Warren Commission (02 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (02 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. HILL. Well, the Presidential compartment was so small that not all
persons on the aircraft could get in. I was in the forward portion of
the aircraft, right adjacent to the area that the President was sworn
in.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know the time of the swearing in?
Mr. HILL. 2:38.
Mr. SPECTER. And what time did the Presidential aircraft depart?
Mr. HILL. 2:47.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know what time it arrived in the Washington area?
Mr. HILL. 5:59, I believe, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did it land?
Mr. HILL. We landed at Andrews Air Force Base.
Mr. SPECTER. And what action, if any, in connection with this matter
did you take following landing?
Mr. HILL. I assisted Mrs. Kennedy and the Attorney General, who had
joined her at that time, into the ambulance bearing the President's
body, and I entered the automobile immediately behind the ambulance
with Dr. John Walsh, Mrs. Kennedy's physician, and members of President
Kennedy's staff.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did you go then?
Mr. HILL. Immediately to Bethesda Naval Hospital.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you stay with the President's family at that time?
Mr. HILL. When we arrived there, I went to the 17th floor with Mrs.
Kennedy, and I remained with Mrs. Kennedy except for one time when I
was requested to come to the morgue to view the President's body.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you view the President's body?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. What action did you take following the time you viewed the
President's body in the morgue?
Mr. HILL. After the viewing of the President's body?
Mr. SPECTER. Yes.
Mr. HILL. I returned to the 17th floor and remained with Mrs. Kennedy
until we departed the hospital.
Representative BOGGS. May I ask a question? At the hospital in Texas,
you had seen--had you seen the whole body, or just the back of the
President's head?
Mr. HILL. I had seen the whole body, but he was still cold when I saw
him.
Representative BOGGS. At the morgue in Bethesda he was not cold?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir; the autopsy had been completed, and the Lawler
Mortuary Co. was preparing the body for placement in a casket.
Representative BOGGS. At this time did you see the whole body?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir.
Representative BOGGS. Did you see any other wound other than the head
wound?
Mr. HILL. Yes, sir; I saw an opening in the back, about 6 inches below
the neckline to the right-hand side of the spinal column.
Representative BOGGS. Was there a frontal neck injury?
Mr. HILL. There was an area here that had been opened but----
Mr. SPECTER. You are indicating----
Mr. HILL. In the neck. It was my understanding at that time that this
was done by a tracheotomy.
Mr. SPECTER. What else, if anything, of importance did you do between
the time you viewed the body in the morgue until the termination of
your duties on that date, Mr. Hill?
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