The AM Forum

I was in my 4th grade classroom when the news was announced by sister clare - didn't have to do the drill ducking under the desks with hands over head - just pure fear and as a kid , not knowing what is next!
Greg

Working in the news room of a 5 KW AM broadcast station.  It was an ABC affiliate and after they joined the network, I had a 4 day holiday.  In the 11 years I worked in radio stations, the announcement on the TTY machine was preceeded by the bell ringing 10 times.  That was the only time I heard the bell ring that many times.  10 bells was reserved for a national emergency to call our attention to the TTY machine.

I was in 7th grade Social Studies class when the junior high school secretary delivered one 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper to the classroom door.  Our teacher came back to the front of the class and said that President Kennedy has been shot.  "That's all it says", she said.

I believe it was in the next class period that we were told he was dead.

I was in my office at Hq, Pac Security Region, Wheeler AFB, Hawaii, getting
prepped for an inspection trip to Da Nang and Monkey Mountain... 

I was in the kitchen of my apartment getting ready to go to 2nd shift work.   Like a snapshot in my mind

Al

I was standing on top of a large injection molding press, that pumped out large plastic garbage cans, servicing an electronic scale that weighed plastic material before it went into the machine hopper, in scenic Plainfield, NJ.

I was at university between classes.

I heard about Oswald's death while in QSO on 75m AM.

It was the night of the Kennedy/Nixon election in 1960 when I almost got electrocuted off a 1000 volt plate supply.  I had stayed up late and was working on the transmitter while listening to the returns on the broadcast radio.

I was in the personnel office at Motorola on Augusta complaining about the lousy job they stuck me in and told him if he didn't transfer me to sales as they promised on hire, I was leaving.

He say: "bon voyage".

The rest is history.  I probably would never have been able to retire at 43 if he transferred me.

BTW, who'se Kennedy?

js

I was in high school between classes - going from English Class (we were studying C.S. Lewis at the time) and Elecronics Class; building my first 5-tube SuperHet All-American. One of my girlfriends told me about the shooting, she was crying.

I got the 5-tube SuperHet working and for the rest of the Electronic's class, we listened to the somber news.

Phil - AC0OB

Sitting in the destist's chair when we heard the news via the radio he always kept playing.

Home sick from school that day, listening to my six transistor radio when I heard the news - took it out to my mom who was on the patio with neighbors to tell her. They were all in shock. We spent the rest of the weekend glued to the TV. I saw Oswald get shot live on the tube.

I was in first grade in Mrs. Germano's class in Waddington NY. My mom was back living home with her parents and my dad was in the hospital. I remember a total breakdown of most adults and many kids at the school. This was an unforgettable moment.

Mike WU2D 

I wasn't.

I was 7 months old, living on Norhurst Way in Catonsville, MD (just outside Baltimore city by a few miles), 1 mile from the Double T diner at Route 40.

I wasn't even a thought in my parent's mind for another 9 years.

I wasn't even an itch yet.

I was in Mrs. Bertoli's 2nd grade class sitting across the table from Becky Williams and watched her burst into tears. Fresh as a snap shot.

I was a few houses up the street selling Christmas candles with my buddy Dave. We had the day off from school.
The whole family was sitting in front of the TV when Oswald was shot.
There is no way Kennedy was shot from the back with his brains blown across the trunk.
Also no way Oswald got off all those shots.

Hmmmmm,
Not sure but I think I filled up a few diapers that day....

 :-X

I was a high school freshman home with the flu ... my sisters boyfriend came in reporting the murder of JFK .... I refused to believe him because he was (and still is ) a BS artist .... we turned on the tv and saw Oswald get blown away .... the continuation of turbulent times .... I remember Walter Cronkite taking off horn rimmed glasses and barely being able to talk .... its a wonder somebody didn't push the button and carbonize us all !

Sixth grade at St. Valentines. We had to kneel in the isle beside our desks with our arms straight out so that we formed the cross. Glad the busses were called for early dismissal.

I was in 9 year old in grade school, running around during recess.  Our principal called us all indside and gave us the news.  It's one of those life's moments that sticks my mind very clearly.  A sad day for our country.

None of your business.

Maybe Steve was the shooter!!!  They got it all wrong!!!

Ssshhhhhh!

Another 4th grader, this time in Yuma, Az.  The school intercom system burst on in the middle of the announcement, played from a local radio station.  We all went home then.  :'(

I was working with the Forest Service  crew in Colorado at 8500 feet elevation with snow up to our rears.  We were burning slash piles from the summer. We heard it on the evening news on a battery operated radio in our cabin where we stayed.

Prolly starting First grade I think, and that was one HOT summer if I remember right.

73
Jack.

Sitting in Mr. Morrison's 7th grade science class, staring at the back of Kathy Coakley's head. Miss Simon, the spanish teacher that we were sure Mr. Morrison was having an affair with, burst into the room hysterically crying and blurted out the news.

I was minding my own business having lunch on this grassy knoll on the north side of Elm street in Dallas when some a-hole near me who set off a cherry bomb.

T

Prepubescent, eh Stevie?  ;D

-Yeah for all of you that weren't a thought yet or were still in the bag, etc., then good for you.  You've been spared a whole lot of baggage over your formative years.

I was washing Christmas tree street ornaments for the city of Marietta, Ohio trying to scarf up some cash for tuition.  It was in an old city bldg. on the Muskingam River, no water turned on, so I had to slide up and down a greasy river bank carrying buckets of water.

Had a six transistor Philco with me and heard the news.  Finished washing about an hour after the shooting and walked up to the campus.  Everyone was so quiet that I thought few had heard about it.  What a false reading of the general demeanor that was. ....

My senior year, I was in the final period of school that day, of all things religion class....the announcement came over the school PA system just before the end of classes for the day.  It was a Catholic high school, and the PA voice asked for a "prayer for the repose of his soul".

After classes dismissed, it was almost silent in the halls.  There were 2000 young men there, and at least a hundred stood outside of our radio club room, listening to the coverage on a Voice Of America frequency, through the club's HRO60.  I still remember the event clearly, right down to the actual sound of that receiver and matching speaker.  Its still chilling to remember.   :-[

73
Ted W8IXY

I was a Junior in H.S. in Oxon Hill Md. and it was during an assembly that the principal approached the podium to make a special announcement. It got very quiet and there were students crying.

Fred

Sitting in the student union snack bar between classes at Evansville College [now University of Evansville].  Interesting thing was that EC had final exams the day of the funeral; said they couldn't change the schedule since it was finals week.

I was still 18, a Sophomore in college...attending Purdue regional campus in Fort Wayne.  I also had a part-time job working as a tech for a sound company and I was working on installing an intercom system at a trucking company terminal. We heard that Kennedy had been shot, but didn't hear any details. I was crawling up through rafters in the overhang of the loading dock stringing wiring, and happened to look toward the downtown area of the city.  I saw the flag on the Lincoln tower (one of the tall buildings in downtown) go down to half-staff.  That was later in the afternoon.  We pretty much knew after seeing that that he had been killed.  That was quite a shock.....kinda marked the end of innocence and the end of an era.

73,  Jack, W9GT

Yes, the end of innocence.  It amazes me to watch films of Hilter walking freely amongst a huge crowd, even during the early years of WWII.  And the various popes driving in open limos... as well as Kennedy driving through Dallas in that open convertible.   The much older pics from the Civil War up to Kennedy show our leaders in open public places without elaborate security precautions.

Can you imagine this being done today without $millions poured into pre-security prep work for the event?  Yes, the age of innocence did end around 1963, indeed.

T

I was in 9th grade at Warwick High school in Lititz, PA. The principal passed the message thru the intercom. Had just got done reading an article in Pop Science about building a bomb shelter.....I remember looking out the window wondering if mushroom clouds were about to appear.

I'd say it was more an end of naiveté.

Camelot was a myth. Presidents had been assassinated in the past. Presidential security had been increasing for decades. Citizens used to be able to walk right into the White House. That ended well before Kennedy. Lincoln took horse rides around DC to relax -with NO security. Talk about innocent.
No, the innocence (if there was actually a time when it existed) ended well before Kennedy's death.

I was in the 3rd grade when the announcement came over the school intercom. Teachers were crying. The principal (an old spinster) was all choked up ant tripping on her words. And they sent us all home from school. Partially out of fear. Like Dave we were all scared that "the Russians were coming" and that the world was about to end..................
          
                                                  the Slab Bacon

Catholic grammar school, 6th or 7th grade, an abrupt announcement on the school PA system, followed by the nuns praying, followed by an all-TV weekend at home.

I've heard it argued that that weekend was the tipping point between Newspapers as the main news outlet, and TV taking over that role. The real-time coverage of Walter nearly in tears, of Oswald's demise, of the funeral, there was nothing that the printed word could do that compared to the impact of those images.

I remember eating meals in front of the TV for the first time ever, plopped in front of the screen watching history unfold in front of my eyes.

from part of our family history book:

"The first house in California that we lived in was 25071 Filaree, in Sunnymead, CA. Dad had been assigned to March AFB. We moved in on November 22, 1963. While the household goods were being moved in, the TV set was set up so Ricky and I would have somethig to do and stay out of the way. He was 2 and I was 3. Shortly after the old black and white set had warmed up, something very important happened. I don’t recall if Rick saw it, but I saw it live right then and there on the glowing bluish-white 19” screen. (Only wealthy people had color TV back then as the cost reflected today would be about $8,500) Does anyone recall what happened that day?"