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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VII - Page 462« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Lawrence F. O'brien)

Mr. Adams.
Now, would you say that between you and the Vice President's followup car, there was more than one open car? As I get it--to put it another way to perhaps refresh your recollection--there was the Vice President's car, then there was a followup car behind that, and then came, as you have recalled, the open cars, in which you were seated in one of them.
Mr. O'BRIEN. Yes.
Mr. Adams.
Now, were you in the one directly behind the Vice President's followup car, or farther back?
Mr. O'BRIEN. I do not believe I was in the first VIP car, because, as I stated when I looked around and the motorcade started to move slightly, I moved toward a car handy to me. I would think that I was in the second or conceivably third open car, because, at that time, we had approximately 10 or 12 members of the Texas congressional delegation, and obviously we, therefore, had perhaps four open cars. I don't recall that I was in the first one--it was the second or third. I was not in the last one, either.
Mr. Adams.
Were you assigned to a particular car, or would you just have taken any that would happen to be available?
Mr. O'BRIEN. I am sure I was assigned to a particular car. As a rule, I would be assigned to the first VIP car--VIP meaning as a rule, again, a congressional delegation. And in this instance, I don't recall the actual car assignment. And it was not unusual for me to not adhere strictly to the assignment.
Mr. Adams.
And as the motorcade left Love Field--let me withdraw that and put it this way: You were seated in the back?
Mr. O'BRIEN. On the right back.
Mr. Adams.
On the right-hand side?
Mr. O'BRIEN. That is correct.
Mr. Adams.
From where you were seated in that car, as you proceeded toward the city, could you see the President in his car?
Mr. O'BRIEN. Only occasionally. There were occasions when you could not see him. Other times, depending on the turns in the road, and what-have-you, you would get a view of him. And there were times when he was upright in the car, and you could spot him.
But, generally speaking, I would say that I was concentrating on crowd attitude and size for the most part, going in toward the city.
Mr. Adams.
From what you could see of the President's car, where was he seated?
On the right-hand side or the left-hand side?
Mr. O'BRIEN. As I looked toward the car, he was seated on the right, with Governor Connally seated directly in front of him.
Mr. Adams.
That is right. And Mrs. Connally
Mr. O'BRIEN. Mrs. Connally on the jump seat in front of Mrs. Kennedy.
Mr. Adams.
As the motorcade proceeded, could you at all times see the Vice President's car?
Mr. O'BRIEN. No; similarly, the photographers and others would often times block the view. The view of the President's car and the Vice President's car from where I was seated during the motorcade into and through the downtown Dallas was not a clear view. There was an obstructed view for the most part.
Mr. Adams.
As you recall it, what were the seating arrangements in the Vice President's car?
Mr. O'BRIEN. I know that Senator Yarborough, Mrs. Johnson, and the Vice President were seated in the rear of the car, and my recollection is that again the Vice President was on the right, Mrs. Johnson in the middle, Senator Yarborough on the left.
Mr. Adams.
Now, as you went on in town, tell me about the crowds, if you would.
Mr. O'BRIEN. The crowds were large, unusually large for an extremely long--mileagewise---long trip into the city. I was impressed with the size of the crowd. The comment in our car, however, was that the crowd was rather reserved. As a matter of fact, Congressman Rogers, who, as I told you, was on the left rear, commented and called out from time to time in a jocular vein, "Hello", "Howdy", and suggested to them that they ought to smile and look perky, which we felt
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