Historians Claim New Research Shows Oswald Acted Alone in JFK Assassination

| FoxNews.com

Few historical events have received more attention or been more carefully reenacted than the assassination of President Kennedy.

Yet as the country approaches the 48th anniversary of that tragic day in Dallas, a team of historians and retired Secret Service officers claims to have used new technology on old evidence to solidify the judgment that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

The NatGeo channel will air the new tests as part of a one-hour documentary this Sunday night called "JFK: The Lost Bullet."

Historian Max Holland led the team that applied digital technology to a number of home movies taken on Nov. 22, 1963, including the famous Zapruder film.

Holland told Fox News this marks the first time these disparate amateur films, some of which have not been seen in years, have been brought together, digitally enhanced and presented in a coherent way.

"I'd say a main thrust of it is to break the stranglehold that the Zapruder film has on our perception of what happened. In a sense, we've all been 'Zaprudered,'" he said. "The film was so graphic, disturbing, mesmerizing, that it became more of our perspective on the assassination than even the perspective of the assassin, which should never have happened."

Another startling claim of the NatGeo team is that the new digital upgrades allow the public to see, in the amateur footage taken that day by Robert Hughes, a shadowy figure moving about inside the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building -- a figure believed to be Oswald.

"And our conclusion is that he fired three shots in about 11 seconds, which is almost double, you know, the six seconds in Dallas meme that most people know when they think about the assassination: six seconds, three shots in six seconds. We say three shots in 11 seconds, which is a much easier -- for I'd say, someone of Oswald's skill -- effortless task," Holland said.

When asked if there are any "holy grails" of JFK assassination research still out there -- pieces of evidence known by researchers to exist but which have not yet seen the light of day -- Holland cited Oswald's tax returns. Those returns have never been released.

Holland said it's easier to pry documents from the CIA than from the IRS.

The JFK special airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. NatGeo is partly owned by the same parent company as Fox News.

Fox News' James Rosen contributed to this report.

Thank you Ernest Machine.com for this Great Post About Presidential Limos!

A BEASTLY RIDE

There have been any number of famous and legendary beasts over the years. The first that comes to mind is the misunderstood creature from “Beauty and the Beast.” There’s also Cincinnati’s Kings Island Amusement Park where its own “Beast” – a gut-clenching, teeth-chattering wooden roller coaster – has been thrilling fans since 1979.

But the remarkable beast we’re going to talk about today is another story entirely. Also known as Cadillac One, when General Motors unveiled President Barack Obama’s new presidential limousine before his inauguration in January 2009, Secret Service agents immediately dubbed this wonder on wheels: “The Beast.”


Certainly, presidential cars have drawn attention since Teddy Roosevelt decided to buy the first car using taxpayer dollars, a snazzy white Stanley Steamer. His successors also were interested in having hot wheels, with Taft opting for a Model M Steamer as well as a pair of Pierce Arrows reserved for state occasions. (Incidentally, while it’s true that Taft was an exceptionally large individual, it is only a nasty rumor that there actually had to be two Pierce Arrows so the cars could pull in tandem an oversized carriage in which the jovial Taft smiled and waved at the adoring crowds.)

Anyhoo, the current official car replaces the 2004 Cadillac DTS limo favored by George W. Bush. In the interest of leaving no stone unturned when it comes to balancing the budget, Obama seriously considered keeping the Bush car. Unfortunately, the spotted cowhide seats and LED party lights were not to his taste.

According to Cadillac, Obama’s Beast includes many design elements found in the brand’s popular current models, the CTS sport sedan and Escalade. The vehicle has a stylish dual-textured grille and distinctive front and rear lighting, as well as top-of-the-line security features that even LeBron James doesn’t have in his Escalade.

For example:

• The armored doors on the Beast are about 8” thick and weigh as much as a cabin door on a Boeing 757. (One source claimed the doors could withstand a hit from an asteroid.)
• The windows are 5” thick. Now, spread your thumb and forefinger to what you think is about a 5” span – and imagine glass that thick. Yes. Really.
• The car is equipped with Kevlar-reinforced Goodyear Regional RHS truck tires, but should the run-flat tires be blasted away – the vehicle can escape at speed on its special steel rims.
• Even the gas tank is armor-plated and equipped with a special foam that will prevent it from exploding, even from a direct hit.
• And finally, it appears that while the size of the engine and other goodies under the hood remain secret, it’s probably safe to say that the limo has a little more oomph than the Ford Escape Hybrid President Obama drove in Chicago before the election.

Before moving on to other interesting tidbits about the Beast, here’s a fun historical note: Prior to World War II, the Secret Service made it a point to choose hefty cars and went on to equip them with easy-to-reach weapons, two-way radios, and running boards wide enough for a Secret Service Agent to jump alongside for added protection.

In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned a Lincoln V12 convertible especially for his use that was nicknamed the “Sunshine Special.” But after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Secret Service didn’t feel the car was safe enough. The very next day, gangster Al Capone’s heavily armored 1928 Cadillac 341A Town Sedan was confiscated from an impound lot and rushed into service for the U.S. Government. With bulletproof tires, inch-thick windows, storage compartments for submachine guns, and more, the mob’s gangster-mobile served the president well until the “Sunshine Special” could be toughened up and made suitable for the war years.



















 
However, the Beast wouldn’t be a truly presidential ride if it didn’t have more to offer than impregnable safety. The back of the car comfortably seats four and is higher than a normal car, presumably to accommodate the freakishly tall members of the First Family. It also has countless features sure to appeal to all the Obama clan.

Peek in the back and you’ll find all kinds of goodies, starting with a hideaway desktop with a laptop computer and Wi-Fi for Mr. O; a satellite phone and direct lines to the Pentagon and Vice President

(for . . . ?); twin bedazzled Kindles loaded with Harry Potter and Twilight series books to keep Malia and Sasha entertained on long rides; a pantry stocked with pudding cups, Skittles and Dr Pepper; Beggin’ Strips for Bo; a flat screen TV and a DVD collection including classics like “Saved by the Bell” and “West Wing;” Michelle’s mobile accessory closet and law library . . . . Now, that’s a beast any world leader would be proud to call his (or her) own.

http://www.earnestmachine.com

Quarterly Review

 http://www.quarterly-review.org


News of Jack, part 2

Safeguarding JFK and his family was evidently one of the most daunting tasks ever performed by the American secret service (The Kennedy Detail, Discovery, 20th of November). President Kennedy realised that his popularity depended on close physical contact with the people. During motorcades, accordingly, he would make impromptu stops and immerse himself in the adoring crowd. At such times, he was almost impossible to protect. Indeed, Kennedy himself pointed out how easy it would be to kill him. Well before the events in Dealey Plaza, the requirements of presidential politics and personal security were at loggerheads.

It was surprising to learn that the members of this elite group, “the best of the best” according to their own reckoning, were so badly paid. Yet there were compensations. Required to spend long periods away from their own families, they became part of Kennedy’s extended family and shared in its joys and sorrows. Predominantly men of humble origins from small towns, they had ample opportunity to meet the famous and glamorous people who surrounded the first family. Today, they remain fiercely loyal to their former boss, who despite his exclusive background clearly possessed the common touch. No mention was made of his well-documented peccadilloes.
In programmes like this, it is the incidental items that stay in the mind – Jackie’s blood stained stockings and the struggle to get the President’s cumbersome coffin into Air Force One. One member of JFK’s entourage recalled being asked how bad the President’s injuries were. “It’s as bad as it gets” was all he could manage.

There is a striking similarity between mourning and melancholia, as Freud observed. The men of the Kennedy detail, who experienced both, bear witness.

LJ

The Kennedy Detail Reader's Review

THE KENNEDY DETAIL,,,,,,,,,,the real story,,,,,facing the dangers, 

By 

EZT 

For purposes of this review, I have selected EZT which was my "back-up" call sign wen I was assigned to the Presidential White House Detail.

Without going into a long detailed explanation of my backgound let me suggest that as a Secret Service Agent I often considered what a great story I could possibly tell considering
all of the experiences I had in some manner or another.  But as time went by and I became involved in other federal law enforcemnt agencies I realized that if you were going to do
such a project  you would need considerable self discipline and ambition. Needless to say, I developed neither.
 
So when Jerry called and told me what he planned to do and asked if I could help it took me about thirty seconds to say ABSOLUTELY!!!!!! And I am glad I did.
 
Having worked with Jerry Blaine and prior thereto with Clint Hill, I personally believe that they have done a tremendous job. This book ........ in my opinion, will probably end up as a
required reading for individuals studying political history in the future. And for what it is worth, I personally could not think of two more honest, intelligent and dedicated persons to
have written some real history,,,,,,,,and if I may ,,,,history moving more rapidly than a speeding locomotive.

Having worked with Clint Hill on the First Lady/Children's detail insuring the welfare of the those family members and subsequently being on the same Presidential protective shift as
Jerry Blaine allowed me to work with two of the most honest, dedicated and unselfish individuals that I have had the pleasure of knowing andI have no doubts that the other Secret
Service Agents which were all part of the same teams would heartily agree with this assessment.

Finally, although I alluded to this before, THE KENNEDY DETAIL is not only an excellent read but will be read by many, many persons in the future.

History of the Secret Service

When the United States Secret Service (USSS) was established, its main duty was to prevent the illegal production, or counterfeiting, of money. In the 1800s, America's monetary system was very disorganized. Bills and coins were issued by each state through individual banks, which generated many types of legal currency. With so many different kinds of bills in circulation, it was easy for people to counterfeit money. During President Lincoln's Administration, more than a third of the nation's money was counterfeit. On the advice of Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch, President Lincoln established a commission to stop this rapidly growing problem that was destroying the nation's economy, and on April 14, 1865, he created the United States Secret Service to carry out the commission's recommendations.

The Secret Service officially went to work on July 5, 1865. Its first chief was William Wood. Chief Wood, widely known for his heroism during the Civil War, was very successful in his first year, closing more than 200 counterfeiting plants. This success helped prove the value of the Secret Service, and in 1866 the National Headquarters was established in the Department of the Treasury building in Washington, D.C.

During the evening of the same day President Lincoln established the Secret Service, he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., by John Wilkes Booth. The country mourned as news spread that the President had been shot. It was the first time in our nation's history that a President had been assassinated. As cries from citizens rang out, Congress began to think about adding Presidential protection to the list of duties performed by the Secret Service. However, it would take another 36 years and the assassination of two more Presidents -- James A. Garfield (March 4, 1881-September 10, 1881) and William McKinley (1897-1901) -- before the Congress added protection of the President to the list of duties performed by the Secret Service.

President Theodore Roosevelt's son Archie salutes as his brother Quentin stands at ease during a roll call of the White House Police. The White House Police eventually came to be known as the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service. Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Since 1901, every President from Theodore Roosevelt on has been protected by the Secret Service. In 1917, threats against the President became a felony (a serious crime in the eyes of the law), and Secret Service protection was broadened to include all members of the First Family. In 1951, protection of the Vice President and the President-elect was added. After the assassination of Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) authorized the Secret Service to protect all Presidential candidates.

Today's Secret Service is made up of two primary divisions -- the Uniformed Division and the Special Agent Division. The primary role of the Uniformed Division is protection of the White House and its immediate surroundings, as well as the residence of the Vice President, and over 170 foreign embassies located in Washington, D.C. Originally named the White House Police, the Uniformed Division was established by an Act of Congress on July 1, 1922, during President Warren G. Harding's Administration (1921-1923).

The Special Agent Division is charged with two missions: protection and investigation. During the course of their careers, special agents carry out assignments in both of these areas. Their many investigative responsibilities include counterfeiting, forgery, and financial crimes. In addition to protecting the President, the Vice President, and their immediate families, agents also provide protection for foreign heads of state and heads of government visiting the United States.

The Secret Service protects President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) and his motorcade. Photo Courtesy of the National Archives

http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/kids/inside/html/spring98-2.html

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A rare look inside Secret Service training

By Elaine Quijano 

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(CBS News)  http://www.cbsnews.com

LAUREL, Md. - The starting pay is $52,000, clothing provided. The employer warns the job is physically demanding and requires working long hours in undesirable conditions.

CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano reports there is no shortage of applicants for ths position - protecting the most famous house in America.

When you think of the Secret Service, you probably think of the plainclothes agents who surround the president. But it's another branch, called the uniformed division, that's in charge of securing the White House.

This elite force of 1,400 officers has jurisdiction within the White House gates, and beyond.
"The uniformed division has very broad arrest powers," said Sgt. Scott Saras. "They can obviously arrest for federal offenses but they can also make arrests for local offenses in the District of Columbia."

A mock-up of Air Force One is seen at the Secret Service training ground. 

(Credit: CBS News/Elaine Quijano)

 

Saras is an instructor at the Secret Service's training center outside Washington. CBS News was given rare access to the 550-acre wooded facility. It features a mock-up of Air Force One. A street set that would be the envy of any Hollywood director is used for simlutations of high intensity scenarios.
"We are going to give them repetitions," Saras said. "We want to give them repetitions to where they are able to just react as opposed to having to think."

More than 16,000 applied to join last year, and just 200 were chosen.
"It's been a long journey, I'll say that," said recruit Tim Connelly. Connelly's a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq. " It's a lot of training. And it's difficult training."

Explaining the difference between the two, Connelly said, "The Secret Service - we are protecting people. In the Marine Corps you are assaulting the enemy, locating and trying to eliminate. So it's something I've had to focus on in particular even more than some other people, drawing back and not just rushing through."
In one drill on the street set, Connelly found himself outnumbered and outgunned. "It is kind of similar to combat. You can be bored and think this is an easy job and all of a sudden you have three gunmen taking shots at you. You got to be on your game from moment one. You can't have first day jitters or anything like that because that could be the day that something bad happens."
The worst happened on Nov. 1

The Sixth Floor Museum to Screen Zapruder and Stolley Film on November 19

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza will screen Zapruder and Stolley: Witness to an Assassination (a Roger Sherman film). The screening will be on Saturday, November 19 at 2 p.m. 

On November 22, 1963 Dick Stolley, Los Angeles bureau chief for Life Magazine, was urgently summoned to the ticker tape machine: “The President has been shot,” he was told. He jumped on a plane to Dallas, tracked down Abraham Zapruder and managed to secure the rights to his home movie film, the only eyewitness film to capture the entire assassination. A few years ago, Dick sat down and recounted this story from his point of view. In a gripping 35-minute conversation, Dick recounts how he followed a tip that led him to Zapruder.

Following the world premiere of Zapruder and Stolley: Witness to an Assassination, join us for a conversation with Dick Stolley moderated by Museum Curator Gary Mack.

“Zapruder and Stolley is utterly engaging.” --Tom Brokaw

“Dick Stolley is a national treasure, and his ability to calmly, clearly tell the story of one of America’s saddest days is truly remarkable. This documentary is devoid of the usual bells and whistles. It’s just unbelievably powerful, old-school storytelling. And what a story it is.” --John Huey, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc.

The event is $5 or free with paid admission to the Museum. 

Visit jfk.org for further details!

Moment in History

 















 





Floyd Boring and Roy Kellerman were the two ASAIC's of the Kennedy Detail reporting to Jerry Behn, the SAIC..

Floyd was involved in the Blair House attempt on the life of Harry Trueman by two Puerto Rican nationalists in 1950- ( The Truman family was living there while the White House was being renovated. It is located across the street from the White House.). Floyd ended up shooting one of the two people involved in the assassination attempt. It is not the one on the ground. He was killed by a mortally wounded White House Police officer by the name of Leslie Coffelt. Stuart Stout, one of the shift leaders on the Kennedy Detail was also involved. He was manning a Thompson Sub Machine gun just inside the main door to the Blair House in case the potential assassins made it that far.. The story is in the book, this is a photo of Floyd right after the attempt.

The Kennedy Detail Reader's Review

"Keep the ivy league charlatans off the back of the car"

 

By 

 CJA "CJA" (Minneapolis, MN) 

Blaine was a secret service agent assigned to protect Eisenhower and Kennedy; he resigned in 1964 to work for IBM. He did advance work for the Tampa motorcade that took place several days before Dallas, as well as advance work for the Austin stop that never happened. Although he was not present on November 22, 1963, he knows all the agents involved and was able to get everyone to talk many years later. The assassination was understandably traumatic for the agents, a trauma made worse by the absence of counseling or discussion of the trauma.

Through anecdote and then through a detailed accounting of the trips leading up to Dallas, Blaine gives a very good sense of the camaraderie and difficulties experienced by the Kennedy detail. Kennedy emerges from the account as a charismatic man who was loved and respected by his agents and who took time and effort to get to know his agents. The sordid Kennedy who supposedly used his agents to set up or cover up sex parties is not found in this account. Perhaps Blaine refrained from telling a few salacious stories. But more likely, the stories are themselves myths. Kennedy certainly had an active sex life, but clearly the man's focus was on being President, and he was fundamentally decent in dealing with others. It's interesting that we choose to measure "morality" on the basis of the extent to which one leads a conventional monogamous sex life. Kennedy's unconventional sex life was hurtful and was a character flaw. But it does not fully define the man. I'd rather have a guy with the decency and judgment of Kennedy with his finger on the button than monogamous guys like Nixon, Carter, or Bush.

The account is especially forceful in dismissing the elaborate conspiracy theories that defy logic and that take poetic license with the record. The eyewitnesses heard three shots and saw the back of Kennedy's head explode. Oswald had a clear and even easy shot. One agent thought he heard a shot from the grassy knoll, but it is clear that this was simply an echo effect.

The pain of Clint Hill -- Jackie's agent who ran to the vehicle after the first shot only to see Kennedy's head explode before he got there, and who threw Jackie back into the car and then covered both her and the President -- is well told. If only he could have gotten there sooner -- though it's hard to see how he could have acted any differently.

The real problem was the motorcade itself -- in a open top, unarmored vehicle completely exposed to a sniper. The problem was compounded by publishing the route in advance. One simply cannot protect the President under such circumstances.

One device the agents tried to use in such motorcades was to ride behind the President on a running board in the back of the vehicle. This tactic, however, was counterproductive. The whole ideal of the motorcade was to expose the President. Thus, Kennedy told his agents to "keep the ivy league charlatans off the back of the car." A classic bit of Kennedy wit. The agents weren't insulted by the remark and instead knew it was Kennedy's way of making and reinforcing a point.

Blaine points out that in the end even having the men on the back of the car would not have worked. First of all, the car was going through a thinning crowd and was going to speed up to hit an entrance ramp. So, even when agents rode on the running boards, the protocol was to jump off at this point. Also, Oswald's shot was so easy, it would not have made any difference any way.

This is a very moving book that inspires respect for the secret service and for Kennedy himself.

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The Kennedy Whitehouse: Jacqueline Kennedy Entertains

This video podcast was originally created to accompany the special exhibit, "Jacqueline Kennedy Entertains: The Art of the White House Dinner." The video was produced by David McSweeney of Tenor Technologies and narrated by Frank Rigg, Museum Curator Emeritus of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Creator: Video produced by David McSweeney of Tenor Technologies. Narrated by Frank Rigg, Museum Curator Emeritus of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

http://www.jfklibrary.org

The Kennedy Whitehouse: Arts and Culture

50 years ago this month, world-renowned cellist Pablo Casals gave an historic concert at the White House. The event was just one example of President and Mrs. Kennedy's support of the arts, or what JFK called "our contribution to the human spirit."

http://www.jfklibrary.org

The Kennedy Detail Reader's Review

By 

Barbara A. Benedict "beagleboy" (Everett, WA)

The Kennedy Detail was about the 1963 Assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 3, 1963 from the point of view of the Secret Service members of that date. The book was excellent and it showed the effect it had on the members of the Secret Service. We only see the Secret Service at the time if the president's appearance. It starts way before that date with surveillance, motorcades, etc. The president's death had a profound effect on the Secret Service members but they had a new president to guard and to help Mrs. Kennedy bring her husband back to Washington. The Secet Service members had to keep going and not deal with what they had seen. Some members had immediate reactions and some went on for years to figure out what they were feeling. This was written by a member of the of the Secret Service who left to take a job at IBM and after he retire he corresponded with other members of the Secret Service. One of the saddest stories is about Clint Hill who jumped on the car to stop Mrs Kennedy from trying to capture the president's brain matter. While being interviewed by Mike Wallace for 60 Minutes, Clint Hill was struggling to deal with those memories but he did and lived out the last years of his life in peace. This was a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Photo Gallery

Tom Dillard image shows the interior of the empty presidential limousine, ready for the Kennedys and the rest of their party to arrive at Love Field and begin their motorcade tour of Dallas. At far left is Dallas Morning News chief photographer Jack Beers and the tall man beyond the car is Secret Service agent George Hickey.

1964 FBI Reenactment - Malcolm.E.Barker Slide compilation. 24/5/64

Photographic slide of the FBI/Secret Service reenactment of the Kennedy assassination in Dealey Plaza on May 24, 1964. The car representing the president's limousine heads west on Elm Street, toward the triple underpass.

The car used to represent the president's limousine in the reenactment was actually the Secret Service car that had been directly behind the presidential limousine in the motorcade on November 22, 1963.

The driver in this picture, Secret Service agent George Hickey, rode in the follow-up car at the time of the assassination.

The north side of Dealey Plaza is visible to the right. Signs directing traffic to Stemmons Freeway and other highway signs line the right side of the road.

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On November 22, 1963, the Texas School Book Depository building was the focus of world shock, grief, and outrage when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. Twenty-six years later, John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation opened on the building's sixth floor, where significant evidence was found. Using nearly 400 photographs, 45 minutes of documentary films, and artifacts, this exhibition recreates the social and political context of the early 1960s, chronicles the assassination and its aftermath, and recognizes Kennedy's lasting impact on American culture.

http://www.jfk.org/go/home

1964 FBI Reenactment - Malcolm.E.Barker Slide compilation.

Photographic slide of the FBI/Secret Service reenactment of the Kennedy assassination in Dealey Plaza on May 24, 1964. The car representing the president's limousine heads west on Elm Street, toward the triple underpass.

The car used to represent the president's limousine in the reenactment was actually the Secret Service car that had been directly behind the presidential limousine in the motorcade on November 22, 1963.

The driver in this picture, Secret Service agent George Hickey, rode in the follow-up car at the time of the assassination.

The north side of Dealey Plaza is visible to the right. Signs directing traffic to Stemmons Freeway and other highway signs line the right side of the road.

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On November 22, 1963, the Texas School Book Depository building was the focus of world shock, grief, and outrage when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. Twenty-six years later, John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation opened on the building's sixth floor, where significant evidence was found. Using nearly 400 photographs, 45 minutes of documentary films, and artifacts, this exhibition recreates the social and political context of the early 1960s, chronicles the assassination and its aftermath, and recognizes Kennedy's lasting impact on American culture.

http://www.jfk.org/go/home