By John Brewer
This past Monday was a significant day in the history of these United States and the World. Yet this day went almost unnoticed. It wasn’t a significant anniversary, like the 10th or 25th of the event. It was the 58th anniversary. Your reporter remembered and the images with this article bring those events back as vividly as when I first read that tattered sheet of news copy.
It was a Friday shortly after noon and I was a student in college. I worked part time at the local radio station. That is where I got the news. I was notified to get to work quickly, so I ditched afternoon classes and headed to the station.
The air was grim when I arrived. I soon found out why.
My role was to cover the local angle, to see what people thought of those horrific events. And as such began a career in radio journalism that would span 50+ years. I suppose that is why I do the Journal. It is sort of in your blood.
Have you guessed yet what happened at 12:39 pm on Friday, November 22, 1963 yet? That was the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Fifty-Eight years ago. I remember it just like yesterday.
Note: The top photo is the President, First Lady and Texas Governor John Connally sitting in the Presidential Limo before departing Dallas Love Field for downtown.
The tattered and yellowed paper that has faded with time is the original news we received from the UPI.
The photo of the limo driving off just after the President was wounded is from a home movie made by one of the spectators who lined the motorcade route.
And the photo made up of type characters is from UPI and was sent to all teletype machines on their system a short time after the events of November 22nd.
The teletype page and Presidential portrait are from UPI. Other images are from the book Four Days by UPI and American Heritage Magazine.
