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Introduction

Secret Service Witnesses 

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.

For this page, we relied on the folders of our agents' testimonies found in the National Archives Digital Collections. 

The Witnesses 

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Map created with the ZeeMaps tool using selected GIS data combined from the agents' folders in NARA's Catalog.

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Close-up #1: Texas Locations

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Close-up #2: D.C., Maryland, and Virginia Locations

Secret Service: ZeeMaps

The overview map to the left represents addresses of key persons and events in which the Secret Service agents were involved on the day of and the days following President Kennedy's assassination. This Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data was combined from the folders of O'Donnell, Youngblood, Kellerman, Powers, and Greer in the National Archives' Catalog. All of the addresses were specifically mentioned either by the subjects in their testimonies or in the other records included in their files. 

The first close-up image specifically deals with locations in Texas. Some of these locations include Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Dallas Police Department, Love Field, and the Trade Mart. All of these locations were staffed by agents during the day of the assassination or were locations where President Kennedy and his entourage either visited (planned or unplanned) or were planning on visiting. 

The second close-up map shows the addresses specifically related to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington. These locations include the White House, the LBJ Ranch, and the schools where LBJ’s daughters attended: the National Cathedral for Girls and the Kinsolving Dormitory at the University of Texas. Most of these addresses involve locations that were relevant mostly after the Kennedy assassination, once Lyndon B. Johnson took up the mantle of President. Some locations, including the White House, were relevant both during and after.

Looking at the entire map as a whole, the distance between these addresses truly reflects the level of involvement of people across the nation, in both the arrangement of President Kennedy's visit to Dallas and the events that occurred immediately before and after his death. So many people, from White House staffers, to Secret Service agents, to local police, were a part of this culturally important trajedy, and the great expanse of these addresses speaks to JFK’s legacy and his impact left on all Americans.

Introduction