Nov. 22, 1963: Presidential motorcade in Dallas, Texas moments before Kennedy’s assassination. Photo by Cecil Stoughton/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and MuseumI was Jeanne Tremblay then, and I had just a month ago begun to work at LASL (Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory) in SP-11 ) Supply and Property 11), at the P-Prime Building on Ashley Pond.
I was finishing lunch at my desk in our Buyers’ Office (Ken Davis and Ed Wortman), when I heard the voice of Dimas Chavez (SP-DO) come down our second floor hall saying “The President has been shot!” Because Dimas had a great sense of humor, we just looked at one another and shook out heads thinking “that’s not really something to joke about.”
Just then, Dimas stopped at our office door and one look at his face told us he was serious. We were a combination of speechless, but still wanting to know what was going on. I immediately turned on the radio I kept on my desk — just in time to hear Walter Cronkite saying “President Kennedy was dead!”
My heart seemed to stop; tears began to fall. President Kennedy had been my hero; I had been too young to vote for him (the voting age was still 21 then) but had campaigned for him. I had been so excited to think of being able to vote for him in the next election.
The rest of that Friday afternoon was a blur. I’m sure we were released early to be home with our loved ones, glued to our black-and-white tv sets and to our own individual grieving processes. It was a long weekend and the images are burned into my soul.
In my opinion, our country (and maybe the world) changed forever on November 22, 1963; we continue in that downward spiral to this day!
Editor’s Note: Email your story of where you were the day President Kennedy was shot to caclark@ladailypost.com.
