Watched the "American Experience" about JFK and cried again
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
Eugene, Oregon
August 10, 2016 12:15am CST
For the last two nights NPR has shown an incredible documentary about the rise of John Fitzgerald Kennedy from young war hero in WW II to President of the United States. Granted that his father's millions helped him get his start in politics, and continued to help push him to the front of the line in the Democratic party of the 1960s, it was his courage and tenacity that let him achieve the Presidency.
This four hour documentary was so worth watching, through the Cuban Bay of Pigs fiasco to the Cuban missile crisis when he stared down Nikita Khrushchev and barely avoided nuclear war in 1962.
The day he was assassinated was my first day in the United States Army (drafted at age 23) and it is a day that I regret every time I think of it, not because I was in basic training, away from home, but because we, the people of the US and the world, lost a leader of great promise who had proved his mettle.
Watch this wonderful documentary if you get the chance.
9 people like this
8 responses
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
10 Aug 16
I watched the first part of this documentary but missed tonight's showing. I hope they run it again. I wanted to look up Addison's disease to see what the causes and symptoms are but forgot about it until I read your post.
I remember pictures of JFK sitting in a rocking chair and the comments at the time about his suffering with lower back pain. Little did I, or most of America, know what the cause was or how much Kennedy suffered.
I wonder if there's anyone in the country who doesn't remember what they were doing when they heard the news of his assassination. It was the biggest shocker to me of my young life. I didn't believe a President would ever be assassinated in those "modern" times. Now that I've lived through those times and these, which include 911, I pretty much believe anything can happen, from the most horrendous to (I hope) the very best.
JFK's assassination was only the beginning, do you remember? Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, et al. Did you watch the documentary that followed about the Black Panthers?
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
10 Aug 16
Yes, we did watch that one too. 1968 was an awful year with both Bobby and MLK bding gunned down. It is still hard to believe that those three shootings were random.
2 people like this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
10 Aug 16
@JamesHxstatic Yes, it hard to believe, and many people who weren't conspiracy buffs became one in those days.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (91069)
• United States
10 Aug 16
I remember being in high school the day Kennedy was assassinated ....I'll have to see if I can catch this documentary
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
11 Aug 16
It even covers mistakes made like the Bay of Pigs invasion.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
10 Aug 16
I believe I saw this documentary some time ago. I did notice it was on last night but didn't watch it.
2 people like this
@Vivenda (583)
• Portsmouth, England
10 Aug 16
Even over here, my generation tend to have the assassination of President Kennedy as one of their "What were you doing when you heard about...?" moments. I was lying on the carpet in the livingroom, trying to do my homework, with the television on in the background.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
10 Aug 16
I'll keep my eye out for it. Thanks for the heads up!
2 people like this
@simpleliving3251120 (497)
• Manahawkin, New Jersey
11 Aug 16
Where is this movie "The American Experience" available? Is it on Cable or Netflix?
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
11 Aug 16
It was broadcast on Oregon Public Broadcasting, maybe available there or it could be on Netflix maybe.
