JFK, November 22, 1963

The thing about being as old as I am is that I remember a lot of historical events.  When I was a kid they were considered current events.  I was only three and a half on November 22, 1963, the day JFK was assassinated but this is what I remember.  We lived in San Diego, California on the Mira Mar Base.   I remember my mother crying.  She was glued to the TV.  Forget about watching the Micky Mouse Club.  It was pre-empted by news coverage.  This made me really sad because that was the highlight of my day.  I remember my Grandma Bullock calling to tell my mother the news, but she already knew.  I remember crying too because my mother was so sad and I didn't know how to comfort her.  I remember thinking that little Jack was so cute and I would have liked to be his friend.

The next week was Thanksgiving so we went out to Mesa, Arizona to Grandma and Grandpa Bullock's house for Thanksgiving.  They were really sad about the situation but they had a lot of faith in LBJ.  They knew he would work diligently with Congress to pass the reforms JFK worked on during his short presidency  My grandfather was worried about Jackie and her children.  My Grandfather believed the assassination was a communist plot to take over America.

My Grandma and Grandpa Stockam were also distressed about the assassination.  They were so looking forward to voting him out of office in 1964.  They were stuck with LBJ.  They believed he would probably be elected in 1964 out of sympathy.  They were Republicans, but they were Americans first and had faith in the American system that complete regime change could happen peacefully and by the voice of the people, but they knew they would probably have to wait until 1968. They too believed the assassination was a communist plot to take over America.

In October of 1964 my father was transferred from Mira Mar to Atlanta.  We drove across the country.  I remember driving through Dallas and my father pointing out that this was the city where JFK died.