Where I was Nov 22, 1962, the day JFK was assassinated --
I was in the second year of college in Rangoon. 7 July 1962 when the Burmese military junta
first shot at unarmed civilians, had just taken place. We were living in a small house that my
mother later sold, in a back lane near the Inya Lake bund, where in 1988 a lot
of people would be hit/clubbed by the Lon Htein and drown among the water
hyacinths, and the White Bridge would become the Red Bridge.
Our family friends the Evertons were JFK's ambassador to
Burma. I listened to the live radio
broadcast of the state funeral from VOA on a small short wave radio that my
parents had brought back from the UK in the 50s. We did not hear very much, but I remember the
clip clop of the riderless horse's hooves -
Later John Scott Everton and Mrs Margaret Everton showed us
photos of the memorial service they had held for President Kennedy on the small
terrace overlooking Inya lake.
Shortly thereafter, Dr Everton, who had been appointed by
JFK himself, was recalled by the Lyndon Johnson administration and an ex-US Army
general appointed, on the grounds, we heard, that an army man could better talk
to the Burmese junta.
Well, 50 years later, you see how wrong-headed that was!
Kyi May Kaung
11-22-2013
FB
