Senator Ralph Yarborough
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Introduction
Senator Ralph Yarborough rode in the car directly behind Hickey's, making him a very important witness. He reported hearing only "3" shots, with more spacing between the second and third than between the first and second. He may have misinterpreted distinctly separate shots as "echoes." But the "longer pause" between the "second and third" matches the acoustical evidence of the 4.8 seconds between my third and fourth impulses, or 5.88 seconds between my second and fourth impulses, assuming an ear witness believed that the third impulse was an "echo." (And of course, my fourth and fifth "double-bang" impulses could be easily misinterpreted as a shot plus "echo," contributing to an undercount of the number of shots.)
Senator Ralph Yarborough rode in the car directly behind Hickey's, making him a very important witness. He reported hearing only "3" shots, with more spacing between the second and third than between the first and second. He may have misinterpreted distinctly separate shots as "echoes." But the "longer pause" between the "second and third" matches the acoustical evidence of the 4.8 seconds between my third and fourth impulses, or 5.88 seconds between my second and fourth impulses, assuming an ear witness believed that the third impulse was an "echo." (And of course, my fourth and fifth "double-bang" impulses could be easily misinterpreted as a shot plus "echo," contributing to an undercount of the number of shots.)
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Chicago Sun-Times, November 23, 1963
In the minutes after the assassination, Yarborough spoke with news media outside of Parkland Hospital. What he said immediately after the assassination represents Yarborough's earliest recollections, and contains some extremely important information:
In the minutes after the assassination, Yarborough spoke with news media outside of Parkland Hospital. What he said immediately after the assassination represents Yarborough's earliest recollections, and contains some extremely important information:
What is so vital in this account is that even though Yarborough only heard "three" shots:
The smell of gun smoke clinging to the weapon that fired is what Australian detective Colin McLaren calls "the plume of residue." Yarborough would not have been able to smell smoke fired from the TSBD, given the distance from the shooter's window, the six-floor elevation of the window, and the direction of the wind at the time. If he smelled the gun smoke "all the way to the hospital," as he stated, he had to have been near the weapon that fired.
There has been some disagreement as to whether the Secret Service man who was beating his fist against the car was done by George Hickey (in the car immediately ahead of his) or Clint Hill (in the President's car two cars ahead). He admits that his view of the President's car was "partially blocked by a Secret Service car immediately ahead, but he could see no movement in the President's car after the shots"--which would indicate that the agent beating his fist against the car was Hickey. Note that this account also says "side" off the car, which would have been more likely to be Hickey. (Other accounts say "trunk" of the car, which could apply to either man.) No account by Clint Hill describes him as having beat his fist against the car. So I agree with Colin McLaren that the fist-beating agent was Hickey.
But the most critical piece of information is that "the third shot he heard might have been a Secret Service man returning the fire."
- He smelled gun smoke nearly all the way to the hospital.
- He saw a Secret Service man beating his fist against the side of the President's car, presumably "in frustration, anger and despair."
- The third shot he heard might have been a Secret Service man returning the fire.
The smell of gun smoke clinging to the weapon that fired is what Australian detective Colin McLaren calls "the plume of residue." Yarborough would not have been able to smell smoke fired from the TSBD, given the distance from the shooter's window, the six-floor elevation of the window, and the direction of the wind at the time. If he smelled the gun smoke "all the way to the hospital," as he stated, he had to have been near the weapon that fired.
There has been some disagreement as to whether the Secret Service man who was beating his fist against the car was done by George Hickey (in the car immediately ahead of his) or Clint Hill (in the President's car two cars ahead). He admits that his view of the President's car was "partially blocked by a Secret Service car immediately ahead, but he could see no movement in the President's car after the shots"--which would indicate that the agent beating his fist against the car was Hickey. Note that this account also says "side" off the car, which would have been more likely to be Hickey. (Other accounts say "trunk" of the car, which could apply to either man.) No account by Clint Hill describes him as having beat his fist against the car. So I agree with Colin McLaren that the fist-beating agent was Hickey.
But the most critical piece of information is that "the third shot he heard might have been a Secret Service man returning the fire."
The "Nose Witnesses" diagram from the book "Murder from Within" by Fred T. Newcomb and Perry Adams
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Auctioned Document
This document, found in the archives of a site (University Archives) that auctions autographs and the like, proves that Hickey had pulled out the weapon while still in Dealey Plaza (else how would he have been able to “look back at the building”?) and not after his car had left Dealey Plaza, as others have claimed.
This document, found in the archives of a site (University Archives) that auctions autographs and the like, proves that Hickey had pulled out the weapon while still in Dealey Plaza (else how would he have been able to “look back at the building”?) and not after his car had left Dealey Plaza, as others have claimed.
From https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-lot/kennedy-assassination-revealing-statement-by-lbj_90143c6a41
This document was sold on October 2, 2019 for $850. I have the feeling that when whoever sold this comes to realize how important a document it actually is, they will regret having sold it. And since the original estimated value was $300-$400, whoever bought it paid more than double its estimated value, so may have had an inkling that it was valuable, indeed.
Its importance lies in the statement, "I saw an agent in front of me pull out his machine gun and look up at the building." The "machine gun," of course, had to be the AR-15, which was such a brand new weapon that most people who saw it described it as a "machine gun" or "sub-machine gun,." as the caption for the Volkland photo (used for the cover of Mortal Error)
The Volkland photo as published in the Vancouver Sun, describing the AR-15 as a "machine gun"
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Yarborough's Warren Commission Affidavit
Sen. Yarborough was never called to testify to the Warren Commission. He nevertheless submitted an affidavit dated July 19, 1964, that was essentially buried in the Hearings and Exhibits documents. Specifically of interest to this article, he said:
... all of the secret service men seemed to me to respond very slowly, with no more than a puzzled look. In fact, until the automatic weapon was uncovered, I had been lulled into a sense of false hope for the President's safety, by the lack of motion, excitement, or apparent visible knowledge by the secret service men, that anything so dreadful was happening. Knowing something of the training that combat infantrymen and Marines receive, I am amazed at the lack of instantaneous response by the Secret Service, when the rifle fire began.
Here is his affidavit as printed in Volume VII of the Commission's Hearings and Exhibits.
Sen. Yarborough was never called to testify to the Warren Commission. He nevertheless submitted an affidavit dated July 19, 1964, that was essentially buried in the Hearings and Exhibits documents. Specifically of interest to this article, he said:
... all of the secret service men seemed to me to respond very slowly, with no more than a puzzled look. In fact, until the automatic weapon was uncovered, I had been lulled into a sense of false hope for the President's safety, by the lack of motion, excitement, or apparent visible knowledge by the secret service men, that anything so dreadful was happening. Knowing something of the training that combat infantrymen and Marines receive, I am amazed at the lack of instantaneous response by the Secret Service, when the rifle fire began.
Here is his affidavit as printed in Volume VII of the Commission's Hearings and Exhibits.
Senator Ralph Yarborough's affidavit to the Warren Commission, from https://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh7/pdf/WH7_Yarborough_aff.pdf
I like Yarborough as a witness. His accounts not only support the AR-15 accidental shot scenario by what he saw and smelled, he also gives a motive for why the first shot was covered up: the slow responses of the Secret Service agents. See Motive for Cover Up.