Mr. SPECTER. Now, was there any other comment you heard Special Agent
Kellerman make?
Mr. HILL. Not that I recall.
Mr. SPECTER. Did Special Agent Greer say anything?
Mr. HILL. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Mrs. Connally say anything?
Mr. HILL. No, sir.
Representative BOGGS. Was Governor Connally conscious?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir; he was.
Mr. SPECTER. Did Governor Connally say anything?
Mr. HILL. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Did President Kennedy say anything?
Mr. HILL. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. What is your best estimate on the speed at which the
President's car traveled from the point of the shooting to Parkland
Hospital?
Mr. HILL. It is a little bit hard for me to judge, since I was lying
across the rear portion of the automobile. I had no trouble staying in
that particular position--until we approached the hospital, I recall,
I believe it was a left-hand turn and I started slipping off to the
right-hand portion of the car. So I would say that we went 60, maybe 65
at the most.
Mr. SPECTER. Were you able to secure a handhold or a leg-hold or any
sort of a hold on the automobile as you moved forward?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir. I had my legs--I had my body above the rear seat,
and my legs hooked down into the rear seat, one foot outside the car.
Mr. SPECTER. What is your best estimate of the time of the
assassination itself?
Mr. HILL. Approximately 12:30.
Mr. SPECTER. I am not sure whether I asked you about this--about how
long did it take you to get from the shooting to the hospital?
Mr. HILL. Approximately 4 minutes.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you observe as to President Kennedy's condition
on arrival at the hospital?
Mr. HILL. The right rear portion of his head was missing. It was lying
in the rear seat of the car. His brain was exposed. There was blood and
bits of brain all over the entire rear portion of the car. Mrs. Kennedy
was completely covered with blood. There was so much blood you could
not tell if there had been any other wound or not, except for the one
large gaping wound in the right rear portion of the head.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you have any opportunity to observe the front part of
his body, to see whether there was any tear or rip in the clothing on
the front?
Mr. HILL. I saw him lying there in the back of the car, when I was
immediately above him. I cannot recall noticing anything that was
ripped in the forward portion of his body.
Mr. SPECTER. What action, if any, did you take to shield the
President's body?
Mr. HILL. I kept myself above the President and Mrs. Kennedy on the
trip to Parkland.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you do anything with your coat upon arrival at
Parkland Hospital to shield the President?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir. I removed it and covered the President's head and
upper chest.
Mr. SPECTER. What, if anything, did you observe as to Governor
Connally's condition on arrival at Parkland?
Mr. HILL. He was conscious. There was a large amount of blood in
the lower abdominal area. He was helped from the automobile to the
stretcher, and I do not recall him saying anything, but I know that he
was conscious. He was wheeled immediately into, I think, emergency room
No. 2.
Mr. SPECTER. And who was removed first from the automobile?
Mr. HILL. Governor Connally.
Mr. SPECTER. How long after the President's car arrived at Parkland
Hospital did medical personnel come to the scene to remove the victims?
Mr. HILL. Seconds. They were there when we were there almost--almost
simultaneously with the arrival.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know where President Kennedy was taken in the
hospital?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir. I accompanied he, and Mrs. Kennedy to the emergency
room.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, tell us what you did at the hospital from the time of
arrival on, please.
Mr. HILL. I went into the emergency room with the President, but it
was so small, and there were so many people in there that I decided I
had better leave and let the doctors take care of the situation. So I
walked outside; asked for the nearest telephone; walked to the nearest
telephone. About that time Special Agent in Charge Kellerman came
outside and said, "Get the White House."
I asked Special Agent Lawson for the local number in Dallas of the
White House switchboard, which he gave to me. I called the switchboard
in Dallas; asked for the line to be open to Washington, and remain
open continuously. And then I asked for Special Agent in Charge Behn's
office. Mr. Kellerman came out of the emergency room about that time,
took the telephone and called Special Agent in Charge Behn that we
had had a double tragedy; that both Governor Connally and President
Kennedy had been shot. And that was about as much as he said. I then
took the telephone and shortly thereafter Mr. Kellerman came out of the
emergency room and said, "Clint, tell Jerry this is unofficial and not
for release, but the man is dead." Which I did. During the two calls,
I talked to the Attorney General, who attempted to reach me, and told
him that his brother had been seriously wounded; that we would keep him
advised as to his condition.
Mr. SPECTER. Where was Mrs. Kennedy all this time, if you know?
Mr. HILL. Immediately upon arrival, she went into the emergency room.
And a few minutes afterward, she was convinced to wait outside, which
she did, remained there the rest of the period of time that we were
there.
Mr. SPECTER. And was there any pronouncement that the President had
died?
Mr. HILL. Not that I know of. Apparently there was. I was requested by
Mr. O'Donnell, one of the Presidential assistants, to obtain a casket,
because they wanted to return to Washington immediately. I contacted
the administrator of the hospital and asked him to take me where I
could telephone the nearest mortuary, which I did, requested that their
best available casket be brought to the emergency entrance in my name
immediately.
Mr. SPECTER. And what action was taken as a result of that request by
you?
Mr. HILL. The casket did arrive from the O'Neal Mortuary, Inc., in
their own hearse, which we then wheeled into the emergency room. I
left the emergency room and asked that two of our agents, Special
Agent Sulliman and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stout clear all
the corridors, and I checked the closest and most immediate route to
the ambulance. We took the body from the hospital and departed the
Parkland Hospital about 2:04 p.m. The ambulance was driven by Special
Agent Berger. Special Agent in Charge Kellerman and Assistant Special
Agent In Charge Stout were riding in the front seat; Mrs. Kennedy, Dr.
Burkley, the President's body, and myself rode in the rear portion of
the ambulance.
Mr. SPECTER. Approximately how long did it take you to reach the
airplane at Love Field?
Mr. HILL. We arrived at Love Field at 2:14.
Mr. SPECTER. And were you present during the swearing-in ceremonies of
President Johnson?
Mr. HILL. I was aboard the aircraft; yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you witness those ceremonies?
Mr. HILL. Well, the Presidential compartment was so small that not all
persons on the aircraft could get in. I was in the forward portion of
the aircraft, right adjacent to the area that the President was sworn
in.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know the time of the swearing in?
Mr. HILL. 2:38.
Mr. SPECTER. And what time did the Presidential aircraft depart?
Mr. HILL. 2:47.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know what time it arrived in the Washington area?
Mr. HILL. 5:59, I believe, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did it land?
Mr. HILL. We landed at Andrews Air Force Base.
Mr. SPECTER. And what action, if any, in connection with this matter
did you take following landing?
Mr. HILL. I assisted Mrs. Kennedy and the Attorney General, who had
joined her at that time, into the ambulance bearing the President's
body, and I entered the automobile immediately behind the ambulance
with Dr. John Walsh, Mrs. Kennedy's physician, and members of President
Kennedy's staff.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did you go then?
Mr. HILL. Immediately to Bethesda Naval Hospital.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you stay with the President's family at that time?
Mr. HILL. When we arrived there, I went to the 17th floor with Mrs.
Kennedy, and I remained with Mrs. Kennedy except for one time when I
was requested to come to the morgue to view the President's body.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you view the President's body?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. What action did you take following the time you viewed the
President's body in the morgue?
Mr. HILL. After the viewing of the President's body?
Mr. SPECTER. Yes.
Mr. HILL. I returned to the 17th floor and remained with Mrs. Kennedy
until we departed the hospital.
Representative BOGGS. May I ask a question? At the hospital in Texas,
you had seen--had you seen the whole body, or just the back of the
President's head?
Mr. HILL. I had seen the whole body, but he was still cold when I saw
him.
Representative BOGGS. At the morgue in Bethesda he was not cold?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir; the autopsy had been completed, and the Lawler
Mortuary Co. was preparing the body for placement in a casket.
Representative BOGGS. At this time did you see the whole body?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir.
Representative BOGGS. Did you see any other wound other than the head
wound?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir; I saw an opening in the back, about 6 inches below
the neckline to the right-hand side of the spinal column.
Representative BOGGS. Was there a frontal neck injury?