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(Testimony of Forrest V. Sorrels)
Mr. Stern.
Mr. SORRELS, Yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
Yesterday you covered with Mr. Hubert the events that transpired from the time of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald forward1.
I would like to go back now with you and cover the advance preparations for the President's trip, and come up to the time of the shooting of Oswald.
Mr. Sorrels.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
Would you tell us first something of your experience in Presidential protection work through the course of your career in the Secret Service?
Mr. Sorrels.
Yes, sir; the first real assignment that I had in connection with Presidential work was in 1936 at Dallas, Tex. when President Roosevelt came there, and there was a parade downtown, motorcade out to the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park, where he made a talk, and then from there to the Adolphus Hotel for luncheon, and from the Adolphus Hotel to Lee Park, where he unveiled a monument, and then motored to Fort Worth, Tex., where there was a reception committee that met him on the lawn at the Texas Pacific Railroad Station, and then motored to a park in Fort Worth where he made a talk, and then continued on out to his son Elliott's ranch, west of Fort Worth.
During the time that President Roosevelt was in office, there were a number of times that he came to Fort Worth to visit his son.
One in particular that I recall was during the Second World War, when it was necessary that his travels be kept secret, and we were able to get him into his son's home and visit the airplane factory where the B-36 was manufactured there at Fort Worth, and get him out of town, and it was some 2 hours after that before any reporter ever found out and called our office inquiring about the President.
I have been to Washington on inaugurations two times that I can recall, the last one being at the time that President Kennedy was inaugurated.
I have been assigned on surveys in connection with inaugurations. I have been in Mexico on three different occasions when the President visited there, to Mexico City, Monterey, the last one being at Falcon Dam, when the dam was dedicated by the two Presidents of Mexico and the United States.
Mr. Stern.
That was President Eisenhower?
Mr. Sorrels.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
Have you worked on visits by President Kennedy to Texas before this?
Mr. Sorrels.
Yes, sir; there were two visits that he made there--one a very short notice one of a matter of a few hours, when he came to Dallas to visit Mr. Rayburn in Baylor Hospital. Then when he came to Bonham, at the time Mr. Rayburn was buried---we had the assignments in connection with that.
Mr. Stern.
These were informal trips, without publicity?
Mr. Sorrels.
There was publicity. For example, the one that he came to the hospital, it wasn't announced until about 10 o'clock in the morning that he would be there.
He came there, I guess, a little over 2 or 3 hours after that--just a very quick trip, and not much time to make any preparation.
But, fortunately, everything went real good.
Mr. Stern.
Mr. Sorrels, is there any significant difference that occurs to you in the protective arrangements, including the advance arrangements, for the November trip to Dallas by President Kennedy, and this trip you were telling us about that President Roosevelt made to Dallas, which involved a similar motorcade, in 1936, I believe you said?
Mr. Sorrels.
No, sir.
Mr. Stern.
About the same advance preparation?
Mr. Sorrels.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
Protective organization?
Mr. Sorrels.
Yes, sir.
Of course in the one that President Roosevelt came there, it was more functions and more places to go, including two cities.
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