Warren Commission (15 of 26): Hearings Vol. XV (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (15 of 26): Hearings Vol. XV (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. KANTOR. Yes; it is very vague to me.
Mr. GRIFFIN. We can check this ourselves. I am trying to get some idea
where a man like Ruby would have parked his automobile to get to the
place where you think you saw him.
Well, now, what happened----
Mr. KANTOR. Well, excuse me. I am sorry. If that is what you are
getting at.
There is a parking area on the west side, also, as best I can remember,
because, it seems to me that there were a great number of cars in the
area where we were first let out of the station wagon.
Mr. GRIFFIN. I see. Now, would the parking area be in here where I am
placing this line?
Mr. KANTOR. I believe so, yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. I will write “Parking” on there. And I will put parking
over there, just in front of the main entrance to the hospital.
Mr. KANTOR. Yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, can you tell us what happened when you saw Ruby--when
you encountered Ruby at Parkland Hospital, what the encounter consisted
of?
Mr. KANTOR. Yes; I apparently walked right past him, because the first
I was aware of Jack Ruby was that as I was walking, I was stopped
momentarily by a tug on the back of my jacket. And I turned and saw
Jack Ruby standing there. He had his hand extended. I very well
remember my first thought. I thought, well, there is Jack Ruby. I had
been away from Dallas 18 months and 1 day at that time, but it seemed
just perfectly normal to see Jack Ruby standing there, because he was a
known goer to events. And I had my mind full of many things.
My next reaction was to just turn and continue on my way. But he did
have his hand out. And I took his hand and shook hands with him. He
called me by name. And I said hello to him, I said, “Hello, Jack,” I
guess. And he said, “Isn’t this a terrible thing?” I said, “Yes”; but
I also knew it was no time for small talk, and I was most anxious to
continue on up the stairway, because I was standing right at the base
of the stairway.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Were you inside the building or outside?
Mr. KANTOR. I was inside the building, just immediately inside the
building.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Were the doors guarded?
Mr. KANTOR. If there was a guard on the door, I don’t recall seeing one.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, you do recall, however, that there was a guard at the
entrance to the emergency area?
Mr. KANTOR. There was at least one guard, yes--when I first got there.
Mr. GRIFFIN. I see. Go ahead.
Mr. KANTOR. A Dallas policeman. I am not sure how many Secret Service
men or other guards there were. But I do remember this one man, because
he let me in.
At any rate, Jack Ruby said, “Isn’t this a terrible thing,” or words to
that effect. I agreed with him that it was.
And he said--and he had quite a look of consternation on his face. He
looked emotional--which also seemed fitting enough for Jack Ruby.
But he asked me, curiously enough, he said, “Should I close my places
for the next 3 nights, do you think?”
And I said, “Yes, I think that is a good idea.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account