202:
one or two uniformed parking lot attendants, one of whom Bowers knew; and two men standing 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) apart near the Triple
Underpass, who did not appear to know each other. One was "middle-aged, or slightly older, fairly heavy-set, in a white shirt, fairly dark trousers" and the other was "younger man, about midtwenties, in either a plaid shirt or plaid coat or jacket." One or both were still there when the first police officer arrived "immediately" after the shooting. Many simply assumed that Bowers meant that these men were standing behind the stockade fence at the top of the grassy knoll.
169:
180:
He had an unobstructed view of the rear of the concrete pergola and the stockade fence at the top of the grassy knoll. He described hearing three shots that came from either the
Depository on his left or near the mouth of the Triple Underpass railroad bridge on his right; he was unsure because of the
201:
in Dallas. When asked by Ball, "Now, were there any people standing on the high side—high ground between your tower and where Elm Street goes down under the underpass toward the mouth of the underpass?" Bowers testified that at the time the motorcade went by on Elm Street, four men were in the area:
237:
These two men were standing back from the street somewhat at the top of the incline and were very near two trees which were in the area. And one of them, from time to time as he walked back and forth, disappeared behind a wooden fence which is also slightly to the west of that. These two men to the
205:
Bowers further stated: "At the time of the shooting there seemed to be some commotion (...)" on the high ground above Elm Street. When asked about this commotion, he added : "I just am unable to describe rather than it was something out of the ordinary, a sort of milling around, but something
266:
It is important to note that at the time the motorcycle officer ascended the knoll, witnesses Emmett Joseph Hudson and
Francis Lee "F. Lee" Mudd were seated on the concrete steps of the grassy knoll and were out of Bowers' line of sight. Therefore, Bowers could not have been referring to these
246:
Now I could see back or the South side of the wooden fence in the area, so that obviously that there was no one there who could have - uh - had anything to do with either - as accomplice or anything else because there was no one there - um - at the moment that the shots were
569:, which advocated a multi-shooter conspiracy, did not use that portion of Bowers's interview. The redacted portions of the Bowers interview were first published by Dale K. Myers in 2004. Dale K. Myers,
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I - as far as I know, one of them was. The other I could not say. The darker dressed man was too hard to distinguish from the trees. The one in the white shirt, yes; I think he was.
223:, he clarified – though the researchers chose to withhold it from their finished product – that these two men were standing in the opening between the
519:"Bowers told a fascinating story of suspicious cars moving in the sealed-off railroad yards minutes before the assassination, and of seeing strange men behind the picket fence."
113:
on
November 22, 1963. The timing and circumstances of Bowers's death have led to various allegations that his demise was part of a cover-up subsequent to the Kennedy murder.
1100:
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537:"Lee Bowers Jr. … was in the railroad control behind the grassy knoll and saw two men behind the fence, a puff of smoke during the shooting, and a lot of activity."
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555:"Lee Bowers, the railway towerman who had seen two strangers behind the fence just before the assassination, had partially lost sight of them in the foliage."
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and the stockade fence, and that "no one" was behind the fence when the shots were fired; Bower's words to Lane and de
Antonio, published in 2004 by
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But in his testimony, Bowers explained that from his elevated position, he could see over the top of the fence and observed no one on the
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Bowers told Lane that as the motorcade passed "there was a flash of light or smoke" in the vicinity of where the two men were standing.
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occurred in this particular spot which was out of the ordinary, which attracted my eye for some reason, which I could not identify."
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railyard for 15 years, also working as a self-employed builder. In 1964, he began working as business manager for a hospital and
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Asked if the two men were in the area at the time the motorcycle officer came up the incline, Bowers said,
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The interview transcript is among the papers of De
Antonio at the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives.
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Bowers worked in the gray two-story railroad tower seen nearly alone at the center-top of this photo of
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887:
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447:
Hearings Before the
President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume VI
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Bowers died in August 1966, when his car left an empty road and struck a concrete bridge abutment near
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side who could have been an accomplice to the men he saw on the railroad yard side of the fence.
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On April 2, 1964, Lee Bowers provided testimony to Joseph A. Ball, assistant counsel of the
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498:"His description of the two men behind the fence was not unlike Miss Mercer's ..."
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450:. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp. 284–288.
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Two years later, when Bowers was interviewed by assassination researchers
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best of my knowledge were standing there at the time of the shooting.
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Reclaiming
History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
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View From North Tower of Union
Terminal Company, Dallas, Texas
362:
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At the moment of the assassination, Bowers was operating the
157:, overlooking the parking lot around 120 yards north of the
420:
Warren
Commission Report, p. 74, Commission Exhibit 2118,
593:
Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 6, p. 288, Testimony of
105:(January 12, 1925 – August 9, 1966) was a witness to the
107:
assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy
495:, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966, p. 31–32:
325:. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.
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for two years, majoring in religion. He worked at the
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1149:Witnesses to the assassination of John F. Kennedy
1130:
621:, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966, p. 31
471:Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 6, p. 287–288,
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1179:United States Navy personnel of World War II
368:Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 6, p. 284,
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718:Bowers's testimony and Oliver Stone's Film
16:Witness to President Kennedy assassination
1096:House Select Committee on Assassinations
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506:Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy
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434:
390:The Witnesses: At the Triple Underpass
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338:Thompson, Helen (December 31, 1969).
1169:Southern Methodist University alumni
388:Warren Commission Report, p. 71–72,
13:
970:Jack Ruby Shoots Lee Harvey Oswald
664:"Executive Dies After Car Wreck",
14:
1190:
706:
683:
640:. New York: W.W. Norton. p.
442:"Testimony of Lee E. Bowers, Jr."
408:
350:from the original on May 29, 2015
231:from their source material, were:
1164:Hardin–Simmons University alumni
759:Assassination of John F. Kennedy
575:The Testimony of Lee Bowers, Jr.
571:Secrets of a Homicide: Badge Man
125:from ages 17 to 21. He attended
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473:Testimony of Lee E. Bowers, Jr.
454:from the original on 2023-01-15
370:Testimony of Lee E. Bowers, Jr.
1022:Robert N. McClelland (surgeon)
1012:1992 Assassination Records Act
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1174:Road incident deaths in Texas
1159:Military personnel from Texas
1065:Burial site and Eternal Flame
522:Harrison Edward Livingstone,
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131:Southern Methodist University
79:Southern Methodist University
871:Texas School Book Depository
526:, Carroll & Graf, 1998,
508:, Carroll & Graf, 1993,
323:Texas Death Index, 1903-2000
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189:Witness to JFK assassination
163:Texas School Book Depository
7:
544:, Marlowe & Co., 1998,
217:for their documentary film
10:
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1154:Businesspeople from Dallas
1091:Jim Garrison investigation
1027:Charles Baxter (physician)
723:Up by the Triple Underpass
1113:
1078:
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1032:Malcolm Perry (physician)
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670:, August 10, 1966, p. D4.
127:Hardin-Simmons University
96:JFK assassination witness
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88:Builder, business manager
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75:Hardin-Simmons University
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51:
28:
21:
691:. W.W. Norton & Co.
340:"Dealey Plaza Revisited"
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151:Union Terminal Company's
145:Assassination of Kennedy
713:Biography of Lee Bowers
667:The Dallas Morning News
605:Voluntary Statement by
199:US Post Office Building
883:Presidential limousine
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135:Union Terminal Company
290:Bowers was played by
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121:Bowers served in the
117:Early life and career
103:Lee Edward Bowers Jr.
33:Lee Edward Bowers Jr.
1007:Single-bullet theory
959:Johnson inauguration
607:Emmett Joseph Hudson
542:Not in Your Lifetime
1060:Foreign dignitaries
1037:Earl Rose (coroner)
990:Conspiracy theories
985:Dictabelt recording
797:Assassination rifle
292:Pruitt Taylor Vince
129:for two years then
1070:Black Jack (horse)
1017:In popular culture
876:Sixth Floor Museum
822:Jacqueline Kennedy
689:Reclaiming History
595:Lee E. Bowers, Jr.
580:2012-07-21 at the
478:2008-09-21 at the
427:2008-04-21 at the
395:2016-03-03 at the
375:2007-10-08 at the
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155:interlocking tower
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1086:Warren Commission
888:Parkland Hospital
778:Lee Harvey Oswald
685:Bugliosi, Vincent
651:978-0-393-04525-3
632:Bugliosi, Vincent
550:978-1-56924-739-6
540:Anthony Summers,
532:978-0-7867-0578-8
514:978-0-88184-648-5
294:in the 1991 film
280:Midlothian, Texas
195:Warren Commission
139:convalescent home
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63:Midlothian, Texas
46:Dallas, Texas, US
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859:Abraham Zapruder
827:Pink Chanel suit
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220:Rush to Judgment
215:Emile de Antonio
185:from the shots.
176:in Dallas, Texas
161:and west of the
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807:J. D. Tippit
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57:(1966-08-09)
1144:1966 deaths
1139:1925 births
1101:Researchers
908:Orville Nix
898:Ike Altgens
834:James Tague
678:Works cited
617:Mark Lane,
491:Mark Lane,
1133:Categories
849:Clint Hill
458:2014-07-15
304:References
286:Portrayals
153:two-story
39:1925-01-12
23:Lee Bowers
995:Badge Man
964:Jack Ruby
954:Reactions
937:Aftermath
893:Witnesses
502:Jim Marrs
411:, p. 852.
309:Citations
211:Mark Lane
197:, at the
123:U.S. Navy
1118:Category
802:Timeline
687:(2007).
634:(2007).
578:Archived
476:Archived
452:Archived
425:Archived
393:Archived
373:Archived
348:Archived
949:Autopsy
354:May 28,
225:pergola
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247:fired.
274:Death
253:south
693:ISBN
646:ISBN
546:ISBN
528:ISBN
510:ISBN
356:2015
213:and
65:, US
52:Died
29:Born
1000:CIA
642:899
297:JFK
109:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
