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 worked for the government in Washington, D.C., was at my desk at work when the phone rang. My co-worker answered and when she hung up, she said that the president had been shot, that he was dead, and that we should all go home; we silently left in a state of shock. A few days later when the president’s body was moved from the White House to the Capitol building to lie in state, I stood on the side of the street on the hill leading up to the Capitol and watched the horse-drawn caisson carrying the president’s coffin go by. As I stood in the crowd, someone told us that Jack Ruby had just shot Oswald and my first thought was, ‘Good,’ but then I realized that we would never know the truth about the assassination, and we still don’t. I later went to Arlington National Cemetery to see the grave, and then after they installed the Eternal Flame, I could see that anytime after dark crossing the bridge from D.C. to Virginia where I lived.” - Dotty Moore, Niceville
“We were stationed at High Wycombe AFB, outside London. One of London’s top comedians was performing at the club that night, so my husband and I went to see him in person. About the time for him to come on, the news came to us. We were all in shock and that poor man played to the ‘deadest’ crowd ever. I felt so badly for him, but he gave it a good English try while offering his condolences.” - Alice Patton, Shalimar
“Recently married and living in Baltimore on that date, I remember vividly the news of his shooting while I was at work. ... I will never forget the sight and silence of the crowd except for the drums and hoof beats as the caisson and riderless horse passed by on the way to Arlington National Cemetery. I also remember the hushed whispering of the crowd, while we waited, of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. One regret I have is that 50 years have gone by, and I have not had the opportunity to pay my respects at his grave sight.” - David Pendergast, Miramar Beach
“My earliest (memory) as a child was the funeral of President Kennedy. I was 5 years old when he was killed in Dallas. ... I can remember like it was yesterday sitting on the steps of our den watching the funeral on television. My mother was crying and I just watched. I always remember the horse following behind the caisson carrying his casket had a pair of riding boots upside down in the saddle stirrups. I never knew why until years later the meaning of the upside down boots, but I can still see funeral very vivid in my mind. I will never forget that scene of the funeral winding down through the streets of the capital on its way to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.” - Charles W. Rigdon, Destin
“My father was stationed at Dow AFB in Maine, and I was in the 9th grade at Bangor High School. We were on ‘double sessions.’ I attended the morning shift and had just arrived home. I turned the TV on as I had started to watch ‘All My Children.’ A very young Erica was deceiving someone when they interrupted the program for a special news bulletin – President Kennedy had been shot! Oh I prayed and prayed, ‘Please, please let him be ok!’ Everyone was so sad. ... Then I was watching when Jack Ruby shot Oswald on TV. My father said now we would never find out what really happened, and I never watched another soap opera!” - Cindy Townley, Fort Walton Beach
“I remember President Kennedy coming to Eglin when I was 7 and all I could think of then was that he had red hair. All of the pictures and television pictures of him were black and white back then and I was amazed and mesmerized by his red hair. Then, I think the following year, on the day he was killed, I remember being in my third-grade classroom. Mrs. Butler was my teacher, and she came in the room crying and told us that President Kennedy had just been shot and killed. They ended school early that day because of his assassination. When I got home my mother was glued to the TV watching the story unfold. She had a lady I did not know sitting with her. It turned out to be a sales lady that had knocked on our door. We had never seen her and never saw her again.” - Pam Schaefer, Lynn Haven
“I was 14 years old, in art class, trying to make a piece of pottery, when the principal came on the intercom. He announced that there had been an attempted assassination of President Kennedy. We all cleaned up the clay and sat silently. A few minutes before the end of class he came back on the intercom and told us that President Kennedy was dead. The tears started. As we got to our next class we found our teacher sobbing. I was always afraid of this teacher. She was one tough cookie. After that day, seeing her crying, that fear vanished. She became a real person with a heart. ... I’ll never forget Jackie and Bobby with their grief stricken faces or little John-John saluting his father’s coffin. And those muffled drum beats...they haunted me for nights afterwards. To this day I can’t stand the sound.” - Shelia Harasimowicz, Shalimar
“I was a ninth-grade student at Garfield High School in New Jersey sitting in the last period of the day, which for me was world history. One of the students who had a reputation of being a little ‘wild’ was walking down the hallway, loudly stating that the president had been shot. Mrs. Markey, my teacher, didn’t believe it and promptly opened the door to reprimand the student for spreading tales. ... As the intercom clicked on, Mrs. Markey put her hand on her heart and said, ‘Oh, no,’ as the announcement was made that President Kennedy had been shot. No one spoke during the rest of the class, and when the dismissal bell rang, the hallways were completely silent. I remember it as if it were yesterday.” - Lois Handzo, Fort Walton Beach
“Our family did not have a TV set. After hearing about the shooting in Dallas, my father went out and purchased a used TV and ‘rabbit ears.’ ” - Dave Silsbee, Shalimar
“I lived in Bradford, Pa. It was a very cold, very snowy day. I was with 19 other women at a bridge game. It happened to be our daughter’s fourth birthday. Of course, there were no cell phones. But I had a really uneasy feeling that something was wrong. I finally asked to use the phone and call home. ... The babysitter answered and she was just sobbing and she said President Kennedy had been assassinated. ... I was just shocked. I hung up the phone and then it was my obligation to tell all of those women. I told them and no one said a thing. They all just got up and left.” - Barbara Smith, Miramar Beach
“I was 20 years old. I could relate to him. I was working in Walgreens in St. Louis, Mo., and people were coming in talking about it. ... I walked across the street to a bar and grill and watched the TV as they announced he’d died. We stayed closed for about three days and opened up after the funeral.” - Bob Pabel, Fort Walton Beach
“I and my unit, and about 900 other tanks, were sent on our way to the Fulda Gap,(Fulda, Germany) to prevent the East Germans and Russians from coming across the border into West Germany. The rumors were rampant and no one was really sure just what had happened in Texas that day. ... We, however, stayed on the West German side of the Fulda Gap for 14 days, with about 2,000 East German and Russian tanks on the East German side watching us across the plowed field all day and all night long.” - William “Bill” Everett, Baker