Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

The New Zapruder
Monday, February 19, 2007

My father has been friends for many years with the son of Abraham Zapruder, who shot the famous film of the Kennedy assassination. (Wikipedia's entry includes a special note that some believe it's a fake!) I had lunch with the son some years ago in Washington and the family has no connection to the film anymore, but I've always felt a personal connection to the story.

Today comes word that a new film has emerged, one that shows the motorcade 90 seconds before the killing.

The silent, 8 mm color film is ''the clearest, best film of Jackie in the motorcade,'' said Gary Mack, curator of the Sixth Floor Museum, which focuses on Kennedy's life and assassination.
The film shows a brief but clear glimpse of President Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, a few blocks from Dealey Plaza and roughly 90 seconds before the killing. Also visible is Secret Service agent Clint Hill riding on the back of the car. After the shots were fired, Hill jumped onto the car as it drove to the hospital.

The film ends with some footage the next day outside the Texas School Book Depository, the building from which assassin Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shots.

''Because the speed of the motorcade was known to be between 12 and 15 miles per hour, I was able to figure out how far back in time it was from the assassination,'' Mack said.

To see the image of Jackie O, and watch the film, click here.

Labels: Politics in America

Posted by B Feiler at 1:14 PM
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