One of the most egregious myths that persists in the American ethos is that the Secret Service was and is a highly trained, highly educated, professional, and absolutely loyal organization. This was not so in the early 1960s. Witness this quote from one of its own, Abraham Bolden. Bolden, the first African-American Secret Service agent assigned to the presidential detail, wrote a book about JFK's murder called The Echo From Dealey Plaza: "The Secret Service reflected the more backward elements of America. Many of the agents with whom I worked were products of the South. Time and again I overheard them making chilling racist remarks, referring to Kennedy as 'that nigger lover,' whose efforts to force integration in the South were 'screwing up the country.' I heard some members of the White House detail say that if shots were fired at the President, they'd take no action to protect him. A few agents vowed that they would quit the Secret Service rather than give up their lives for Kennedy."
Who were these agents? Likely suspects include Roy Kellerman, William Greer, Emory Roberts, and Elmer Moore.
Greer, the driver of JFK's death car in Dallas, put on the brakes and came to a complete stop as shots were being fired in Dealey Plaza. Roy Kellerman, riding shotgun in the death limo, lifted not one finger to try to save the President's life, even though it was his sworn duty to do so. He just sat there looking at the side view mirror to make sure JFK had been fatally hit.
Emory Roberts stripped JFK's protection when he ordered agents off the running board as the limo left Love Field. Films of that day show an agent, most likely Henry Rybka, raising his arms in confusion and frustration as he is ordered away from the limo. Roberts also told all agents to stand down as the shooting began.
Elmer Moore badgered Parkland doctor Malcolm Perry to change his words about the nature of JFK's wounds. Perry said he saw a frontal entry wound in the neck and an exit wound at the back of the head, consistent with shots from the front. This, of course, contradicted the government's finding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
Bolden had a foreboding that JFK would meet the end he did. "The inept protection provided by the White House detail," wrote Bolden, "contributed to my growing certainty that Kennedy's days were numbered."
After November 22, 1963, Bolden saw "...one suspicious action after another on the part of the Secret Service personnel, all of which hinted at an effort to withhold, or at least to color, the truth."
Not surprisingly, the Warren Commission did not call Bolden to testify.
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