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Footage of motorcade racing JFK to hospital after he was shot sells for $137,500 at auction – National

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3 months ago

September 28, 2024

Footage of motorcade racing JFK to hospital after he was shot sells for $137,500 at auction - National

Newly discovered film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway toward a hospital after he was fatally wounded was recently sold at auction for US$137,500.

The 8 mm color home film was auctioned by RR Auction in Boston, with the buyer choosing to remain anonymous.

The film has been in the possession of Dale Carpenter Sr.’s family since he recorded it on November 22, 1963. It begins with Carpenter just missing the president and first lady in their limousine but capturing other vehicles in the motorcade as it traveled down Lemmon Avenue. The film then continues after Kennedy was shot, showing the motorcade rushing down Interstate 35.

The shots were fired as the motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in front of the Texas School Book Depository, where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had positioned himself on the sixth floor. The actual assassination was famously captured on film by Abraham Zapruder.

An undated image released by RR Auction shows a box of home film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway to the hospital after he was fatally wounded on Nov. 22, 1963.

RR Auction via AP, File

Carpenter’s footage from I-35, lasting about 10 seconds, shows Secret Service Agent Clint Hill standing over the president and Jacqueline Kennedy, with the president being pronounced dead upon arrival at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

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Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of the auction house, stated that the film “provides a gripping sense of urgency and heartbreak.”

Click to play video: 'The JFK assassination: Sixty years later'

1:47
The JFK assassination: Sixty years later

Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, revealed that while his family knew about his grandfather’s film from that day, it was not a frequent topic of discussion. When the film was eventually passed down to Gates, he was unsure of its contents. However, upon watching the footage, he was shocked by what he saw.

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Projecting it onto his bedroom wall around 2010, Gates was initially unimpressed by the footage from Lemmon Avenue. However, the footage from I-35 caught his attention. “That was shocking,” he said.

The auction house has shared still photos from the film segment depicting the race down I-35, but the video of that part has not been publicly released.

An undated image released by RR Auction shows home film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway to a hospital after he was fatally wounded on Nov. 22, 1963.

RR Auction via AP, File

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