Transcript
Edited by Max Holland, with David Shreve, Ashley Havard High, and Patricia Dunn
See the daily introduction for 1963-11-22 [from the Norton edition]
Lyndon Johnson, unaware that SAM 86972 was already heading back to the United States, asked acting press secretary Malcolm Kilduff to contact 86972 via the White House. A White House Communications Agency (WHCA) officer, Major H. R. Patterson, mindful of security but recognizing the crisis at hand, adopted the code name STRANGER on the spot. It was not listed in any code book.[note 1] Manchester, Death, p. 224.
[86]972, 86972, Andrews.
[86]972, loud and clear.
Roger. Stand by. I have another one.
Who is this, sir?
This is the White House.
OK, stand by CROWN.
Yes.
86972, 86972, Andrews. I have CROWN on. Would you give him a call, please?
This is [86]972. Go ahead.
Roger. This is CROWN. We wish a phone patch with WAYSIDE. Go ahead.
Roger. Stand by for WAYSIDE.
CROWN?
CROWN, [86]972. Do you read?
Roger. Go ahead.
CROWN, this is WAYSIDE. Go ahead.
Roger. Stand by. [Pause.]
Go ahead, please.
WAYSIDE, WAYSIDE, this is STRANGER. Do you read me? Over.
STRANGER, this is WAYSIDE. Go ahead.
Ah, [Malcolm] Kilduff asks that all Cabinet members return to Washington immediately. Over.
Ah, plane’s already turned around [and] heading for Honolulu, where we have, ah, [KC]135 plane [to carry us back] to Washington.[note 2] The KC135 was a Boeing 707 modified to U.S. Air Force specifications. Over.
Roger, Roger. Will they notify us of time of arrival and location? Over.
That is correct. Now [I] have one question, STRANGER. It still seems that, ah, for the staff, for, ah—goes to Dallas? Over.
Roger, Roger. We do not have any firm word from down there as to the exact status, but I think—
Pardon me, WAYSIDE. Situation Room has to have you. Go ahead.
Ah, I read. Go ahead.
WAYSIDE, this is STRANGER. Out. I’ll get that information and [transmit] it to Hawaii. Over.
Affirmative.
Go ahead.
WAYSIDE, stand by for Situation Room.
[aside] Yeah.
[over radio] Ah, go ahead WAYSIDE.[note 3] The Presidential Recordings Program revised the following section of text in 2021 for inclusion in The LBJ Telephone Tapes, a project produced by the Miller Center in partnership with the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library to commemorate the library's 50th anniversary.
Situation Room, go ahead. This is WAYSIDE.
All right. This is—WAYSIDE, this is [the] Situation Room. I read you latest bulletin: “President Kennedy has been given blood transfusions today at Parkland Hospital in an effort to save his life after he and Governor John Connally of Texas were shot in an assassination attempt.” Over the TV we have the information that the Governor has been moved to the operating room. The President is still in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital. Do you read me so far? Over.
I read that loud and clear. Go ahead.[note 4] End of 2021 revisions.
WAYSIDE, this is [the] Situation Room. Are you getting the press coverage, or do you want us to continue to relay it to you? Over.
Situation Room, this is WAYSIDE. We are getting very garbled, very garbled transmissions. We’d appreciate [being] kept informed. Over.
This is [the] Situation Room. Roger. New subject. We will have information for you on whether to proceed to Dallas by the time you land at Honolulu. Over.
Affirmative, affirmative. Also [need] determination at that time, whether Secretary of State, Secretary of State, should also proceed [to] Dallas. Over.
This is [the] Situation Room. Will do. Get determination whether Secretary should also go to Dallas.
WAYSIDE out. Over.
This is [the] Situation Room. Out.
Cite as
“Andrews AFB, 86972 (Pierre Salinger), the White House, WHCA (H. R. Patterson), and WHSR (Oliver Hallett) on 22 November 1963,” Unidentified, Presidential Recordings Digital Edition [The Kennedy Assassination and the Transfer of Power, vol. 1, ed. Max Holland] (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2014–). URL: http://prde.upress.virginia.edu/conversations/9010010
Originally published in
Lyndon B. Johnson: The Kennedy Assassination and the Transfer of Power, November 1963–January 1964, ed. Max Holland, vol. 1 of The Presidential Recordings (New York and London: W. W. Norton and Company, 2005).