As I recall, Kennedy himself, decided to travel in an open car.
The Presidential limousine had a bubble top, but its purpose was to protect against the weather, rather than small-arms fire (though obviously it would have been better than nothing).
No amount of security is going to protect you from a guy with a rifle in that circumstance.
Not true.
From the Warren Report,
Chapter 8:
Quote:
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Since the assassination of President Kennedy, the Secret Service has been experimenting with new techniques in the inspection of buildings along a motorcade route. According to [Treasury] Secretary Dillon, the studies indicate that there is some utility in attempting to designate certain buildings as involving a higher risk than others. The Commission strongly encourages these efforts to improve protection along a motorcade route. The Secret Service should utilize the personnel of other Federal law enforcement offices in the locality to assure adequate manpower for this task, as it is now doing. Lack of adequate resources is an unacceptable excuse for failing to improve advance precautions in this crucial area of Presidential protection. [citations omitted]
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From the HSCA Report,
Section I, Part D:
Quote:
HSCA
The Warren Commission commented that a building survey conducted under a "level of risk" criterion might well have included the Texas School Book Depository. Although the agent in the lead vehicle had some responsibility to scan the route for danger, this would have been woefully inadequate to protect against a concealed sniper. Television films taken in Dallas on November 22, 1963 show foot patrolmen facing the motorcade but not the crowd or the buildings. The police captain in charge of security on the route was not instructed to have his men watch the buildings, although they were ordered to watch the crowds. The committee found that if the threats that the PRS was aware of had been communicated to agents responsible for the Dallas trip, additional precautions might have been taken. [citations omitted]
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Had even one police officer been assigned specifically to watch the Depository building, he would undoubtedly have spotted Oswald no later than the first shot's being fired, and likely earlier, which could well have led to the following scenario:
One second before the first shot, the officer notices some movement at the sixth-floor corner window and focuses his attention on it, just in time to see Oswald fire. The first shot misses, due to striking a tree branch. The officer immediately draws his pistol and aims at the window. Seeing this, Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge Thomas Johns, in the Vice-Presidential follow-up car, immediately calls over the radio, "Sniper! Right rear!" In response to this, Special Agent Kellerman, in the Presidential limousine, orders the driver to take evasive action. Special Agent Greer steps on the accelerator just as Oswald's second shot strikes Kennedy's back, passes through his throat, and wounds Governor Connally. Simultaneously, the police officer opens fire on Oswald. Although none of the officer's shots hits Oswald, due to the distance and the cover provided by the building wall, Oswald is struck by fragments of glass from the window and splinters from the window frame. This distraction, plus Greer's evasive action, cause Oswald's third shot to miss. The motorcade speeds to Parkland Hospital, where doctors are able to save the lives of both Kennedy and Connally.
Knowing exactly where the shots came from, police officers immediately converge on the Depository building and secure all of the exits. With fresh cuts and splinters providing incontrovertible evidence of his guilt, Oswald is immediately arrested. He is quickly convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where he's still rotting today in the geriatric block. And all of the JFK conspiracists are out of a job.
