The boy who chased the motorcade

[Guest Mark Valenti]

A Nov. '63 newspaper article written by Rae Corelli, the famous Canadian reporter, told of a boy who hysterically chased after JFK's car in the motorcade, pleading with him to stop. There was some speculation in '63 that he may have been trying to warn JFK not to proceed to Dealey Plaza.

JFK was within ten blocks of being murdered when the bushy-haired boy began chasing after him yelling "Slow down! Slow down! For God's sake, slow down!"

The boy, who was wearing a black raincoat and an open-necked crimson shirt, chased JFK for two blocks when a Secret Service agent finallly jumped in the street and "hurled the youth bodily into the crowd where he crashed heavily against the curb."

Witnesses thought the boy should have been severely injured, even knocked unconscious, but instead, he quickly vanished into the crowd.

As an aside, Corelli became well known for missing the LHO shooting by Ruby. He had stayed awake for nearly two days straight and finally slept in Sunday morning. His rival at another Canadian newspaper was at the Dallas jail and got the scoop. Corelli was nearly fired for missing the story.

[James Richards]

Mark,

Dallas Morning News photographer Joe Laird was the one who witnessed the event. Laird also said that he noticed another Dallas Morning News photographer (name not given) perched on a nearby building and was hoping that he caught the incident on film. He didn't.

Bizarre to say the least.

James

[Robert Charles-Dunne]

Here's the original:

[Michael Hogan]

...JFK was within ten blocks of being murdered when the bushy-haired boy began chasing after him yelling "Slow down! Slow down! For God's sake, slow down!"

The boy, who was wearing a black raincoat and an open-necked crimson shirt, chased JFK for two blocks when a Secret Service agent finally jumped in the street (italics mine) and "hurled the youth bodily into the crowd where he crashed heavily against the curb."

Perhaps the slow reaction time had something to do with the agent's late night activities at the Fort Worth Press Club and later, at Pat Kirkwood's nightclub.

[Lee Forman]

In the movies, the SS man would have jumped off and given the boy a chance to say something- he would have radioed it in, and the President would have lived.

In real life, you could imagine that a highly trained professional in the SS would have been a little bit less violent to a child - however, I'll never forget an incident I saw once in the Vatican in St Peters. Some senior Cardinal or other was speaking, and an old man, immediately behind me, crossed the 'invisible line,' trying to get a better look. One of those highly decorative Swiss Guard fellows quickly approached from the rear and violently elbowed the old man - so hard I was convinced that he broke several of his ribs. My immediate reaction was to want to jump the guard and pound the crap out of him - I'd never seen anyone hit an old man like that before. It's ironic to consider that this kid may have been knowledgeable about the plan and was seeking to warn the President - even at the expense of his life.

In reality, I can't see how you could have managed it. Once that motorcade starting rolling, Kennedy was a dead man. If that kid is still alive [the odds don't seem to favor it], I'd really like to know what he was trying to accomplish and what he may have known.

Edited August 27, 2006 by Lee Forman

[Robert Charles-Dunne]

The "boy" issue was deal with briefly in the Secret Service Report to the Commission, so the Warrenistas knew of the incident. However, if memory serves, they didn't call agent John Ready to testify, precluding any chance of plumbing the issue further.

[Robert Howard]

In the movies, the SS man would have jumped off and given the boy a chance to say something- he would have radioed it in, and the President would have lived.

In real life, you could imagine that a highly trained professional in the SS would have been a little bit less violent to a child - however, I'll never forget an incident I saw once in the Vatican in St Peters. Some senior Cardinal or other was speaking, and an old man, immediately behind me, crossed the 'invisible line,' trying to get a better look. One of those highly decorative Swiss Guard fellows quickly approached from the rear and violently elbowed the old man - so hard I was convinced that he broke several of his ribs. My immediate reaction was to want to jump the guard and pound the crap out of him - I'd never seen anyone hit an old man like that before. It's ironic to consider that this kid may have been knowledgeable about the plan and was seeking to warn the President - even at the expense of his life.

In reality, I can't see how you could have managed it. Once that motorcade starting rolling, Kennedy was a dead man. If that kid is still alive [the odds don't seem to favor it], I'd really like to know what he was trying to accomplish and what he may have known.

Pretty compelling stuff, my feeling in the event recounted, is that is problematic of being one of the most prolific events of the 20th Century, a moment 'frozen in time' if you will. I was just reading the other thread "Bizarre behavior in Dealey Plaza" which arguably is a 'movie within a movie," and, is also highly problematic regarding resolution or even inquiry, 43 years later.

One benign explanation of strange occurences, [this probably should be on the other thread] which seem un-noticed by other bystanders is that the individuals, were so caught up in the, for many of them 'once in a lifetime' experience of seeing a President up close and personal, that there was an intense degree of concentration on the President and the motorcade, which resulted in a complete disconnect with what was happening around them, I suppose that is stating the obvious.

Pretty sophisticated imagery, Lee.

[Shanet Clark]

Looks like a paparazzi moment.

The important part is how Ready Ready was.

Not very Ready indeed.

The Secret Service worked for Treasury Secretary CD DILLON, and for this reason alone

I believe the Strategic orders 11/63 came from this GOP cabinet member, Clarence (ap) Douglas Dillon

whatever the complicity of messsieurs DULLES, HOOVER and JOHNSON ............

best to Lee and the members

[Lee Forman]

The "boy" issue was deal with briefly in the Secret Service Report to the Commission, so the Warrenistas knew of the incident. However, if memory serves, they didn't call agent John Ready to testify, precluding any chance of plumbing the issue further.

Interest Robert.

Notice how at odds this account is when compared to the other - a 'light push' would not lead to the impression of serious injury - or the impression that boy would have been knocked unconscious - and the surprise that he managed to get up and walk away from the incident. It reminds me of the disconnect between the account of Jean Hill and Jim Featherstone. Additionally, we've got something in his hands - which wasn't remarked upon earlier. Although the uniform isn't there - this smacks largely of the alleged 'Boy Scout' incident - and if it is some 10 blocks from the zero hour - that would put us on Main - in the same area where the alleged boy scout incident occurred - however, keeping in mind that this story is something of a myth, since there does not appear to have been any documentation - in that case the idea was that the boy scout had a toy gun of some sort.

Robert Howard - a very shrewd observation I have also made myself. Eyes were riveted on the motorcade.

Hey Shanet. What's new?

- lee

[Ron Ecker]

According to two other accounts of this incident, it was not a boy but a grown man chasing the car.

Jones/Shaw: " . . . We also learned from newsmen that something unusual did happen on Harwood [street] shortly before the turn to Main Street. No one wanted credit for this, but we were told by reliable newsmen that a man jumped in front of Kennedy's car on Harwood shouting, "Stop, I must tell you." The man, according to ther report, was promptly wrestled to the ground and hustled away."

http://jfkassassination.net/parnell/vp1.htm

SS agent Jerry D. Kivett described the person as "a young white male approximately 21 years old":

http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk...Vol18_0396a.htm