Sixth Floor Museum Oral Histories: notes on highlights from SA Walt Coughlin, SA John Joe Howlett, and Lisa McCubbin

SA Walt Coughlin (2/18/11): "He was a wonderful man to work with. I loved the job...But he [JFK]would listen if you told him not to do something. He would, as long as you didn‟t “cry wolf” all the time. If you said, you know, “Don‟t do that,” he assumed you had a good reason. He was good about that...I did the advance to Miami about three weeks before he was assassinated, and it was a difficult stop because it was right after the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cubans were up in arms and there was a lot of information, intelligence, that he was going to be try to be assassinated in Miami by disgruntled Cubans. We got around it by helicoptering him as opposed to using a motorcade. But yes, that was a difficult, difficult stop to make...I don‟t recall ever being unhappy with him. I never saw him being unkind with any of us. He certainly was not unkind to me. He had a wonderful sense of humor...Now we all knew about the media stuff about “Oh, don‟t come to Dallas” and “Don‟t come to Texas.” I didn‟t feel that. I saw it in the paper...We knew that it [the assassination] could happen, whereas the public never thought about it. We lived with it constantly. So even though we were disappointed in the fact that we “failed” (using air quote marks), I don‟t think we were terribly surprised that it could happen...you never want to fail in whatever you do. People have asked me if I wished I had been there. The answer‟s “yes.” My professional side tells me maybe, just maybe, I could have been able to do something or have seen something that somebody else missed. And I‟ll never know the answer. Yeah, it bothers me. Yeah...Well, I think it‟s a shame that they weren‟t allowed to keep the top on the car, the bubble. Not that it was bullet proof, but it may have deflected. And the way that President Kennedy was shot—from the upper right rear—had an agent been allowed to stay on that right bumper, he would have blocked the shot. Now, had Oswald had seen the agent on the back bumper and knowing that shot was not available, he may have made himself visible in that window to shoot him coming on. And hopefully, somebody might‟ve seen him and prevented it...Jerry Blaine, who wrote the book, started talking about that five or six years ago...Jack Ready, I understand, who was on the right side of the follow-up car, got criticized by someone somewhere for not jumping off the follow-up car and running towards… Well, he started to and Emory Roberts running the follow-up car said, “Don‟t! Don‟t jump, Jack, because we‟ve got to swerve to let Clint get by.” Well, you know, but Jack took that as an insult to his professionalism, and I don‟t think he‟s ever gotten over it. Like, you know, how come you didn‟t do anything, Jack Ready, is how he sees it. In fact, he did exactly as he was told, which is how we're trained...Well, the Secret Service being involved is ludicrous to start with. Now, a conspiracy—my definition is two or more people. There may well have been a conspiracy, but only one person performed the operation...I think his tragedy—the tragedy of his death—was the savior of the Secret Service. They almost lost the jurisdiction because of it. Unfairly, I think, but they almost lost it. Then the government finally…Congress or whoever finally realized that we‟ve got to do something about this...And it‟s a terrible thing to say, but Kennedy really helped improve the Secret Service (nodding).";
John Joe Howlett (4/6/11): "[re: Dallas office] my recollection is we had the boss, which was Sorrel[s]. We had Bill Patterson, Roger Warner, myself, and Mike Howard was in Fort Worth. And that‟s the only ones that I can recall right now. Charlie Kunkle came down very shortly after I got here...I noticed the thing that has intrigued me ever since was this mark on the windshield that was in the shape of what we normally think of a thirty-ought-six bullet—but about half that size—that was in the… on the windshield. And I thought, well, you know, that‟s a bullet fragment that hit the windshield. I could not see the so-called dent in the chrome because the top had been put on, and it covered that chrome area. Later on—well, as a matter of fact, three or four years ago—somebody was asking me some questions about it, and I thought, well, I‟m going to look into it. And I read Clint Hill's and… oh gosh (thinking)… Kellerman's statements, and they said that there was no exit wound in the president's forehead or face. And I got to thinking, there‟s no way I can see that a bullet could‟ve hit that windshield without an exit wound for the president‟s forehead or face. And that‟s when I got to thinking, along with another individual, Max Holland, that the bullet must‟ve struck something and this part that we were seeing on the windshield and the chrome was part of a ricochet. Of course, there had always been the controversy of the three bullets. Of course, clearly one bullet hits the president—I don‟t see how anybody can doubt that—in the so-called third shot. Then you have the second shot, or a shot, that hit both the president and Governor Connally. A lot of people kind of call that the “magic bullet.” But I was in Washington with Inspector Kelley of the Secret Service that coordinated our investigation, and we were at the meeting when that theory was brought up. And I think Arlen Specter was the staff… and I don‟t remember who all else was there. But as we left the meeting, Inspector Kelley said that was the craziest thing he ever heard, that bullet going through both of them. And I shook my head, and I said, “No, I believe he‟s right.”; The Commission came to the conclusion that he was trying to kill the president. I‟m not 100% convinced. I‟m, like, 85% to 90% convinced. Of course, I know he had a gripe against the president because of the Cuban situation and Kennedy‟s involvement with the Bay of Pigs. But he also had a complaint with Connally in that Connally was the Secretary of the Navy when he was in the Marines and was… got out, and of course, he got a bad conduct discharge...I think now after reading all of the agents‟ testimony and a lot of the testimony of the people around here or were witnesses to it, I am now personally convinced that it was the first shot that missed...[working with Holland?] Yes, Max [Holland]approached me about four years ago with this theory that the first bullet could have struck the lamppost, which was, you know, before the tree...I was astonished when I looked on the Internet at how many people are still, you know, working on theories and still arguing aspects of this case, many of which I think have already been resolved. But I was astonished at how much is still currently being done on the Net."
Lisa McCubbin (11/18/10): "[ever study assassination or read conspiracy books?](shaking head) No. No, I never really. I mean, other than just, you know, being interested from the perspective of knowing Jerry, you know, I was probably more interested in Jackie Kennedy and that sort of thing. But I never really studied the subject...It was Jerry Blaine’s idea, and he had been working on it for probably about five years...I would love for all the conspiracy theories to just end (smiling), but they… I know they won’t. And there are so many people that just seem like they have nothing better to do than analyze this fifty-year-old subject to death and try to come up with something new. And in doing so, a lot of these people want to crucify the Secret Service agents for not doing their jobs...there is no way that any of them had anything to do with his death...I think the people who do want to crucify them are in the minority (chuckling), and for the most part, people really respect these men—as they should...I appreciate the way the Museum has embraced the book and really we’ve had such great feedback from the Secret Service, the current Secret Service. They are thrilled with the book. The director has read it and even said he would like to make it required reading for all future Secret Service agents. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but the fact that we’ve done something that can be bigger than what we even thought is great. And we just appreciate your support...They… we wanted them to be aware that it was being written and actually Clint Hill called—he knows the current director—he called and told him it was being written, that he was contributing. And the director said, “Well, Clint, if you’re involved, I don’t need to say anymore. I know it will be worthy of trusting in confidence.” And that’s what it is."

Vince Palamara: leading civilian Secret Service expert

Vince Palamara
Vince Palamara is the world's leading civilian authority on the United States Secret Service, especially with regards to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Palamara's work has appeared in over 50 books by other authors, numerous articles, countless internet articles, radio, and even on The History Channel. Palamara is currently in the process of having his book entitled Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President published.

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Vince Palamara is an American author who focuses on the United States Secret Service, especially with regard to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. [1][2] He is a notable alumni of Duquesne University,[3] and a native of Bethel Park and South Park, Pennsylvania[4]


References
^ Vince Palamara booksSee, for examples, "Murder in Dealey Plaza" (2000)by Prof. James H. Fetzer, numerous, but especially page 159Murder In Dealey Plaza Publisher's Weekly wrote: "A compendium of recent thought and discovery about the Kennedy assassination, this volume makes a case for official malfeasance and against the "lone gunman" explanation...Vincent Palamara names several Secret Service agents who he believes may have been compromised...This coolly angry dismantling of the theories of the Warren commission and lone-gunman supporters like Gerald Posner will be fodder for conspiracy theorists. (Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.) ; "The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency" (2002; updated 2005)by Philip Melanson, pages 80, 87, and Bibliography Secret Service Melanson; The Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board, pages xvii & 138 Final Report ARRB; "Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years" (2007) by David Talbot, pages 14, 22, and Bibliography Brothers ; "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" (2007) by Vincent Bugliosi, pages XV [page 3, endnotes disc], 146 [source notes disc], 347 [endnotes disc], 403, 404, 408, 691 [endnotes disc], 711 [endnotes disc], 998, 1242-1243, 1276, 1529 (Bibliography), 1592 (index), 1603 (index), & 1604 (index)Bugliosi JFK book, and even "Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" by the aforementioned Vincent Bugliosi (2008) Four Days by Bugliosi
^ See also episode seven of the A & E/ History Channel series "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" (TMWKK) titled "The Smoking Guns" (aired four times in November 2003; available on VHS and DVD from 11/03-4/04; still shown in the UK and on YouTube). Palamara appears in the first segment of the program and is referred to by the British narrator as "A Secret Service expert" with an accompanying title at the bottom of the picture saying the same thing Palamara on History Channel. Vincent Bugliosi refers to Palamara as a "Secret Service expert" in his 2008 book "Four Days In November", as well as on his website:Bugliosi official book website In addition, former Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden favorably mentioned Palamara's research during his November 2007 ABC News interview, as well as on his book's website:Agent Bolden official book website
^ PDF Palamara-Duquesne University alumniNotable Duquesne University Alumni
^ UK website on Palamara Palamara official MySpace page Palamara official MySpace page two

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Palamara

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Vince-Palamara


Encyclopedia > Vince Palamara
Vince Palamara is a civilian authority on the United States Secret Service, especially with regards to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Palamara's work has appeared in over 32 books by other authors, numerous articles, countless internet articles, radio, and The History Channel. Palamara is currently in the process of having his book entitled Survivor's Guilt published. USSS redirects here. ... President Kennedy, with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally in the Presidential limousine shortly before the assassination. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... History Channel logo. ...

Category: United States writer stubs

http://www.duq.edu/frontpages/aboutdu/magazines/DUMagWinter2004.pdf
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Vincent Palamara was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from Duquesne University with a degree in Sociology.

Although not even born when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Vince brings fresh eyes to an old case. In fact, Vince would go on to study the largely overlooked actions - and inactions - of the United States Secret Service in unprecedented detail, as well as achieving a world's record in the process, having interviewed and corresponded with over seventy former agents (the House Select Committee on Assassinations had the old record of 46 with a 6 million dollar budget and supboena power from Congress), not to mention many surviving family members, White House aides, and even quite a few Parkland and Bethesda medical witnesses for a corresponding project. The result was Survivor's Guilt; The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President, a very successful self-published book that sold thousands of copies in the 1990's before becoming a free online e-book in 2006.

In addition, the aforementioned corresponding project on the John F. Kennedy assassination medical evidence, JFK: The Medical Evidence Reference, Vince's second book, although almost an afterthought to Vince's main area of research, still sold hundreds of copies and was favorably mentioned in books by William Law, R. Andrew Kiel, James Fetzer, and even Vince Bugliosi. Like his first book, Vince's medical evidence tome became a free online e-book in 2006.

All told, Vince has been favorably mentioned in over 50 JFK and Secret Service related books to date (including two whole chapters in Murder in Dealey Plaza, The Secret Service: The Hidden History Of An Enigmatic Agency by Philip Melanson, and the Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board, among many others), often at length, in the bibliographies, and in the Secret Service - and even medical evidence - areas of these works.

Vince has appeared on the History Channel, local cable access television, YouTube, radio, newspapers, print journals, at national conferences, and all over the internet. Also, Vince's original research materials, or copies of said materials, are stored in the National Archives (by request under Deed Of Gift by the ARRB), the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Harvard University, the Assassination Archives and Research Center, and the Dallas Public Library.

Vince Palamara has become known (as he was dubbed by the History Channel in 2003) "the Secret Service expert." As former JFK Secret Service agent Joe Paolella proclaimed: "You seem to know a lot about the Secret Service, maybe even more than I do," while fellow JFK Secret Service agent Chuck Zboril stated: "You might be helpful to the official Secret Service historian who works out of Washington!"



http://lads.myspace.com/slides/slideshow_random.swf?u=58490370

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Vince Palamara Biography (extended/ part two)

Vince Palamara is the leading civilian authority on the United States Secret Service, especially with regard to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He is a graduate of Duquesne University, and a native of Bethel Park and South Park, Pennsylvania.


Writing
Palamara's work has appeared in over 50 books by other authors, in print articles,and internet articles,YouTube, newspapers, radio, at national conferences, and The History Channel.

Palamara is currently in the process of having his book entitled Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President published, as well as continuing his role as international consultant on the actions---and inactions---of the United States Secret Service on November 22, 1963, during the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy [note: Vince Palamara is also consulted, from time to time, regarding the Secret Service's interaction with other U.S. Presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon Johnson, to name but a few, although the agents that protected President John F. Kennedy are his primary focus.

Palamara is also the author of JFK: The Medical Evidence Reference.


Music
Palamara is also an accomplished guitarist, performing in the original, progressive hard rock bands Seance, Entourage, Diamond Haze, and now Silent Choir (featured on college and foreign radio, in international fanzines and magazines, on cable access television, on the internet, and on YouTube).

http://www.youtube.com/user/VincePalamara

http://www.myspace.com/vincepalamara

http://twitter.com/vincepalamara

http://www.facebook.com/vince.palamara
http://vincepalamara.blogspot.com/
http://vincepalamarasecretservicejfk.blogspot.com/
I am in over 50 other author's books to date, including:

"RECLAIMING HISTORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY" (2007) BY VINCE BUGLIOSI: 16 pages, inc. the disc, biblio., index, & text

"FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER" by Vincent Bugliosi (2008)

Vince Bugliosi letter to Vince Palamara dated 7/14/07:"I want you to know that I am very impressed with your research abilities and the enormous amount of work you put into your investigation of the Secret Service regarding the assassination. You are, unquestionably, the main authority on the Secret Service with regard to the assassination. I agree with you that they did not do a good job protecting the president (e.g. see p. 1443 of my book)..."

"FINAL REPORT OF THE ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD" (1998) [ALSO ONLINE] [Given to President Clinton, Trent Lott, & Newt Gingrich!]

"BROTHERS" (2007) by David Talbot

In all versions of "THE SECRET SERVICE: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AN ENIGMATIC AGENCY" (2005) BY PHILLIP H. MELANSON WITH PETER F. STEVENS--- see especially *updated and revised version with different cover*

"MURDER IN DEALEY PLAZA" (2000) BY JAMES FETZER [2 whole chapters+; favorable mention by Publisher's Weekly; Amazon.Com "best-seller"] Publisher's Weekly, 8/28/00: "A compendium of recent thought and discovery about the Kennedy assassination, this volume makes a case for official malfeasance and against the "lone gunman" explanation...Vincent Palamara names several Secret Service agents who he believes may have been compromised...This coolly angry dismantling of the theories of the Warren commission and lone-gunman supporters like Gerald Posner will be fodder for conspiracy theorists. "

Sample of my research:



Special Agent In Charge (SAIC) of White House Detail (WHD), later known as the Presidential Protective Division (PPD)---***compiled*** by Vince Palamara

The Associated Press, 7/18/98: "[Larry] Cockell is one of only 24 special agents to be in charge of the presidential protective division since it started in 1901 and is the first black to hold the job."--- SAIC's [24 from 1901 to 1999]:

1 Joseph E. Murphy (Teddy Roosevelt [1901]-Taft; became Asst. Chief in 1919 under Wilson)

2 Dick Jervis Wilson; his asst.: Col. Edmund W. Starling)

3 Col. Edmund W. Starling (1935; ASAIC: Michael F. Reilly; his own book "Starling of the White House")

4 Michael F. Reilly (1943-1946/47; had been ASAIC 1941-1943, along with Guy H. Spaman and Thomas J. Qualters; his own book "Reilly of the White House")

5 George C. Drescher (joined the Secret Service in 1919; worked in the Philadelphia, and Washington field offices; SAIC 4/12/45-5/3/46 when replaced by Rowley; 5/46: SAIC of Baltimore office; retired in 1953; Herbert Hoover Library 6/1/67; mentioned by Boring and Rowley during their Truman Library Oral Histories in 1988; deceased; nephew Earl L. Drescher became the deputy chief of the Executive Protective Service in the late 1970's)

6 James J. Rowley (1946-Sept. 1961; during late Ike into early JFK era: Behn & Campion: ASAIC; Boring, Kellerman, Stout & Roberts: ATSAIC) ; became Director 1961-1973; Secret Service training facility in Beltsville, MD named after Rowley

7 Gerald A. Behn (Sept. 1961-Jan. 1965; ASAIC's: Boring, Campion [replaced by Kellerman 10/62], and Kellerman; after 11/22/63, ASAIC's inc. Youngblood; ATSAIC's: Roberts, Godfrey, & Stout)

8 Rufus W. Youngblood (Jan. 1965; ASAIC's: Kellerman [2] + Johns & Taylor); later, became an Asst. Director

9 Thomas "Lem" Johns (Fall 1965; ASAIC: Robert H. Taylor); son later served on PPD

10 Clinton J. Hill (Approx. 1966-1968; Became SAIC of V.P. Agnew's Detail in 1969); later, bnecame an Asst. Director; on "60 Minutes" 12/75 and 11/93; "The Secret Service", 1995; "Inside The Secret Service", 1995; "Inside The U.S. Secret Service", 2004; Larry King, 2006

11 Robert H. Taylor (LBJ & NIXON: 1969-Feb. 1973/Nixon; ASAIC: William L. Duncan)

12Richard E. Keiser (Feb. 1973-1978; Nixon, Ford [Keiser bore a resemblance to Ford], Carter; ASAIC: Warren "Woody" Taylor; ASAIC of V.P. Detail: David B. Grant; Ronald M. Pontius; Robert L. Kollar: was ASAIC of Ford Detail in 1978)

13John R. Simpson (Carter) later, became Director; "Inside The Secret Service", 1995

14Gerald S. Parr (Carter-Reagan; ATSAIC: Ray Shaddick; ASAIC: Robert DeProspero; SAIC of Nancy Reagan's Detail: George Opfer); "The Secret Service", 1995; "Inside The Secret Service", 1995; Larry King 1998; "Inside The U.S. Secret Service", 2004; etc.

15Robert DeProspero (Reagan, Jan. 1982-approx. April 1985; pictured on pages 110, 111, 114, 122, 123, 126, & 127 of AFAUSSS book from 1991; later, became the Assistant to the Director [Simpson]; ASAIC: Joe Petro) see this wikipedia which I created: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_DeProspero


16Ray Shaddick (Reagan/ Bush)

17John W. Magaw (Bush) later, became Director

18Rich "Skip" Miller (Bush/ Clinton); later, became an Assistant Director; pictured in Petro's book and President Bill Clinton's book

19David Carpenter (Clinton) ; "Inside The U.S. Secret Service", 2004; pictured in President Bill Clinton's book


20Don Flynn (Clinton); "Inside The U.S. Secret Service", 2004; pictured in President Bill Clinton's book


21Pat Miller (Clinton; "The Secret Service" video 1995); pictured in President Bill Clinton's book

22Lewis C. Merletti (Clinton; appears in "The Secret Service" video 1995[un-credited]); later, became Director; pictured in President Bill Clinton's book


23Brian L. Stafford (Clinton); later, became Director; "Inside The U.S. Secret Service", 2004; pictured in President Bill Clinton's book


24Larry Cockell (Clinton; testified before Kenneth Starr's investigation into the Monica Lewinsky matter); later, became an Assistant Director; "Inside The U.S. Secret Service", 2004; ; pictured in President Bill Clinton's book

Reginald Moore (Clinton)


Nick Trotta (at least since 2004 to the present [2007]; George W. Bush)

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