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CNN Saturday Morning News
Today is 40th Anniversary of JFK's Assassinated
Aired November 22, 2003 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: It was in Dallas, 40 years ago on this date, that America's 35th president was assassinated.
CNN's Kelly Wallace joins us live now from the site of the city's most infamous landmark. Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Marty.
Well, not clear how many people will actually come here to this site today. More people, though, expected than usual, because of all of the attention to the 40th anniversary. Handful of people around now and dozens were here yesterday, some people leaving flowers, notes, and tributes to the late president.
There won't be any official ceremony, and that is really the same practice for every year. It's in keeping with the Kennedy family desire to remember the president's life, not the tragic way he died.
However, there will be one event going on today, and that is inside the museum that is dedicated to the president's life. There's an exhibit titled "Remembering Jack" that is featuring very intimate photographs of President and Mrs. Kennedy taken by the Kennedy family photographer, an official photographer, Jacques Lowe.
That museum, in fact, is inside the former Texas Schoolbook Depository building, and that is the place where Lee Harvey Oswald is believed to have fired the fatal shots.
I'm coming to you from the grassy knoll area. And from this ledge is where perhaps the most famous home video is believed to have ever been shot. It was shot by dress company president Abraham Zapuder. He captured the assassination of President Kennedy. And late on that day of November 22, 1963, he spoke to a local reporter, and clearly was very emotional after what he had seen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, November 22, 1963, WFAA-TV)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas. May I have your name, please, sir?
ABRAHAM ZAPRUDER: My name is Abraham Zapruder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Zapruda?
ZAPRUDER: Zapruder, yes, sir. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zapruda. And would you tell us your story, please, sir?
ZAPRUDER: I got out and about a half-hour earlier, get, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a good spot to shoot some pictures. And I found a spot, one of these concrete blocks they have down here on the park near the underpass. And I got on top there. There was another girl from my office, she was right behind me.
And as I was shooting, as the president was coming down from Houston Street, making his turn, it was about halfway down there, I heard a shot. And he slumped to the side, like this. Then I heard another shot or two, I couldn't say whether it was one or two. And I saw his head practically open up, all blood and everything.
And I kept on shooting. That's about all. I'm just sick. I can't...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that pretty well expresses the entire feelings of the whole world.
ZAPRUDER: Terrible. Terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the film in the camera? We'll try to get...
ZAPRUDER: Yes, I brought it on the studio (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And Zapruder's film investigated, looked at, gone over by numerous investigators throughout the years, including the Warren Commission, which found that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. But when you look the polls, a majority of the American people don't believe that. They believe there had to be a greater conspiracy at work, Marty.
SAVIDGE: Kelly Wallace, thank you very much, live from Dealy Plaza.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 22, 2003 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: It was in Dallas, 40 years ago on this date, that America's 35th president was assassinated.
CNN's Kelly Wallace joins us live now from the site of the city's most infamous landmark. Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Marty.
Well, not clear how many people will actually come here to this site today. More people, though, expected than usual, because of all of the attention to the 40th anniversary. Handful of people around now and dozens were here yesterday, some people leaving flowers, notes, and tributes to the late president.
There won't be any official ceremony, and that is really the same practice for every year. It's in keeping with the Kennedy family desire to remember the president's life, not the tragic way he died.
However, there will be one event going on today, and that is inside the museum that is dedicated to the president's life. There's an exhibit titled "Remembering Jack" that is featuring very intimate photographs of President and Mrs. Kennedy taken by the Kennedy family photographer, an official photographer, Jacques Lowe.
That museum, in fact, is inside the former Texas Schoolbook Depository building, and that is the place where Lee Harvey Oswald is believed to have fired the fatal shots.
I'm coming to you from the grassy knoll area. And from this ledge is where perhaps the most famous home video is believed to have ever been shot. It was shot by dress company president Abraham Zapuder. He captured the assassination of President Kennedy. And late on that day of November 22, 1963, he spoke to a local reporter, and clearly was very emotional after what he had seen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, November 22, 1963, WFAA-TV)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas. May I have your name, please, sir?
ABRAHAM ZAPRUDER: My name is Abraham Zapruder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Zapruda?
ZAPRUDER: Zapruder, yes, sir. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zapruda. And would you tell us your story, please, sir?
ZAPRUDER: I got out and about a half-hour earlier, get, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a good spot to shoot some pictures. And I found a spot, one of these concrete blocks they have down here on the park near the underpass. And I got on top there. There was another girl from my office, she was right behind me.
And as I was shooting, as the president was coming down from Houston Street, making his turn, it was about halfway down there, I heard a shot. And he slumped to the side, like this. Then I heard another shot or two, I couldn't say whether it was one or two. And I saw his head practically open up, all blood and everything.
And I kept on shooting. That's about all. I'm just sick. I can't...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that pretty well expresses the entire feelings of the whole world.
ZAPRUDER: Terrible. Terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the film in the camera? We'll try to get...
ZAPRUDER: Yes, I brought it on the studio (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And Zapruder's film investigated, looked at, gone over by numerous investigators throughout the years, including the Warren Commission, which found that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. But when you look the polls, a majority of the American people don't believe that. They believe there had to be a greater conspiracy at work, Marty.
SAVIDGE: Kelly Wallace, thank you very much, live from Dealy Plaza.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
