Monthly Archives: July 2019

We all have memorable events in our lives, milestones in history.  With all the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of landing on the moon, I thought I’d ask a few people where they were when.

Bombing of Pearl Harbor  Sunday, December 7, 1941

As the population ages, there are fewer people who were around to remember this significant event of WWII.  I asked my father who was nine at the time.  He said that unlike today when we are constantly tuned into the news (bombarded), they didn’t have the radio on all the time.  He said it probably wasn’t until that evening or even the next day that he learned of the bombing.

Assassination of President Kennedy  Friday, November 22, 1963

I was in sixth grade when Mrs. Nicholson came in during our afternoon milk break to give us the bad news.  We all prayed (back when that was allowed).  So sad that such an inspiring young leader was taken away from us too soon.

My husband said he was in the alley working on a car with his buddies when someone came out and told them.

Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King  Thursday, April 4, 1968

I don’t remember this tragedy as well as some of the others but it had an impact on all of us during the turmoil of the sixties.

My husband was called up (in the National Guard) to help quell riots in Pittsburgh.  They weren’t issued any ammunition but later were given one bullet each.

Landing a man on the moon  Sunday, July 20, 1969

I got to celebrate this very exciting event while I was at a summer conference on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana.  I remember about 200 students sitting in a darkened room on a cold linoleum floor watching the first step by Neil Armstrong on a black and white television.  And the room erupted in cheering.  It still amazes me.

Explosion of the Challenger spacecraft  Monday, January 28, 1986

I was at work at Ford Motor Company when one of my co-workers came in at lunch time to tell me about the tragic event.  We listened to the news on the radio with tears in our eyes.

My father was at a seminar in Florida at Cape Canaveral.  They actually went to the window to watch the rocket launch and saw the terrible event in person.

Terrorist attack  Tuesday, September 11, 2001

I was at home getting ready for work when I saw the first announcement on the morning news.  As I watched, I saw the second plane hit the second tower.  I was heartbroken and in shock.  Needless to say, I didn’t go to work that day.  What I really remember was how quiet the skies were the following week as all the planes were grounded.

In addition, my father was at the airport heading for a vacation in Paris.  I panicked as I didn’t know if he was actually in the air, what plane he was on, or where he was.  Fortunately, he was turned away at the airport.  It wasn’t until several hours later that I was relieved to find that he was safe at home again.

We all have memorable days in our lifetimes, some happy – marriage, birth of a child, and some sad – death of a loved one.  Although these are often personal times of remembrance, sometimes we share national days of historical importance.  Where were you when?