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The Reunion

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Series which reunites a group of people intimately involved in a moment of modern history

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The Reunion: The Kennedy Assassination

The Kennedy Assassination

BBC Radio 4 - The Reunion, The Kennedy Assassination

In the 100th edition from Dallas, Sue MacGregor and guests recall the JFK assassination

In a special 100th edition of the programme from Dallas, Texas, Sue MacGregor reunites five people involved in events surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy.

On the 22nd of November 1963, President John F. Kennedy was campaigning in Texas. That morning, Air Force One touched down at Dallas Love Field Airport. The President and First Lady waved to jubilant crowds that watched the motorcade move through downtown Dallas.

In Dealey Plaza, Kennedy was shot in the head by an assassin's bullet. Less than half an hour after the shooting, 75 million Americans had heard the news. President Kennedy was declared dead at 1pm, Dallas time.

Within three chaotic days, three murders rocked the city of Dallas. After President Kennedy, police officer J.D. Tippit was shot and killed by the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, who himself was later fatally shot on live television.

In this special 100th edition of The Reunion recorded in Dallas, Sue MacGregor reunites five people who were intimately connected to the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination: Clint Hill, the former Secret Service agent who frantically climbed up the back of the presidential limousine as the shots rang out; Gayle Newman, who stood with her young family in Dealey Plaza and became one of the closest eyewitnesses; Hugh Aynesworth, then of the Dallas Morning News, who reported on the events in November 1963, Kenneth Salyer, who was part of the medical team at Parkland Hospital, desperately trying to revive the President; and James Leavelle, retired Dallas Homicide Detective, who was famously handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was shot by Jack Ruby.

Producer: Colin McNulty
Series Producer: David Prest
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