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11/21/2003: "40 Years Ago ... Where Were You?"

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It was one of those life-changing events in the history of our country that no one can forget who lived through it. I was in sixth grade, on a swing at recess in elementary school in Upper Strasburg, PA, when I heard the news. Everyone immediately ran into the school cafeteria to watch the one and only black & white TV our school had.

I took the photos above and to the right just last month when I visited JFK's grave at Arlington National Cemetery for the first time. I was a bit surprised that it's still one of the most visited sites in the US. I was there on a Friday morning, and it was fairly crowded -- it took some patience to get these photos without a crowd of other people in them. The memorial, engraved with many of his best known quotes, is directly behind the eternal flame that burns at Kennedy's grave. It looks out over Washinton, DC; you can dimly see the Washington Monument at the top center of the photo.

If you are old enough to have lived at the time of Kennedy's assassination, where were you? Click the "comments" link just below this paragraph and add your thoughts.

Replies: 2 comments

on Friday, Nov. 22, 1963 I was in the newsroom
of WMGM. I was preparing a "rip-n-read" newcast.
The regular daytime news guy was at lunch when the
teletype machine began to go crazy. President
Kennedy has been shot! I ripped off the paper
and took it in to the d.j. He read it and I ran
to get the small black-and-white TV. I went into
the small news booth and read what the AP was
sending over.
The regular news guy came back from lunch and I
took a tape recorder onto the streets for interviews.
I was also in the newsroom (on Sunday) when
Jack Ruby killed Lee Oswald.
Talk about a sad weekend.

In Mervin Bryant's 7th grade homeroom class. We got the news over Pennridge South's PA system.