PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
AFFIDAVIT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ss:
I, Clifton C. Carter, make the following affidavit concerning my knowledge of
the events of November 22, 1963.
Vice President Johnson and I had been in Texas during the week preceding
November 22nd, and we had met the party of President Kennedy in San Antonio,
Texas, on Thursday, November 21, 1963.
I was on the Vice President's plane (AF-2) when it landed at Dallas Love Field
on November 22 at about 11:30 a.m. Vice President and Mrs. Johnson left their
plane and joined the reception party which greeted President and Mrs. Kennedy,
who arrived in the President's plane (AF-1). President and Mrs. Kennedy then
shook hands with people in the crowd along an iron fence. While the Presidential
Party greeted the crowd, I went to the automobile where I was to ride in the
motorcade. It was a Secret Service vehicle assigned to follow and protect the
Vice President. Our car was right behind the Vice President's automobile, which
was immediately to the rear of the Presidential Secret Service follow-up car,
which drove right behind the President's automobile.
The automobile in which I rode was driven by a Dallas policeman. I sat in the
middle of the front seat and held some radio equipment on my lap. Special Agent
Jerry D. Kivett sat on my right and Special Agent Len Johns and someone else
were in the rear seat. This was an unmarked Dallas police car.
Nothing unusual occurred on the motorcade route from Love Field to the downtown
Dallas area. The crowds were very large and very friendly, except for two or
three signs which contained derogatory comments about President Kennedy. I would
estimate that the crowds were twice as big as they were in September of 1960
when Mr. Kennedy campaigned in Dallas. The motorcade slowed down at times, but I
do not believe that it stopped.
The motorcade proceeded west on Main Street, made a righthand turn onto Houston
and then swung around to the left on Elm, proceeding slowly at about 5 to 10
miles per hour. At approximately 12:30 p.m., our car had just made the lefthand
turn off Houston onto Elm Street and was right along side of the Texas School
Book Depository Building when I heard a noise which sounded like a firecracker.
Special Agent Youngblood, who was seated on the righthand side of the front seat
of Vice President Johnson's car immediately turned and pushed Vice President
Johnson down and in the same motion vaulted over the seat and covered the Vice
President with his body. At that instant Mrs. Johnson and Senator Yarborough,
who were riding in the back seat along with the Vice President, bent forward.
Special Agent Youngblood's action came immediately after the first shot and
before the succeeding shots.
I distinctly remember three shots. There was an interval of approximately 5 to 6
seconds from the first to the last shot, and the three shots were evenly
spaced. The motorcade promptly accelerated and traveled at high speeds up to 75
to 80 miles an hour to Parkland Memorial Hospital. The President's automobile,
the President's follow-up car, the Vice President's automobile, and the Vice
President's follow-up car pulled into the emergency entrance at Parkland.
Attendants from the hospital with two stretchers carried President Kennedy and
Governor Connally into the hospital. At one point I briefly helped remove
Governor Connally from the car onto the stretcher. After President Kennedy and
Governor Connally had been taken into the hospital, Vice President Johnson, Mrs.
Johnson, Special Agent Youngblood and I entered the emergency area and were
taken to a small room where we waited. I went out on a couple of occasions to
secure coffee. Congressmen Henry Gonzalez, Jack Brooks, Homer Thornberry and
Albert Thomas ca
me into the room where Vice President Johnson waited. About 1 o'clock Mrs.
Johnson left the room, stating that she wanted to visit with Mrs. Kennedy and
Mrs. Connally.
At 1:12 p.m. Special Agent Emery Roberts brought the news that President Kennedy
was dead. At that moment the only people present were Vice President Johnson,
Congressman Thornberry, Special Agent Len Johns, and I. Special Agent Roberts
advised Vice President Johnson to return to the White House forthwith because of
the concern of the Secret Service that there might be a widespread plot to
assassinate Vice President Johnson as well as President Kennedy.
Vice President Johnson then asked that Kenny (O'Donnell) and Larry (O'Brien) be
consulted to determine what their views were on returning promptly to
Washington. Kenny and Larry came down and told Vice President Johnson that they
agreed he should return to Washington immediately. Vice President Johnson then
asked me to try to alert some of the members of his staff to go to the airport
for the return trip to Washington. I then proceeded to look for those members of
the staff, and I was later driven to Love Field by a young Dallas policeman. By
the time I returned to the Presidential plane (AF-1), Vice President and Mrs.
Johnson had already boarded the plane and arrangements had already been made to
have Vice President Johnson sworn-in as the President. I do not have any
personal knowledge of Vice President Johnson's conversation with Attorney
General Kennedy concerning the advisability of a prompt swearing-in or of the
arrangements to have Judge Sara Hughes participate in that ceremony. I was
present at the sw
earing-in and shortly thereafter the President's plane took off for the
Washington area.
The original conversations concerning President Kennedy's trip to Texas occurred
on June 5, 1963 at the Cortez Hotel in El Paso, Texas. President Kennedy had
spoken earlier that day at the Air Force Academy and Vice President Johnson had
spoken at Annapolis. The President and Vice President met with Governor Connally
at the Cortez Hotel to discuss a number of matters, including a trip by the
President to Texas. Fred Korth and I were present when the three men assembled,
but Fred Korth and I left during their discussion of the President's proposed
trip. The first tentative date was to have the trip coincide with Vice-President
Johnson's birthday on August 27th, but that was rejected because it was too
close to Labor Day. President Kennedy's other commitments prevented him from
coming to Texas any sooner than November 21st, which was the date finally set.
Signed this 20th day of May 1964.
(S) Clifton C. Carter,
CLIFTON C. CARTER.