Roy Kellerman
 |
Roy Kellerman | |
|---|---|
 ThePresidential limousineshortly before Kennedy's assassination. Kellerman was in the front passenger seat of the car | |
| Born | Roy Herman Kellerman March 14, 1915 |
| Died | March 22, 1984(aged 69) |
| Resting place | Memorial Park Cemetery St. Petersburg, Florida,U.S. |
Roy Herman Kellerman(March 14, 1915 – March 22, 1984) was aU.S. Secret Servicesenior agent who was assigned to protectUnited States PresidentJohn F. Kennedywhenhe was assassinatedon November 22, 1963, inDallas.In his reports, later testimony and interviews, Kellerman outlines in detail his role in the immediate aftermath of the assassination.
History[edit]
Kellerman, aNew Baltimore, Michigannative, graduated from high school in 1933 and worked for theDodgedivision ofChryslersporadically from 1935 until 1937 when he was sworn in as a trooper for theMichigan State Police.Kellerman joined the Secret Service inDetroitjust before Christmas 1941, transferring temporarily to the White House detail in March 1942 and permanently one month later. In 1965, Kellerman was promoted to "deputy special agent in charge", replacingFloyd Boring.[1]He retired from the Secret Service in 1968 as an assistant administrator.
Kellerman died inSt. Petersburg, Florida,on March 22, 1984, eight days after his 69th birthday.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy[edit]
As the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of November 22, 1963, Shift Team No. 3, Kellerman was riding in the front passenger seat of thepresidential limousine.The driver was Secret Service AgentWilliam Greer.Like all Secret Service agents assigned to protect thePresident of the United States,Kellerman was trained to use his own body as a shield, taking a bullet if necessary in the line of duty.
Kellerman along with Secret Service agentsWilliam Greer,Clint Hill,andRufus Youngblood,provided testimony to theWarren CommissioninWashington, D.C.,on March 9, 1964.[2]
Kellerman testified, "I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out and the President slumped intoMrs. Kennedy'slap andGovernor Connallyfell toMrs. Connally'slap. "[3]
He further testified to the Warren Commission that the assassination then ended in a "flurry of shells" coming into the limousine.[4]
TheHouse Select Committee on Assassinationsdeclared in 1979 that "the Secret Service was deficient in the performance of its duties" at the time of the assassination,[5]and that President Kennedy did not receive adequate protection in Dallas.[6]Regarding the conduct of Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman, the HSCA noted:
No actions were taken by the agent in the right front seat of the Presidential limousine [Roy Kellerman] to cover the President with his body, although it would have been consistent with Secret Service procedure for him to have done so. The primary function of the agent was to remain at all times in close proximity to the President in the event of such emergencies.[7]
According to an interview given in 1981 afterJohn Hinckley, Jr.'s attempt to assassinate President Reagan in 1981,Kellerman did not believe there was a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy.[8]However, in 1994,Vanity Fairpublished an article byAnthony Summersand Robbyn Swan in which they quoted Kellerman's widow, June, as stating he "accepted that there was a conspiracy."[9]
In popular culture[edit]
In the 2013 filmParkland,actorTom Wellingplayed the role of Kellerman.[10]
References[edit]
- ^"LBJ 'Shield' Gets Special Capital Post".The Spokesman-Review.Spokane, Washington. January 9, 1965. p. 1.RetrievedMay 25,2013.
- ^"Testimony Of Roy H. Kellerman, Special Agent, Secret Service".Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume II.Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp. 61–112.
- ^Roy Kellerman Treasury department report dated 11-29-63, also Warren Commission Report, Volume 18, page 724
- ^Warren Commission testimony, starting in Warren Commission Volume 2, page 62
- ^House Select Committee on Assassinations Final Report,p. 227.
- ^House Select Committee on Assassinations Final Report,p. 229-35.
- ^House Select Committee on Assassinations Final Report,p. 234-35.
- ^Mann, Jimmy (April 2, 1981)."Assassination Try Stirs Former Agent's Memories".Evening Independent.St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 18-A.RetrievedMarch 4,2013.
- ^Summers, Anthony;Swan, Robbyn (December 1994). "The Ghosts of November".Vanity Fair.Vol. 57, no. 12. p. 88.
- ^"Tom Welling Heads to Parkland".ComingSoon.net.January 31, 2013.
- 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
External links[edit]
