Being able to touch history
Posted: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 5:14 PM by Daily Nightly Editor
Filed Under:
Brian Williams
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Last weekend, I attended Mass at the same church in Rhode Island where John F. Kennedy was married. Having read about the family and the event for years, it was a thrill to sit beneath those old timbers, to inhale the atmosphere and see the interior and exterior, largely unchanged since that day when the young couple exited to huge waiting crowds. As a history buff, "tactile" history is what I love best: holding a letter signed by FDR, running your finger over the signature and realizing that's as close as you may get to some of our great historical figures. So: my favorite story in the morning papers -- all of the morning papers -- was this story in the New York Times -- about the places some of us pass by every day that played a role in history. I recently took a drive through London looking for known bullet and explosion pockmarks from WWII -- while it's not for everyone, it's great if it's what you're into.
Right now we're well into preparations for the broadcast. We hope you can join us. Tonight: Part two of Richard Engel's great reporting, and a Making A Difference report.