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{
    "localId": "16638097",
    "label": "Gerald R. Ford's Notes from His Trip to Dallas, Texas, to Interview Jack Ruby as Part of the Warren Commission",
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    "title": "Gerald R. Ford's Notes from His Trip to Dallas, Texas, to Interview Jack Ruby as Part of the Warren Commission",
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        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
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            "logicalDate": "1964-06-07",
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    "ocrText": "DALLAS TRIP\nJune 7, 1964\nSaturday, June 6, 1964:\nFlew from Kent County Airport to Dallas, Texas (Love Field) with Air\nForce plane from SAM fleet. Left at 11:45 p.m. Grand Rapids time and\narrived two hours later. Met at airport by Secret Service agent who\ndrove me to Sheraton-Hilton Hotel for the night.\nSunday, June 7, 1964:\nMet at Statler-Hilton by Secret Service Agent Wolferd at 8:00 a.m.\nwho drove me to Hensley Field (N.A.S.) where we met Chief Justice\nWarren, Rankin, Ball, Spector.\nDrove to Texas School Book Depositary building where the group was met\nby Mr. Truly and several Secret Service personnel. We were shown the\nTSBD from top to bottom. Chief Justice and I with stop watch in hand\nfollowed Oswald's course from 6th floor window to exit down and out the\nfront door. At 6th floor window sighted motorcade course with rifle.\nWent to 5th floor and knelt in window under 0. while shells were\nejected above. Followed course of Jarman and others on 5th floor after\nassassination. Also took course of Truly and Officer Baker from front\nof TSBD to 2nd floor and lunchroom scene.\nBy this time the \"press\" had assembled outside TSBD. ChJ. and I went\nout rear exit and got in car as \"press\" tried to question and take\npictures. Driven by Secret Service to Sheriff Decker's headquarters\nacross the street where he greeted us while we waited for a court\nreporter.\n11:45 AM: Our party went to an upper floor in the police headquarters where\njuries are kept during a criminal proceeding. The room set aside for\nthe Ruby interrogation was apparently a small kitchen and eating\nquarters for the jurors. It is about 10 ft. X 18 ft. Very austere\nsurroundings. Table in center of room about 3 ft. X 8 ft. Chair set\nup for R. at one end with his back to the sink and kitchen facilities.\nCH. JUSTICE\n(wher\n(Asst. Bowie\n$81025\nDeputy\n(R.\nSINK, ETC.\nRUBY\nRANKIN\nDeputy\nMore (5/5)\nFORD\nSPECTOR\nBALL\nDECKER\nSheviff\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALD\n-2-\nR. brought in by Sh.D. and his two deputies, introduced to our party.\nR. dressed in white jumper with top several buttons open; thong sandals (zories).\nSaid he wanted to tell \"his story. Sat nervously with hands fumbling\nwith a small piece of Kleenex and a rubber band.\nAfter an initial statement by R. he was sworn by the ChJ. R. started\nhis story on Thursday night, November 21st. All of us were most\napprehensive as to what he might do or say, but although nervous and a\nbit random he did quite well. Despite his statement that Tonahill\nwasn't his attorney he seemed friendly and appeared to have confidence\nin him.\nEverything seemed to go well for about 45 minutes. (R. had gotten in his\nstory to about 2 a.m. November 23rd where he was describing a meeting\non a street with Police Officer Olson and a \"gal.\") When T. wrote\nsomething on a pad R. asked to see what T. had written. R. borrowed\nT's glasses to read and after reading the note R. was very upset.\nAppeared to be ready to quit testimony because of T's note. T. had\nwritten on the note that the officer and the \"gal\" had probably by\ntheir comments motivated R's subsequent action. The officer and the\n\"gal\" had said at the meeting that someone ought to take violent action\nagainst 0.\nFor the next 30 minutes it was \"touch and go\" whether R. would continue\nhis testimony. ChJ. tried to be reassuring and was very patient in his\ncajoling. Finally Sh.D. spoke up forcefully and in a loud voice told\nR. to be a \"man\" and talk because all of these men had come 2000 miles\nto hear his testimony at his request. ShD. volunteered to leave with\nhis deputies and eventually R. said he wanted them to go which they\ndid. Terribly tense. Finally R. started to testify again and gradually\ngave us most of his story. After about 2 hours, ChJ., Rankin and I\nasked a number of questions.\nR. at the very outset of the hearing requested polygraph tests and truth\nserums. ChJ. made a commitment that this would be done. R. also\nwanted to go to Washington, D.C. with the group to tell his story to\nLBJ.\nR. alleges he had no thought of killing 0. until Sunday morning when\nhe read a newspaper that had a \"letter\" to Caroline from some person\nand more particularly a statement that Mrs. Kennedy would have to come\nback to Dallas to testify at the 0. trial.\nSpector of our staff not included in the hearing at first. After about 30\nminutes I spoke to Joe Ball and said it was a shame S. was not\nincluded. I wrote a note to ChJ. suggesting S. be brought in. ChJ.\ndidn't agree at first but just before R. \"blow up\" there was an\nopening and the ChJ. suggested that S. come in to the hearing.\nFORD LIBRARY is GERALD\n-3-\nS. presence later was important because toward the end R. started to\nmake allegations that he would probably be killed and his family\ninjured (brother and sisters) by John Birch organization. R. inferred\nthis would be persecution because he was Jewish. R. believed S. was\nJewish (I think he is) and this seemed to give him confidence to\ncontinue testifying.\nHearing finally terminated after 3 hours. Before breaking up ChJ.,\nSpector and R. moved to a corner of the room and talked about 5\nminutes.\nParty then went down to the exit of the building to leave by the Secret\nService car. Very large crowd and \"press\" surrounding the exit.\nFinally got through and our party of 3 cars then drove to Dean\nStorey's for lunch (ChJ., Rankin, Ball, Spector, myself and Storey).\nOn leaving Storey's apartment (where we thought we had eluded the\n\"press\") we were met at the apartment entrance by several photogr aphers\nand reporters. Finally got to the cars and started to drive from\nTSBD the route that 0. followed following the assassination. Thought\nwe had eluded TV and Press but they picked us up at 0. rooming house.\nChJ. and I wanted to go in to see the room he last occupied but ChJ.\nwouldn't get out of the car with the Press and TV waiting to inter-\nrogate us. We then continued route of 0. path to T. shooting, theater,\nand other apartments and spots of interest.\nParty then broke up with Ball and me going to Love Field and ChJ. and\nhis party going back to Hensley Field. S.S. Agent Wolferd drove me to\nSAM aircraft and we flew back to Grand Rapids leaving at 6:53 p.m.\n(Dallas time) and arriving in Grand Rapids 2 hours later.\nProbably the most fascinating and dramatic 3 hours of the entire Warren\nCommission proceeding. R. was surprisingly rational and quite\ncomposed -- certainly far different acting than psychiatric reports\nI had read before the trip. Remembers names extremely well. Clean-\nshaven, balding, hawk-nosed, big hands and feet for a small, slight\nperson. Index finger on left hand half off. Has a habit to look\nright at you for a period -- hard to know what he is thinking.\nDuring the hearing he was on some occasions most amusing in his\ncomments to the ChJ. or in his way of addressing him.\nFORD LIBRARY if GERALD"
}