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Malcolm Summers
- University of North Texas Press
- Chapter
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MALCOLM SUMMERS Eyewitness HI thought it would have been hard for one man doing it all. You hear that many shots that close together, you just don't think about them coming out of one gun... " Born and raised in Dallas, Summers graduated from Crozier Tech High School, joined the Aviation Cadets in 1944, and after the Second World War, was placed in the Reserves. Called to active duty during the Korean Conflict, Summers served eighteen months in the Air Force. At the time cf the assassination, he worked at his own mailing business which he established in 1960. Prior to the President arriving, I was at the Terminal Annex Building depositing mail. I'm in the mailing business, so I happened to be carrying a load of mail that day. Because of all the people lined up to see Kennedy, I ran over to watch him come by also. I left my vehicle there at the Terminal Annex and then just ran across the knolls and stood on the island right beside the street on the south side of Elm out in the clear and open area till he came by. I went over just to see the President and to wave to him. It was so close to the time I got there and the time he would be turning the comer up at Elm Street toward my direction that I was hardly there any length of time before they were ready to come down with the advance vehicles in front. In fact, I would have been standing there not more than two or three minutes at the MAL COL M SUM MER S. EYE WIT N E S S 103 most. I was just barely on time to see it get ready to come around there. I was pretty much alone in that area except maybe two or three feet over was a couple and some people holding their kids. Then up toward the comer, at the intersection itself, there were quite a few people all around. It seemed like a lot of people were getting ready to cheer, but I don't remember anything or anybody in particular. There was a lot of noise with the motorcycle sirens and all that. The first shot I heard was just after they had immediately turned the comer headed west on Elm Street. The first reaction that I saw when that first shot was fired was the Secret Service men kind of looking around and down at the people. I was of the impression that someone had thrown a firecracker down on the ground and thought maybe it was a prank of some sort. As a result, my attention was diverted away from looking at Kennedy, and I didn't see him reach for his throat. But then it was such a short time that the other shot was fired, then you knew that it wasn't anything like that. Then the third shot came right after that also. I heard three shots altogether and was standing practically right beside the car after he had already been hit just a few feet up above me there. Then, when Jackie reached over and grabbed John, she was saying, "Oh, no! Oh, God no!" or something to that effect. I heard her say it just as plain as anything. I was that close! Then I knew immediately that he had been hit. I wasn't sure particularly at that time because I thought he might have been ducking. When I heard her say that was after the second one had already hit. Apparently, that was the head wound. I'm not sure about which one hit him where. As to the spacing of the shots, there was much more time between the first one and the second two, the second and the third. They were real close. When we heard the shots, I saw some people up above me begin to fall down and scream and holler. There was more noise at that· time. Then my reaction was to fall down on the ground because I didn't know which direction the shots were coming from. One other thing that caused me to hit the ground was that there was a motorcycle officer who had stopped his motorcycle just a little bit past me and was looking. Matter of fact, he laid his motorcycle down or fell down on it. Probably he stopped and kind of laid it down and looked...