WC #14: The Day Kennedy was Shot

Where were you when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot? That's a question that we've all heard over and over since that day, fifty years ago today: November 22, 1963.

My parents didn't vote for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election. Even though I was only five-years-old at the time of the election, I remember my parents talking with other adults about his flaws and the rumors of Kennedy immorality with Hollywood starlets. I didn't understand all of that, but learned a healthy respect for the office of President of the United States in the years to follow his election.

In second grade, under Pres. Kennedy's desire for physical fitness for American children, I was first introduced to Physical Education in a way that required annual fitness exams to measure our speed at running, distance for jumping and strength in climbing. I learned about space exploration and watched the space program grow under his plan for the U.S. to land the first man on the moon. It began with John Glenn as the first man in space to circle the globe.

Astronaut John Glenn with
President Kennedy

President Kennedy's time in the White House brought a feel of family life to the public eye. Jackie Kennedy brought the people into the White House with a first ever televised tour of the White House. Pictures of the Kennedy children in the Oval Office with their father helped kids to see him as a man; a father who loved his children.

Caroline & John, Jr. dancing as their dad claps.

John John frequently "hid" in the office while his father worked.

I wanted a pony like Caroline Kennedy and had a set of Caroline & Jackie Kennedy paper dolls. Even though they were wealthy, the Kennedy family created a feeling of "real people." Because of the openness with their family, the nation felt their pain when baby Patrick was born prematurely in August of '63 and died two days later.

Three months later, President Kennedy & Jackie went to Dallas, Texas. Seated in an open convertible, against the advice of the Secret Service, they waved to the crowds of people lining the streets as the motorcade passed.

It was a rainy day in Watertown, Wisconsin when we heard that President Kennedy had been shot and a short time later the principal came into our third grade classroom and whispered to our teacher. As he left, Miss Keyes turned to us and in a shaky voice, announced that the president had died. The class went silent. I remember turning and looking out the window on the gloomy afternoon and wondering what that meant. What would happen to us now? I didn't remember anything about a president before him and couldn't imagine our world without him.

Jackie & Caroline kneeling at the casket
Capitol Rotunda

We watched the drama unfold throughout that weekend. Total news coverage took us inside the Capitol Rotunda as thousands of people from around the world filed past the casket to pay their final respects. We learned about military traditions as we saw the four matching "grays" pull the caisson on which his casket rested and the solid black stallion with a pair of boots, backward in the stirrups, to signify the fallen leader.

But there wasn't a moment of that weekend that was more memorable or heart-wrenching than the sight of young John F. Kennedy, Jr., on his third birthday, saluting his father's casket as it passed him. I remember crying at the sight. Even though I was young myself, I recognized the fact that Caroline & John John were never going to see their dad again and my young heart broke for them; unable to imagine what that would be like.

Edward "Ted" Kennedy, Jackie, Robert F. Kennedy
Caroline & John John

Not the only president to be assassinated since Abraham Lincoln, his was the first in a traumatic trio of assassinations, followed by Martin Luther King, Jr. in April, 1968 and his own brother, Robert F. Kennedy, who was expected to win the nomination for Democratic presidential candidate in 1968, just two months later, after winning the California primary.The song "Abraham, Martin & John" still brings tears to my eyes, when I think about all that we lost in those few years and wonder why the world has to be so cruel and selfish as opposed to loving and giving, but then again, I guess that's what makes us yearn to return home; to Heaven and a loving Heavenly Father.

Over spring break when I was in 9th grade, I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. on a class trip. One of the highlights of my school years, I remember the reverence and serenity as I watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The same feelings were duplicated as we moved through Arlington National Cemetery and approached the grave of the President and looked on the eternal flame; a symbol of his dream living on.

The dream of an America under President Kennedy is often referred to as "Camelot." The King Arthur of Camelot is sometimes seen as being weak, but as one of my favorite musicals, I see Arthur as an idealist; loving, fun, imaginative and brave. A man who didn't falter in the "whys," but rather motivated by the "why nots?"