JFK assassination: Cronkite informs a shocked nation, November 22, 1963

[AmericanMan1958]

"As The World Turns" was airing on CBS the afternoon of November 22, 1963, when Walter Cronkite broke in to tell the nation that President Kennedy had been shot. Coverage then went back to the soap opera, but not for long. Charles Osgood reports on how America learned of the shooting of a president.

I was but a child, 5 years of age then, I have always wondered what this country would have become if this great leader would been afforded the opportunity to complete his destiny.

After the events of this passed election, my curiosity has manifested into sadness for all that could have been for our great nation.

One of JFK's greatest quotes holds more value for guidance than ever before;

"A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality." John F. Kennedy

We must stay strong in our struggles for our conquest of equality and justice for all.

May blessing be upon all my fellow DU members on this saddest of days in American history!

[ucrdem]

1. "The Last Two Days": President Kennedy in Texas, Nov. 1963

"The Last Two Days," covering President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie's trip to Texas: San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas, 21-22 November, 1963.

[Auggie]

2. Still chilling. Still heartbreaking. Still maddening.

[lpbk2713]

3. Uncle Walter

I was stunned for the rest of the day. Had the TV and radio going at the same time.
JFK was the first president I ever voted for.

[AmericanMan1958]

4. JFK was a role model for me.

Maybe it was because of my age.

I remember those troubled times through the eyes of a child.

The riots, the needless lose of life, the further assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy

I always believe it was my role to continue on with their great deeds and never let the memories die.

I sign up to serve with that same commitment.

I can honestly say I more committed now than I have ever been before.

This is a great country, with wonder people, both are well worth fighting to protect.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. "As The World Turns"

I was home that day. Sick, but don't remember what i had. I was in 2nd grade. (On edit: I think it was 3rd grade)

My mom's one soap opera every day was ATWT. Maybe Guiding Light occasionally, but she got hooked at ATWT when she was pregnant with me.

Her friend called her to chat, but the show was on, so she was telling her friend she would call her back when the show was over when Cronkite broke in. She only sort of heard it, so she asked me what he just said. I told her "He said the president was shot." She told her friend she had to go, and ran into the little room across from the kitchen where we had a portable B&W TV.

My dad got told by the owner of the store that the milk deliveries could wait and he should get home, so he drove home from the south suburbs so he could follow the news too.

I had only just turned 7 but i could tell this was huge.

[callous taoboy]

6. Was at the Johnson ranch today on a field trip.

I had forgotten what day it was.

[Useless in FL]

7. Sad Memory

I was a freshman at UConn in 1963. I had just returned from class to my dormitory for lunch and I was in our dorm's basement rec room eating lunch and watching ATWT on our black and white TV. It was during this time that Cronkite interrupted with that shocking news. I was never the same after that. It was the saddest Thanksgiving I've ever had....