Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.MX

Narrator: ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963,

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ARRIVES IN DALLAS

TO AN ECSTATIC WELCOME.

Reporter: AND HERE THEY COME.

THE PEOPLE CHEER.

Man: HOLLYWOOD COULD NOT HAVE PRODUCED A COUPLE

MORE GLAMOROUS THAN JOHN KENNEDY AND JACKIE.

Narrator: IN HIS THREE YEARS AS PRESIDENT,

KENNEDY HAS BECOME A GLOBAL SUPERSTAR,

CREDITED WITH FACING DOWN THE COLD WAR SOVIET ENEMY IN CUBA

AND SAVING THE WORLD FROM NUCLEAR WAR.

Reporter: I CAN SEE HIS SUNTAN ALL THE WAY FROM HERE.

Narrator: WITH HIS GLAMOROUS STYLE-ICON WIFE JACKIE,

KENNEDY HAS ALSO BECOME THE DARLING OF THE WORLD'S MEDIA,

THE FIRST TV PRESIDENT.

Man: IT WAS CAMELOT.

MAKE-BELIEVE.

AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE SAW THEM THAT WAY.

Narrator: BUT NOT EVERYONE WELCOMES THE PRESIDENT

THAT MORNING IN DALLAS.

Woman: THE ATMOSPHERE IN DALLAS WAS SO CHARGED,

A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE WORRIED ABOUT KENNEDY COMING AT ALL.

IT WAS IN THE AIR,

THE FEAR THAT HE MIGHT BE KILLED.

Man: I SAW THE PRESIDENT GRAB AT HIS THROAT,

AND I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

Man: IT WENT KIND OF "BANG...BANG-BANG."

Narrator: IN DALLAS TODAY,

THE SPOT WHERE KENNEDY WAS TARGETED 50 YEARS AGO

CONTINUES TO DRAW VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

A TRAGEDY FROM LONG BEFORE CELL PHONES AND THE INTERNET

HAS A POWERFUL HOLD FOR SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS.

THIS FILM TELLS THE STORY OF THAT DAY IN DALLAS

THROUGH THE MEMORIES OF PEOPLE WHO PLAYED A PART

IN THOSE EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS

AND WHOSE LIVES WERE TOUCHED FOREVER BY WHAT HAPPENED.

SOME HAVE NOT SPOKEN ON CAMERA BEFORE.

THE DOCTOR WHO TRIED TO SAVE KENNEDY...

THE SECRET SERVICE AGENT WHO AGONIZED THAT HE WAS TOO LATE...

THE MAN WRONGLY ACCUSED OF JFK'S MURDER...

THE WOMAN WHO DISCOVERED

SHE HAD SHELTERED THE PRESIDENT'S ASSASSIN.

THIS IS THE MINUTE-BY-MINUTE STORY

OF THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT

TOLD THROUGH RARELY SEEN FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHS

TO GIVE A DEFINITIVE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE DAY KENNEDY DIED.

Man: WITH THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY,

I BELIEVE THE WORLD CHANGED.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Narrator: 8:50 A.M.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS LESS THAN FOUR HOURS TO LIVE

WHEN HE EMERGES FROM THE TEXAS HOTEL IN FORT WORTH,

30 MILES FROM DALLAS.

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING IN THE RAIN FOR HOURS

FOR A CHANCE TO SEE THE PRESIDENT.

KENNEDY IS INTRODUCED BY VICE PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON.

Lyndon Johnson: THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!

John F. Kennedy: I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WELCOME.

Narrator: BENEATH THE PRESIDENT'S SMILE,

THERE'S A STEELY POLITICAL MOTIVE.

HE FACES A TIGHT RE-ELECTION IN 1964.

Man: HE HAD TO CARRY TEXAS TO WIN THE PRE-NOMINATION.

AND HE CAME HERE PRIMARILY

TO HEAL A SPLIT BETWEEN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY,

WHICH THEN WOULD ASSURE HIM OF CARRYING TEXAS.

Man: THE CONSERVATIVES AND THE LIBERALS IN TEXAS

HAD REALLY SPLIT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WIDE OPEN,

AND PRESIDENT KENNEDY KNEW THAT HE COULD NOT WIN IN 1964

UNLESS HE COULD CARRY TEXAS,

AND HE COULD ONLY CARRY TEXAS

IF HE COULD HEAL THE WOUNDS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

SO THAT WAS REALLY THE REASON

THAT HE CAME TO TEXAS TO START WITH.

Narrator: AS THE PRESIDENT PREPARES FOR HIS VISIT TO DALLAS,

TWO YOUNG MEN ARE DRIVING TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE CITY

AND THEIR JOBS AT THE TEXAS SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY.

ONE OF THEM IS LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

50 YEARS LATER,

OSWALD'S NEIGHBOR AND WORKMATE BUELL FRAZIER RECALLS THAT DRIVE

AND THE DAY THAT WOULD CHANGE HIS LIFE.

Buell Frazier: THAT MORNING ON THE WAY TO WORK,

LEE WAS HIS USUAL SELF, HE WASN'T REAL TALKATIVE.

WHEN I FIRST SAT DOWN, I GLANCED OVER

AND I SAW A PACKAGE ON THE BACKSEAT,

AND I SAID, "WELL, WHAT IS THAT?"

AND HE SAID, "REMEMBER,

I TOLD YOU I WAS GONNA BRING CURTAIN RODS

TO PUT UP THE CURTAINS IN MY APARTMENT"

THAT HIS WIFE MARINA HAD MADE FOR HIM.

I SAID, "OH, THAT'S RIGHT."

Narrator: THERE'S A BREAK THIS MORNING WITH OSWALD'S USUAL ROUTINE.

Frazier: I ASKED HIM, I SAID,

"WELL, WILL YOU BE GOING HOME WITH ME?"

HE SAYS, "NO." HE SAYS, "I GOT SOMETHING TO DO."

Narrator: 8 A.M.

OSWALD AND FRAZIER ARRIVE FOR WORK

AT THE TEXAS SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY IN DEALEY PLAZA.

OSWALD HAS BEEN WORKING THERE FOR JUST A MONTH

AND FRAZIER HAS HELPED HIM TO LEARN THE JOB.

Frazier: LEE WAS A, UH...

HE WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER GUYS.

HE WAS MORE SERIOUS.

AND SOMETIMES THE GUYS WOULD... WOULD LAUGH AT HIM.

Narrator: MOST OF THE OTHER WORKERS

KNOW NOTHING OF OSWALD'S BACKGROUND:

THAT HE'S BEEN A U.S. MARINE AND A MARKSMAN;

THAT HE'S LIVED IN THE SOVIET UNION

AND TRIED TO DEFECT;

THAT HE HAS A RUSSIAN WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN IN DALLAS.

HE'S TOLD HIS STORY ONLY TO BUELL FRAZIER.

Frazier: HE GOT THE PACKAGE OUT OF THE CAR

AND PUT IT UNDER HIS RIGHT ARM, AND HE BEGAN TO WALK OFF,

AND HE WENT INSIDE.

NOW, WHERE DID HE GO? I DON'T KNOW.

ONE OF THE MEN I WORKED WITH SAID THAT THE PRESIDENT

IS GONNA BE COMING RIGHT BY THE BUILDING HERE TODAY.

I SAID, "REALLY?"

'CAUSE IF YOU STOP AND THINK, THAT IS REALLY SOMETHING

TO BE ABLE TO SEE A PARADE WHERE YOU HAVE THE PRESIDENT,

BECAUSE THAT JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN.

[APPLAUSE]

Narrator: 9:10 A.M.

IN FORT WORTH,

THE PRESIDENT ARRIVES TO ADDRESS LOCAL BUSINESSMEN.

IT WILL BE HIS LAST SPEECH.

KENNEDY KNOWS THAT A KEY ASSET

IN WINNING TEXAN HEARTS AND MINDS

IS HIS WIFE JACKIE.

Reporter: QUITE A FEW PEOPLE IN THE BALLROOM

ARE WATCHING THE MAITRE D'.

SO FAR THERE IS NO PLATE AT THE PLACE OF MRS. KENNEDY.

Narrator: A CALL IS MADE

TO JACKIE KENNEDY'S SECRET SERVICE AGENT CLINT HILL

TO SUMMON THE FIRST LADY

FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL SUITE IN THE HOTEL.

HILL HAS BEEN TRAVELING THE WORLD

AS MRS. KENNEDY'S BODYGUARD FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS

AND HAS BECOME HER TRUSTED ESCORT AND PROTECTOR.

Clint Hill: THE PHONE RANG IN THE SUITE.

I ANSWERED.

IT WAS THE AGENT WITH PRESIDENT KENNEDY AT THE BREAKFAST.

THE PRESIDENT WANTED MRS. KENNEDY

BROUGHT DOWN TO THE BREAKFAST RIGHT NOW.

SHE KEPT ON DRESSING AND PUTTING ON HER GLOVES AND THINGS,

AND FINALLY I SAID, "YOU KNOW, THE PRESIDENT

IS REALLY WAITING FOR YOU AT THE BREAKFAST,"

AND SO SHE PUT ON HER HAT, AND DOWN WE WENT.

[APPLAUSE]

SHE HAD LOST A CHILD SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH

IN AUGUST OF THAT YEAR,

AND SHE HAD BEEN IN A STATE OF DEPRESSION

BECAUSE OF THAT SITUATION.

SHE WAS GRADUALLY COMING OUT OF IT,

AND SHE HAD MADE THE DECISION

THAT SHE WAS GOING TO HELP THE PRESIDENT

IN HIS RE-ELECTION BID FOR 1964.

AND THE FIRST THING THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DO

WAS GO WITH HIM ON HIS TRIP TO TEXAS,

AND SO SHE WAS IN HIGH SPIRITS AND VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT.

President Kennedy: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

TWO YEARS AGO I INTRODUCED MYSELF IN PARIS

BY SAYING THAT I WAS THE MAN

WHO HAD ACCOMPANIED MRS. KENNEDY TO PARIS.

I'M GETTING SOMEWHAT THAT SAME SENSATION

AS I TRAVEL AROUND TEXAS.

[APPLAUSE]

NOBODY WONDERS WHAT LYNDON AND I WEAR.

[LAUGHTER]

Sid Davis: I'D NEVER SEEN HER HAPPIER

THAN SHE WAS ON THAT TRIP.

SHE DIDN'T LIKE POLITICS TO A GREAT EXTENT.

SHE DIDN'T TRAVEL WITH HIM VERY MUCH

ON POLITICAL TRIPS AS PRESIDENT.

AND SO TEXAS WAS THE FIRST REAL TRIP

OF HER GETTING OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE

AND GOING WITH THE PRESIDENT SOMEWHERE.

AND SO SHE WAS BOUNCING BACK, SHE WAS SMILING AND HAPPY,

AFTER WHAT SHE'D BEEN THROUGH.

Man: MR. PRESIDENT,

WE KNOW THAT YOU DON'T WEAR A HAT.

[LAUGHTER]

BUT WE COULDN'T LET YOU LEAVE FORT WORTH

WITHOUT PROVIDING YOU WITH SOME PROTECTION AGAINST THE RAIN.

[APPLAUSE]

Davis: HE WASN'T GONNA PUT IT ON.

HE AVOIDED THINGS A LOT OF POLITICIANS WOULD DO

JUST FOR THE VOTE.

President Kennedy: I'LL PUT IT ON IN THE WHITE HOUSE ON MONDAY.

IF YOU'LL COME UP THERE, YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE IT THERE.

Narrator: AS THE PRESIDENTIAL PARTY LEAVES FORT WORTH

FOR THE SHORT FLIGHT TO DALLAS

THERE'S UNWELCOME NEWS.

A BITTERLY HOSTILE AD IN A DALLAS NEWSPAPER

ACCUSING KENNEDY OF BEING SOFT ON COMMUNISM

FOR REFUSING TO SUPPORT ANTI-COMMUNIST GROUPS

IN EASTERN EUROPE AND CUBA.

Hugh Aynesworth: IT WAS HORRENDOUS.

IT WAS SOME OF THE FAR RIGHT PEOPLE

THAT WE'D BEEN WATCHING FOR MONTHS.

Narrator: THERE ARE OTHER SIGNS

THAT DALLAS MIGHT BE HOSTILE TERRITORY FOR PRESIDENT KENNEDY.

ON THE DAYS BEFORE HIS VISIT,

THOUSANDS OF HANDBILLS

HAVE APPEARED ON THE STREETS OF THE CITY

WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PRESIDENT

AND THE HEADLINE "WANTED FOR TREASON."

THEY ACCUSE KENNEDY OF COMMUNIST SYMPATHIES

AND ANTI-CHRISTIAN POLICIES.

A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT,

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS ADLAI STEVENSON

HAD BEEN ATTACKED BY PROTESTORS IN DALLAS.

STEVENSON HAD EXPRESSED HIS DOUBTS

ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE PRESIDENT'S UPCOMING VISIT.

Davis: WE THOUGHT THAT KENNEDY WOULD GET A HARD TIME

IF HE WENT TO DALLAS.

THAT WAS THE HOTBED FOR THE MOST CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE IN TEXAS.

AND SO WE WENT TO DALLAS WITH SOME TREPIDATION.

Narrator: FRIENDS HAD URGED JACKIE KENNEDY

NOT TO GO TO DALLAS.

Hill: THIS CAUSED HER SOME CONCERN.

SHE TALKED TO ME ABOUT THAT.

BUT I TOLD HER

THAT I DIDN'T THINK THERE WAS ANY MORE OF A PROBLEM IN DALLAS

THAN THERE WAS IN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE SOUTH.

Narrator: KENNEDY TELLS JACKIE,

"WE'RE HEADING INTO NUT COUNTRY TODAY."

THEN HE SAYS, "LAST NIGHT IN FORTH WORTH

WOULD HAVE BEEN A HELL OF A NIGHT

TO ASSASSINATE A PRESIDENT."

AS THE PRESIDENTIAL PLANE AIR FORCE ONE

HEADS FOR DALLAS,

SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WILL BE OVERTURNED BY THAT DAY

ARE GATHERING AT THE CITY'S LOVE FIELD

FOR KENNEDY'S ARRIVAL.

Reporter: POLICE WERE CIRCLING THE FIELD

ALL MORNING LONG FROM THE EARLY MORNING HOURS,

AND A HUGE CONTINGENT OF POLICE ARE ON HAND.

Narrator: 23-YEAR-OLD ELECTRICIAN BILL NEWMAN

AND HIS WIFE GAYLE HAVE TAKEN THE DAY OFF

TO SEE THE PRESIDENT AT THE AIRPORT

WITH THEIR YOUNG SONS.

Bill Newman: IT'S NOT EVERY DAY

THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES COMES TO YOUR CITY,

AND I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FOUR OF US

TO WITNESS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Reporter: SOME BRILLIANT YELLOW ROSES,

SOME BRILLIANT RED ROSES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT OUT

AND WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE FIRST LADY.

Narrator: DEPUTY SHERIFF GENE BOONE

IS ON DUTY IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS,

HOPING TO SEE SOMETHING OF THE PRESIDENT'S MOTORCADE.

Gene Boone: I KNEW THE ATMOSPHERE WAS OF SUCH A NATURE

THAT SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN,

AND IT CONCERNED ME.

IT WAS ALMOST MILITANT.

Narrator: RECENTLY OUT OF THE AIR FORCE,

27-YEAR-OLD JAMES TAGUE HAS A NEW JOB AS A CAR SALESMAN.

THIS MORNING HE'S IN A HURRY ON HIS DRIVE INTO THE CITY.

James Tague: I HAD A LUNCHEON DATE WITH A CUTE REDHEAD

IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS.

THEN I REMEMBERED READING IN THE PAPER

THAT THE PRESIDENT'S GONNA BE IN TOWN, HAS A MOTORCADE.

Narrator: QUAKER RUTH PAINE HAS HELPED LEE HARVEY OSWALD

TO GET HIS JOB AT THE SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY.

OSWALD HAS STAYED AT HER HOUSE LAST NIGHT

WITH HIS RUSSIAN WIFE, MARINA.

Ruth Paine: AS HE WAS BRINGING IN THE GROCERIES,

I SAID... [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

WHICH MEANS "THE PRESIDENT IS COMING."

AND HE JUST SORT OF BRUSHED ON BY.

HE REALLY DIDN'T RESPOND TO THAT.

Narrator: DALLAS NEWS REPORTER HUGH AYNESWORTH

IS FRUSTRATED THAT HE HAS NO ASSIGNMENT THAT MORNING

TO COVER THE PRESIDENT'S ARRIVAL.

Aynesworth: EVERYBODY WENT OUT OF THE NEWSROOM,

ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND REPORTERS.

AND I DECIDED, WELL,

THE PRESIDENT DOESN'T COME TO TOWN EVERY DAY.

I OUGHT TO GO OVER AND WATCH IT

OVER ON MAIN STREET OR HOUSTON STREET.

Narrator: 6-YEAR-OLD JEFF FRANZEN HAS A DAY OUT WITH HIS PARENTS

TO WATCH THE PRESIDENT'S MOTORCADE.

Jeff Franzen: IT STARTED TO REGISTER--

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

THAT WAS CERTAINLY EXCITING.

Narrator: 29-YEAR-OLD DALLAS TIMES-HERALD PHOTOGRAPHER

BOB JACKSON

IS ASSIGNED TO COVER THE PRESIDENT'S ARRIVAL

AND TO TRAVEL IN KENNEDY'S MOTORCADE.

Bob Jackson: MY ASSIGNMENT WAS TO GO TO LOVE FIELD

TO MEET AIR FORCE ONE.

IT WAS A HAPPY CROWD,

CLEARLY THERE TO WELCOME THE PRESIDENT.

I PHOTOGRAPHED THE CROWD ALONG THE FENCE

AND WAITED FOR AIR FORCE ONE TO LAND.

Narrator: 27-YEAR-OLD PHYLLIS HALL

IS AN OUTPATIENTS NURSE AT DALLAS PARKLAND HOSPITAL,

CLOSE TO THE AIRPORT.

Phyllis Hall: SOME OF THE DOCTORS WERE SAYING

HOW EASY IT WOULD BE

TO TAKE A POT SHOT AT THE PLANE OR TRAVELING DOWNTOWN.

Narrator: SID DAVIS IS A RADIO REPORTER ARRIVING WITH THE PRESIDENT

AS PART OF THE OFFICIAL POOL OF CORRESPONDENTS.

Davis: I THINK THAT THE KENNEDYS WERE DAREDEVILS.

WE WOULD FLY THROUGH WEATHER WHERE THEY THOUGHT,

"WELL, WE'RE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

NOTHING'S GONNA HAPPEN TO US.

YOU KNOW, GOD'S GONNA TAKE CARE OF THE THUNDERSTORMS

AND THE LIGHTNING OR WHATEVER."

Narrator: 11:35 A.M.

AFTER A 13-MINUTE FLIGHT FROM FORT WORTH,

AIR FORCE ONE APPROACHES DALLAS LOVE FIELD.

Hall: THE CLOUDS AND THE RAIN JUST KIND OF CLEARED AWAY

AND THE SKY WAS INTENSELY BLUE,

AND AIR FORCE ONE CAME VERY CLOSE TO THE HOSPITAL.

IN FACT IT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH THAT WE COULD SEE

THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL ON THE FUSELAGE.

THE SUN WAS SHINING OFF IT,

AND IT WAS JUST A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.

IT WAS JUST ALMOST EMOTIONAL.

Narrator: THE POLITICAL IMPACT OF AN AIR FORCE ONE LANDING

WITH THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY

OVERRULES SECRET SERVICE CONCERNS

ABOUT THE CROWDS MASSING AT THE AIRPORT.

Hill: POLITICS AND SECURITY ARE KIND OF LIKE OIL AND WATER.

THEY DON'T MIX VERY WELL.

BUT THIS WAS A POLITICAL APPEARANCE.

THEY WANTED THE PHOTOGRAPH OF PRESIDENT AND MRS. KENNEDY

COMING OFF THE REAR OF AIR FORCE ONE IN DALLAS,

AND THAT'S WHAT THEY GOT.

Reporter: THERE'S MRS. KENNEDY,

AND THE CROWD YELLS.

AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Hill: THEY CAME OFF THE REAR OF THE AIRCRAFT,

DOWN THE STEPS TO THE RECEIVING LINE,

SHOOK THE HANDS OF VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. JOHNSON,

WHO THEY HAD JUST SEEN 10 MINUTES BEFORE IN FORT WORTH.

Gayle Newman: THERE WAS A LARGE CROWD OUT THERE,

AND BILL-- HE WAS CARRYING CLAYTON--

WERE ABLE TO RUN UP TO THE FENCE AREA,

AND THEY GOT A REAL GOOD LOOK AT THE PRESIDENT AND MRS. KENNEDY,

BUT BILLY AND I WERE SORT OF CRUSHED IN THE CROWD

BECAUSE I COULDN'T CARRY HIM,

AND WE JUST SORT OF GOT SMUSHED BACK.

Reporter: HE'S BROKEN AWAY FROM HIS PLAN

AND GONE RIGHT UP TO THE FENCE TO SHAKE HANDS WITH PEOPLE.

THIS IS GREAT FOR THE PEOPLE

AND MAKES THE EGGSHELLS EVEN THINNER

FOR THE SECRET SERVICE WHOSE JOB IT IS TO GUARD THE MAN.

BUT THE AUDIENCE LOVES THIS.

Hill: AS SOON AS HE SAW THAT THERE WAS THIS CROWD THERE,

HE IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE CROWD,

AND THAT WAS TYPICAL OF HOW HE OPERATED.

SHE NORMALLY WOULDN'T DO THAT,

BUT BECAUSE SHE WAS REALLY TRYING TO HELP HIM

IN HIS RE-ELECTION BID,

SHE FOLLOWED RIGHT ALONG, SHOOK HANDS JUST LIKE HE DID,

AND THE PEOPLE LOVED IT.

Reporter: AND THE PEOPLE CHEER,

AND THEY'RE GONNA COME RIGHT ON DOWN

AND SHAKE HANDS WITH EVERYBODY...

SMILING.

SECRET SERVICE MEN ALL AROUND.

BOY, THIS IS SOMETHING.

Hill: I TRY TO BE AS CLOSE AS I CAN BE--

WITHIN ARM'S LENGTH USUALLY--

JUST TO PREVENT ANYTHING FROM HAPPENING TO MRS. KENNEDY.

Reporter: MRS. KENNEDY GAVE A LOVELY SMILE

AND A WAVE AT THAT TIME.

Hill: I'M ALWAYS CONCERNED,

BUT WE RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A POLITICAL SITUATION,

THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO.

THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE PEOPLE

AND HAVE THE PEOPLE FEEL THAT THEY ARE ACCESSIBLE

AND JUST ONE OF THEM.

Reporter: THE PRESIDENT SAYING "THANK YOU VERY MUCH,"

IF I MAY BE PERMITTED TO READ A PRESIDENTIAL LIP MOVEMENT.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE CROWDS AT LOVE FIELD HAVE NOT BEEN VETTED,

THE DALLAS POLICE HAVE TRIED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL AGITATORS

AHEAD OF THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT.

Aynesworth: THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HERE

HAD TRAVELED AS FAR AS 60 OR 80 MILES OUT OF TOWN,

TO VISIT KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS

AND WARN THEM THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE TOLERATED.

Reporter: THE PEOPLE SURGING UP TOWARD THAT FENCE.

AND THE PRESIDENT WAVES GOODBYE, WAITS FOR HIS WIFE,

AND BACK THEY GO TO THE CAR.

AND YOU ARE AT HEIGHTENED ALERT,

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY,

TRYING TO FIND ANYTHING THAT'S DIFFERENT,

MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S SAFE.

Narrator: 11:55 A.M.

THE MOTORCADE BEGINS THE HALF-HOUR DRIVE INTO DALLAS.

TEXAS GOVERNOR JOHN CONNALLY AND HIS WIFE

SHARE THE PRESIDENTIAL LIMOUSINE WITH THE KENNEDYS.

Hill: IT WAS A SPECIALLY BUILT AUTOMOBILE.

IT HAD A NUMBER OF TOPS,

NONE OF WHICH WERE BULLET RESISTANT.

BUT PRESIDENT KENNEDY DID NOT WANT THE TOP ON THE CAR.

HE WANTED THE CAR TO BE OPEN.

UNLESS IT WERE RAINING

OR IF MRS. KENNEDY WERE WITH HIM

AND WE WERE GOING TO BE GOING AT A SUFFICIENT ENOUGH SPEED

IT WOULD MESS UP HER HAIR,

THEN HE'D PERMIT THE PLEXIGLAS TOP TO BE ON IT.

HE WANTED PEOPLE TO FEEL THAT HE WAS ACCESSIBLE.

HE WANTED THEM TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT SOMETIMES

AND TOUCH HIM.

Davis: KENNEDY HAD ISSUED ORDERS A WEEK OR TWO BEFORE

THAT HE DID NOT WANT THE SECRET SERVICE

RUNNING ALONGSIDE THE PRESIDENTIAL LIMOUSINE

BECAUSE HE WANTED THE CROWDS TO SEE JACKIE.

SHE WAS A DISARMING PERSON

FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T LIKE JACK KENNEDY MAYBE.

Hill: THE PRESIDENT SAID,

"I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE THE PEOPLE BELIEVE

THAT I'M NOT ACCESSIBLE.

WHEN THE AGENTS ARE UP ON THE BACK OF THE CAR LIKE THAT

HOVERING,

IT APPEARS THAT THERE'S SOMETHING

BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND MYSELF,

AND I CAN'T AFFORD THAT IN THIS RE-ELECTION YEAR."

Narrator: KENNEDY IS KEENLY ALERT

TO THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS IMAGE, AND HIS WIFE'S.

HE ASKS JACKIE TO REMOVE HER SUNGLASSES

AS THE MOTORCADE REACHES THE CROWDED CITY CENTER.

Franzen: YOU COULD HEAR THE NOISE FAR OFF,

AND IT WAS LIKE A ROLLING SOUND,

THE CHEERS AND THE CLAPPING.

IT WOULD JUST GET LOUDER AND LOUDER AND LOUDER

AS IT BECAME CLOSER AND CLOSER.

Aynesworth: THE CROWDS WERE EXUBERANT.

THEY WERE BIGGER AND MORE EXCITED THAN ANYBODY EXPECTED.

AND I REMEMBER, JACKIE HAD ON A PINK DRESS, BEAUTIFUL.

AND THERE WAS A HUGE BLACK WOMAN NEXT TO ME

WHO HAD ON A DRESS VERY SIMILAR.

NOT THE SAME COLOR,

BUT SHE SAID, "OH, SHE'S GOT MY DRESS ON!"

Narrator: BILL AND GAYLE NEWMAN

HAVE NOW RUSHED FROM LOVE FIELD WITH THEIR CHILDREN

TO CATCH ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF THE PRESIDENT

AS THE MOTORCADE REACHES DOWNTOWN DALLAS.

Gayle Newman: BY KNOWING THE PARADE ROUTE,

WE WERE ABLE TO GET AT THE VERY END.

AND WE TOOK THE CHILDREN AND JUST WALKED PAST THE CROWD

TO WHERE EVERYTHING THINNED OUT

AND WE COULD PUT THEM NEXT TO THE CURB

SO THAT THEY COULD SEE THE MOTORCADE AS IT PASSED.

Bill Newman: WE'D BEEN THERE JUST A VERY SHORT TIME,

FIVE MINUTES OR LESS,

WHEN YOU COULD HEAR THE PARADE ROUTE

COMING DOWN MAIN STREET.

Hill: AS WE APPROACHED MAIN STREET IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS,

PEOPLE WERE HANGING OUT OF WINDOWS ON BALCONIES.

THE CROWD BEGAN TO SWELL,

AND IT FILLED INTO THE STREET, OFF THE SIDEWALK.

IT WAS JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE.

THE DRIVER OF THE CAR HAD TO TRY TO KEEP THE PRESIDENT AWAY

FROM THE CROWD AT THE RIGHT HAND SIDE,

PUTTING MRS. KENNEDY RIGHT UP AGAINST THE CROWD.

WHEN THAT HAPPENED, I GOT UP ON THE BACK OF THE CAR

TO BE CLOSE TO MRS. KENNEDY.

THE PRESIDENT GLANCED PERIODICALLY

WHEN I WAS UP ON THE BACK OF THE CAR.

HE KNEW I WAS THERE, BUT HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.

AS WE WERE GOING DOWN HOUSTON,

I HAD GOTTEN OFF THE PRESIDENTIAL CAR

AND BACK UP ON THE FOLLOW-UP CAR

BECAUSE THE CROWDS HAD DROPPED OFF.

AND SO WHEN WE TURNED LEFT ON ELM,

I WAS ON THE FOLLOW-UP CAR BEHIND THE PRESIDENTIAL VEHICLE.

Narrator: 12:29 P.M.

THE MOTORCADE TURNS INTO DEALEY PLAZA,

WHERE WORKERS FROM THE TEXAS BOOK DEPOSITORY

ARE WAITING TO SEE THE PRESIDENT AND MRS. KENNEDY.

Frazier: AND I REMEMBER SAYING TO THE LADY STANDING BESIDE ME,

"SHE'S AS PRETTY AS THE PICTURES ARE IN THE MAGAZINE."

Gene Boone: SOMEWHERE RIGHT IN THAT AREA

WAS WHERE NELLIE CONNALLY TURNED TO THE PRESIDENT AND SAID,

"YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T SAY

THAT DALLAS DOESN'T LOVE YOU, MR. PRESIDENT."

AND IN THOSE FEW SECONDS, HISTORY CHANGED.

Narrator: WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT FEW SECONDS

IS STILL ENDLESSLY DEBATED 50 YEARS LATER.

THOUSANDS OF BOOKS HAVE EXPLORED THOSE MOMENTS,

OFFICIAL INQUIRIES HAVE DISSECTED EVERY DETAIL,

CONSPIRACY THEORIES FLOURISH OVER THE DECADES.

THIS IS HOW IT WAS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE.

Franzen: I WAS 6 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME,

AND AS THE CAR APPROACHED,

I REMEMBER THESE POPS STARTED HAPPENING,

WHICH I ASSUMED WERE FIRECRACKERS.

Hill: I HEARD A NOISE COMING OVER MY RIGHT REAR SHOULDER.

IT WAS AN EXPLOSIVE NOISE.

Gayle Newman: THERE WAS A NOISE

THAT I THOUGHT WAS A FIRECRACKER.

Tague: I WONDERED WHAT KIND OF A NUT

WOULD BE THROWING A FIRECRACKER

WITH THE PRESIDENT COMING BY.

Gayle Newman: AND PRESIDENT KENNEDY

SORT OF THREW HIS HANDS UP,

AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,

"WELL, HE'S GOT A REAL GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR."

Hill: I SAW THE PRESIDENT GRAB AT HIS THROAT,

LURCH TO HIS LEFT,

AND I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

I JUMPED FROM THE FOLLOW-UP CAR

AND STARTED TO RUN TOWARD THE PRESIDENTIAL VEHICLE.

MY INTENT WAS TO MAKE SURE I WAS UP THERE HIGH ENOUGH AS A SHIELD

ACROSS THE BACK OF THE CAR.

I HAD NOT QUITE GOTTEN TO THE CAR,

AND THE THIRD SHOT RANG OUT.

Gayle Newman: AS THE CAR GOT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US,

THERE WAS THE THIRD NOISE.

Boone: IT WENT KIND OF "BANG...BANG-BANG."

Bill Newman: WHEN THE PRESIDENT WAS STRAIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF US,

PROBABLY 10 OR 12 FEET,

THE THIRD SHOT RANG OUT.

Gayle Newman: YOU SAW THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD SORT OF EXPLODE

AND BITS OF FLESH AND STUFF FLY UP IN THE AIR.

Hill: IT HIT THE PRESIDENT IN THE HEAD,

CAUSING BLOOD AND BRAIN MATTER AND BONE FRAGMENTS

TO COME OUT OF THAT WOUND OVER THE TRUNK OF THE CAR

AND ONTO MYSELF.

Franzen: THE COLORS WERE VERY VIBRANT.

SO YOU HAD THESE RED ROSES TUMBLING AROUND,

YOU HAD HER IN PINK,

YOU HAD THE CONFETTI,

WHICH WAS OBVIOUSLY PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S HEAD.

Hill: SHE WAS TRYING TO RETRIEVE SOME MATERIAL

THAT HAD COME OFF THE PRESIDENT'S HEAD.

SHE DID NOT KNOW I WAS THERE.

Bob Jackson: I LOOKED UP,

AND THE RIFLE WAS RESTING ON THE WINDOW LEDGE,

AND I COULD SEE IT BEING DRAWN IN.

Bill Newman: AND I ACTUALLY RECALL HEARING MRS. KENNEDY SAY,

"OH, MY GOD, NO, THEY SHOT JACK."

Hill: SHE SAID, "OH, JACK, JACK, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?"

AND "I'M HOLDING YOUR BRAINS IN MY HAND."

I HAD THAT SENSE THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE QUICKER.

I COULD SEE THROUGH THE SKULL INTO THE BRAIN CAVITY,

AND A GREAT PORTION OF THE BRAIN WAS MISSING.

I TURNED AND GAVE A THUMBS-DOWN SIGNAL

TO THE FOLLOW-UP CAR CREW THAT WAS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND ME.

THEN WE SCREAMED TO GET US TO A HOSPITAL.

Jackson: I COULD SEE KENNEDY'S CAR DISAPPEAR UNDER THE UNDERPASS

AND JOHNSON'S CAR BEHIND.

AND I COULD SEE PEOPLE RUNNING ON THE GRASSY SLOPE.

Reporter: THIS KLIF BULLETIN.

FROM DALLAS, THREE SHOTS REPORTEDLY WERE FIRED

AT THE MOTORCADE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY TODAY

NEAR THE DOWNTOWN SECTION.

Davis: WHEN THE PRESIDENTIAL LIMOUSINE TOOK OFF,

THEN WE KNEW SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAD HAPPENED UP AHEAD.

Frazier: IT WAS REALLY BEDLAM,

AND PEOPLE WERE RUNNING AND FALLING DOWN AND HOLLERING,

AND IT WAS JUST A REAL CHAOS.

Boone: JUST MASS PANDEMONIUM.

Gayle Newman: BILL TURNED TO ME AND HE SAID, "THAT'S IT. HIT THE GROUND."

AND WE TURNED AND PUT THE CHILDREN ON THE GROUND,

AND WE SHIELDED THEM WITH OUR BODY.

IT WAS VERY TERRIFYING.

Bill Newman: I WAS IN FEAR

THAT WE WERE RIGHT IN THE PATH OF GUNFIRE.

Gayle: I REMEMBER LOOKING UP AND IT WENT THROUGH MY MIND,

THAT MAN MUST BE CRAZY TAKING PICTURES.

DOESN'T HE KNOW THAT HE COULD BE SHOT?

Franzen: MY MOTHER WAS CRYING,

WHICH DIDN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME.

SHE AUDIBLY GROANED AND GASPED,

AND THAT'S WHEN EVERYTHING STARTED TO SPEED UP.

POLICEMEN WERE RUNNING

WITH EITHER HANDS ON GUNS OR GUNS OUT.

Boone: THERE WAS A MAN HOLDING THE HAND OF HIS YOUNG SON,

AND TEARS WERE STREAMING DOWN HIS FACE.

Aynesworth: THE WOMAN THAT HAD THE PINK DRESS ON REGURGITATED.

SHE WAS LEANING UP AGAINST THE POST.

AND IT WAS JUST... NOBODY KNEW WHAT TO DO.

Tague: THE POLICEMAN SAID, "YOU'VE GOT BLOOD ON YOUR FACE."

AND I RECALLED THAT SOMETHING HAD STUNG ME

DURING THE "CRACK CRACK" OF TWO RIFLE SHOTS.

Narrator: JAMES TAGUE'S MINOR RICOCHET SCRATCH

FROM A CURBSTONE IN DEALEY PLAZA

MAKES HIM THE ONLY BYSTANDER

TO FEEL THE DIRECT IMPACT OF THE SHOOTING THAT DAY.

Reporter: THE PRESIDENT,

HIS BODY CRADLED IN THE ARMS OF MRS. KENNEDY,

HAS BEEN RUSHED TO PARKLAND HOSPITAL...

Hill: I WAS ONLY THINKING ABOUT GETTING TO THE HOSPITAL.

I DID TURN MY HEAD AT ONE POINT, AND MY SUNGLASSES BLEW OFF.

APPARENTLY WE WERE GOING UP ABOUT 80 MILES AN HOUR.

Narrator: 12:40 P.M.

AS THE PRESIDENT IS RUSHED TO PARKLAND HOSPITAL,

AT THE DALLAS TRADE MART,

WHERE KENNEDY WAS DUE TO SPEAK TO MORE THAN 2,000 BUSINESSMEN,

THERE IS CONFUSION.

NEWS OF THE ATTACK IN DEALEY PLAZA

IS BEGINNING TO ARRIVE

WITH REPORTERS WHO WERE IN THE MOTORCADE.

Davis: WE RAN THROUGH THE HALL LIKE A HERD OF ELEPHANTS.

PEOPLE WERE SITTING THERE EATING,

AND WE JUST CHARGED THROUGH THERE

WITH OUR TYPEWRITERS AND CAMERAS AND STUFF.

WE WERE RUNNING TO CALL OUR OFFICES TO TELL THEM

THAT SOMETHING DREADFUL HAS HAPPENED HERE.

Reporter: THIS IS SID DAVIS

REPORTING FROM THE DALLAS TRADE MART

WHERE THE WORD IS JUST NOW BEING PASSED

TO SEVERAL HUNDRED PERSONS

SITTING AT THEIR NOON LUNCHEON TABLES

THAT PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHOT.

WE HAVE NO INFORMATION ON THE PRESIDENT'S CONDITION.

WE DO KNOW THAT HE HAS BEEN TAKEN,

ALONG WITH GOVERNOR JOHN CONNALLY OF TEXAS,

TO THE HOSPITAL NEARBY.

Davis: MY BOSS SAID, "HE'S BEEN TAKEN TO PARKLAND HOSPITAL.

GET OVER THERE AS SOON AS YOU CAN."

I JUST GOT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD,

AND I WAVED MY TYPEWRITER,

AND A GENTLEMAN, A BLACK GENTLEMAN,

CAME UP WITH A WHITE CADILLAC,

AND HE SAID, "ARE YOU A REPORTER?"

AND I SAID, "YEAH."

HE SAID, "I'LL GET YOU TO PARKLAND HOSPITAL."

Hill: WHEN WE GOT TO PARKLAND,

THE ASSUMPTION WAS THAT SOMEBODY WOULD MEET US

AND HAVE SOME GURNEYS OUT THERE TO HELP US,

AND WHEN WE GOT THERE, THERE WAS NOBODY THERE.

Narrator: THE REST OF THE MOTORCADE

IS RACING FROM DOWNTOWN DALLAS TO PARKLAND,

AND VICE PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON

ARRIVES AT THE HOSPITAL WITH HIS WIFE, LADY BIRD.

Lady Bird Johnson: AS WE GROUND TO A HALT,

THE SECRET SERVICE MEN BEGAN TO PULL, LEAD,

GUIDE, HUSTLE US OUT.

Hall: AND THE DOORS JUST EXPLODED.

LYNDON JOHNSON WAS BROUGHT THROUGH,

AND HE WAS LOOKING PRETTY GRAY,

AND THEY FIGURED HE MIGHT BE HAVING ANOTHER HEART ATTACK.

AND THEN GOVERNOR CONNALLY CAME IN.

HE HAD BEEN SHOT IN THE CHEST,

SO EVERY TIME HE BREATHED OUT,

THERE WAS JUST A SPRAY OF BLOODY MIST

JUST GOING EVERYWHERE.

Reporter: MR. KENNEDY WAS RUSHED

TO THE PARKLAND HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM.

THE CORRIDORS OF THE HOSPITAL ERUPTED IN PANDEMONIUM.

Narrator: AS REPORTERS, POLICE, AND SPECTATORS

RUSH TO THE HOSPITAL,

THE DESPERATE CONDITION OF THE PRESIDENT

IS BECOMING CLEAR TO HIS TEAM.

Hill: MRS. KENNEDY WOULDN'T LET GO OF THE PRESIDENT'S BODY.

SHE DIDN'T WANT ANYBODY TO SEE

THE CONDITION THE PRESIDENT WAS IN

BECAUSE IT WAS VERY BAD,

AND SO I TOOK OFF MY SUIT COAT.

I COVERED UP HIS HEAD AND HIS UPPER BODY,

THEN SHE LET GO,

AND WE RUSHED HIM INTO TRAUMA ROOM ONE,

AND MRS. KENNEDY WENT IN WITH US.

Davis: I SAW WHAT I THOUGHT WAS SOME BLOOD,

AND THESE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS WERE LYING ON THE FLOOR

OF THE LIMOUSINE,

AND THEY WERE CLEANING IT UP.

I GOT INTO THE HOSPITAL, I WENT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM,

AND I DIDN'T LAST LONG.

THE SECRET SERVICE AND THE POLICE

TOLD ME TO GET MY BUTT OUT OF THERE.

Hall: A GENTLEMAN IN A VERY WHITE SHIRT,

IT WAS JUST DAZZLING WHITE,

BUT HE WAS HOLDING A VERY LARGE GUN

UP ABOVE HIS HEAD,

AND HE TOOK MY ARM AND HE SAYS, "COME, WE NEED YOU BACK HERE."

I WASN'T GONNA ARGUE WITH A MAN WITH THAT LARGE OF GUN.

Narrator: PARKLAND'S TRAUMA ROOM ONE

BECOMES THE SCENE OF A SCRAMBLE,

WITH AGENTS AND DESPERATE KENNEDY LOYALISTS

SURROUNDING THE PRESIDENT'S BODY.

Hall: IT WAS CHAOTIC.

THEY WERE HAVING A PUSH AND SHOVE AND SHOUTING MATCH

OVER WHO WOULD STAY WITH THE BODY.

Reporter: WHAT WAS A WONDERFUL WELCOME IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS

HAS BECOME A SCENE OF INDESCRIBABLE HORROR.

FACES ARE ASHEN WHITE AND PEOPLE ARE WONDERING

IS OUR PRESIDENT GOING TO LIVE?

Reporter: LATEST DETAILS ON THE CHASE AND SEARCH

IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS.

THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE WOULD-BE ASSASSIN

IS STILL INSIDE THE OLD TEXAS SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY BUILDING,

AND THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE WOULD-BE ASSASSIN

IS STILL INSIDE THAT BUILDING.

Narrator: MINUTES AFTER THE SHOOTING,

POLICE ARE SWARMING OVER THE BUILDING

IDENTIFIED BY WITNESSES AS THE SOURCE OF THE FIRING--

THE TEXAS BOOK DEPOSITORY.

Man: WHEN THEY FIRST WENT UP IN THERE LOOKING,

THEY WAS EXPECTING TO FIND A STRANGER UP THERE.

THEY WASN'T EXPECTING TO FIND

AN EMPLOYEE OF THE SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY.

THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A STRANGE INDIVIDUAL,

WHICH THEY DIDN'T FIND.

Frazier: SO THEY DID A ROLL CALL,

AND THE ONLY BODY THAT WASN'T THERE WAS LEE OSWALD.

AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK BECAUSE SOMETIMES...

I REMEMBER THAT MORNING HE DID NOT TAKE HIS LUNCH.

Narrator: A DESCRIPTION OF OSWALD

GOES OUT TO POLICE AND RADIO STATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.

Reporter: THERE'S A TENTATIVE DESCRIPTION

OF THE SHOOTING SUSPECT:

A WHITE MALE BELIEVED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 30 YEARS OLD,

REPORTEDLY ARMED WITH A .30 CALIBER RIFLE.

HE WAS DESCRIBED AS ABOUT 5'10", 165 POUNDS, OF SLENDER BUILD,

AND ABOUT 30 TO 35 YEARS OLD.

POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS THROWN OUT AN EXTENSIVE DRAGNET.

Frazier: I WAS LISTENING TO THE RADIO.

THEY WERE SAYING THAT THEY HAD A SUSPECT

THAT HAD LIVED IN RUSSIA.

WELL, LEE HAD TOLD ME THAT HE HAD LIVED IN RUSSIA FOR A WHILE.

AND THEN I SAID, "WELL, LEE WASN'T AT THE ROLL CALL,

AND LEE HAD LIVED IN RUSSIA."

I SAID, "ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT LEE OSWALD?"

Earl Jay Watson: GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

YOU'LL EXCUSE THE FACT THAT I'M OUT OF BREATH,

BUT ABOUT TEN OR FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO

A TRAGIC THING, FROM ALL INDICATIONS AT THIS POINT,

HAS HAPPENED IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.

MAY I HAVE YOUR NAME, PLEASE, SIR?

Bill: BILL NEWMAN.

Reporter: AND THIS IS MRS. NEWMAN?

Gayle: YES, SIR.

Reporter: AND THIS IS?

Bill: JAMES CLAYTON.

Reporter: JAMES. AND THIS IS?

Billy: BILLY.

Reporter: TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW AND WHAT YOU FELT?

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?

Bill: WE HEARD THE FIRST SHOT,

AND THE PRESIDENT JUMPED UP IN HIS SEAT.

AND I THOUGHT IT SCARED HIM. I THOUGHT IT WAS A FIRECRACKER

'CAUSE HE LOOKED, YOU KNOW, FEAR.

Gayle: IT HAPPENED SO FAST

THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE ANYTHING.

IT...IT JUST WAS TOO FAST.

I WAS JUST VERY NERVOUS,

JUST, YOU KNOW.

I WAS JUST TREMBLING.

I WAS, I WAS REALLY SCARED.

Bill: AND THEN AS THE CAR GOT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US,

WELL, A GUNSHOT APPARENTLY FROM BEHIND US

HIT THE PRESIDENT IN THE SIDE OF THE TEMPLE.

WE DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT HAPPENED

UNTIL WE SEEN THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD,

WHENEVER THE BULLET HIT HIM IN THE HEAD.

THE REPORT WHILE WE WERE THERE CAME IN

THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS STILL ALIVE.

AND OF COURSE, WE'D JUST SEEN HIM MORTALLY WOUNDED,

AND THAT WAS HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND.

Narrator: 12:55 P.M.

AS CROWDS GATHER OUTSIDE PARKLAND HOSPITAL,

DOCTORS ARE RUSHING DOWN TO THE EMERGENCY AREA

KNOWN AS "THE PIT" TO WORK ON THE PRESIDENT.

Man: THE CROWD SORT OF SPONTANEOUSLY PARTED.

I COULD SEE MRS. KENNEDY SITTING ON A FOLDING CHAIR,

OUTSIDE OF TRAUMA ROOM ONE,

AND SO IMMEDIATELY IT OCCURRED TO ME

THAT THIS IS JUST AS BAD AS THEY SAID IT WAS.

IT WAS TERRIFYING.

TERRIFYING.

AS I SAID, I HAD TO LITERALLY FORCE MYSELF

TO KEEP WALKING TOWARD TRAUMA ROOM ONE

WHERE MRS. KENNEDY WAS SITTING.

WHEN I PUSHED THE DOOR OPEN OF TRAUMA ROOM ONE,

THE FIRST THING THAT I SAW WAS THE HORRIFIC SIGHT

OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY LYING ON HIS BACK,

AND HE HAD AN OPERATING ROOM LIGHT SHINING ON HIS HEAD,

WHICH WAS COVERED IN BLOOD.

AND I COULD LOOK DOWN INSIDE HIS SKULL CAVITY

AND SEE THAT THE WHOLE BACK HALF

OF THE RIGHT CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE

HAD BEEN BLOWN OUT BY THE BULLET WOUND.

Hall: I LOOKED AT HIM, AND I KNEW IT WAS THE PRESIDENT,

BUT HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.

SO I JUST WENT AHEAD AND FELT FOR PULSES.

THERE WERE NONE.

HE WAS DEAD.

HAD IT BEEN ANOTHER PERSON COMING IN LIKE THAT,

THEY MAY HAVE CHECKED PULSES AND VITAL SIGNS

AND PULLED THE SHEET UP OVER HIM.

Robert McClelland: THE PEOPLE THAT HAD BEEN IN THE ROOM

ALL HASTILY LEFT.

AND I GOT TRAPPED BETWEEN THE CART AND THE WALL.

THE DOOR TO TRAUMA ROOM ONE CAME OPEN, AND A PRIEST CAME IN.

AND WE WERE CAUGHT

SO THAT WE SAW PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S FINAL RITES.

FATHER HUBER UNCOVERED THE PRESIDENT'S FACE,

WHICH WAS COVERED WITH A SHEET,

ANOINTED HIM,

AND I COULD HEAR HIM SAY,

AS HE LEANED OVER TO THE PRESIDENT'S LEFT EAR,

HE SAID, "IF THOU LIVEST,"

AND I COULDN'T HEAR HIM SAY ANYTHING ELSE AFTER THAT.

AND JUST AS HE COMPLETED THAT, MRS. KENNEDY CAME IN.

SHE STOOD THERE FOR A FEW MOMENTS

AND EXCHANGED A RING FROM HER FINGER

ONTO THE PRESIDENT'S FINGER,

AND A RING FROM HIS FINGER ONTO HERS.

AND THEN SHE STOOD THERE FOR A FEW MINUTES,

FEW MOMENTS MORE,

WALKED TO THE END OF THE GURNEY,

AND THE PRESIDENT'S RIGHT FOOT,

BARE RIGHT FOOT, WAS STICKING OUT

FROM UNDERNEATH THE SHEET THAT HE WAS COVERED WITH,

AND SHE STOOD BY HIS FOOT FOR A MOMENT

AND THEN LEANED OVER, KISSED HIS FOOT,

AND WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM.

Narrator: LYNDON JOHNSON'S WIFE, LADY BIRD,

ASKS TO BE TAKEN TO SEE JACKIE KENNEDY.

IT'S THE FIRST TIME THE TWO WOMEN HAVE MET

SINCE THE MOTORCADE LEFT LOVE FIELD

TO HEAD INTO DALLAS THROUGH THE CHEERING CROWDS.

Hill: ATTORNEY GENERAL ROBERT KENNEDY,

WHO WAS THE PRESIDENT'S BROTHER, WAS ON THE PHONE,

AND HE ASKED ME, HE SAID, "WELL, HOW BAD IS IT?"

APPARENTLY NOT THINKING THAT IT WAS TOO SERIOUS.

I DIDN'T WANT TO TELL HIM

THAT HIS BROTHER THE PRESIDENT WAS DEAD.

SO I JUST SAID, "WELL, IT'S AS BAD AS IT CAN GET."

AND WITH THAT, HE HUNG UP THE PHONE.

AND THEN ABOUT 1:00, THE DOCTORS THERE AT PARKLAND

DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD DECLARE THE PRESIDENT HAD DIED.

WE HAD NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW BAD WE FELT

BECAUSE WE HAD A JOB TO DO.

WE HAD TO DO THAT JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WAS SAFE

AS MUCH AS WE COULD.

WE JUST COULDN'T GIVE IN TO OUR OWN FEELINGS AT ALL.

WE JUST HAD TO KEEP THOSE IN ABEYANCE.

Narrator: 1:15 P.M.

PATROLLING THE SUBURB OF OAK CLIFF,

POLICE OFFICER J.D. TIPPIT

SPOTS LEE HARVEY OSWALD ON THE STREET.

HE TRIES TO CONFRONT HIM.

Man on telephone: HELLO, POLICE OPERATOR?

WHAT'S HIS...

IT'S IN A POLICE CAR.

NUMBER 10.

HELLO? POLICE OPERATOR, DID YOU GET THAT?

Narrator: JOHNNY BREWER IS THE MANAGER OF A SHOE SHOP

CLOSE TO THE LOCATION OF OFFICER TIPPIT'S SHOOTING.

Johnny Brewer: I'M LISTENING TO THE RADIO,

AND THEY SAID THAT AN OFFICER, DALLAS POLICE OFFICER,

HAD BEEN SHOT.

AND THEN SHORTLY AFTER THEY ANNOUNCED

THAT THE OFFICER HAD BEEN SHOT,

THERE WERE POLICE CARS, FULL SIRENS.

I'M THINKING, "YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY CLOSE.

THIS IS REALLY GETTING CRAZY NOW, YOU KNOW."

Narrator: POLICE ARE COMBING THE TEXAS BOOK DEPOSITORY

FOR CLUES TO THE SHOOTING.

DEPUTY SHERIFF GENE BOONE JOINS THE SEARCH.

Boone: WE WENT TO THE SIXTH FLOOR,

AND THERE WERE BOOKS THAT WAS PILED UP,

THREE AND FOUR, SOMETIMES FIVE CASES HIGH,

ALL ACROSS THE FLOOR,

WHICH MADE IT REAL DIFFICULT TO SEE ANYTHING.

IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT,

YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T BELONG.

WE FOUND WHAT'S BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE SNIPER'S NEST

IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING.

THE BOXES LINED UP LOOKED LIKE A RIFLE REST.

I WAS LOOKING DOWN BETWEEN TWO ROWS OF BOOKS,

AND I FOUND THE RIFLE.

LOOKED LIKE TWO BOXES WERE PUSHED ACROSS THE TOP

SO AS TO CONCEAL THE CREVICE.

Narrator: VICE PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON

IS SHUT AWAY WITH HIS WIFE AND SECRET SERVICE AGENT

IN A SECLUDED ROOM AT THE HOSPITAL.

NOW DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY MALCOLM KILDUFF

HAS TO ASK JOHNSON'S PERMISSION

TO TELL THE PRESS THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD.

Davis: HE SAID, "I LOOKED AT JOHNSON,

AND I SAID, 'MR. PRESIDENT.'"

HE SAID, "I PROBABLY WAS THE FIRST PERSON

TO SAY 'MR. PRESIDENT.'"

HE SAID, "THEN JOHNSON LOOKED AT ME SOMEWHAT STUNNED."

HE SAID, "I HAVE TO TELL THE PRESS

THAT JOHN F. KENNEDY'S DEAD."

AND LYNDON JOHNSON SAID, "MAC, I AGREE,

BUT GIVE ME TIME TO GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL

BEFORE YOU DO IT.

WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER THIS IS A CONSPIRACY OR NOT."

Hill: WE HAD ENCOURAGED HIM TO IMMEDIATELY GO TO LOVE FIELD

AND GET ON AIR FORCE ONE AND LEAVE THE AREA.

HE HAD INDICATED HE WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO DO THAT

UNLESS MRS. KENNEDY WENT WITH HIM.

MRS. KENNEDY SAID THAT SHE WAS NOT GOING TO GO

UNLESS THE PRESIDENT'S BODY WENT WITH HER.

SO IT WAS KIND OF A STALEMATE.

THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. JOHNSON THEN DECIDED

THEY WOULD GO TO LOVE FIELD AND GET ON AIR FORCE ONE

BUT WOULD WAIT THERE FOR MRS. KENNEDY.

Davis: KILDUFF THEN CAME UPSTAIRS,

AND HE STOOD IN THIS NURSES' TRAINING ROOM,

AND HE'D BEEN CRYING.

HE OPENED HIS MOUTH, AND NOTHING CAME OUT.

Man: DO IT AGAIN.

Malcolm Kilduff: PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

DIED AT APPROXIMATELY 1:00 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME TODAY

HERE IN DALLAS.

HE DIED OF A GUNSHOT WOUND IN THE BRAIN.

Davis: AND THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE,

AND WE RAN FOR OUR TELEPHONES.

Walter Cronkite: FROM DALLAS, TEXAS,

THE FLASH, APPARENTLY OFFICIAL,

PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED AT 1 P.M. CENTRAL STANDARD TIME,

2:00 EASTERN STANDARD TIME,

SOME 38 MINUTES AGO.

Narrator: OSWALD'S RUSSIAN WIFE MARINA

HEARS THE NEWS WITH HER FRIEND RUTH PAINE.

Paine: I, UH...

I LIT A CANDLE,

AND MARINA ASKED WAS THAT A WAY OF PRAYING?

AND I SAID, YES, IT WAS.

AND THEN WE JUST SAT WITH THE REST OF THE NATION

AND WATCHED

UNTIL WE HEARD THAT HE DEFINITELY HAD DIED.

AND MARINA SAID, "THAT'S SUCH A TRAGEDY.

THE CHILDREN WILL HAVE TO GROW UP WITHOUT A FATHER."

AND WE JUST SAT THERE IN OUR GRIEF.

[SIRENS]

Narrator: AS THE NEWS OF KENNEDY'S DEATH

GOES OUT AROUND THE WORLD,

IN DALLAS THE HUNT IS ON

FOR THE KILLER OF POLICE OFFICER TIPPIT.

THERE IS NO OBVIOUS CONNECTION

WITH THE KILLING OF THE PRESIDENT.

NOTICES POLICE ACTIVITY ON HIS STREET.

Brewer: I WAS JUST ABOUT TO STEP OUT

AND SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON,

WHEN THIS YOUNG GUY

WALKS INTO THE RECESSED AREA OF MY SHOE STORE

AND STANDS THERE AS THOUGH HE WERE SHOPPING FOR SHOES.

I'M THINKING, "THIS IS REALLY QUEER, LOOKING FOR SHOES,

WHEN ALL THIS COMMOTION IS GOING ON BEHIND YOU."

AND AS THE SIRENS GOT OFF INTO THE DISTANCE,

HE LOOKS OVER HIS SHOULDER

AND WALKS UP TOWARD THE TEXAS THEATRE.

SO I STEPPED OUTSIDE

AND WATCHED HIM WALK INTO THE TEXAS THEATRE.

"WAR IS HELL" WAS ON.

SO I WALKED IN, AND I SAW HIM.

Aynesworth: OVER THE POLICE RADIO CAME THIS REPORT

THAT THE SUSPECT IS IN THE TEXAS THEATRE.

I RUN LIKE MAD TO THE TEXAS THEATRE.

Brewer: THERE WERE POLICEMEN, ARMED POLICEMEN.

I HEAR COMMOTION OUTSIDE THE EXIT DOOR INTO THE ALLEY,

POUNDING ON IT, TRYING TO OPEN IT.

I OPENED IT.

I WAS IMMEDIATELY GRABBED AND GUNS WERE HELD ON ME.

AND I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT, BASICALLY,

THERE'S SOMEBODY IN THE THEATRE

THAT IS JUST ACTING VERY SUSPICIOUSLY.

Aynesworth: SO I RAN INSIDE,

AND I GOT IN THERE PROBABLY A MINUTE BEFORE

THE COPS CAME FROM THE STAGE UP TO THE AISLES.

Brewer: NOBODY IN THE THEATRE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON.

THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE PRESIDENT HAD BEEN SHOT.

Aynesworth: THEY HAD TRIED TO PUT THE LIGHTS UP,

BUT THEY ONLY WENT UP HALFWAY,

SO IT WAS SEMI-DARK.

Brewer: AND ACTUALLY, THE MOVIE WAS STILL PLAYING

EVEN WHEN THE LIGHTS WERE TURNED ON,

AND I POINTED TO HIM. I SAID, "THAT'S HIM RIGHT THERE."

A POLICEMAN GOT TO OSWALD,

TOLD HIM TO GET UP.

AND OSWALD DID GET UP,

AND HE THREW A HARD LEFT

AND KNOCKED HIM DOWN ONTO THE SEATS,

AND AT THAT SAME MOMENT, WITH HIS RIGHT HAND,

REACHED UNDER HIS SHIRT AND PULLED OUT THIS REVOLVER.

AND OSWALD PUTS THE GUN IN OFFICER McDONALD'S FACE,

WHO HAD JUMPED UP

JUST AS QUICK AS YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE A MAN CAN MOVE,

AND GRABBED THE PISTOL

WHICH WAS NO MORE THAN A FOOT OR SO FROM HIS FACE.

TWO OR THREE OTHER POLICEMEN,

BY THIS TIME THEY WERE GETTING ACTIVELY INVOLVED,

AND THEY WERE COMING OVER THE BACKS OF THE SEATS,

AND THERE WAS A FEW FISTS SWUNG.

Aynesworth: IT WAS JUST LIKE AN OLD COMIC BOOK

WHERE YOU SEE THIS MELEE, THE FIGHT,

SEE ANIMALS, LEG UP HERE AND ARM OVER THERE AND JUST...

Brewer: HE WASN'T BEATEN,

BUT HE WAS BEATEN LIKE YOU WOULD EXPECT ANYBODY TO BE

THAT HAD PULLED A GUN ON A POLICEMAN.

AND THEY CUFFED HIM UP IMMEDIATELY.

I MEAN, IT WAS VERY EFFICIENT, VERY FAST.

Aynesworth: I REMEMBER OSWALD, I COULD HEAR HIM,

AND HE SAID TWICE, "I PROTEST THIS POLICE BRUTALITY."

Brewer: WE'RE NO MORE THAN JUST A COUPLE OF FEET AWAY,

AND HE HOLLERED, "I'M NOT RESISTING ARREST."

HE SAID THAT A COUPLE OF TIMES.

WELL, I'M THINKING, "YEAH, YOU ARE, YOU KNOW."

Aynesworth: BY THAT TIME,

THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THE THEATRE,

SHOUTING, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"

Narrator: AT PARKLAND HOSPITAL, CLINT HILL HAS THE TASK

OF FINDING A COFFIN FOR PRESIDENT KENNEDY.

Hill: I TALKED TO THE LOCAL MORTUARY.

I REQUESTED THAT THEY BRING A CASKET

TO PARKLAND HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY,

THE BEST ONE THEY HAD,

AND DELIVER IT TO ME IN MY NAME.

IT WAS FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator: BUT AS KENNEDY'S TEAM

PREPARES TO LEAVE FOR THE AIRPORT,

THERE'S A PROBLEM.

Hill: THE DALLAS AUTHORITIES TOLD US THAT WE COULDN'T LEAVE.

THEY WERE GOING TO HOLD PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S BODY

UNTIL THEY COULD DO AN AUTOPSY.

WE SAID, "WELL, HE'S A PRESIDENT OF ALL THE PEOPLE.

WE WANT TO TAKE HIM BACK TO THE NATION'S CAPITAL,

AND THEY CAN DO THE AUTOPSY THERE."

AND THEY SAID, "THAT'S NOT ACCORDING TO TEXAS LAW."

McClelland: DR. ROSE HELD HIS HAND UP

TO STOP THE PROCESSION.

THE SECRET SERVICE MAN LIFTED HIM UP OFF THE GROUND

LIKE YOU WOULD A SMALL CHILD,

AND SET HIM OVER AGAINST THE WALL OF THE CORRIDOR

AND SHOOK HIS FINGER IN DR. ROSE'S FACE,

DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING,

AND THEY PROCEEDED OUT TO THE AMBULANCE.

Hill: MRS. KENNEDY CAME OUT.

SHE SAID, "I WANT TO RIDE IN THE BACK OF THE HEARSE

WITH THE PRESIDENT."

AND I GOT IN WITH HER.

IT WAS RATHER CRAMPED.

THERE WAS NOTHING SAID.

IT WAS ABSOLUTE QUIET.

Watson: WE ARE ASHAMED AT THE MOMENT.

WE ARE STUNNED.

THE WHOLE WORLD IS STUNNED,

BUT AT THIS MOMENT I DON'T THINK ANYBODY COULD BE MORE STUNNED

THAN THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN OUR CITY.

Hill: WHEN WE GOT TO LOVE FIELD,

WE UNLOADED THE CASKET

AND CARRIED IT UP THE REAR RAMP TO AIR FORCE ONE.

IT WAS EXTREMELY HEAVY.

WE HAD A VERY DIFFICULT TIME CARRYING IT UP THAT REAR RAMP,

BUT WE MANAGED TO DO SO.

THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE HANDLES ON THE CASKET

MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT THE CASKET THROUGH THE DOOR.

AND SO WE HAD TO BREAK THE HANDLES OFF THE CASKET

IN ORDER TO GET IT INTO THE REAR COMPARTMENT OF THE AIRCRAFT.

Narrator: THE KENNEDY TEAM IS ANXIOUS TO LEAVE FOR WASHINGTON.

BUT THE NEW PRESIDENT HAS OTHER PLANS.

2:00 P.M.

LEE HARVEY OSWALD IS BROUGHT TO DALLAS POLICE HEADQUARTERS,

PARADED THROUGH A TANGLE OF PRESS MEN AND CAMERAS.

IT'S JUST AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES

SINCE THE SHOOTING OF THE PRESIDENT.

Boone: I WENT BACK OVER TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE

AND REALLY JUST OBSERVED HUMAN NATURE.

THE WORLD MEDIA WAS IN DALLAS,

AND EVERYBODY WAS TRYING TO GET A STORY, I GUESS,

AND THEY WERE TALKING TO ANYBODY THAT WOULD TALK TO THEM,

BUT YOU COULD HEAR ANYTHING

FROM SOME INDIVIDUAL WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT,

TO THE RUSSIANS WERE COMING.

IT WAS JUST CHAOTIC.

Narrator: JAMES TAGUE,

WHO WAS GRAZED BY A RICOCHET

FROM ONE OF THE SHOTS IN DEALEY PLAZA,

ARRIVES AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS TO MAKE A STATEMENT.

Tague: IT WAS JUST PANDEMONIUM IN THERE.

I MEAN, THESE, SUPPOSEDLY, THESE CALM, COOL, COLLECTED TYPES

THAT ARE POLICEMEN

ARE RUNNING AROUND LIKE CRAZY MEN.

TWO POLICEMEN COME IN WITH THIS YOUNG MAN,

AND HE LOOKS NOT THE BEST FOR WEAR,

GOT A BRUISE ON HIS FACE.

AND THE DETECTIVE ASKED THE TWO POLICEMEN THAT'S GOT HIM,

HE'S HANDCUFFED, SAYS, "WHAT HAVE YOU GOT THERE?"

AND HE SAYS, "WELL, THIS IS THE GUY

THAT KILLED THAT POLICEMAN OVER IN OAK CLIFF."

Jim Leavelle: I TRIED TO GET THEM TO EMPTY THAT HALLWAY.

YOU COULDN'T MOVE.

THEY WAS ALL HOLLERING AT HIM

AND STICKING THOSE MICROPHONES OVER THERE,

AND I LOOKED DOWN

AND THERE WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER DOWN ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES

WITH HIS CAMERA STUCK BETWEEN MY LEGS,

TRYING TO SHOOT A PICTURE.

WELL, HE GOT THE BACK SIDE OF MY FOOT,

AND I SENT HIM ABOUT 10 FEET BACK DOWN THE HALLWAY.

I WOULD HAVE HAD HIM PUT IN JAIL IF I HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

Narrator: HOMICIDE DETECTIVE JIM LEAVELLE

BEGINS TO QUESTION OSWALD.

Leavelle: I WENT IN AND STARTED TALKING TO HIM

ABOUT THE MURDER OF J.D. TIPPIT.

I DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE A SUSPECT

IN THE PRESIDENTIAL KILLING.

OF COURSE HE DENIED SHOOTING THE OFFICER.

WHEN I ASKED HIM ABOUT SHOOTING THE OFFICER,

HE SAID, "I DIDN'T SHOOT ANYBODY."

HE WAS VERY POLITE TO ME, ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS.

OF COURSE HE DIDN'T ANSWER THEM TRUTHFULLY,

BUT HE WASN'T ARGUMENTATIVE.

HE WAS ACTUALLY A VERY PLEASANT INDIVIDUAL.

Narrator: 2:30 P.M.

POLICE INTERROGATOR CAPTAIN WILLIAM FRITZ

RETURNS FROM THE BOOK DEPOSITORY SEARCH

LOOKING FOR LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

HE HEARS THAT DETECTIVE JIM LEAVELLE

IS ALREADY QUESTIONING OSWALD ABOUT THE TIPPIT KILLING.

Leavelle: HE CAME OVER AND OPENED THE DOOR

AND ASKED ME WHAT HIS NAME WAS,

AND I TOLD HIM IT WAS OSWALD, LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

CAPTAIN SAYS, "YOU'RE THE MAN I WANT.

COME WITH ME."

THAT'S THE FIRST INKLING I HAD

THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR THE PRESIDENT'S ASSASSINATION.

Narrator: AS THE POLICE BEGIN TO UNCOVER

THE OUTLINES OF OSWALD'S LIFE,

THEY FIND AN UNSETTLING STORY.

OSWALD'S TIME IN THE SOVIET UNION

AND HIS SOVIET WIFE MARINA

RAISE ALARMS ABOUT A POSSIBLE SOVIET CONSPIRACY.

POLICE ARE ALSO SUSPICIOUS

OF HIS RUSSIAN-SPEAKING FRIEND RUTH PAINE,

WHO HELPED TO GET HIM THE JOB AT THE TEXAS BOOK DEPOSITORY.

Paine: SIX POLICE OFFICERS ARRIVED AT THE DOOR

AND SAID THAT THEY HAD LEE OSWALD IN CUSTODY

FOR SHOOTING AN OFFICER.

HERE I WAS, THIS NAIVE 31-YEAR-OLD.

I EXPECTED THEM TO COME IN AND SIT ON THE SOFA,

AND WE'D TALK.

THEY SPREAD OUT ALL OVER THE HOUSE,

LOOKING AND PEERING INTO THINGS,

AND IN THE GARAGE AND EVERYWHERE.

THE LEAD OFFICER ASKED WHETHER MARINA,

WHETHER LEE HAD HAD A GUN,

AND I, NOT KNOWING, SAID NO,

BUT TRANSLATED TO MARINA, WHO SAID, "YES, HE DID."

THEY WENT INTO THE GARAGE

AND SHE POINTED TO A BLANKET ROLL THAT WAS ON THE FLOOR,

WHERE SHE HAD SEEN THE GUN.

THE RIFLE WAS GONE.

THAT WAS MY WORST MOMENT BECAUSE IT WAS THEN I REALIZED

THAT LEE PROBABLY WAS THE SHOOTER

AND THAT HE'D COME OUT TO GET THE GUN THAT NIGHT BEFORE.

Hill: WE GOT ONTO AIR FORCE ONE

AND MRS. KENNEDY SAT NEAR THE CASKET

IN THE REAR COMPARTMENT.

WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO TAKE OFF

RIGHT AWAY FOR WASHINGTON,

BUT WE FOUND OUT THAT THE VICE PRESIDENT

HAD BEEN CONFERRING WITH PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON

AND THE DECISION HAD BEEN MADE THAT HE NEEDED TO BE SWORN IN

WHILE WE WERE STILL ON THE GROUND THERE IN DALLAS.

AIR FORCE ONE REMAINS AT LOVE FIELD,

WAITING FOR A JUDGE WHO CAN SWEAR IN THE NEW PRESIDENT.

STRANDED ON THE PLANE IN SWELTERING HEAT,

KENNEDY LOYALISTS STRUGGLE

TO ACCEPT THE REALITY OF A NEW PRESIDENT,

WHILE KENNEDY'S WIDOW KEEPS WATCH OVER HIS COFFIN.

Hill: MRS. KENNEDY GRABBED MY HANDS,

AND SHE SAID, "OH, MR. HILL,

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU NOW?"

AND I SAID, "I'LL BE OK, MRS. KENNEDY. I'LL BE OK."

BUT SHE WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MY WELLBEING

AND THAT OF THE OTHER AGENTS.

Narrator: 26 PEOPLE CRAM INTO THE ROOM

TO WITNESS THE OATH.

Davis: JOHNSON WAS ALREADY IN THE ROOM.

IT WAS ONLY ABOUT A TEN-BY-TEN ROOM,

A VERY SMALL COMPARTMENT.

AND HE TURNED TO HIS SECRETARY, AND HE SAID,

"WOULD YOU ASK MRS. KENNEDY

IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO STAND WITH US?"

WE WERE JUST STUNNED TO SEE HER.

SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING. SHE JUST STOOD THERE.

I SAW THE BLOOD THAT HAD HIT HER SKIRT.

THE STOCKINGS WERE THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME MOST,

THE STOCKINGS WHERE THE BLOOD HAD CONGEALED.

Davis: THE STAFF,

WHO'D MADE THE LONG MARCH WITH JOHN F. KENNEDY TO CAMELOT,

AND NOW HE WAS GONE.

AND THE MASCARA'S STREAKING DOWN THEIR CHEEKS AS THEY'RE CRYING,

AND YOU COULD HEAR THE SOBBING,

MEN AND WOMEN.

AND JOHNSON WENT OVER TO MRS. KENNEDY,

HE TOOK HER BY BOTH HANDS,

AND HE TOLD THE JUDGE TO PROCEED.

Narrator: THEY FIND PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S PRAYER BOOK

ON THE PLANE FOR THE SWEARING IN,

AND A DICTAPHONE RECORDS THE CEREMONY.

Hill: EVERYBODY WAS AWARE.

IT WAS VERY HISTORIC, IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL.

AS SOON AS THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY TOOK PLACE,

THE PILOT GOT THE AIRCRAFT MOVING,

AND WE TOOK OFF FOR ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE NEAR WASHINGTON.

Narrator: 2:47 P.M.

ALREADY THE NEWS OF KENNEDY'S ASSASSINATION

IS GOING OUT AROUND THE WORLD.

IN LONDON, PARLIAMENT HAS ADJOURNED.

PROCESSIONS OF MOURNERS ARE WINDING THROUGH BERLIN.

FUNERAL MUSIC IS PLAYING ON RADIO MOSCOW.

Operator: AF1 FROM CROWN AND MRS. KENNEDY ON.

GO AHEAD, PLEASE.

Narrator: AS AIR FORCE ONE HEADS FOR WASHINGTON,

PRESIDENT JOHNSON MAKES A CALL TO JFK'S MOTHER, ROSE KENNEDY.

Narrator: AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS,

CHIEF JESSE CURRY IS UNDER SIEGE FROM THE WORLD'S PRESS.

Reporter: ARE YOU AND THE REST OF THE POLICE

CONVINCED YOU HAVE THE RIGHT MAN NOW?

Curry: I THINK WE DO.

Reporter: ARE THERE ANY OTHER SUSPECTS LINKED WITH OSWALD?

Curry: NO.

Leavelle: ONE OF CHIEF CURRY'S MAIN WORRIES

WAS WHAT THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO THINK ABOUT US,

THE POLICE DEPARTMENT,

PERMITTING THE PRESIDENT TO BE SHOT IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.

I KNEW THAT WAS HANGING HEAVY OVER HIS HEAD,

AND HE WAS WORRIED IF HE KICKED THEM ALL OUT

THAT THEY'D HAVE BAD THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT HIM.

OF COURSE, I TOLD SOME OF THE REPORTERS,

"I'D HAVE KICKED YOUR FANNIES BACK DOWN THE HALLWAY THERE."

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULDN'T HAVE WORRIED ME A BIT.

Reporter: DOES HE SEEM MENTALLY RIGHT, CHIEF?

Curry: YES, HE'S MENTALLY RIGHT.

Reporter: YOU DON'T THINK THE MAN IS OFF HIS ROCKER?

Curry: NO, SIR, I DON'T THINK SO.

Reporter: THANK YOU, CHIEF CURRY.

Aynesworth: YOU MUST REMEMBER

THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST SUCH STORY LIKE THAT

THAT HAD EVER HAPPENED IN OUR NATION, ANYWAY.

EVERYBODY THOUGHT IT WAS THE FAR RIGHT.

THEN THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE COMMUNISTS.

AND THERE WAS REALLY NO LEADERSHIP IN THE CITY

AT THAT TIME.

Leavelle: THE ONLY PERSON THAT WAS ENJOYING IT WAS OSWALD.

HE WAS ENJOYING ALL THAT PUBLICITY,

'CAUSE THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED.

HE WANTED TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF,

AND HE KNEW HE WAS MAKING IT.

SO IT HAD FALLEN RIGHT INTO PLACE FOR HIM.

EVEN THE TIME WHEN HE HAD HIS FIST UP HERE,

THAT IRON-FISTED SALUTE, FOR RUSSIA,

YOU COULD SEE THE PLEASED EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE.

Narrator: 5:58 P.M. EASTERN STANDARD TIME.

AIR FORCE ONE LANDS AT ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE IN WASHINGTON.

Hill: AS SOON AS THE AIRCRAFT STOPPED,

DOWN THE AISLE CAME THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,

ROBERT KENNEDY, WHO WAS THE PRESIDENT'S BROTHER,

RUNNING TO GET TO THE REAR OF THE AIRCRAFT

IN WHICH THE CASKET WAS LOCATED.

HE COMPLETELY IGNORED EVERYBODY.

THERE WAS NOT A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION

AND JOHNSON,

SO THAT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY THAT UNUSUAL TO ME.

Narrator: JOHNSON HAS PLANNED

TO LEAVE THE PLANE WITH THE PRESIDENT'S WIDOW,

BUT HE'S IGNORED BY THE KENNEDY LOYALISTS

AS THEY NEGOTIATE THE IMPROVISED ARRANGEMENTS

FOR UNLOADING THE COFFIN.

Hill: OFFICIALS THERE AT ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE

HAD TAKEN A LIFT THAT USUALLY IS USED

TO RAISE AND LOWER FOODSTUFFS TO THE AIRCRAFT.

WE PLACED THE CASKET ON THE LIFT AND LOWERED IT TO GROUND LEVEL,

AND THE AGENTS, MYSELF INCLUDED,

HELPED LOAD THE CASKET INTO THE AMBULANCE.

Reporter: SECRET SERVICE ESCORT

NOW LIFTING THE BRONZE CASKET OFF THE TRUCK.

THE CASKET IS NOW BEING PUT INTO A GRAY NAVY AMBULANCE.

MRS. KENNEDY IS NOW COMING DOWN, FOLLOWING THE CASKET.

WITH HER, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE KENNEDY FAMILY.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CAN BE SEEN.

Narrator: JOHNSON HAS OVERRULED A KENNEDY WISH

TO EXCLUDE THE PRESS FROM THE AIRPORT.

BY THE TIME HE MAKES HIS FIRST BRIEF STATEMENT AS PRESIDENT,

KENNEDY'S BODY HAS ALREADY LEFT.

Reporter: AND NOW THE SORROWING MRS. KENNEDY,

ACCOMPANYING THE BODY OF HER HUSBAND,

HEADS TOWARDS BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL.

AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

President Johnson: THIS IS A SAD TIME FOR ALL PEOPLE.

WE HAVE SUFFERED A LOSS THAT CANNOT BE WEIGHED.

FOR ME IT IS A DEEP PERSONAL TRAGEDY.

I KNOW THAT THE WORLD SHARES THE SORROW

THAT MRS. KENNEDY AND HER FAMILY BEAR.

I WILL DO MY BEST.

THAT IS ALL I CAN DO.

I ASK FOR YOUR HELP,

AND GOD'S.

Narrator: 6:15 P.M.

DALLAS POLICE HEADQUARTERS.

Reporter: THIS IS ROOM 317, HOMICIDE BUREAU.

AS YOU SEE, THEY ARE BRINGING THE WEAPON ALLEGEDLY USED

IN THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

THIS AFTERNOON AT 12:30, HERE IN DALLAS.

Narrator: BY LATE AFTERNOON, POLICE INQUIRIES

LEAD THEM TO OSWALD'S CO-WORKER BUELL FRAZIER,

THE MAN WHO DROVE HIM TO WORK THAT DAY.

AND I WAS MET BY THESE TWO POLICE DETECTIVES,

AND THEY GRABBED HOLD OF ME

AND PUT ME UP AGAINST THE WALL KIND OF FIRMLY AND QUICKLY,

AND I WAS TOTALLY IN SHOCK, AS I SAID.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" I SAID. "WHO ARE YOU?"

I SAID, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

Narrator: FRAZIER IS TAKEN TO POLICE HEADQUARTERS

TO BE QUESTIONED BY CHIEF INTERROGATOR

CAPTAIN WILL FRITZ.

Frazier: HE THOUGHT I WAS GUILTY,

SO HE HAD SOMEONE TYPE UP A STATEMENT,

AND HE SAID, "SIGN THIS."

AND THIS SAID THAT I WAS INVOLVED

IN THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY.

I LOOKED AT HIM AND I SAID, "I'M NOT SIGNING THAT."

I SAID, "THAT'S RIDICULOUS."

WELL, HE DREW HIS HAND BACK TO HIT ME,

AND I PUT MY ARM UP LIKE THAT TO BLOCK.

AND HE SAID...

HE WAS SO MAD AT ME, SO RED-FACED,

AND I TOLD HIM, I SAID, "YOU HIT ME..."

I SAID, "THERE'S POLICEMEN OUTSIDE THAT DOOR,

BUT I SAID, "WE'RE GONNA HAVE A HELL OF A FIGHT

BEFORE THEY GET IN HERE."

SO, HE GRABBED THE PAPER AND THE PEN AND STOMPED OUT,

AND I NEVER DID SEE HIM AGAIN.

Narrator: BUT FRAZIER'S INTERROGATIONS AND A LIE DETECTOR TEST

CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHT.

Reporter: THERE IS THE SUSPECT. CAN WE ROLL IT, PLEASE?

Narrator: 7:10 P.M.

OSWALD IS CHARGED WITH THE MURDER OF OFFICER J.D. TIPPIT.

Reporter: DID YOU SHOOT THE PRESIDENT?

Oswald: I DIDN'T SHOOT ANYBODY, NO, SIR.

Reporter: WE JUST HEARD OSWALD,

WHO SAID HE DID NOT SHOOT ANYBODY.

Narrator: OSWALD'S TROUBLED HISTORY IS BEGINNING TO EMERGE.

Reporter: I'M BEING PUMMELED HERE.

Walter Cronkite: OSWALD, AS WE SAID, WAS LOCAL CHAIRMAN

OF THE PRO-CASTRO FAIR PLAY FOR CUBA COMMITTEE.

HE WENT TO RUSSIA IN 1959

SAYING HE WAS RELINQUISHING HIS UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP.

HE RETURNED LAST YEAR

COMPLAINING THAT HE WAS DISILLUSIONED.

Narrator: POLICE LEAD OSWALD PAST REPORTERS 15 TIMES.

Reporter: HERE COMES THE MAN AGAIN.

Oswald: I'D LIKE SOME LEGAL REPRESENTATION.

THESE POLICE OFFICERS HAVE NOT ALLOWED ME TO, TO HAVE ANY.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.

Reporter: DID YOU KILL THE PRESIDENT?

Oswald: NO, SIR, I DIDN'T. PEOPLE KEEP ASKING ME THAT.

Narrator: SEVERAL WITNESSES SINGLE HIM OUT

IN A SERIES OF POLICE LINEUPS.

HIS PALM PRINT IS FOUND ON THE RIFLE.

Reporter: DID YOU SHOOT THE PRESIDENT?

Oswald: NO, THEY'VE TAKEN ME IN

BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT I'VE LIVED IN THE SOVIET UNION.

I'M JUST A PATSY.

Narrator: OSWALD'S CLAIM THAT HE IS A PATSY

WILL SPAWN GENERATIONS OF CONSPIRACY THEORISTS.

Hill: ONCE WE GOT TO BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL,

WE PLACED MRS. KENNEDY UP IN A SUITE

AND SECURED HER THERE.

AND THE AUTOPSY BEGAN.

Narrator: THE PRESIDENT'S WIDOW BEGINS HER VIGIL

AS AUTOPSY NUMBER A63-272 GETS UNDER WAY.

IT WILL BE MORE THAN SEVEN HOURS

BEFORE THE AUTOPSY AND FUNERAL PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE.

THE AUTOPSY CONCLUDES THAT TWO BULLETS STRUCK THE PRESIDENT.

ONE PASSED THROUGH HIS BACK AND EXITED THROUGH HIS THROAT.

THE FATAL SHOT HIT THE BACK OF HIS SKULL

AND EXPLODED HIS BRAIN.

THE LONG NIGHT IS TAKEN UP WITH PLANS FOR A FUNERAL

INSPIRED BY CEREMONIES FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Reporter: HE IS A SLIGHT FELLOW

WITH SOME SCRATCHES AROUND HIS FACE.

Narrator: JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT,

AFTER HOURS OF BEING BOMBARDED BY DEMANDS FROM REPORTERS,

POLICE BRING OSWALD TO A PRESS CONFERENCE.

Oswald: I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS SITUATION IS ABOUT.

NOBODY HAS TOLD ME ANYTHING

EXCEPT THAT I'M ACCUSED OF MURDERING A POLICEMAN.

I KNOW NOTHING MORE THAN THAT.

Reporter: DID YOU KILL THE PRESIDENT?

Oswald: NO, I'VE NOT BEEN CHARGED WITH THAT.

IN FACT NOBODY HAS SAID THAT TO ME YET.

THE FIRST THING I HEARD ABOUT IT

WAS WHEN THE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS IN THE HALL

ASKED ME THAT QUESTION.

Reporter: YOU HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH THAT.

Oswald: SIR?

Reporter: YOU HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH THAT.

Reporter: WHAT DID YOU DO IN RUSSIA?

MR. OSWALD, HOW DID YOU HURT YOUR EYE?

Oswald: A POLICEMAN HIT ME.

Narrator: FOLLOWING THE CHAOTIC PRESS CONFERENCE,

OSWALD IS AT LAST FORMALLY CHARGED

WITH THE MURDER OF PRESIDENT JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY.

Hill: THE PHONE RANG.

I WAS ASKED TO COME DOWN TO THE AUTOPSY ROOM.

THEY WANTED ME TO OBSERVE THE PRESIDENT'S BODY

SO THAT IF MRS. KENNEDY EVER HAD ANY QUESTIONS,

I WOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER THEM,

BECAUSE THEY KNEW

THAT IF SHE WAS GOING TO ASK ANYBODY ABOUT IT,

MORE THAN LIKELY IT WOULD BE ME.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I KNEW I HAD TO DO,

AND SO I WENT THROUGH WITH IT.

WE LOADED THE BODY INTO AN AMBULANCE.

MRS. KENNEDY AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

GOT INTO THE BACK OF THE AMBULANCE WITH THE BODY.

I GOT INTO A CAR, AND WE DROVE TO THE WHITE HOUSE.

Narrator: AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING,

JOHN KENNEDY'S BODY RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE.

Davis: I SAW THE FLASHING LIGHTS COMING DOWN PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE,

AHEAD OF THE AMBULANCE.

NOW, MRS. KENNEDY WANTED HER HUSBAND'S BODY

TO BE IN AN AMBULANCE AND NOT IN A HEARSE.

THE KENNEDY FAMILY DON'T WANT TO FACE THE FACT

THAT A PERSON'S DEAD.

IT'S TOO FINAL.

I COULD SEE MRS. KENNEDY WITH HER HAND ON THE CASKET,

AND I STARTED TO FEEL

THE FINALITY OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

I TOLD THEM THAT WE OUGHT TO GO BACK ON THE AIR.

Sid Davis: THERE'S VERY LITTLE MORE WE CAN SAY.

IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING, PERHAPS,

JOHN F. KENNEDY HAS COME HOME.

HE LIKED TO QUOTE FROM ROBERT FROST

MANY TIMES ON THE CAMPAIGN,

AND ONE OF THE PRESIDENT'S FAVORITE QUOTATIONS--

AND I BELIEVE IT WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS--

"I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP,

AND MANY MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP."

AND WITH THAT, THIS IS SID DAVIS...

[voice breaking] ...REPORTING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.

Narrator: AS FLOWERS PILE UP ON DEALEY PLAZA,

THE WORLD JOINS IN THE MOURNING FOR A PRESIDENT.

Cronkite: IN LONDON, THE GREAT TENOR BELL OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY

HAS BEEN PEALING OUT EVERY MINUTE.

IN WEST BERLIN, THE CITY GOVERNMENT

ORDERED OFFICIAL MOURNING UNTIL TUESDAY.

IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THE SHAH OF IRAN

HAS ORDERED ALL FLAGS FLOWN AT HALF STAFF THERE.

IN IRAQ, THREE DAYS OF NATIONAL MOURNING.

IN JORDAN, KING HUSSEIN HAS ORDERED THE ROYAL COURT

TO GO INTO MOURNING FOR THREE DAYS.

SO THE STORIES GO FROM SOUTH AMERICA,

FROM AFRICA, FROM ASIA.

Narrator: THE STORY OF THE DAY KENNEDY DIED

DID NOT END ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1963.

THERE WAS ANOTHER SHOCKING CONCLUSION

JUST 35 HOURS LATER IN DALLAS.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24,

11:20 A.M.

POLICE TAKE LEE HARVEY OSWALD

DOWN TO THE BASEMENT OF THE DALLAS HEADQUARTERS.

FOLLOWING MANY THREATS TO HIS LIFE

AND SURROUNDED BY MAXIMUM SECURITY,

OSWALD IS SHACKLED TO DETECTIVE JIM LEAVELLE

FOR THE TRANSFER TO THE COUNTY JAIL.

Leavelle: I SAID, "LEE, IF ANYBODY SHOOTS AT YOU,

I HOPE THEY'RE AS GOOD A SHOT AS YOU ARE."

AND HE KIND OF SMILED AND HE SAID,

"OH, NOBODY'S GOING TO SHOOT AT ME."

IT'S THE ONLY TIME HE SMILED

DURING THE ENTIRE TIME HE WAS IN CUSTODY.

Man: THERE HE IS. HERE HE COMES.

Jackson: I HEARD HIM SAY, "HERE HE COMES,"

AND I COULD SEE LEAVELLE'S HAT AND OSWALD, YOU KNOW,

COMING OUT THROUGH THE BOOKING ROOM.

AND SO I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE CAMERA.

Aynesworth: ALL THE LIGHTS WENT ON, ALL THE CAMERAS.

Leavelle: THE FLOODLIGHTS CAME ON

AND MOMENTARILY BLINDED ME.

THE FIRST THING I SAW WHEN I TURNED THAT CORNER

WAS JACK RUBY STANDING AT ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE DRIVEWAY.

HE HAD THAT PISTOL IN HIS HAND

PRESSED AGAINST THE SIDE OF HIS LEG.

Jackson: AS THEY APPROACHED THE SPOT

WHERE I WAS GONNA SHOOT ANYWAY,

I WAS AWARE THAT A FIGURE WAS MOVING OUT FROM MY RIGHT.

[GUNSHOT]

Aynesworth: AND THEN I HEARD ONE POP.

ONE POP.

AND I KNEW IT WAS A SHOT.

Reporter: HE'S BEEN SHOT, HE'S BEEN SHOT.

LEE OSWALD HAS BEEN SHOT.

THERE'S A MAN WITH A GUN.

IT'S ABSOLUTE PANIC, ABSOLUTE PANIC,

HERE IN THE BASEMENT OF DALLAS POLICE HEADQUARTERS.

Jackson: HE FIRED, AND I FIRED.

I COULDN'T HAVE PLANNED IT ANY BETTER.

Narrator: LEE HARVEY OSWALD

IS GUNNED DOWN IN POLICE HEADQUARTERS

BY CLUB OWNER JACK RUBY.

Leavelle: I WAS GOING TO TRY TO PULL HIM BEHIND ME,

BUT I HAD HIM RIGHT UP CLOSE, I HAD MY HAND IN HIS BELT,

AND I HAD NO LEVERAGE.

HAD HE BEEN OUT AT ARM'S LENGTH,

I COULD HAVE JERKED HIM PLUMB OFF HIS FEET,

BACK BEHIND ME.

I JERKED ON HIM, AND ALL I DID WAS TURN HIS BODY

SO THE BULLET DID NOT HIT HIM DEAD CENTER.

IT HIT HIM ABOUT 3 OR 4 INCHES TO THE LEFT OF THE NAVEL.

WHAT SAVED ME WAS OSWALD'S RIB.

IF IT HADN'T HAVE HIT THAT RIB,

THE BULLET WOULD HAVE COME ON THROUGH AND CAUGHT ME OVER HERE.

SO THE RIB'S WHAT SAVED ME THAT DAY.

Reporter: IT IS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.

IT'S ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.

THIS IS THE...

HERE HE COMES, HERE'S OSWALD AGAIN.

HE IS NOW LYING VERY PALE ON THE STRETCHER.

HE'S BEING PUT INTO THE AMBULANCE.

CAPTAIN, WHERE WILL HE BE TAKEN?

Officer: I'M ASSUMING PARKLAND HOSPITAL.

Reporter: PARKLAND HOSPITAL, THE IRONY OF IRONIES,

THE PLACE WHERE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY DIED.

Narrator: AT PARKLAND HOSPITAL,

JUST TWO DAYS AFTER TRYING TO SAVE PRESIDENT KENNEDY,

DR. ROBERT McCLELLAND FINDS HIMSELF FACING OSWALD.

McClelland: THE DEPUTY SHERIFF,

WHO HAD BEEN HANDCUFFED TO OSWALD WHEN HE WAS SHOT,

SAID, "I GOT DOWN ON ALL FOURS

AND PUT MY FACE DIRECTLY IN HIS,"

AND I SAID, "SON, YOU'RE HURT REAL BAD.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING TO ME NOW?"

AND HE SAID OSWALD LOOKED UP AT HIM FOR A LONG FEW MOMENTS,

OPENED HIS EYES REAL WIDE,

AND THEN FINALLY SHOOK HIS HEAD VERY WIDELY FROM SIDE TO SIDE,

AS IF NO, HE DIDN'T WANT TO SAY ANYTHING,

AND CLOSED HIS EYES

AND THAT WAS THE LAST TIME THAT HE EVER OPENED THEM.

Narrator: OSWALD'S MURDER FANS THE FLAMES OF CONSPIRACY

FOR DECADES TO COME.

Paine: IT WAS LIKE A CLOSURE FOR ME

TO HAVE HIS LIFE FINISHED.

Narrator: MINUTES AFTER OSWALD'S SHOOTING,

PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S FUNERAL PROCESSION

LEAVES THE WHITE HOUSE.

THE IMPACT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN DALLAS

BROUGHT KINGS AND PRESIDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

TO WASHINGTON.

BUT FOR THE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WERE TOUCHED

ON THE DAY KENNEDY DIED,

THE STORY HAS NEVER ENDED.

Paine: IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO,

BUT IT'S STILL VERY FRESH FOR ME,

AND VERY PAINFUL STILL.

WE ALL WERE NUMB,

THE WHOLE COUNTRY...

WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW IT HAPPENED

AND WHAT WOULD BE NEXT.

YEAH.

Hill: I WAS EMOTIONALLY DRAINED.

I FELT A SENSE OF GREAT LOSS.

I FELT A SENSE OF FAILURE.

AND I HAD A SENSE OF GUILT

FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO DO MORE THAN I DID.

Frazier: THAT MORNING, NOVEMBER 22, 1963,

A YOUNG BOY WENT TO WORK.

UH...

THAT YOUNG BOY NEVER DID COME HOME.

I HAVE A HARD TIME TRUSTING ANYONE.

I JUST GOT TIRED OF BEING CHASTISED

FOR SOMETHING I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH.

UH...THE PAIN AND THE ANGER THAT YOU GO THROUGH

ISN'T WORTH IT.

Hall: I THINK IT WAS ONE OF THE GREAT TRAGEDIES OF MY TIME,

AND I THINK IT SHOULD CAUSE PEOPLE

TO REALLY LOOK AT THEIR LIVES AND THEIR FAMILIES,

AND MAYBE JUST HOLD THEM A LITTLE TIGHTER.

Hill: I CALL THAT THE END OF THE AGE OF INNOCENCE,

AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.

THINGS LIKE THAT JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN.

BUT THEY DID.