10/7/2008
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the shock of a nation: boomers recall shock of kennedy assassination WRITTEN BY Barbara Trainin Blank
THE KENNEDYS ARE NEVER FAR FROM THE PUBLIC EYE. BUT THE RECENT DIAGNOSIS OF Sen. Edward Kennedy’s brain tumor and the 40th anniversary last June of the slaying of Robert F. Kennedy underscore the legacy and symbolism, the triumphs and foibles, of what is arguably one of America’s most famous families. As the nation prepares to observe the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the thoughts of many boomers turn to that tragic day of November 22, 1963. Before posthumous revelations of personal misconduct and the conspiracy theories, much of the nation loved
november 22, 1963 Kennedy and the “Camelot” image of “one, brief shining moment” suggested by his widow, Jackie. The sense of loss over the death of the young, good-looking, idealistic president with the seemingly perfect family was keen indeed. Ann Stewart, a Fairview Township writer, remembers vividly JFK’s visit to her hometown of Lebanon when she was 5. “He was in the town square, and there were throngs of people,” she says. “I was kneehigh, but my uncle in the police department put me on his shoulders, so I saw JFK really close. I remember thinking he was very handsome.” Stephen Blank, a professor of national security studies at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, remembers seeing Kennedy during his presidential campaign swing in his native Brooklyn, N.Y. Later the nominee spoke at Madison Square Garden before a crowd of many thousands. “He was like a rock star,” Blank says.