Do you recall whether or not the President's automobile made any stops en route from the airport into the downtown area?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I don't recollect, clearly. I would be surprised if it did not. But I don't have any clear recollection.

Mr. Specter.

Was it a usual practice for the President to make a stop on the motorcade?
Mr. O'DONNELL. If the crowds got too large, he would stop, or if he saw some child had gone to some great extreme with a sign, he would sometimes stop. Usually unless the crowds were particularly heavy, or indicated a need for a stop, he would not stop.

Mr. Specter.

And what was the nature of the crowd in downtown Dallas?
Mr. O'DONNELL. The nature of the crowd was extremely heavy, one of the heaviest I have seen in any American city.

Mr. Specter.

How did they compare with the crowds during the 1960 campaign in Dallas?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I would think probably heavier. But very close. They were both very large crowds, very enthusiastic. I think, as I have always noticed, to the President and candidate there is a different aura. But that would be the only difference I would notice in the crowd. There was a little bit more respect--still the same enthusiasm. At the last trip in Dallas he stopped the motorcade every 5 minutes--they mobbed the car. There was none of that. But they were in the middle of the street and off the sidewalks. So there was a very narrow lane to progress through. But they were still very orderly, but cheerful.

Mr. Specter.

Did you have any specific reaction to the Dallas crowd in terms of what your expectation might have been about Dallas?
Mr. O'DONNELL. Well, I was pleased with it. As a politician, I was particularly pleased with it. I thought we had accomplished what we had come to Dallas to do, was, one, to establish the fact that the average person living in that city was no different than any other American, and that they respected and admired their President. And I felt one of the greatest things that does occur of a political nature is the Congressman and the political leaders who had also been reading the same newspaper about how unpopular he was, it is good for them to see it really is not true, it is a reflection of a very small minority, and that the President of the United States was extremely popular in Dallas.
And that was the basic reason we went. And as we finished through the business section of town, that was my pleased impression.

Mr. Specter.

Do you recall the scene when you left the Main Street of downtown Dallas, with respect specifically to the presence of a large building which was immediately ahead of the motorcade?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I did not. I was looking at the crowd. And I frankly didn't look at the building, except when there were people in the windows. And as we made that turn, I had been standing--I remember I sat down. And as far as I was concerned, that was the end--we were then going to the luncheon--and I didn't notice any building at all.

Mr. Specter.

Were you familiar with the identity of the specific plaza there, being known as Dealey Plaza?
Mr. O'DONNELL. I was not. I afterward have reflected on it many times.

Mr. Specter.

Tell us what occurred then as you made that turn away from the crowded downtown Dallas area and headed toward the plaza area.
Mr. O'DONNELL. Well, I sat down. I remember saying to Dave Powers that it was a fantastic crowd. He agreed.
We turned. I remember the overpass. And then the shots occurred--which, at that time, I did not know were shots. My first impression was it was a firecracker. And then either somebody said, "He has been hit," or I noticed the slump--he had been waving out the right side of the car, and I noticed him slump over toward Mrs. Kennedy, and I realized then that they had been shots. But as fast as that realization occurred, I saw the third shot hit. It was such a perfect shot--I remember I blessed myself. I was rather convinced that was a fatal blow.

Mr. Specter.

When you say you made a turn, which way did the motorcade turn?
Mr. O'DONNELL. Turned to the left.

« Previous | Next »

Found a Typo?

Click here

Last Update: Wed, 3 Aug 2016 21:56:35 CET