My Alma Mater: Personal History

“I show my Vietnam slides to my son’s history classes every year,” says Michael Boren. Left: In his cadet uniform, 1967; (right) with his wife, Julia L. Parks Boren, ’73 MEDIA. (Images courtesy of Illini Media and Michael Boren)

I studied history at the U of I straight out of Pittsfield (Ill.) High School, but it wasn’t until my 40s, after careers in the military, business,
banking and politics, that I began teaching.

The superintendent who hired me said my life experiences—including active duty in the Vietnam War—made me better at my job, and I strongly agree: I was able to describe the impacts of recent history in a way that made it come alive for my students.

That “recent history” first came alive for me during my freshman year at Illinois, on Nov. 22, 1963—the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Nearly anyone who is old enough to remember it can tell you where they were when they heard the news.

For me, on that rainy, dreary Friday afternoon, it was in my room at 464 Weston Hall. A few of us had been sitting around talking, when the guy next door bolted in and said, “Someone shot at the president!”

Minutes later, he returned and said, “They hit him! They shot President Kennedy!”

With that, we all followed my neighbor into his room and crowded around the radio.

At first, the news was unclear: “rushed to Parkland Hospital”… “condition unknown”….  But soon, it was announced that the president was dead.

It was a shock to us all—nationwide and even worldwide, it seemed. And it overwhelmed everything. I had a date the next day, Saturday, and went to the West Side Church of Christ in Champaign on Sunday. In my memory, the assassination was the only thing people talked about.

Classes were cancelled for Monday, Nov. 25, and U of I President David Dodds Henry scheduled an all-University convocation at the brand-new Assembly Hall to pay tribute to the fallen president.

My first year at Illinois, 1963-64, all able-bodied freshman and sophomore males were required to serve in ROTC, and on that day, we were told to report to the Armory, in full uniform, to take part in the convocation.

More than 6,000 of us showed up on that chilly Monday morning, including the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force honor guards, and we stood in formation, united by a feeling of shock and mourning.

Then, it was time to march from the Armory to the Assembly Hall.

During the 10 years I ultimately served in the U.S. Army, it was the largest group I ever marched in. It seemed that we uniformed cadets made up more than half the convocation’s audience.

Whatever the reality, the significance of that sobering day left a permanent mark on me. As did the decade that followed: a decade marked by the Vietnam War, social upheaval and lasting change.

A decade that I experienced first-hand, and then more than 20 years later, shared first-hand, in my classroom at Pittsfield High School.

Michael Boren enjoyed careers in the military, banking and education.

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