Where Were You the Day Kennedy Was Assassinated?

“Su Presidente Kennedy ha sido asesinado. Estaba en Texas"

On Friday, November 22, 1963, Bob Bergstrom and I went to work as usual at the Industrial University of Santander (La Universidad Industrial de Santander — UIS) in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Our Peace Corps assignment there was to develop a program of physical education classes that would be required of all students — most of them engineering majors. It had never been done at UIS nor, to my knowledge, at other universities in Colombia.

Jim Brown coached high school and college teams in Bucaramanga, played on Colombia IV’s touring basketball team, and conducted teacher training clinics throughout the country.

We both taught a full load — two or three classes in the morning; one or two in the afternoon. I was teaching an early afternoon basketball activity course (that day on rules) in a first floor classroom. The windows were open. About 30 minutes into the class, a young man — looking very distressed — ran from the outside of the building to one of the windows and motioned me to come over and speak with him.

“Su Presidente Kennedy ha sido asesinado. Estaba en Texas,” he said. (“Your President Kennedy has been assassinated. He was in Texas.”)

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Who was this person? Was this some kind of anti-American prank? Could this actually be true? I thanked him for the information and told him I would speak to him after class. We continued our discussion of basketball rules.

After class, I went back to our office, where Bob was talking to other faculty and staff members. They had heard reports and were trying to process what, if anything, had happened. Our department head suggested that we return to our apartment and remain there until we were sure the streets were safe. I remember him saying, “When assassinations happen here and in other Latin American countries, it can be very dangerous for everyone.”

The apartment, which we shared with two Colombia IV English teachers (Dan Friedman and Tom Tollman), was over the movie theater, El Teatro Analucia, a mile or two from the university. We went back, still uncertain that Kennedy had been assassinated and what we should do (or not do) if it were true.

Armed Forces Radio

I owned a Hallicrafters shortwave radio that had been purchased in Louisiana and shipped to me after we moved into our apartment earlier that year. We immediately went to the radio and started listening to news accounts on Armed Forces Radio, Voice of America, and other networks.

By late afternoon, multiple reports confirmed that Kennedy had indeed been assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas. Other than that, details were still sketchy. Getting in touch with our families or friends in the States for more information was practically impossible. Even under normal circumstances, most of us did not communicate (other than by mail) with anyone in the U.S. for two years.

Tom Tollman’s initial reaction to Kennedy’s assassination was that “such a thing was totally impossible, incomprehensible

“My initial reaction was that it was an exaggeration — that such a thing was totally impossible, incomprehensible,” said Tom. “We went out to eat that night and dressed more formally than we normally did. Several people approached us at dinner to say how badly they felt for us.”

Compassionate Colombians

The reaction of the Colombian people to Kennedy’s death was overwhelmingly compassionate. Students, as well as acquaintances and
strangers on the street, commiserated with us and said how shocked and sorry they were to learn of Kennedy’s death. One of our apartment neighbors left flowers at our front door.

We learned later that many of our Colombian colleagues in other cities suggested that we should cancel classes for a day or two in honor of Kennedy. In every case, the volunteers chose to continue work without interruption.

“In Manizales,” said Norm Olsen, “we went directly to Gale Gibson’s house to discuss whether to hold a scheduled seminar. We met with our Colombian leader, Marco Tulio Castro. He saw the issue in moral terms, and felt, out of respect—mourning for Kennedy—we should cancel or at least postpone the event. We thought Kennedy would want us to go on. Gale’s persuasiveness carried the day and we all agreed to continue as scheduled.”

Volunteers in other cities had similar experiences. “Judy Lavicka and I were on a bus headed for Cartagena,” says Sue Farrington, a Colombia IV English teacher in Barranquilla. “At one stop, two men with a transistor radio came over and said President Kennedy had been assassinated. Our initial reaction was disbelief. When we got to Cartagena, it was confirmed, and I recall that everything seemed to be subdued.”

“We returned to our Colombian family the next day. When we walked in, everyone was standing to receive us in sympathy. It broke my heart then, and it does today. For days afterward, people on the street would stop to express their sorrow. It’s never left me.”

Mike Town in Popayan recalled, “There was a memorial mass at the Cathedral church. I walked in as probably the only American there, and they escorted me into the sanctuary and gave me a special seat. It was like I was the face of the USA for that service. The bishop eulogized Kennedy and talked about the Peace Corps as an example of his leadership.”

Years later, Chris Day, who taught in Medellin, said, “I had never experienced such a display of mourning, nor have I experienced it since.”

[For other accounts, see “Voices from Colombia: The Day Kennedy Died” on the Friends of Colombia website.

Kennedy in Perspective

Dan Friedman, reflecting on our experience, offered a more measured response. “Kennedy loomed large in our psyches, an idealized image, as the originator of the Peace Corps, so I certainly felt the loss. Later realizing that he was not as good a president as I thought, my sadness would be somewhat tempered. Still, a great loss.”

The Letter

On Friday, October 29th, 1963, President Kennedy wrote a letter to each person in Colombia IV, expressing his appreciation for their first year of service. (All PCVs received similar letters during early Peace Corps days.)

The letters were postmarked in Washington on Wednesday, November 13th. Kennedy was assassinated nine days later, Friday, November 22nd. In Bucaramanga, we received the letters in early December — more than a month since they had been written and at least two weeks after the President died. Experiencing the day Kennedy died was surreal. So was getting that letter. I still have it.

If you are old enough to remember the day Kennedy died, tell us about your experience. Join the conversation on Peace Corps Connect +