Do You Remember?

“The laughter and the tears
The shadows of misty yesteryears
The good times and the bad you’ve seen
And all the others in between
Remember, do you remember
The times of your life?”

Recorded by Paul Anka (1975) – written by Roger Nichols / Bill Lane

There are certain historical events from the first 50 years of my life that are forever etched in my memory. I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I clearly remember watching these events on the news and reading about them in the newspaper even though they occurred decades ago. Some I even witnessed in person. These may not all be important or memorable to everyone, but each of them certainly caught my attention at the time. It was difficult to narrow it down, but here are the top 10 historical memories from my life, in date order. (note: while there are some great photos on the internet, I have only included personal photos related to the topic here to avoid any copyright issues.)

1- October 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis

I was only 5 years old at the time, but I still have a recollection of the Cuban Missile Crisis. There was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The crisis lasted from October 16 – 28, 1962. The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war. I was very young and really had no idea what was going on, but I could easily pick up on my father’s grave concern that we were headed to a nuclear war. I can’t remember dad’s exact comments, but his fear was noticeable, even to a 5-year old. The country averted a disaster through tense negotiations with the Soviet Union, and I was a happy boy again once my parents were no longer worried.

2- November 22, 1963: Kennedy Assassination

The year after the Cuban Missile Crisis, we were dealt another emotional blow with the assassination of President Kennedy. Once again, I don’t remember a lot of details because I was so young, but the sadness and concern of the entire country was palpable. I knew my parents were sad. I do remember very clearly seeing his funeral on TV, and particularly watching his children- Caroline was the same age as me. I felt bad that this girl’s daddy was gone now. I can only imagine what the adults of that generation were feeling at that time. The 60s were a time of change and turmoil in America, and this was just one of many major news stories. Most of them I don’t personally recall at all, but this one stayed with me. It’s funny how some things just stay in your memory for a lifetime.

3- Dec 9, 1964: Beatles on Ed Sullivan

I distinctly recall being at my grandparents’ house when The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. They watched the show religiously (there weren’t many choices on what to watch back then). I was only 7 years old, but I was definitely intrigued by the lads from Liverpool. I remember my parents and grandparents being pretty disgusted by their look and their sound on the show. This was another event where I could sense the impact on the adults in the room, and that memory stuck with me. Who would have guessed that almost 50 years later I’d take my own son to Liverpool to visit the home of those long-haired rock ‘n rollers! Even at that young age they caught my attention and I eventually became a big Beatles fan, particularly in my teens as the Beatles were nearing the end of their career. I didn’t start collecting albums until I was older, but I clearly remember singing along every time I heard “Get Back”, “Hey Jude”, “Let It Be” and “Back In the USSR” on my transistor radio. Although I never got to see the Beatles band in person, I’ve seen Paul and Ringo perform several times, as well as some of the Beatles’ offspring- James McCartney, Sean Lennon, and Dani Harrison. I remember teasing my parents when they got older as they both admitted they were wrong about the Beatles, and they came to love some of those songs they hated so much the first time they saw the Beatles on TV at my grandparents’ house.

4- July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong Walks On The Moon

On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy addressed the United States Congress on “Urgent National Needs” and declared “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” As a young child growing up in the 60s, this was something we were all aware of, although many felt it to be an unattainable goal. But as the Apollo 11 mission got closer and closer, it was a pretty exciting time, especially if you were a kid. Naturally I was one of the 600 million people, a fifth of the world’s population, who, on Sunday July 20, 1969 at 9:32 AM, watched on TV as Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, uttering those famous words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was a proud, unforgettable moment for America.

5- April 30, 1975: End of the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War lasted from November 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975- basically my entire childhood. I won’t go into the history, as I was too young to remember most of it, but a few things stand out in my memory. First, as a child, I clearly remember hearing Walter Cronkite report the war casualties every night on the evening news. By the war’s end, 58,220 American soldiers had been killed, more than 150,000 had been wounded, and at least 21,000 had been permanently disabled. It was the dominant news story of my generation. As I entered my teens, I remember my dad getting concerned. There was a lottery draft, and I remember my parents discussing the possibility of moving to Canada to keep me out of going to war. That seemed a bit extreme to me at the time. I recall that I wouldn’t have objected to joining the service- it’s what young men did, and it’s what my father before me did (although he served during peace time). When I was little, before the era of video games, we played “War” and “Cops and Robbers” and “Cowboys and Indians”. In Boy Scouts I was used to shooting .22 and 30-06 rifles (as well as black powder muskets) so I knew a little about guns, and I knew several older scouts from our Troop had gone on to serve. It wasn’t that I wanted to join the military, but I don’t recall having any concerns about it like my parents did. But time went on, and in December 1972 with the end of active U.S. ground participation in Vietnam, the last men were drafted. In March 1973, 1974, and 1975, the Selective Service assigned draft priority numbers for all men born in 1954, 1955, and 1956, in case the draft was extended, but it never was. I was born in 1957, so thankfully I just missed getting a draft number. The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War and the collapse of the South Vietnamese state, leading to a transition period and the formal reunification of Vietnam. It was the end of a very tumultuous time in America. We all breathed a sigh of relief with the end of the war. As time went on, I became very interested in the history of the war and all of the social changes at that time- I think I’ve seen every movie and TV show that has ever been made about this era that I was on the cusp of experiencing first-hand. Thankfully I was born just a little too late, but my memory of those days remains strong.

6– Dec 8, 1980: John Lennon death

Back in 1980, Monday Night Football was a big thing. Like every other football fan that night, I was watching the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins when Howard Cosell notified the world that John Lennon was killed. “Yes, we have to say it. Remember, this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses,” Cosell started. “An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City. John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps of all the Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.” It was devastating. The immediate outpouring of love as people gathered around the world to celebrate his life was very emotional. Truth be told, I was actually a bigger Paul McCartney fan at the time, but after Lennon’s death I really dove into his solo music more and became a huge fan, particularly of his lyrics, which tended to be deeper than McCartney’s “silly love songs”. A highlight of one of my trips to Japan was visiting the now closed John Lennon Museum in Saitama. I hadn’t realized how much time John spent in Japan, and how beloved he was by the Japanese people. It was very touching. One of my great joys at Sellersville Theater was in 2016 when I met John’s sister, Julia, who was there to promote a Beatles tribute band from Liverpool.

7- July 13, 1985: Live Aid

Live Aid was a benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, attended by about 72,000 people, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, attended by 89,484 people. The original event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of the largest satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time; an estimated audience of 1.9 billion, in 150 nations, watched the live broadcast, nearly 40 percent of the world population. This was the first big news story in my life that I actually witnessed in person. In included so many of our favorite acts, all in one show- the Hooters, Crosby Stills & Nash, Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys, Tom Petty, the Cars, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Mick Jaggar, the Thompson Twins, Bob Dylan, Duran Duran, Hall & Oates, and so many more. It was an unbelievable show, on an unbelievably hot day, with temperatures hitting 95 degrees. At one point, they sprayed the audience with hoses to cool us off. A highlight was seeing Phil Collins, who performed on the Wembley Stadium stage earlier in the day and then flew on the Concorde Jet to the US to appear on the JFK stage as well. I was a bit too young for Woodstock, so this was the Woodstock of my generation- our day of peace and love.

8– May 25, 1986: Hands Across America

While not as big a news headline as some of my other memories, Hands Across America was another memorable historic event which I attended in person. It was a public fundraising event focusing on the issue of hunger in the United States, and attempted to create a continuous human chain of people holding hands across the contiguous United States. While approximately 5.5 million people participated, the chain was broken in many places, particularly in the Southwestern desert. The number of participants would have been roughly sufficient to create an unbroken chain if they had been spread out evenly along the planned route, but most joined the chain in major cities and few traveled to more remote areas. But it was a unique concept, and I remember how exciting it was to take our place in line. It was another feel-good event, with people coming together for a common cause.

9– Jan 28, 1986: Challenger disaster

The NASA space shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission. The disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. It was later determined that two rubber O-rings, which had been designed to seal the sections of the rocket booster, had failed due to cold temperatures on the morning of the launch. I remember I was at work when it happened- it was before wide use of the internet and cell phones, but the word quickly spread and a television was set up in a conference room, where people could watch coverage of the event. Not much work was done that day- people were in shock. Up until that point, space flight had become rather routine, and this was totally unexpected. The fact that the flight included the first civilian in space, the beloved teacher Christa McAuliffe, made it extra-sad.

10– Sept 11, 2001: Attack on the World Trade Center

I distinctly recall taking personal time from work for a doctor appointment on September 11, 2001. I was driving to the doctor’s office when I heard on WIP Sports Talk radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was telling people in the doctor’s office when I arrived, as most had not yet heard the news. After my appointment, rather than go back to work, I went straight home to watch the events unfold on TV. At that time, we were having our pool installed, so I also told the workers in our back yard about the tragedy. I remember the shock of seeing the second plane hit- the first could have been an accident, but two crashes in a row was clearly something different. What was going on? Unlike the events from when I was young, now we had 24-hour news coverage on television, and I watched the events unfold on TV for hours on end. What happened, who did it, and why? Were we headed towards another world war? This happened in our own country. It was unbelievable, and a scary time for the country.

That’s my top 10. A few other events almost made the list- honorable mention goes to the Great Tohoku Earthquake (which I discussed in a previous blog entry), the infamous OJ Simpson Car Chase (which for some inexplicable reason had me glued to the TV), and the January 6th attack on the Capitol (which I excluded because it was too recent to be included in my “memories” but was nonetheless a historic event). I often wonder what lies ahead in the headlines of the future- I can only hope that they are happy ones. What are your biggest memories over the course of your life?

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