Abbeville's Bob LeBlanc recalls where he was when he heard the bad news

It may be difficult to realize exactly what will be lost in the face of tragedy.
So it is likely that 50 years ago many did not grasp exactly what turn the country would take the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Gen. Robert "Bob" LeBlanc, 92, remembers his thoughts as he sat in the Post Master’s chair in Abbeville on Nov. 22, 1963.
“The clerk came in and told me that Kennedy had been shot,” LeBlanc said.
The General’s initial thought?
“This country is going to go to pot,” he said.
LeBlanc said had a great respect for Kennedy as a leader.
“This is the greatest country in the world,” LeBlanc said. “It has invaluable opportunities for anyone who lives in this country. When we came out of World War II, there were worlds of possibility. President Kennedy meant the same thing to this country that the post World War II Presidents and congress meant.
“He put a spark back into this country.”
LeBlanc said that is because Kennedy was simply a visionary.
“What other president would have brought this country to the moon?,” LeBlanc said. “That brought jobs and it brought opportunities for everything under the sun.”
Federal employees were given the day off on Nov. 23, 1963. LeBlanc sat that day watching and listening to all the information roll in. He realized what was lost.
“I was very disappointed,” LeBlanc said. “I knew that we lost an outstanding President.”