The Car Bomb

[Tim Gratz]

As you all know, I am sure, Gerry Hemming has stated that as a back-up, in the event the assassins were not sure they had killed President Kennedy in Dealey Plaza, the plotters had placed a remote-controlled bomb in one of the vehicles parked by the side of the road beyond the triple overpass. It as been suggested that perhaps the bomb could have been triggered from a room in the Cabana Hotel. Is there anyone sufficiently familiar with the area who can comment on this possibility. Even if the hotel overlooked the freeway, was it so far from it that a radio countrol device might not have worked from the hotel? I would appreciate your comments and ideas re this scenario.

Edited March 20, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Shanet Clark]

Gerry Hemmings, an impeccable source with a flawless memory, told me that Andrei Gromyko was pouring motor oil - 30 weight PENNZOIL on the Stemmons Freeway around noon of November 22.....

really

[Tim Gratz]

Shanet, do I gather you do not believe there was a car bomb?

The idea, evil as it was, makes sense if the idea was to ensure Pres Kennedy did not leave Dallas alive.

[Ron Ecker]

Tim,

The Cabana was right off of Stemmons, indeed the exact address was 899 Stemmons Freeway. It would have an excellent view of the traffic.

Ron

[Tim Gratz]

Thnks, Ron!

Do you know if it was close enough to allow the remote-control trigger to be used from a room overlooking the freeway?

Does the Cabana still exist?

Any way of determing whether Braden was in a room that overlooked the freeway?

[Ron Ecker]

Tim,

Without any photos of the place it’s hard to say if it was close enough for radio control of a car bomb on the freeway.

Here’s a map that shows where it was located along the route:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?count...&searchtab=home

The county bought the Cabana in the 1970s and turned it into a jail, the Decker Detention Center. It was closed in 2002, but reopened last October due to a surging jail population in Dallas.

Here’s the best description I’ve found of the location, on a Dallas history message board. You might try emailing the person who wrote this, as he or she clearly has fond memories of the old Cabana and could tell you just how close it was to the freeway:

http://www.dallashistory.org/cgi-bin/webbb...ig.pl?read=8163

Ron

[Tim Gratz]

Thanks, Ron, very useful information. I will ask Gerry if he knows how the bomb was to be detonated. I think he knows whereof he speaks but car bombs have been used in other assassination attempts as I recall.

[John Geraghty]

I really hope that this jail was not named after Bill Decker.

john

[Robin Unger]

Tim,

The Cabana was right off of Stemmons, indeed the exact address was 899 Stemmons Freeway. It would have an excellent view of the traffic.

Ron

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Notice on the image below, how close the industrial blvd (where Hudson said his friend on the Knoll steps had said he worked) is to the Trade Mart.

Good place for a back up assassination point in case the first attempt failed.

Edited March 20, 2005 by Robin Unger

[Ron Ecker]

I really hope that this jail was not named after Bill Decker.

Yes, it's also called the "Bill Decker jail."