Mr. KELLERMAN. I am a high school graduate only.
Mr. SPECTER. What year did you graduate from high school?
Mr. KELLERMAN. 1933.
Mr. SPECTER. What were your activities between graduation from high
school and the time you joined the Secret Service, please?
Mr. KELLERMAN. In October of 1937 I completed the training with the
Michigan State Police. I was sworn in as a trooper. I remained with the
Michigan State Police until December 18, 1941, when I resigned and was
appointed to the U.S. Secret Service.
Mr. SPECTER. How were you employed or occupied from the time of
graduation from high school until the time you joined the Michigan
State Police?
Mr. KELLERMAN. 1933 there wasn't too much work; 1935 was my first work
with the Dodge Corp. of the Chrysler people in Detroit.
Mr. SPECTER. How long did you work there, sir?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Three years, off and on.
Mr. SPECTER. You described in a general way the organization of the
Secret Service on the White House protective detail. Who is the special
agent in charge?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Mr. Gerald A. Behn, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Was he the special agent in charge back on November 22,
1963?
Mr. KELLERMAN. He was.
Mr. SPECTER. How many shifts are there?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Three shifts, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And approximately how many men are assigned to each shift?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Ten men on each shift, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. What were your specific duties back on November 22 of 1963?
Mr. KELLERMAN. My specific duty, gentlemen, on the 22d of November of
1963, I was in charge of the detail for this trip of President Kennedy,
for the trip to Texas in those 2 days.
Mr. SPECTER. How did you personally make the trip to Texas?
Mr. KELLERMAN. I rode on the President's plane on the entire tour.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you outline in a general way the times of departure
and arrival on the trip to Texas up until the morning of November 22,
please?
Mr. KELLERMAN. I just don't have the time we left Washington, D.C.
Mr. SPECTER. Without the precise times; just in a general way.
Mr. KELLERMAN. All right. We departed in the morning from Washington.
Our first stop was in San Antonio, Tex.
Mr. SPECTER. Which morning was that, sir?
Mr. KELLERMAN. It was November 21; it was at San Antonio, Tex., that
we picked up the then Vice President Johnson. The two people continued
on this tour of the State in separate planes. During our stay in San
Antonio, we then flew from San Antonio to Houston, Tex. There were
ceremonies there, and the program there which had been set up. From
Houston we flew into Fort Worth, Tex., where we remained overnight on
November 21.
We arrived at the Texas Hotel, it was a little after 11 o'clock in the
evening. There were no activities until the following morning, November
22.
Mr. SPECTER. What time did the activities start the following morning?
Mr. KELLERMAN. On November 22, the activities started at around 8:25 in
the morning when the President, accompanied by the then Vice President
Johnson, and a few congressional leaders walked out the front door,
across this street which was a parking lot, and a few minutes' speech
was made to the gathering there. It was a light drizzle at the time.
From there we returned to the hotel and he attended a breakfast given
by the chamber of commerce and, I believe it was, a citizens group of
Fort Worth. On completion of the breakfast he returned to his suite.
The weather was then changing. It had quit raining and it looked
like it was going to break out and be a real beautiful day. In the
neighborhood of 10 o'clock in the morning I received a call from Mr.
Lawson, Special Agent Lawson, who had the advance from Dallas, Tex.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. Lawson was with the Secret Service, was he?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir; he is. He asked me to determine whether the
bubbletop car that the President would ride in in Dallas that day
should have the top down or remain up.
Mr. SPECTER. Let me interrupt you there for just a minute, Mr.
Kellerman. I show you a photograph which has been marked as Commission
Exhibit No. 344. Are you able to identify that picture and the
automobile in that picture?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir; this is the 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door
convertible bubbletop. It is a special car.
Mr. SPECTER. For the purpose of the record, how many doors does that
car have?
Mr. KELLERMAN. This vehicle has four doors.
Mr. SPECTER. And in the posture of the picture identified as Commission
Exhibit 344, is the top up or down?
Mr. KELLERMAN. The top is down, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And what top does that automobile have?
Mr. KELLERMAN. This top is a plastic top. From the rear of the
passenger all the way to the windshield there are four sections of
plastic glass. The one that comes over the top of the passengers in the
back seat, two little sections that come over the two doors, and one
over the driver and passenger in the front seat.
Mr. SPECTER. In what way is that attached, if any, to the car?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Securely bolted, screwed.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. Chairman, may I ask that the Exhibit 344 be introduced
formally in evidence, please?
Representative FORD. It will be so admitted.
(The photograph referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 344 for
identification and received in evidence.)
Mr. SPECTER. I now hand you a photograph marked Commission Exhibit 345.
Are you able to tell us what that depicts?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir; this is the same vehicle as mentioned in 344.
The difference being the top is up and there is a covering, a cloth
covering that also fits over this plastic top.
Mr. SPECTER. And Exhibit No. 345 is taken from what angle, Mr.
Kellerman?
Mr. KELLERMAN. From the rear, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. As contrasted with Exhibit No. 344, which is taken from
what angle?
Mr. KELLERMAN. This is from the right side.
Mr. SPECTER. I ask that Exhibit 345 be introduced, if the Commission
please.
Representative FORD. So admitted.
(The photograph referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 345 for
identification and received in evidence.)
Mr. SPECTER. I now hand you a photograph marked Commission Exhibit 346,
Mr. Kellerman, and ask you if you can tell us what that depicts.
Mr. KELLERMAN. This picture depicts the interior of this same
automobile. It has a rear solid seat; there are two other jump seats
that can be folded forward in the rear and the complete solid front
seat for the driver and passenger. This is the same vehicle.
Mr. SPECTER. Will you describe what, if anything, is present between
the front seat and the rear seat area?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir. This metal partition that is erected in back
of the driver, between the driver and the passengers in the rear seat,
is a metal framework that goes over the car. It has four holes in it.
These holes are utilized by the President for parades. As an example,
say it was used in Washington where you had an official visitor, and in
using one of the streets here as your parade route, he and his guest
would stand in this car where the people could view them a little
better than sitting in the rear seat.
Mr. SPECTER. Where is that metal bar positioned with respect to the
front seat?
Mr. KELLERMAN. It is positioned over the front seat; the top of this
bar would be 4 or 5 inches over my head.
Mr. SPECTER. Is it directly over the back portion of the front seat?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir. Directly over the front seat.
Mr. SPECTER. And you describe it as 4 or 5 inches over your head. Can
you give us an estimate of the distance above the top of the front seat?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Oh, I am guessing in the neighborhood of 15, 18 inches.
Mr. SPECTER. What is the width of that metal bar?
Mr. KELLERMAN. The bar, 4 to 6 inches, I would say.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you tell us approximately how wide the automobile
itself is?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No; I can't.
Mr. SPECTER. With respect to the automobile, are there any running
boards?
Mr. KELLERMAN. There are no running boards.
Mr. SPECTER. Is there any place on the car where someone can stand up
and ride as it proceeds in motion?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes; on the rear of the vehicle, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. How many such positions are there?
Mr. KELLERMAN. There is a step on each side of the spare tire, one man
on each one.
Mr. SPECTER. And is there any facility for holding on with a man riding
in those positions?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir; there is a metal arm erected on the trunk
where a man can hold on while standing on the rear of the car.
Mr. SPECTER. All right.
May it please the Commission, I move that Exhibit 346 be introduced in
evidence.
Representative FORD. It will be so admitted.
(The photograph referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 346 for
identification and received in evidence.)
Mr. SPECTER. With reference to the bubble top which you have heretofore
described, of what is that composed?
Mr. KELLERMAN. It is composed of plastic, clear plastic substance.
Its use would be for a weather matter whereby the President or his
occupants can see out. It is not an enclosed car.
Mr. SPECTER. Is it bulletproof?
Mr. KELLERMAN. It is not bulletproof.
Mr. SPECTER. Is it bullet resistant in any way?
Mr. KELLERMAN. It's not bullet resistant.
Mr. SPECTER. Could you describe in a general way at this point what
efforts, if any, have been made to obtain a bulletproof clear top for
the President's automobile?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Presently?
Mr. SPECTER. Presently or heretofore.
Mr. KELLERMAN. I am going to have to go in the present day.
Mr. SPECTER. Fine.
Mr. KELLERMAN. This same vehicle, I understand, is being completed with
a bullet-resistant top and sides.
Representative FORD. Can you explain the difference between bullet
resistant and the existing kind of the top?
Mr. KELLERMAN. I can't; I really can't. I have been behind on this
thing and I am at a loss for a better answer.
Representative FORD. Could the present top deflect in any way, destroy
the accuracy of a shot?
Mr. KELLERMAN. This would be a guess, Mr. Congressman. I would think
that it would be deterred for, let's say, the velocity of a missile
coming in at great speed, I think it would deter it; I don't think it
would eliminate--it still would enter the top.
Representative FORD. The vehicle.
Mr. KELLERMAN. I am sure; yes, sir.
Representative FORD. But as far as you know the top that was available
would not impede the projectile? Do you know whether or not it would
deflect its accuracy?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Well, I have tried to study that, sir. The angle of
the back as an example which is, what degree I don't recall, hoping
that--of course, it was now known to be an upshot into the vehicle
hoping that it would deter its force and so forth, but I really don't
know. I kind of doubt it.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. Kellerman, in describing the top as being not
bulletproof and not bullet resistant, state whether you are describing
the top which they are currently working on or the top which was
present at the time of November 22, 1963?
Mr. KELLERMAN. That is the top that they are currently working on.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, as to the bubble top which accompanied this car on
November 22, 1963, was that bulletproof or bullet resistant?
Mr. KELLERMAN. It was not; neither.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know whether or not an effort is being made at the
present time to develop a bullet-resistant or bulletproof top.
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes sir; it is.
Mr. SPECTER. Are you personally familiar with the progress of that
effort?
Mr. KELLERMAN. I am not, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know how the President's automobile was transported
from Washington, D.C., to Texas?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes, sir. The President's vehicle was transported to San
Antonio by cargo aircraft. It was flown to San Antonio a day before the
President arrived. It was then flown from San Antonio to Dallas, where
it was used on November 22. This vehicle was not used in the other two
stops at Houston and Fort Worth.