Extraordinary never-before-seen footage of JFK assassination revealed at auction
Never-before-seen amateur footage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy has been found. The footage was stored in an old milk crate for over 60 years.
The minute-long 8mm film shows the desperate attempts to save the president and his wife in the seconds after he was shot in Dallas in November 1963.
First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s pink jacket is clearly visible in the new footage, which shows Secret Service Agent Clint Hill using his body as a human shield in the back of the car they were in as the car speeds toward Parkland Hospital at 80 mph.
The film will be auctioned on September 28 after being discovered by the grandson of the Dallas truck driver who filmed it.
The finding is “an emotional thing for me because I know what happened,” said Hill, now 92, told People.
“I know I see a dead president in that movie.”
Jackie Kennedy’s pink jacket is clearly visible in the new footage, as Secret Service agent Clint Hill heroically uses his body as a human shield in an attempt to protect her and her husband.
The color footage was shot by Dale Carpenter Sr. after he took his camera to film what he considered an unremarkable visit by the president to his city.
The film was shot in two parts. The first shows spectators cheering and waving as the presidential motorcade makes its way through downtown Dallas.
The second, filmed from Stemmons Freeway, shows the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with Officer Hill giving a grim thumbs down to the car behind him as he watches Mrs. Kennedy lean over her mortally wounded husband.
Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, said he was given the film by his mother after she went through a treasure trove of family memorabilia following the death of his grandfather from Parkinson’s disease.
“She gave me a bunch of reels of family movies and audio recordings, a projector and an audio recorder,” he told People.
“The film was stored in a plastic crate from Dean Foods and had been sitting in my closet for several years before I decided to put it in a fire safe.”
Gates tracked down the retired Secret Service agent in 2012 after realizing what was inside the small cardboard box marked “1963 NOV.”
“About 10 years ago I started researching the JFK assassination because I knew I had something that might be of historical value,” he said.
“I found Clint and Lisa, but it would be another 10 years before I decided to properly preserve and archive the film.”
According to Lisa McCubbin Hill, Hill’s wife, the images “bring it all back so vividly.”
“It really brings the moment to life when you see the president’s limo and Clint sitting in the back of the car,” she said.
“When you see the speed of the car and how dangerous it is, Clint is still trying to protect President and Mrs. Kennedy from whatever else is coming our way.
‘One misstep and he would have flown away and been killed.’
The footage sat in an old milk crate for decades after being filmed by Dallas truck driver Dale Carpenter Sr. It was found by his daughter after his death and will be auctioned off on September 28.
The photo shows Secret Service agent Clint Hill heroically using his body as a human shield in the back of the car carrying the president as the car speeds toward Parkland Hospital at 80 mph.
Clint Hill, now 92, says the existence of the images means little to him: “I’m there all the time anyway.”
The full film has not yet been released, but Bobby Livingston of New York auction house RR Auction said it is a sequel to the famous Zapruder film that captured the moment the president was hit.
For years, many have questioned the official story of what happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963. JFK and Jackie Kennedy are pictured moments before he was assassinated.
Jackie and Bobby Kennedy watch as JFK’s casket arrives in the East Room of the White House after his assassination.
The full film has yet to be released. Bobby Livingston, of New York auction house RR Auction, said it complements the famous Zapruder film, which captured the moment the president was shot and shows Mrs. Kennedy leaning over her wounded husband.
“Unlike any other known footage, this film captures a segment that immediately follows the Zapruder film, providing a fresh look at one of the most scrutinized moments in history,” he said.
“Once you see it, you’ll never forget Clint Hill’s heroic efforts to protect Mrs. Kennedy. He raced at 80 miles an hour in a desperate attempt to save the president’s life as they raced toward Parkland.”
The footage will be used in a documentary about Hill titled Agent Number 9: The Clint Hill Story, due out next year.
“For me, nothing changes,” Hill said. “I’m here all the time anyway.”