The existence of previously unseen amateur footage of John F. Kennedy’s assassination has been revealed after sitting in an old milk crate for more than 60 years.
The minute-long, 8mm film shows the desperate efforts 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 riding in as it accelerates toward Parkland Hospital at 80mph.
Hill, now 92, has been shown the film which goes to auction on September 28 after being discovered by the grandson of the Dallas truck driver who filmed it.
‘It’s an emotional thing for me because I know what has happened,’ the former agent said. ‘I know what I’m seeing in that film is a dead president.’
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 a bid to protect her and her husband
The color footage was shot by Dale Carpenter Sr after he took his camera to film what he thought would be an unremarkable presidential visit to his city.
Shot in two parts, the first shows onlookers cheering and waving as the presidential motorcade drives through downtown Dallas.
The second, filmed from Stemmons Freeway, shows the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with Hill giving a grim thumbs-down to the car behind as he glances down at Mrs Kennedy leaning over her fatally wounded husband.
Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, said he was handed the film by his mother after she went through a trove of family mementos following his grandfather’s death from Parkinson’s disease.
‘She gave me several reels of family films and audio recordings, a projector and the reel-to-reel audio recorder,’ he told People.
‘The film was stored in a plastic Dean Foods milk crate and had been 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 the significance of what was inside the little cardboard box labelled ‘1963 NOV’ in blue biro.
‘About 10 years or so ago, I started to research the JFK assassination, knowing I had something possibly of some historical value,’ he said.
‘I found Clint and Lisa, but it wouldn’t be until another 10 years when I made the decision to properly preserve and archive the film.’
‘It brings it back so vividly,’ said Hill’s wife, Lisa McCubbin Hill, who has also seen the footage.
‘It really brings the moment to life 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.
‘One slip and he would have gone flying off and he would have been killed.’
The footage spent decades in an old milk crate after being filmed by Dallas truck driver Dale Carpenter Sr. It was found by his daughter after his death and is auctioned on September 28
Secret Service agent Clint Hill is seen heroically using his body as a human shield in the back of the car the President was riding in as it accelerates toward Parkland Hospital at 80mph.
Clint Hill, now 92, said the existence of the footage meant little to him: ‘I’m back there all the time anyways.’
The complete film has yet to be made public but Bobby Livingston of New York auction house RR Auction said it segues with the famous Zapruder film which caught the moment the President was hit
For years many have questioned the official narrative of what happened on November 22, 1963 in Dallas. JFK and Jackie Kennedy are pictured moments before he was assassinated
Jackie and Bobby Kennedy watch as the casket of JFK arrives in the East Room of the White House after his assassination.
The complete film has yet to be made public but Bobby Livingston of New York auction house RR Auction said it segues with the famous Zapruder film which caught the moment the President was hit and Mrs Kennedy leaning over her wounded husband.
‘Unlike any other footage known to exist, this film captures a segment immediately following the Zapruder film, providing a fresh perspective on one of the most analyzed moments in history,’ he added.
‘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.’
The footage will be included in a documentary about Hill called Agent Number 9: The Clint Hill Story, which is due out next year.
‘It doesn’t change anything for me,’ Hill said. ‘I’m back there all the time anyways.’