Roy Kellerman
Encyclopedia
Roy Herman Kellerman was a U.S. Secret Service Agent assigned to protect President John F. Kennedy
when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963. In his reports, later testimony and interviews, Kellerman outlines in detail his role in the immediate aftermath of the assassination, controlling key evidence of the crime and guiding doctors during the official autopsy at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
, Michigan
native, graduated from high school in 1933 and worked for the Dodge
division of Chrysler
sporadically from 1935 until 1937 when he was sworn in as a trooper for the Michigan State Police
. Kellerman joined the Secret Service in Detroit
just before Christmas, 1941, transferring temporarily to the White House detail in March 1942 and permanently one month later. After the assassination, he was promoted, retiring from the Secret Service in 1968 as an assistant administrator. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida
on March 22, 1984 of unreported causes.
. Like all Secret Service agents assigned to protect the President of the United States
, Kellerman was trained to use his own body as a shield, taking a bullet if necessary in the line of duty.
Kellerman was the nearest agent to the President during the attack. In the uncropped Zapruder film
, he can be seen turning his entire torso to view Kennedy at a time when the president shows distress. Then, he turns back around to face forward in a relaxed position, which he maintains as the remaining shots are fired into the president and the limo speeds away from the scene.
The recently stabilized version of the Zapruder film displays even greater detail of Kellerman's actions during the shooting, including his raising a radio handset and an apparent momentary glance at Greer. Both actions take place after Kennedy is seen to be in distress but before the fatal head shot.
Kellerman testified to the Warren Commission
, "I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out and the President slumped into Mrs. Kennedy's
lap and Governor Connally
fell to Mrs. Connally's
lap." As clearly seen in the Zapruder film and Ike Altgens
photo number six, Kellerman did not start his head turn rearward until Zapruder film frame 253 to 254.
Kellerman also testified to the Warren Commission, "I am going to say that I have, from the firecracker report and the two other shots that I know, those were three shots. But, if President Kennedy had from all reports four wounds, Governor Connally three, there have got to be more than three shots, gentlemen."
He further testified to the Warren Commission that after he remembered hearing the first audible muzzle blast or mechanically suppressed fired bullet bow shockwave, the assassination then ended in a "flurry of shells" coming into the limousine that reminded him of a jet sonic-boom sound quickness.
at Love Field, and later upon its arrival at Andrews Air Force Base
, Kellerman can be seen directing the movements of the president's casket.
Kellerman maintained his composure immediately after the violent death of the president he was charged to protect, managing events as they continued to develop. Kellerman testified that he played a role in the autopsy at Bethesda, including guiding the doctors toward specific conclusions regarding bullet locations. Kellerman also took personal custody of the x-rays and photographic negatives at the conclusion of the autopsy and took them with him as he rode in the ambulance that transported the president's casket to the White House. When asked by the House Select Committee on Assassinations staff why he wanted this material, he said "...the point is, he was our man, everything belonged in the White House."."
With Kellerman in charge of local events (and with the assistance of Greer), the Secret Service maintained custody of the most important evidence of the crime, including the president's body, clothing, limousine, forensic tissues, and autopsy photographs and X-rays, returning everything to the White House before the sun rose on November 23, 1963, less than fifteen hours from when the first shot was fired.
According to his widow June, Roy Kellerman believed there was a conspiracy behind the death of JFK.."
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963. In his reports, later testimony and interviews, Kellerman outlines in detail his role in the immediate aftermath of the assassination, controlling key evidence of the crime and guiding doctors during the official autopsy at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
History
Kellerman, a Macomb CountyMacomb County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile . There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
native, graduated from high school in 1933 and worked for the Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
division of Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
sporadically from 1935 until 1937 when he was sworn in as a trooper for the Michigan State Police
Michigan State Police
The Michigan State Police is the state police agency for the state of Michigan. The MSP is a full service law enforcement agency with its sworn members having full police powers statewide....
. Kellerman joined the Secret Service in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
just before Christmas, 1941, transferring temporarily to the White House detail in March 1942 and permanently one month later. After the assassination, he was promoted, retiring from the Secret Service in 1968 as an assistant administrator. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
on March 22, 1984 of unreported causes.
Actions during assassination
As the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of November 22, 1963 Shift Team #3, Kellerman was riding in the front passenger seat of the presidential limousine. The driver was Secret Service Agent William GreerWilliam Greer
William Robert Greer was an agent of the U.S. Secret Service, best known for having driven President John F...
. Like all Secret Service agents assigned to protect the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Kellerman was trained to use his own body as a shield, taking a bullet if necessary in the line of duty.
Kellerman was the nearest agent to the President during the attack. In the uncropped Zapruder film
Zapruder film
The Zapruder film is a silent, color motion picture sequence shot by private citizen Abraham Zapruder with a home-movie camera, asU.S. President John F...
, he can be seen turning his entire torso to view Kennedy at a time when the president shows distress. Then, he turns back around to face forward in a relaxed position, which he maintains as the remaining shots are fired into the president and the limo speeds away from the scene.
The recently stabilized version of the Zapruder film displays even greater detail of Kellerman's actions during the shooting, including his raising a radio handset and an apparent momentary glance at Greer. Both actions take place after Kennedy is seen to be in distress but before the fatal head shot.
Kellerman testified to the Warren Commission
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
, "I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out and the President slumped into Mrs. Kennedy's
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
lap and Governor Connally
John Connally
John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...
fell to Mrs. Connally's
Nellie Connally
Idanell Brill "Nellie" Connally was the First Lady of Texas from 1963 to 1969.-First Lady of Texas:Born in Austin, Texas, she was wife of John Connally, who served as Governor of Texas and later as Secretary of the Treasury.-Death of President Kennedy:At the time of her death in 2006, she was the...
lap." As clearly seen in the Zapruder film and Ike Altgens
Ike Altgens
James William "Ike" Altgens was an American photographer and field reporter for the Associated Press. Based in Dallas, Texas, in 1963, Altgens took arguably the most famous photograph of the in-progress assassination of President John F...
photo number six, Kellerman did not start his head turn rearward until Zapruder film frame 253 to 254.
Kellerman also testified to the Warren Commission, "I am going to say that I have, from the firecracker report and the two other shots that I know, those were three shots. But, if President Kennedy had from all reports four wounds, Governor Connally three, there have got to be more than three shots, gentlemen."
He further testified to the Warren Commission that after he remembered hearing the first audible muzzle blast or mechanically suppressed fired bullet bow shockwave, the assassination then ended in a "flurry of shells" coming into the limousine that reminded him of a jet sonic-boom sound quickness.
Controller of evidence
Kellerman's report and later testimony indicate that he was with the president without interruption from the motorcade's departure from Love Field, through the entire autopsy and embalming and up until the president's remains were brought back to the White House. In photographs and footage of the casket being loaded aboard Air Force OneAir Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
at Love Field, and later upon its arrival at Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
, Kellerman can be seen directing the movements of the president's casket.
Kellerman maintained his composure immediately after the violent death of the president he was charged to protect, managing events as they continued to develop. Kellerman testified that he played a role in the autopsy at Bethesda, including guiding the doctors toward specific conclusions regarding bullet locations. Kellerman also took personal custody of the x-rays and photographic negatives at the conclusion of the autopsy and took them with him as he rode in the ambulance that transported the president's casket to the White House. When asked by the House Select Committee on Assassinations staff why he wanted this material, he said "...the point is, he was our man, everything belonged in the White House."."
With Kellerman in charge of local events (and with the assistance of Greer), the Secret Service maintained custody of the most important evidence of the crime, including the president's body, clothing, limousine, forensic tissues, and autopsy photographs and X-rays, returning everything to the White House before the sun rose on November 23, 1963, less than fifteen hours from when the first shot was fired.
According to his widow June, Roy Kellerman believed there was a conspiracy behind the death of JFK.."
In Pop Culture
A reference to Roy Kellerman can be found in the hit TV series "Prison Break". In the show Special Agent Paul Kellerman is a secret service agent who is deeply involved in covering up a government conspiracy.See also
- Kennedy assassination theories
- Warren Commission Testimony of Roy H. Kellerman