I was 12, and had just received dispensation to obtain my Eagle Scout Rank, instead of waiting until 13, and was presented my rank in a ceremony on Nov 22, 1963.
My Eagle card — which I still carry laminated — is dated and signed by JFK (Honorary BSA President) on Nov 20th, 1963.
I knew something wasn’t “right”, but had no idea of “what”, until years later.
My mother’s birthday was on November 22.
I remember I was in school in north Mississippi. We had a huge one building school with all 12 grades in the same building. It was lunch time and we were all either at lunch or playing outside, since it was a warm day. The seniors and other upper classes and some teachers usually hung around the auditorium after eating and there was a TV on and they would watch the noon news or whatever. I remember seeing a teacher running down the hallway, stopping at each classroom door and calling the teacher inside to come out for a second, then continue on down to the next class. Being a kid, it did not occur to me that anything was seriously wrong at the time. We eventually went back to class after lunch and continued with our schedule as per normal. About and hour later, another teacher came to the door and motioned for our teacher, Mrs. Sparks, to come out into the hall. She came back in looking very serious and closed the door behind her, then leaned back upon it. She announced that it had just been reported on the television news that President Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas Texas. I remember some kids were crying, mostly girls, and some were actually smiling. Most were just sitting in disbelief and shock........................
That’s quite a piece of history!