Dan Rather's first three televised descriptions of the first version of the Zapruder film, 25/11/63

[Paul Rigby]

A) First description of the Zapruder film:

From 7 mins 12 secs until 13 mins 11 secs within the following segment of CBS' coverage of the funeral, 25 November 1963, between 1600hrs and 1631hrs EST:

[video=youtube_share;BGl0ddD7kF4]http://youtu.be/BGl0ddD7kF4[/video]

1. We have just returned from seeing a complete motion picture of the moments preceding, and the moments of, President Kennedy's assassination and the shooting of Texas Governor John Connally.
2. Here is what the motion picture shows.
3. The automobile, the black Lincoln convertible, with the top down - carrying, in the front seat, two secret service agents; in the middle, or jump seat, the Governor and Mrs. Connally; and, in the rear seat, President and Mrs. Kennedy made a turn off of Houston Street, on to Elm Street.
4. This was a left turn and was made right in front of the building from which the assassin's bullet was fired.
5. After making the turn, and going about 35 yards from the corner of the building six stories up in which the assassin had a window open and keep in mind here that President Kennedy and Governor Connally are seated on, both on the same side of the car, on the side facing the building: Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Connally are on the side of the car away from the assassin.
6. About 35 yards from the base of the building, President Kennedy, in the film, put his hand up to the right side of his face, the side facing the assassin.
7. He seemingly wanted to brush back his hair, or perhaps rub his eyebrow.
8. Mrs. Kennedy at this moment was looking away, or looking straight ahead.
9. She was not looking at her husband.
10. At that moment, when the President had his right hand up to this side of his face (gestures), he lurched just a bit forward.
11. It was obvious that the shot had hit him.
12. Mrs. Kennedy was not looking at him, nor did she appear to know at that instant that her husband had been hit.
13. Governor Connally, in the seat immediately in front of the President, apparently either heard the shot or sensed that something was wrong because, Governor Connally, with his coat open, his button was undone, turned in this manner (turns back to his right with right arm extended), his hand outstretched, back toward the President; and the Governor had a look on his face that would indicate he perhaps was saying "What's wrong?" or "What happened?" or "Can I help?" or something.
14. But as Governor Connally was turned this way, his white shirt front exposed well to the view of the assassin, the Governor was obviously hit by a bullet, and he fell over to the side.
15. Governor Connally's wife, immediately, seemingly instantaneously, placed herself over her husband in a protective position, it appeared; and as Governor Connally fell back, President Kennedy was still leaned over.
16. At that moment another bullet obviously hit the head of the President.
17. The President's head went forward, violently, in this manner (gestures).
18. Mrs. Kennedy, at that instant, seemed to be looking right-square at her husband.
19. She stood up.
20. The President slumped over to the side and, I believe, brushed against Mrs. Kennedy's dress.
21. Mrs. Kennedy immediately turned and flung herself on the trunk of the automobile, face-down on the trunk, almost on all-fours.
22. The First Lady appeared to be either frantically trying to get the secret service man who was riding on the bumper of the car - the single secret service man riding on that bumper - to come into the car or to tell him what had happened; or perhaps, from the picture, it appeared she might have been trying to get out of the car some way.
23. The car never stopped.
24. The secret service man in the front seat had a telephone in his hand.
25. The car…its acceleration increased rapidly and it disappeared under an underpass.
26. Three shots - the first one hitting President Kennedy, the second one hitting Governor Connally, the third one hitting the President consume, possibly, five seconds.
27. Not much more than that, if any.
28. That is the scene shown in about twenty seconds of film that the FBI has in its possession.
29. The film was taken by an amateur photographer who was in a very advantageous position, and who had his camera trained on the President's car from the time it made the turn in front of the assassin until it disappeared on its way to the hospital.
30. This is Dan Rather in Dallas.

B) Second description of the Zapruder film:

From 21 mins 51 secs until 27 mins 07 secs within the following segment of CBS' coverage of the funeral, 25 November 1963, between 1600hrs and 1631hrs EST:

[video=youtube_share;BGl0ddD7kF4]http://youtu.be/BGl0ddD7kF4[/video]

1. We have just returned from seeing a complete motion picture of the moments immediately preceding, and the moments of, President Kennedy's assassination.
2. The motion picture shows the limousine carrying, in the front seat, two secret service men; in the middle, or jump seat, Governor and Mrs. Connally; and, in the rear seat, President and Mrs. Kennedy; a single secret service man standing on the back bumper; the top of the black Lincoln convertible down.
3. The car made a turn, a left turn, off of Houston Street, on to Elm Street, on the fringe of Dallas' down-town area; that turn made directly below the sixth floor window from which the assassin's bullets came.
4. After the left turn was completed, the automobile, with only one car in front of it - a secret service car immediately in front the President's car proceeded about 35 yards from the base of the building in which the assassin was.
5. President Kennedy and Governor Connally were seated on the same side of the open car, the side facing the building: Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Connally on the side of the car opposite the assassin.
6. President Kennedy is clearly shown to put his right hand up to the side of his face as if to either brush back his hair, or perhaps rub his eyebrow.
7. Mrs. Kennedy at that instant is looking away, and is not looking at the President.
8. At almost that instant, when the President has his hand up to this side of his face (gestures), he lurches forward something in this manner (gestures): The first shot had hit him.
9. Mrs. Kennedy appeared not to notice.
10. Governor Connally, in the seat right in front of the President by the way, the Governor had his suit coat open, his suit was not buttoned perhaps either heard the shot or somehow he knew something was wrong because the picture shows just after that first shot hit the President, the Governor turned in something this manner, with his right arm stretched back toward the President, as if to say "What's wrong?" or "What happened?" or say something.
11. It exposed the entire white front shirt of the Governor to the full view of the assassin's window; and as the Governor was in this position, and President Kennedy behind him was slumped slightly over, a shot clearly hit the front of Governor Connally; and the Governor fell back over towards his wife.
12. Mrs. Connally immediately put herself over her husband in a protective position, and as she did so, in the back seat, this time with Mrs. Kennedy's eyes apparently right on her husband, the second shot the third shot in all the second shot hit the President's head.
13. His head went forward, in a violent motion, pushing it down like this (leans forward, lowering his head as he does so).
14. Mrs. Kennedy was on her feet immediately.
15. The President fell over in this direction (leans to his left).
16. It appeared his head probably brushed or hit against Mrs. Kennedy's legs.
17. The First Lady almost immediately tried to crawl on did crawl on - to the trunk of the car, face-down, her whole body almost was on that trunk, in something of an all-fours position.
18. She appeared to be either trying to desperately get the attention of the secret service man on the back bumper, or perhaps she was stretching out toward him to grab him to try get him in.
19. Perhaps even trying to get herself out of the car.
20. The car was moving all the time, the car never stopped.
21. The secret service man on the back bumper leaned way over and put his hands on Mrs. Kennedy's shoulders she appeared to be in some danger of falling or rolling off that trunk lid.
22. He pushed her back into the back seat of the car.
23. In the front seat, a secret service man with a phone in his hand.
24. The car speeded up and sped away. It never stopped, the car never paused.
25. That's what the film of the assassination showed.
26. The film was taken by an amateur photographer who had placed himself in an advantageous position: eight millimeter color film.
27. This is Dan Rather in Dallas.

C) Third description of the Zapruder film

Broadcast at 2026hrs, EST, duration approximately 3 mins 26 secs.*

[video=youtube_share;kiSoxFHyjGY]http://youtu.be/kiSoxFHyjGY[/video]

Transcript of the third description on line: http://www.etcfilmunit.com/Cronkite.html

I-Accuse.com

1. The films we saw were taken by an amateur photographer, who had a particularly good vantage point, just past the building from which the fatal shot was fired.
2. The films show President Kennedy's open, black limousine, making a left turn, off Houston Street on to Elm Street on the fringe of downtown Dallas, a left turn made just below the window in which the assassin was waiting.
3. About 35 yards past the very base of the building, just below the window, President Kennedy could be seen to, to put his right hand up to the side of his head to, either brush back his hair or perhaps rub his eyebrow.
4. President Kennedy was sitting on the same side of the car as the building from which the shot came.
5. Mrs. Kennedy was by his side.
6. In the jump seat in front of him, Mrs. Connally, and Governor Connally, Governor Connally on the same side of the car as the president.
7. And in the front seat, two Secret Service men.
8. Just as the president put that right hand up to the side of his head, he, you could see him, lurch forward.
9. The first shot had hit him.
10. Mrs. Kennedy was looking in another direction, and apparently didn't see, or sense that first shot, or didn't hear it.
11. But Governor Connally, in the seat in front, appeared to have heard it, or at least sensed that something was wrong.
12. The Governor's coat was open.
13. He, he reached back in this fashion, exposing his white shirt front to the assassin's window, reached back as if to, to offer aid or ask the president something.
14. At that moment, a shot clearly hit the governor, in the front, and he fell back in his seat.
15. Mrs. Connally immediately threw herself over him in a protective position.
16. In the next instant, with this time Mrs. Kennedy apparently looking on, a second shot, the third total shot, hit the president's head.
17. He, his head can be seen to move violently forward.
18. And, Mrs. Kennedy stood up immediately; the president leaned over her way.
19. It appeared that he might have brushed her legs.
20. Mrs. Kennedy then, literall,y went on the top of the trunk, of the Lincoln car, put practically her whole body on the trunk.
21. It, it appeared she might have been on all fours, there, reaching out for the Secret Service man, the lone Secret Service man who was riding on the bumper of the car, the back bumper on Mrs. Kennedy's side.
22. The Secret Service man leaned forward and put his hands on Mrs. Kennedy's shoulder to push her back into the car.
23. She was in some danger, it appeared, of rolling off or falling off.
24. And when we described this before, there was some question about what we meant by Mrs. Kennedy being on the trunk of the car.
25. Only she knows, but it appeared that she was trying desperately to, to get the Secret Service man's attention or perhaps to help pull him into the car.
26. The car never stopped, it never paused.
27. In the front seat, a Secret Service man was, was on the telephone.
28. The car picked up speed, and disappeared beneath an underpass.
29. This is Dan Rather in Dallas.

*Ken Rheberg: "Dan Rather described the Zapruder film THREE separate times on CBS-TV Monday 11/25/63. The final report was televised at approximately 8:26PM EST."

Source: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index....6&p=262821
Post #249, 17 November 2012, within the thread: Was Muchmore's film shown on WNEW-TV, New York, on November 26, 1963?