Weir Lundstedt was a baby when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
His mother, Carolyn Lundstedt, no doubt feeling the sense of loss that gripped the country at the time, wrote letters to her son and brother expressing her emotions in the moments following the national tragedy.
“I’m nervous,” he told WMUR 9 Wednesday as he cut the stamp on the envelope, addressed to “Master Frederick Weir Lundstedt,” with a Riverton, New Jersey, postmark and a five-cent stamp.
Interestingly, his mother passed away on November 22, 1989. Almost 20 years later, in 2008, Lundstedt found the letter addressed to him, but never opened it.
Now, 60 years after the president’s assassination, he stumbled upon the forgotten letter while sorting through his parents’ possessions after his father’s death last month.
Weir Lundstedt came across his mother’s letter while sorting through his parents’ possessions after his father’s death last month. WMUR, WEIR LUNDSTEDT, PUBLIC DOMAIN, CNN
“Friday, November 22, 1963. Dear Weir. Since you were now sleeping in your crib upstairs, you are too young to realize it,” Lundstedt read for the first time before the local station’s camera crew.
Needing a moment to regain his composure as he became overwhelmed with emotions, Lundstedt continued.
“Someday you will read about this in your history book. Please know that we believe that he has been a good, honest and devoted young president,” his mother wrote.
Lundstedt was moved to read the words his mother left him. WMUR, WEIR LUNDSTEDT, PUBLIC DOMAIN, CNN
“He has been energetic and tireless in his pursuit of lasting world peace. What a shame that one of his own people takes it upon himself to destroy this vital man. With love, your mother and father,” Lundstedt recited.
“I should have opened this sooner,” Lundstedt added.
Lundstedt’s mother, like most of the nation that day and those that followed, understood the impact of what happened in America and needed to share what she felt with her children.
President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally moments before the president was shot in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Bettmann Archive Vice President Lyndon B Johnson takes the oath of office to take the presidency aboard Air Force One in Dallas, Texas, hours after the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Bettmann Archive
Kennedy, preparing to announce his upcoming presidential campaign, was 46 years old when he was shot in front of a crowd of supporters while riding in a motorcade in Dallas around 12:30 p.m. on November 22, 1963.
At 1:00 p.m., the 35th president of the United States was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
About two hours after Kennedy was shot, a shockwave rebounded across the country as Americans watched Lyndon B. Johnson be sworn in as president alongside now-widowed First Lady Jackie Kennedy on Air Force One, still wearing the same suit stained with her husband’s. blood.
Kennedy’s funeral in Washington DC on November 25, 1963. Getty Images John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s casket during the president’s funeral procession on November 25, 1963. Bridgeman via Getty Images
During the 21 hours before his funeral, more than 250,000 people paraded in the Capital Rotunda (where the president’s flag-draped coffin was on display) to pay their respects to the promising young president, taken in the prime of his life. presidential race. according to the JFK Library.
His funeral was attended by more than 100 heads of state and representatives of several countries and was watched by millions more who watched the ceremony on television on November 25, 1963.
At the time of his death, Kennedy had an average approval rating of about 70% among Americans, according to a 2023 poll by Gallup.
Kennedy remains the highest-rated former president, with a 90% job approval rating.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn