Never-before-seen footage shows moments after JFK assassination
<p>Never-before-seen footage of aftermath of United States President John F. Kennedy's assassination has emerged, more than six decades after his murder. </p>
<p>The film footage will soon be sold through RR action, and shows the moment JFK's motorcade sped toward Parkland Hospital as Clint Hill, Jackie Kennedy’s Secret Service agent, shields both her and the president. </p>
<p>"This is remarkable, in colour, and you can feel the 80mph (130km/h)," said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of the auction house.</p>
<p>The 8mm home film was captured by Dale Carpenter Sr. and began with him filming other vehicles in the motorcade as it travelled down Lemmon Avenue toward the city centre.</p>
<p>The film then picks up after Kennedy was shot, and shows Clint Hill - who famously jumped onto the back of the limousine as the shots were fired - hovering in a standing position over the president and first lady. </p>
<p>"I did not know that there were not any more shots coming," Agent Hill, who is now 92-years-old, said. </p>
<p>"I had a vision that, yes, there probably were going to be more shots when I got up there as I did."</p>
<p>In an interview with <em>People</em> magazine, he said that the discovery of the film is “an emotional thing for me because I know what has happened. I know what I’m seeing in that film is a dead president.”</p>
<p>The assassination itself was famously captured on film by Abraham Zapruder, and according to Livingston, the executive vice president of the auction house, the footage captured by Carpenter is "unlike any other footage known to exist". </p>
<p>"This film captures a segment immediately following the Zapruder film, providing a fresh perspective on one of the most analyzed moments in history," he continued.</p>
<p>"Once you see it, you'll never forget Clint Hill's heroic efforts to protect Mrs. Kennedy, racing at 80 miles an hour in a desperate attempt to save the president's life as they sped to Parkland."</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPGEtMvxAyQ?si=xzNde8jG6pllHMMn" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Carpenter's grandson, James Gate, said that his family had always known about the footage, but they rarely talked about the footage which was stored along with other family films in a milk crate. </p>
<p>It wasn't until after his grandfather's death from Parkinson's disease when his mother decided to hand down family mementos and the film landed in Gate's possession. </p>
<p>While he was initially underwhelmed by the film when he watched the footage, it was when he saw the aftermath of the assassination that he was "shocked". </p>
<p>In 2012, Gates got in touch with Agent Hill and his wife Lisa McCubbin Hill, to show them the footage. </p>
<p>Agent Hill's wife said that while knew about the events that unfolded on the tragic day, "to see the footage of it actually happen ... just kind of makes your heart stop."</p>
<p>“When you see the president’s limousine, you see Clint on the back of the car. To see the speed of the car and how precarious that was — Clint is still trying to protect the president and Mrs. Kennedy from whatever else might be coming.</p>
<p>"One slip and he would have gone flying off and he would have been killed,” she told <em>People</em> magazine. </p>
<p>Stephen Fagin, curator at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which tells the story of the assassination on November 22, 1963, said: "These images, these films and photographs, a lot of times they are still out there. They are still being discovered or rediscovered in attics or garages."</p>
<p>The film will be up for auction in northeastern US city of Boston on September 28, with <a href="https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/348314307005036-assassination-of-john-f-kennedy-unseen-8mm-film-footage-from-november-22-1963-documenting-the-motorcade-and-rush-to-parkland-hospital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online bidding</a> already underway. </p>
<p><em>Images: RR Auction / Public Domain</em></p>
