What's the Earliest News Event You Remember?

This morning I was thinking about Stevie Ray Vaughan. Sometimes it is hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that I remember hearing the news when Stevie Ray Vaughan died.

It had to have an impact to remember an event when I was four. Shortly after, Dad bought his last album: Family Style.

Jeanette Isabelle

The girls living net door burst into our yard, screaming, "The War is over, the war is over'...The war in question was WWII. I was happy because it meant Dad was coming home.

I was around when Pearl Harbor was attacked, but i didn't hear of it, although Dad was at the Army recruiter's office the next day when they opened. He was not alone...

At this second the first news report I recall hearing was Reagan being shot.

I did not know you have been on earth for that long.

Jeanette Isabelle

They don't call me "Geezer" for nuthin"....

Not the earliest but best remembered from childhood was the footage of a PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. mob assaulting two British army officers, who were handed over to and killed by the IRA.

Remember earlier news events like the Brighton hotel bombing, but watching the assault as a kid, in disbelief that this could be happening in the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/army_corporals_killed_at_ira_funeral

The later Apollo launches. Mission unknown but they were the first 'big' news things I remember.

The launch of John Glenn and Friendship Seven. Boy those were some times.

Paul -

Suez Canal Crisis

I thought perhaps the French- Indian Wars!

That I can put a date with would be the '76 Bicentennial.

My memory of him being born seems like it was just yesterday...

How could you have memories of him being born? Did you know his family?

Jeanette Isabelle

A tongue-in-cheek joke Jeanette - indicating how old I am relative to you (probably the same situation holds for many ETS forum members!) OK, I'm not quite THAT old to remember his birth, but dang near close. It was just a joke...

1975 - The fall of Saigon.

I was young and remember seeing the TV news - but not understanding what it was all about. I do recall though being amazed at the choppers ditching into the ocean beside the Navy ships and also, the many choppers being tossed overboard off the ships after they unloaded.

Hold the politics please.

Oh. It would be an interesting coincidence if you knew his mother, Martha. We could exchange stories.

Jeanette Isabelle

Raw material for future archaeologists. I am being light hearted, but it will come to pass.

I remember the name Adlai Stevenson (1956), but had no clue as to who he was or significance. I seem to recall JFK being elected (1960), but it didn’t mean much at the time; when John Glenn orbited the Earth (1962) it seemed important because the teachers were all excited; I remember where I was sitting when I heard JFK had been assassinated (1963).

1972 the olympic summer games in Munich
There was a lot of media coverage (we basically had only 3 TV broadcast channels then).

[quote=Russ] I seem to recall JFK being elected (1960), but it didn’t mean much at the time; when John Glenn orbited the Earth (1962) it seemed important because the teachers were all excited; I remember where I was sitting when I heard JFK had been assassinated (1963). [/quote

I cast my first vote in 1960. Working in my first permanent job, I put the visitor center flag at half-mast when JFK was assassinated...

Grandma told me stories about that event. She did not watch the parade; when word got out that JFK was shot, everyone flocked to the TV.

Jeanette Isabelle

Easy - JFK's assassination. I wasn't quite 4 yrs old but I still recall the images of the funeral, of Mom crying and everyone glued to the TV. I had no idea who he was but I remember what a huge event it was.
As a kid I had grown up on Walt Disney, Ed Sullivan, Roy Rogers and Vincent Price... (yeah, I was a weird kid) but the assassination took over everything for at least a week.

Death of Elvis, 1977, while loading dad's car for a day of fishing.
-Blast

Elvis is dead? !!!

He is not!!

Montanero is right. Elvis is immortal.

Jeanette Isabelle

That day is probably the 2nd or 3rd really big news event that I remember. I heard it on the radio then told my mom and dad. My dad thought I was pulling a prank - but much to his dismay, he too heard the radio news about 15 minutes later.

Earliest memory must be that when we watched landing on the moon on tv. I am born 1966 so it must be either -71 or -72 landing that I remember.

Hearing news about the Korean War on the radio. We did not have a TV at that time.

Earliest (that I remember off the top of my head) that was a "Where were you when" moment happened was NASA. Challenger. High school. Magic performance on a school trip to another NYC school. Came out and heard on radio. Still have immense difficulty hearing, "Go a throttle up."

To put things in perspective, I was born two days before the Challenger disaster. Where was I? I was probably still in the maternity ward.

Jeanette Isabelle

I am a big space buff and and those now sadly iconic words "go at throttle up" will forever haunt any launch.

For the uninitiated, during launch, the space shuttle (and other rockets) reach a point called Max Q. This is where maximum dynamic pressure is on the space vehicle (shuttle / rocket) and typically the vehicle throttles down while approaching Max Q to reduce the stress and pressure.

With the Challenger, it throttled down to 65% through Max Q then at T68 seconds, Capcom instructed the shuttle commander (Dick Scobee) "Go at throttle up." which Scobee verbally confirmed "Go at throttle up." These were the the last words from the Challenger as it exploded seconds later.

Even in today's modern launches (SpaceX for example), there is always the mention of Max Q.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycMagB1s8XM&feature=youtu.be&t=1195

I have a very vague recollection of portions of the “Army-McCarthy” Congressional hearings in 1954. I have a clear recollection of listening to the news reports concerning the 1954-1955 Quemoy-Matsu crisis.

Hikemoor, is that old enough to qualify as a “ Geezer” too?

Yur gittin'thar, sonny boy. Jist keep on a-truckin'.....

I am still highly upset over President Kennedy’s funereal being shown on TV instead of Captain Kangaroo!!!!

I just don’t know who to blame for that bit of preemptive programming!

The Bicentennial made a big impression on me.

I have a friend who was a kid during that time. Anything related to American history or Colonial America was popular at that time. It was on dishes, bed sheets, children's books and cartoons.

Jeanette Isabelle

Anyone here also have the privilege of having ACTUALLY TOUCHED the Liberty Bell?

I don't know for certain, but as a retired NPS employee, I doubt that anyone touches the LB unless they are engaged in conservation work and are wearing gloves.

The movie National Treasure indicated the real Liberty Bell was stored elsewhere, so is that the real Liberty Bell on display or a stand-in? Like so many of our National Treasures the original is protected from the public.

NOW it it definitely protected......Back when I was in elementary school....... cordoned off but they still allowed people to touch it.....earlyy 70's.

https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-libertybell.htm

The above gives a rundown on the history of the Liberty Bell - surprising and interesting facts...

I was surprised to learn that the LB was not involved at all in the events of the Revolutionary War (as a career NPSer, you would think I would know better).

How funny. . .

Wildman800 remarked:

"I am still highly upset over President Kennedy’s funereal being shown on TV instead of Captain Kangaroo!!!!"

That would be the event I remember. Sitting in front of a black and white television watching just exactly that. . .(Well, maybe not that Capt. Kangaroo was preempted, but watching the funeral procession, the horse drawn caisson, and the infamous riderless horse with backward boots.

November 25, 1963.