William Kelly Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) (1) The pilot car. This is usually a local law enforcement car driven and manned by local officers. It precedes the main party over the route by approximately one-quarter mile. Its function is to alert the local officers along the route that the presidential motorcade is coming and to check ahead for any signs of trouble, disturbance or other complications. Occassionally it drops back to help with crowds. It is in radio communication with the lead car and other Dallas cars and stations.... http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=10404&relPageId=20 Isanti County News, Cambridge MN http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9337&Itemid=118 Recently it was the 47th Anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Friday, 03 December 2010 Jack Puterbaugh Contributing Writer Isanti County News, Cambridge MN Recently it was the 47th Anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Since I was an advance man on that Presidential visit Nov. 22, it has a special meaning to me. For that assignment we left on Nov. 12 on a Military Air Transport Service plane, and dropped off a crew of three at each of the places the President was to visit. The Dallas crew, which included Secret Service Agent Win Lawson, Chief Warrant Officer Arthur Bailles of the Army Signal Corps and myself, were the last to land. The Dallas Presidential event was sponsored by the Dallas Citizens Council, whose members were the city's "shakers and movers." Before we left we were informed that two possible locations were under consideration for the luncheon—a building on the State Fair Grounds and the Trade Mart—and that there would be a motorcade. There were some security concerns expressed about the Trade Mart building, but those concerns would be reviewed by the Secret Service. After looking at the proposed sites and reviewing the motorcade route, and following a determination by the Secret Service that the Trade Mart building could be secured, a decision was made to select the Trade Mart and the subsequent route for the motorcade. The rest of the time was spent on who would be invited to the luncheon. There would be 2,500 at the luncheon, and there was competition regarding who would be the fortunate diners. By the morning of Nov. 22, all of the details had been worked out, and when Air Force One put down at Love Field the expectation was the Dallas visit was going to be a big day for the President and Mrs. Kennedy. When the motorcade pulled out I was in what is known as the "pilot car," a vehicle that is some five or six blocks ahead of the main motorcade. As we traveled the motorcade route, the crowds were huge and friendly as they awaited the arrival of the President. The pilot car was a Dallas Police vehicle, and shortly after entering the Stemmons Freeway, there was a radio message that instructed all available police officers to report to the triple underpass area, and to alert the emergency facilities at Parkland Hospital. Our car pulled over to the shoulder of the road and stopped. When the President's car and the Secret Service follow car sped by, we pulled behind and followed them to Parkland Hospital. For our country it was a very sad day, and unfortunately something was lost that has never been replaced. Thus, Nov. 22 will always have a special meaning to me. Pilot Car - Dallas Motorcade 11/22/63 http://www.maryferre...04&relPageId=20 BK: Neither Phil Melanson's The Secret Service- The Hidden History nor The Kennedy Detail, include the pilot car in their story of JFK's motorcade through Dallas, and it is not mentioned in the first Secret Service report [sS Report to WC re: Motorcade. List of cars – no mention of Pilot Car. ] Melanson's study of the Secret Service procedures, especially its Protective Research Section (PRS), concludes that the Dallas Police Department Criminal Intelligence Section (DPD CIS) the PRS was depending on for local information, was responsible for the accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald not being on the Secret Service 400 suspect Watch List. The CIS had identified a dozen organizations that they considered worth keeping tabs on, including the Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), two organizations that Oswald was affiliated with, that should have put him on their radar. In addition, as Melanson also points out, they failed to identify the group of anti-Castro Cuban Alpha 66 terrorists that had taken up residence in a house in Oak Cliff, where Oswald was reported to have been seen. We later learn, when Manuel Rodriguez was misidentified as Oswald in Oklahoma, that it was not Oswald but probably Rodriguez who was seen at the Alpha 66 house in Oak Cliff. One must wonder if there were any other incidents where Rodriguez was misidentified as Oswald, as there were numerous occasions where Oswald was said to have been when he most certainly couldn't have been. Some of these cases can be shown to be cases of mistaken identity, but some can also be shown to be cases of intentional impersonation. [sS report on Manuel Rodriguez – Alpha 66 in Dallas ] The ATF agent in Dallas had learned from a local Dallas gun dealer, who also resembled Oswald, that Rodriguez was trying to buy arms for his group to attack targets in Cuba, and this agent and FBI agent James Hosty, along with US Army Intelligence officer Ed Coyle, met together on the morning of the assassination to discuss this case. But it was a Deputy Shriff (Buddy Walters?) who informed the Secret Service about the Alpha 66 being in Dallas after the assassination. Coyle worked with the 112th US Army Intelligence group under Col. Robert Jones, who testified before the HSCA that he was responsible for counter-intelligence against such subversive suspects as Rodriguez and Oswald, and that his group, responsible for a region that included Texas and Louisiana, had files on both Rodriguez and Oswald. Jones was also familiar with Capt. James Powell, who photographed the scene of the crime shortly after the assassination, and said both Jones and Coyle were working that day, while Powell says he took off to photograph the motorcade on his own time. Jones also said that there were eight to ten other plainclothes officers from his group who worked on security for the President's visit to Texas, including Dallas. But Jones did not know or recognize the name of Gen. Whitmyer, the head of the 488th Army Reserves unit based in Dallas, whose officers included men in the pilot car of the motorcade and the entire 50 man Criminal Intelligence Unit (DPD CIU) including Lt. Jack Revell and Captain Gannaway, who ran most of the informants for the Dallas Police Department. [it has been reported that the office of the CIU Special Services Unit was at the Texas State Fairgrounds, rather than DPD HQ, so informants could report in without being seen at the DPD HQ.] According to The Kennedy Detail (Blaine, Hill et al, 2010), the PRS didn't have one suspect in the Dallas area among their top 400 suspicious subjects on the Watch List, yet there was an ongoing investigation into those who were filmed by a TV news crew physically assaulting United Nations Ambassador Adli Stevenson. In addition, we learn from J. E. Hoover's memo to Secret Service Chief Rowley (Dec. 18) that the FBI did indeed tip the Secret Service off about a suspect who threatened the president, a John Birch Society (JBS) college student whose threat was reported by a DPD CIU informant and investigated by Revell and Gannaway. They apparently talked with the suspect, who said he wasn't going to be in Dallas when the President was there, and they apparently took his word for it. Revell and Gannaway, along with the other fifty members of the DPD CIU were members of the 488th US Army Reserve unit under Gen. Whitmyer, who reportedly said that his unit was ordered to stand down and not participate in the security for the president's visit, as they normally should have been. But members of the unit were participating in the security of the President as members of the Dallas Police Department, there were two members of the 488th in the pilot car of the motorcade. While most of the descriptions of the motorcade mention only the Lead Car, driven by DPD Chief Curry, and including Secret Service officers, in front of the Lead Car there was a Pilot Car, driven by 488th member Capt. Lumpkin. According to Peter Dale Scott's Dallas COPA (2010) address, this car pulled to the side of the road in front of the TSBD and Capt. Lumpkin talked briefly to one of the three police officers assigned to traffic duty at that intersection (Huston & Elm), sixty feet below the Sixth Floor Sniper's window. Except there is no mention of this stop or what was conveyed to the cops in the official reports. Are there any photos or film of the pilot car at all? Edited January 17, 2011 by William Kelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 Can anyone provide any photo or film of the Pilot Car in the motorcade at any time or place? Love Field? Enroute? Parkland Hospital? Anywhere? And if not, doesn't that seem suspicious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Can anyone provide any photo or film of the Pilot Car in the motorcade at any time or place? Love Field? Enroute? Parkland Hospital? Anywhere? And if not, doesn't that seem suspicious? I saw your post a couple of days ago, and have looked through some of the films of the assassination, I found one that might have the pilot car, but it is in black and white, and I am not real knowledgeable about makes and models. I do know that in most assassination related films related to the motorcade, usually the first car seen is not the pilot car. Yes I find it more than suspicious, as a matter of fact, I have a hard time understanding why practically 50 years later, so little interest in it has been shown. Personal Opinion if there is a program called "Inside the Target Car," it is sad there isn't one called Inside The Pilot Car. Speaking of films, I don't want to mention the name of the film I think the pilot car is, in case I am mistaken, because then I would look rather foolish, and I don't need any extra reasons to be......fill in the blank. I will let you know what I find out. You know about the Corey Cooper film, right? .......I only mention it in passing, I don't know if it has any motorcade footage, but from what I have read about it, it seems worth knowing about. But then again they say that about all "new" films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 Can anyone provide any photo or film of the Pilot Car in the motorcade at any time or place? Love Field? Enroute? Parkland Hospital? Anywhere? And if not, doesn't that seem suspicious? I saw your post a couple of days ago, and have looked through some of the films of the assassination, I found one that might have the pilot car, but it is in black and white, and I am not real knowledgeable about makes and models. I do know that in most assassination related films related to the motorcade, usually the first car seen is not the pilot car. Yes I find it more than suspicious, as a matter of fact, I have a hard time understanding why practically 50 years later, so little interest in it has been shown. Personal Opinion if there is a program called "Inside the Target Car," it is sad there isn't one called Inside The Pilot Car. Speaking of films, I don't want to mention the name of the film I think the pilot car is, in case I am mistaken, because then I would look rather foolish, and I don't need any extra reasons to be......fill in the blank. I will let you know what I find out. You know about the Corey Cooper film, right? .......I only mention it in passing, I don't know if it has any motorcade footage, but from what I have read about it, it seems worth knowing about. But then again they say that about all "new" films. From: Gary Mack Bill & Robert, There is no “Corey Cooper” film. Corey is one of Roy Cooper’s sons and both he, his brother and their mother donated to The Sixth Floor Museum the original KTVT assassination-related news film their father kept (without the TV station’s knowledge, I might add). Roy was making arrangements to donate the reels himself when he died , so his family followed his wishes. A second or third generation copy of some, not all, of the “Cooper” film was given to the ARRB by Janet Veazey, the daughter of Roy Cooper’s banker friend. The visual quality of the Veazey copy is quite inferior to the original films. I would be astonished to learn there is a picture of the pilot car. Since it was many blocks ahead of the motorcade, why would anyone connect a Dallas Police car, whether marked or unmarked, as having Kennedy or anyone else of significance in it? And after reviewing the film, I don’t see any vehicle that might have been the pilot car. Gary Mack P.S. The Museum collection includes a home movie of Honest Joe Goldstein driving up and down Main Street ahead of the motorcade. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t look anything like Jean Hill’s embellished story told years later. Thanks Gary, I would think that perhaps, if there were Army Intelligence agents taking pictures at Dealey Plaza, as James Powell was, he might think of getting a photo of the Pilot Car since it contained three US Army Reserve agents, including two Colonels. Jack Peuterbaugh is also a person of significance, though not to those innocent pedestrians who were only interested in getting a photo of the Pres. As for Jean Hill's "embellished story told years later," at least she recognized the oddity and significance of Honest Joe Goldstein driving up and down Main Street ahead of the motorcade, and the film you reference confirms her story, however embellished, and also makes its presence outside the DPD at the time of Oswald's murder even more interesting, if not significant. I can't wait for the documentaries on Inside the Pilot Car and behind Honest Joe's Machine Gun at Dealey Plaza. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Can anyone provide any photo or film of the Pilot Car in the motorcade at any time or place? Love Field? Enroute? Parkland Hospital? Anywhere? And if not, doesn't that seem suspicious? I saw your post a couple of days ago, and have looked through some of the films of the assassination, I found one that might have the pilot car, but it is in black and white, and I am not real knowledgeable about makes and models. I do know that in most assassination related films related to the motorcade, usually the first car seen is not the pilot car. Yes I find it more than suspicious, as a matter of fact, I have a hard time understanding why practically 50 years later, so little interest in it has been shown. Personal Opinion if there is a program called "Inside the Target Car," it is sad there isn't one called Inside The Pilot Car. Speaking of films, I don't want to mention the name of the film I think the pilot car is, in case I am mistaken, because then I would look rather foolish, and I don't need any extra reasons to be......fill in the blank. I will let you know what I find out. You know about the Corey Cooper film, right? .......I only mention it in passing, I don't know if it has any motorcade footage, but from what I have read about it, it seems worth knowing about. But then again they say that about all "new" films. From: Gary Mack Bill & Robert, There is no "Corey Cooper" film. Corey is one of Roy Cooper's sons and both he, his brother and their mother donated to The Sixth Floor Museum the original KTVT assassination-related news film their father kept (without the TV station's knowledge, I might add). Roy was making arrangements to donate the reels himself when he died , so his family followed his wishes. A second or third generation copy of some, not all, of the "Cooper" film was given to the ARRB by Janet Veazey, the daughter of Roy Cooper's banker friend. The visual quality of the Veazey copy is quite inferior to the original films. I would be astonished to learn there is a picture of the pilot car. Since it was many blocks ahead of the motorcade, why would anyone connect a Dallas Police car, whether marked or unmarked, as having Kennedy or anyone else of significance in it? And after reviewing the film, I don't see any vehicle that might have been the pilot car. Gary Mack P.S. The Museum collection includes a home movie of Honest Joe Goldstein driving up and down Main Street ahead of the motorcade. Not surprisingly, it doesn't look anything like Jean Hill's embellished story told years later. Thanks Gary, I would think that perhaps, if there were Army Intelligence agents taking pictures at Dealey Plaza, as James Powell was, he might think of getting a photo of the Pilot Car since it contained three US Army Reserve agents, including two Colonels. Jack Peuterbaugh is also a person of significance, though not to those innocent pedestrians who were only interested in getting a photo of the Pres. As for Jean Hill's "embellished story told years later," at least she recognized the oddity and significance of Honest Joe Goldstein driving up and down Main Street ahead of the motorcade, and the film you reference confirms her story, however embellished, and also makes its presence outside the DPD at the time of Oswald's murder even more interesting, if not significant. I can't wait for the documentaries on Inside the Pilot Car and behind Honest Joe's Machine Gun at Dealey Plaza. BK The film I thought may have a shot of the pilot car, is irrelevant, because even if it was the pilot car, the film is so grainy you can't make anything out anyway, I don't know what the name of the film is, but it is the one that shows the motorcade on Stemmons Freeway. Unless Robin Unger has a photo of the pilot car, your best bet would be to do a google image search under "JFK motorcade" at least that way you might find an image, that would be worth looking at. Or the youtube videos under JFK. I had trouble finding Gil Jesus' page. Some of the otther JFK Video posters on youtube are users "thefilmarchive" "mgibson 1800" "furry is the new edgy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hogan Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 The film I thought may have a shot of the pilot car, is irrelevant, because even if it was the pilot car, the film is so grainy you can't make anything out anyway, I don't know what the name of the film is, but it is the one that shows the motorcade on Stemmons Freeway. Unless Robin Unger has a photo of the pilot car, your best bet would be to do a google image search under "JFK motorcade" at least that way you might find an image, that would be worth looking at. Or the youtube videos under JFK. I had trouble finding Gil Jesus' page. Some of the otther JFK Video posters on youtube are users "thefilmarchive" "mgibson 1800" "furry is the new edgy" Gil's page: http://www.youtube.com/user/JFK63Conspiracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Frank Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) BK: Neither Phil Melanson's The Secret Service- The Hidden History nor The Kennedy Detail, include the pilot car in their story of JFK's motorcade through Dallas, and it is not mentioned in the first Secret Service report [sS Report to WC re: Motorcade. List of cars – no mention of Pilot Car. http://www.maryferre...076&relPageId=2] Actually, a report of 19 November 1963 refers to "Lead Police Vehicles" that would go before the "Lead Car." CE 767; Warren Commission Hearings, Volume XVII, page 596. http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=1134&relPageId=631 And the "pilot car" is mentioned on page 5 of Lawson's report to Rowley, dated November 30, 1963. It is in the second paragraph of the section on "Route Security." see second link below; CE 768; Warren Commission Hearings, Volume XVII, page 605. http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?mode=searchResult&absPageId=139422 Edited January 20, 2011 by Tony Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Unger Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) BK: Neither Phil Melanson's The Secret Service- The Hidden History nor The Kennedy Detail, include the pilot car in their story of JFK's motorcade through Dallas, and it is not mentioned in the first Secret Service report [sS Report to WC re: Motorcade. List of cars – no mention of Pilot Car. http://www.maryferre...76&relPageId=2] Actually, a report of 19 November 1963 refers to "Lead Police Vehicles" that would go before the "Lead Car." CE 767; Warren Commission Hearings, Volume XVII, page 596. http://www.maryferre...4&relPageId=631 And the "pilot car" is mentioned on page 5 of Lawson's report to Rowley, dated November 30, 1963. It is in the second paragraph of the section on "Route Security." see second link below; CE 768; Warren Commission Hearings, Volume XVII, page 605. http://www.maryferre...bsPageId=139422 Tony The lead police vehicles may refer to the 3 - motorcycle cops Edited January 20, 2011 by Robin Unger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Tony, I was aware of those reports, its just that there are Secret Service reports concerning the motorcade that do not mention the Pilot Car, and there is no mention of the Pilot Car in either Phil Melanson's History of the Secret Service or The Kennedy Detail, which does have a graphic that includes all other vehicles. The photos posted (Thanks Robin), are of the Lead Car, and not the Pilot Car, which was a quarter mile ahead of the lead motorcycles and Lead Car. I think the best bet is finding a photo of the Pilot Car at Parkland. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Josephs Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Maybe in this one? Not sure what I'm looking for though.... Maybe the white police car next to the limo? Edited January 20, 2011 by David Josephs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Josephs Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) A better shot of the white car... seems to have had the time to back into its spot right in front of the emergency entrance... doubtful that other cars were already there for that maneuver (edit: my mistake... pilot car FOLLOWED the limo to Parkland so was not there before limo to park as they did... but still may be the car..) DJ Edited January 20, 2011 by David Josephs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Frank Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Bill, Wouldn't the "Lead Car" simply be a police car like any other police car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Bill, Wouldn't the "Lead Car" simply be a police car like any other police car? No, it wasn't an official looking police car, but it was a police car that looked normal, like the Lead Car, probably a white Ford. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) Bill, Wouldn't the "Lead Car" simply be a police car like any other police car? No, it wasn't an official looking police car, but it was a police car that looked normal, like the Lead Car, probably a white Ford. BK I may have found something regarding obtaining an image of the pilot car. I searched mary ferrell's site under pilot car, which includes books and it pulled up a blurb, with no URL See Six Second In Dallas pg 182, by Thompson, Josiah (1967) SIX SECONDS IN DALLAS A Motorcade on Main Street B Motorcade on Main Street Pilot car in foreground. It seems obvious the blurb is referring to a photograph, one would think. If Thompson is actually on target that the pilot car is in the foreground and not the "lead car," then it would simply be a question of getting a hold of the book, and you may be in business Also Jerry Rose deals with the pilot car in The Dance of the Railroad Men http://www.maryferre...bsPageId=519723 and The Dance of the Railroad Men Reconsidered http://www.maryferre...34&relPageId=24 These are not dull and ordinary articles, some of the questions raised, still haven't been answered adequately Edited January 21, 2011 by Robert Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd W. Vaughan Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) A better shot of the white car... seems to have had the time to back into its spot right in front of the emergency entrance... doubtful that other cars were already there for that maneuver (edit: my mistake... pilot car FOLLOWED the limo to Parkland so was not there before limo to park as they did... but still may be the car..) DJ All, I researched the entire motorcade in great detail (and continue to do so) for my booklet on the motorcade vehicles and its occupants. The “Pilot Car” was driven by DPD Captain Perdue W. Lawrence and was approximately ½ mile ahead of Chief Curry in the “Lead Car”. The car next to the limousine in both of the Parkland photos in this thread is clearly an ambulance. Lawrence was not driving an ambulance as the Pilot Car. In the photo taken from an elevation ( a FWST photo), the white sedan with its driver’s side door open at the top left of the photo is Curry’s car. The white sedan at the bottom of the photo, which has pulled into the parking lot in the direction opposite all of the motorcade cars, could be anyone’s car, including the Pilot Car or Inspector Putnam’s car. Todd Edited January 21, 2011 by Todd W. Vaughan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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