Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

THE DRIVE THROUGH DALLAS

The motorcade departed Love Field shortly after 11:50 a.m., traveling 25 to 30 miles per hour through sparsely populated outskirts. At the President’s direction, the limousine stopped twice—once in response to a sign requesting a handshake and once so the President could speak to a Catholic nun and a group of small children—during which Secret Service agents moved forward from the followup car to shield the President. Dense, enthusiastic crowds in downtown Dallas repeatedly forced Special Agent Hill and other agents off the followup car’s running boards and onto the rear of the President’s limousine to push the crowd back; Special Agent Youngblood similarly stepped out of the Vice-Presidential car when it was slowed by the throng. Following the planned route, the motorcade proceeded west on Main Street to Houston Street, turned right and went north past tall buildings toward the Texas School Book Depository, then onto Elm Street, where the crowd thinned abruptly as the road curved downgrade toward the Triple Underpass and Stemmons Freeway. As the cars approached the Houston-Elm intersection, O’Donnell and Mrs. Connally expressed pleasure at the warm reception, with Mrs. Connally telling the President, “Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you,” and the President replying, “That is very obvious.”

THE ASSASSINATION

At 12:30 p.m. as the open Presidential limousine traveled approximately 11 miles per hour along Elm Street toward the Triple Underpass, rifle shots mortally wounded President Kennedy and seriously injured Governor Connally. One bullet passed through the President’s neck; a subsequent bullet shattered the right side of his skull. Governor Connally sustained bullet wounds to his back, the right side of his chest, his right wrist, and his left thigh.

KAPITEL II.

CHAPTER II covers the immediate events following the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963. It establishes the precise time of the shooting, calculates the speed of the Presidential limousine, recounts the experiences of occupants inside the limousine, documents the reactions of Secret Service agents, and follows the race to Parkland Memorial Hospital and the emergency medical treatment of the President.

The Time

The exact time of the assassination, 12:30 p.m., was established through four independent witnesses. Special Agent Rufus W. Youngblood observed the electric sign clock atop the Texas School Book Depository Building reading “12:30” as the Vice-Presidential car proceeded north on Houston Street. David F. Powers remarked to Kenneth O’Donnell that it was 12:30 p.m., the scheduled arrival time at the Trade Mart. Seconds after the shooting, Roy Kellerman looked at his watch and said “12:30” to driver William Greer. The Dallas police radio log confirmed that Chief of Police Curry reported the shooting and issued initial orders at 12:30 p.m.

Speed of the Limousine

Driver William Greer estimated the Presidential limousine’s speed at the time of the first shot as 12 to 15 miles per hour, with other witnesses providing estimates ranging from 7 to 22 miles per hour. A more precise determination was made using Abraham Zapruder’s amateur motion picture film. Based on 152 frames covering 136 feet of travel at 18.3 frames per second, it was calculated that the car required 8.3 seconds to cover that distance, yielding an average speed of 11.2 miles per hour immediately preceding the shot that struck the President in the head.

In the Presidential Limousine

Inside the Presidential limousine, Mrs. Kennedy heard a sound resembling a motorcycle noise, saw a quizzical look on her husband’s face as he raised his hand to his throat, then heard a second shot that tore open his skull, prompting her to cradle him and cry out. Governor Connally recognized the first noise as a rifle shot and instinctively turned right, but was struck in the back by the second shot, which he did not hear. Roy Kellerman, in the right front seat, heard a firecracker-like pop, the President say “My God, I am hit,” and radioed ahead to get to the hospital. Driver Greer initially mistook the noise for a motorcycle backfire, then accelerated rapidly when ordered to “get out of here fast.” Mrs. Connally pulled her wounded husband into her lap, and both observed brain tissue splattered over the car’s interior after the fatal head shot, after which the car accelerated toward the hospital.