November 22, 1963

[Mind_your_head]

The world lost a great man and we are all smaller because of it.



Rest in Peace John Kennedy...We still miss you.

[JuneInJax]

1. I remember

it well. I was a preschooler living in Dallas at the time. We were dressing up to go somewhere, then we didn't go and my mother was crying. I didn't understand why at the time. A few days later, we were downtown at a place people were bringing all these flowers. My mother told me it was where the president was killed. While we were there, a ton of police cars went whirling by, sirens blaring. Jack Ruby had just killed Oswald.

Sad times.
Moni

[Historic NY]

4. I never forget.........

I was 8 then, I had met President Kennedy in May of 63. We were going on a class trip to a local farm when we heard all kinds of sirens coming behind the school bus. The driver pulled off as far as he could but it still slowed the motorcade down to a crawl. President Kennedy was heading to West Point to address the cadet graduation. We youngsters all started yelling and screaming "President Kennedy, President Kennedy", that big black car then stopped and JFK got out and came onto our school bus. I was so excited, meeting my hero and as kids we all got a bit quiet. I remember the teachers were in shock, they couldn't believe he actually was standing there. He talked with us all, shook hands, patted us on our heads, asked us our names. I couldn't wait to get home that day. Then 5 months later he was dead, I was in Catholic School then and everybody cried. I remember the local motorcycle cop who helped us on the school buses for early dismissal crying. The nuns were stunned, and pretty much the entire area came to a standstill. I got home and stayed in front of the TV crying for the next several days. I couldn't understand, why someone would want to kill, my new friend & hero. The 60's were not kind to me in my youth, losing both parents by the time I was 12, but the loss of my hero and his brother have had a deep effect on me until this day. JFK's death still is a vivid reminder that time is short and to make the best of each day. It changed my view of the world.

[Mind_your_head]

10. Thank you for sharing your story

That's really cool that you got to meet JFK in person!

Nice reminder too that ONLY A SHORT TIME AGO our elected officials actually would "meet and greet" the people that they served. WHATTA CONCEPT! *slapping forhead*

Seriously, great big :hug: for all the difficulty that you've been through (and survived).

Peace

[EFerrari]

21. I was in Catholic school, too, on the West Coast. We saw the nuns

crying at recess and when we went in, the whole school stood and prayed until we heard he had died. Then, we all went to a Mass. All the adults had tears streaming down their faces. When I got home, my family was sitting in front of the television, appalled, somehow smaller and vulnerable in a way I hadn't known was possible.

[LeftHander]

34. For you all and in honor of JFK

http://soul-amp.com/songs/tripdowntodallas.mp3

Not about JFK directly but more about the times and two people making a connection becuase of the events in the 60's. One older, one younger.

[Mind_your_head]

61. Very nice - thank you for posting that

:-)

[FreedomAngel82]

46. How sad

But so neat you got to meet him. Kennedy was before my time but he's still a hero to me as well. :cry: I never forget the day. Hopefully someday we'll really know what happened and why but I'm not holding my breath.

[tlsmith1963]

67. I Was Just a Baby

Born on Aug. 30 of that year. So I have no memories of that day. I always say I was probably asleep in my crib.

Tammy

[Sinistrous]

2. I was in college at the time - in Boston, no less.

The grief was palpable.

[Mind_your_head]

3. I was only 3 when he was murdered.....

I do remember my mother crying (but not knowing/understanding why).

I had this little record (for my record player, of course) that my parents had bought me about JFK. I can remember the song and tune perfectly. ....

(chorus)
John F. Kennedy
The mark of hu - u - manity
At age 43, elected to the presidancy.

He was born in 1917, the second child of nine
In the state of Massachusetts, in the City of Brookline.

His grandad was a mayor,
His dad Am-bas-a- dor
He graduated Harvard
Then gave service in the war.

(chorus)
John F. Kennedy
The mark of hu - u - manity
At age 43, elected to the presidancy.

.....and on the song went.....

*silly, huh?*

[Up2Late]

5. Yes, I remember it well, 2 weeks old in my crib, had just dicovered...

...that I had fingers AND a thumb.

No, not really, like I said, I was 2 weeks old. It does help remind me how old I am every year though.

Very tragic loss.

[LittleClarkie]

7. I was an old timer compared to you. I was all of three months

and had found my toes by then...

[tavalon]

31. Wow

You and I must have the same birthday or nearly so. I was three months and one day old. I don't remember anything about it but I suspect that my father didn't shed a tear. He was a stark raving RWer and pretty non emotional to boot. I wonder what my mother's reaction was, though. I'll never know.

[FreedomAngel82]

48. Hehe!

I wasn't even been thought of. My mother was young and eating dinner watching the parade. :(

[EFerrari]

22. My brother was born on 11/4. The house went from being wildly

happy to being devastated for months.

[ClayZ]

6. I remember!

Sigh....

[DrDebug]

8. Rest In Peace my friend

Even though I was born after JFK, it is the President which I consider the finest president of the 20th century. He had a hard presidency and lots of mistakes were made. Yet this man at least tried to do the right thing on many occassions. I'm sorry that many didn't like that, because his legacy would have been greater if could have finished his job.

In February 1996, Robert Kennedy Jr. and his brother, Michael, traveled to Havana to meet with Fidel Castro. As a gesture of goodwill, they brought a file of formerly top secret U.S. documents on the Kennedy administration's covert exploration of an accommodation with Cuba--a record of what might have been had not Lee Harvey Oswald, seemingly believing the president to be an implacable foe of Castro's Cuba, fired his fateful shots in Dallas. Castro thanked them for the file and shared his "impression that it was President John F. Kennedy's intention after the missile crisis to change the framework" of relations between the United States and Cuba. "It's unfortunate," said Castro, that "things happened as they did, and he could not do what he wanted to do."

(...)

4. Tell the President (and I cannot stress this too strongly) that I seriously hope that Cuba and the United States can eventually sit down in an atmosphere of good will and of mutual respect and negotiate our differences. I believe that there are no areas of contention between us that cannot be discussed and settled in a climate of mutual understanding. But first, of course, it is necessary to discuss our differences. I now believe that this hostility between Cuba and the United States is both unnatural and unnecessary--and it can be eliminated.

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,320,00.html

And this the compliment from Fidel Castro and both men had a reason to hate one-another. Yet it seems like they eventually saw things slightly different.

Edit: extended the excerpt

[Mind_your_head]

15. That's really a nice pic of him......

Thanks for posting it.

(as for the rest of your post.....it's late ~ *and I was just looking at the pictures ~ ) ;-)

Peace to all

[DrDebug]

16. Read that story in the morning ;)

It's very long, but it's worth it... It is one of the things which is not in the history books.

[FreedomAngel82]

49. Here is another picture

Notice anyone in particular with them? ;)

[Mind_your_head]

62. Well, I see in the 'properties' that it says Kerry_Kennedy

....but I don't think that's John Kerry (but 'who is it?').

Who's the guy with the red shirt? The woman with the blue sweater between JFK and Jackie? (she's very beautiful/photogenic). Who's the woman w/the gold scarf on her head? And, of course, the young man in the white shirt......

[Hardrada]

9. 11/22 is my BIRTHDAY

I have always had black wreaths hung on my birth day ever since. Metaphorical ones of course. But ALWAYS there. I turned 19 that day in 1963. I was a sophomore in college.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. A mixed day.

It can be a sad day, but it is a happy day because you joined the world. I partner was born today, about the time of Kennedy's assassination. He is a kind, sweet, gentle soul. So, for me, it is happy day. But, it a sad day for our country and leaves all of us with a sense of "what could have been."

On edit...Happy birthday and many more!

[Hardrada]

13. Thanks for the thought. You are right

that it is a mixed day. I smile during it sometimes because I bring out a little chess set a young woman I loved beyond adequate expression gave me 11/22/68.

[FreedomAngel82]

50. I hope you have a nice birthday though

:)

[dixielib]

17. It was my 19th birthday too!

Awesome...and like you, part of every birthday I have had since then has been remembering what happened that day. My friends and I sat around the TV watching the terrible news instead of having the planned party. I took it so personal. I think that may be why to this day I am so interested in national politics.

[Hardrada]

60. Yes, you understand. One thing I did

was to check a Church calendar and found that 11/22 is St. Cecilia's Day. She is the patron saint of music. I am not a theist but I treasure this fine association and the music for St. Cecilia's Day by Purcell and Handel and this helps alleviate the darkness of the day.

[Raine]

12. I was 12 years old

the principle told the class, then he went out and lowered the flag.:patriot: I wrote a letter of sympathy to Jackie and got a response from her, it's one of my most treasured possessions.

[FreedomAngel82]

51. Wow, she replied?

How neat and what a prized posession indeed! Such a classy lady.
She and Elanor Roosevelt will always be hero's too.

[Raine]

65. Yes,

Jackie Kennedy was tops!

[dave123williams]

14. When I was a kid, it seemed like ancient history...today, his death seems

all too relevant.

[nicknameless]

18. Mystery solved?

Thom Hartmann has co-authored a book with Lamar Waldron about JFK's assassination:
Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK

Being a big fan of Thom Hartmann, I checked out the description and reviews on Amazon.com -- and was surprised to find myself very skeptical about their theory.

... Then I listened to Hartmann's interview with Waldron last Friday. Extremely compelling.

[DemonFighterLives]

30. You might be interested in this thread

on the Kennedy Case.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5418957&mesg_id=5418957

[nicknameless]

42. Thanks for the link. Interesting and sad ... especially on 11/22 :(

Here's what I posted for you about the Hartmann interview (as best as I could remember it)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5418957&mesg_id=5434665

[FreedomAngel82]

53. If you want to know more about that

Start with Operation Northwoods. It was a plan made up during the Eisenhower administration (I don't know for sure if he was involved) but Kennedy rejected it. Don't forget Poppy's role of the CIA at the time and all that ordeal.

[nicknameless]

63. You think along the same lines as I have: Operation Northwoods.

The Hartmann/Waldron interview was very persuasive, however.

According to what I've read, Operation Northwoods was developed and presented to Kennedy in 1962 -- long after Eisenhower was out of office.

Some info. and documents re: author James Bamford's book Body of Secrets about O.N.:

Pentagon Proposed Pretexts for Cuba Invasion in 1962

In his new exposé of the National Security Agency entitled Body of Secrets, author James Bamford highlights a set of proposals on Cuba by the Joint Chiefs of Staff codenamed OPERATION NORTHWOODS. This document, titled “Justification for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba” was provided by the JCS to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962, as the key component of Northwoods. Written in response to a request from the Chief of the Cuba Project, Col. Edward Lansdale, the Top Secret memorandum describes U.S. plans to covertly engineer various pretexts that would justify a U.S. invasion of Cuba. These proposals - part of a secret anti-Castro program known as Operation Mongoose - included staging the assassinations of Cubans living in the United States, developing a fake “Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington,” including “sink a boatload of Cuban refugees (real or simulated),” faking a Cuban airforce attack on a civilian jetliner, and concocting a “Remember the Maine” incident by blowing up a U.S. ship in Cuban waters and then blaming the incident on Cuban sabotage. Bamford himself writes that Operation Northwoods “may be the most corrupt plan ever created by the U.S. government.”

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430

You can download the documents at the link.

:scared:

[Peter Frank]

19. I was 12...

My parents were very politically minded (go figure). Dad was Republican at the time, Mom (I lost her last year) was a Democrat.

Dad voted for Nixon. But I could tell he liked the fresh air that Jack brought to the D.C. Never before had Americans seen their president & his wife raising a family in the White House on TV.

Jack was a young, strong, purposeful, and highly articulate leader (I'd never heard a NE accent before. It was particularly captivating, given his incomparably playful wit. I particularly loved to see the glint in his eye when during press conferences -- he knew he was going to bring the house down with his response to a pesky journalist. Jack never disappointed).

Jackie was a young, very attractive mother and trend setter. She was not what we'd call a feminist (although she was a journalist. She jealously guarded her kids from the press in subsequent years, while instilling in them that they need to work for what they want).

Dad told me, after the assassination, that the march "Hail to the Chief" didn't move him like it used to. He knew that I also understood -- the youthful vibrancy was gone from the White House.

Dad voted for Eisenhower, Nixon, Goldwater, Nixon (again), Ford, Reagan, Perot, Clinton, Gore, and Kerry.

[ngGale]

20. I'll never forget, especially this year...

looking back on what could have been...and may have started, what is happening today.:cry:

RIP - JFK - :patriot:

[Peter Frank]

23. I thought the rebirth might happen in in '04...

...but snakes ate the egg again.

There's not enough snakes to eat all the eggs. Let's keep "laying" out the truth.

[TheWatcher]

24. We are Only BEGINNING to understand what we lost

Rest In Peace JFK.

I Remember.

And I will NEVER let myself or anyone else forget.

[Jeanette in FL]

25. I remember so well that day

I was 8 years old and our school was dismissed early. There was an announcement that President Kennedy had been killed. All the teachers were crying. The Bus drivers were crying. When I got home, my Mom was crying. My Dad came home early from work and he was crying. Every adult in my life was devestated. I remember being so scared and frightened.

On some level I knew that the world had changed profoundly, yet at that age couldn't fully understand what had happened.

It wasn't until a few years later, when Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert F. Kennedy were killed that I was starting to get the idea that nothing in this world was what it seemed.

I am sure that when Kennedy was killed was the genesis of my political yearnings.

Our Country was changed immensly on November 22, 1963.

[Hekate]

26. I was 16, and in the hall between classes I heard someone say...

...that the President had been shot. I thought it was a poor idea of a joke. But as I took my place in Mr Osaki's Chemistry class the rumor was confirmed. It was about 9:30 in the morning, Hawaii time.

Our entire high school was stunned by the time we gathered outside at the flag pole in special assembly to be told that President Kennedy had been assassinated. A friend of mine who was first trumpet in the school band played Taps. Some wept.

There were a lot of military dependents in my school, and their nervous systems were on high alert, almost as bad as the Cuban Missile Crisis, when they knew their fathers could be at war in an instant and we all thought we could die in a mushroom cloud (unlike Bush today, this was then a realistic fear). We didn't know for awhile what would happen to the nation after the assassination. The good news was soon apparent: the nation's laws and structures stood fast.

We liked JFK and everything he stood for -- his youth and "vigah," integration of the South, his lovely wife and little children, his ideas -- the Peace Corps! going to the Moon! So many of us sent away for those Peace Corps packets and imagined that we could be part of something that could change the world for the better....

Just gone in an instant, and for what?

I spent the next three days glued to the tv, telling myself, "Remember this, it will never happen again in your lifetime." But it did, over and over for the rest of the decade.

However, Lyndon Johnson muscled through congress a Civil Rights package that JFK might not have been able to do had he lived. LBJ made it partly about a memorial to the wishes of the late president, and he was an old hand at arm-twisting. The ideals that JFK sparked in us lived on it many ways, so that others who came after could light that spark into a blaze of ideals as well. And every so often I run into someone my age who actually filled out their Peace Corps packet, and who traveled to some faraway place and became part of something that could change the world for the better.

I can't believe how long it's been -- but no matter how much dirt the debunkers toss around, JFK remains a touchstone for the ideals of what this country stands for and should become: a peacemaker abroad, and liberty and justice at home.

Hekate

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. I was just 12 years old. The principal of my school came into my social

studies class and whispered something in my teacher's ear. When the principal left our teacher told us that President Kennedy was shot. None of us realized that it could have been lethal. We were let out of school early, and when I made it back to my house, learned he died.

The next days were spent riveted in front of the tv and I even saw Oswald killed by Ruby, in real time. Even as I am typing I am seeing "clips" of those memories in my mind. I think what struck me the most was the black horse being led, boots in the stirrups, backward..and then too the dignity of Jackie.......tears starting here.

In retrospect...it was certainly quite odd how quickly they had all sorts of info on Oswald, not disimilar to how they had all the info in no time that "Al Quaeda" was behind 9/11................

[Loge23]

28. To the Kennedy family:

We all feel your sorrow and we also share our gratitude for your family's service to our country.
Rest in peace, JFK & RFK.

Ted, keep the fight!

[DemonFighterLives]

29. I was 4

but will never forget.
And will continue to ask, "What could have been"?
I am sick of this country being led by do nothings and warmongers.
:cry:

[Peter Frank]

37. Ah -- You reminded me of a little known fact...

During the Cuban Missile Crisis JFK's military advisers were intent on invading the island. Kennedy refused -- insisting on quarantine. What we didn't know was that aside from missiles, Cuba had about 100 tactical nuclear weapons, plus short-range missiles or aircraft to deliver them -- the latter being ideal for nuking a US invasion force. http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:2eTM43p0tw0J:web.mit.edu/17.40/www/cuba62.pdf+jfk+cuba*+%22tactical+nuclear+weapons%22&hl=en

In other words, if we'd invaded Cuba as the hawks wanted -- we'd have been nuked; and you know that we would have answered in kind. JFK literally saved the world from a nuclear WWIII.

[DemonFighterLives]

40. I'm glad I reminded you

It is entirely possible that he averted a big disaster.

O8)

[FreedomAngel82]

54. Yes you're right

Operation Northwoods. There were plans to fake a terrorist attack and blame it on them. It was thought up during the Eisenhower administration (I don't think he was involved but I'm not sure) and than presented to Kennedy but he rejected it. They had several ideas on what to do including blowing up John Glenn and hijacking an airplane and blaming it on Cuba. I still think whatever happened had to do deeply with that plan and why Kennedy rejected it.

[deminks]

32. I was 10.

I will never forget. I only pray we will know the truth someday.

[nicknameless]

33. "Anybody here seen my old friend John?..."

... That song still makes me cry every time.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

47. Love that song. nt

[DemonFighterLives]

35. Kick nt

:kick:

[rsdsharp]

36. I posted this in another thread, but

I'll post it here, too, for those who might be interested.

The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository has an exhibit featuring an hour of broadcasting from Dallas station KLIF immediately after the assassination. Even if you remember what happened, it's still chilling to listen to.

http://www.reelradio.com/se/index.html#klif112263

[Lugnut]

38. I'll never forget

I was 18 in 1963 and was a Kennedy Girl when he campaigned in this area.

Rest in peace, John Kennedy.

[TheUnspeakable]

39. I was 5 years old in 1960.....

We ran around the playground shouting "Kennedy, Kennedy, he's our man-Nixon belongs in the garbage can !" On election night I had the mumps and my mom went and got me a chocolate shake- i remember being so excited, watching the returns. I will NEVER forget Nov.22. I can see the classmate who told me in the hallway that "Kennedy's been shot" I can see the look on his face, how he stood, leaning against his locker-I can recall his outfit,everything, except his name. Such sadness as we entered our third grade classroom-my teacher banging her head on the desk and just wailing. She said "I didn't even vote for him, I voted for Nixon" Part of what drives me today is the connection of this (and Bobby, and King, and, maybe Wellstone, and maybe...who else???????????) and the dark forces that are running the country today. These losses drive me as much as the losses we have every day in Iraq. Rest in peace, Jack-you are so loved and so missed.

[DemonFighterLives]

41. Good Story!

We ended up with the garbage can and now it is turning into a disaster sized dumpster.
:pals:

[nicknameless]

55. Wow, I remember that rhyme! What a flash-back!

When John died, I was seven and home sick from school. My big sister came into my room crying and told me that he had been shot. It felt like the whole world was crying and mourning. Most of it probably was.

He was the People's President. It was as though we had attained an ideal as a nation ... but it slipped away (was ripped away)


Abraham and Martin and John ... and Bobby, and Paul ...

"Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, it's gonna be one day"

.........

[misternormal]

43. In my humble opinion...

... the last true President of the United States of America.

A man who who owed nothing to anyone... could not be bought... and stood up for the rights of every american.

May his legacy live on in all Free Americans.

[f-bush]

58. I mainly agree

I pretty much agree, however, I think Carter came close to it and has definately distinguished himself port-presidency

[misternormal]

66. I thought Carter had the potential...

... but as politicians go, he was to human to be president.

He and Roslyn are great people... Look what they have done for habitat for humanity... It was a shame that Iran held on to the hostages until after Reagan was inaugurated. That was a sham.

[newspeak]

44. I remember that day--

I was in fifth grade, we were on the playground and over the loudspeakers the princpal announced that JFK had been shot. The teachers on the playground just started to cry and many kids were crying and were frightened. We had a substitute teacher that week-a real hardnosed retired colonel (I believe). He showed us a film about nuclear threat after that and started talking about us going to war. Everyone in our class was traumatized by this teacher. We got him back--loved to paddle--so we snuck into the room and stoled his wooden paddle. Threw it in the irrigation ditch.

[FreedomAngel82]

45. What pisses me off

is still no justice! :cry:

[BrainRants]

52. I was concieved on this day (no BS!)

He was before my time, but JFK is a hero of mine.

[ignatius 2]

56. A tragic day in America when America lost her innocence

and an honorable man was sacrificed,imho,by the same military industrial complex who caused 9-11 and the war on terror(some of the names have changed obviously,but the ideology is the same.)

RIP John,we hardly knew thee.

[WillyT]

57. Man... What Coulda Been...

And ain't that the REAL crime of the century, if not the millenia???



:cry:

[tired_in_tulsa]

59. I've been to Arlington

and seen his grave site. It's just awe inspiring to know that you are that close to so many heroes. Just makes you want to weep when you are there and looking over all the crosses of brave men and women who served our country so bravely.

[MiniMandaRuth]

64. Apparantly,

My social studies teacher of last year broke down this year talking about J.F.K.

I didn't see it, but my friend told be it took him about ten minutes to calm down.

I consider him our last really great president.