H. B. McLain Oral History
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H. B. McLain Oral History
Videotaped oral history interview with H. B. McLain. McLain was a Dallas Police motorcycle officer who rode in the motorcade and later escorted Jacqueline Kennedy into the Emergency Room at Parkland Hospital. Beginning in 1977, questions were raised about a recording made by the Dallas Police. According to the sounds heard, the radio microphone on one of the Dallas police motorcycles in Dealey Plaza might have picked up the sound of shots in Dealey Plaza. McLain testified to the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978 that his microphone was sometimes stuck in the "on" position, but later, when McLain first heard the recording, he denied being the officer in question. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on July 16, 2003 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is forty-three minutes long.
H. B. McLain Oral History
07/16/2003
Hi-8 videotape
43 Minutes
Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2003.001.0023
As the one who first theorized in 1976 that an open microphone may have picked up the sounds of the assassination, I've followed the developments closely over the years. Intrigued with the theory, as explained to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) by Dallas researcher Mary Ferrell in 1977, investigators arranged for test shots to be fired and recorded in Dealey Plaza for comparison with the Dallas Police recording. Using the same principles as radar, acoustic scientists concluded there were shots on the recording - four of them, not three as determined by the Warren Commission. Of the four, shots one, two and four came from the Texas School Book Depository and shot number three came from the grassy knoll to the right side of President Kennedy. Based primarily on that evidence, the HSCA concluded there was a conspiracy of at least two gunmen that day in Dallas. The Justice Department examined the acoustic evidence but could not determine whether it was accurate or not.Later, a rock music drummer with an interest in the assassination, Steve Barber, heard Dallas Sheriff Bill Decker's voice in the recording as the last shot was fired. Because Decker's command was known to have been made a minute or so after the gunfire ended, Barber concluded the noises could not possibly be the sounds of the assassination.His conclusion, seemingly supported by later private studies, may not be the end of the controversy. Some researchers, including myself, continue to believe that the sounds really are the shots and that newer studies of what is thought to be the original recording will confirm that the original findings were correct. - Gary Mack, Curator
Mr. McLain recorded a follow-up oral history at the Museum in September 2014. He passed away the following year on June 25, 2015. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
H. B. McLain Oral History
Videotaped oral history interview with H. B. McLain. McLain was a Dallas Police motorcycle officer who rode in the motorcade and later escorted Jacqueline Kennedy into the Emergency Room at Parkland Hospital. Beginning in 1977, questions were raised about a recording made by the Dallas Police. According to the sounds heard, the radio microphone on one of the Dallas police motorcycles in Dealey Plaza might have picked up the sound of shots in Dealey Plaza. McLain testified to the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978 that his microphone was sometimes stuck in the "on" position, but later, when McLain first heard the recording, he denied being the officer in question. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on July 16, 2003 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is forty-three minutes long.
H. B. McLain Oral History
07/16/2003
Oral histories
Motorcycles
Microphones
Police
McLain, H.B.
Kennedy, Jacqueline
Parkland Hospital
House Select Committee on Assassinations
Dallas Police Department
Dallas
Hi-8 videotape
43 Minutes
Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2003.001.0023
As the one who first theorized in 1976 that an open microphone may have picked up the sounds of the assassination, I've followed the developments closely over the years. Intrigued with the theory, as explained to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) by Dallas researcher Mary Ferrell in 1977, investigators arranged for test shots to be fired and recorded in Dealey Plaza for comparison with the Dallas Police recording. Using the same principles as radar, acoustic scientists concluded there were shots on the recording - four of them, not three as determined by the Warren Commission. Of the four, shots one, two and four came from the Texas School Book Depository and shot number three came from the grassy knoll to the right side of President Kennedy. Based primarily on that evidence, the HSCA concluded there was a conspiracy of at least two gunmen that day in Dallas. The Justice Department examined the acoustic evidence but could not determine whether it was accurate or not.Later, a rock music drummer with an interest in the assassination, Steve Barber, heard Dallas Sheriff Bill Decker's voice in the recording as the last shot was fired. Because Decker's command was known to have been made a minute or so after the gunfire ended, Barber concluded the noises could not possibly be the sounds of the assassination.His conclusion, seemingly supported by later private studies, may not be the end of the controversy. Some researchers, including myself, continue to believe that the sounds really are the shots and that newer studies of what is thought to be the original recording will confirm that the original findings were correct. - Gary Mack, Curator
Mr. McLain recorded a follow-up oral history at the Museum in September 2014. He passed away the following year on June 25, 2015. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
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