America Honour The Life And Legacy Of Late President Assassinated 50 Years Ago

The United States is marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F Kennedy.

In cities and towns across the country, people will reflect upon the words of the charismatic president whose rhetoric continues to inspire.

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," Mr Kennedy urged Americans in his thick Boston accent at his inaugural address on January 20, 1961.

Shot dead in his first term at the age of 46 as he was driven through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top limousine on November 22, 1963, Mr Kennedy's unfulfilled promise has become a symbol of the lost nobility of politics.

The president and Jacqueline Kennedy ride in the motorcade

Authorities in Dallas will stage an "observance to celebrate the remarkable life, legacy and leadership" of JFK in the plaza where he was shot.

It is the first formal event the city has staged to mark its association with one of history's most shocking moments.

Tina Towner Pender was 13 at the time. She was in Dealey Plaza with her parents, filming on her 8mm camera as the motorcade passed by.

She said: "I saw Jackie Kennedy in her pink suit, looking right at me."

She had just stopped filming when the shots rang out.

She told Sky News: "People have written that America lost its innocence that day and I think America did change that day; the whole world changed."

Lamar Spainhouer visited Dealey Plaza for the first time this week. He was born on November 22, 1963, three hours after Kennedy died.

He said: "My mother said it was the happiest day of her life and everyone who was working on her in the delivery room was crying. They couldn't believe the president had been shot."

President Barack Obama hailed Mr Kennedy's legacy at a ceremony for recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which the late Democrat established months before his death.

The Obamas and Clintons honour Mr Kennedy

"He stays with us in our imagination, not because he left us so soon, but because he embodied the character of the people that he led," Mr Obama said.

The anniversary has sparked a prolonged period of national and media reflection on the unfinished legacy of the nation's 35th president, his tragedy-crossed family and the evocative period in the early 1960s.

Organisers of the Dallas event said: "Kennedy's death left an immeasurable impact on anyone old enough to remember the tragic events of November 22, 1963. However, this will also teach younger Americans about the president's legacy."

Prominent ceremonies marking his passing will also be held in his birthplace of Massachusetts and in Washington.