thanks for joining us everyone. america's news headquarters picks up the coverage of the 50th anniversary of the jfk assassination now. >> you are looking live at a tribute there. that is on to the national cemetery, the national flame. 50 years ago today shots rang out killing the america's president. i am alisyn camerota. >> and i am bill hemmer, good day. we'll watch together and listen to the ceremony with you and several reporters live on the growned in dallas and firsthand account of an eyewitness who looks back 50 years ago today. you are looking live as alisyn mentioned in the eterm flame in arlington national cemetery in

virginia. that is the gravesite for the late president. we'll go now to dallas, texas. casy ste gal is live there in the plaza. it is a dreary day, casy. what is happening. >> reporter: it is very cold and that is not stopped. hundreds of people coming out to dealey plaza. we are in the place infamous. and they handed out rain ponchos because the wind and rain is picking up in the last 30 minutes or so. and the people are out here and pre- program as it is billed is underway and they are playing on movies and big screens up there and just played kennedy's

inaugural speech when he was sworn in office in january of 1961. and then the official program is expected to start any minute from now. and we'll hear the dallas symphony orchestra play. and they will recite some of the more famous speeches that kennedy gave. he was an eloquent speaker wasn't he. we heard a lot of speeches played in the last several weeks leading up to the event. and i want to show you the theme on dealey plaza and right back there in the background was the old texas school book deposatory. and the brick building back there and it was very far right window up in the corner one down from the top. lee harvey oswald a 24-year-old former marine was sitting as he

waited for the president to come right through elm street here. it is bordered by the grassy combol. we talked about how things have changed in the last 50 years, the presidential motorcade was published and made public to everyone. and when john fitzgerald kennedy and wife jackie got off from love field, they made their way through the area and on the way to a lunchion not far from here and that was all published a head of time and that is the window that lee harvey oswald sat in and determined that the deadly shots fired from. 50 years later, a lot of conspiracy theories are in place on whether or not oswalt was the gunman on that day. and there was another gunman across from dealey plaza and all of the conspiracies and politics

aside, today is about remembering the 35th president of the united states and man who gave america hope and people turned out to pay homage to a man we loved so much. >> casy stegal. thank you so much. >> we are hearing firsthand accounts of what it was like that day in dealey plaza. and we'll bring in a man deal lord and shouting questions to lee harvey oswalt before he was shot. he was a young reporter in that day in dallas. good day to you. >> thank you very much. >> it is 1:04 in new york and we are about 26 minutes away from the moment. what were you doing precisely 50 years ago? >> i was at affiliate wfaa in dallas two brok blocks away from dealey plaza and examining the videotape of the president's

morning in fort worth and the arrival in love field in dallas. my goal was to help our white house correspondent bob clark with his piece that evening. >> you describe it running down to dealy plaza and it was a horrifically emotional scene. tell us what you saw that day? >> it was. i grabbed a cameraman and he came with me and people were just pointing to the depository building and saying a man was up there with a rifle. and folks were crying and sobbing and shock and extremely angry and the police were getting attention on the building itself. >> you were working with correspondent bob clark that day as you said and he was heading to the hospital and trying to follow the first lady and the

president's car to the hospital and he described to you the scene. when he got to the hospital he was able to so in and what did he tell you? >> when they got there, the press pool got out and went to the limousine and mrs. kennedy and the president were till there and the president slumped over her lap and she was cradling his head. they went out and got to the emergency room and the press were not allowed to go inside and bob told me that the damage that he saw, the horrendous scene inside of the remains of the president's head were so traumatic there was no chance of him surviving and i guess it was 25 minutes later at 1 o'clock, the white house a noupsed that it he had dead. >> when you think about that day and you think about the kind of reaction that rippled through dallas, texas specifically, what

do you recall? >> i recall that there was great turmoil and confusion and anger and sadness. there were also great concern as to whether or not the populs that had so warmly welcomed the president was somehow going to do something that was unpleasant themselves. would they riot was the concerns of the policemen. they of course, did not. dallas was wounded itself. not just when the president was killed but dallas was wounded over this event and took many years to heal. >> did you have more that was intended in design? or was it just that moment, that purative six seconds in american history? >> as reporters, we tend to concentrate on what is happening now and not thinking necessarily 1 or 2 days down the road.

i think we were sufficiently overwhelmed with the facts and trying to determine what was going o. and where was oswalt. he was finally brought in and we saw him four times in that period and he brushed shoulders with me and other reporters as we jockeyed on the position of a narrow hallway as they brought them down in to the interrogation room. we were caught up in a copunnedium of events that we couldn't predict and he was shot. >> and you were at that scone as well. and you were on the phone in a hallway as oswalt came in and he was shot and tell us about your impregs for that moment. abc had a great affiliate and there was one remote unit, and that was really something. fa a in dallas have a good remote unit but our bosses in

new york had to decide where to put the remote unit. in the city jail and drives to dealey plaza which is the county jail and textbook depository unit. it was not put in the basement in the police department and put in dealey plaza. i remember the ---y was there. and remember the telephone booths? >> we do? >> i was in the telephone booth with a 12 inch cord and i saw oswalt come out of the elevator and out of my sight and i was behind the action 15 or 20 feet away. and i heard a shot and said we have to get on the air. that is a double-edged sword. we are on the air and i can't see what is happening. police crowded around oswalt. i realized it is the end of my career because i will say something horrendously wrong.

we were cautious and tentative and finally my cameraman filming it came back and filled me in and oswalt was shot as i said on the live coverage, something that the dallas police feared might happen. >> it is remarkable. >> and bill, thank you. >> and we are going to let you tanned by just a moment there and we'll come back to you in the next hour and take the picture in dallas full for a moment, folks and give you a sense of the overhead camera. that is the rooftop of the seven story texas depositatory and that looks like a monument and that looks like a grassy knol and then elm street which is where the bagpipers are walking down now.

>> we'll listen to this for a moment. ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage the united states naval academy men's glee club under the direction of dr. smith. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ please welcome our guest to the stage for the city of dallas. mrs. ruth collins owhich you willer. and most rev lend bishop kevin jay farrell of the catholic dis ones. and mayor of dallas. and david mcculla and pastor emeritous of the st. luke united

methodist church zan w. holmes junior. thank you. ♪ ♪ to our viewers just zoining us. 13 minutes after 12 noon in dallas, texas. we are watching along with you the memorial service marking the moment when john f. kenned was shot and assassinated that day. 12:30 in the afternoon central time in dallas, texas. we'll watch the ceremony play out and we'll dip in and out and now the presentation of the colors and there will be speakers and music and moment of

silence when the clock strikes 12:30 central time in dallas, texas. ♪ ♪ >> please remain standing for the national anthem performed by monica sel lda bar. ♪ o say can you see. ♪ by the dawn's early light. what so proudly we held at the

twilight's last gleaming. ♪ whose bright stripes and bright stars throughout perilous night. ♪ over the rampart we watched were so gallantly streaming. ♪ and the rockets red glare, the booms bursting in air. ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. ♪ o say does that star spanningled banner yet wave? ♪ over the land of the free...

♪ and the home of the brave. (applause) >> please be seated. today's invocation is presented by the most reverend bishop kevin jay fa rrel of the catholic dioscese of dallas. >> almighty and everfaithful god, today we lift up our minds and hearts to you because you, lord, have lifted us up from the horrible tragedy enacted in this place, from the cruel suffering that was born on this hill, from the shock and horror that gripped our nation sxrshgs from the years when we as citizens of

this city, suffered and were implicated by the gun shot by one man, that killed a president in whom many of us had set our hopes and dreams for a better america. it was your abiding inspiration, and active presence among us, lord, that moved us ever forward despite the temptation and only to lament and be paralyzed by our grief. you turned our sorrow into a firm commitment to move forward. you turned our grief into a resolve to refashion our city, to a place where life flourishes and true love abounds. you turned our devastation to a commitment to rebuild here this city of god, a city where all of welcomed and nurtured and

cared for. we rejoice with gratitude in all that you have caused to happen here, in a place which was disgraced, scorned and ruthlessly judged by ourselves and others. may you, heavenly father, continue to sustain us as we celebrate that the phoenix has risen from the ashes of violence and that hatred can be turned to harmony and ignorance can cede to understanding and that prejudice can lead to openness. make us ininstruments of your peace and bearers of divine justice that tempers instinct with mercy, that changes what appears to be defeat, to the reality fed by providence that

all will be well. lord, may you walk with us and inspire us, as you once inspired president john fitzgerald kennedy, to dream of a world that never was and to say why not? may god bless the united states of america. >> and now please welcome the mayor of dallas. honorable mike rolings. (applause) >> a new era dawned and another waned a half century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in dallas. we watched the night marrish reality that in our front yard,

our president had been taken from us. taken from his family, taken from the world. john fitzgerald kennedy's presidency and life and yes, his death seemed to myth logically usher in the next 50 years. what ensued was five decades filled with other tragedies, turmoil and great triumphs. we were all very young, our lives dreams, in front of us. dallas was very young as well. barely a century old. and given the nature of youth, we all felt invincible. it seems that we all grew up that day, city and citizens, and suddenly we had to step up to try to live up to the challenges

of the words and visions of a beloved president. our collective hearts were broken, like so many of us who were too young to fully compreend, i remember being called in the school gymnasaium and hearing the terrible news and told to go home. stunned civic leaders in the trademark lunchion who awaited a president who would never arrive. crowds parade outside parkland hospital. and traffic stopped in cities across the country as news spread from car to car. and the world grieved with us. newspapers reported that flags were lowered to half staff around the globe. germans on both sides of the berlin wall placed lit candles in their windows and an eight-year-old any jerrian girl

recited the entire inaugural address from memory as her father wept just like the skies today. while the past is never in the past, this was a lifetime ago. now, today, we the people of dallas honor the life, legacy and leadership of the man who called us to think not of our own interest, but of our countries. we give thanks for his life and his service. we offer condolences to his family, especially his daughter caroline on this difficult day. we pay tribute to an ideaist without illusions and helped to build a more just and equal world. we salute a commander in chief who stared down a nuclear threat to this country.

and praised a writer who profiled true courage and modelled it himself. we applaud a visionary who created a core of young americans to promote peace a round the globe. we stand in a we of a dreamer who challenged us to literally reach for the moon, though he himself would not live to see us achieve that goal. other goals were even tougher and have taken longer to reach and we the united states, still struggle toward some even as we speak as do we here in dallas. but we are fortified by the knowledge we always had big goals and aspirations in this city, set by our founding fathers like john dealey brian and george dealey, namesake of this plaza and reenergized by

eric johnson and the mayor who led dallas in the post assassination years. these five decades have seen us turn civic heart break into hard work. they have seen us go from youthful invincity to vulnerability and greater maturity as a city and community. on the one year anniversary of the assassination of the late rabby eli -- levi oland of temple emmanuel. one of the city's greatest spiritual leaders gave voice to dallas' communal pain unleashed on that day. rabbi olansaid "contrary to the impassioned judgment of that horrible moment" the city is not guilty of the crime, but in those awesome days following the assassination, the most powerful

searchlight that man possesses was focused on this city. every flaw and every raw spot and every wrinkle and every uncleanness was put under a microscope and shown to the world. he continued. the city of rich palaces and tall towers of commerce were set amidst slums and hovels, and a powerful light shown upon it, the city, it was learned had been in inhospitable to honor debate." rabby olancaptured the heart break and hurt that the tea felt and stated the failings that were laid bare before the entire world. but most important, he called for dallas to use this tragedy to seek a true transformation. look around today, and i believe we have heeded that call.

the people of the city are filled with a sense of industry born of tragedy and driven to improve the substance of dallas and not just the image of it. today, because of the hard work, of many people, dallas is a different city. i believe the new frontier did not end that day on our texas frontier. and i hope that president kennedy would be pleased with our humble efforts toward fulfilling our country's highest calling, that of providing the opportunity for all citizens to exercise those inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. the city of dallas will continue on that course. the man we remember today gave us a gift that will not be squandered. he and our city will be forever linked and tragedy, yes, but out

of that tragedy an opportunity was granted to us, the chance to learn how to face the future, it's the darkest and most uncertain and how to hold high the torch, even when the flame flickers and threatened to go out. as the people of dallas did then. each of us will meet our own coming challenges head-on with courage, honoring and not living in the past. and never, never flinching from the truth. we will meet the future with the same vigor, optimism and unfailing sense of duty that our young president embodied. president kennedy brought us that message. in his pocket, down that street

on november 22nd, 1963. that message was to be delivered a few miles away in a speech to dallas leaders following his parade. it was a speech he never got to make. but those unspoken words resonate far beyond the life of a man to commemorate that day and those words we are unveiling a memorial right here in this historic plaza. it is inscribed with the last lines of the undelivered speech and serve as a reminder and a permanent monument to president kennedy's memory. i leave you with those resonate words. we in this country, in this generation are by destiny rather

than choice, the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. we ask therefore that we may be worthy of our power and our responsibility. that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint. and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of "peace on earth, good will toward". that must always be our goal and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength for as was written long ago, accept the lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vein. ladies and gentlemen and gentlemen, would you join me in

a moment of silence in the honor of the life of john fitzgerald kennedy. ♪ ♪ america, america. ♪ god shed his grace on thee.

♪ o beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain... ♪ for purple mountains mag tee, above the fruited plains. ♪ america, america, god shed his grace on thee. ♪ and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea. ♪ o beautiful for heroes in

never roaching stride. ♪ who more than felt their country loved. ♪ and mercy more than life. ♪ america, america. may god thy old refine. ♪ till all accept the nobleness and every be thoin. thine. (applause)

ladies and gentlemen, mr. david mccullough. (applause) >> he spoke to us in that now distant time past with a vitality and a sense of purpose such as we had never heard before. he was young to be president. but it didn't seem so if you were younger still. he was ambitious to make it a better world and so were we. let the world go forth, he said, that the torch is passed to a new generation of americans. it was an exciting time. he talked of all that needed to be done. of so much that mattered.

equal opportunity and unitty of purpose and education. the life of the mind and the spirit, art and poetry, service to one's country and the courage to move forward into the future. the cause of peace on earth. his was the inspiring summons to serve, to hard work and worthy accomplishment and a summons we long for. he was an optmist and he said so. and there was nothing, no sidestepping reality in what he said. no resorting to sail old platitudes and he spoke to the point and with confidence. and he knew words mattered.

his words changed lives. his words changed history. rarely has a commander in chief addressed the nation with such command of language. much to be said applies now no less than half a century continue and continue to be taken to heart far into the future. gone but not forgotten is the old expression for departed heroes, and if not forgotten, they are not gone. on this day especially, and at this place, let us listen again to some of what john f. kennedy said. the new frontier which i speak is not a set of promises. it is a set of challenges.

it sums up not what i intend to offer the american people, but what i intend to ask them. this nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. it was founded on the principles that all men are created equal. and the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. the heart of the question is, whether we are going to treat our fellow americans as we want to be treated. we must educate our children as our most valuable resource. we must have trained people, many trained people. their finest talents brought to the keenest edge. we must have not only scientist and mathmeticians and technicians, but have people skilled in the humanities.

i look forward to an america which will award achievement in the arts as we award achievement in the business and state craft. i look forward to america that commands respect throughout the world not only for the strength, but for the civilization. this country cannot afford to be particularly rich and spiritually poor. art is the great unifying and humanizing experience. the life of the arts, far from being an interruption or distraction in the life of a nation is very close to the center of a nation's purpose. and it is the test of the quality of a nation civilization. and i am certain after the dust of centuries has passed over our

cities, we, too, we'll be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contributions to the human spirit. if more politicians knew poetry and more poets knew politics, i am convinced that the world will be a little better place to live. when power leads mens toward aro begans, poetry reminds him of his limitations and when power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diverseitty of his existence. when power corrupts, poetry cleanses for art establishes the basic human truth that must serve as the touchtone of our

judgment. together let us explore the stars. conquer the deserts. eradicate disease. tapped the ocean depths. those who came before us made certain that this country, that the role to this country, rode the first waves of the industrial revolution and first waives of modern convention and nuclear power and this generation does not intend to founder in the back wash of the coming age of space. we mean to be a part of it. we set sail on this new sea because there is to be a new knowledge gained and a new rights to be won and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.

but why some say? the moon? why choose this as our goal? we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because are hard. because that will measure the best of our energies and skills. because that challenge is one we are willing to accept. one that we are unwilling to postpone. and one which we intend to win. the goal of a peaceful world is our guide, for the present and vision of the future. the quest is the greatest adventure of our century. we sometimes cha ff of the burden of our obligations and

the complexity of our decisions and the agony of our choices, but there is no comfort or security innovation and no solution in abdications, no relief in irresponsibility. the problems of the world cannot be possibly solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. we need men who can dream of things that never were and ask why not? those things we talk about today seem unreal. where so many people doubt they can be done. and the fact of the matter is, it has been true all throughout our history, they will be done. again and again, john kennedy's

words are fired with his love of life. his love of his country and his history. he read history. he wrote history and he understood that history was not just about times past; but also about those who populate the present. and each new generation as he liked to say and that we, too, and that we too, will be judged by history. and that we owe it to those who went before, those who will follow to measure up and yes, even surpass the achievements of the past with what we accomplish and with the values we hold dear. he also anyhow from his reading and from experience that very little of consequence is ever accomplished alone but by joint

effort. america has been a joint effort all down the years and we must continue in that spirit. he said i can can assure we love our country not for what it was. though it has been always great. and what it is. of this we are deeply proud. but what is some day can and through the efforts of us all some day will be. and he had high hopes. and so do we and on we go. (applause)

♪ ♪ ♪ mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. ♪ he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. ♪ he has used the terrible

lightning of his terrible swift sword. ♪ his truth is marching on. ♪ ♪ glory, glory, ha llel uja h. ♪ glory, glory halleujah. ♪ glory, glory halleujah. ♪ his truth is marching on. ♪ ♪ i have seen in the lamp light of a hundred lamps.

♪ they have built him an altar in the evening dew and damp. ♪ i have seen his righteousness in the dim and lamp. ♪ his truth is marching on. ♪ glory, glory halleja h. ♪ glory, glory hallleja. ♪ his truth is marching on. ♪ ♪ in the beauty of lilies,

christ was born across the sea. ♪ with the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me. ♪ as he died to make men holy. ♪ let us die to make men free. ♪ while god is marching on. ♪ glory, glory, hallleja. ♪ glory, glory halluja h. ♪ glory, glory, hallejah. his truth is marching on.

♪ amen. amen. (applause) our closing prayer will be delivered by paster emeritus of the saint luke united methodist church. john holmes junior. let us pray. o god, i hope in ages past and our hope in years to come. send us forth to claim the brand new future that you continue to offer us beyond our tragedies and our triumphs. and as we go farther grant that we may not be centered on where

we have been or on what we have done, but on where we are going and what is possible by your grace, for us to become a beloved community which celebrates and a if i weres o our -- affirms our unitty and in the challenging words of a benediction, may god bless us with discomfort and easy answers and half truths and super official relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts, may god bless us with anger and injustice oppression and exportation of people so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace for all. and may god bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer

from pain, rejection and starvation and war. and so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. and may god bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world so we can do together what others claim cannot be done. and so in this season of thanksgiving we humbly ask these blessings in the name of the one god who created us all for the sake of a beloved community and in thanksgiving to god for the inspiring and courageous life and legacy of president john fitzgerald kennedy. amen and amen.

ladies and gentlemen, please stand as we retire the colors. ♪

♪ ♪

[ drum tapping ] ♪ [ bagpipes playing ]

>> pretty remarkable day in american history as we remember 50 years on. peter johnson jr. was in doeale plaza now. peter, what is it like there as the rain continues to fall in dallas, texas. >> the bagpipes with the tolling of the bells to commemorate the life of a president who was a great grandson of an irish immigrant. john fitzgerald kennedy became president 111 years after his great grandfather arrived here,

a roman catholic, immigrant from ireland. this is dallas' prayer, eulogy, and love letter posthumously for a fallen president. it invoked the future but also invoked his great, great past and crystalized a lot of the themes of optimism, hope, and a strong bright future for america that president kennedy tried to articulate. so whether you were a democrat or a republican, whether you are then or today, i think we all understand the optimistic message that he tried to inquire and the essential american exceptionalism that he stood for, whether it served in war or served in this country, falling into president just hundreds of feet from where i stand here today on this 50th anniversary. >> peter johnson jr., thank you for your commentary and context that you've been providing all morning long. we want to bring back in bill lord, field producer and young

reporter, 25 years old in dallas on this day, 50 years ago when this happened. bill, what are your thoughts today as you watched this commemoration? >> it was an emotional ceremony. it was uplifting. i was particularly taken by the quote from the mayor who said that dallas was where hope and hatred collided and pointed out that we were no longer invincible at that point. we had grown up. i might also note that i happened to be in washington on january 20th, 1961, when president kennedy began his presidency. and then unfortunately in dallas on november 22nd, 1963, at the end of his presidency. >> bill, what was your sense before this day? in a way, you, having been there 50 years ago, on elm street, even waiting for this moment for 50 years. and now it's come and gone. what are you feeling? >> i was able to be emotional

today in watch that as if i were participating as well, in honoring the president. back then as a reporter, one had to keep his or her emotions intact. we had to be the eyes and ears for the public and not become part of the emotional stream at that time. so this was cathartic, i think, for lots of people, myself included and certainly the citizenry of dallas and united states. >> bill, that's beautiful. thank you so much for sharing your first-hand experience and your remembrances with us today. we appreciate it. we also want to bring in now geraldo rivera. he, of course, hosted "geraldo at large." you were a college student when all of this was happening. tell us your memories. >> allison, just watching, i had a feeling oddly, i thought of john lennon. i thought of john being assassinated in 1980, 17 years after the 35th president of the united states. and in both their cases, john f.

kennedy and john lennon, what i thought about was how much they could have contributed, that they were denied that opportunity and the world lost all that potential with the president of the united states, the young and gracious 35th president of the united states. what you think about is would there have been a vietnam war? what would the civil rights movement had been like? would there -- there never would have been a watergate. would there have been a robert kennedy presidency following john f. kennedbrother, the attorney general, have succeeded him? you think all the what ifs and all the things he could have contributed and how we were robbed so brutally in both these cases by, you know, no nothing, nobody, selfish people who decided to wreak havoc, to make a name for themselves. you know, that's what i'm thinking. i'm thinking about the loss potential and all the what ifs. >> it's so true, geraldo. all the things that are unknowable on days like this.

and, of course, the mayor touched on the feeling that everyone had back then which was we all grew up that day. he said, of course, the saying was patrick quote of, we'll never be young again. >> it was quite a ceremony. and there was an expected air force flyover. i don't know if the weather favors that today. there was -- we had expectation that we would see that. it hasn't happened yet. that may still come our way. if you have been down at dealey plaza in dallas you know about the main street, houston and houston hits the intersection of elm street. you know where that plaza sits now, the big red brick building to the right, the book depository building where lee harvey oswald was making his escape at this moment 50 years ago and you know what this means to us in american history in dealey plaza, dallas, 50 years later, at 1:00 central time, just about 20 seconds from now, after the roman catholic priest at parkland memorial hospital

administered last rights to john f. kennedy, the world was told that the president was dead, pronounced dead in trauma room number one, at this moment, 50 years ago now. i'm live here in new york. >> thanks so much for joining us. here's "the real story." hi. it is friday. welcome to "the real story." breaki breaking news on obama care. now extending the enrollment from december 15th to december 23rd in order to get coverage by january 15th. this just happening moments ago. yet another delay now for obama care. the administration postponing the 2015 enrollment period until after the midterm elections next year. that announcement came yesterday claiming it's going to give them more time to study their options. skepticism is running high on capitol hill that it's all a