UPDATE: JFK newspaper editions and more

[Vince Palamara]

The crucial information about building rooftops being guarded was left out of most versions of this article that appeared in newspapers nationwide in June 1963. The same thing happened with the second edition of the Nashville Banner for 5/18/63: the information about the police guarding rooftops along the motorcade route was excised in the later editions!

click on images to enlarge

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. This information only became known to myself in 1999 when researcher Bill Adams sent me the actual yellowing newspaper article itself! Unfortunately, this was before I had a scanner or was very internet or computer savvy, so I literally recorded what was said there word for word, then I threw out the paper (!)

 

When I contacted the Nashville Public Library in 2013, I was dismayed to find that the building rooftop information was excised (similar to the above)! Then I started to wonder: was this information that the Secret Service would rather NOT have disseminated at the time?

The 2013 book I JUST discovered in late June 2018  that provided the corroboration I needed:

 

From the above book- corroboration via the OTHER major Nashville newspaper The Tennessean:

So, for JFK's Nashville, TN trip of 5/18/63, police guarded building rooftops; police lined streets and intermingled in crowds; a helicopter was used on route; armed forces augmented security in certain area(s); a live television feed covered motorcade; and press photographers were in front of motorcade.

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7/2/63 Rome: President Kennedy's limousine is surrounded by an excellent motorcycle formation as Secret Service agents David Grant (Clint Hill's brother in law) and Gerald Blaine ride the rear of the limo. Press photographers in front of the limo in a flatbed truck (including a LIVE TELEVISION FEED!), military aide in limo, SAIC Behn in limo (Greer driving), close follow-up car, etc.