It’s been over sixty years since that sunny Friday in Dallas, but somehow, we aren’t done seeing it yet. Just when you think every frame of 8mm film has been scrubbed, digitized, and debated into oblivion, something new crawls out of a dusty closet.
Honestly, it’s wild.
In late 2024 and throughout 2025, the world got hit with new footage of JFK that didn't just show the motorcade—it showed the raw, terrifying speed of the aftermath. Most people are used to the Zapruder film. We’ve all seen those grainy, silent frames of Dealey Plaza. But the recent emergence of the Dale Carpenter Sr. film and the massive 2025 document declassifications have changed the vibe of the conversation entirely.
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The "Lost" Carpenter Film: 80 MPH Toward Parkland
For decades, the Carpenter family had a reel of film sitting in a plastic milk crate. It wasn't some government secret hidden in a vault. It was just a family memento. James Gates, the grandson of Dale Carpenter Sr., eventually realized that his grandfather hadn't just filmed a parade; he’d captured the desperate, high-speed race to save a life.
The footage is startling.
While the first half shows the motorcade on Lemmon Avenue before the shooting—with the President and Jackie smiling—the second half is where things get heavy. It’s color 8mm footage taken from the Stemmons Freeway. You can actually see the presidential limousine roaring down the interstate at roughly 80 miles per hour.
If you've ever wondered how fast they were really moving toward Parkland Memorial Hospital, this is it.
Why this specific footage matters:
- It shows Secret Service Agent Clint Hill in a way we’ve never seen. He’s spread-eagle over the back of the car, shielding Jackie Kennedy and the President.
- The sheer speed is palpable. Most historical films make the motorcade look like a slow-moving procession. This looks like a flight.
- It provides a "missing link" between the shots fired at Dealey Plaza and the arrival at the hospital.
Stephen Fagin, the curator at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, pointed out something pretty poignant about these finds. He mentioned that because the assassination was such a "flashbulb memory" for that generation, people instinctively held onto everything. They didn't always know what they had. Or, like the Carpenter family, they just didn't think the world would still be this obsessed sixty years later.
The 2025 Document Dump: No Smoking Gun, Plenty of Smoke
In March 2025, following a directive that felt like it had been delayed for a lifetime, the National Archives released over 80,000 documents. No, there wasn't a confession letter from a second shooter. Sorry to the theorists out there.
But the "new" info—much of it unredacted for the first time—paints a much darker picture of the Cold War era than the sanitized versions we got in history books. We’re talking about detailed CIA plots in Mexico City and the sheer level of surveillance on Lee Harvey Oswald before the trigger was even pulled.
Basically, the government knew a lot about Oswald.
One report from the 90s, only fully cleared recently, even suggested that Oswald might have been a "poor shot" during his time in the military. It’s the kind of detail that keeps the debate alive. Why would a mediocre marksman pull off the most famous shot in history? Or was he just having a lucky day? The documents don't answer that, but they give us the raw data to argue about it for another sixty years.
The Human Side of the Lens
You've gotta feel for guys like George Jefferies or Dale Carpenter. They were just people with cameras trying to catch a glimpse of the most charismatic couple in the world. Jefferies' footage, which surfaced some years back but was re-analyzed alongside the 2024 finds, shows a "bunched up" suit coat on JFK’s back.
Conspiracy buffs love this. They say it explains why the bullet holes in the clothing didn't line up with the wounds.
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Historians? They say the coat just rode up because he was waving.
That’s the thing about new footage of JFK. It rarely "solves" the mystery. Instead, it adds layers of texture to a moment that feels more like a movie than actual history. When you see Clint Hill clinging to that car on the freeway, you’re not looking at a "theory." You’re looking at a 31-year-old man doing his job while the world falls apart around him.
What's Actually Left to Find?
Is there more out there? Probably.
Farris Rookstool III, a former FBI analyst and a guy who has seen more JFK footage than almost anyone alive, thinks there are still "white whales" out there. We know there were at least 32 people filming or taking photos in Dealey Plaza that day. Not all of those cameras have been accounted for.
Some are lost to time. Others are likely sitting in shoeboxes in Dallas suburbs, waiting for a grandchild to get curious.
Practical Steps for History Buffs:
- Visit the National Archives Online: Don't trust the TikTok summaries. You can actually browse the 2025 releases yourself. It's a rabbit hole, but it's the real stuff.
- Check out The Sixth Floor Museum’s YouTube: They’ve been doing "Oral History" projects that give context to these new films. It helps to hear the experts explain what you're looking at.
- Look for the "Babuska Lady" footage: This is the ultimate prize. A woman in a headscarf was seen filming very close to the limousine. Her film has never surfaced. If it does, it’ll be the biggest news since 1963.
The search for new footage of JFK isn't just about finding a "second gunman." It’s about the human need to see the truth from every possible angle. We want to be there. We want to understand. And as long as there are attics and old film reels, we’re going to keep looking.
To get the most out of these new discoveries, start by comparing the Carpenter footage with the stabilized versions of the Zapruder film available on the National Archives website. Seeing the transition from the slow turn on Elm Street to the 80-mph sprint on the Stemmons Freeway provides a sense of urgency that no history book can replicate.