The Daily News asked readers to share their memories of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Here they are, in their own words:
“I was 14 years old and in history class at Burbank School in Detroit, Mich. We were studying Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. While learning about his assassination from a teacher on closed circuit TV, someone interrupted the teacher on TV with an announcement that the President had been shot. We at first thought it was part of the lesson but, unfortunately, too soon learned it was for real. I don’t recall much of the day after that. I don’t remember if our class was dismissed early. I just remember sadly walking home from school and hearing the church bells ringing.” — Sandy Davenport, Miramar Beach
“As a freshman at Marshfield Senior High School in Coos Bay, Ore., I was in the cafeteria eating my daily lunch of a red delicious apple and chatting with my friends. Suddenly, students and staff started yelling out that the president had been shot in Dallas during a motorcade parade. I felt as if I was in shock and just couldn’t believe this had happened. … My class immediately following lunch was biology, and I still remember so clearly that the teacher was Mr. Avery. He stood up in front of the class and proceeded to conduct his planned biology lesson for the day, never once mentioning anything about the horrific and monumental event that has just occurred. Most of the girls in the class were crying, and many of my classmates rested their heads on their desktops. I don’t think even one student was listening to that biology lesson on November 22, 1963.” — Kathy Baratelli, Fort Walton Beach
“For me, Friday, Nov 22, 1963, found me going into my last scheduled class of the day at Pierce Junior High School in Tampa. I was an eighth-grade student just getting to Mr. Foshee’s Algebra class. Some of the kids coming from P.E. had heard something about a shooting involving the president in Dallas. … I remember trying to make light of the situation since we had no real details. ‘Maybe it was a flesh wound!’ we joked. Then the principal put the radio coverage over the intercom, and we soon heard Walter Cronkite utter those chilling words that the president had died. You could have heard a pin drop.” — Gary S. Houp, Bluewater Bay
“Our military family was living in Springfield, Va., while Dad attended the National War College in Washington, D.C. I was in eighth grade at Washington Irving Junior High School. On Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, while in Home Economics class, the principal came on the intercom and announced that President Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. I remember what I was sewing and where I was sitting. I looked outside and sadly watched the drizzling rain. Although, it might have been my tears. … Then, on Thanksgiving Day, our family went to Arlington Cemetery and stood in line for hours to view Kennedy’s gravesite and the eternal flame. It was a very somber week between his assassination and the cemetery visit.” — Candy Peters, Fort Walton Beach
“I was a first-grader at Annette P. Edwins Elementary school in Fort Walton Beach — Miss Hall’s class. I’m not sure exactly how they told the students, but school was canceled for the day and we were sent home early. When I got home my mother was having a bridge party and was shocked that I came in the door late morning instead of the normal 3 p.m. I delivered the news that President Kennedy had been shot. I don’t know if we knew he had been killed yet. My mother and her friends were shocked that a 6 year old was delivering the news to them. They quickly turned on the TV and got the full story and that was the end of bridge for that day.” — Joni Mehling Snyder, Gaithersburg, M.D.
“I was in my first year at what is now Pensacola State College, and after a class I went into the student union building to find it strangely quiet. I saw my friend, Frank,(he also drove the school bus that we, from Fort Walton Beach, rode each day to college) standing across the room and walked over, and the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘Rosie, President Kennedy has been killed.’ I looked at him and I remember clearly saying, ‘Frank, that’s not something to joke about!’ Then I really looked at his face and realized he was telling the truth. Students all over that huge center were softly talking, some were crying quietly. … Frank and I went in opposite directions to round up all our friends who rode the bus with us, and without a doubt it was the quietest 40-mile ride home. It was as if we were a part of a very bad movie but we weren’t given a script to use. Nothing seemed to make any sense at all.” — Rosemary Fayette McCown, Fort Walton Beach
“I remember very well where I was the day he was shot. It is still vivid in my mind, and I shall never forget it. I was in government quarters in Berlin, Germany. My husband, an Air Force sergeant, was stationed there. Our apartments were four-stories high. I was alone with my 3-year-old daughter when I heard the news. I broke down crying and couldn’t stop. I know my child didn’t understand my crying so hard. … Us Americans burned candles in our windows for days until after he was buried.” — Charlotte Edwards, Fort Walton Beach
“When Kennedy was killed, I was in the fourth grade at St. Bernadette’s, a parochial elementary school in Silver Spring, M.D. All the kids in grades one through six were in the auditorium to watch a movie (‘Hemo the Great’ about the human circulatory system), when the film was suddenly cut off in mid-frame and we were summarily marched back to our classrooms. … I remember my teacher, Sister Albert Irene, weeping in front of the class. This was pretty huge, as adults rarely exhibited such emotion in front of kids. Of course this was a Catholic school, so the murder was even more shocking for our staff.” — Mary Blackwell, Niceville
“I was a young naval officer assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Shangri La. We were in the Mediterranean Sea when we picked up radio signals that the president had been shot. Communications were not very good back then before the age of satellites, and we only got bits and pieces of the news. Considering our location, we didn’t know which world president the brief reports were talking about. It was several hours later that we heard it was our President Kennedy. Not knowing who did it or why, we went on alert (battle stations) and stayed that way for several days. Obviously our concern was if the Soviets were involved and were we on the verge of a nuclear war. Do I remember where I was when Kennedy was shot? You betcha.” — Cmdr. Robert B. Hirsch, USN(retired), Miramar Beach
“I was a sophomore at Penn State University and a member of the rugby team. We were preparing to play a match with Saint Joseph’s College in Philadelphia on Saturday. My roommate lived in the Philly area and had his girlfriend set me up with a blind date.
Of course, the game was canceled. It was a national tragedy. However, since we had made plans to double date we decided to drive down to Philly and take the girls out to dinner. We were introduced, went out to dinner, and the rest is history. This Saturday, Nov. 23, will mark the 50th anniversary of our first date. We have been married for 48 years and have 3 sons, 3 grandchildren, and 1 great grandson.” — Russ and Carol Barry, Crestview