A Texas family is auctioning off rare video footage capturing the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The footage was recorded on an 8mm camera by businessman Dale Carpenter Sr.
By the time Carpenter arrived at Lemmon Avenue, Kennedy's limousine had already passed. Not happy with videos of Lyndon Johnson and the White House press bus, Carpenter left the area and headed to Stemmons Freeway, which was several miles away.
When Carpenter arrived at the new location, Kennedy had already been shot. As Carpenter started recording, he captured footage of Kennedy's convertible speeding down the highway toward Parkland Memorial Hospital. While Kennedy cannot be seen in the videos, they show a glimpse of Jacqueline Kennedy wearing her pink Chanel outfit.
After Carpenter passed away in 1991, the reels became a family heirloom, passing to his wife, children, and grandchildren. Now, the family is auctioning off the rare video footage. The auction is being held in Boston by RR Auction, which said the video is the only footage of Kennedy's presidential limousine on the highway after he was shot.
According to the New York Times, Gerald Posner, the author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, said that the video "captures the heartbreak of what just happened in Dealey Plaza and what we know we’re about to find out soon at Parkland hospital.”