The front cover of the Herald Tribune in Batesville in 1963:
(BATESVILLE, Ind.) -- President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
It was one of those rare historical moments where Americans who were alive recall exactly where they were when they heard the news.
The 812 reached out to several local residents who can still vividly remember what happened on this date 60 years.
P.G. Gentrup was in a typing class as a junior at Lawrenceburg High School when his teacher, Bill Hopping, informed him of the assassination.
"It was devastating for everybody, the president was young and everybody believed in him," Gentrup said. "It certainly changed the country and I firmly believe if JFK wasn't assassinated that I would have never ended up in Vietnam.
Gentrup would serve in Vietnam and to this day, takes a group of veterans to Washington, D.C. every year. In 2009, he had the opportunity to take Hopping, the teacher who told him about JFK's death.
Many other locals also recall hearing the news while at school.
"I was a Senior at Batesville High. The teacher brought a TV into our room to watch the news coverage," Ann Lightner said.
Camen Jones recalls, "I was a junior at ICA. I was in orchestra at the time, we stayed in the gym and watched TV. Just a very sad time."
Batesville resident and Vietnam veteran, Rodney Jones, was a sophomore in high school.
"They announced it on the loudspeaker and then the Principal said thanks to those responsible for breaking the rope on the flagpole we would be unable to fly the flag at half staff. It was broken on Halloween accidentally and not on purpose. Someone tried to hoist something that was too heavy for the rope," Jones recalled.
Meantime, we also spoke with several residents who heard of the news while outside of school.
Larry Riedy, who hosts a popular podcast in Batesville, was working for an oil company in Cincinnati in November of 1963.
"It was the middle of the day and I was in my car. It was a big shock and I couldn't believe it," Larry said. "I still remember the 1960 election when Nixon was sweating like a pig on television, and Kennedy was composed and was the middle of the road candidate. JFK is still the only democrat I've ever voted for."
Another prominent Batesville person was in the process of moving with his family. on this date 60 years ago.
Paul Wonning, who is now an author and historian, was just 9-years-old at the time.
"We moved from Napoleon to Batesville on that day. A neighbor flagged Mom down [to tell us] as we were going back to our farm to get another load of our stuff."
Two local women recall being new in the workforce and hearing the news while on the job.
Kelly Meyer was just 19-years-old and working as a bookkeeper at Western & Southern in downtown Cincinnati.
"It was announced over the loud speaker that morning. There was complete silence and disbelief throughout the office," Meyer said.
At the same time, Linda Forman was working in the office at Batesville Casket.
"Someone came in our area and said the President has been shot. Was hard to believe that could be true. Sad to say it was," Forman remembered.
One Batesville native was called to service for JFK's funeral
Eric Lindemann was serving in the Air Force Honor Guard and was asked to march in the funeral procession for John F. Kennedy.
Lindemann called his parents from Washington to say that he would take part in the procession.
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