It was November 22, 1963, during the first semester of my second year in Junior College. I was 19 years old. A little after 11 am in the morning, I was taking a break between classes in The Commons – the large cafeteria and eating area on campus. Hanging out with friends sharing the usual gossip and stories, it seemed like any other Friday morning. We were looking forward expectantly to a weekend of sleeping in and maybe a good Saturday night party.

Suddenly, a student came running into The Commons. “President Kennedy has been shot! President Kennedy has been shot!” she shouted. Word spread quickly. It turned out that President John F. Kennedy had been shot during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. President Kenney had died a little after 1 pm Dallas time.

Stunned silence.

I spent Saturday and Sunday watching hours of TV coverage of the funeral and burial of President Kennedy.

One of my major motivations for my trip across the United States in the fall of 1964 was to visit President Kenney’s grave and pay whatever homage I was capable of at age 20. President Kenney was a voracious reader and had traveled and seen most of the world. When World War 2 hit, John F. Kennedy volunteered for the Navy. He became a Naval Officer and the skipper of a PT torpedo boat. He was involved in dangerous combat missions in the Soloman Islands (where Guadalcanal was) campaign of the Pacific theater. Kennedy’s actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer earned him several commendations as well as a Purple Heart and made him a war hero. Back problems from the incident required months of hospitalization at Chelsea Naval Hospital and plagued him the rest of his life.

I was not a kid who was into politics. But this young, idealistic, visionary president captured my imagination. His call to the nation

“Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country.”

during his inaugural address resonated with me.

I was enthusiastic about President Kennedy’s fitness program that every boy and girl would get at least an hour of vigorous exercise 5 days a week from First Grade all the way through high school.

I was inspired when I heard President Kennedy’s go-to-the-moon speech at Rice University in Texas September 12, 1962. President Kennedy’s words galvanized me.

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

I lived through the enormous tension of the Cuban Missile crisis October 16–28, 1962 – literally a nuclear showdown with the Russians and arguably the most dangerous moment in the history of the world. President Kennedy and his team remained calm, reasonable and logical. A peaceful, face-saving solution was worked out with the Russians and the world heaved a sigh of profound relief.

President Kennedy’s assassination Friday, November 22, 1963, made no sense to me. I can still vividly recall when I heard the news of President Kennedy’s death. It was a watershed moment in my life and in the life of our nation.

I stood at the foot of President Kennedy’s grave approximately a year after he had been killed. The grave seemed modest for a president of the United States. I felt empty. So few human beings are positive and encouraging. Here was a bold idealist who set high goals for our country.

Of course, in the fall of 1964, I had no idea of the outcome of his audacious goal. During the subsequent 5 years, I had (like Kennedy) volunteered to serve my country.  In my case, in the Marine Corps. I had volunteered for combat as a squad leader in the jungles of Vietnam. After 12 ½ months in intense combat, I came home on a stretcher (an AK-47 wound in my right thigh) and my own Purple Heart. At the time of the moon landing, I was an Honor student at the University of California, Irvine. With my wife and her family, I watched on TV as Neil Armstrong took his historic first step (“One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”) on the surface of the moon.  At that moment, I had even deeper respect for President John F. Kennedy’s bold vision and realized how sorely our nation missed his inspiring and visionary leadership. It seemed like the music died November 22, 1963.

Once again, I am so grateful to have directly experienced a profound but sad American moment in 1964 at age 20. As I reflect back 60 years later, 2 of those moments (hearing the news of President John F. Kennedy’s senseless death and the triumphant fulfilment of Kennedy’s audacious goal) are as fresh and as vivid as if they were yesterday.

I still (at 80) try to get at least an hour of vigorous exercise 5 days a week. Combined with high quality nutrition (JDD shakes), I am still vigorously healthy and mentally sharp. It is my hope that my example and my program can do the same for you and your family.

I encourage you to take full advantage of our limited time special offer: buy 2 cases of JDD protein and receive 1 free case of JDD protein.

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As always, I wish you and your family the very best of health.
Joe