JFK assassination: Cronkite informs a shocked nation
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- "As The World Turns" was airing on CBS the afternoon of November 22, 1963, when Walter Cronkite broke in to tell the nation that President Kennedy had been shot. Coverage then went back to the soap opera, but not for long. Charles Osgood reports on how America learned of the shooting of a president.
The famous removal of the glasses and slight crack in his voice as he realized the gravity of the news he was reporting, and then the way he regained composure at the end is remarkable. A true gentlemen and professional.
I feel that it was easily understood why he was considered the most trustworthy newsman of his day!!!
Kevin Simmons-Mead makes me cry every time
Yes well said my man
they were all in on this
Kevin Simmons-Mead he really was....he is the first newsman I remember from my childhood
Cronkite's taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes was the first time I ever saw a TV news person show any emotion about a serious event.
James Vaught yep.
He didn’t wipe his eyes!
That was then but not now. This is a whole new miserable world.
FAKE......
He wouldn't have had it been Nixon.
You can tell that Cronkite almost broke-down when he announced that JFK had died.
+Doy Virginia the emotion was there unlike some news stations nowadays
+Doy Virginia He basically was responsible for telling the nation/whole world that their president has died.
First time I ever saw a TV news person show emotion about a serious event.
He did well to hold it together.
James Vaught p
In his entire professional career, Cronkite only displayed emotion twice: when announcing that Kennedy had died, and when telling the nation that the Apollo 11 Eagle had successfully touched down on the lunar surface.
Very true ! I was blessed to have watched both.
Both were conspiracies carried out by the CIA too.
He was pretty expressive when the Saturn 5 took off during Apollo 4
As I recall, just about the only times he took off his glasses. You know it's serious when Walter takes off his glasses.
Shame considering JFK was a crap president.
That announcement took guts to make. I completely understand his lack of eye contact with the camera while speaking. It's like trying to look someone dead in the eyes and tell them something they would never want to hear. Hats off to Cronkite.
B.L. Alexander. I a kkffef ed u6
Are you a moron?
TF2. Nice seeing you here, brother.
well....that and i dont think he wanted people to see him cry...which i would be sobbing
#FakeNews
Walter was speechless for a moment twice. Do you remember he was overcome with awe briefly when Armstrong stepped on the Moon? I will never forget it.
I was three years old when I remember watching Armstrong stepping off the lunar lander and onto the moon surface!
@@LK-pc4sq I don’t remember things from whe. I was 3
@@thorodinson6649 everyone gains long term memory at different points in time. Memory itself is confusing, like recalling a dream. Possibly this person viewed that scene many times as it was historical and the moment stuck in their brain as a long term memory. You can’t remember the exact age you were when you recall a memory, often times a guess. They might not even be recalling when they first witnessed it just believing that the year was the same. I remember watching breaking bad with my mother when it was first on tv but those were likely reruns of episodes played many times over, not the original taping. Just my perspective your question got me thinking
@Joe Bloggs Zionist, anti Zionist or conspiracy theorist, it all bores me, especially those stories about Stanley Kubrick filming the "fake". If he had, he would have done it on location! 🤣
@@jackblackfan4202 I’ll think on that
The Assassination of JFK was basically the 9/11 event of the 60's, an event so shocking that everyone could still remember where they were when they heard the news.
9/11 was of sake for the entire world though
For Americans, we had worse in Europe ;)
@@florancerudi For stupid.
@@florancerudi There are thousands of Russian scientist that would love to agree with you but they saw the evidence for themselves, that is why they never called the USA out on the moon landings, but go on, you know better.....
@@PeterJPickles you’re a literal chad.
‘If I have lost Cronkite then I’ve lost Middle America.’
- LBJ. What a journalist.
lebron jamss
@@headache1246 the bronze age
@@headache1246 its Lejon Brames
@@ctrainbeats Jichael Mordan
@@micheal5117 LeBronze Jage
You could just tell in his voice when he started to grasp the gravity historical news he was reporting.
He was a friend of the Kennedy family, so he wasn't just reporting on some guy in the White House. He was reporting the death of someone that he knew personally.
I think he was about to cry because of what happened to Kennedy than what you're thinking.
Some would say he had a frog in his throat kermit 😉
@@edwardcricchio6106 Cronkite only one year older than Kennedy.
@@shahrulamar5358yeah and that means?
When Walter Cronkite cried, the whole nation cried with him..I remember that day like it was yesterday, and I'm 63 years old.
Yes it was of a thing no.one will forget of.if.they where alive in.63 ..but it was a setup.
I was in 9th Grade. I'm 73 now. A Day that shocked and saddened us.
Don Clark what do you remember of that date? Were you in school when it happened? If so did someone come into the room and tell you guys? Did you see people cry? I wouldn't know how people reacted because I was born in 89
I was in school when they annonced it. There were some sobs and everybody felt bad. We were sent home early.
@@Gumboz1953 What an incredible time to be alive to have witness this moment.
Cronkite was one of the greatest journalists who ever lived. He cared about honesty and being straightforward with his reporting. He is sorely missed.
Yes, but remember, Ed Bliss wrote most of Cronkite's copy.
He’s not missed at all. He was a propaganda spreader.
@@siobhanryanoleary2816 You can delete comments that you didn't mean to post. To the right of your comment, you can see three dots. You might have to mouse over them to see them. Click on the three dots, and you'll see the options "edit" and "delete." Just select "delete."
@@mattrogers5188
Thank you
@@siobhanryanoleary2816 Welcome 😊
Cronkite would put all the so called "journalists" out of a job now and days
Cronkite was a liar and a shill
@@ofon2000 he must be closely related to my ex-wife!🤷♂️
BOOMER ALERT BOOMER ALERT
Reminder that old heads are not "owed' respect but they must earn it as fairly as everyone else has to!
BOOMER ALERT BOOMER ALERT
@@Doobus_Goodus I'd be willing to bet that your viewpoint on that will conveniently change in a few decades or so.
@@UncleEbenezer77 highly doubt it my ego is not that big
Im sure youll be fine tripping over your own tho
The most trusted man in America...nobody did it better..
i don't even know what you're replying to but damn i cut myself on that edge
Call on someone you know.
Travis Bickle this was not a good man. Proof > th-cam.com/video/w2isCEoEmN8/w-d-xo.html
Travis Bickle do your research before you comment idiot
The Guitar Progress Channel that's a lie and you know it
Walter Cronkite was the ultimate professional. He is an example of how to perform under pressure and to do it superbly. He delivered the most awful news in a graceful way, but you could tell he was terribly upset.
Walter Cronkite was a true professional during those horrible days, although he was truly upset. He knew that his job came first.
We had ultimate professionals too who kept their composure while covering the 9/11 attacks
He also reported live from Hue in the Vietnam War while they were sorrounded by the NVA and Vietcong. Truly Impressive Journalist.
Sadly, Walter Cronkite wouldn’t be able to get a job today
@Cardinal Red You are absolutely right.
Cronkite was struggling to keep himself composed.I will never forget this day, was a terrible time.
@Debra Rowlands: What else do you remember about November 22, 1963...
Then about 4 years later the Detroit riot happened
I was 13 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated terrible event in the entire world I can remember my dad telling me about if they move Oswell not to do it and I told my dad I don't think he did it I remember the conversation I had with my father when I was 13 years old my father asked me simple how do you think can he didn't do it I said it just too much detail I don't believe he did and to this day I don't I believe there was four Shooters in 11 shots were fired after watching the movie JFK that was a terrible event in this country and truthfully I don't think we've ever recovered from it one President Kennedy was our last true Democrat we have not had one since unfortunate
@@aldixon1977 Aldous Huxley and C.S. Lewis died the same day... I was a 1st grader, remember the principal releasing us to go home - some moms came to pick up kids - it was just after lunch in Idaho... I learned the other deaths when I was in HS.
@@aldixon1977 it was Friday. 😃😃😃
Love how he retains his news anchor tone while telling the nation "the nation's most important figure has been murdered"
If you watch closely, he did swallow very hard and took the glasses off after he told us the flash was official. Plus his voice cracked as he told the whereabouts of Vice President, Lyndon Johnson.
@@edwardcricchio6106 you ever heard well I think you may of a shawnee chief name tecumseh, its said that he resisted william Harrison who was attempting to force the shawnee from off their land🏹tecumseh had a brother tenkskwatwa, its said he predicted events including a solar eclipse ☀️🌑,well later harrison attacked a place called prophets town in indiana where tecumseh and all the other tribes had come together to resist Harrison,tecumseh wasnt there his brother was,its said his brother believed he had power to stop them from being hit by Harrison's bullets 💥,but this proved not the case as Harrison chased the shawnee off prophets town at the tippecanoe river,tecumseh had told his brother not to agitate Harrison when he was marching to prophets town but one of the indians became impatient, and as Harrison was marching there they attacked Harrison's camp and where driven back Harrison,harrison became ruthless for vengeance and totally destroyed 💥💥prophets town even going as far as to desecrating the graves of the shawnee tribe,after this event tecumseh resisted Harrison in the war of 1812,and was killed in battle🏹💥at the Thames river,its said that after Harrison's victory ,tecumseh s brother tenkskwatwa, placed a curse on Harrison saying he will become great chief but will die soon after and every 20years the lives of the great chief will be cut short to remember the death of my people "well if you check this out Harrison was elected 1840 1841 he was sworn in exactly a month later he died in office of a serious illness, then abelincoln who manage to end slavery and preserve the union elected on 1860 💥assassinated in 65,james a Garfield made president in 1880💥assassinated at a rail way station 1900 william kinley 💥assassinated, 1920 warren harding died of a heart attack 💥in 23 FDR relolected in 1940 died in office in 45,then the famous president this video is on JFK 1960 💥sundown in Dallas 63 next ronald reagen 1980 💥attempted assassination in 81,but miraculously survived, this 😱😱creeeeeeepy pattern realy has a track record,it became known as the curse of tippecanoe, boy is that realy something edward🙄,boy what a story
@@matthewsainsbury2367 yes, I know the story. Taught US history for 30 years. Be a real crime if I didn't know.
The United States president is the worlds most important figure
It's soulless.
Powerful moment. A newsman at his best.
Steven Hamburg televising Vietnam Undermining and under cutting the efforts of the Marines was certainly one of his worst moments
And he doesn’t even think he did anything wrong by saying now we know the war in Vietnam cannot be one or like guarantee you the North Vietnamese slept pretty well that night
Nah, his best was voicing the owl statue in bohemian grove
Lmao Terrible journalism pretebding to be upset award winning actors
@@closed7234 ?
@@RobTheNotary how can you blame him lol? He was there in Vietnam and it was pretty obvious that America was not winning the war and that Johnson was lying through his teeth
I was too young to realize what happened, but watching Mr. Cronkites reaction is historical. He was just reporting the news, then it hit him what he was saying, and ever the consummate professional, he was able to maintain his composure to finish his report. You can tell he was wanting to shed a tear. 😢
That's what you would think until you see his true colors here. th-cam.com/video/w2isCEoEmN8/w-d-xo.html He too was a Bankster puppet and shill for the New World Order. In the video he freely admitted it.
It was the same when Jules Bergman was reporting on the Apollo 1 fire, his voice was cracking but he held it together to deliver the sad news
Cronkite wasn't a fan of kenedeys so no wonder he didn't cry like the rest of his followers did.
I was home for lunch, we lived across the street from my elementary school, and I ran back to school and told the teacher in the cafeteria. She went up and down the Halls knocking on class room doors to let other teachers know. I had office duty and was able to hear the news and also got the flags and other things ready for the boys to lower the Flag when announced. I have seen all the sites and my sister many years ago was in the same hospital in Dallas, the operating room is the same and is sealed off. I later met another of the surgeons, Dr. Red Duke, one year when I was in Houston. All the sites are worth visiting.
Like I said above, our principal told us and I could tell he wanted to cry, and my third grade teacher, who was pretty far along in her pregnancy, kind of clutched at herself and looked so stricken
My mother was watching As the World Turns and I was sitting on her lap in the rocking chair when this aired. My mother started getting teary-eyed and I didn't understand until she explained it to me. They sent everyone home from school on that day. I had just turned 5 years old 17 days before. When I got older I realized that I share the same birthday as Walter Cronkite.
Who were the two people in that clip from As the World Turns ?
I was exactly 13 months old. This is the very first memory I have too. I remember my mother's reaction to hearing the news. Don't believe people when they say you can't remember things that far back in your life - you can. I can describe that day perfectly and my mom confirmed everything. I didn't know what the "event" was that triggered it, not until I was much older in life. I just remember her reaction - she jumped up and I slid off her lap (just a few feet), she grabbed her mouth and stomach and staggered towards the television a few steps. I was crying, which must be what snapped her out of it. I know now, that she was in shock when she came back to pick me up. It strange, the things you remember. Like your mother, my mom never missed "her stories" on CBS. We always watched ATWT and Guiding Light.
@@victoriamundae2570 I think everything that ever happens to us is stored in our memory somewhere. I remember this coming up on the TV over here in England, I was a bit older than you though. This happened the day before my 9th birthday and I was 67 two days ago ! Where did all that time go? I've now got three grown up kids and five grandchildren but that TV news seems like yesterday.
@@andyelliott8027 Well, that's Nancy Hughes, of course! She was the Phoebe Wallingford of her day!
@@andyelliott8027 Happy birthday. Indeed, where DOES the time go!
The difference in quality of reporting the news between then and now is a true tragedy.
It’s like a different world back then. Crazy. THIS is news.
@@nas84payne These were proper newsreaders, people that millions of people relied on every day. I know in 1963, there was no cable or sateliite and no dedicated news channels, but somehow the standard of presentation was far better. We have a rolling BBC News service over here that is repetitive, dumbed down and the newsreaders often look bored.
Watch PBS News Hour or something else from them if you want it back. No ”wow this is so shocking” with rolling text at the bottom at every turn. Just to the point, informative news.
What are you talking about? David Murr and Lester Holt are top notch and very professional just like he was.
@@frankgallagher7478they are awful
I was in the 2nd grade when this happened The principal walked in the classroom, had a brief whispering conversation with the teacher and then left. She broke down in front of the entire class sobbing. I never forgot that. I doubt that would happen today.
hey do u still have ur teenage clothes from that date ??
hey do u still have ur teenage clothes from that date ??
+Gerryb6 It still does happen today. I was in 7th grade when 9/11 happened and it went down very similar. Principal stepped in, whispered something to the teacher, teach broke down crying. None of us knew what to do. It wasn't until the teacher asked us to step outside for a minute while I assume she composed herself and set up the television that we figured out something bad had happened. My teachers spent the remainder of the day explaining to us the severity of what was happening and that it will forever change our lives and the world we live in.
It's kind of amazing to think about, that these teachers knew that this kind of event would change the world for us kids at the time. It's even crazier to think that I have friends that died in the middle east, years later, fighting the war ultimately sparked by that event.
I can't imagine what people felt during Kennedy's assassination, but I can relate to it through different events.
+Black Messiah You say "impossible" lmao get cancer scrub
That is so sad :c
I don't know how he kept his composure. There's no way I would have been able to make that announcement.
trixen same here.
Because nobody was shot. Mainstream Media fake news.
It was his job, that's how. He's a professional paid to report the news - any news - in a straightforward, unbiased, disinterested manner, and he did exactly that. It's a shame we don't really have that sort of reporter anymore.
trixen there’s no way you could say anything significant.
Walter Cronkite was a man of steel, with unquestionable professionalism
I remember when the principal announced over the speakers JFK was dead. We all wept.
BuckGreywolfe: Are you certain you were off from school? According to the almanac, Thanksgiving Day was on November 28 that year, which was the following week. You are correct about the assassination taking place on a Friday.
That must have been one somber Thanksgiving in 1963.
jonathan k80, you must be fun at parties
@Anne Liesveld what a weird way to spell weird
I was born 11 years later but on the anniversary of his death every year I cry and why? He was one of the best presidents this country ever had
@Stale Bagelz -Exactly. There is way too much division,cynicism now. When you go from JFK to some of the crooks we've had in there...the office doesn't command near the respect up to JFK's death.
I was in sixth grade in 1963, remembered this like yesterday. The teachers were in the hallway crying.
How are you doing? Hope you live long :)
Surprising people cared about a president that much.
@@jaredf6205 People definitely care about presidents a lot but his death represented something a lot more. It was a huge cultural impact. A 46 year old man losing his life is already shocking but add just how publicly violent the assassination was. People felt insecure and uncertain.
You should look up “JFK television president.” It’ll give you an idea of just how involved the American public was with JFK and how he was the first president to ever experience this much media coverage. His presence held a new and much bigger impact to Americans than previous presidents. American’s reactions also involved the social climate at the time, in relation to violence and the civil rights movement. His death probably felt like a blow to social change.
@@myoona648 Very well said, a student of history by chance? :)
Yeah, because they realized they couldn’t lie to you about the moon being made of cheese anymore
It took a lot of guts to make that announcement, and Walter Cronkite was the man for it; you can also see his emotional side as well.Very sad time for this country.
Guts? To announce the death of your president? I truly don't get it.
Such a responsibility to our nation...
Cannot imagine what Cronkite must have been going through as he had to announce this to a nation.
Yeah must have been tough…I wonder what JFK was thinking when Cronkite was going through this.
Jesus…you dolt.
.
probably was thinking, when do i get paid
JFK was one of the most beloved Presidents in American history. I imagine he had a hard time accepting it.
Cronkite was blessing with a long life. He live much longer than Kennedy.
As a child my grandmother always spoke of how she remembered where she was and what she was doing when this was announced..
A few years later I understood that when 9/11 happened...
And now, I'll always remember where I was when I watched people storm the Capitol on live television
@@leonardorestrepo5196
Yeah cause that's totally comparable to JFK & 9/11 LMAO shut up and just stop with the BS already.
Yeah, I will never forget that day. I could see the NYC skyline. I didn’t see them fall, but did see them when they had plumes of smoke. Our school took us out to the courtyard to see them. So many teachers/kids crying. One of my friend’s dad worked at the towers (he was fine) and he was a mess. I grabbed the door handle to reenter the school and there was suddenly gasping and yelling it fell. I couldn’t believe it. I only believed it when I saw the video footage of it some time later while passing by one of the teacher’s lounge and taking a sneak peak at the tv. My dad had taken my sister and I to the top of one of the towers 4 weeks prior. I still have the picture (dated) and the penny press coin I got from there.
@@leonardorestrepo5196 not comparable
@@balls4992 first time in more than 200 years that an aggressive force occupied the Capitol, only time in history that the confederate flag was flewn inside, and with Gallows erected on the national mall. Gotta say, it feels a little bit similar to the beer hall putsch in terms of political importance
A shining example of what journalism used to be and should be. Today's news anchors are a humilation upon the field of journalism.
Predicted by _Network_ and _Broadcast News_
I remember my grandfather telling me how he found out: he worked for IBM and on that day he called up his boss to remind him what time a report was due and his boss just said "Go home, the president's been shot." And then hung up.
That really conveyed to me the state of shock the nation must have been in when it happened. I obviously already knew that it shocked and traumatized the country, but that story made it real for me.
Wow. I can’t imagine a day like this. I was just a baby when 9/11 happened. Thanks for sharing your grandfathers story
If it were to happen today, I am fairly certain that bosses will expect people to keep on working, especially retail and recreation.
And people say capitalism aint that bad anymore.
@@Predated2 Oh you mean when George Floyd died and people went on a shopping spree looting everything in sight?
@@nothde9865 I mean, that's not really capitalism, that's vandalism and stealing.
But after the Capitol was stormed. Lots of stores nearby were still open.
@@Predated2 No, I mean you wanted an example of some national incident which retail doesn't go to work, that's one of them. The only people that died in the capitol were the ones going into it, no politicians were hurt. Are you comparing JFK being assassinated to that?
Greatest news man ever. You could trust his fairness, honesty, and integrity.
In the modern day it's difficult to imagine how impartial and how trusted he was. Republicans and Democrats, Americans and many even non Americans considered him an honest and trustworthy journalist. I've heard stories of communists, Islamic fundamentalists, and similar groups who'd normally dislike or distrusts americans respecting a few americans like Cronkite. Nowadays you'll even Democrats or Republicans rarely trust even reporters who align with their party and their biases, much less members of the opposing party and there is no such thing as "impartial" anymore with both sides distrusting anyone who doesnt explicitly siding with and supporting 1 party. Cronkite was one of the last members of a dying breed: the honest and trustworthy journalist. Now all we have is actors, comedians, and entertainers pretending to be reporters and the world is worse off for the loss of men like him.
Without honesty and integrity a man has nothing
@Shannon Fields - in 1964, a conservative man by the name of Paul Simpson complained to the the major news stations about what he felt was the liberal & biased coverage of the JFK Assassination (he thought they talked about the 'conservative atmosphere' of Dallas too much), CBS about Cronkite's biased coverage of Barry Goldwater's campaign (whom Cronkite hated & was a known liberal), and the news overall promoted anti-war sentiment, drugs, etc. Simpson was in NYC & found out that the national news stations (CBS, ABC, & NBC) only saved the broadcast for 2 weeks because of expense. So on August 5, 1968 he started taping the nightly national broadcasts and overtime it became the Vanderbilt Television News Archive. There's much more to this story but you can research it yourself. Especially in 1968 when Cronkite told the nation that Vietnam was basically unwinnable. You take care 🙂
It's a shame that things are so different today
What a man. You can tell he’s absolutely devastated, but he pushes all that aside, puts his head down, and goes to work.
That day was the turning point for the United States of America. We were never the same after that.
I’m from Missouri, and in elementary, 4th grade we had “Missouri Day” where we would dress up and recreate and impersonate famous Missourians. I was chosen by the teacher to be Walter. I was 9 or 10 years old and dressed up in a suit and made this exact speech in front of the class. The teachers loved it.
That sounds cool, I had to do the same thing in Missouri as well.
The event that defined my generation. In those days, people of both parties mourned the President's assassination. People had political differences, but they didn't hate each other.
+Tony Siciliano Oh yeah. No one hated each other in the 1960s. Everyone got along perfectly fine, especially people of different racial backgrounds in the South!
+Austin Bruno shut up with your negativity!
yes, I wish id have come to age in the 60s.. kinda.
Austin Bruno...Hey Austin, I believe America has turned the page on racism. The only ones that still want to rehash racism is the socialist party (aka, democrat party) particularly around election time. It's time move on. Most of America has.
I would have loved to live at that time in the US, I always hear it was good.
Realbillball President Kennedy was a personal friend of his, if I remember correctly. Can you imagine having to go before the entire nation and announce that your friend had been killed...and yet still having to keep your cool in the process? I can't even imagine having to do such a thing! There's no way I could remain as composed as Walter Cronkite forced himself to be.
I have nothing to add to that, mate.
Hallie Harker His restrained emotion is what makes this clip as touching and as well known as it is.
Els Verwilgen I agree. I don't think I'd be able to do it, though, if I had to announce that my friend had just been killed. I'd be a mess!
Hallie Harker
I think he was a mess, right after he read this. He didn't really know he'd have to announce his friend was dead, it's not something he had time to realise. He found out he was dead right there and then, when he read out the telex someone pushed in front of him.
"38 minutes ago,"....that's where he stops and pushes back the wave of sadness and as he continues he chokes on the word, "vice," before forcing a business tone and he probably knew he just needed to get through that last line and they would be able to cut to details and interviews
Watching him struggle to keep composure is so emotionally powerful to me. That's still in a time period where men can't cry, especially on live television. Holy cow.
I remember that day. I was in second grade. 😢 My teacher was crying. The bus driver was crying. Everyone was crying. We didn't know why.
I still don't know why. Some dude they never met died? It happens every day.
@@Codyiscool28 no, I'm entirely serious, I really don't understand that level of emotional response to a total stranger dying. Close family, sure, but someone you've never had contact with? Nope, don't get it.
@@jongustavsson5874 It's called being human. Just because you lack empathy doesn't mean the rest of the world is wrong.
@@anncokafor I have empathy, it's reserved for people I know deserve it though. And when exactly did "I don't understand" become a synonym for "you're wrong"?
@@jongustavsson5874 I remember that day too However Robert Kennedy Jr on youtube states his Uncle John and Father Robert were killed with out a doubt by the CIA
The hardest report he ever had to do.
Unfortunately, that's the way it was, Friday, November 22, 1963... 😢
Luckily, he got to report on Kennedys prime achievment. Landing on the moon
Aaron Handy III report?
I will never forget this as long as I live. We were in school and the principle went from room to room telling the teachers about the death of JFK.....all the teachers and staff were crying and we were sent home early. Walter Cronkite broke my heart with this announcement.
We came in from afterlunch recess, 4th grade, and knew something was wrong by the way the teachers were so subdued. We listened on the radio over the PA in our classroom and after the announcement of his death they turned radio off and we all said the rosary (Catholic school). They let us go home early. My mom and Mrs Cox from across street were in the den watching TV. Mom had brought out the cocktail cart which was unheard of at that hour and they each had a mostly untouched drink on the coffee table. Knew almost nothing of politics but I knew we were Republicans. Still mom was crying. Country wasn't nearly as partisan then. World turned upside down.
@@mikegalvin9801 yes...I never saw my parents cry but they both did that day. It scared me.....and our TV was on non stop throughout the weekend until after the funeral. It was a National day of mourning...we watched it all on TV....I still get teary eyed when I see a pic or clip of it.
@Rik Mehta what does Trump have to do with Walter Cronkite reporting on the assassination of JFK?
@@gailwebb9619 They must have removed the comment because it's gone but let me give you an answer. Absolutely nothing.
@@DaesomstTWO i just looked at the thread and you are right...the comment seems to have been removed. Glad to see that.
Exactly 60 years ago today JFK was assassinated, 22 Nov 1963. This news report by Walter Cronkite is one of the most professional, respectful yet deeply touching show of loss I have ever seen by a TV journalist. I felt his heart and hopes sink like I was there every time I’ve caught it over the years and I’m not even American, I’m English. It’s more moving than when BBC reported the death of Princess of Wales when she was killed in a car accident in 1997.
Thank you for remembering and taking note of this sad day in American history.
I remember exactly where I was at that moment. We had an early dismissal from school for a teacher inservice day. I was at home with my mother. When the first announcement came through, she said, “He’s dead and they’re not telling us yet.” I had tried to call a friend. You couldn’t get a dial tone, the phones were jammed with so many calls.
It's called a "significant emotional event." The MLK assassination, the JFK assassination, the Apollo 11 moon landing, and 9/11 are the ones I remember from my lifetime. I remember my dad saying--after 9/11--"This is your Pearl Harbor."
Will never forget this either. Watched in real time when he made the announcement -- taking off those glasses, looking up at the clock or maybe looking up to try to prevent the tears and not be obvious that he couldn’t hold them back and saying those words to us that our beloved President was dead. I remember it verbatim -- every single and minute gesture that he made in dealing with making that announcement. I was 10 years old. All blissful childhood ignorance vanished when Walter Cronkite said those words. The words, his face, his mannerism, gestures -- the look on his face, his eyes trying to hold back the tears but remaining professional is emblazoned in my brain. Forever.
We lived across the street from my grade school and I would walk home for lunch. The news about the shooting of Kennedy came on TV I ran back to school and told my teacher, she was in the cafeteria. She started going to each classroom and telling the teachers. I worked in the school office and when the news that Kennedy died I got out the things to lower the flag. My sister was years later in the same hospital in Dallas. The door to the operating room is sealed off. I have visited the grave site a few times. I met the Surgeon Dr. Red Duke in Houston a few years later.
@Alma M: We lived through the history of that very tragic and horrible event. Something we will never forget. - and I do not believe that the truth about the entire thing has been revealed still.
Alma M
She just took your word for it and spreading the word from an 8 year old room to room?
You can tell how shocked and messed up Cronkite was just by the way his voice shook at the end of the announcement. Chilling.
How he kept his composure, wow. Mad respect. This hurts to watch, but is a must see.
I wasn’t alive during this time so I can’t imagine the shock of hearing this news. Like if today I heard that a President was assassinated I would be speechless 😶
if were talking about trump than yea
People ask DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE WHEN YOU GOT THE NEWS? And I do. I can remember exactly where I was at work. We were all completely shocked. And if you look at old footage of the funeral procession people of all races and colors were lined up shoulder to shoulder on the street crying as his body went by. It was a sad time in our history. And it didn’t matter if you were democrat or republican. Everybody wept. ❤️🇺🇸😢
@@main1411 nobody knows what you’re saying
@@deee5520 I can relate to that when Kobe Bryant passed away because he was a big inspiration in my life so I can just imagine if it was a President
@@bigv7386 Yes and that was a shock too. And heartbreaking. I’m not a sports fan but seeing a young life like his taken so young is really sad. I’m 84 so it’s expected one of these days but when you are in the prime of your life 😢. And Kobe just like Kennedy had so much to live for. I’ve lost 2 sons. One a baby and one in his early 40’s. It’s heartbreaking. So live each day to its fullest and thank God for it and love those you care for. ❤️Dee*
I was 18 yrs old when this happened. I remember seeing this broadcast. My Mom and I sat there and cried. I still cry. It was so tragic.
I choked tears as I took in his rapid-blinking eyes and constricted voice. That's how strongly his repressed emotions are conveyed.
My palms are sweating from watching this. This man held some of the most important information in US history, delivered it to us live with no opportunity to process it for himself, and never got more upset than to take his glasses off and sigh
It’s crazy how quickly this topic taught in school and then moved on from. This is probably one of, if not the most crazy thing to happen in American history.
Other Presidents were also assassinated...
Very true
@@Sam-ey1nn the most recent prior to JFK was McKinley in 1901, prior to the invention of TV and in fact most people alive at the time of JFK's death would not have been alive for McKinley. JFK was also pretty beloved, it'd be like if somebody assassinated Obama...
Really?
....
What about slavery?
The assassination of John Lennon...enough said
This man must be spinning wherever he’s at, with the way the 24/7 cable news networks deliver the news today.
Agreed. Journalism today is a shameful mockery of what should be a commitment to truth and impartiality. Mr. Cronkite would be disgusted and absolutely speechless if he saw it.
@@mariapopovici4467 But that depends solely on the journalist.
He’s dead
@@GodVanisher That's true, but as a whole, journalistic integrity has gone out the window. There are still good journalists here and there, but they are not the norm.
@@rustynail3630 there's no news in fox news.. a company where their "journalists" justify lying by calling their shows "entertainment"
I remember it as clear as day. I was in first grade at home and watch both of my parents cry, cry their hearts out. It was a truly sad day for all Americans.
As a five years old Dutch guy (born & raised in The Netherlands) I remember that my mother was crying when she heard the news. The assassination shocked the whole world... About 50 years later I was standing next to the X-mark in Dallas and I remembered my Ma crying...
This man was actually sad, most people today have a big smile on their face while reporting sad news and then going on to the next topic
both Kennedy's killed by CIA this is also on youtube R Kennedy Jr.
@@PeachesCourage actually more more evidence is pointing towards Soviet Union and Castro for Jack. And I personally think Bobby was done by the mafia.
In what way? The evidence is far more convincing that the CIA orchestrated it
@@peabody573 look up the fact that Oswald was meeting with Russian and Cuban officials in October of 1963, one month before the assassination. Their expert their field of expertise was assassination
@@randomtraveler9854 I’m no expert in the JFK assassination but just because he was in contact with the soviets doesn’t mean that they ordered it. I don’t see much reason for the soviets to want JFK dead, he’s just another US president. It’s not like they are going to get any sort of advantage with JFK gone. Oswald was probably acting alone.
You can just tell by his overall expressions that he is shocked and realizes the whole world is watching him
The whole of the USA... not the whole of the world
@@timothydavidkemp9236 agreed.
@@timothydavidkemp9236 actually no this was broadcasted worldwide just like princess Diana's death
@@duckfanatic that still doesn't mean that "the whole world was watching him", you overestimate how much non-american people care about the usa
@@duckfanatic The average family worldwide did not have a TV then and those that did didn't speak or spoke very little English. It most likely only really got broadcasted to USA and UK at the time.
I was in 6th grade. My mom was planting a tree when the news came over the TV (my mom was a huge tree planter) and a neighbor rushed over to tell her. She just shoveled in some dirt and didn't really finish the job properly and ran in the house to watch TV. That tree is still there and it grew at a crooked angle because she didn't plant it straight. I'll bet the people who live in our old house now have no idea why that tree is like that.
I remember my mom and dad in tears. I was 4 yrs old. Biggest memory was the funeral march and me asking my mom what the little boy (John John) was doing. He was saluting his father's casket as it went by.
My parents were afraid of what was going to happen to our country. An enormously scary time in history.
american history*
@@meyagueamerican history is still history lol
@@Sputterbug ameddican histoddy ith sthill histoddy
The way he kept it together was incredible to watch. True professionalism through and through.
As a Brit I'm only vaguely aware of Cronkite, mostly through his voice. But I have to say how impressed I am with his delivery here. There are plenty of visual clues that he is uneasy but his voice only briefly breaks with emotion. Great talent!
At 1:19 you can tell he's holding back tears
jack lind Christ, i would have forgiven him if he did.
th-cam.com/video/PZcJ3fqjTaw/w-d-xo.html
Jack Finlander yea he was fighting that but even he knows its too much to bear bc the world just faced a major tragedy
He was a class act.
@Marque Markofthebeast have you seen the video? What about the people who whitnessed it
I remember that I was 8 years old and all the adults around us children were crying, standing in front of the television in shock. I do remember Mr. Cronkite and although I did not understand how brave he was on that day, in years to come I would understand. He is sorely missed. Today's news is a soap opera and the reporters are actors.
1:15 That moment when an entire nation's heart was broken.
I doubt that those that hated him had a broken heart.
@@vcvortex6356 Yeah he spoked out against the system he was probably one of the only and last best president. The presidents after him sold our country for money we’re crippling debt because of it.
@@braxtonjones6163 Yep. That's why they killed him. We can't be having a compassionate President that wants us regular folks to succeed. That's not good for those "in charge". That's why they killed Bobby Kennedy too. He was too much like John, and was about to win.
@@vcvortex6356 JFK even supported The independence of Indochina against the French. Truly a man of his time, one day the new world order will collapse.
@@vcvortex6356 They probably didn't have hearts!
This was my first time seeing this. Seeing him start to choke up and hearing those words that he died, even though all of this happened 30 years before I was even born, this just made my heart sink. My mom told me how my grandparents were so heartbroken and she even felt sad, and she was only 8 at the time.
I was a three year old in South Africa at the time and we didnt have TV either. But seeing this now for the first time too sent a chill down my spine. Also, we were all Americans back then and there was decorum and respect in the new delivery industry.
People were scared when they found out Oswald had been to Russia and was sympathetic to Cuba. They thought sure Russian Nukes were on the way.
Damn! His beautiful voice!
He was , understandably, the most trusted man in America.
He earned all of that trust. What an incredible man...
Very interesting. We live in Belgium and my mother did tell the story about how her uncle came home and told the news, everyone was in shock. You have to consider that in 1963, America was the Greatest Nation on earth for people back then, and to have a president killed there, they simple couldn't understand here in Europe
Walter Cronkite was a real human. Something that's severely lacking in many people today.RIP JFK & WC.
He was also a communist and admitted so upon retirement.
SO WHAT!
you are the reason the country is screwed.
FU loser!
If you think communism is so great why not move to Cuber?
His greatness will never be matched in the realm of television journalism.
I will never forget that moment. It is seared into my memory. I was 11 years old.
I remember sitting in my fifth grade classroom when someone came into the room and whispered something in our teacher's ear. Our teacher broke down and sobbed. When she was able to control her emotions, she told the class to "go home." On the way home, I saw people on the street crying and holding each other. Others walked with a blank stare on their faces. I remember walking into the house and seeing my mother crying.
with us it was about 2 pm in 4th grade a note was passed from room to room by a kid messenger no PA system Mrs Petersen started sobbing put her head on desk composed herself then we wee let out early of school
I was in 7th grade and this came over the intercom. All of the teachers ran into the hallway and started crying and shaking. We were sent home early that day. Once home ,upset as I was, I could see that my parents were shattered. Everyone was. I'll never forget that awful, collective sadness. The USA changed that day.
I remember I was at work & ran into the bathroom sobbing & being embarrassed as to why I was crying over someone I didn’t even know. But to this day it’s still brings tears when I think that this country will never be the same again. We lost our innocence on that day.
I knew a friend of my Dad's who remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was her birthday and she was handing out candies to everyone in her class. The principal came into the room and told everyone they had to go home. She thought the principal was being nice that day, but when she got home, she saw her Dad screaming at the TV in shocked horror with Cronkite's broadcast on the screen.
My grandmother's birthday was a few days later so she spent it watching JFK's funeral.
When journalism had integrity,
when everything had integrity
Now we have Stephen A Smith & Skip Bayless on American TV airwaves that’s scary isn’t it???? Lol
There are journalists today with as much integrity as Cronkite. Half of the nation just doesn't trust them anymore.
@@patrickgray5633 max kellerman
Trust of our own fate
I was in gym class at Wilmington Jr. High, CA. , 13 years old in 8th Grade. The coaches gathered all the gym classes to sit down and said important news was coming. The Principal Dr. Barnes spoke over the school speaker system. It was hard to hear out on the school yard. Then when we were showering the news came over the loud speakers very clearl;y that Presdent Kennedy was dead. One of the worst days of my life. Teacher's didn't do any teaching the rest of the periods that day. Most teachers just talked to us in sad tones, then told us to read quietly. I went back to my Jr. High on the 50th Anniversary, went out sat down on the field exactly where I heard the news 50 years earlier while in gym class.
Only time I ever seen my dad cry.
I wasn’t even born but that was gut wrenching to watch. How he regained his composure was remarkable rest in peace Mr. Cronkite
It's the first time I'm seeing this. Incredible. You can still feel the waves of emotion and shock even decades later.
I was watching this around an hour ago not knowing trump suffered an assassination attempt
Wow that is crazy!!
I have never seen this clip before. My father told me he remembered exactly where he was when he heard the devastating news. He was a freshman in high school, and the principal announced it over the PA system. He remembers being so shocked, and scared. Such a terrible day for America.
It is “breaking news” like this one, that has made it impossible for me to watch the news. Too much tragedy, with no escape route.
This announcement was very tough, but Walter Cronkite and the rest of the media had to do their job and report this to the world, this was a very sad day for everyone.
I still have to catch my breath at this
announcement, so many years later...
For anyone who was alive that day, & was old enough to recall it, November 22, 1963 will never be forgotten. That day time froze, & the entire nation can recall exactly where they were, what they were doing, & the horror of the news when we learned of it! Walter Cronkite was America's newsman, he was the pulse of a nation! Like Vin Scully to sports, Cronkite was that important to world events! God do we miss him
ding, ding, ding, WINNER AND AN ATTABOY AWARD, just got back from lunch at home, you know when kids actually went home for lunch, came back on playground ROBBINSDALE ELEMENTARY, Rapid City, SD, friend named Dunbar ran up to me and said JFK just got shot, by the time we got to the building all the teachers were all in one room tv on and yup Cronkite reporting ,some teachers sobbing quietly others could see shock and blank stares, and still vivid today even though I was only 7 then
@@nlb4697I was 6 and after 60 years it's all pretty sketchy. I think that at such a tender age you haven't yet developed a strong memory function, or at least I hadn't. I do remember, not so much a sight but a sound, my father shouting to my mother: "C'mere! Quick! Someone just shot that guy!" (Oswald). I think at that moment, I was in the bathroom, standing at the sink, when I heard it.
I too was in school that day, first grade; someone knocked on the door, our principal, though we didn't know that at the time. He told our teacher, who returned to the classroom and told us, but I can't see her face anymore or remember her words; that is, how she worded the terrible news. Those things *should* be memorable, I suppose, but they've faded away, and sometimes I think they started to fade away within days of the event.
Watching the funeral on TV, none of which I remember, I do remember the sound of the drums, just repeating that same rhythm over and over. I guess something like that is going to stick.
That is one moment to remember. Nobody, I think, could give the world the bad news in a more dignified way than Cronkite. He is struggling, but even a professional like him couldn't say those words as if he was announcing the weather forecast.
I saw this live and remember it vividly to this day.
I will never forget this day, I was in 4th grade and someone came in and whispered in my teachers ear, she closed her eyes and lowered her head....sad time in America
Imagine if it happened today, there would video clips posted within minutes, and everybody would know pretty much instantly.
Well
@@herrforesight-Satanisking Yep well when I posted that I didn't think I would have my answer in five days. Strange world.
Having grown up and been raised my entire life in Dallas, it is still surreal to me that such a tragic and historic event took place here. I am humbled everytime I drive through old Dealy Plaza and down Elm Street, to just think of what happened all those years ago at that exact spot.
This sent shivers down my spine
I can’t fathom the feelings Walter felt this moment and being the person to break the news had to lay heavily with him for the rest of his life. I mean, can you imagine what that must have been like? It all probably went so fast, yet felt so still and unreal.
YOU KNOW WHY YOU ARE HERE
Cronkite aka Walt Disney aka Adolf Hitler aka kermit roosevelt aka moshe sharret was the witch performing the mass mind control on the population. Cronkite was Joe Kennedy Sr's brother
Of course I do!
@@BrookeEvangelineWinter did you find out that walter cronkite was adolf hitler aka walt disney aka kermit roosevelt aka moshe sharet ska kurt kiesinger ?
A true newsman, and professional. He held the weight of the world as he delivered the terrible and horrific news.
I remember that moment very well, even though I was a small child then...everyone everywhere seemed so sad every where you would go for quite a long time. I remember Walter Cronkite saying those words, one of the saddest days in the history of the United States of America. 🇺🇲
I know from experience that once your voice breaks it's almost impossible to hold back the tears at that point. Usually that's the moment it all goes south but not with Walt. Stone cold reporting.
I so remember this moment and it still moves me to tears.
Not one national news channel has a reporter with 1/10 the skills or professionalism of Cronkite. A true legend!
The reason for the delay before they started televised coverage was that the cameras they used back then were quite complicated and required a significant warm up period.
It wasn’t so much that they were complicated (especially black and white ones)... rather, the output tended to be unstable for a while. Moreover, the pickup tubes had limited life and were expensive, so it was normal to shut them down. The assassination changed that.
I was nine years old when this happened. It is still emotional to watch it, 57 years later.
I am 66 joe also 9 years old then but from australia my father told us that night he cried i had never seen him cry before.
I was almost 12 Robert Kennedy Jr youtube states his Uncle and Father killed by the CIA with definite proof
@@alanwebb9644 both Kennedy's killed by CIA
Im only 16, and watching this makes me feel like I was there, Truly heart-wrenching.
I felt that old familiar pain strike my heart once again, when I saw this news flash. And the tears fall down…
Cronkite was only 47 then, he looked far older.
It was the weight and heavy glasses.
@edward smith: Cronkite looked at least 65 years old...
True - there was only a six month age difference between himself and JFK.
People smoked and drank alcohol a lot more in those days. Exercise wasn't a common activity like it is today.
A year older than JFK.
I truly miss the days when the news was delivered without an agenda and you could not tell the political leanings of a news anchor. Cronkite was one of those esteemed men. He cared and had integrity. I sure do miss that time….
Yes , well I believe that was the time before our country was so divided . Before left and right despised each other.
Cronkite later said he felt like he let the country down on this occasion by allowing himself even that much emotion. How the times have changed, huh?
He getting emotional was justified.
Cronkite did not let the country down; he did what he had to do and was magnificent...he showed some emotion and quickly regained his composure...