Roy Kellerman: Difference between revisions
m replace with free image, Image:John F. Kennedy motorcade, Dallas crop.png; unfortunately, there is still no decent photograph of Kellerman by himself |
Included additional, documented, warren commission testimony by Kellerman |
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As the Secret Service Agent, Assistant in Charge of [[November 22]], [[1963]] Shift Team #3, Kellerman was riding in the front passenger seat of the presidential limousine. The driver was [[William Greer]]. |
As the Secret Service Agent, Assistant in Charge of [[November 22]], [[1963]] Shift Team #3, Kellerman was riding in the front passenger seat of the presidential limousine. The driver was [[William Greer]]. |
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Kellerman was the nearest agent to the President during the attack. He testified to the [[Warren Commission]] that after he remembered hearing his first audible muzzle blast or mechanically suppress fired bullet bow shockwave, that the assassination then ended in a "flurry of shells" coming into the limousine that reminded him of a jet sonic-boom sound quickness. |
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| ⚫ | Kellerman also testified to the [[Warren Commission]], "I am going to say that I have, from the firecracker report and the two other shots that I know, those were three shots. But, [[Arlen Specter|Mr. Specter]], if President Kennedy had from all reports four wounds, [[John Connally|Governor Connally]] three, there have got to be more than three shots, gentlemen." |
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Kellerman further testified to the Warren Commission, "I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out and the President slumped into [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Mrs. Kennedy's]] lap and Governor Connally fell to Mrs. Connally's lap." (Kellerman Treasury department report 11-29-63, & WCR 18H724) |
Kellerman further testified to the Warren Commission, "I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out and the President slumped into [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Mrs. Kennedy's]] lap and Governor Connally fell to Mrs. Connally's lap." (Kellerman Treasury department report 11-29-63, & WCR 18H724) As clearly seen in the [[Zapruder film]] and the [[Ike Altgens]] photo number six, Kellerman did not start that head turn rearward until Zapruder film frame 253 to 254. |
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| ⚫ | Kellerman also testified to the [[Warren Commission]], "I am going to say that I have, from the firecracker report and the two other shots that I know, those were three shots. But, [[Arlen Specter|Mr. Specter]], if President Kennedy had from all reports four wounds, [[John Connally|Governor Connally]] three, there have got to be more than three shots, gentlemen." |
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Kellerman's actions (or lack thereof) have been contrasted unfavorably with that of Agent Rufus Youngblood, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s car further back in the motorcade. As soon as he heard the shot, Agent Youngblood |
Kellerman's actions (or lack thereof) have been contrasted unfavorably with that of Agent Rufus Youngblood, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s car further back in the motorcade. As soon as he heard the first shot, Agent Youngblood and Johnson stated that Youngblood turned around rearward, knocked Johnson on the shoulder while yelling, "Down," then vaulted his body up and over his seat, then, threw himself atop the vice president. In the Ike Altgens photo number six captured concurrent with Zapruder film frame 255, Youngblood is clearly seen still sitting in his front seat, facing forward. |
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Like all of the agents on duty during the assassination, Kellerman was neither reprimanded nor disciplined for his role. Indeed, he was promoted, retiring from the Secret Service in [[1968]] as an assistant administrator. He died in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]] on [[March 22]], [[1984]]. |
Like all of the agents on duty during the assassination, Kellerman was neither reprimanded nor disciplined for his role. Indeed, he was promoted, retiring from the Secret Service in [[1968]] as an assistant administrator. He died in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]] on [[March 22]], [[1984]]. |
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Revision as of 15:29, 13 July 2008
Roy Herman Kellerman (March 14, 1915 - March 22, 1984) was a U.S. Secret Service Agent and witness to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
Kellerman, a Macomb County, Michigan native, graduated from High School in 1933, and worked for the Dodge Division of Chrysler sporadically from 1935 until 1937 when he was sworn in as a Trooper for the Michigan State Police. Kellerman joined the Secret Service in Detroit just before Christmas, 1941, transferring temporarily to the White House detail in March 1942 and permanently one month later.
As the Secret Service Agent, Assistant in Charge of November 22, 1963 Shift Team #3, Kellerman was riding in the front passenger seat of the presidential limousine. The driver was William Greer.
Kellerman was the nearest agent to the President during the attack. He testified to the Warren Commission that after he remembered hearing his first audible muzzle blast or mechanically suppress fired bullet bow shockwave, that the assassination then ended in a "flurry of shells" coming into the limousine that reminded him of a jet sonic-boom sound quickness.
Kellerman further testified to the Warren Commission, "I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out and the President slumped into Mrs. Kennedy's lap and Governor Connally fell to Mrs. Connally's lap." (Kellerman Treasury department report 11-29-63, & WCR 18H724) As clearly seen in the Zapruder film and the Ike Altgens photo number six, Kellerman did not start that head turn rearward until Zapruder film frame 253 to 254.
Kellerman also testified to the Warren Commission, "I am going to say that I have, from the firecracker report and the two other shots that I know, those were three shots. But, Mr. Specter, if President Kennedy had from all reports four wounds, Governor Connally three, there have got to be more than three shots, gentlemen."
Kellerman's actions (or lack thereof) have been contrasted unfavorably with that of Agent Rufus Youngblood, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's car further back in the motorcade. As soon as he heard the first shot, Agent Youngblood and Johnson stated that Youngblood turned around rearward, knocked Johnson on the shoulder while yelling, "Down," then vaulted his body up and over his seat, then, threw himself atop the vice president. In the Ike Altgens photo number six captured concurrent with Zapruder film frame 255, Youngblood is clearly seen still sitting in his front seat, facing forward.
Like all of the agents on duty during the assassination, Kellerman was neither reprimanded nor disciplined for his role. Indeed, he was promoted, retiring from the Secret Service in 1968 as an assistant administrator. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 22, 1984.
Kellerman's widow, June, told author Vince Palamara on March 2, 1992 that her husband believed there was a conspiracy involved in the death of JFK [1] [citation needed]
References
- ^ Please see: http://www.assassinationresearch.com/v4n1.html
- Philip H. Mellanson, with Peter F. Stevens, The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency, (Carroll & Graf, 2002), p. 77.
- Obit, The Washington Post, March 30, 1984