Browse Exhibits (5 total)

The Investigators

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Who Were They?

Chief Jesse Curry was the Chief of Dallas Police.  He was a main investigator in both President John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald's assassinations.  As Chief of Dallas Police, Curry was a main liaison between the press, government agencies, and witnesses.  

Lieutenant John Day was the Lieutenant of the Dallas Police Department. Day was one of the major investigators for the events that involved Lee Harvey Oswald. He mainly worked in the Texas School Book Depository, collecting evidence that would incriminate Oswald, such as fingerprints, and retrieving the rifle that was allegedly used to kill President Kennedy.

Captain John Fritz was the head of the Dallas Police Department’s Homicide and Robbery Bureau.  He led the investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by ex-Marine Lee Harvey Oswald, as well as the subsequent assassination of Oswald by local nightclub owner Jack Ruby.  

Detective James Leavelle was a member of the Dallas Police Homicide Department. He was initially in charge of investigating the Tippit murder.  After Oswald was arrested, Leavelle helped question him and was later handcuffed to Oswald when Jack Ruby assassinated him.

Special Agent in Charge Forrest Sorrels was in charge of the Dallas Secret Service office from 1941 to 1969. He was one of the main agents involved in planning the motorcade route for JFK through Dallas. Sorrels also rode in the motorcade's lead car, which drove in front of the Presidential Limo. Sorrels also accompanied eyewitness Abraham Zapruder to The Eastman Kodak Company where the infamous "Zapruder film" was to be developed. After the assassination, he questioned both Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby. 

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The Secret Service Agents

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O'Donnell, Powers, Youngblood, Kellerman, and Greer were all present during the motorcade shooting, were involved at Parkland Memorial Hospital, and witnessed the swearing-in of LBJ. Kenneth O'Donnell was the Special Assistant to the President, sometimes referred to as the Presidential Appointment Secretary. Although he was White House staff, not Secret Service, he was responsible for coordinating the Texas trip with the Secret Service. O'Donnell co-wrote a JFK memoir with David Powers, who was Special Assistant and Assistant Apppointments Secretary to the President. He was riding in the car directly behind the President during the assassination. Powers was a close confidant of JFK, and the President never traveled without him. Powers was often the first person he'd see in the morning and the last person he'd see at night. Rufus Youngblood was the head of the Vice Presidential detail in charge of protecting Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was the only United States Secret Service agent in the Vice Presidential car on the day of the assassination and is known for his heroic protection of VP Johnson. He, too, wrote a memoir about his political experiences. Roy Kellerman was the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Shift Team #3 and charged with protecting the President, John F. Kennedy. He sat in the passenger seat of the President's car. William Greer was the driver of the Presidential limousine responsible for the transportation and coordination of the Dallas parade. Many of these brave men also served during World War II.

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The Arrest of Oswald

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These five Dallas Police Department officers were incredibly essential to the story of November 22, 1963: all five of them were on the scene at the Texas Theater, where someone had called in having seen the suspect in the slaying of Officer J.D. Tippit in Oak Cliff. While the officers did not necessarily know it at the time, they were also catching the suspect in President Kennedy's assassination just slightly earlier that day. 

Kenneth Eugene Lyon "K.E. Lyon" Lyon was a patrolman assigned to the parade route. He was responding to a call to find Tippit's murderer when he arrived at the Theatre. Lyon was in the Theatre at the time of the arrest, which was within earshot of his location.

Eddie Raymond "Buddy" Walthers was one of the first officers to arrive in Dealey Plaza following the assassination of President Kennedy. Walthers was also involved in the Texas Theater arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald and the investigation of the Ruth Paine boarding house where Oswald's family was staying.

Charles Truman "C.T." Walker was a patrolman who responded to the assassination of President Kennedy, helped screen people entering and exiting the Texas School Book Depository, investigated the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit, and took part in the Texas Theater arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Robert "Bob" Carroll was a detective for Dallas Police Department and is known for his involvement in the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald. Carroll was one of the first members of the department to the Texas Theatre to arrest Oswald. Carroll was also involved in investigating Jack Ruby and the link between Ruby's murder of Oswald and Oswald's murder of President Kennedy.

Gerald Lynn "Jerry" Hill is notable for having been at nearly every major scene of action that day, from the Texas School Book Depository to the Tippit murder scene to the Texas Theater, and for having possession of Oswald's gun for the longest amount of time. 

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The Employees of the TSBD

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The Employees of the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) provide us the unique testimonies of individuals in the same building as Lee Harvey Oswald when he killed President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Included in this exhibit are employees of the TSBD, the first investigators on the scene, and the officers who found the crucial evidence that charged Oswald with the murder. 

Leslie Dell (L. D.) Montgomery was a Dallas Police detective who was the first Dallas Police Officer stationed on the 6th floor of the TSBD. He and his partner, Marvin Johnson, were tasked with protecting the 6th floor between 12:50pm and 1:30pm on Nov. 22, 1963. 

Robert Lee (R. L.) Studebaker was a detective for the Crime Scene Service of the Dallas Police Department at the time of the assassination of the president. He was tasked, along with Det. L. D. Montgomery, with documenting the crime scene. 

William H. Shelley - Foreman of the Texas School Book Depository, was in charge of all of the employees and operations in the building. 

Bonnie Ray Williams was a black employee of the TSBD, and a co-worker of Lee Harvey Oswald's. On Nov. 22, 1963, Williams was able to place Oswald in the building and on the 6th floor of the TSBD around the time of President Kennedy's assassination. He witnessed the assassination from the 5th floor - just one floor below the shooter.

Jack Dougherty was an employee of the TSBD since 1952. Dougherty was one of only six TSBD employees present in the building at the exact moment of the shooting. 

To learn more about the TSBD witnesses, click here

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