John F. Kennedy Assassinated - November 22, 1963
Everyone from my generation remembers where they were when the heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot. It was a Friday afternoon and I was at work at Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, CT. For my parents the bombing of Pearl Harbor and for my children the World Trade Center on 9/11 were tragedies that will never be forgotten or the impact fully understood. On that day in November 1963 I remember being confused, wondering what was happening. My first reaction was to go to the nearest Catholic church and pray.
Everyone from my generation remembers where they were when the heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot. It was a Friday afternoon and I was at work at Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, CT. For my parents the bombing of Pearl Harbor and for my children the World Trade Center on 9/11 were tragedies that will never be forgotten or the impact fully understood. On that day in November 1963 I remember being confused, wondering what was happening. My first reaction was to go to the nearest Catholic church and pray.
That night some friends had scheduled a big party at their house in West Hartford and rather calling off the party, we all went to the house and spent the evening grieving together. The next morning I drove home to Medford, Mass. to be with my mother and father. JFK had a special place in the hearts of my parents. He represented the ultimate success of an Irish Catholic from Boston, especially to people like my parents whose families earlier had to contend with discrimination of the Irish.
On Sunday morning I went to Mass at Immaculate Conception Church and after I returned from church the family gathered around the television to track news developments. The alleged killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, had been captured and on live TV we witnessed Jack Ruby shooting Oswald. It was the only time in my life that I every witnessed someone being shot to death. The killing of Oswald just added to the confusion of the moment. It was the early 60's and little did we know that the confusion was going to escalate.....e.g., Vietnam War protests, Civil Rights marches, the Pill and sexual freedom, Women's Rights, Assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Height Asbury Hippy Culture, Priests leaving the church.