Today marks another anniversary of a seminal moment in U.S. history. 54 years ago President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in the infamous Lincoln Continental Presidential limousine during the fateful motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas.

Kennedy Assassination
Getty Images
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November 22nd, 1963 became a focal point for the Baby Boom generation and the impact of JFK's death continues to ripple through the culture of the nation he led during that tumultuous time.

23 years earlier, John F. Kennedy had just graduated from Harvard at age 23 and found himself in Rochester, Minnesota for medical care at the Mayo Clinic. At the time he was preparing for post-graduate studies at Yale, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the following year scuttled those plans and JFK volunteered for military service.

Why England Slept bookcover
cover photo courtesy Wilfred Funk Publishing
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During his visit to Rochester in August 1940, the future President was interviewed in KROC-AM about his just-published book Why England Slept. The book, written as Kennedy's college thesis, details mistakes made by Great Britain following World War I that allowed Germany to gain a huge military advantage in the years leading up to the start of World War II in Europe.

The recording of the interview (see the YouTube video at the top of the post) is included in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. It's believed to be the earliest known audio recording of the future leader of the free world.

 

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