New film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding toward a Dallas hospital after his assassination will be auctioned later this month. Despite being over 60 years old, such discoveries are not uncommon, according to Stephen Fagin, curator at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
RR Auction will present the 8 mm home film on September 28 in Boston. The footage, which begins with Dale Carpenter Sr. capturing the motorcade as it heads down Lemmon Avenue, picks up speed as the motorcade races down Interstate 35 following the shooting.
The 10-second clip reveals Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, who famously jumped onto the back of the limousine, standing over Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. Hill’s presence and the speed of the motorcade are strikingly depicted.
James Gates, Carpenter’s grandson, was initially unimpressed by the Lemmon Avenue footage but was stunned by the I-35 scenes. He was particularly moved by the sight of Hill on the limousine’s back.
After arriving at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Hill contacted Attorney General Robert Kennedy, conveying the severity of the situation without directly stating the president’s death.
Historian Farris Rookstool III, who has viewed the footage, describes it as providing a comprehensive view of the urgent drive to Parkland. The auction house has released still photos but will not publicly show the motorcade footage.
Stephen Fagin notes that such footage often resurfaces, as seen with other previously unknown materials related to the assassination.
