JFK Assassination: Your memories
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Kennedy in Dallas, November 22, 1963, moments before the fatal shot.
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•On Saturday, see "CNN Presents: 'President Kennedy Has Been Shot'" at 8 p.m. EST.
•Then stay tuned at 9 p.m. EST Saturday for a "Larry King Live" interview with Nellie Connally, the last surviving passenger of the Kennedy presidential limo.
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VIDEO
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CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with Dr. Robert Grossman, one of the physicians who tried to save Kennedy.
CNN's Jeff Greenfield on U.S. optimism in the days before the assassination.
The book 'Remembering Jack' offers Jacques Lowe's intimate photos of Kennedy and his family.
Dan Rather, who covered John F. Kennedy's trip to Dallas for CBS, describes what he saw and heard.
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(CNN) -- To mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy, we asked CNN users to send in their memories of where they were and how they heard the news.
We received many hundreds of e-mails from readers around the world and unfortunately cannot publish all of them.
The following is a selection of those e-mails, reflecting the broad spectrum of experiences and emotions felt on that day: November 22, 1963.
We won't be adding any more, but thank you to all who took the time to write.
Your memories of November 22, 1963
I was a 19 year old, in the U.S. Airforce stationed at a remote site in Turkey, on shores of the Black Sea. Communications was not what it is today, the first reports we got were of total distruction of Dallas, like a nuke attack. We were some frightened young men for several days and things were pretty tense for several weeks. John Twiss, USA
I was four years old and heard the news on the family radio. South Africa did not have TV in those days. I remember my mother dropping her head in her hands, my dad shook his head and said..." our last hope is gone". South Africa was in the middle of Apartheid and Kennedy was thoroughly against it. He spoke out and gave the people hope. I just knew something terrible had happened in the world. Charmaine, South Africa
I was 12 years old and I remember eating breakfast and my mum said "oh my god president kennedy is dead" I ran to the TV and have never in my life felt such sadness, someone I didn't know, yet he has left me fascinated by his life to this day. Cass Daniels, Australia
I was 8 years old, and my parents let my sister and I forgo school and go downtown to see the President. I don't remember if it was Main or Elm Street that we stood on, but I know for sure that it was only 4 or 5 blocks from the "grassy knoll." Kennedy passed by and my sister commented "they were moving too fast." No more than 10 minutes later we were astonished to hear on the radio that Kennedy had been shot. Dr. Brady J. Jones, Dallas, USA
I was in the 10th grade at Moscow public school No 308. Due to the time difference we heard the news the morning of next day. When our teacher came in we were standing very still in absolute silence. She asked a question. Nobody answered. Three minutes expired and one of us told her: we did it to honor the memory of President John Kennedy who's been killed like a soldier in the line of duty. To our teacher's credit, although she was Communist party member, she understood our mood perfectly. "We lost a great man!" she said. It was 40 years ago but the memory is still fresh with me. Valentin V. Viktorov, Russia
I remember my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Burgess, started to cry, after the news was announced over the PA system. She then wrote "President Lyndon Johnson" on the board and told the class that was our new president. Deb Allen, USA
I was six years old, living in Florida. I was playing ball with my cousins in the front yard and I remember we heard my aunt scream and start crying. We ran in the house and saw on the TV news that JFK had been shot. It was a day that I'll always remember. As a black living in America a lot of hope was lost on that day; hope that we've yet to regain. Chris Carrington, USA
I was 5 years old in my grandmother's store in Naga City in the Philippines, and remember my mother showing me that day's front page headline in the Manila Times. "Noeli, this is important. The president of America has been shot dead," she said. I could tell from the atmosphere in the store and the customers' faces that a stupendous event had happened. Noeli Welch, Philippines
I was a child, 10 years old, living in Holzminden, Germany. I was very sad and I and my friends and classmates talked about the assassination the whole day. We all had the feeling that not only the hopes of America but also ours died on that day in November. Somehow our childhood had ended. Dr. Cornelia Schröder, Germany
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 The memory is upon me as if it were yesterday. And it will always be so. 
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-- Ann Barak Stutch, USA
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I was in Germany at the time, which Kennedy had won over with his "Ich bin ein Berliner" statement. Germans were extremely fond of Kennedy. I watched the assassination live on TV and remember several of my relatives screaming out in horror. Later I saw many people cry openly in the streets. Kennedy had been a symbol of freedom and hope not only in the US, but the world over. Baerbel, USA
I was 11 years old and living in Algiers. Ours was one of the first American families live in the new Algerian republic since their independence from France. I cannot recall any anti-American sentiment in Algeria at that time, just a lot of pain in people's eyes for having lived through violence and horror, they too believed in the magic of the Kennedy aura, a symbol of hope for the masses. S. Brown, France
I was five at the time. It was early morning and I heard my father race up the stairs calling to wake my mother to tell her: "Someone has shot the President." They were crying in shock and disbelief. Linda Roberts, Australia
I was in class at Our Lady of Victory School in Washington, D.C. when the principal asked all the teachers to come to his office. When our teacher got back to the classroom, she told us that President Kennedy had been shot and killed, but that she had had to wait to tell us until Robert Kennedy's three children who also attended the school could be taken from their classes. It was their uncle who had been killed. CT, USA
I am a professional violinist. On November 22, 1963, I was rehearsing Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto with the great pianist Leon Fleisher and the Brooklyn Philharmonia Orchestra, when a stagehand walked up and whispered in the conductor's ear. The conductor froze and dropped his arms to his sides. Then, in a voice choked with emotion, he announced the news. I have since performed this concerto many times. Each time we reach that moment, the memory is upon me as if it were yesterday. And it will always be so. Ann Barak Stutch, USA
My husband was in the U.S. Air Force stationed in North Dakota. I was watching the TV soap opera As The World Turns when Walter Cronkite came on with a special bulletin. I was glued to the TV for the next few days. Doris Oxford, USA
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This tragedy was history in the making
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-- Ellen, USA
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I was 10 years old, but I remember everything. I lived in Ukraine and only a few students in the class had a TV set. We all gathered in in our classmate's apartment to see what happened. It was frustration, the end of hope for better world situation. We were crying. Laura K., Canada
I was seven at the time living on one of the Micronesian islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We were playing in the road when a man told my friends and I that President Kennedy had been shot. At the time Micronesia was an American territory. Pelson Charley, Federated States of Micronesia
I had just written my grade 13 English exam and was leaving the exam room. As I walked past my English teacher she whispered what had happened in Dallas. It didn't hit me until I got home and I watched TV coverage for the next week, stunned and tremendously saddened. Bruce Beaton, Canada
I was a senior in high school in a small mid-western town. We heard the news of Kennedy's assassination on the car radio. The entire class was speechless, saddened and I think, for the first time, hit by the realization that this tragedy was history in the making. Ellen, USA
In 6th grade in Nashville we watched in disbelief the sobering TV reports from a shaken Walter Cronkite. Our teacher's face was ashen and tearful. I went home and watched TV with my mother -- she said we would never forget those days as long as we lived. Sam Howell, USA
I had just turned 13 and was on my way home from school riding on the school bus. The news came on the radio. I froze in time and place. In 1998 I visited the Dallas Book Depository where a museum was established in honor of the event, I felt the same exact feeling I did back in 1963. Nilda I. Armstrong, Puerto Rico
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We were asked to pray for his soul.
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-- Bernie G. de Guzman, Philippines
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I was 19 and had just enlisted in the Air Force. I was at the barber's when the bulletin came over the radio. The drill instructor announced we were now on full alert. I felt a chill I'll never forget. My President was dead. John D Cheris, USA
I was 19 and in an American History class at Loyola University in Chicago when the news came over the PA. Our professor said it was not often that one was privileged to witness a turning point in history. He told us to remember where we were and what we had done and dismissed us. Edward Regal, USA
We were preparing to say grace at a seminary near the U.S. base at Subic Bay when one of the brothers announced that the first Catholic president of the United States had been assassinated. We were asked to pray for his soul. Bernie G. de Guzman, Philippines
I was in Scotland aged 7 and still remember clearly the news flash from BBC stating that President Kennedy has been shot and killed. Even though we were not American, we all felt that were a part of his dream for a better world, he was for us the first global President. Paul Gilgallon, Spain
As an Indian student aspiring to come to the USA, I always had the inspiration of JFK, his famous words: Success Has many fathers, failure is an orphan, has become my life's motto. He was a great man. Nishant Agarwal, India
I was four and was watching the President as we always did with my family. Back then whenever the President was speaking or a rocket was launching, we sat as a family and watched the event on TV. When the shots sounded people were screaming and crying. My Mother was crying with fear. Karen, USA
I was 8 years old. I remember the shock of viewing the assassination on TV. JFK meant, in those days, a kind of hope for Portuguese democrats. J.L. Lopes dos Reis, Portugal
What happened on November 22 was tragic and sad for the whole world. Kennedy brought new meaning to politics and the way he handled the Cuban crisis was commendable. Young and intelligent he had all the qualities of a great leader and will always be remembered. Dr. S. Alishuja, Pakistan
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Kennedy brought new meaning to politics
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-- Dr. S. Alishuja, Pakistan
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I was discharged from the army that day and flying home via Houston and Dallas. The president was in both airports and I was a few feet away from him. Later that day I heard over the TV that the man that I had just seen so full of life had been gunned down by a cowardly traitor. Torrey Rackley, USA
My wife and I were heading for bed, when I decided to turn on the radio and listen to the news as I always did. The news of the murder shocked me and for the first time in my 25 years I got tears in my eyes for a "stranger". I was convinced that JFK could change the world. Joop van de Swaluw, Holland
For me a 12 year boy who like many people admired the late president, it was a shocking event indeed. I remember people simply refused to believe the news. D. Daror, Israel
Kennedy was extremely popular in Poland. One of the reasons for that was that he was a first Catholic president to lead the United States. I was a teenager at that time living in Warsaw. I still remember people listening to the news with the disbelief. Some of us cried openly. Anna Warner, Poland
When this happened, I was a student and heard it over the radio. For youngsters like us at that time, he was a hero who could defy communism and inject freshness in statecraft. Recently I went to JFK Museum at Dallas and was moved by the reconstruction of history there. Subramanian.R, India
I was in class in high school when the announcement came over the loud speaker. In my next class, my French teacher just sat at his desk and cried openly. I have not seen, since then, a president who could speak as well as or who had the vivid visions for our future. Skip Nelson, USA
That day was supposed to be a happy one because it was my 9th birthday. The family was going to celebrate when news came out on TV that JFK had been shot. Everything ground to a halt. Every time I go to mass on my birthday, I include Kennedy in my prayers. Cecilia Fornier, Philippines
I was in high school in Nebraska when we heard on the radio that President Kennedy had be shot and killed. On my own initiative, I left class, walked out the school's front door and marched slowly to the school's flag poll. With tears of sadness I lowered the American Flag to half-staff. Jeffrey Silverman, USA
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With tears of sadness I lowered the American Flag to half-staff.
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-- Jeffrey Silverman, USA
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I was standing on the upper casing of a British submarine in Portsmouth, England, as watch keeper. One of our mates shouted up the news to us from down inside the boat. We were in total shock and couldn't imagine such a thing could happen to in my estimation a great man. Ken King, Canada
I was in Cape Palmas ,Liberia working as the bandmaster for President Tubman's military band when two friends who were Peace Corp volunteers appeared at the door. They said they hard the news on Voice of America., We all cried and held hands together. Aharon Shefi, Israel
I was three years old in a park in Aomori, Japan, with my parents. Upon returning home and turning on the TV, my parents were shocked to hear about the tragedy, and even though I was three at the time, I still happened to register their fear. Kazuko Sakashita, Japan
I was 14 living in the coastal town of Pori. We were all very shocked, when we heard on the radio, that Kennedy had been shot. The following days we read everything we could in the newspapers. It is still very much a trauma, because the truth is not known to us. Gunnar Helin, Finland
I was in third grade and home sick from school, watching TV. A special news bulletin came on CBS and I knew something bad had happened. When Walter Cronkite announced that President Kennedy had been shot, I grabbed my blanket and started to cry. Orville Crumpton, USA
I was studying in a boarding school in southern India and read the devastating news in the newspaper. I was saddened even though he was a US president, because Kennedy was handsome and a hero-like figure. K. George, UAE
I was in the in the 12th grade when i heard the horrible and painful news. I grew to love and appreciate President Kennedy as a great leader who brought hope for world peace. The following morning the school principal called a minute silence in the school square. Rimon, Israel
I was working in a newspaper when the teletypes began ringing loudly to report the news. We all sat around the machines reading the news from the AP wires, then Dow Jones and UP clicked in, as well. No one believed it and yet there was no doubting the facts. Jackie, Canada
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My father had been a pilot on Air Force One ... and had flown Kennedy several times
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-- Chuck Sheehan, USA
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I was stationed in Korea, with the I Corps Honor Guard. We were all woken up at around 2 or 3 in the morning and the entire Guard was put on full alert. Later in the morning, we were told what had happened. Charles Makinson-Sanders, USA
The headmaster of our primary school announced the sad news that the USA president had been assassinated. The government of Tanganyika, now Tanzania, declared a mourning day, and official activities were postponed. Sympho Musiba, Tanzania
I was 16 and was walking back home from school. In the streets you could hear the radios telling the news and could see the people talking everywhere about the shot or even crying. It was all unbearable, you could feel in the air something was very wrong. Evita Cozza, Italy
I was 16 years old and heard the news on Voice of America in my room at the family cabin located west of Narvik, north Norway. Television had still not reached that location and it took about an hour before the assassination was announced on national broadcasts. Bjørn M. Winnem, Norway
I was the branch president of NTT Kyoto at the time. We were preparing for Japan's first satellite broadcast which was supposed to be a U.S. presidential speech but instead it turned out to be the news of President Kennedy's assassination. Yoshihiro Tokita, Osaka, Japan
I had just turned 10 years old and was playing in the front porch of our house in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. My grandmother called out for me to come in the house. She was crying. Being a devout protestant, we held hands and she recited out loud the most beautiful prayer for our president. Ramon Rodriguez, Puerto Rico, USA
I was 15 years old and remember the director of our college coming in the classroom, stunned by the news, saying that the world had gone crazy and would never be the same. I remember the whole school praying for the United States. Jacques Dumont, France
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You could feel in the air something was very wrong
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-- Evita Cozza, Italy
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I was 8 years old and had stayed home from school that day. I'll never forget Walter Cronkite's face when he announced our president had died. To this day I believe it forever changed the course of history for the worse. John Bartlett, Mexico
My family arrived in March as new immigrants from The Netherlands. I will never forget that day as we thought we had come to the best country in the world and then someone assassinates the President - unbelievable. Sylvia Rudolph-Cox, USA
I was part of a group of young women on a weekend retreat at a convent when Kennedy was assassinated. It was a silent retreat so no one was allowed to speak and we had no access to radio, TV or newspapers. However, at breakfast a tearful American nun broke the silence when she told us the unbelievable news. Emma, New Zealand
I was a 17 years old boy in Bucharest, Romania when I heard on the radio the news of the assassination of JFK. I was afraid that if a Russian hand pulled the trigger in Dallas, World War 3 would destroy our world. Gabriel Teodorescu, New York, USA
Some things are never forgotten. I was a 16 year old high school student, and to this day I remember what I was wearing, the smell of the school room, and the teacher who fought back tears as she announced the news. Nancy Cottrell, USA
I was not yet born but my Mom who was only 13 years old at that time remember hearing from the loudspeaker in the train station that President Kennedy was assassinated and people around her started crying. Maria Lourdes Ubalde, Philippines
I was 12 years old and living in the hill station of Mussoorie in India when Harban Singh Khalsa, our family grocer called out to me and said, in Hindi, "David, did you hear they've killed Kennedy?" JFK was a hero in India, and his status continued in an almost god-like fashion, with "bazaar pictures" of him published to be hung or glued on peoples' walls for years after he died. David R. Jennings, Canada
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To this day I believe it forever changed the course of history for the worse.
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-- John Bartlett, Mexico
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It's impossible for someone of my generation not to remember where, how and when. I was in São Paulo at a bicycle shop getting my bike fixed when we heard the news over the radio. I rushed home on foot, leaving my bike behind to watch it on TV and mourn. Peter Blakeney, Brazil
I was in the Instrument Research Division Building at NASA-Langley, working as an engineer on instrumentation for the vehicle that was to take astronauts to the Moon, in accordance with JFK's pledge. A secretary came in and told us that JFK had been shot. It will always be one of the saddest days of my life. Bill Campbell, USA
I was a 9-year-old boy living in Paris. My father had been a pilot on Air Force One prior to that time and had flown Kennedy several times. JFK was my father's idol as we are all Irish Catholics from Boston originally. The news was so unbelievable and devastating that none of us could even talk for a long time after seeing the news unfold. Chuck Sheehan, USA
I was in Tokyo, watching the first US-Japan satellite TV broadcast. The first thing I heard was that President Kenndy was shot, and saw the image of the back of President's car speeding along the highway. Ko Takenaka, Tokyo
I was six years old. As I entered my classroom that morning I heard my teacher sobbing in her chair. Before a captive class she announced amid her tears "Kennedy has been shot, he was so handsome." Sajjad Hotiana, Pakistan
I was 9 years old walking through a paddy field holding my mother's hand, when my school master who was coming from the opposite direction told us about President Kennedy's death. Although I was not heard about him, expressions from my mother indicated he was a great and good man. George Elva, India
I was 10 years old. My Father was asleep. I woke him up and told him the news I heard in the radio. He jumped off the bed shocked. He was an employee in the U.S Embassy, Cairo at that time. Hossam Hassan Abozeid, Egypt
The announcement was on the dinnertime TV news. The event remained as an emotional mark so deeply that, when visiting Dallas more than 30 years later, I had to go to the Sixth Floor museum in the Texas Book Depository, and I felt the powerful emotions of that day return. Cesare Greco, Italy
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It was 40 years ago but the memory is still fresh with me
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-- Valentin V. Viktorov, Russia
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My Dad told me that he about President Kennedy being shot when he was outside a small village in Vietnam. Being in the Seal team he was in Vietnam before there was an official "war". He said all he could do was put his head in his hands. Serena, USA
I was at home when I heard on Radio Romania the terrible news about the assassination in Dallas. I was too young, but I understood that it threatened democracy and I was afraid because I saw in my parents eyes a big unrest. Tania Iancu, Romania
At that time I was living in very rural village in Sri Lanka and we did not have television. I was a just a school kid and knew nothing much about the world, but we often paid attention to space exploration by the U.S. and Russia. I heard the Kennedy assassination story over the local news broadcasts. I have no idea how I knew about Kennedy, but it was shocking news for me. I remember running outside the house to tell the story to others. Herath Mahipala, USA
