J.F.K
After about six weeks of service on the night of 22nd November 1963 a phone call came to the college from Washington DC. ‘The White House’ was on the line to say that President J F K had been assassinated in Dallas and that Jackie Kennedy had expressed a wish that the cadets attend her husband’s funeral and provide a guard of honour. It was Saturday night and the senior cadets were to fly to the States the next morning. We were up half the night helping the senior cadets get ready for this momentous occasion. We polished their buttons and got their kit ready as they were practicing their drills outside in the dark.
Our training was bilingual, in Irish and English, and ‘Present arms’ was the order for the salute on an occasion like this, ‘Tharraige airm’ in Irish.
It was a huge shock for everyone and the cadets were hugely honoured to be invited to this funeral.
We saw the senior cadets leave on the Sunday morning.
posted by Roger The Blogger | 9:11 pm
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