Bernice Moore

What Greer should have done The relevant rule set forth in the Secret Service document outlining principles of Presidential protection states: "The driver of the President’s car should be alert for dangers and be able to take instant action when instructed or otherwise made aware of an emergency [emphasis added]."45 Former Inspector and Assis-tant Director Thomas Kelley told the HSCA: "… generally the instructions to the drivers of the cars are to be prepared to get the President away from any dan-gerous situation."46 For his part, Chief Rowley wrote to the Warren Commission: "The Secret Service has consistently followed two general principals in emergen-cies involving the President. All agents are so instructed. The first duty of the agents in the motorcade is to attempt to cover the President as closely as possi-ble and practicable and to shield him by attempting to place themselves be-tween the President and any source of danger. Secondly, agents are instructed to remove the President as quickly as possible from known or impending danger. Agents are instructed that it is not their responsibility to investigate or evaluate a present danger, but to consider any untoward circumstances as serious and to afford the President maximum protection at all times. No responsibility rests upon those agents near the President for the identification or arrest of an as-sassin or attacker. Their primary responsibility is to stay with and protect the President."47 [Emphasis added.] In addition, the Secret Service liked to maintain speeds of at least 20–30 miles per hour during motorcades.48 What actually happened The sequence is crucial: 1. First shot (or shots) rings out: the car slows with brake lights on. 2. Greer turns around once. 3. Kellerman orders Greer to "get out of line; we’ve been hit!". 4. Greer disobeys his superior’s order and turns around to stare at JFK for the second time, until after the fatal headshot finds its mark! As Patricia (Billings) Lambert noted in her landmark 1976 article about the agency, Five Seconds to Save the President: "What is particularly disturbing about the behavior of the Secret Service agents guarding the President in Dallas is the degree of uniformity in their response, their almost total non-reaction at the crucial moment: Roberts did not shout a warning; Greer did not accelerate; Kellerman did not move into the back seat; and only one agent [Hill] attempted to reach the President before the fatal shot. Why was lethargy so pervasive?" Palamara about Greer..v4n1 chapter 08..link below.. ***************************** Was Emory Roberts Involved ? Marcel Dehaeseleer http://www.copweb.be/Emory%20Roberts.htm ************************* From Vince Palamara: Emory P. Roberts merits the same scrutiny, if not more so; a look at his role is now in order. Jumping ahead to Dallas on November 22, 1963, (after friendly, enthusiastic, and uneventful motorcades in San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth on November 21-22,1963), Agent Roberts assigned the other seven agents on his particular shift to the follow-up car: Sam Kinney, Clint Hill, Paul Landis, William"Tim" McIntyre, Glen Bennett, George Hickey, and John Ready13 -- four of whom had only hours before participated in the in famous drinking incident in Fort Worth. Mr. Roberts' shift was the worst offender of the three shifts!14 What makes this tragic is that Roberts had the most important shift of all: the 8:00a.m. to 4:00 p.m. shift-- the Fort Worth/Dallas part of the Texas trip (the other two shifts, Agent Stout's 4:00 p.m. to midnight detail and Agent Godfrey's midnight to 8:00 a.m. shift were not actively protecting JFK during the Dallas motorcade. They were all waiting for JFK to complete the motorcade--Stout's detail at the Trade Mart, Godfrey's detail in Austin with Bob Burk and Bill Payne at both the Commodore-Perry Hotel and the LBJ Ranch). Cover-up number one: Agent Roberts would later write (April 28, 1964) that "there was no question in my mind as to (the agents') physical and mental capacity to function effectively in their assigned duties."15 Like Chief Rowley and Inspector Kelley before both the WC and the HSCA, Agent Roberts covered up the drinking incident, despite Secret Service regulations which stated that this was grounds for removal from the agency.16 Sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption wreak havoc on even the best trained reflexes. While leaving Love Field on the way to the heart of Dallas, destiny, and murder, Agent Roberts rose from his seat and, using his voice and several hand gestures, forced agent Henry J. Rybka fall back from the rear area of JFK's limousine, causing a perplexed Rybka to stop and raise his arms several times in disgust (Rybka would then remain at the airport during the murder, having been effectively neutralized) --although Paul Landis made room for him on the right running board of the follow-up car, Agent Rybka did not budge.17 Although Rybka worked the follow-up in Houston the day before18 and was a gun-carrying protective agent, he was not allowed to do his job on November 22,1963 (Rybka has since died...). Cover-up number two: Both Emory Roberts and Winston Lawson placed Agent Rybka in the follow-up car in their initial reports, only to "correct" the record later, after November 22, although Rybka was not even mentioned anywhere in Agent Lawson's Preliminary Survey Report--making it seem obvious that he was covering Emory Roberts' behind.19 As the cars approached the Main and Houston Street intersection, Clint Hill fell back to the follow-up car. Agent Hill was the only agent to ride on the rear of the limousine in Dallas and he was not even assigned to JFK (as a last-minute addition to the trip, Agent Hill was, like Paul Landis, part of Jackie's detail, and came at the First Lady's personal request). John Ready, a relatively new agent, never approached JFK's side of the limousine. Why not? Emory Roberts explained: "SA Ready would have done the same thing (as Agent Hill did) if motorcycle was not a President's corner of car"(!)20 Strange, but this posed no problem at all for Agent Don Lawton on November 18, 1963, in Tampa21 (but unfortunately, like Rybka, Lawton was left at Love Field and was not in the motorcade detail).22 In any event, there was always cooperation between the motorcycles and the agents; they maneuvered around each other countless times, including in Dallas on November 22. Cover-up number three: The April 22, 1964 reports from Agents Behn, Boring, Ready, Hill, and Emory Roberts, alleging, after-the-fact, that President Kennedy had ordered agents off the rear of the limousine on November 18, 1963 in Tampa, and in other cities.23 It has to be stated again, and with some new corroboration to boot: JFK never ordered the agents to do anything, let alone telling the men to get off the rear of the limousine (or to take off the bubbletop, reduce the number of motorcycles, etc.). Agents Behn and Boring totally refuted their own (alleged) reports in conversations with me, while agents Kinney, Youngblood, Bouck, Noris, Bolden, Lilly, Martineau, plus two recently-interviewed agents, Don Lawton and Art Godfrey, confirmed the fact that JFK never ordered the agents to do anything. He was "very cooperative," they told me. Kenny O'Donnell did not "relay" any orders either, and in addition, Dave Powers, Marty Underwood, and a new contact, White House photographer Cecil Stoughton, confirmed to me what all the agents have told me to date!24 If you concentrate on the critical time frame in which these "presidential orders" allegedly occurred, November 18-21, 1963, you can see what peril they caused in Dallas: no protection--as "requested"--on JFK's side of the car (including no bubbletop, partial or full, nor the usual number of motorcycles riding next to JFK, something that occurred everywhere except Dallas.25 When I mentioned this to Agent Chuck Zboril (who was in Tampa with Agent Lawton on 11/18/63), he nervously said: "Where did you read that [JFK's alleged orders]? Do you want me commenting officially? I'm...speaking to someone I don't even know...you see...someone else testified about what happened in Tampa [Clint Hill]...(pause)... can you....send me what you have on this matter? After sending Mr. Zboril a video and a contents sheet, he declined to respond as promised.26 I have since learned that many former agents now have "caller I.D." on their phones, and were warned not to speak to me (on 6/7/96, I called the home of Winston Lawson. After asking for him, his wife called him by name and he then got on the phone and told me I had the wrong number! It gets worse... Although Agent Roberts admitted recognizing "Oswald's" first shot as a rifle blast,27 as the Altgens photo confirms, he made a mysterious transmission via radio microphone that is not accounted for in his reports or in the official record.28 Instead of offering a shout of alarm, alert, or orders to his agents to do something that their own initiative lacked for some reason, ie., protective action, he did nothing to help the wounded President. Roberts' recall of Agent Ready is well documented,29 although we have... Cover-up number four: The alleged speed of the limousine and the alleged distance between the two cars (9-11 mph and five feet in reality, not the 20-25 mph and 20-25 feet stated in both SAs Roberts and Agent Ready's reports) was used as the pretext for the recall of Ready.30 Taking everything cited to the point into account, there is still another factor that has escaped virtually everyone, and this "factor" came about quite accidentally. In Groden and Livingstone's High Treason, (pages 16 and 487 of the Berkley edition, respectively), it was noted that "Emory Roberts ordered the agents not to move", which I took to be an unintended overstatement at the time. So, I decided to read the passage to Sam Kinney who told me, "Exactly right, and I'm involved in that, too!" Besides the Love Field recall of Agent Rybka and Dealey Plaza recall of Ready, Roberts also immobilized the other agents at a critical juncture in the shooting, causing a non- JFK agent (Clint Hill) to react too late to do anything but cover the corpse of the President.31 I believe aides Ken O'Donnell and Dave Powers best summed up the situation when they wrote: "Roberts, one of President Kennedy's agents...had decided to switch to Johnson as soon as Kennedy was shot" (emphasis added).32 In addition, four other authors have noted Agent Roberts' "switch of allegiance," including Chief Curry!33 Once at Parkland Hospital, SA Roberts totally usurped his superior, number three man Roy Kellerman (on his first trip on his own for the first-time vacationing Gerry Behn, leaving Floyd Boring in charge of the Texas trip back in Washington, DC)34; Emory ordered Kellerman's agents around and confided in Rufus Youngblood, the soon-to-be SAIC, replacing the absent Behn (just as ASAIC Youngblood replaced SAIC Stu Knight in Dallas, and Henry Fowler re-placed the absent Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon. For his part, Youngblood was to become the SAIC of the Vice-Presidential Detail on November 25,1963, a move planned before Dallas, but he rose much higher after Dallas). What William Manchester reports as having occurred at Parkland on page 170 of his book makes one both sick and repulsed: "Powers and O'Donnell bounded toward the Lincoln. Powers heard Emory Roberts shouting at him to stop but disregarded him; a second might save Kennedy's life [Dave, too bad you weren't on the running board of the follow-up car...!]...Emory Roberts brushed past O'Donnell, determined to make sure that Kennedy was dead. 'Get up,' he said to Jacqueline Kennedy. there was no reply. She was crooning faintly. From his side Roberts could see the President's face, so he lifted her elbow for a close look. He dropped it. To Kellerman, his superior, he said tersely, 'You stay with Kennedy. I'm going to Johnson.'"(Emphasis added)35 http://jfkassassination.net/russ/m_j_russ/Sa-rober.htm *************************** FROM : ATSAIC Emory P. Roberts, The White House Detail. U. S. Secret Service November 29, 1963. 12:30 p.m. First of three shots fired, at which time I saw the President lean toward Mrs. Kennedy. I do not know if it was the next shot or third shot that hit the President in the head, but I saw what appeared to be a small explosion on the right_ side of the President's head, saw blood, at which time the President fell further to his left. Mrs. Kennedy was leaning toward the President, however, she immediately raised up in the seat and appeared to be getting up on back of same. About this time I saw SA Clinton Hill trying to get on left rear step of the President's car. He got aboard and climbed up over the back of the car and placed himself over the President and Mrs. Kennedy. After SA Hill got on rear step of the President's car it appeared that SA John Ready was about to follow and go for the right rear step, however, I told him not to jump, as we had picked up speed, and I was afraid he could not make it. It is estimated that we were traveling approximately 15-20 miles per hour at the time of the shooting and it is believed that the follow-up car was approximately 20 25 feet behind the President's car. The crowd was very sparse, in fact only a few people were along the motorcade route at the time of the shooting. Just after the third shot was fired, I picked up the car radio and said "Halfback (code name for SS. Follow-up car) to Lawson, the President has been hit, escort us to the nearest hospital, fast but at a safe speed." I repeated the message, requesting to be cautious, meaning the speed. I had in mind Vice President Johnson's safety, as well as the President's, if he was not already dead. The Vice President's car was approximately one-half block behind the Secret Service car, at the time of the shooting, and some of us waved for it to close in closer to the Secret Service car. The Vice President's car quickly closed the gap. When I turned around to wave the Vice President's car to come closer, at same time, trying to determine where shots had come from, I said, pointing to SA McIntyre, ''They got him, they got him," continuing I said "You (meaning McIntyre) and Bennett take over Johnson as soon as we stop." (meaning the hospital). I turned around a couple times, just after the shooting and saw that some of the Special Agents had their guns drawn, I know I drew mine, and saw SA Hickey in rear seat with the AR-15, and asked him to be careful with it. 12:34 p.m. Presidential motorcade arrived at Parkland Hospital. (I did not look at my watch, however, I overheard someone at the hospital say that it took four minutes to get there.) Upon arrival at Parkland Hospital, I immediately ran to President Kennedy. Mrs. Kennedy was lieing over him. I said to Mrs. Kennedy to let us get the President. She said in effect that she was not going to move. I got one look at the President's head and remarked to ASAIC Kellerman, "You stay with the President, I'm taking some of my men for Johnson." SA's McIntyre and Bennett were already with Vice President Johnson, having joined SAIC Rufus Youngblood and other Special Agents assigned to the Vice President, as the Vice President arrived at the hospital. The first thing we did, was request a room for the Vice President. After getting the Vice President and Mrs. Johnson in a room, at the hospital, I said in effect to the Vice President, in the presence of Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Cliff Carter, Executive Assistant to the Vice President and SAIC Youngblood, as well as others, that I did not think the President could make it and suggested that we get out of Dallas as soon as possibl "http://jfkassassination.net/russ/m_j_russ/Sa-rober.htm" target="_blank">http: //jfkassassination.net/russ/m_j_russ/Sa-rober.htm</a> He Roberts states in his above statement...... ""Note: On shift report for Nov. 22, 1963, I listed SA Rybka as riding in center of rear seat, which was in error, as he was not in car. As mentioned above, he remained at Love Field."" If this was in error, why did he report this on Nov. 22/63..in the shift report? *************************** Vince Palamara had indicated he would include "never-before-seen films and photos from the author's massive private collection," and in this, the audience was not disappointed. "This is different angles of [the Kennedy motorcade] leaving Love Field," Palamara said, as the video rolled. Using a red "laser light" pointer, he identified various agents, and supplied narration: "This is John Ready ... Paul Landis ... here they are, leaving Love Field ... Henry Rybka --- thinking that he's going to be doing what he just did the last few stops --- this is when Emory Roberts rises in his seat in the followup car ... and we see some hand gestures ... basically tells [Rybka] to cease and desist from his actions. Paul Landis is even making room for him on the followup car! And this is when you'll see Henry Rybka ... I think a picture says a thousand words, well this is about as close as you can get here ---" And as the next image flickered on the screen in slow motion, the Lancer audience rumbled in astonishment --- the words "Wow!" and "Jesus!" leap out from my tape recorder. For as Henry Rybka is seen being summoned from his usual position back to the followup car, he issues a confused palms-up gesture that seems to say, "What gives?" Rybka was left behind at Love Field. "And the most amazing thing of all," Palamara continued, "is the fact that there is not one report, not two reports, but three reports after the fact, placing Rybka in the followup car! But he wasn't there! Again --- either they assumed he did hop into the car, or there was a coverup. Take your pick..." The clip of Rybka's confusion rolled again; I think everyone needed to see it at least twice. "When you see this clip normally, it's normally real time, it goes by real quick..." More clips were shown, and there was more analysis of the Dallas motorcade and the role of the Secret Service. "The situation now," Palamara said as he began to wrap things up, "we've been looking at our suspects, and I think there's a lot to be said for the work of other authors and researchers ... in my interviews, I've totally debunked any notion of President Kennedy had anything to do with the security insufficiencies, and it boils down to the Secret Service being responsible for them... "Anonymous no longer, the Secret Service will never again be taken for granted in any view of what happened on November 22, 1963..." http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/03/VP/0052-VP.TXT ****************** The Policy of “No Agents” on the President’s Limousine Information from Vince Palamara’s “Survivor’s Guilt” 2005 The Evolution of the Myth. The Warren Commission was curious apparently, along with members of the media and the public, why there were no agents protecting the President Kennedy during the Dallas motorcade on 11/22/63. by being posted on the back of the Limo on either side. Or why no agents were not walking or running along side of the car.?(1). Agents had performed these duties since the days of FDR. In response, and only because they demanded an answer, Secret Service Chief James J.Rowley had agents , Jerry Behn, Floyd Boring, Emory Roberts, John Ready, and Clint Hill write their reports in relation to their experiences with JFK on the matter of security,(why Roy Kellerman, the agent in charge of the Dallas trip , and the other Texas agents weren’t asked, is not known.) Most interesting is that nothing is mentioned specifically by the WC about 11/22/63..as requested by them. On first glance all five reports support the notion that the President did not want agents on or near the rear of the limo. However that is at first glance. Special Agent In Charge (SAIC) of White House detail (WHD) Gerald. A “Jerry” Behn, not on the Texas trip, stated unequivocally in his report 4/16/64 that JFK “told me that he did not want agents riding on the back of his car.” This came from the man who was the leader of the WH detail, “the man who was the direct pipeline to the President, this alleged presidential edit seems to be an authoritative and conclusive fact. However, during the course of three separate interviews with Vince Palamara, Mr.Behn let out a most unexpected bombshell: “I don’t remember Kennedy ever saying that he didn’t want anybody on the back of his car”. He went on to further add” that newsreel footage from that period will bear him out on this point.” One of many examples being the June 63 trip to Berlin (and many others from 61 to 63). “I think if you watch the newsreel pictures you’ll find agents on there from time to time.” Behn said. Brehn’s reputation was and is impeccable. Agent Maurice G.Martineau told Palamara on 9/21/93.. “No one that I can think of would have been better positioned to give you the information than Jerry Behn…( he was ) as well informed as anyone I can think of that you could contact”. Behn garnered the utmost respect from his colleagues that the author spoke with”. Mr.Behn however ended his report by stating..” As late as Nov. 18(63)… he (JFK) told ASAIC Boring the same thing (or so Boring claimed). Assistant Special Agent Boring was also not on the Dallas trip, he had dealt primarily with the 11/18/63 Tampa, Florida trip in his report ( dated 4/8/64) while also he mentioned the 7/2/63 Italy trip, alleging that President Kennedy made this request for both stops. Boring made the Florida trip in place of Mr.Behn. That said, in yet another contradiction that caught the author off guard Boring exclaimed: “No, no that’s not true..(JFK) was a very easy going guy…he didn’t interfere with our actions at all”, thus also contradicting his report. Assistant To the Special Agent in Charge (ATSAIC) Emory P.Roberts (on the Florida and Texas trips) the commander of the SS follow up car …the late Mr. Roberts (he died in the 60’s) deals exclusively with the 11/18/63 Tampa, Florida trip in his report ( dated 4/10/64): Boring was Roberts sole source, via radio transmission from the limousine ahead of his follow-up vehicle, for JFK’s alleged request. Special Agent (SA) John David “Jack” Ready (on the Texas trip) ..Ready’s very brief report (dated 4/11/64) dealt exclusively with the 11/18/63 Tampa, Florida trip. However, Ready was not on that specific Florida trip. Boring was, once again, his source for JFK’s alleged request .Ready would not respond to written inquiries from the author. The author phoned Mr. Ready on 6/13/05 and asked him if it was true that Boring said this, based on JFK’s request. After confirming he wasn’t on the Tampa trip, Ready stated : “Not on the phone (will I answer you ).I don’t know you from Adam. Can you see my point ?”. SA Clinton J,”Clint” Hill (on the Texas trip) …Hill also deals with the 11/18/63 Tampa, Florida trip and Borings second-hand in his (strangely undated) report: Mr. Hill was not on the Florida trip either. Mr. Hill’s brother is former agent David B. Grant, a former advance agent who worked on the planning of the Florida and Texas trips with none other than Mr.Boring. So of the five SS reports, four have as their primary source for JFK’s alleged request Agent Floyd Boring, including one by Boring himself, while the remaining report, written by Mr.Behn, mentions the same 11/18/63 trip with Mr. Boring as the others do.Both Behn and Boring totally contradicted the contents of their reports at different times, independent of each other, to the author. In addition, agents DID ride on the rear of the limousine on 7/2/63 and 11/18/63 anyway, despite these alleged Presidential requests, as the film and photo record proves.(2).Needless to say, with Boring joining Behn in refuting the substance of their reports , the official SS ‘ explanation’ falls like a house of cards. Brehn’s, Boring’s, and Hill’s reports are not even on any SS or Treasury Dept. stationary, just blank sheets of paper. Also Hill’s report is undated, an unusual error to make in any official government that has been requested by the head of the Secret Service. Yet, all are supposed to be evidence of JFK expressing his desire to keep Secret Service agents off the limousine, particularly in Tampa, Florida..? Importantly ,no mention is made of any alleged orders via President’s Staff. And, again, there is nothing about what JFK said or “requested” on Nov.22/63.The critical day in question. Above from page 4-5. Notes: p.210 (1) Vol.18 WC: p.803-809 “From now on , this designation, the standard one used in the literature, will be adopted as follows: However, the hydraulic side steps which swung out were rarely used because of their narrowness and their potential lethal capability to unknowing spectators on a motorcade route : “The Death of a President,” p.36 ( All references to Manchester’s book are from the 1988 Perennial Library edition) “Presidential Limousines” video by Rick Boudreau .1996. When Kennedy’s specially-designed Lincoln Continental limousine was delivered to the White House in June 61, detachable rear grab handles were included ( Press statement ,Ford Motor Co. June 61).In early 62 ,grab handles were permanently added to the rear of the car. It should also be noted that President Eisenhower’s limousine (and even one of the two 56 Cadillac convertible follow up cars) was also, out of necessity, used from time to time. (2) Regarding Italy: See also “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye” by O’Donnell, Kenneth P., David F .Powers, and Joseph McCarthy, (Boston: Little Brown & Co. 1972) page 433 (Note: All references to this book are from the Pocket Book paperback edition published in 73). The Myth… Floyd Boring and quite a few of his SS colleagues denied to Vince Palamara what William Manchester reports in the best seller “The Death of a President”: “Kennedy grew weary of seeing bodyguards roosting behind him every time he turned around, and in Tampa Nov.18/63 just four days before his death, he dryly asked Agent Floyd Boring to ‘keep those Ivy League charlatans off the back of the car’ Boring wasn’t offended .There had been no animosity in the remark”.(3) But incredibly Boring told Palamara that “I never told him that”. As for the merit of the quote itself, Boring said “No, no—that’s not true”. Thus contradicting his own report in the process. Incredibly, Boring was not even interviewed for Manchester’s book! We may never know the source for this information as Manchester told the author on 8/23/93 that “ all the material is under seal and won’t be released in my lifetime”, and denied the author access to his notes. Manchester has since passed away. (4) Interestingly Manchester did interview the late Emory Roberts, his probable but also very questionable source.(5) As a result Manchester left his mark on the issue.(6) In Jim Bishop’s “The Day Kennedy Was Shot”, he simply repeats the written record of the WC and the previously mentioned five reports all taken at face value. Mr. Boring was not interviewed for the book. Mr. Bishop,also now dead, his information rests with him. But he did sum up the situation the best. “ No one wanted to weigh the possibilities that, if a Secret Service man had been on the left rear bumper going down Elm Street, it would have been difficult to hit President Kennedy” he also noted “The Secret Service men were not pleased because they were in a “ hot” city and would have preferred to have two men ride the bumper of the President’s car with two motorcycle policemen between him ( JFK) and the crowds on the sidewalks”. Thanks to the SS reports above ( and, in large part to Agent Boring himself ) three massive best sellers still in print ..The Warren Report…Manchester’s “The Death of a President”….and Bishop’s “The Day Kennedy Was Shot”…have created the myth that JFK was difficult to protect and had ordered the agents off his car..and like a ,dangerous myth that endures to this day in classrooms and in the media , thus doing great damage to the true historical record. The Secret Service Myth..Blames the Victim. Clint Hill: “I never personally was requested by President John F. Kennedy not to ride on the rear of the Presidential automobile. I did receive information passed verbally from the administrative offices of the White House Detail of the Secret Service to Agents assigned to that Detail that President Kennedy had made such requests.” “This would have been between Nov. 19/63 and Nov 21/63 “.He could not recall at the time what specific agent had given him JFK’s alleged desires….note the dates. But during his WC testimony, he revealed it on 3/9/64 under oath to the future Senator Arlen Specter, then a lawyer for the WC. Specter: “Now had there been any instruction or comment about your performance of that type of duty (moving to the rear part of the limo) With respect to anything President Kennedy himself had said in the period immediately preceding the trip to Texas ?” Hill” “Yes Sir, there was. The preceding Monday, the President was on a trip to Tampa. Florida and he requested that agents not ride on either of those two steps”. Specter: “ And to whom did the President make that request?” Hill: “Assistant Special Agent in Charge Boring”. Boring was also in charge of planning the Texas trip for the Secret Service.. From p: 6, 7, 8. *********************************************** Notes p.210 (3) Manchester p.37-38 .He also wrote “It was a good idea, for example, to have agents perched on the broad trunk of the Presidential Lincoln when crowds threatened to grow disorderly. The trouble was they were always there.” (4)Author Walt Brown mentions Palamara’s controversial contact with Manchester in his book “Treachery In Dallas”. 95. P.338. (5) Manchester p.667 Of the 21 agents /officials interviewed by Manchester, only Roberts, Greer, Kinney and Blaine were on the Florida trip. Blaine was the advance agent for Tampa,( riding in the lead car), Greer drove JFK’s car, Kinney drove the follow-up car, and Roberts was the commander of the follow-up car. Roberts is Palamara’s main suspect of the four being Manchester’s dubious source for this quote.: he was asked to write a report about JFK’s so-called desires, citing Boring as the source for the order via radio transmission. The others Greer, Kinney and Blaine ..were not asked to write a similar report. In addition, Manchester had access to this report while writing his book. Also unlike the others, Roberts was interviewed twice and while Greer never went on record with his feelings about the matter ,one way or the other, Kinney denied the veracity of Manchester’s information , while Blaine denied the substance of the information, although he DID mention the ‘Ivy League charlatan’ remark coming from a second source .Finally, of the 21 agents interviewed by Manchester .Blaine is the only agent ---save two headquarters Inspectors ( see next note)---whose interview comments are not to be found in the text or index. In addition two other agents Lawton & Newman mention the remark as hearsay, it is likely that Manchester seized upon the remark and greatly exaggerated its significance ..AND attributed it to Boring, while his actual source was probably Roberts (and or Blaine). Again since Boring was not interviewed the comment had to come second hand from some other agent, who in turn received the remark second hand from Boring. In the end the question is: Did Boring really give out these orders on instructions from JFK.? (6) Interestingly Manchester having interviewed 21 different agents/ officials for his book (p.600-669), chose to include interviews with SS Inspectors Burrill Peterson and Jack Warner...What’s the problem? These men who were not even associated with the Texas trip in any way, were interviewed more than any other agents, 4 times each (Peterson 10/9/64..11/7/64..11/18/64..2/5/65. Warner 6/2/64..11/18/64..2/5/65..5/12/65. Only Emory Roberts, Clint Hill, Roy Kellerman, and Forrest Sorrels had two each. While all other agents/officials had one. More importantly, unlike all other 19 agents, save one Gerald Blaine (a Texas trip WHD agent). These two Inspectors are not even mentioned in the actual text or index? Their comments are invisible to the reader. It appears that Manchester’s book was an officially sanitized book more so than we thought (as most everyone knows the book was written with Jackie Kennedy’s approval, it was her idea. Manchester had early access to the WC itself. Warren appointed him an ex-officio member of the Commission. He approved an office for him in Washington’s VFW building. Where the commission met, and where copies of reports and depositions were made available to him.(p: XIX) Inspector Peterson was prominent in the post-assassination press dealings. Sorrels testified “I don’t think at any time you will see that there is any statement made by the newspapers or television that we said anything because Mr.Kelley ,the Inspector ,told me “Any information that is given out will have to come from Inspector Peterson in Washington”.(7H359). Burrill Peterson became an Assistant Director for Investigations in 1968.(20 Years in the Secret Service “ by Rufus Youngblood. 1973 p: 220. Jack Warner went on to become Director of Public Affairs till in the 90s Acting as a buffer to critical press questions during assassination attempts on President Ford and other related matters.(The Secret Service :The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency 2003:Phillip Melanson and Peter Stevens: p 101,201,224,237. Jack Warner would also later become a consultant to the 1993 Clint Eastwood movie “In The Line of Fire” .Which dramatized the life of Clint Hill. Hills testimony: Clinton J.Hill WC Testimony http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/hill_c.htm His original report. http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/sa-hill.htm ************************ Agent Emory P. Roberts (ATSAIC, Commander of the Secret Service follow-up car) A native of Cockeysville, Maryland, Roberts had previously served with the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore County Police, and as an investigator for the Office of Price Administration. Secret Service agent Emory P. Roberts was also a high school colleague of author Howard Donahue of “Mortal Error” fame.[ii] Roberts was appointed to the Secret Service in January 1944, in Baltimore, and also served in the Washington field office before joining the White House Detail during the Truman era.[iii] Roberts was awarded the Exceptional Civilian Service Award for outstanding service while protecting Richard M. Nixon, then President Eisenhower’s Vice President, in June, 1958, in Caracas, Venezuela.[iv] Former agent Darwin Horn, who served with Roberts on the White House Detail during the Eisenhower years, wrote: “Emory Roberts was a very fine accomplished agent. He was the No.3 man on Bill Shields shift behind Pat Boggs. He was a very congenial well-liked agent who was always available to assist younger agents. I do not know from what office he had come from when he rejoined the WHD in about 1955.”[v] Former WHD agent Charles J. Marass wrote: “Regarding Emory Roberts, he was a very competent, conscientious, dedicated, honorable person and agent. He was the Shift Leader that I was assigned to during my duty at the White House Detail. Emory was so concerned about those on his shift we affectionately referred to him as our “Mother Hen.” Emory performed his duties in a most professional manner.”[vi] Roberts had been on President Kennedy's trip to Florida on November 18, 1963. As he was later to do on the fateful Texas trip, Mr. Roberts served as the commander of the agents in the follow-up car, one of two well-used 1956 Cadillac convertibles that sometimes served as the presidential limousine (an example is provided in JFK's summer, 1963, Ireland trip[vii]). On both trips, Sam Kinney served as the driver of this car.[viii] As one of three Shift Leaders of the White House Detail (the other two were Stewart G. Stout, Jr. and Arthur L. Godfrey, both also on the Texas trip with Roberts[ix]), Emory was a stern and forceful agent who took and gave out orders in a serious manner while working on President Kennedy's trips. It was during the Florida trip that some interesting things involving Agent Roberts occurred which would have a direct bearing on November 22, 1963. The President visited Palm Beach, Cape Canaveral, Miami, and Tampa on November 18, 1963. As agent’s Chuck Zboril and Don Lawton were riding on the rear of the limousine in Tampa, someone from the crowd threw a red "Powerhouse" candy bar at the motorcade, and the confection landed with a "thud" on the hood of the Secret Service follow-up car. Thinking it to be a lethal stick of dynamite, Agent Roberts pushed the object forcefully off the hood. Realizing what the object really was, Roberts and the other agents shared a laugh about it.[x] But they had had good reason to be jumpy: the atmosphere in Tampa (and Miami) was one that gave the agents cause for concern--hostility from the anti-Castro Cuban community, the Joseph Milteer threat, and an organized crime related-scare.[xi] As he had done countless times before, Mr. Roberts had the two agents that were riding on the rear of the presidential limousine "fall back" from time to time (sometimes based on Special Agent in Charge Jerry Behn's suggestion; in this case it was the number two agent, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Floyd Boring). This was quite often a spur-of-the-moment decision based on the speed of the cars, the size and proximity of the crowd, and the potential for threat(s) at the moment (often, the two agents on the rear of JFK's limousine took their own initiative in going between the two cars, as agent Clint Hill did several times in Dallas[xii]). This will become important later. Jumping ahead to Dallas on November 22, 1963, (after friendly, enthusiastic, and uneventful motorcades in San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth on November 21-22, 1963), Agent Roberts assigned the other seven agents on his particular shift to the follow-up car: Sam Kinney, Clint Hill, Paul Landis, William"Tim" McIntyre, Glen Bennett, George Hickey, and John Ready[xiii] - four of whom had only hours before participated in the infamous drinking incident in Fort Worth. Mr. Roberts' shift was the worst offender of the three shifts![xiv] What makes this even more tragic is that Roberts had the most important shift of all: the 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. shift-- the Fort Worth/Dallas part of the Texas trip (the other two shifts, Agent Stout's 4:00 p.m. to midnight detail and Agent Godfrey's midnight to 8:00 a.m. shift were not actively protecting JFK during the Dallas motorcade. They were all waiting for JFK to complete the motorcade--Stout's detail at the Trade Mart, Godfrey's detail in Austin with Bob Burke and Bill Payne at both the Commodore-Perry Hotel and the LBJ Ranch). Cover-up number one: Agent Roberts would later write (April 28, 1964): "there was no question in my mind as to [the agents] physical and mental capacity to function effectively in their assigned duties."[xv] Like Chief Rowley and Inspector Kelley before both the Warren Commission and the HSCA, Agent Roberts covered up the drinking incident, despite Secret Service regulations that clearly stated that these were grounds for removal from the agency.[xvi] Sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption wreak havoc on even the best-trained reflexes. While leaving Love Field on the way to the heart of Dallas, destiny, and murder, Agent Roberts rose from his seat and, using his voice and several hand gestures, forced agent Henry J. Rybka to fall back from the rear area of JFK's limousine, causing a perplexed Rybka to stop and raise his arms several times in disgust (Rybka would then remain at the airport during the murder, having been effectively neutralized)---although Paul Landis made room for him on the right running board of the follow-up car, Agent Rybka did not budge.[xvii] Despite the fact that Rybka had worked the follow-up in Houston the day before[xviii] and was an experienced[xix] protective agent[xx], he was not allowed to do his job on November 22,1963 (Rybka has since died). Agent Rybka, fresh from Secret Service School and the Florida trip, both in November, 1963[xxi], knew what the standard procedure was, both through training and seeing with his own two eyes: to have agents on or near the rear of the presidential limousine. Cover-up number two: Both Emory Roberts and Winston Lawson placed Agent Rybka in the follow-up car in their (initial) reports, only to "correct" the record later, after November 22, although Rybka was not even mentioned anywhere in Agent Lawson's Preliminary Survey Report to begin with---making it seem obvious that Lawson was covering for Emory Roberts.[xxii] Incredibly, Emory Roberts made the same "mistake" twice: In the shift report of 11/22/63 (separate from the one depicted in the Commission’s volumes[xxiii]), Roberts placed Rybka in the "center rear seat" between Hickey and Bennett![xxiv] Oddly, this was not the first time Rybka was "mistakenly" replaced in the follow-up car during November 1963. The shift report of 11/9/63, written by agent David Grant, stated that Rybka drove the follow-up car in New York.[xxv] The problem lies in the fact that Rybka was actually left behind in Washington, D.C. at the time, as the November 8 and 9 shift reports make abundantly clear[xxvi]--- bizarre indeed. As the cars approached the Main and Houston Street intersection, Clint Hill fell back to the follow-up car. Agent Hill was the only agent to ride on the rear of the limousine in Dallas and he was not even assigned to JFK (as a last-minute addition to the trip, Agent Hill was, like Paul Landis, part of Jackie's detail, and came at the First Lady's personal request). John Ready, the agent assigned to President Kennedy’s side of the limousine and riding on the right front running board of the follow-up car, never approached JFK's side of the limousine. Why not? Emory Roberts lamely explained: "SA Ready would have done the same thing (as Agent Hill did) if motorcycle was not a President's corner of car"(!)[xxvii] Strange, but this posed no problem at all for Agent Don Lawton on November 18, 1963, in Tampa[xxviii] (but unfortunately, like Rybka, Lawton was left at Love Field and was not in the motorcade detail[xxix]). In any event, there was always cooperation between the motorcycles and the agents; they maneuvered around each other countless times, including in Dallas on November 22. Cover-up number three: The infamous April 22, 1964 reports from Agents Behn, Boring, Ready, Hill, and Emory Roberts, alleging, after-the-fact, that President Kennedy had ordered agents off the rear of the limousine on November 18, 1963 in Tampa, and in other cities.[xxx] As previously discussed in detail, the Secret Service blamed JFK for the removal of the agents on or near the rear of his limousine and this is simply untrue. Although Agent Roberts admitted recognizing "Oswald's" first shot as a rifle blast[xxxi], as the Altgens photo confirms, he made a mysterious transmission via radio microphone that is not accounted for in his reports or in the official record.[xxxii] Instead of offering a shout of alarm, alert, or orders to his agents to do something that their own initiative lacked for some reason, i.e., protective action, he did nothing to help the wounded President. Allen Dulles of the Warren Commission asked: “Who would cover straight ahead?” Chief Rowley responded: “The man in the front seat [unnamed: Roberts] has that responsibility.”[xxxiii] None of the follow-up car agents, via their individual scanning duties, which had them actually looking AWAY from JFK and at different points of the crowd, had the responsibility of watching ONLY the presidential vehicle. That job belonged to Roberts alone, and it appears obvious that the other agents of the follow-up car relied heavily on Roberts to sound some sort of alarm in the event of trouble in JFK’s car. Roberts' recall of Agent Ready is well documented[xxxiv], although we still have: Cover-up number four: The alleged speed of the limousine and the alleged distance between the two cars (9-11 mph and five feet in reality, not the 20-25 mph and 20-25 feet stated in both Roberts and Agent Ready's reports) was used as the pretext for the recall of Ready.[xxxv] Taking everything cited to this point into account, there is still another factor that has escaped virtually everyone, and this "factor" came about quite accidentally. In Groden and Livingstone's High Treason[xxxvi], it was noted: "Emory Roberts ordered the agents not to move," which this author took to be an unintended overstatement at the time. So, the author decided to read the passage to Sam Kinney for commentary. Surprisingly, Sam told the author, "Exactly right, and I'm involved in that, too!" Before the author could digest this troubling information, Sam attempted to defend Roberts’ actions by stating that the angle of the follow-up car he was driving wasn’t conducive to any of the other agents taking action (as Hill did), an excuse the author does not find valid. Kinney told a similar story to the HSCA on 2/26/78: “Mr. Kinney’s analysis of Roberts’ order was that if Roberts had permitted Ready to go, and “if ready had done what Hill did, I’ve got one of them,” i.e. because of the impossibility of swerving away at an angle wide enough to avoid both of them.” However, the Nix film (as well as the Zapruder film) demonstrates that, during the shooting, the follow-up car had slowed down, lagging somewhat behind the presidential limousine. Therefore, Kinney’s car---and JFK’s car, for that matter---wasn’t quite close enough or moving fast enough to create the hazard Kinney eludes to. Ironically, if the required five-foot distance between the vehicles had been maintained (as it had been up to right before the shooting), not to mention a faster rate of speed, Kinney would be on firmer ground. In addition, Agent Tim McIntyre told the HSCA on 1/31/78 that the follow-up car was “slightly to the left rear of the limousine,” so, if anything, Hill was in more danger than Ready when he took off to protect Mrs. Kennedy. So, besides the Love Field recall of Agent Rybka and Dealey Plaza recall of Ready, Roberts also immobilized the other agents at a critical juncture in the shooting, causing a non- JFK agent (Clint Hill) to react too late to do anything but cover the corpse of the President.[xxxvii] HSCA attorney Belford Lawson also was troubled by Roberts’ conduct---he wrote in a once-secret memorandum: “Why [wasn’t] Emory Roberts…called to testify?”[xxxviii] Presidential aides Ken O'Donnell and Dave Powers best summed up the situation when they wrote: "Roberts, one of President Kennedy's agents...had decided to switch to Johnson as soon as Kennedy was shot.”[xxxix] In addition, four other authors have noted Agent Roberts' "switch of allegiance," including Chief Curry.[xl] Once at Parkland Hospital, SA Roberts totally usurped his superior, number-three agent Roy Kellerman. Emory ordered Kellerman's agents around and confided in Rufus Youngblood, the soon-to-be SAIC, replacing the absent Behn.[xli] What William Manchester reports as having occurred at Parkland makes one both sick and repulsed: "…Powers and O'Donnell bounded toward the Lincoln. Powers heard Emory Roberts shouting at him to stop but disregarded him; a second might save Kennedy's life [Dave, too bad you weren't on the running board of the follow-up car]...Emory Roberts brushed past O'Donnell, determined to make sure that Kennedy was dead. 'Get up,' he said to Jacqueline Kennedy. There was no reply. She was crooning faintly. From his side Roberts could see the President's face, so he lifted her elbow for a close look. He dropped it. To Kellerman, his superior, he said tersely, 'You stay with Kennedy. I'm going to Johnson.'"[xlii] It is a shame that Emory Roberts cannot enlighten us on his conduct: having never been questioned by the Warren Commission or the FBI, he died on 10/8/73 at his Brookeville, MD home, after an apparent heart attack. Roberts was 58 at the time.[xliii] Only author William Manchester spoke to him (on 12/4/64 & 4/26/65, respectively[xliv]). Incredibly, Roberts was the President’s receptionist during the Johnson administration while still a member of the Secret Service, receiving a Special Service Award from the Treasury Department for improving communications and services to the public in 1968[xlv] ---a year later, during the start of the Nixon administration in 1969, Roberts was promoted to the coveted position of Inspector at Secret Service headquarters, responsible for overseeing a number of protective procedures and policies. Roberts retired from the Secret Service in February 1973.[xlvi] In keeping with the above comments, the author has traced the critical decision to have LBJ and Kennedy’s coffin aboard Air Force One (instead of Air Force Two) back to the primary source: Emory Roberts.[xlvii] “Official” history has it that Kenny O’Donnell specifically told Lyndon Johnson to take the presidential plane---Air Force One---rather than Air Force Two because it allegedly had better communication equipment. This is what LBJ alleged in his Warren Commission affidavit.[xlviii] However, O’Donnell denied this, telling author William Manchester: “The President and I had no conversation regarding Air Force One. If we had known he was going on Air Force One, we would have taken Air Force Two. One plane was like the other.”[xlix] In fact, when Arlen Specter of the Warren Commission asked O’Donnell, “Was there any discussion about his [LBJ] taking the presidential plane, AF-1, as opposed to AF-2?” O’Donnell responded: “There was not.”[l] In this regard, O’Donnell later wrote in his book “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye” that a Warren Commission attorney---the aforementioned Arlen Specter---asked him to “change his testimony so that it would agree with the President’s”---an offer O’Donnell refused.[li] With this in mind, author Jim Bishop reported: “Emory Roberts suggested that Johnson leave at once for Air Force One…Roberts asked Kenny O’Donnell and he said: “Yes.” Johnson refused to move. Roberts returned to O’Donnell and asked again: “Is it all right for Mr. Johnson to board Air Force One now?” “Yes” O’Donnell said, “Yes [emphasis added].”[lii] This author believes O’Donnell when he says he had no part in LBJ going to Air Force One over Air Force Two. This was a Secret Service (Emory Roberts) decision. Finally, back to the subject of allegiance, Manchester wrote: “The Secret Service…was riven by disunion. The agents were as leaderless and perplexed as the rest of the Presidential party [on 11/22/63]. A few (Kellerman, Hill) remained near Kennedy. Others (Youngblood, Roberts, Johns) went with Johnson. Most were following personal loyalties [emphasis added].”[liii] Roberts’ White House Communications Agency (WHCA) code name was Dusty.[liv] Even former agent Abraham Bolden was shocked at Roberts’ conduct.[lv] Conclusion - a major suspect in both the security test and the murder itself. ----------------------------------------------------------------- “The Washington Post,” 10/11/73 Manchester, p.165 [ii] Author's interview with Howard Donahue, September 23, 1992 [iii] “The Washington Post,” 10/11/73 David Clark, Archivist, Harry S. Truman Library & Museum: Reathel M. Odum Papers, Box 10. Odum was Secretary to Mrs. Truman: 1945 - 1953 [iv] “The Washington Post,” 10/11/73 A picture of Roberts protecting Nixon in Caracas can be found in “Know Your Government: The U.S. Secret Service,” by Gregory Matusky & John P. Hayes, page 36. [v] E-mail to author dated 2/27/04 [vi] Letter to author dated 3/25/04 [vii] From the videotape presentations "Kennedy's Ireland" and "JFK: A Celebration of his Life and Times" (the vehicle had the D.C. license plate number GG678) [viii] Author's interviews with Sam Kinney during October 1992, March-April 1994 [ix] Author's interview with Art Godfrey (who guarded JFK at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth on the evening of November 21, 1963, and was waiting for the president in Austin, when the assassination occurred; for his part, Agent Stoutalso protected President Truman during the assassination attempt at Blair House in 1950 -- along with Floyd Boring) Their designation was ATSAIC – Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge, a position right below the ASAIC's. [x] Author's interviews with Kinney (4/15/94) and Agent Don Lawton (11/15/95). See also page 691 of Lamar Waldron’s book “Ultimate Sacrifice” (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005) [xi] Peter Dale Scott, “Deep Politics and the Death of JFK.” See also Gaeton Fonzi, “The Last Investigation” (New York: Thunder's Mouth 1993); Author's interviews with Robert Bouck, September 27, 1992; HSCA document 180- 10074-10394, an interview with agent Robert J. Jamison states: “the threat of November 18, 1963 was posed by a mobile, unidentified rifleman with a high-powered rifle fitted with a scope." In addition, HSCA document 180-10083-10419, an interview with Lubert F. deFreese, states: “a threat did surface in connection with the Miami trip." Author’s interviews with Sam Kinney [xii] Author's interviews with: Jerry Behn (three on 9/27/92), Robert Bouck (9/27/92) and Bob Lilley (three) [xiii] 18H 738. Agent John Ready may have also been mentally occupied: according to the Secret Service shift reports released by the ARRB in the later 1990’s, an "emergency leave" took Ready out of the White House detail from November 15-19, 1963, missing the entire Florida trip [as verified by USSS RIF# 1541-0001-10081], although Ready claimed during his 3/1/78 HSCA interview that he arrived in Miami on 11/18/63 for the Florida trip with JFK, THEN went home upon being advised of a death in his family. Although he did go back on duty November 21, in time for the Texas trip, he did not ride in the follow up car in San Antonio, Houston or Fort Worth on November 21, 1963. [xiv] 18H665-702 Agents Hill, Ready, Landis and Bennett were the guilty parties on Roberts' shift. [xv] 18H679 [xvi] 18 H 665 [xvii] WFAA-TV (ABC's Dallas affiliate) on 11/22/63; 25H 787; video shown on “The Men Who Killed Kennedy” 2003 by the author; While SA Lawton states categorically in his 11/30/63 report that “…my instructions were to remain at the airport to effect security for the President’s departure,” Agent Rybka’s very brief, vague, and UNDATED report contains no such disclaimer. Rybka’s report is by far the briefest of the 29 reports submitted to Chief Rowley and the Warren Commission. Many of the agents submitted two (or more) reports, a good percentage of which were multi-page reports and with some detail, not to mention a proper date somewhere on the report. [xviii] Advance man Jerry Bruno's notes from the JFK Library in Boston. Agent Henry Rybka was also on the follow-up car team in San Antonio on 11/21/63 In addition, the newly-released Cooper film depicts Rybka jumping out of the follow-up car in Fort Worth on 11/22/63 -- he was the first agent out of the car. On two of the three stops, Rybka was not the driver. [xix] Rybka was a member of the detail during at least the latter Eisenhower years: Protective Survey Report dated 1/16/61 Re: Inaugural Activities of the President on January 20, 1961, conducted by SAIC James M. Beary (1-15 [Washington Field Office]) and SA H.S. Knight (1-16 [WHD]) [xx] Kellerman, 2 H 69: “Each agent carries his own gun. This is a 4-inch revolver on their person.” See also Hill, 2 H 134 [xxi] Secret Service shift reports, November 1963. [xxii] 18H739; 17 H 593-600: Lawson's Preliminary Survey Report [dated 11/19/63]; 17 H 601-617: Lawson's Final Survey Report. [xxiii] 18 H 739 [xxiv] USSS RIF # 1541-0001-10031 [xxv] USSS RIF # 1541-0001-10127 [xxvi] USSS RIF #s 1541-0001-10132 & 1541-0001-10125 [xxvii] 18 H 738 [xxviii] Cecil Stoughton photos from John F.Kennedy Library in Boston; Author’s interviews with agents Don Lawton and Chuck Zboril (November 1995) [xxix] 25 H 786 [xxx] 18 H 803-809 [xxxi] 18H 734-735 Manchester, page 155 Manchester did interview Emory Roberts twice (p.667). [xxxii] 18H735-739 --the first transmission was made a full minute before the shooting, while the other was made after the shooting [xxxiii] 5 H 453 [xxxiv] 18H 749-750;also 734.Manchester, pages 155-156, 165 [xxxv] Roberts and Ready’s reports, CD 3 Exhibits [xxxvi] “High Treason,” pages 14 and 417. [xxxvii] Hill also described the president's skull defect as located in the "right rear" with the actual missing piece of skull lying in the back of the car. This was confirmed by Agent Sam Kinney to the author on two occasions [xxxviii] RIF# 180-10093-10320: 5/31/77 Memorandum from HSCA’s Belford Lawson to fellow HSCA members’ Gary Cornwell & Ken Klein (revised 8/15/77) [xxxix] “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye” by O'Donnell, Ken, Dave Powers and Joe McCarthy, p. 34 [xl] Manchester, pages 165 & 175; Curry, pages 36-37; “Farewell America” (Hepburn), page 229 “The Flying White House,” p.215. [xli] Manchester, pages 170, 175-176, 233 [xlii] Manchester 170, 232-233; interviews with Kinney and Boring in March and April 1994. See also Bishop, page 195. The Texas trip was apparently Kellerman's first MAJOR, multi-stop trip on his own in a supervisory capacity, for the November 8th and 9th shift reports place Kellerman in New York (without Agents Behn or Boring). However, this was not the more publicized trip that JFK made to the same city a few days later (11/14 and 15 with Floyd Boring, who was ALSO on the Elkton, MD and Florida trips around this same time period). Evidently, the president made a low-key trip---that even advance agent Godfrey couldn’t remember (see chapter two)--- to New York before the NYC trip that was well covered in the media. This first NY trip, for all intents and purposes, was unknown to researchers today until the author ‘discovered’ it (in contrast to the infamous second NY trip). Also, no motorcade was involved on this trip, an important distinction from the second NY trip days later. [xliii] “The Washington Post,” 10/11/73. Agent Rex Scouten to author (Letter received 9/98): "Emory Roberts, a very good friend of mine, died in the late 60's as I recall [actually 10/8/73]---returned home from work one afternoon----laid down on the bed and suffered a major heart attack---and died." [xliv] Manchester, page 667 [xlv] “The Washington Post,” 10/11/73 [xlvi] “The Washington Post,” 10/11/73 [xlvii] Manchester, pages 232 - 235; Bishop, pages 199, 200, 244, 247, & 249; "A Woman Called Jackie," page 403; 18 H 736; 2 H 152; 5 H 562-563. [xlviii] 5 H 563 [xlix] “Crossfire” by Jim Marrs, pages 296-297. See also Bishop, page 259, and Manchester, pages 234-235. [l] 7 H 451 See also “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye,” pages 35 and 38 [li] Marrs, page 297. In fact, as noted by researcher David Starks in his 1994 video “The Investigations,” while Specter’s name appears in the hardcover version of O’Donnell’s book, it was deleted from the mass-market paperback [page 41]! [lii] Bishop, page 244. [liii] Manchester, page 176 [liv] Ibid. page xxi. [lv] Author’s interview with Bolden, 9/16/93 "This was quite often a spur-of-the-moment decision based on the speed of the cars, the size and proximity of the crowd, and the potential for threat(s) at the moment (often, the two agents on the rear of JFK's limousine took their own initiative in going between the two cars, as agent Clint Hill did several times in Dallas." .Bernice.......and Clint Hill was the only SA agent, to use that initiative. SA Ready did not move during the motorcade to protect President Kennedy from the rear right bumper, when he finally did attempt to, after the JFK had been hit, Roberts called him back...And thus, this allowed an unobstructed line of fire for the shooters .. ""Cover-up number two: Both Emory Roberts and Winston Lawson placed Agent Rybka in the follow-up car in their initial reports, only to "correct" the record later, after November 22, although Rybka was not even mentioned anywhere in Agent Lawson's Preliminary Survey Report--making it seem obvious that he was covering Emory Roberts' behind.19 As the cars approached the Main and Houston Street intersection, Clint Hill fell back to the follow-up car. Agent Hill was the only agent to ride on the rear of the limousine in Dallas and he was not even assigned to JFK (as a last-minute addition to the trip, Agent Hill was, like Paul Landis, part of Jackie's detail, and came at the First Lady's personal request). John Ready, a relatively new agent, never approached JFK's side of the limousine. Why not? Emory Roberts explained: "SA Ready would have done the same thing (as Agent Hill did) if motorcycle was not a President's corner of car"(!)20 Strange, but this posed no problem at all for Agent Don Lawton on November 18, 1963, in Tampa21 (but unfortunately, like Rybka, Lawton was left at Love Field and was not in the motorcade detail).22 In any event, there was always cooperation between the motorcycles and the agents; they maneuvered around each other countless times, including in Dallas on November 22. "" http://www.jfklink.com/articles/EmoryRoberts.html ******************************** Below is a quote from Vince Palamara's " Survivor's Guilt" p 55, chapter 7... Information from a very sad episode in history, the execution of President John F.Kennedy,and in relation to the aftermath.. Famous reporter Merriman Smith, who rode in the Dallas motorcade, was close to the Secret Service: He"....lived so closely with Sercret Service men that he came to share their views on many of the problems involved in protecting presidents...We've shared some terrible moments. A Secret Service agent once came to me months after Dallas and said he still suffered from horrible nightmares in which he would relive the assassination scene. He was loosing sleep and weight and, he was afraid his nerves. I told him that the same thing had happened to me, and that I had finally gone to a psychiatrist about the problem..." Timothy G.Smith (ed), "Merriman Smith's Book of President's : A White House Memoir". pages 225, 234, 235.. Merriman Smith committed suicide in 1970: a self- inflicted gunshot wound. I believe some SA were involved, but certainly not all....one who suffered for many years was SA Clint Hill........the only hero that day..imo.. the photo shows all within his face, frame from 60 minutes... ****************************** SS Fact Sheet http://www.jfk-assassination.net/palamara/factsheet_vmp.html Below Altgens showing Emory Roberts possibley on the radio mike.... Showing Emory Roberts..in the Dallas Cinema Film, from Marcel.. Clint Hill on bumper..during motorcade..... SS Evidence flow chart...... Emory Roberts statement, he never appeared nor was called upon by the W/C.... Rybka left behind at Love field.. Clint Hill on 60 minutes... Emory Roberts & Floyd Boring Queen Mary Agents Hill Kellerman & Greer 1970 Clint Hill Motorcade B

Uh oh... So sorry Robin. Not to be self absorbed (much) but how contagious is it? Hope you can get your site back to normal without too much work. Hi Myra. I don't think the site will be back in it's original form for some time yet ,if ever. Thanks John. Exellent. I'm going to have a good read of that information. I have emailed my web host to see what, if anything, they can do about it. ? ************** Oh, Robin after all your time ,effort and hard work, and it is....and so very expensive... Hang in there, pulling for you, this is the one thing, that really gets all people riled... I also went through a Trojan, a few years back, and no xxxxe it ate, as they put it and totally destroyed the hard drive.....they said in TO it was melded, whatever that meant.. My youngest is a Techie, and could not believe what he found, so he took it to the company. he worked for, they neither had seen such before...?? but all was lost.. and that was just my own pc, files and such.......not a site.... so I can well imagine, your disappointed and greater frustration... So I am feeling extremely bad for you....but do hope, your host in some way will be able to help.. The creatures that invent these programs of ruin, should be locked up with each other..in one room, with one computer, wonder how many would come out alive after 30 days... ....as they appear to be a driven sick lot..and world wide... Best..B.. P.S.You shall be back, bigger and better.....

Admission to 6th Floor Museum: Adult $10.00 US Senior (ages 65+) $9.00 US Youth (ages 6-18) $9.00 US Children (ages 0-5) FREE With Audio Tour: Adult $13.50 US Senior (ages 65+) $12.50 US Youth (ages 6-18) $12.50 US Children (ages 0-5) $3.50 US Q: What is the annual attendance at Museum? The Sixth Floor Museum averages over 450,000 visitors annually. $10 X 450,000 = $4,500,000 = $4,500,000 Then there are the proceeds from the Museum Store, where valuable T-shirts are sold to researchers. Q: Who initiated this project? The citizens of Dallas County purchased the former school book depository in 1977, effectively protecting it from commercial exploitation. In 1979, the National Endowment for the Humanities funded a study panel. It recommended a plan to create a major cultural exhibition on the building's sixth floor. Q: Why must the Museum charge admission? The Museum is a non-profit organization and receives no governmental funding for operating expenses. Non-profit would mean tax exempt. Q: Why is there security? The Museum deals with sensitive subject matter and has an international profile, which requires this type of security. Q: Why is photography not allowed in the Museum? The atmosphere in the Museum is one of respect and remembrance. Photography would disrupt the visitors to the Museum. "international profile"? Has the Department of Home Land Security placed The 6th Floor Museum on a terrorist attack high profile list? "sensitive subject matter"? Is there an unknowable secret up there? Yikes! Hello everyone, Let me start off with how much I respect all of you --Bernice, Robin, Miles,(you folks are great!!!) I understand your frustration,but I can't let this go---- It always has to be about Gary and the 6th floor, with regard to what books are carried, or what mementos one can purchase, etc. Now he is responsible for how much of the photography can be released to the public. (C'mon, now!) Miles( per your photography in the Museum part of the post)Correct me if I am wrong, but don't repeated photographs of things tend to injure them(as in documents, photos.etc?) I don't know about the International profile thing, Miles, but there are items up there that are one of a kind and these must be protected. Gary,I believe, many times is used as the scapegoat for all the maladies inflicted upon the research community. Kathy Robin, Bet I get it worse than you----> *********** Hi Robin, If that's the case........Hey your doing great kid.... I have be able to have the advantage to have learned under some of the best, I only wish I had the ability to retain all I have had the privilege to read, see. and do I wish I could have saved it all.......but..not. $159.00 per copy from Corbis, exactly, that should be unheard of...exasperating to the point of why we say what we do, and besides than putting one heck of a dent in your piggy bank..sheesh... and whom we hold responsible for the retaining of the many......and we all know whom that is..delete any unwanted emails.. imo....... Hi Kathy: IMO.... I think there are many things you do not understand..or know...perhaps because as you have said in the past youself, you are relativiely new to all this...... Gary is the Man, whom the photos and films have been and are handed into to, that is a part of his job...he has access to them he handles them, he hoards them imo......He and his boss., bosses?..A few years back, the Museum ran ads in the Dallas newspapers asking for any copies of films photos whatever that people had found, retained whatever, be handed in to be donated to the Museum and thereby they could be cared for...They left out one word, and shared.....and they have not... IMO, it was also so that they could be in possession of such and anything pertaining to information that may point a finger at within those photographs, films whatever possibley in any way , that may show another shooter or such, or any ifnormation leading to, they asked for them imo so that they could be held out of the publics eye....and they have been witheld, a few have been released and a couple of films after they have been updated and processed , to their liking. How do we know they did or did not show such, and we never will.....as we have no access to them and if so how many have been cropped, and or blurred whatever, do I sound as if I do not trust them, no I do not..now... If Gary wished, there are many that could be released to all, as in the past he has made copies of photos available to those he wishes... as well as information, BUT Not to all....and no they do not share, they may once in awhile bless us with one, but they sit on them... with their neat little hoard..also some within the Dallas area have and do the same, such as they have done their own research and studies but do, they share no...they also hoard it,when contacted you may get a pleasant reply,sometimes, then the brick wall goes up.....been there done that.....and run into it. It is controlled, see ?? Now if anyone did want to help in the solving of the assassination of the President they would be willing to share with all, even if say that person is your least favorite,on a F,wherever, no matter that is beside the point, you help by passing on whatever you may have...for the good of all..that the 6Th Floor does not do and never has..I have been around this bush for years now, it never gets any better, with time it has only gotten worse.....and led many to simply drop out, others become exasperated to the point of leaving the web, and doing their own thing off the Fs..we have lost many that way.... Kathy, imo have much research to do re Gary and the 6Th Floor Museum on the web, before you will be able to get the full picture and the back ground knowledge of what has been going on for many years.......Does it always have to be about Gary and the 6Th Floor, I wish not but....he, they have created this, by their own doing.....they hold the Zapruder film also which they will not release to the researchers, come on do we want this solved or not..the questions answered...I do.......but apparently they do not, if they did they would have as well released such as the Skaggs copies , Robin has mentioned, that I believe they retain.....and anything else that would help....but.... Does he hold all this back, on his own?, I doubt it, he has a boss, bosses ?? so now the bottom line question becomes who does he really work for ?? That they will not release these films, photos and information...... certainly they are not in favor of the researchers...or a solution..... they are not amongst those wanting this to be solved so we can all go home and perhaps pick up on other interests we left behind years ago..before we pack it in...This research whatever area you get into is time consuming, and very expensive ....there are other things in the world perhaps some of us would like to explore while we still can, but we cannot let this go......under no circumstances it has become a part of our being...we need the truth...all of it, not parts... Have you ever wondered the why it always gets around to them well this is just a wee tip of the ice-berg of the information, they and their likes, some of the rest which is and has been signifigant over the many years has to do with also Groden and Trask, who also have retained many of the photos and the films.....but they work along side with Gary and do work together. Now go figure.... Kathy Quote: ""It always has to be about Gary and the 6th floor, with regard to what books are carried, or what mementos one can purchase, etc. Now he is responsible for how much of the photography can be released to the public. (C'mon, now!)"" They have ....Much, much, much, much..........Instead of asking us why it has to be about Gary and the 6th Floor, I would think you would have been very curious to find that out for yourself, by now....and be joining the researchers and those who are trying to get to the bottom of the conspiracy... in the fight for the release of these photos, docs, films and whatever they do have, which is more than ample, to help in the fight...these many years......as for books......why does he recommend such as Posner's "Case Closed" for sale in the book store, but will not do the same for Weisberg's "Case Open" the other side, the conspiracy side, why does he not recommend such as all of Harold Weisberg's books, be sold, that are available from Horn College and not out of print, which is also what he enjoys saying..at times..about some of the books..He once said it was because they were not the kind of books that were accepted in the education system, and taught from, words to that effect, not verbatim....well he was very wrong..very....Harold's books have been taught as courses at Horn College, therefore they were ascceptable to the educational system..........but they were not acceptable to him because he did not accept them or on orders ?? who knows..?....and or as he has said they write of the conspiracy.... There are a great many other books also not sold that he does not and has not recommended.....He will say well we have sold a few at times, well whoopee....I am asking for the other side to be sold a free and open society where all and anyone is able to by both sides of the picture, not just the Governments false findings in the W/C. and books that back that up......I understand that it would be impossible to sell all, but some of the more important ,yes to give a fair opportunity to the people. Will he sell David Talbots, "Brothers" perhaps if it is a best seller and the public will demand it...perhaps?? Will he recommend the new Bugliosi book, be sold, you betcha, front and centre, why because the Bug states that it proves the W/C got it right, and LHO was the lone assassin, as Lordy, they can't change their minds now, they have to protect the institutions of the Gov. and by saying they did not get it correct would be saying, do not support, nor believe in your Gov.they lied to you, and they cannot have that.....and right now they need all the support they can muster in the sanctity of such and the Bush W/H... Gary double speaks, he says on one hand that he thinks there might have been a conspiracyy but on the other hand, he actions prove louder than words.?? Just my 2 long cents....but do some searching especially in some of the older threads on this F, and see for yourself what is available out there and perhaps you will find there is a lot more to all this than just, as you say.."It always has to be about Gary and the 6th Floor": find out some of the the whys..of all... With respect.........B P.S Miles" Maaaaarvelous....

****** Hi Ron: Well said.....and if I may add....a Robert F Kennedy....quote... ‘Few man are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.’ B..

Hi Robin: Thanks for the photos.....I recall also that Rich at jfkresearch had a great photo resource for all available free for many years.. Many of these now that we see did come from there..he has now been busy enablng his photos again..with his illnesses and all, they were not for about the past 3 years...Jack White has made so much available to us, and if Jack did not have whatever, he knew who did and could...and did.....He imo deserves so much of the credit for so very much of all that is now within alls grasp...not just the photos from the assn, but also the people involved, the likes of David Lifton who eventually enabled us, along with such as Dr. Fetzer with Dr.Mantick, to have and see the autopsy and xray photos...and Rich posted them all..as well as so much more..like the documents....and they were available to all free of charge, at the time for many years..so they have been available and made the rounds for quite some time.... As well as the others of the membership that continually added theirs to the resources, and shared with all....by scanning from books and emailing, and posting and so on....and giving credit where credit was due....much of that also seems to have gone by the wayside imo....so I thought I would add a few words to yours... ......so many of the newer members now do not know of the past......and how all came eventually came about... The Lancer F also at one time had photo resources available....all was shared...and appreciated..there was much available, and all participated.. The Dr.Costella studies of the Zapruder frames, now some may not agree with his findings, but that was the first time ever that all the frames were contained in one study one link for all to obtain..... Others way back became available through Harold Weisberg, Sprague and others of their time...that were amongst the first photo researchers...as well as Jack.....and others I realise I am forgetting.. Today so much more is so available for all.......But there are still restrictions, which imo must end.. The # 2 added south side full was taken either the Sat or the Sun after the assn, is I believe either came from Jerry Dealey or perhaps yourself, thankyou to whomever..the other # 1is a blow up from the Cancellare south taken that day..from ??..perhaps these are what John was referring to ?? B....

Berice, once more, thank you. The upright is a street sign on the middle of the Plaza, the horizontal line next to it is the top surface (sunlit) of the steps landing between series of steps leading to the southern collonade. The rail in question is a diagonal line in the shadows to the right of this. I'll find it and post later. It's roundabout where the 'two objects' arrow points at. There are better resolution copies that show it as a straight line with shadows on the underside as one would expect a handrail to be like. However, various photos since, posted by Robin, one contemporary, shows there was no hand rail. It's apparent existence did get Tosh into some disrepute and it's only recently now that imagery has come to light to show his statement of there being no handrail there shows he was right all along about this. So, I think he deserves a reappraisal. This is important in relation to him being an ear-eye witness. These things are for me an example of skepticism is good, but change of mind or shift in position, in the light of definitives go hand in hand. The full cancellare is still only low res and inconclusive, the best copies has the relevant areas cropped off. I am absolutely certain full res. uncropped Cancellare exists and should be made available to the research community. ******** Thank you John: That information is not new that there was no handrail, that point was researched and brought forth several years ago.. that I did know about. I also recall Gary added his comment that was correct, at the time....no handrail ever existed..... that is a given. I must have not been aware at the time of that discussion took place here, or would have added my two cents.. There are many photos, we shall never have access to, imo, many have destroyed, frames cut, altered even if they were only cropped...still altered......as well imo there are many still being hidden from us, and others that should be accessible are not. They are held privately or as at the 6th Floor Museum, and that is all very well and good, for anyone who just happens to live in the area, to just drop on over and they will be shown to you.... That is an impossibilty for 99% of the people....so I have thought and will continue to, that they should be released on the web..or by mail ..?..perhaps for a reasonable fee, a copy, any who have held or continue to hold them back, and or information are imo contributing not to the discovery of the truth but to stalemate all....which is what they have done for many years... Carry on .. B....

John: I believe you mentioned a railing......is this, across the road, to the left of the tree what you refer to, if so, is it not the truck pipe exhaust attached to such..sticking up ?? If that is what you mention? and the line to the left of that would be the truck roof.....?? Here is the full Cancellare.. B..

Here is Tosh's approximate view, that day, I believe he agreed when first posted, some time back. On this Forum.. The other Cancellare photos are his markings, posted many years ago now, on another froum.... Made as I understood at the time, where he and Sergio were approximately.. ..that day..one only circled and one enlargement not marked .. Again FWTW...for your studies.... B.

Here are a few more, the first three I believe are also from Ken Rahn.. The others now ??..if they help in anyway with the studies. B..

*********** John : You may be interested in these photos taken in 1980, I believe by Ken Rahn..... they show the lay of the tracks..and some of the far southern corner.... A friend who visited Dealey Plaza, told me that at the far south end of the overpass, there is a path, of sorts, that drops, down on a slant with the lay of the land. ..The path then proceeded down leading to the parking lot....But it was concealed by all at that far south corner, or was..this was some time ago..... ..and one from the south side..in that general area.. ..Perhaps others have been in that area..? FWIW.. B

Hi There Dix: As you are well aware I agree with you, having followed along since 2000. In the past Ed has said that he was invited to a party by, a Judy Baker....in 72 in N.O. along with his girlfriend, BTW I would like to hear her recall...?? Tonight on the radio show he says he was invited to a party by a Judyth Vary Baker.. Not a Judy Baker nor a Judy Vary Baker, but by a Judyth Vary Baker..... Yes I have read the newest book also... and imo , he has changed his theory to go along with Judyths... But of course no one has to agree with me either. B.

From : "No More Silence" Larry Sneed... B.

Here you go Jack.. Your welcome.. B..

Here you go Greg...B

Myra you may be interested ...... They posted 2 then 1 for some reason...?? B...

Bump, did not go to the head of the class..?? B

Hi Marteen This below is a wee gif clip of the Towner, not much...it is a few years old, and sorry but I do not know now where or whom it came from.... I believe it also may show, what you have found, a cut, splice break whatever...it is obvious....FWIW.. Marteen I will have to mail it to you..as it will not upload... I will contact you......if you are interested... Always welcome.. B

Hi Duncan..... Glad you have received the DVDs, they get much more interesting, as you hear, what changed, especially when you check the statements, against the some who are featured made earlier.. and what they had added to their recall.... Also see and hearing Rather and Cronkite at work....doing their thing.. Have another look.....when I look at the DVD, where it shows Zapruder, it appears, that the pedestal, is at approx his waist..or just below...that is approximately 4 feet high... He is also considerabley shorter than Eddie Barker of CBS news ..1/2 a head it would seem, in there... B......

Maarten....FYI.. Here is where Tina and her Father James Towner were situated... She took her film from the curb across from the Book Depository showing the limousine turning onto Elm, passing the TSD, down Elm St..Till just about the first shot, then it shows the area North of Elm just after shots.. Tina's camera.. http://users.skynet.be/copweb/jfk/Tina%20Towner%20Camera.htm B..

Ron: The girls in this photo are.....I believe this is the one you are referring to... On the left is Millie Perl...In the middle is Sherry Lynn Garcia, her husband Joe Garcia was band master at the Colony Club... On the right is Tawny Angel ( Tina Martin).. B.....

I do not know Tim except through the Forums.. .....But certainly wish him all the best, and hopefully a miracle.. B

Posted for Jack White.. B..

Chris : Thanks for the much better Darnell film clips. Showing the corner of the fence.....all are from the Wilma Bond series Thanks Trvqve.....wondered where that information I had typed out had gotten to. B...

Hi Antti: There was no cardboard covering, on the 6th floor, floor...just boxes, and as you can see in this photo below ..taken that day by the DPD.. .........there was supposedly a straight path from the said nest out ....at a run, yes I think also that steps would have been heard. ........If their hearing was that good , noise and all coming from the outside of the building, that Gary refers to, to hear three small empty shells hiting the floor, and the sound of said rifle being operated above them... Then the running steps of a man, weighing more than 100 lbs... would have been heard..very clearly.. B..

Hi Miles: Yes I left it out, trying to conserve a wee bit of space,as I have been posting so many of the photos....but thank you very much. You mention that to you, this man has not moved forward...But to me, he has, if you study the frames, he is in the sunlight as he begins to approach Darnell, you then see his suit jacket one shoulder in sun, the other in shade, which appears dark. ...as he moves towards the photographer, he is then completely in the shade and his suit is all of the same darker shade....in the last frame his foot, right I believe it is is also stepping forward..recall this is only about 10 second of film. Yes, Officer Smith did approach a man with gun in hand, and this man showed him id from his back pocket, that seemd to him to be SS cridentials...accepted those and let him go, and regretted it from then on....but the man was wearing a sports shirt, looked to him like a garage mechanic , and had dirty figernails. There were others than ran into what they thought were SS men, one of your favorites, Ed Hoffman as well, Sam Holland also mention behind the fence seeing two policemen and a plain clothesman, Officer Weitzman also, believed he met more than one SS man, behind the fence, he also found what seemed to him to be a piece of bone on the street and turned it over to one he thought was also SS.. Officer Harkness also ran into whom he thought were SS behind the TSBD, he said there were some that told him they were SS. But according to the SS themsleves, Sorrels was the only one who did return to the Plaza, approximately an hour later..... There were other siteings as well...They were all over the place it seems... Now how many were Detectives, the DPD.Curry's men who dressed and wore the white hats ...or Sheriffs Decker's men, who dressed and wore dark fedora hats..and how many were Pretenders ?? We don't know, except I do not think they have dirty finger nails, nor look like a mechanics..There were men in that Plaza, who were not what they represented themselves to be, that is a given.... The problem with Summers information is that it has been added to, and not by him..... .....it was done by a friend through marriage, and he was never at the top of the stairs nor behind the fence area...The man he encountered was, behind the TSBD...along with the people he was with...... He went from the grass on the south side of Elm St, across the road and followed the crowd, to the street, (second Elm) than runs behind the TSBD...He seemed very sincere and his story has not basically changed..he was with the crowd and he and the others were stopped..also.....the man told them to stop, that they could get shot up there and to go back.. He did have an overcoat over his arm which Malcolm thought was unusual, how?I do not know seems there were others as well, as it had been raining, but anyway..he said he noticed a gun under that persons arm, not a shoulder holster.....it seemed to him to be in a pocket or concealed under the coat.....The man didn't show any identification, and that it was only his dress that made him think he was a detective or an FBI , that it was an order " Y'all better not come up here. You better stay back because you could get shot up there".. He hung around for a few minutes could not see anything and left. Now recall he never ran up the steps, nor was ever behind the wooden fence.....but, now here is the rest of the story...gets better... ....Al Maddox was a Deputy Sheriff...and his daughter married Malcolms son....and they got to know each other pretty good.....and one night 25 years later...Al says that Malcolm told him this that many years later.....that....quoting Al.." I got to know him as the man who ran up the grassy knoll and was told by a man ""Get back down there or I'll blow your head off.."" or something to that effect . The man showed him a badge of some kind and had what Malcolm thought was an Uzi type gun under his coat."..and that is the rest of the story..... all those years later, and well maybe they had had a few coffees, I have no idea, but this is how the legends grow...and what did and did not imo happen has gotten all the more messed up... I recall you said you tried to deal the same as I have with mainly first evidence and witnesses recall.. at that time.......well imo here is one that should be forgotten about.. This above is from Marrs and Sneed.. There is much more on the witnesses in Marrs, Crossfire, as well as in Larry Sneeds book.No More Silence.. as well as William Law,& Alan Eaglesham's, In the Eye of History..also the witness tapes from Mark Oakes. and others... as well.. Posted is a photo of the street that runs behind the TSBD,to the RR parking lot.. this area was where Malcolm followed the crowd to....This may help in some way.... Thanks B.... P.S.Robin if DPD and or Sheriffs men, they would be armed, and would have such in holsters, I do think.. Tx..