ONE OF Secret Service agents present when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963 has died.
William ‘Tim’ McIntyre was assigned to the left rear of the Secret Service Follow-up car travelling 30 feet behind the President on that fateful day.
He passed away, aged 84, in his home in Sahuarita, Pima County, Arizona and will be laid to rest in Mesa this Thursday, August 29, alongside his wife, Wanda Lee, and daughter, Theresa.
An eye-witness to the JFK assassination, McIntyre offered a detailed description of the unfold events on November 29th of that year.
“The motorcade was scheduled to last approximately 45 minutes. As we passed through downtown Dallas, crowds were quite heavy, and two motorcycles, on either flank of the Presidential vehicle, were of considerable assistance in keeping the motorcade clear," he said.
“As the motorcade cleared the main downtown area, it made a right turn, went approximately one block, and then executed a left turn. After this turn, there was essentially no crowd, and green expanses of lawn stretched to the right and left of the motorcade.
“Directly in front of us was an underpass with a green sign with white lettering, stating ‘Entering Thornton Freeway.’
“The Presidential vehicle was approximately 200 feet from the underpass when the first shot was fired, followed in quick succession by two more. I would estimate that all three shots were fired within 5 seconds. After the second shot, I looked at the President and witnessed his being struck in the head by the third and last shot.
“By that time, Mr. Roberts had used the radio in our car to direct the vehicles to a hospital. Most, if not all the agents in the follow-up car had drawn their weapons and agent Hickey was handling the AR-15. None of us could determine the origin of the shots, and no shots were fired by any agent.”
McIntyre later courted controversy after featuring in an ABC television special 'Dangerous World- The Kennedy Years' in which he recalled upon first being assigned to JFK that he was taken aside by his shift supervisor Emory Roberts and warned of JFK's womanising ways.
"You're going to see a lot of s--t around here. Stuff with the president. Just forget about it. Keep it to yourself. Don t even talk to your wife. Roberts was nervous about it."
McIntyre felt a scandal was inevitable: "It would have had to come out in the next year or so. In the campaign, maybe."
He also felt compromised and angry at Kennedy's actions wonderingwhether it was "time to get out of there.
"I was disappointed by what I saw".
