Vince Palamara

President Kennedy: the bubble top and all security issues dissected 1961-1963

click on images to enlarge

First things first: it is important to remember that President Kennedy did not have hundreds of motorcades during his 1000 or so days in offer- it was a finite number (from the JFK Library):

When the President visited military bases or traveled in motorcades in Washington, D.C., there was hardly any overt protection noticeable, such as motorcycles flanking the car, agents on or near the rear of the limousine, or a full bubbletop, unless during certain weather conditions, with a few notable exceptions when a display of force was demonstrated. This was because the Secret Service and the President were on very friendly, well-traveled grounds. On military bases, our troops, in conjunction with the Secret Service, provide the best-case scenario for protection. In the Capital, the Secret Service checks all the buildings along the route, and armed guards are posted along the path the President’s car will take. In addition, manholes are checked and sealed. For example, during JFK’s Inaugural Parade held on 1/20/61, “A complete survey of all buildings, water mains, sewers and underground conduits and other facilities along the parade route [was] made prior to the departure of the President from the White House to the Capitol.”

It should also be noted that when JFK was a candidate for the Presidency in 1960 the Secret Service did not protect candidates. Sadly, this did not become policy until immediately after the murder of his brother Robert. For his part, V.P. Nixon already had Secret Service protection on the campaign trail in 1960. That said, Senator Kennedy’s motorcades were often surrounded by many motorcycles and press photographers:

JFK and LBJ together in Dallas (on Main Street) 9/11/60! The next time they would ride together in a motorcade: 11/22/63, Dallas!

Sunday 30th June, 1963. Forest Row, East Sussex. Visiting Harold Macmillan

Ireland, June 1963-Agent Bert De Freese on rear of limo; partial bubbletop; good motorcycle formation; press photographers flatbed truck in front of limo:

From my third book The Not-So-Secret Service: Death threats preceded JFK’s 1963 Ireland visit: “Police, newspaper received warnings months before president’s killing. “The documents indicated that 6,404 police officers were on duty throughout Ireland the night Kennedy arrived, of whom 2,690 lined the U.S. president’s route from Dublin airport to the Phoenix Park mansion of Irish President Eamon de Valera. “Costigan wrote that, although the death threats were considered likely to be hoaxes, his officers would use binoculars to monitor rooftops along the route of the presidential motorcade. He said some police would carry firearms, an exceptional measure in a country with a largely unarmed police force, to engage any would-be sniper. “A rifle as well as Thompson guns and revolvers were carried for use against a possible sniper,” Costigan wrote in a post-Kennedy visit memorandum released Friday

Milwaukee, WI May 12 1962:

9/27/62 West Virginia:

Atlantic Fleet April 1962:

9/5/63 Washington, D.C.

10/20/62 Chicago, IL (possibly cold or rainy):

9/24/63 Madison, WI:

Battery Park, NY 5/23/63:

6/5/62 Washington, D.C.:

Bogota, Columbia 12/17/61:

Caracas, Venezuela 12/16/61:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUUcK6G7U_w

San Juan, Puerto Rico 12/15/61:

Washington, D.C. 3/20/62:

Washington, D.C. 9/19/61:

New York, NY 11/8/63:

Washington, D.C. 7/11/61:

Washington, D.C. 2/20/63:

Washington, D.C. 4/11/62 (JFK and Jackie in different bubbletop vehicles):

11/22/63 at Parkland- too late:

1961:

North Carolina, 10/12/61:

Washington, D.C. 6/15/61-debut:

Arlington, VA 6/12/62 (this one doesn't "count"- drizzle):

JFK using the Ike bubbletop at the very start 1/20/61:

California, 3/23/62:

New York, 5/19/62:

Germany, 6/26/63- Many flanking motorcycles in a wedge formation; SAIC Behn on trip; military aide in front seat; agents in good number near limo; bubbletop at times; military lining street; live television feed; PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FRONT OF LIMO; buildings guarded:

Duluth, MN 9/25/63 (this one doesn't "count" because it was raining at night):

HOWEVER- regarding the same Duluth, MN trip: Researcher Chad Carlson wrote to me regarding this very same trip: “I am friends with a man here who was in charge of JFK’s trip to Duluth, MN here in September of 1963. I ask him a lot about JFK. He got to talk oneon-one with the President for 30 minutes before he made his rounds and speeches. His name is Larry Yetka, former Minnesota Supreme Court justice. Larry said that he wondered what [Mafia boss] Sam Giancana of Chicago was up to on 11-22-63. I told him that I had been watching the motorcade in Dallas on 11-22-63 and told him it looked very “lax.” He said, “Yes it was.” So I asked him how was security in Duluth in Sept.1963? He said, “Tight as hell-men were on the rooftops even.”

Billings, MT September 1963:

Building rooftops were guarded---This was confirmed by researcher Deb Galentine’s assistant police chief father who worked on the security for this trip, as conveyed to the author on 2/17/14. Deb further wrote: “Weeks before JFK’s arrival, my father, who would be in charge of the local police protection, met with Billings’ leaders and some of President Kennedy’s advance people. JFK’s planners wanted the fastest, safest routes possible. They desired routes with no tall buildings and hoped to avoid Billings’ Rimrocks as well. The Rimrocks, a natural sandstone formation riddled with caves, paths, and ledges and dotted with pine trees and shrubs, unevenly jut about 500 feet above the city of Billings. Avoiding them would be impossible since Billings’ airport lies perched atop them. Three separate routes were available from the airport to the President’s venue, and the planners decided to use the one that provided the safest and fastest passage away from the Rimrocks.”

New Mexico, 12/7/62:

Washington, D.C. 1961:

UNKNOWN (shown on DVD JFK: The Final Hours):

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zjy_F1zHk

New York 9/20/63:

Unknown:

Boston, MA 4/20/63:

Washington, D.C. 3/8/61:

New York 5/30/61:

New York 1/19/62:

New York 5/29/62:

Mexico 6/29/62-7/1/62- Many flanking motorcycles in a wedge formation; SAIC Behn on trip; military aide in front seat; agents in good number near limo; bubbletop at times; military lining street; live television feed; PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FRONT OF LIMO; buildings guarded:

Florida 1962:

South Dakota, 8/17/62:

Washington, D.C. 10/10/62:

Washington, D.C. 12/11/62:

Washington, D.C. 9/8/63 (doesn't count-raining):

Washington, D.C. (doesn't count-raining):

11/8/63 New York, NY:

Look at THIS amazing photo! SAIC Gerald Behn and fellow agent Sam Kinney placing the bubble top ON the car while President Kennedy and guest are sitting inside! Secret Service agent Stu Stout watches:

Charleston, West Virginia, 6/20/63 (doesn't count-raining):

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KRXGHJwp2I

---

Buildings WERE regularly guarded during the FDR, Truman, Ike and (yes) the JFK era before the assassination but NOT in Dallas:

 

1957-era security for President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth...if only JFK and Jackie would have received this kind of protection 6 years later:

Also Ike era:

San Diego, CA 6/6/63-countless Marines lined on each side of the street 5-6 feet apart FACING THE CROWD, SAIC Behn on the trip (riding in the front seat) and TWO FLATBED TRUCKS TAKING STILL PHOTOS, MOTION PICTURES, AND A LIVE TELEVISION FEED! Building rooftops were also guarded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2xDQ0IZOOM

Philadelphia, PA 10/62-arrows point our 4 cyclists on each wheel PLUS row of motorcycles near follow-up car, police lining street and facing crowd:

Seattle 11/16/61---buildings were guarded; police mingled within crowds; military lined street; press photographers close by; agents by limo; SAIC Gerald Behn in front passenger seat:

Buffalo, NY 10/14/62:

Indianapolis, IN 10/13/62-Secret Service agents, Dick Johnsen, Ron Pontius, Bob Lilley, and Frank Yeager, surround car:

Springfield, IL 10/19/62:

Chicago, IL 3/23/63---Col. George J. McNally, White House Signal Corps and former Secret Service agent, wrote in his book: “But during the Chicago visit [3/23/63], the motorcade was slowed to the pace of a mounted Black Horse Troop, and the police got a warning of Puerto Rican snipers. Helicopters searched the roofs along the way, and no incidents occurred.” [A Million Miles of Presidents, p. 204] Agent Don Lawton rode on the rear of the limousine and six motorcycles bracketed the vehicle:

Nashville, TN 5/18/63---SAIC of the Nashville office (and former JFK WHD agent) Paul Doster told the Nashville Banner on 5/18/63 that “a complete check of the entire motorcade route” was done for JFK’s trip to Nashville. In addition, Doster stated, “Other [police] officers were assigned atop the municipal terminal and other buildings along the route. These men took their posts at 8 a.m. and remained at their rooftop stations until the president and his party passed.” A helicopter was used on the route, as well:

[note: this is the later edition of the newspaper quoted above]

UPDATE: The 2013 book from the Nashville Tennessean JFK IN NASHVILLE provides the corroboration/ text in question and more:

Canada 1961:

New Orleans 1962:

Cleveland, OH 10/19/62:

Pittsburgh, PA 10/13/62:

Washington, D.C. April 1961-Police on the roof of building overlooking a JFK motorcade, while both police and military lined the streets, common security measures used before Dallas, yet only a small number of police lined the streets in Dallas, did not face the crowd, with no military lining the streets and no men guarding rooftops:

10/1/63--- THE VIEW FROM THE PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS FLATBED TRUCK IN FRONT; 2 follow-up cars; military and police line street; SAIC Behn and military aide:

Hawaii 6/9/63--press photographers in front of limo, as usual, and press bus not far behind; agents surround limousine:

Florida trip 11/16-11/18/63 (Palm Beach, Cape Canaveral, Miami, Tampa):

11/18/63--PRS AGENT GLEN BENNETT ON FLORIDA AND TEXAS TRIPS; DENIED BEING ON FLORIDA TRIP TO HSCA:

From my third book The Not-So-Secret Service: Bob Hoelscher worked for the Miami-Dade Police Department for 50 years and was a counter-sniper and observer on the terrace deck of the airport hotel on November 18, 1963, the day Kennedy arrived in Miami. He guarded almost every VIP that came through Dade County from Kennedy to Clinton and started the tactical special weapons team, later known as SWAT, in 1970. Documents reveal a bomb threat against JFK in Miami just days before his death. Hoelscher told CBSMiami.com that he knew of potential threats to the president ahead of his November visit. “I was told that information had been developed that the Cubans might start a protest at an unknown location and they might make an attempt on the life of the President if there was sufficient distraction,” Hoelscher said. “I was told to keep this information to myself, watch the periphery and look for anything unusual.” While Hoelscher and some others in the police department knew, it was strictly on a “need to know” basis. “The information about the death threat was not shared with the rank and file out of fear that the media would find out,” Hoelscher said

VARIOUS Washington, D.C. motorcades + Chicago, IL 1961-1962---press/ photographers in front of and close by JFK's limo:

Vienna (above photo), June 1961:

Rome, 7/2/63---close press/photographers (including live tv), SAIC Behn, agents on limo, massive motorcycles, etc.:

Amherst, MA 10/26/63-military aide in pilot car AND JFK's limo, Dr Burkley close by, wire service/ press/ photographers close by:

Pueblo, CO 8/17/62:

Paris, France April 1961:

Costa Rica, March 1963:

North Dakota 9/25/63:

Agents Blaine, Giannoules, Hill, Landis and Pontius surround JFK and Jackie in the limo, Orange Bowl, FL December 1962:

9/26/61 on the way to La Guardia Airport:

6/8/63 Los Angeles, CA:

Worchester, MA 1961:

Boston, MA 5/29/61:

9/28/63 Las Vegas, NV:

9/26/63 Great Falls, MT:

9/12/62 Houston, TX:

Unknown:

Unknown:

The SECRET SERVICE was boss of the President and his security, NOT the other way around!

The 1963 (pre-assassination) UK VERSION of former JFK Secret Service Chief U.E. Baughman's 1962 book SECRET SERVICE CHIEF. FIRST EDITION HARDCOVER PUBLISHED BY HEINEMANN, LONDON, 1963:

So much for the president's "order" that never happened: Clint Hill on the rear of the limo on Main Street. He did not ride on the rear of the car from the latter portion of Main Street onward:

As Hill himself even admitted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs7yNVI9sOM

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgVYcyixXgA

11/22/63:

DALLAS TIMES HERALD 11/22/63 BEFORE the assassination happened

11/21/63: more motorcycles were to have been beside JFK's limo in Dallas:

11/21/63, Houston, TX- THE DAY BEFORE---phenomenal motorcycle formation, good speed of car, press/ photographers/ Cecil Stoughton near JFK.:

11/21/63-THE DAY BEFORE---11/21/63, San Antonio, TX: view from motion picture taken from police helicopter! Other photo- PRS Agent Glen Bennett [see chapter 2 of my first book] is riding in the front passenger seat of the follow-up car, the spot traditionally reserved for the Shift Leader! I knew he rode the follow-up car in NY, FL and TX and this was mostly hushed up afterwards (and, with regard to Dallas, the INTENTIONS behind his placement there), but this is a new one on me. Other arrows- police lining street, good motorcycle formation, agent Don Lawton looks upward to scan buildings, Shift Leader Roberts BETWEEN Bennett and the driver, Kinney. Roofs of multi-story buildings guarded, helicopter used along route, FORTY (40) members of military intelligence unit guarded route

Fort Worth, TX 11/22/63 (BEFORE the assassination):

--text: FORT WORTH PRESS 11/22/63 morning edition: Fort Worth advance agent Bill Duncan...but look at the headline below: "16 GOOFS ARE CHECKED OUT BY SECRET SERVICE GUARDING JFK" (image via Ebay- it's already gone, so luckily I saved it)

"A Secret Service man said today 16 persons were "checked out" here last night by agents guarding President Kennedy's life.

"The public doesn't know it," the agent said, "but we checked out 16 goofs." The agent described them as "goofs." "But if they could have gotten close enough they could have harmed the President."

The agent, who asked not to be quoted by name, declined to elaborate. He would not say whether any of the persons investigated were carrying arms.

Police officers said they know a no persons arrested and jailed last night by SS men.

THE SECRET Service men protected President Kennedy and his wife and Vice President Lyndon Johnson during their reception at Carswell Air Force Base and during their overnight stay at Hotel Texas.

Police officers, sheriff's deputies and federal men roped off Eighth St outside Hotel Texas as the President arrived.

"Everything went smoothly," Police St. S. B. Pruitt, one of dozens of city officers who spent the night at the hotel, said. "We didn't have any trouble at all."

REPORTERS were not allowed in the corridor of the eighth floor where the President and Mrs. Kennedy slept.

SS men and police kept the halls cleared of everybody except those wearing "special badges."

Policemen were stationed on the seventh and ninth floor stairs to keep anybody from going to the floor with the President.

One SS man was stationed outside Vice President and Mrs. Johnson's 13th floor suite.

City firemen stood in the halls on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors and in the hotel kitchens. It was the first time that many of the firemen could remember that such a precaution had been made to protect visiting dignitaries.

"But we don't have the President visit us very often," one fireman said."

From Donovan's pre-11/22/63 book:

The infrastructure of the Secret Service on 11/22/63 and the ramifications involved

CLICK ON ALL IMAGES TO ENLARGE

(see the author's first, third and upcoming fourth book for even more documentation on the below items)

First JFK Secret Service Chief U.E. Baughman: made the Chief via a call on 11/22/48 (excerpt from Baughman's 1962 book Secret Service Chief😞

Baughman was "retired"/ fired by RFK and JFK around the very same time the Bay of Pigs debacle top CIA agents were "retired"/ fired, including Director Allen Dulles (later of Warren Commission infamy), Charles Cabell (whose brother, who we now know had CIA connections of his own, was the mayor of Dallas who rode a mere few cars behind President Kennedy on 11/22/63) and Richard Bissell.

Interestingly (from the above article), Deputy Director and former OSS man Paul Paterni, who worked with future CIA men James Jesus Angleton and future Warren Commission liaison man Ray Rocca during WWII, was up for being his replacement- here is Paterni as he looked during his OSS days:

Paterni would go on to perform the limousine inspection on the night of 11/22/63 with ASAIC Floyd Boring (more on him in a moment). Paterni replaced Russell "Buck" Daniels as Deputy Director in early 1961.

The man who replaced Baughman? Former SAIC of the White House Detail (1946-1961), James J. Rowley, former FBI agent and friend of Hoover:

WHY was Baughman let go? Because he was in direct conflict with the Kennedy brothers and their war on Organized Crime- he thought (like FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover) that the Mafia did not exist!

There must have been some form of animus at Secret Service headquarters during the JFK administration, as well- it is common procedure and protocol to have the current president's portrait on the wall, yet a photo of headquarters from the 1962 book What Does A Secret Service Agent Do by Wayne Hyde (written with the general help of the Secret Service and the specific cooperation of Chief Inspector Michael Torina and Chief James Rowley) shows not only a photo of Ike but a derogatory "I Miss Ike" sticker on the bottom of Ike's portrait!

(As an important aside:)

Rowley was apparently more in line with the Kennedy brothers beliefs:

Rowley's replacement as SAIC was veteran Gerald Behn:

Unfortunately, Behn took his FIRST vacation during the JFK administration during the week involving both the Florida and Texas trips! In Florida, he was replaced by #2 man, ASAIC Floyd Boring (one of the heroes of the 11/1/50 assassination attempt on President Truman):

Boring was the planner of the Texas trip from the Secret Service's point of view (although he himself was not present) and he also took it upon himself to tell the agents between 11/19-11/21/63 that JFK did not want agents riding on the rear of his limo in Dallas, a blatant lie that has been debunked by many fellow agents and White House aides...including Boring himself! Boring also gave lead advance agent Winston Lawson the Dallas assignment. Boring is one of my three suspects. Please see:

https://vincepalamara.com/2018/06/03/secret-service-agent-floyd-boring-is-interesting/

See also:

https://vincepalamara.com/2018/06/13/updated-president-kennedy-the-bubble-top-and-all-security-issues-dissected-1961-1963/

https://vincepalamara.com/2018/06/02/secret-service-security-and-press-coverage-for-jfk-pre-11-22-63/

https://vincepalamara.com/2018/05/30/building-rooftops-were-regularly-guarded-during-the-jfk-era-also-the-secret-service-was-boss-not-jfk/

 

ASAIC Roy Kellerman, a third stringer who proved totally ineffective during and after the assassination, was making one of his first major trips on his own without either Behn or Boring!

There were three Shift Leaders (designated ATSAIC: Assistant To the Special Agent In Charge) on the Texas trip. Sadly, the two best ones, decorated WWII veterans Stu Stout and Art Godfrey were not on the specific leg of the Dallas part of the Texas trip (interestingly, like Boring, Stout was one of the heroes of the 11/1/50 assassination attempt on President Truman. Godfrey was also a Truman-era veteran):

The shift leader in Dallas and commander of the other 7 agents in the follow-up car, Emory Roberts, conveyed Boring's "wish" and ordered away two agents at Love Field, Henry Rybka and Don Lawton, from the limousine, ordered the agents not to move during the shooting itself, and usurped Kellerman's authority at Parkland Hospital, telling his boss to stay with Kennedy while he went to Johnson. Roberts also was responsible for LBJ taking over Air Force One. Roberts is one of my three suspects (see Boring above)- he became too close to Johnson after the assassination and died young in 1973 without speaking to anyone except William Manchester. Interestingly, Roberts shift of agents were the worst offenders by far in the drinking incident of early 11/22/63 in which 9 agents drank alcohol:

(Don Lawton with LBJ +image at Love Field):

 

The day after the infamous umbrella man appeared during the assassination, Roberts became an umbrella man of his own as he shields LBJ. What appears to be a look of disgust on fellow Dallas motorcade agent Jerry Kivett can be seen in the photo:

The lead advance agent for the Dallas trip was the aforementioned Winston Lawson:

However, I harbor no real suspicion towards him, as I feel he was merely following orders from above (Boring). While not necessarily one of my three suspects (two of whom you know about from above--Boring and Roberts---and the other I will get to in a moment), I feel that Lawson's assistant in the Dallas advance, David Grant (interestingly, Clint Hill's brother-in-law!), should be viewed a little more critically, although he may have also been a victim of following orders from above, as well (with regard to motorcycle formations, agents on the limousine, and other security matters):

The Warren Report (as well as Lawson, in correspondence with myself), state that Grant was an advance man in Tampa. The two advance agents for Tampa, officially speaking, were (also) Gerald Blaine (the author of The Kennedy Detail) and Frank Yeager:

Interestingly, Yeager did not think JFK was difficult to protect and seems to imply (like O'Rourke and Pontius) that O'Donnell had something to do with the agents not being on the car in Dallas, yet the agents who testified and wrote reports to the Warren Commission (and Blaine and Hill in their books) never blamed him for anything, while Powers denied there was any truth to JFK ordering the agents off his limo.

As most readers know from my books and my blogs, I don't find Blaine credible...others do not, as well:

https://www.sott.net/article/269016-Gerald-Blaine-and-the-Kennedy-Detail-Was-the-Secret-Service-Stood-Down-in-Dallas

Agent Walt Coughlin is a dear friend of Blaine (and many of the other agents), and was on the Florida and Texas trips, as well as many other trips from election day 1960-11/22/63...and he "had no idea"? hmmmm...

Blaine remarked on C-SPAN in 2010 and in his book that in the month prior to the 28 mile Tampa motorcade the White House detail had lost eleven agents and he had only one experienced agent available to rely on in Tampa. Based on years of intensive research, here are the experienced JFK agents who left (my count is slightly higher, although perhaps a few left a little earlier):

--Bill Skiles

There was one OTHER agent who "left", but he had no choice: he DIED! Driver agent Thomas B. Shipman died on 10/14/63 of an alleged heart attack at Camp David:

Fellow driver agent Sam Kinney, who believed there was a conspiracy and that the back of JFK's head was blown out on 11/22/63 (and had possession of the piece of the back of the head on the C-130 plane heading back to D.C.), was one of the good guys (he was adamant to me--on three occasions--that he was solely responsible for the bubble top's removal, but I hold no suspicion towards him just the same. This was merely an option not explored, not a sinister removal, per se. Interestingly, according to Lawson, it was Kinney who found Shipman's body at Camp David):

SAIC of the driver detail Morgan Gies (photo, arrow) was in Washington and likewise garners no suspicion (fellow new driver agents Andrew Hutch [no photo available] and Henry Rybka [see below] also are not suspicious):

This leaves my third suspect (with Boring and Roberts, above), driver agent William R. "Bill" Greer, who drove President Kennedy quite ineptly and negligently during the assassination (see chapter 8 of my first book Survivor's Guilt for much more):

In keeping with the above, here are the new agents who effectively replaced the veterans who left:

Robert Kollar :

Robert Burke (Summer 1963):

Radford Jones (Summer 1963):

George Hickey (July 1963):

Robert Faison (September 1963):

Tim McIntyre (Fall 1963):

Chuck Zboril (Fall 1963):

Henry Rybka (Fall 1963):

William Straughn (10/17/63):

Dick Metzinger (11/10/63- interestingly, Metzinger's daughter told me that her dad was sent home unexpectedly on 11/21/63!😞

Gerald O'Rourke (11/11/63):

Kent Jordan:

Ed Morey (11/20/63):

Dale Keaner (11/23/63):

Glenn Weaver (11/23/63):

Bill Livingood (11/23/63):

Not pictured: Bill Bacherman (11/10/63), John J. McCarthy (11/10/63), Roy "Gene" Nunn (11/11/63), Andrew Hutch (11/18/63), and Ken Thompson (11/23/63)

ALSO: PRS agent Glen Bennett was made a temporary White House Detail agent on 11/10/63, while fellow PRS agent Howard K. Norton [no photo available] was on both the Florida and Texas trips:

Please see:

https://vincepalamara.com/2018/06/01/very-important-postprs-agents-glen-bennett-howard-norton-covert-monitors-of-threats-to-jfk/

and

https://vincepalamara.com/2018/03/23/secret-service-agents-from-the-jfk-lbj-era-who-is-still-alive-who-died-who-i-interviewed/

SAIC of the VP LBJ detail Stu Knight (later the Director of the Secret Service from 1973-1981, replacing Rowley) was not on the Texas trip:

Knight's transfer was to have taken place 11/25/63. Knight's deputy, ASAIC of VP LBJ detail Rufus Youngblood took his place on the Texas trip (Youngblood, later the author of a 1973 book just re-released by his daughter, Twenty Years in the Secret Service, became the SAIC of the WHD and Assistant Director):

Treasury Secretary (and former OSS man) C. Douglas Dillon was on a crowded cabinet plane heading to Hawaii (then onto Japan) along with Press Secretary Pierre Salinger (a man agent Bob Lilley stated was extremely knowledgeable about motorcade security and planning, as they had worked with Pierre on many advances. In fact, Salinger stated in his 1997 book John F. Kennedy: Commander In Chief that he missed only “one or two trips” with JFK...Texas was one of them! 😞

(Salinger's deputy, Andy Hatcher, also was not on the Texas trip)

As with Kellerman, another third stringer, Mac Kilduff, was on the trip, making his first major trip on his own!

In Dillon's place: Acting Secretary Gaspard d'Andelot Belin (General Counsel of the Treasury Department and married to one of the Bundy sisters):

Making his very first presidential trip (from the Washington D.C. field office, presumably): future CIA agent Roger Warner:

Two agents along on the trip because Jackie Kennedy was there: Clint Hill (who has said from day one in testimony, reports, and his books that the back of JFK's head was gone and that the wound in the back was a back wound, not a neck wound) and Paul Landis (who stated in two reports that one of the shots came from the front):

A racist agent from Mississippi

(confirmed by Abraham Bolden, Walt Coughlin and Clint Hill in the book Out From The Shadow) gone from the detail by 1961 or 1962 but still an active agent (most likely in the Birmingham, Alabama office) and a definite candidate for the mysterious agent on the knoll- Harvey Henderson:

San Francisco agent Elmer Moore (sometimes confusingly named a Dallas office agent) harassed the Parkland doctors (especially Dr. Perry) and got them to change their tune regarding the wounds. He harbored hatred toward JFK and would definitely be a possible fourth-line suspect:

Two agents who appear to have left the detail in 1962 to head toward field offices, Mike Mastrovito and Jack Warner, have colorful backgrounds. Mastrovito, like Warner above, became a CIA agent and ALSO controlled the JFK assassination file for the Secret Service for years, destroyed part of Kennedy's brain, and was interviewed by the ARRB. For his part, Warner became a decades-long spokesman and consultant for the Secret Service on everything from assassination attempt damage control (Ford, Reagan) to In The Line of Fire movie technical assistance:

Interestingly, Hillary Rodham Clinton's older first cousin (and "kinda uncle", as several people viewed him and actually referred to him as her uncle), Wade Rodham, was the SAIC of the Kennedy residence in Middleberg, VA (he was famous for being one of the agents who was decorated for protecting VP Nixon in Caracas. He was at Middleberg when the assassination happened. One wonders where he was when Bill Clinton met JFK at the White House...):

Rounding out the rest of the Kennedy detail (of no special note, other than Richard Johnsen, the official keeper of CE399😞

NED HALL II

Some final food for thought loose ends:

click on images to enlarge

First things first: it is important to remember that President Kennedy did not have hundreds of motorcades during his 1000 or so days in offer- it was a finite number (from the JFK Library):

When the President visited military bases or traveled in motorcades in Washington, D.C., there was hardly any overt protection noticeable, such as motorcycles flanking the car, agents on or near the rear of the limousine, or a full bubbletop, unless during certain weather conditions, with a few notable exceptions when a display of force was demonstrated. This was because the Secret Service and the President were on very friendly, well-traveled grounds. On military bases, our troops, in conjunction with the Secret Service, provide the best-case scenario for protection. In the Capital, the Secret Service checks all the buildings along the route, and armed guards are posted along the path the President’s car will take. In addition, manholes are checked and sealed. For example, during JFK’s Inaugural Parade held on 1/20/61, “A complete survey of all buildings, water mains, sewers and underground conduits and other facilities along the parade route [was] made prior to the departure of the President from the White House to the Capitol.”

It should also be noted that when JFK was a candidate for the Presidency in 1960 the Secret Service did not protect candidates. Sadly, this did not become policy until immediately after the murder of his brother Robert. For his part, V.P. Nixon already had Secret Service protection on the campaign trail in 1960. That said, Senator Kennedy’s motorcades were often surrounded by many motorcycles:

JFK & LBJ together in Dallas (on Main Street) 9/11/60! The next time they would ride together in a motorcade: 11/22/63, Dallas!

 

Sunday 30th June, 1963. Forest Row, East Sussex. Visiting Harold Macmillan

Ireland, June 1963-Agent Bert De Freese on rear of limo; partial bubbletop; good motorcycle formation; press photographers flatbed truck in front of limo:

From my third book The Not-So-Secret Service: Death threats preceded JFK’s 1963 Ireland visit: “Police, newspaper received warnings months before president’s killing. “The documents indicated that 6,404 police officers were on duty throughout Ireland the night Kennedy arrived, of whom 2,690 lined the U.S. president’s route from Dublin airport to the Phoenix Park mansion of Irish President Eamon de Valera. “Costigan wrote that, although the death threats were considered likely to be hoaxes, his officers would use binoculars to monitor rooftops along the route of the presidential motorcade. He said some police would carry firearms, an exceptional measure in a country with a largely unarmed police force, to engage any would-be sniper. “A rifle as well as Thompson guns and revolvers were carried for use against a possible sniper,” Costigan wrote in a post-Kennedy visit memorandum released Friday

Milwaukee, WI May 12 1962:

9/27/62 West Virginia:

Philadelphia, PA trip 10/30/63

Washington, D.C. 10/15/63---MILITARY AIDE, ASAIC BORING, military lining street:

Washington, D.C. 3/27/63--MILITARY AIDE, SAIC BEHN, military lining street, essentially THREE follow-up cars:

Battery Park, NY 5/23/63:

6/5/62 Washington, D.C.:

Bogota, Columbia 12/17/61:

Caracas, Venezuela 12/16/61:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUUcK6G7U_w

San Juan, Puerto Rico 12/15/61:

Washington, D.C. 3/20/62:

Washington, D.C. 9/19/61:

New York, NY 11/8/63:

Washington, D.C. 7/11/61:

Washington, D.C. 2/20/63:

Washington, D.C. 4/11/62 (JFK and Jackie in different bubbletop vehicles):

11/22/63 at Parkland- too late:

1961:

North Carolina, 10/12/61:

Washington, D.C. 6/15/61-debut:

Arlington, VA 6/12/62 (this one doesn't "count"- drizzle):

JFK using the Ike bubbletop at the very start 1/20/61:

California, 3/23/62:

New York, 5/19/62:

Germany, 6/26/63- Many flanking motorcycles in a wedge formation; SAIC Behn on trip; military aide in front seat; agents in good number near limo; bubbletop at times; military lining street; live television feed; PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FRONT OF LIMO; buildings guarded:

Duluth, MN 9/25/63 (this one doesn't "count" because it was raining at night):

HOWEVER- regarding the same Duluth, MN trip: Researcher Chad Carlson wrote to me regarding this very same trip: “I am friends with a man here who was in charge of JFK’s trip to Duluth, MN here in September of 1963. I ask him a lot about JFK. He got to talk oneon-one with the President for 30 minutes before he made his rounds and speeches. His name is Larry Yetka, former Minnesota Supreme Court justice. Larry said that he wondered what [Mafia boss] Sam Giancana of Chicago was up to on 11-22-63. I told him that I had been watching the motorcade in Dallas on 11-22-63 and told him it looked very “lax.” He said, “Yes it was.” So I asked him how was security in Duluth in Sept.1963? He said, “Tight as hell-men were on the rooftops even.”

Billings, MT September 1963:

Building rooftops were guarded---This was confirmed by researcher Deb Galentine’s assistant police chief father who worked on the security for this trip, as conveyed to the author on 2/17/14. Deb further wrote: “Weeks before JFK’s arrival, my father, who would be in charge of the local police protection, met with Billings’ leaders and some of President Kennedy’s advance people. JFK’s planners wanted the fastest, safest routes possible. They desired routes with no tall buildings and hoped to avoid Billings’ Rimrocks as well. The Rimrocks, a natural sandstone formation riddled with caves, paths, and ledges and dotted with pine trees and shrubs, unevenly jut about 500 feet above the city of Billings. Avoiding them would be impossible since Billings’ airport lies perched atop them. Three separate routes were available from the airport to the President’s venue, and the planners decided to use the one that provided the safest and fastest passage away from the Rimrocks.”

 

New Mexico, 12/7/62:

Washington, D.C. 1961:

UNKNOWN (shown on DVD JFK: The Final Hours):

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zjy_F1zHk

New York 9/20/63:

Unknown:

Boston, MA 4/20/63:

Washington, D.C. 3/8/61:

New York 5/30/61:

New York 1/19/62:

New York 5/29/62:

Mexico 6/29/62-7/1/62- Many flanking motorcycles in a wedge formation; SAIC Behn on trip; military aide in front seat; agents in good number near limo; bubbletop at times; military lining street; live television feed; PHOTOGRAPHERS IN FRONT OF LIMO; buildings guarded:

Florida 1962:

South Dakota, 8/17/62:

Washington, D.C. 10/10/62:

Washington, D.C. 12/11/62:

Washington, D.C. 9/8/63 (doesn't count-raining):

Look at THIS amazing photo! SAIC Gerald Behn and fellow agent Sam Kinney placing the bubble top ON the car while President Kennedy and guest are sitting inside! Secret Service agent Stu Stout watches:

Charleston, West Virginia, 6/20/63 (doesn't count-raining):

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KRXGHJwp2I

 

---

Buildings WERE regularly guarded during the FDR, Truman, Ike and (yes) the JFK era before the assassination but NOT in Dallas:

1957-era security for President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth...if only JFK and Jackie would have received this kind of protection 6 years later:

San Diego, CA 6/6/63-countless Marines lined on each side of the street 5-6 feet apart FACING THE CROWD, SAIC Behn on the trip (riding in the front seat) and TWO FLATBED TRUCKS TAKING STILL PHOTOS, MOTION PICTURES, AND A LIVE TELEVISION FEED! Building rooftops were also guarded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2xDQ0IZOOM

Philadelphia, PA 10/62-arrows point our 4 cyclists on each wheel PLUS row of motorcycles near follow-up car, police lining street and facing crowd:

Seattle 11/16/61---buildings were guarded; police mingled within crowds; military lined street; press photographers close by; agents by limo; SAIC Gerald Behn in front passenger seat:

 

Buffalo, NY 10/14/62:

Indianapolis, IN 10/13/62-Secret Service agents, Dick Johnsen, Ron Pontius, Bob Lilley, and Frank Yeager, surround car:

Springfield, IL 10/19/62:

Chicago, IL 3/23/63---Col. George J. McNally, White House Signal Corps and former Secret Service agent, wrote in his book: “But during the Chicago visit [3/23/63], the motorcade was slowed to the pace of a mounted Black Horse Troop, and the police got a warning of Puerto Rican snipers. Helicopters searched the roofs along the way, and no incidents occurred.” [A Million Miles of Presidents, p. 204] Agent Don Lawton rode on the rear of the limousine and six motorcycles bracketed the vehicle:

Nashville, TN 5/18/63---SAIC of the Nashville office (and former JFK WHD agent) Paul Doster told the Nashville Banner on 5/18/63 that “a complete check of the entire motorcade route” was done for JFK’s trip to Nashville. In addition, Doster stated, “Other [police] officers were assigned atop the municipal terminal and other buildings along the route. These men took their posts at 8 a.m. and remained at their rooftop stations until the president and his party passed.” A helicopter was used on the route, as well:

[note: this is the later edition of the newspaper quoted above]

Canada 1961:

New Orleans 1962:

Cleveland, OH 10/19/62:

Pittsburgh, PA 10/13/62:

Washington, D.C. April 1961-Police on the roof of building overlooking a JFK motorcade, while both police and military lined the streets, common security measures used before Dallas, yet only a small number of police lined the streets in Dallas, did not face the crowd, with no military lining the streets and no men guarding rooftops:

10/1/63--- THE VIEW FROM THE PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS FLATBED TRUCK IN FRONT; 2 follow-up cars; military and police line street; SAIC Behn and military aide:

Hawaii 6/9/63--press photographers in front of limo, as usual, and press bus not far behind; agents surround limousine:

Florida trip 11/16-11/18/63 (Palm Beach, Cape Canaveral, Miami, Tampa):

11/18/63--PRS AGENT GLEN BENNETT ON FLORIDA AND TEXAS TRIPS; DENIED BEING ON FLORIDA TRIP TO HSCA:

From my third book The Not-So-Secret Service: Bob Hoelscher worked for the Miami-Dade Police Department for 50 years and was a counter-sniper and observer on the terrace deck of the airport hotel on November 18, 1963, the day Kennedy arrived in Miami. He guarded almost every VIP that came through Dade County from Kennedy to Clinton and started the tactical special weapons team, later known as SWAT, in 1970. Documents reveal a bomb threat against JFK in Miami just days before his death. Hoelscher told CBSMiami.com that he knew of potential threats to the president ahead of his November visit. “I was told that information had been developed that the Cubans might start a protest at an unknown location and they might make an attempt on the life of the President if there was sufficient distraction,” Hoelscher said. “I was told to keep this information to myself, watch the periphery and look for anything unusual.” While Hoelscher and some others in the police department knew, it was strictly on a “need to know” basis. “The information about the death threat was not shared with the rank and file out of fear that the media would find out,” Hoelscher said

VARIOUS Washington, D.C. motorcades + Chicago, IL 1961-1962---press/ photographers in front of and close by JFK's limo:

Rome, 7/2/63---close press/photographers (including live tv), SAIC Behn, agents on limo, massive motorcycles, etc.:

Amherst, MA 10/26/63-military aide in pilot car AND JFK's limo, Dr Burkley close by, wire service/ press/ photographers close by:

Pueblo, CO 8/17/62:

Paris, France April 1961:

Costa Rica, March 1963:

North Dakota 9/25/63:

The SECRET SERVICE was boss of the President and his security, NOT the other way around!

So much for the president's "order" that never happened: Clint Hill on the rear of the limo on Main Street. He did not ride on the rear of the car from the latter portion of Main Street onward:

As Hill himself even admitted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs7yNVI9sOM

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgVYcyixXgA

Congressman Sam Gibbons, WHO RODE A FOOT AWAY FROM KENNEDY IN THE BACK OF THE LIMOUSINE, debunks the whole JFK-ordered-the-agents-off-the-limo garbage: "I rode with Kennedy every time he rode. I heard no such order. As I remember it the agents rode on the rear bumper all the way. Kennedy was very happy during his visit to Tampa. Sam Gibbons."

11/22/63:

DALLAS TIMES HERALD 11/22/63 BEFORE the assassination happened

11/21/63: more motorcycles were to have been beside JFK's limo in Dallas:

11/21/63, Houston, TX- THE DAY BEFORE---phenomenal motorcycle formation, good speed of car, press/ photographers/ Cecil Stoughton near JFK.:

11/21/63-THE DAY BEFORE---11/21/63, San Antonio, TX: view from motion picture taken from police helicopter! Other photo- PRS Agent Glen Bennett [see chapter 2 of my first book] is riding in the front passenger seat of the follow-up car, the spot traditionally reserved for the Shift Leader! I knew he rode the follow-up car in NY, FL and TX and this was mostly hushed up afterwards (and, with regard to Dallas, the INTENTIONS behind his placement there), but this is a new one on me. Other arrows- police lining street, good motorcycle formation, agent Don Lawton looks upward to scan buildings, Shift Leader Roberts BETWEEN Bennett and the driver, Kinney. Roofs of multi-story buildings guarded, helicopter used along route, FORTY (40) members of military intelligence unit guarded route

Fort Worth, TX 11/22/63 (BEFORE the assassination):

--text: FORT WORTH PRESS 11/22/63 morning edition: Fort Worth advance agent Bill Duncan...but look at the headline below: "16 GOOFS ARE CHECKED OUT BY SECRET SERVICE GUARDING JFK" (image via Ebay- it's already gone, so luckily I saved it)
"A Secret Service man said today 16 persons were "checked out" here last night by agents guarding President Kennedy's life.

"The public doesn't know it," the agent said, "but we checked out 16 goofs." The agent described them as "goofs." "But if they could have gotten close enough they could have harmed the President."

The agent, who asked not to be quoted by name, declined to elaborate. He would not say whether any of the persons investigated were carrying arms.

Police officers said they know a no persons arrested and jailed last night by SS men.

THE SECRET Service men protected President Kennedy and his wife and Vice President Lyndon Johnson during their reception at Carswell Air Force Base and during their overnight stay at Hotel Texas.

Police officers, sheriff's deputies and federal men roped off Eighth St outside Hotel Texas as the President arrived.

"Everything went smoothly," Police St. S. B. Pruitt, one of dozens of city officers who spent the night at the hotel, said. "We didn't have any trouble at all."

REPORTERS were not allowed in the corridor of the eighth floor where the President and Mrs. Kennedy slept.

SS men and police kept the halls cleared of everybody except those wearing "special badges."

Policemen were stationed on the seventh and ninth floor stairs to keep anybody from going to the floor with the President.

One SS man was stationed outside Vice President and Mrs. Johnson's 13th floor suite.

City firemen stood in the halls on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors and in the hotel kitchens. It was the first time that many of the firemen could remember that such a precaution had been made to protect visiting dignitaries.

"But we don't have the President visit us very often," one fireman said."