the fifth grade. We heard rumors in the lunchroom, and later in our class, we heard the news. I remember watching the funeral, and I was watching TV when Jack
Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald.

I was in the 3rd grade. The teacher announced that the President was shot and we were all going home. I remember one girl started crying. I too remember looking at the book "The Torch Is Passed" and remember how beautiful Jackie was in her portrait inside.

But asking the question reminds me of the scene in "When Harry Met Sally" when Billy Crystal is at a party trying to make small talk and asks of a much younger woman, "So where were you when Kennedy was shot?" and she replies, "Someone shot Ted Kennedy?!?"

Am I the only one here who is over 50?

Sounds like most of us are over 50 Technicolor. ;)

I was in 2nd grade. I remember school being out and that was the only thing on tv for days. I think my mom really admired Kennedy and she kept the tv on, which was a rarity in our house. And yes, I remember no cartoons on Saturday either.

I was a year and a half old at the time, but I remember my parents had a book (Time-Life?) about Kennedy, maybe it focused on the assassination? I remember being fascinated and saddened by it whenever I'd flip through it as I grew older.

As a young wife, pregnant with my second child, i'll forever remember that day. Since I was a mom who was at home(SAHM)I watched soap operas thru the day, and at that particular time it was 'As the World Turns'. I was folding laundry as my little girl played with her tea set inviting me to sip. Walter Cronkite's voice suddenly came on announcing the president had been shot. I remember dropping to the sofa on the folded clothes, and putting my hands to my face, trying to hide the tears which I felt starting. My little girl asked if 'I had a headache' and I pulled her onto my lap. I listened in shock as he went on about the tragedy, outlining the chain of events. The news went on for 4 days, showing pictures of the president slumped over, as Jackie, in a blood-stained pink suit, crawled across the top of the car. This is a picture that will forever be in my mind! I was also watching TV the day Oswald was shot, which was live news coverage coming from the jail. It happened so quickly I really didn't realized what had happened. I find it surreal having not only lived thru, but witnessed such moments of historical significance.

I was working as a secretary in the upstairs office of a bank when the man in the next desk to me (open office) took a telephone call, obviously from his wife. From what I could determine, someone got shot, but since this guy had many policemen friends, I assumed that it was one of them.

Then he hung up the phone & just sat there in a daze for what seemed like at least five minutes, then announced to the rest of the office (maybe six people) that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas.

Shortly later on I went upstairs to the bank lunchroom where a radio was on. This where I heard that he had died.

Funny that whenever the Kennedy Nov. 22nd anniversary comes up, I always wonder whatever happened to the man that --- He'll always be linked with Kennedy in my mind.

I was a freshman at a small, all girls Catholic high school. I'd been feeling queasy all morning so I was in the nurse's office waiting for my Mother to pick me up. I could see the foyer from where I was sitting and when my Mother arrived she went to the office window.

I assumed she was telling them who she was. But from the nun's reaction I knew it was something else. When we got into the car my Mother told me that the president had been shot and when we arrived home we sat and watched the TV for most of the day.

The images from the funeral procession are still vivid in my memory - the solemnity, the grace of Mrs. Kennedy, the black veil, the funeral procession with Black Jack, the riderless horse and especially Caroline and John.

Guess I should have asked if I am the only with with "kids" over 50. Interesting how so many remember and were so young at the time. I also remember meeting President Johnson shortly after with my middle son on his dad's shoulders so he could see. It took a long time to take the sadness away from Kennedy and what his family were going through.

I am another old one on here-I had just started taking classes at a community college, having dropped out of schoo,l getting married and just had my second son. I dropped off the baby and my 2 yr old at my moms and headed to class. Arrived at a strange setting, everyone on campus was silently milling about in a small groups. Went into my classroom to find big sign on the chalkboard that Kennedy had been shot. So went back to mom's and spent a while glued to the TV.

I was in the fourth grade and out on the playground at recess when we saw one of the teachers come out of the school crying and huddle with other teachers there. Instantly, they were all either crying or looking stunned. It was very frightening for me/us to see our familiar, in-charge adults in such a state. They told us there on the playground that President Kennedy had been shot . . . and I think by that time had died, but I'm not sure. I remember looking up at the sky for "enemy planes" that might start dropping bombs on us at any moment.
Remember, this was after the Cuban Missile Crisis and many schools, including mine, had monthly "duck & cover" safety drills. The fire alarm would go off and we had to either crouch under our desks or file into the hallway and sit on the floor with our bookbags over our heads. It was a frightening time for us all. And then to hear that some "bad guys" had managed to kill our beloved president made me ~ made a lot of people, kids and adults alike ~ feel very vulnerable and unprotected.
A side note to this: I was born and raised in Michigan on Lake St. Clair, which was near Selfridge Air Force Base. The house directly across the street from us was owned by the Air Force and usually housed one of the higher up doctors stationed at Selfridge who had enough seniority that he got the big house off base. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a doc lived there with his German born wife, Helga, and their children. Helga was so frightened, having lived in Germany during WW2, that she had a bomb shelter for them dug in the front yard of their home. This was a major event in our neighborhood at the time! Right after it was finished, Helga showed it to my mother and me. I remember that it had a very thick metal door. There were metal walls and narrow bunks on each side, and a tall shelf unit filled with cans of food and drinks. I recall asking her, "Will you let us come down here with you guys if our town gets bombed, so that we can be safe, too?" She smiled and said that no, we had to get our own bomb shelter. That this was just to keep her own family safe. My parents had no intention of getting one and thought Helga was over-reacting, although they could understand why.
But, I have to tell you, all of this had a very big, very frightening impact on me as a young kid . . . some of which is with me still, and probably always will be.
Lynn

This post was edited by lynninnewmexico on Tue, Nov 19, 13 at 10:43

I was a month or so from being born, birthday is day after Christmas on that year.

I was in 4th grade. Our teacher was called outside, then came back in crying and told us he was shot. We were sent home, and I learned he had died. Everyone was shocked and that's all that was watched or talked about for days. I think we didn't go back to school till after the funeral. We watched it all on TV including the Oswald shooting. It was the second big national event I can remember (the first being space flight) and probably the biggest in terms of national emotional response.

Lynne, I remember crouching in the hall with our hands over the backs of our heads. Nice way to scare kids to death! Honestly, I just kind of remember it as a nice break from school work. Another time they had the entire school file into the huge storage closets. We all sat there in between boxes of toilet paper!

I asked my dad why he did not get a bomb shelter. His answer was that he did not want to come out and find a world full of squishy corpses. Good thought.

My goodness, a lot of you are young!

Lynn, yes to the duck and cover drills. And the bomb shelters. The people across the street from us had one. My father said he couldn't do it and not let people in. Always wondered what happened to it. Many were built inside of tunnels around big cities. Do you think they are still there?

I remember duck and cover. But I never understood why we did it...

I was in second grade. I don't remember being told at school, but I remember being sent home and all the moms on our street were watching tv and crying.
I remember duck and cover, supposedly we were supposed to line up against the inside wall of the school and cover the backs of our necks so we wouldn't be hurt when they dropped the bomb on us. Even then it didn't make much sense to me.

Funny but I do remember being in the gym sitting on the floor when they wheeled a TV in to watch John Glenn take off in a rocket to orbit the earth. Same school, but I don't remember the teachers telling us Kennedy had been shot.

I was probably playing on the farm...(eastern ND)!

I had turned 2 that Sept. 16th, so yeah....no memories of it.

Sad, sad days for millions though. A respectful/sad "Uffda" goes thru my mind every November though....

Faron

I was in second grade, but was home at the time it happened for some reason. Mom was watching soaps when it was interrupted with the announcement. I remember silence from both her and I. Tears rolling down both our faces, but silent still.
We kept the TV on watching for days until the funeral was over. We were watching when Oswald was shot too. It was all such a shock. And little John saluting is etched upon my mind forever. It's hard to believe he's gone too. So much tragedy in that family.

My folks bought the book Four Days about his death and burial. My guess is I have it somewhere in a container in the basement.

This post was edited by justgotabme on Fri, Nov 22, 13 at 17:59