Weir Lundstedt was an infant when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
His mother, Carolyn Lundstedt, must have felt the loss that gripped the country at the time, writing letters to her son and his siblings to express their feelings in the moments after the national tragedy.
“I’m nervous,” he told WMUR 9 on Wednesday as he cut the seal on the envelope, addressed to “Master Frederick Weir Lundstedt,” postmarked in Riverton, New Jersey, with a 5-cent stamp.
Her mother mysteriously died on November 22, 1989. Almost 20 years later, in 2008, Lundstedt found a letter addressed to her but never opened it.
Now, 60 years removed from the president’s assassination, he came across the forgotten letter while sorting through his parents’ possessions after his father died last month.
Weir Lundstedt came across his mother’s letter while sorting through his parents’ possessions after his father died last month.WMUR, WEIR LUNDSTEDT, PUBLIC DOMAIN, CNN
“Friday, November 22, 1963. Dear Weir. While you are sleeping right now in your crib upstairs, you are too young to be aware,” Lundstedt read for the first time, in front of the local station’s camera crew.
Taking a moment to regain his composure as he was overcome by emotion, Lundstedt continued.
“You will read about this in your history books one day. Know that he has been, we think, a good, honest, and loyal young president,” his mother wrote.
Lundstedt became emotional as she read the words her mother left for her.WMUR, WEIR LUNDSTEDT, PUBLIC DOMAIN, CNN
“He has been energetic and tireless in his efforts for lasting world peace. It is a pity that one of his own people should take it upon himself to destroy this important man. With love, your mom and dad,” Lundstedt read.
“I should have opened this earlier,” Lundstedt added.
Lundstedt’s mother — like much of the country that day and after — understood the impact of what was happening to America and needed to share what she felt with her children.
President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, moments before the president was shot in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Bettmann Archives Vice President Lyndon B Johnson was sworn into the office of 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 next presidential campaign, was 46 when he was shot in front of a crowd of adoring supporters while riding in a motorcade in Dallas at about 12:30 pm on November 22, 1963.
By 1 p.m., the 35th president of the United States was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
About two hours after Kennedy was shot, shockwaves swept across the nation as Americans watched Lyndon B. Johnson take the oath of office next to the now-widowed First Lady Jackie Kennedy on Air Force One, still wearing the same color-stained dress her husband. blood.
Kennedy’s funeral in Washington DC on November 25, 1963. Getty Images John F. Kennedy Jr. salutes his father’s casket during the president’s funeral procession on November 25, 1963. Bridgeman via Getty Images
In the 21 hours before his funeral, more than 250,000 people filed into the Capital Rotunda — where the president’s flag-draped casket is on display — to pay their respects to the promising young president taken at the peak of his presidential career, according to the JFK Library.
His funeral was attended by more than 100 heads of state and representatives from various countries and watched by millions more watching the ceremony on television on 25 November 1963.
At the time of his death, Kennedy averaged about a 70% approval rating with Americans, according to a 2023 poll conducted by Gallup.
Kennedy remains the highest-rated former president, with a 90% job approval rating.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
