today in History

kcvet

Senior Member
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on this day in 1963 president Kennedy is murdered in Dallas TX

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I remember it well. We were playing poker in the USAF barracks in Germany that night, when one of the guys came running through and said Kennedy had been shot. We switched on the radio and verified the news. Immediately, everyone just got up and put on fatigues, and headed for the shop. The base went on full alert a few minutes later, as no one knew for sure what was going on. We stayed on alert for about 24 hours, until it was determined that this wasn't some sort of foreign plot. Things were pretty muted for days thereafter.
 
I was a Junior in HS. we were in study hall that day. back then they let you use those pocket transistor radios with an earphone. that's how we found out. they sent everyone home and closed the school.
when Khrushchev found out in Moscow he was certain he would be blamed and feared US Missiles were on the way. so they drove him to the US Embassy where he ran in and flat denied any Soviet involvement. I understand he was a badly shaken man. as was Castro who was 90mi away

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we saw him on national TV that night. I remember thinking that boy looks like his cheese slide off its cracker
 
That is one of those days I'll remember in stark, perfect detail all my life, as though it were yesterday. I was working at my first job and I even remember what I was wearing that day. When the news was confirmed, everyone was just standing around, kind of lost ... it was a very surreal day. I don't think it seemed real until we saw the flag go to half staff at the post office across the street from the bank where I worked.
 
It was a day that so many of us lost our optimism about our country that he inspired, and later the loss of our innocence in regard to politicians when the revelations about his sexual escapades came out...
 
It was one of those days everyone remembers what they were doing. Like Roosevelt said during WWII, "A date that will live in infamy." This was made as part of his speech to congress when he was requesting a Declaration of War on Japan.

All I remember was being in school on that day and my mom and dad were very upset. We had the news on TV all evening. Of course back then, we only had about a dozen channels, if that many and most were the major networks. It was really interesting watching Johnson being sworn in on-board the airplane.

I wanted to add that the reason Ruby was able to shoot Oswald was because the Dallas police force lacked security. (Not to mention all of the theories that we have all been told.) Today, the way in which prisoners are handled, that would never happen. I don't believe they even had a vest on Oswald when they led him through the group of reporters. It looked to me like the DPD was trying to show off to the world that they had captured Kennedy's suspected shooter for some self-serving purpose. That should have been prevented. JMO.

I would have liked to have seen the trial of Oswald. Tell me that wouldn't have been interesting. Probably would have never happened.
 
It was one of those days everyone remembers what they were doing. Like Roosevelt said during WWII, "A date that will live in infamy." This was made as part of his speech to congress when he was requesting a Declaration of War on Japan.

All I remember was being in school on that day and my mom and dad were very upset. We had the news on TV all evening. Of course back then, we only had about a dozen channels, if that many and most were the major networks. It was really interesting watching Johnson being sworn in on-board the airplane.

the Kennedy's hated LBJ and did not want him on the same plane with JFK. Jackie settled the feud
 

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