Fans Share Wishes, Tributes For John Lennon 33 Years After Assassination
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Sunday marked the 33rd anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon in New York, and Yoko Ono invited fans to send wishes and tributes.
On Twitter, Ono asked her followers to send their wishes and tributes to Lennon through the webpage for "Imagine Peace Tower," an outdoor artwork Ono commissioned on Viðey Island in Reykjavik, Iceland, composed of a beam of light pointed skyward. The artwork was dedicated for what would have been Lennon's 67th birthday on Oct. 9, 2007.
Many fans took Ono up on her request. Liz Faranda paraphrased Lennon's Beatles classic "Across the Universe" in her tribute.
"I hope there is the undying love, shining like a million suns on you as you make your way across the universe now and watch over and warm those you were taken from far, far too early. I hope where you are that finally, love is all you need," she wrote. "You touched more people than you will ever know and I hope your true legacy is not your music…but the people you touched pushing onward with your message of love and brotherhood. 'Where there is life, there's hope.'"
Wrote Ann-Marie Virginie: "Thank you, John Lennon, for enriching my life with your music and your words. They will never be forgotten."
Numerous fans also shared their thoughts through Twitter.
You're not the only dreamer...Rest easy #JohnLennon #Dreamer #Imagine @IPTower http://t.co/P5NItacbb4
— Jonathan Lane (@JLane0130) December 8, 2013
@IPTower Love globally and locally. Love strangers and love those close to you. Love IS all you need. Thank you John. Thank you Yoko.
— Mr Wilson (@turnipmangle) December 8, 2013
As they do every year, fans also gathered at the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park Sunday to remember Lennon by placing tributes at the "Imagine" mosaic and singing along to his songs.
The memorial is just east of the Dakota building at 72nd Street and Central Park West where Lennon lived and Ono continues to reside.
On Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon and Ono posed for a photo shoot by Annie Liebovitz for Rolling Stone Magazine, and Lennon gave an interview to San Francisco DJ Dave Sholin, before leaving his home in the late afternoon for the Record Plant Studio, 321 W. 44th St., to mix the song "Walking on Thin Ice." As Lennon and Ono left, 25-year-old unemployed security guard Mark David Chapman asked Lennon to autograph his copy of the recently-released "Double Fantasy" album, a request which Lennon obliged.
Chapman had come to New York specifically to murder Lennon, and had been stalking the Dakota building all day.
When Lennon returned from the recording session around 10:50 p.m., Chapman took aim directly at Lennon's back and fired five shots. Lennon was rushed to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m. that night.
Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He remains incarcerated.
The Strawberry Fields section of Central Park, where Lennon frequently walked, was dedicated with the "Imagine" mosaic in 1985.
Lennon would have turned 73 this past Oct. 9.
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