# When Kennedy became President



## fuzzybuddy (Sep 27, 2017)

I was a kid, when Kennedy won the election. Ike & Mamie were like my grandfather & mother. OLD! OLD! JFK & Jackie were young.  We went from the "Farm" to a "Hyannis Port Compound".


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## Grampa Don (Sep 27, 2017)

I had just turned 21, so that was my first election.  I still have my Kennedy button.

Don


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## Cap'nSacto (Sep 27, 2017)

It's interesting listening to his speeches now; he doesn't sound very much like today's democrat. 

What I remember most about the Kennedy presidency was The Cold War. I didn't understand it; it was during my pre-teen years. I remember the fear and anxiety over Russians, but there were so many other things going on in my little world; The Beatles, girls, finding out I was a dork, sudden body hair and such. And then my little brother died from severe asthma just a few months before Kennedy was assassinated. So, for me, the Kennedy Era was a time of dark clouds, wonder, and self-doubt.


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## helenbacque (Sep 28, 2017)

I was married and a parent when he was president.  The Kennedy's were young and exciting but during the Cuban missile crisis, I can remember wondering if a more mature and experienced person might handle it better.  However, when the crisis was past, I was very proud of him.  Calm but firm and level-headed.  Just what was needed at the time. 

As with many others both before and after, he apparently was not a very good husband but in my opinion, he was a fine president.


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## Don M. (Sep 28, 2017)

The Kennedy Presidency sticks in my mind.  I remember vividly the day he was assassinated.  We were in the barracks, in Germany, playing poker, on Nov. 22, 1963, when one of the guys came running in saying that Kennedy had been assassinated.  We turned on the radio, and listened to the news being broadcasted on the Armed Forces Network, and were stunned.  We stopped the game, got into uniform, and headed for the shop...and shortly afterwards, the base went on full alert.  We stayed on alert for a couple of days, until it was announced that the killer had been caught, and it appeared to be an individual act.  

This followed just a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis...during which the base was on full alert, and we had the aircraft loaded and ready to launch....we were within minutes of launch when the "stand down" was ordered.  Most people don't realize just how close we came to nuclear war with Russia.  We had all written our "last" letter home...in the hope that there would be someone there to read it.  

Now, the National Archives are supposed to release all the remaining documents about the Kennedy assassination by late October...IF some government action doesn't block the release.  I am Very sceptical about this entire Warren Commission "investigation" and how so much information has been kept from the public, all these years....IMO, so that anyone involved would be long dead and gone by the time the information became public.  I accept that Lee Harvey Oswald pulled the trigger, but I think there is a lot of "collusion" that took place, in our own government, that set this event into motion.


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## Butterfly (Sep 28, 2017)

Though I was born during the Truman administration, the only president I remember before Kennedy was Eisenhower, and he had been president my whole conscious life.  I was 15 during the Kennedy election and was fascinated by it.

I liked the Kennedys a lot and thought they were quite glamorous; I remember being sad when they lost a child, and I still remember as if it were yesterday the day he was assassinated and the grief and shock I felt that this could happen in America.  The world stood still that afternoon.


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## Grampa Don (Sep 28, 2017)

A lot of people remember where they were when they heard that President Kennedy was shot.  My wife and I were in the meat department of a market when the butcher came out and told us.  At the time, we didn't know it was fatal.

It's like when the Challenger exploded.  I can still picture one of the guys in the factory coming up and saying the space shuttle just blew up.

Don


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## Trade (Sep 28, 2017)

I was in the 8th grade when Kennedy was elected. I was for Nixon. I'm not sure why. I did not know or care the first thing about Politics. I had a good friend that was Catholic and he was for Kennedy big time. So I suppose I picked Nixon just to be ornery.

I was in the 11th grade in Mr. Golden's World History Class when they announced that he had been shot. It didn't affect me all that much. I was pretty much a self centered teenager. Later on they announced that he was dead. I was still in school, but I don't remember which class. I do remember who announced it. It was Marion Shambaugh our assistant principal in his annoying nasal voice. And I remember the words he used. "I regret to advise you that the President is dead". I remember thinking that the word "advise" was a bit strange to use. Later on, in the school paper it was reported that he had said "I regret to inform you that the President is dead". I mentioned to to one of my friends that they had changed his wording but he replied "Oh no, he said "inform". But to this day I am sure the word he used was "advise".


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## Sassycakes (Sep 30, 2017)

I was in my Freshman year of High School.Kennedy came to our City before the election and I got to shake his hand. I was really impressed by him. I remember the day he was shot like it was yesterday. My Older  Sister had just come home from the Hospital after my nephew was born and I was holding the baby when the news came on. I don't think I moved from in front of the television for the rest of the day.


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