Kyles was a local minister who invited King to Memphis to help out with the sanitation strike. He had arrived at the hotel to take King to his home for dinner.

I happened to have been on the balcony when the shot was fired. I had the privilege of being with him during his last hour on earth. The whole world wants to know what the last hour was like. We didn't know it was the last hour, so we weren't in prayer. Weren't in meditation. We talked preacher talk. We stepped out on the balcony and he was talking to people in the courtyard. He saw Jesse Jackson, and said, "Jesse, you're not dressed for dinner." Jesse and [musician] Ben Branch started walking towards the balcony. Martin was leaning over talking to Jesse and Ben. I turned to walk away going towards the stairs. By the time I got five or six steps, the shot rang out. I rushed to his side. There was a great hole in the side of his face. There was blood everywhere. I took a spread from one of the beds and covered him from his neck down. He never spoke a word. I told them what hospital to take him to. And we waited. And we waited. Finally, we got the word that we lost him. I wondered what was I there for at that moment in time in history. Then God gave me a revelation: Crucifixions have to have witnesses. I was there to be a witness.

—- Samuel 'Billy' Kyles

Interviews by Jim Auchmutey, Ernie Suggs, Ryon Horne, Pouya Dianat

MORE ONLINE: ajc.com's special video presentation and more on the life of MLK. ajc.com/metro/MLK