What is your earliest "where were you when" story?

[jlmarr]

Cuban Missile Crisis - I remember our 4th grade teacher getting out the US map to show us where Cuba was. She seemed very concerned, and we were just kids, oblivious.

 

[Babs Johnson]

I think it was Robert Kennedy's assassination. It was close to the last day of school and I heard it on the news that morning, June of 1968 I believe.

 

[disneyseniors]

JFK assassination......we were told at school. I was in 5th grade

JFK's assassination was so awful. I was in 9th grade and all the students and teachers were in the hallways crying. I'll never forget it.

 

[Moliphino]

Please post your travel schedule, kthxbye

I'll be in Belgium for a week in October.

It does keep happening. My last vacation was when the Uvalde school shooting happened.

 

[Skywalker3]

5th grade, they came on the intercom at school to tell us President Reagan had been shot. Also remember 10th grade at school, they announced the Challenger accident.

 

[Carol_]

I'll be in Belgium for a week in October.

It does keep happening. My last vacation was when the Uvalde school shooting happened.

We talking early mid late or stay at home all month?

 

[holden]

When John Lennon was shot. I was 10.

 

[SM1992]

JFK, I was in second grade. What made it worse was that my sister was getting married the next day, really put a damper on things.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

9/11, I was in 7th grade. I vaguely remember when Princess Diana died (only because I remember a plane had done one of those things where they write in the sky and it said RIP Princess Diana) but I didn't really know who she was.

 

[Allison Joy]

So I have a few I could list, depending on what you're looking for here. If you're looking for "first be news story" I remember it would be Baby Jessica falling down the well.

If we're talking big, huge, national events, I remember the Gulf War starting, but I can't say I remember a specific day or story.

If we're talking about big, huge "the world changed in an instant" type story, then maybe... the Oklahoma City bombing. I think I remember the WTC bombing also, but I only "remembered" it after I was reminded about it recently, if that makes sense? So I don't think that really counts.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Elvis
Challenger
Princess Diana
Biggest Impact ever 9/11

 

[disykat]

I remember watching Robert Kennedy's funeral and the space missions in the late 60's. Those weren't "a moment" for me though. My first life changing moment I'll never forget didn't happen until I was probably 15. The KLM/Pan Am crash in 1977 made headlines on the tv. A family friend was on that crash, a coworker of my dad's. I had a pretty protected life and although I certainly remember much earlier things, but that was the first time I really thought about the gravity of your whole world changing in a moment from something you heard on the news. We were all watching the news and they showed the footage as a breaking story. That moment always flashes when I hear this question. Similar to the Challenger and 9/11 I still tear up every time I think about it because it was such a shock. (And I'm so glad I live on the West Coast and my elementary school hadn't started school yet that day, it was bad enough watching it with just staff!) The morning we declared war in Operation Desert Storm comes to mind too. Some of my first graders had heard it on the tv or radio and others had dads deployed in the military and got very upset.

Now, with the way we stream tv and music in the car, I can imagine missing those moments and hearing about them later in a totally different way.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Challenger....I was in 5th grade and we were all gathered around the flagpole and told what happened. I think some of the other classes were watching but our class was not.

 

[emily nicole]

OKC bombing, I was in 4th grade.

 

[Moliphino]

We talking early mid late or stay at home all month?

Middle, 15-23.

 

[karmic]

JFK assassination- was in 4th grade
Have a vague memory of the Cuban Missile crisis

 

[MamaMermaid]

I'm 31 so don't have as many of the historic ones...

I guess this isn't a hugely "important" one but I distinctly remember watching the news with my cousins (we were visiting for Christmas) about JonBenet Ramsey. She and I were about the same age. I was scared sh!tless and glued to the TV. It's still one of those cases that haunt me. I hope it's solved someday.

I have vague memories of Diana's funeral procession on TV. Definitely remember Elton John singing Candle in the Wind and the purple Diana Beanie Baby.

And, of course, 5th grade, 9/11. They told us while we were in the library. We had no idea what the Twin Towers were or the gravity of the situation but we knew everyone was super upset.

 

[Funfire240]

The Challenger. I was in 5th grade and I remember hearing over the announcement and then our teacher bringing a tv in for us to watch the news coverage

 

[sailorstitch]

Reading these responses is making me feel very young.

I was in preschool when Challenger happened. My parents shielded me from it. There's no good reason to tell a child that small that a space shuttle "exploded". I didn't learn it happened until I caught a rerun of the Punky Brewster episode.

I remember my dad making a big deal about Nixon dying.

The first earth shattering thing I remember was the Oklahoma City bombing. I was in 7th grade. I remember going into my social studies class and the TV was on the news. Every classroom had a TV attached to the wall, but the TV in my social studies class was never, EVER used. As soon as I saw the TV on, I knew something wasn't right.

 

[RogueX]

Challenger explosion, I was at home when that happened.

9/11 I was at work in a federal building in Boston and got a call from my boss to go home. He was in DC for a meeting and wanted all of his staff safely out of the building.