National Geographic Channel Marks Anniversary of JFK's Assassination With Powerful Two-Hour Documentary Culled From Hundreds of Hours of Rarely Seen News Footage

"The Lost JFK Tapes" Reconstructs Minute-by-Minute Drama of Tragic Event Through Local TV News Reports, Audio Recordings and Home Movies

The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination premieres Monday, November 23, 2009, at 9 PM ET/PT

To mark the anniversary of JFK's assassination on November 22, 1963, National Geographic Channel (NGC) has combed through hundreds of hours of news footage, radio reports, audio recordings and home movies not widely seen that captured history as it was chaotically unfolding and has assembled them together to retell the events of that day. This unique eyewitness material was first stored by local news stations in Dallas/Fort Worth and then preserved by The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which is dedicated to chronicling the life, death and legacy of President Kennedy.

Now this rarely seen archival footage has been digitally captured, electronically restored and assembled into a detailed timeline in the two-hour documentary special The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination, premiering Monday, November 23, 2009, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel.

This close-up view features film of the limited security surrounding Kennedy as he waded into Dallas crowds and his chilling remarks that fateful morning. It also captures the real-time horror of parade-goers who witnessed the killing; the local newsmen reporting the breaking news; the on-air speculation over who fired the fatal shots; the priest who describes administering last rites to the president; and investigators swarming inside the sixth floor Texas School Book Depository after shots rang out -- with a TV photographer following their actions. In addition, the documentary reveals the tense drama of Lee Harvey Oswald beyond the infamous shooting scene and how Jack Ruby was able to get close to him without difficulty.

"While some of this footage has been seen before, I have never seen it put together in such a riveting, compelling manner..." commented Gary Mack, curator of The Sixth Floor Museum. "Watching this film, you feel like you are actually transported back to that fateful day, in real time, and witnessing history live."