Roy Kellerman was born
in 1916. After graduating from High School in 1933 he found work with
the Dodge Corporation. He left in 1937 to join the Michigan State
Police. He served in the force for the next four years.
Kellerman
joined the Secret Service in Detroit
in December 1941. The following year he was transferred to the office
in Washington. In March 1942, he was
assigned to the White House. For the next three years Kellerman helped
protect President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and his family. Later he worked for Harry
S. Truman, Dwight
Eisenhower, and
John
F. Kennedy.
In October 1962 Kellerman was promoted and given the title of assistant
special agent in charge of security.
On 4th November Kellerman
was asked to prepare for the presidential trip to Dallas, Texas. This
involved discussions with Kenneth O'Donnell
(special assistant to Kennedy), Winston
G. Lawson
(secret service agent in
charge of the trip) and Jesse Curry (chief
of police in Dallas).
On the 22nd November, 1963,
Kellerman accompanied John
F. Kennedy
in the presidential car in
the motorcade through Dallas. The car was driven by William
Greer. Kellerman later told the Warren Commission that Kenneth
O'Donnell made the decision to remove the bubbletop on the President's
car on the way to the Trade Mart.
Several witnesses said
that William Greer stopped the car after
the first shot was fired. This included Jean
Hill,
who was the closest witness to the car when Kennedy was hot: According
to Hill "the motorcade came to almost a halt at the time the
shots rang out". James Chaney (one of the four Presidential motorcyclists)
- stated that the limousine "after the shooting, from the time
the first shot rang out, the car stopped completely, pulled to the
left and stopped." Mary Woodward, a journalist with the Dallas
Morning News wrote: "Instead of speeding up the car,
the car came to a halt... after the first shot".
Kenneth
O'Donnell (special assistant to Kennedy), who was riding in the
motorcade, later wrote: "If the Secret Service men in the front
had reacted quicker to the first two shots at the President's car,
if the driver had stepped on the gas before instead of after the fatal
third shot was fired, would President Kennedy be alive today? He added
"Greer had been remorseful all day, feeling that he could have
saved President Kennedy's life by swerving the car or speeding suddenly
after the first shots."
Senator Ralph
Yarborough,
who was riding with Lyndon
B. Johnson,
was highly critical of the actions of William
Greer: "When the noise of the shot was heard, the motorcade
slowed to what seemed to me a complete stop... After the third shot
was fired, but only after the third shot was fired, the cavalcade
speeded up, gained speed rapidly, and roared away to the Parkland
Hospital... The cars all stopped... 'I don't want to hurt anyone's
feelings but for the protection of future Presidents, they (the Secret
Service) should be trained to take off when a shot is fired."
It has been estimated that
59 witnesses and the Zapruder
Film
indicated that Greer stopped
after the first shot was fired. However, when interviewed by the Warren
Commission,
Greer claimed: "I heard this noise. And I thought that is what
it was. And then I heard it again. And I glanced over my shoulder.
And I saw Governor Connally like he was starting to fall. Then I realized
there was something wrong. I tramped on the accelerator, and at the
same time Mr. Kellerman said to me, "Get out of here fast."
And I cannot remember even the other shots or noises that was. I cannot
quite remember any more. I did not see anything happen behind me any
more, because I was occupied with getting away."
William
Greer,
Winston
G. Lawson
and
Kellerman denied that the presidential car stopped. In his evidence
to the Warren
Commission
Kellerman
claimed that after hearing the first shot he said to Greer, "Let's
get out of here; we are hit." He went on to say in a reply to
a question by Gerald Ford that Greer's
response was immediate: "I have driven that car many times, and
I never cease to be amazed even to this day with the weight of the
automobile plus the power that is under the hood; we just literally
jumped out of the God - damn road."
However,
Kellerman did provided evidence that suggested that more than three
shots were fired at President John
F. Kennedy.
He told the Warren Commission that after the first shot was fired
"a flurry of shells come into the car". He also claimed
that he had seen film that argued against the idea of a lone gunman.
However, it appeared that members of the Warren Commission did not
want to hear about this and the questioning quickly moved on to another
topic.
Later it emerged that both
Kellerman and Greer believed that Kennedy had
been a victim of a conspiracy. Kellerman's daughter told Harold
Weisberg in the 1970's that "I hope the day will come when
these men (Kellerman and Greer) will be able to say what they've told
their families". After Roy Kellerman's death, his widow reported
that her husband was convinced that there had been a conspiracy to
kill Kennedy.
Open
Debate on the Kennedy Assassination
(1)
William
Manchester, The Death of a President (1967)
There was
a sudden, sharp, shattering sound. Various individuals heard it differently.
Jacqueline Kennedy believed it was a motorcycle noise. Curry was under
the impression that someone had fired a railroad torpedo. Ronald Fischer
and Bob Edwards, assuming that it was a backfire, chuckled. Most of
the hunters in the motorcade - Sorrels, Connally, Yarborough, Gonzalez,
Albert Thomas - instinctively identified it as rifle fire.
But the White
House Detail was confused. Their experience in outdoor shooting was
limited to two qualification courses a year on a range in Washington's
National Arboretum. There they heard only their own weapons, and they
were unaccustomed to the bizarre effects that are created when small-arms
fire echoes among unfamiliar structures - in this case, the buildings
of Dealey Plaza. Emory Roberts recognized Oswald's first shot as a
shot. So did Youngblood, whose alert response may have saved Lyndon
Johnson's life. They were exceptions. The men in Halfback were bewildered.
They glanced around uncertainly. Lawson, Kellerman, Greer, Ready,
and Hill all thought that a firecracker had been exploded. The fact
that this was a common reaction is no mitigation. It was the responsibility
of James J. Rowley, Chief of the Secret Service, and Jerry Behn, Head
of the White House Detail, to see that their agents were trained to
cope with precisely this sort of emergency. They were supposed to
be picked men, honed to a matchless edge. It was comprehensible that
Roy Truly should dismiss the first shot as a cherry bomb. It was even
fathomable that Patrolman James M. Chaney, mounted on a motorcycle
six feet from the Lincoln, should think that another machine had backfired.
Chaney was an ordinary policeman, not a Presidential bodyguard. The
protection of the Chief Executive, on the other hand, was the profession
of Secret Service agents. They existed for no other reason. Apart
from Clint Hill - and perhaps Jack Ready, who started to step off
the right running board and was ordered back by Roberts - the behaviour
of the men in the
follow-up car was unresponsive. Even more tragic was
the perplexity of Roy Kellerman, the ranking agent in Dallas, and
Bill Greer, who was under Kellerman's supervision. Kellerman and
Greer were in a position to take swift evasive action, and for five
terrible seconds
they were immobilized.
(2)
Roy Kellerman interviewed by Arlen
Specter on behalf of the Warren
Commission (9th March, 1964)
Arlen Specter: What car immediately followed the President's car?
Roy
Kellerman: Our own Secret Service followup car.
Arlen
Specter: What kind of a car was that?
Roy
Kellerman: This is a 1956 Cadillac, four-door touring car with the
top down.
Arlen
Specter: And who were the occupants of that car, indicating their
positions in the car?
Roy
Kellerman: All during this ride in from Love Field Special Agent Sam
Kinney was the driver of this automobile. The assistant to the Special
Agent in Charge Emory Roberts was sitting in the front seat, the passenger
side. This car has running boards. Standing on the front of the left
running board was Special Agent Clinton Hill. In back of him on the
rear of that same running board on that side was Special Agent William
McIntyre. On the right running board standing forward was Special
Agent John Ready, and standing in back of him on the rear of the right
running board was Special Agent Paul Landis.
Arlen
Specter: Did that automobile have jump seats?
Roy
Kellerman: This automobile has jump seats.
Arlen
Specter: And what people occupied the jump seats?
Roy
Kellerman: It was occupied by Mr. Kenneth O'Donnell, who was the appointment
secretary of President Kennedy, and Mr. Dave Powers.
Arlen
Specter: Do you know which sat on which side?
Roy
Kellerman: Mr. O'Donnell sat on the left; Mr. Powers sat on the right.
Arlen
Specter: Who was in the back seat of that automobile?
Roy
Kellerman: The back seat of that automobile on the right side was
Special Agent George Hickey, and on the left side Special Agent Glen
Bennett.
(3)
Roy Kellerman interviewed by Arlen
Specter, John
S. Cooper
and Gerald
Ford on behalf of the Warren
Commission (9th March, 1964)
Roy Kellerman: As we went down Elm Street, there was a smooth road
and the terrain on each side was a grassy plotted area, a very cleared-off
area, visibility tremendous.
Arlen
Specter: And describe the composure of the crowds at that time.
Roy
Kellerman: As we turned north on to Houston Street, this was primarily
the end of the crowd in Dallas, Tex.; in the downtown section, there
were still a few on the sidewalk until we got to Elm Street. As we
turned in a northerly direction to Elm Street, which would be on our
left, then the crowds just diminished. They were spotty, standing
on the grassy plot. They were not on the side of the street. In fact,
there were just a matter of a handful, that was all, and we were through
it...
Arlen
Specter: All right. Now, describe what occurred as you proceeded down
Elm Street after turning off of Houston.
Roy
Kellerman: As we turned off Houston onto Elm and made the short little
dip to the left going down grade, as I said, we were away from buildings,
and were there was a sign on the side of the road which I don't recall
what it was or what it said, but we no more than passed that and you
are out in the open, and there is a report like a firecracker, pop.
And I turned my head to the right because whatever this noise was
I was sure that it came from the right and perhaps into the rear,
and as I turned my head to the right to view whatever it was or see
whatever it was, I heard a voice from the back seat and I firmly believe
it was the President's, "My God, I am hit," and I turned
around and he has got his hands up here like this.
Arlen
Specter: Indicating right hand up toward his neck?
Roy
Kellerman: That is right, sir. In fact, both hands were up in that
direction.
John
S. Cooper: Which side of his neck?
Roy
Kellerman: Both hands were up, sir; this one is like this here and
here we are with the hands...
Arlen
Specter: Indicating the left hand is up above the head.
Roy
Kellerman: In the collar section.
Arlen
Specter: As you are positioning yourself in the witness chair, your
right hand is up with the finger at the ear level as if clutching
from the right of the head; would that be an accurate description
of the position you pictured there?
Roy
Kellerman: Yes. Good. There was enough for me to verify that the man
was hit. So, in the same motion I come right back and grabbed the
speaker and said to the driver, "Let's get out of here; we are
hit," and grabbed the mike and I said, "Lawson, this is
Kellerman," - this is Lawson, who is in the front car. "We
are hit; get us to the hospital immediately." Now, in the seconds
that I talked just now, a flurry of shells come into the car. I then
looked back and this time Mr. Hill, who was riding on the left front
bumper of our followup car, was on the back trunk of that car; the
President was sideways down into the back seat.
Arlen
Specter: Indicating on his left side.
Roy
Kellerman: Right; just like I am here.
Arlen
Specter: You mean, correct, left side?
Roy
Kellerman: Correct; yes, sir. Governor Connally by that time is lying
flat backwards into her lap - Mrs. Connally - and she was lying flat
over him.
Arlen
Specter: Who was lying flat over him?
Roy
Kellerman: Mrs. Connally was lying flat over the Governor.
Arlen
Specter: You say that you turned to your right immediately after you
heard a shot?
Roy
Kellerman: Yes, sir.
Arlen
Specter: What was the reason for your reacting to your right?
Roy
Kellerman: That was the direction that I heard this noise, pop.
Arlen
Specter: Do you have a reaction as to the height from which the noise
came?
Roy
Kellerman: No; honestly, I do not.
Gerald
Ford: Was there any reaction that you noticed on the part of Greer
when the noise was noticed by you?
Roy
Kellerman: You are referring, Mr. Congressman, to the reaction to
get this car out of there?
Gerald
Ford: Yes.
Roy
Kellerman: Mr. Congressman, I have driven that car many times, and
I never cease to be amazed even to this day with the weight of the
automobile plus the power that is under the hood; we just literally
jumped out of the God - damn road.
Gerald
Ford: As soon as this noise was heard, or as soon as you transmitted
this message to Lawson?
Roy
Kellerman: As soon as I transmitted to the driver first as I went
to Lawson. I just leaned sideways to, him and said, "Let's get
out of here. We are hit."
Gerald
Ford: That comment was made to Greer; not to Lawson?
Roy
Kellerman: Yes, sir; that is right...
(4)
Roy Kellerman interviewed by Arlen
Specter, John
S. Cooper
and Gerald
Ford on behalf of the Warren
Commission (9th March, 1964)
Roy Kellerman: When
I completed the delivery of those instructions to Lawson, I just hung
up the receiver and looked back.
Arlen
Specter: To your
left...
Roy
Kellerman:
To my left; that is right.
This is when I first viewed Mr. Hill, who was on the back of the car...
Arlen
Specter: Precisely
where was he in that instant?
Roy
Kellerman:
Lying right across the
trunk of the car with Mrs. Kennedy on the left rear, Mr. Hill's head
was right up in back of her.
Arlen
Specter: When you
describe the left rear you mean as the car was facing?
Roy
Kellerman:
As the car is traveling,
sir; yes, sir. He was lying across the trunk of this car, feet on
this side.
Arlen
Specter: Was he
flat across the trunk of the car?
Roy
Kellerman:
Flat; that is right.
Arlen
Specter: Where did
you look next; what did you observe following that?
Roy
Kellerman:
Then I observed how the
President was lying, which was - he was - flat in the seat in this
direction.
Arlen
Specter: On his
left-hand side?
Roy
Kellerman:
Yes, sir. Governor Connally
was lying straight on his back with Mrs. Connally over him about halfway.
Arlen
Specter: Did Governor
Connally say anything up to this point?
Roy
Kellerman:
No.
Arlen
Specter: Did Mrs.
Connally say anything up to that point?
Roy
Kellerman:
No.
Arlen
Specter: When was
it that Mrs. Kennedy made the statement which you have described,
"My God, what are they doing?"
Roy
Kellerman:
This occurred after the
flurry of shots.
Arlen
Specter: At that
time you looked back and saw Special Agent Hill across the trunk of
the car, had your automobile accelerated by that time?
Roy
Kellerman:
Tremendously so; yes.
(5)
William
Greer interviewed by Arlen
Specter on behalf of the Warren
Commission (9th March, 1964)
Arlen Specter: Describe
as best you can the types of sound of the second report, as distinguished
from the first noise which you said was similar to a motorcycle backfire?
William Greer: The second
one didn't sound any different much than the first one but I kind
of got, by turning around, I don't know whether I got a little concussion
of it, maybe when it hit something or not, I may have gotten a little
concussion that made me think there was something different to it.
But so far as the noise is concerned, I haven't got any memory of
any difference in them at all...
Arlen
Specter: Did you
step on the accelerator before, simultaneously or after Mr. Kellerman
instructed you to accelerate?
William Greer: It was about
simultaneously.
Arlen
Specter: So that
it was your reaction to accelerate prior to the time...
William Greer: Yes, sir.
Arlen
Specter: You had
gotten that instruction?
William Greer: Yes, sir;
it was my reaction that caused me to accelerate.
Arlen
Specter: Do you
recollect whether you accelerated before or at the same time or after
the third shot?
William Greer: I couldn't
really say. Just as soon as I turned my head back from the second
shot, right away I accelerated right then. It was a matter of my reflexes
to the accelerator.
Arlen
Specter: Was it at
about that time that you heard the third shot?
William Greer: Yes, sir;
just as soon as I turned my head.
Arlen
Specter: What is
your best estimate of the speed of the car at the time of the first,
second, or third shots?
William Greer:
I would estimate my speed
was between 12 and 15 miles per hour.
(6)
Michael
L. Kurtz, Crime of the Century: The Kennedy Assassination From
a Historians Perspective (1982)
The Zapruder and
other films and photographs of the assassination clearly reveal the
utter lack of response by Secret Service agents Roy Kellerman and
James Greer, who were in the front seat of the presidential limousine.
After the first two shots, Greer actually slowed the vehicle to less
than five miles an hour. Kellerman merely sat in the front seat, seemingly
oblivious to the shooting. In contrast, Secret Service Agent Rufus
Youngblood responded instantly to the first shot, and before the head
shots were fired, had covered Vice-President Lyndon Johnson with his
body.
Trained to react instantaneously,
as in the attempted assassinations of President Gerald Ford by Lynette
Fromme and Sara Jane Moore and of President Ronald Reagan by JohnWarnock
Hinckley, the Secret Service agents assigned to protect President
Kennedy simply neglected their duty. The reason for their neglect
remains one of the more intriguing mysteries of the assassination.
(7)
House
Select Committee on Assassinations
(1979)
Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination
of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963.
The
committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it,
that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result
of a conspiracy. The committee is unable to identify the other gunman
or the extent of the conspiracy....
Agencies
and departments of the U.S. Government performed with varying degrees
of competency in the fulfillment of their duties. President John F.
Kennedy did not receive adequate protection. A thorough and reliable
investigation into the responsibility of Lee Harvey Oswald for the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy was conducted. The investigation
into the possibility of conspiracy in the assassination was inadequate.
The conclusions of the investigations were arrived at in good faith,
but presented in a fashion that was too definitive.
The
Secret Service was deficient in the performance of its duties.
The
Secret Service possessed information that was not properly analyzed,
investigated or used by the Secret Service in connection with the
President's trip to Dallas; in addition, Secret Service agents in
the motorcade were inadequately prepared to protect the President
from a sniper.
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