SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Wearing a blue blazer, Paul Landis looks and moves astonishingly well for his 88 years. And his memory is sharp — particularly as he recounts the tragic details of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination 60 years ago tomorrow.
Landis is only one of two Secret Service agents still alive who accompanied Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, to Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963.
Landis could not bring himself to read any of the dozens of books published about the assassination, including the Warren Commission Report, for over 50 years.
While working as a U.S. Secret Service agent, Paul Landis escorted then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to a club in Greece.Photo Courtesy of Paul Landis
After leaving the Secret Service, he eventually moved to Shaker Heights, where he was offered a volunteer position at the Shaker Heights Police Department cleaning department weapons.
In 2014, while assisting with a bicycle auction sponsored by the Shaker police, he was summoned by the then-police chief to follow him to his office.
Once there, the chief — among a few people in town who knew about Landis’ involvement on Nov. 22 — handed him a book titled “Six Seconds in Dallas,” published in 1967 and authored by Josiah Thompson. The chief had received it from a friend.
Landis thanked him and took the book home, where it sat on a nightstand for months.
When he finally opened the book and started reading it, he found some startling misinformation. That motivated him to start taking notes, leading to his new book, “Final Witness,” published Oct. 10.
A young John F. Kennedy Jr. is consoled by Secret Service agent Paul Landis after falling down on the South Lawn of the White HousePhoto Courtesy of Paul Landis
Landis likely suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after the assassination — a malady he had no name for back then. Landis had to run from the day’s pain in silence.
“Well, I had gone 45 years without reading anything, talking about the assassination, nothing,” Landis said during an interview in the living room of his home.
“I never read the Warren Report and was never asked to testify. I just withdrew from the scene.
“I remembered everything vividly. It was very traumatic. I finally picked up the book and read it. But I don’t know how I got through the weekend; it was pretty traumatizing.”
Landis was often assigned to help with Jacqueline Kennedy’s detail. She loved to travel abroad, and Landis frequently was asked to accompany agent Clint Hill, who was assigned to the First Lady. In 1963, Landis visited Italy with Mrs. Kennedy and daughter Caroline; later that year, he was in Greece with her.
Caroline Kennedy riding Macaroni. Secret Service agent Paul Landis once escorted Caroline — astride her horse — into the Oval Office to say hi to her father, President John F. Kennedy.Photo Courtesy of Paul Landis
Mrs. Kennedy rarely traveled with the president on campaign trips, but decided to accompany him to Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 21, 1963. The first stop was in San Antonio. Later that evening, the president’s plane would touch down in Fort Worth.
And after breakfast the following day, it was off to Dallas.
“Air Force One landed at Love Field in Dallas at 11:40 a.m.,” Landis said. “One of the first things I noticed was a limousine without a top, which haunted me. It was the president’s choice.
“Secret Service made the choice that day. But it was because they knew from previous motorcades he liked the visibility. He wanted the people to see him and Jackie without obstructions.”
According to Landis, the crowds grew exponentially as they drove out of the airport and headed through town. Unlike today, people were hanging out of windows and standing on rooftops.
“As the president’s car reached Dealey Plaza heading for an underpass, I heard a ‘bam’ over my right shoulder,” Landis said. “I knew it was a high-powered rifle from hunting with my dad.
“I turned to the right and didn’t see anything. I did see Kennedy raise his arms, but I thought he was turning around.
“While riding in the same car as me, Agent Hill jumped off and started to run toward the limo. By the time he could grab one of the bars attached to the trunk, a second shot rang out. Hill had managed to climb on top when the third and most fatal shot was heard.
“I saw a part of the president’s head explode. Mrs. Kennedy began to climb on top of the trunk. Hill grabbed her, pushed her back in the limo, and fell on top of her and the president.
“I ducked to keep from getting sprayed by blood. The whole horrible occurrence only took six seconds.”
After reaching Parkland Hospital, Landis tried to help Mrs. Kennedy out of the limo, but she would not let the president go. Landis said he knew from viewing the wound that there was no way Kennedy was still alive.
“After Kennedy’s body was removed, the first thing I noticed was a small, splintered crack in the front windshield. It was on the driver’s side to the left of the rearview mirror. I immediately assumed that a ricocheting bullet fragment had made it.
“I returned my attention to the presidential limo. I was looking down at the seat beside where Mrs. Kennedy sat. I saw two brass bullet fragments sitting in a pool of bright red blood.
“I could hardly believe it. They glistened like two gold nuggets in their blood-red surroundings. I bent over, picked up the largest of the two pieces, and examined it.
“It was about the size of the end of my little finger. It looked like a small mushroom that had been squashed. I immediately returned it where I found it.”
While continuing his search of the limo, he found another bullet on the seat lying inside a tuft on the leather seat. Unlike the other bullet fragments he saw in the blood, this bullet was intact.
“Since this was certainly evidence,” he said, “and not wanting someone to grab it as a souvenir, I placed it in my pocket and eventually found myself in Kennedy’s examination room. I placed it beside his foot, knowing the doctors would see it.”
According to Landis, he was never interviewed by the Warren Commission.
Some years later, while working in New York City, he passed Mr. Kenneth’s salon, a hairstylist Mrs. Kennedy frequented. As he got closer, a limo pulled up, and out came Jackie Kennedy.
“We looked at each other, and she asked, ’Mr. Landis, what are you doing in New York City?’”
Landis was born in Toledo and his family later moved to Worthington, Ohio, in the Columbus area.
After graduating from high school, Landis attended Ohio Wesleyan University and later earned a degree in geology. But, like many college graduates, he was a bit perplexed about his future.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life after I graduated,” he said. “While I was in college, I was classified as ‘student deferred.’ If I stayed in school, I didn’t have to worry about being drafted.
“Now I was reclassified as 1-A, ‘available for service.’ I had to do something soon or I would have to go into the Army.
“I wanted to choose which branch of service to go into. My friend Tom Lindblom was in the same situation, so we joined the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Tactical Fighter Wing at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus. Our active duty wouldn’t start until the fall.”
After finishing his requirements for active duty in the National Guard, he got a job at a men’s clothing store in Worthington.
One day at work, Bob Foster, an old high school friend of his sister, entered the store. Foster had joined the Secret Service back in 1956, protecting President Dwight Eisenhower.
“Foster was a great storyteller, and he had some fascinating ones to tell about the job,” Landis said.
“Those stories piqued my interest, but I had other questions. Unfortunately, Foster had left town. So, I contacted his wife to ask if he could connect with me.
“He said the days were long and the pay was low. But it had its rewards. He instructed me to contact a local Secret Service director who oversaw the Columbus field office.
“I walked in and went through my first interview. The director suggested I talk to my parents before deciding. I laughed. Within nine months, I was on the job.”
Landis’ first White House detail was with the Eisenhower grandchildren. The job mostly involved driving them to school and sticking around until their classes were over. He was earning about $4,800 a year.
After Kennedy won the election in 1960, Landis accepted the “kiddie detail” position, which meant he would be in charge of keeping Caroline and John Jr. safe.
Going from the Eisenhower family to the much younger Kennedy clan was exciting, he said.
“The Kennedys were almost like a pair of movie stars,” he said. “Everywhere they went, we dealt with large crowds who screamed like it was a rock concert.
“They were youthful and very energetic and a handsome couple. Kennedy was good looking … she was a lovely lady.”
Landis told a funny story about a day when he had Caroline out on the White House grounds riding her pony. She asked if she could stop in to say hi to her father.
“I initially hesitated, but ended up granting her wish,” he said. “I peeked into the Oval Office and saw the president was alone and the screen door was open. So I opened the door and took Caroline into the Oval Office — while still on the horse.
“I’ll never forget the look on Kennedy’s face when we entered. His jaw dropped. He got up with a huge grin and greeted us. He then told me that ‘Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, Mr. Landis.’”
Landis said when he typed the last sentence of “Final Witness,” he broke down crying uncontrollably.
“I just couldn’t stop crying,” he said. “It was as if the safety valve on a pressure cooker had finally burst open, releasing all the suppressed feelings and emotions I had kept buried for so long.
“This is my story.”
