Dean Okamura

Looking back on November 22, 1963

Looking back, "Yesterday, 

     all my troubles seemed so far away." 

 

Oh, JFK! You were my hero. 

You were the President we wanted in Elementary School. 

You said, "And so, my fellow Americans: 

     ask not what your country will do for you — 

     ask what you can do for your country." 

You established the Peace Corps. 

You averted a nuclear war in the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

You challenged us. "We choose to go to the Moon." 

How could someone choose to shoot you today? 

 

A door knock signaled the start of the troubles. 

We carried our chairs to another classroom. 

We sat and waited. They told us why. 

One teacher cried and left the room. 

She was a "Lady of Sorrows." 

Something very sad happened. 

Looking back, "Won’t you — 

     please, please, help me?" 

Oh, Sorrow! The reports were grim. 

We heard on L.A. Channel 2, CBS News. 

Walter Cronkite said, “President Kennedy shot today — 

     just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas.” 

He was troubled by a recently printed bulletin, 

paused, and took off his glasses. 

Words out of a heavy heart. "From Dallas, Texas, 

     the flash — apparently official — President Kennedy — 

     died at 1 pm Central Standard Time, 

     2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, 

     some 38 minutes ago." 

    a silence… forty little hearts broken… the room sobbed… then emptied. 

The school dismissed us early. 

I do not remember if we ate lunch. 

Did we even say a word on the way home? 

Looking back, "I read — 

     the news today, oh boy." 

Oh, Tragedy! The news unrolled to the beat of a solitary drum. 

We learned the latest stories. 

     Texas Governor John Connolly — recovered from wounds. 

     Police Officer J.D. Tippit — killed by the suspect. 

     Lee Harvey Oswald — charged with murder of Tippit and Kennedy assassination. 

     Jack Ruby — killed Lee Harvey Oswald on live television. 

From Dallas to Arlington National Cemetery. 

     Lyndon Baines Johnson sworn in as President aboard Air Force One. 

     Horse-drawn caisson bearing the casket of John F. Kennedy. 

     John-John saluting his father in front of the Cathedral. 

Looking back, "Oh, yesterday — 

     Friday, November 22, 1963."

Our entire nation was wounded. 

A stab to the heart. 

My generation lost its innocence. 

 

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Looking back, lyrics from Beatles songs: 

Lennon-McCartney, "Yesterday" (1965) 

Lennon-McCartney, "Help!" (1965) 

Lennon-McCartney, "A Day in the Life" (1966)