The Final Witness Quotes

“I started thinking about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was also visible in the distance. Click, click, click, twenty-one times, stop; turn around; pause twenty-one seconds; repeat. Click, click, click, twenty-one times, stop; turn around; pause twenty-one seconds; repeat. The heels of the guard on duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier click on the pavement twenty-four hours straight, seven days a week, 365 days a year, year in and year out. Rain, sleet, or snow never interrupts this routine. The only time it is interrupted is during the changing of the guard, which happens every thirty minutes. The whole routine then resumes until the next relief. There is much more behind the symbolism, sacrifices, and commitments of these dedicated warriors, but that’s a whole other story in itself.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“When I finally decided to share my information with Lew Merletti, I knew everything I said would be held in confidence. Merletti’s response to my revelation was immediate, and he encouraged me to tell my story to Ken Gormley, dean of the School of Law at Duquesne University (now the thirteenth president of the university) and the author of The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr. Gormley had interviewed Merletti during the Monica Lewinsky scandal that led to President Clinton’s impeachment. Merletti trusted Gormley. I repeated my story to Gormley, and he agreed with Merletti: “You have a story here that needs to be told.” This is the story I kept”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“When I finally decided to share my information with Lew Merletti, I knew everything I said would be held in confidence. Merletti’s response to my revelation was immediate, and he encouraged me to tell my story to Ken Gormley, dean of the School of Law at Duquesne University (now the thirteenth president of the university) and the author of The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr. Gormley had interviewed Merletti during the Monica Lewinsky scandal that led to President Clinton’s impeachment. Merletti trusted Gormley. I repeated my story to Gormley, and he agreed with Merletti: “You have a story here that needs to be”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“referred to as the “third bullet,” would become a source of controversy. Once I’d left the bullet on the president’s gurney, I forgot about it. I’d done my job. I had saved and prevented an important piece of evidence from becoming lost, and I assumed at the time it would be found where I placed it. I never thought about that bullet again until the evening of March 14, 2014, when I picked up Six Seconds in Dallas.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“The mood among most agents in the White House that first Saturday morning after the assassination was anger. We were resentful of Johnson. We all knew that there was no love lost between him and the Kennedys. The angrier agents among us commented rashly that they wouldn’t be surprised if Johnson had something to do with the events in Dallas. We all knew how badly he wanted to be president. But no one was serious, we were all just shocked, and saddened, and angry. There was no escaping the fact that the changeover was happening.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“When Mrs. Kennedy finally stood up, I looked again at the seat and saw a bullet on top of the tufted black leather cushioning behind where she had been sitting. It was resting in a seam where the tufted leather padding ended against the car’s metal body. It wasn’t a bullet fragment like the other two pieces. It was a completely intact bullet. It had been hidden behind Mrs. Kennedy all the time she was seated. No wonder I hadn’t seen it sooner.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“I returned my attention to the presidential limo. Looking down at the seat beside Mrs. Kennedy, 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 quickly replaced it exactly where I had found it.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“Contrary to published statements regarding the events that took place that night at the Cellar, I was not personally drunk nor did I witness any Secret Service agents who were drunk or misbehaving in any manner whatsoever.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years

“Our visit happened to coincide with the celebration of the birth of King Hassan’s first son, Prince Mohammed. He had been born in August, so why wait until October to celebrate, I wondered. I learned it was a Moroccan custom to keep an open grave for forty days after a child’s birth, until the health of the mother and baby is ensured. After learning this, I wondered how Mrs. Kennedy felt, having lost Patrick only two months earlier, but she showed no open signs of grief.”
― Paul Landis, The Final Witness: A Kennedy Secret Service Agent Breaks His Silence After Sixty Years