Blake Smith
Remembering president John F. Kennedy: 50 years later
America's Royalty
On Nov. 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was in a motorcade in downtown Houston, Texas, when the entire nation was rocked. “President John F. Kennedy has been assassinated” is the message the entire world received on that November afternoon. Schools, news stations, people at work, everyone mourned for the lost president, including High School Librarian Genese Wright.
“Our principal came in and told everyone what was going on, and everyone started crying. We watched TV for updates for the rest of the week,” said Genese Wright.
High School FACS teacher Janet Brubaker had a similar experience to Wright’s.
“I was only in the fifth grade, so of course we did not know a whole lot about politics, but we knew enough to know that something terrible had happened,” Brubaker said.
In an effort to escape, JFK’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, shot and killed J.D. Tippit, a police officer, but was unsuccessful. He was initially arrested for the murder of Tippit, but was later recognized as JFK’s assassin. Then, on Nov. 24, Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of a Dallas Police Station. This alone enraged Americans.
“I think it is awful that he was killed without a fair trial,” Wright said.
JFK was then buried in Washington D.C., where hundreds of thousands of people across the globe came to watch the President’s final journey with his family. Meanwhile, Lee Harvey Oswald was buried with only his family for spectators.
“I watched programs on it, and watched President Kennedy be buried,” Brubaker said, “To see Jackie Kennedy and President Kennedy’s family, you had empathy and disbelief that this could happen in the United States. It gave a new understanding to protecting the president at all costs.”
Wright thinks that one of the reasons such an emotional response came from the president being assassinated was because of how beloved a president JFK was. She also said that she hopes that another president will serve that was as good as JFK.
“I hope [we have another president like JFK], he was certainly charismatic, and we haven’t really had another young president with a young family like we did with JFK. You saw on TV him and his family, and it just made them a more personable family, what wasn’t to like? The vast majority of people liked him and with Kennedy…he wanted to be out there connected to people, he wasn’t just money, he was our contributions, our royalty,” Wright said.
JFK will live on eternally in the United States’ minds, and hearts, as one of the finest presidents of American history. Although JFK died, his legacy lived on, and not only did his ideals and wishes become a reality, protecting the president has become much more sophisticated than it once was, and has, as a result, made the United States stronger.
Remembering president John F. Kennedy: 50 years later
America's Royalty
On Nov. 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was in a motorcade in downtown Houston, Texas, when the entire nation was rocked. “President John F. Kennedy has been assassinated” is the message the entire world received on that November afternoon. Schools, news stations, people at work, everyone mourned for the lost president, including High School Librarian Genese Wright.
“Our principal came in and told everyone what was going on, and everyone started crying. We watched TV for updates for the rest of the week,” said Genese Wright.
High School FACS teacher Janet Brubaker had a similar experience to Wright’s.
“I was only in the fifth grade, so of course we did not know a whole lot about politics, but we knew enough to know that something terrible had happened,” Brubaker said.
In an effort to escape, JFK’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, shot and killed J.D. Tippit, a police officer, but was unsuccessful. He was initially arrested for the murder of Tippit, but was later recognized as JFK’s assassin. Then, on Nov. 24, Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of a Dallas Police Station. This alone enraged Americans.
“I think it is awful that he was killed without a fair trial,” Wright said.
JFK was then buried in Washington D.C., where hundreds of thousands of people across the globe came to watch the President’s final journey with his family. Meanwhile, Lee Harvey Oswald was buried with only his family for spectators.
“I watched programs on it, and watched President Kennedy be buried,” Brubaker said, “To see Jackie Kennedy and President Kennedy’s family, you had empathy and disbelief that this could happen in the United States. It gave a new understanding to protecting the president at all costs.”
Wright thinks that one of the reasons such an emotional response came from the president being assassinated was because of how beloved a president JFK was. She also said that she hopes that another president will serve that was as good as JFK.
“I hope [we have another president like JFK], he was certainly charismatic, and we haven’t really had another young president with a young family like we did with JFK. You saw on TV him and his family, and it just made them a more personable family, what wasn’t to like? The vast majority of people liked him and with Kennedy…he wanted to be out there connected to people, he wasn’t just money, he was our contributions, our royalty,” Wright said.
JFK will live on eternally in the United States’ minds, and hearts, as one of the finest presidents of American history. Although JFK died, his legacy lived on, and not only did his ideals and wishes become a reality, protecting the president has become much more sophisticated than it once was, and has, as a result, made the United States stronger.