It was the 22 of November 1963 and I was sitting in our Air Force base theatre in Dreux, France watching the John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart movie, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”. The movie ended, the house lights came on and the theatre manager took the stage to announce that President Kennedy had been shot. Everyone was stunned! We all left the theater dazed and headed to our teen center where hours rolled by as we sat watching the events unfold.
When the time came to work on our yearbook, it was only fitting that the dedication be to President Kennedy. I long ago lost my yearbook but with the help of former classmates, I have obtained this drawing. I drew this portrait of Kennedy when I was seventeen and it was used for the dedication page of our yearbook.
I was in the shower when , as I remember, Donni Shields came in & told me “ the president was shot”. The rest you have described. When traveling home for Thanksgiving , as I sat on my suitcase in the Paris train station, almost every passing person stopped & shared their shock & sadness over this. President Kennedy was loved in France. I then spent Thanksgiving w/ my family & watched the procession in DC on a b&w blurry screen tv w/ my friends in The Hague. Tragic. And as a Texan more upsetting. I have always loved your drawing of the president & thank you for your sharing. I think about this every year.
what a nice tribute to a great man