Do you remember where you were when you first heard that President Kennedy had been shot and killed on November 22, 1963—now 62 years ago?
I remember hearing that news as if it were yesterday and not 62 years ago.
"From Dallas, Texas, the flash apparently official, President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time, 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago."
... Walter Cronkite, CBS News Anchor
On November 22, 1963, I was 15 years old, a high-school sophomore, sitting in a biology lab when someone rushed in to announce the news. Because I attended a parochial school, my classmates and I quietly filed into the chapel to pray for the President before being dismissed early.
I don’t think any of us who were old enough in 1963 have ever forgotten where we were or how we felt at that moment. To this day, I believe our nation’s innocence was shattered on November 22nd.
"It was a death that touched everyone instantly and directly; rare was the person who did not cry that long weekend."
... Roger Mudd, CBS Washington Correspondent
My impressions of that day—and of the days that followed—remain vivid:
- I remember the silence on the bus ride home. New York City buses were never quiet, but that afternoon, the hush was overwhelming.
- I remember how a city known for its constant motion fell still for the next four days. From our living-room windows, I saw streets that were almost eerily empty.
- In a home where television time was rationed, our set stayed on continuously for days. Most people had black-and-white televisions then, and the grey tones of the broadcasts seemed to mirror the somber mood that settled over the country. It felt as if the entire world had gone grey, regardless of one’s politics.
- I remember the funeral procession. I remember young John Kennedy’s salute. I remember the lighting of the eternal flame. I remember Jacqueline Kennedy’s remarkable dignity.
- Through all of it, I moved as if in a dream, half expecting to wake up and find everything unchanged.
Even now, 62 years later, I’m amazed at the clarity of those memories—and at how deeply I still feel the quiet, the sadness, and the sense of greyness that settled over those days. As I look back on my life, I realize there are only a handful of public events, aside from personal milestones, that remain so sharply etched in my memory. This was the first: followed by Robert Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King's assassinations, the Challenger explosion, the first moon landing, 9/11, and now more recently the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
"We were working in one of the worst moments of the nation's life back then and we didn't know what to make of it, much like what happened on 9/11."
... Bob Schieffer, CBS Broadcaster
Regardless of political beliefs, President John F. Kennedy’s voice was uniquely inspirational for its time—and in many ways, it still is. JFK's inauguration speech remains the only one I can recite pieces of or vividly recall. Listening to it again recently, I was struck by how timeless its message remains.
Remembering those days now, six decades later, I wonder how this event will be remembered in another 20 years. By then, those who lived through it will be much fewer in number. For many, it will be distant history. It’s astonishing to think how many people from that era are no longer with us—because it hardly feels possible that more than half a century has passed.
Even today, I still feel a deep sadness, a sense of loss, and no small amount of “what if.” And even today, there seems to be much less mention of this event in the media than there used to be. It's as if people have forgotten.
Do you remember where you were, 62 years ago, when you heard that President Kennedy had died?
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