Letter to Reverend William A. Holmes from Carol Tagg

When I first interviewed Rev. Holmes in March 2007, he was surprised to hear that there was still historical interest in his controversial sermon from the weekend of the Kennedy assassination. He and his wife soon decided to donate to the Museum the collection of more than 450 letters and cards that they received from around the world after excerpts of the sermon were broadcast on CBS.

Although several letters were critical of Holmes, the vast majority supported his beliefs as expressed in the sermon. Holmes was most proud of the letter he received from Christian philosopher Paul Tillich (1886-1965), while his children were thrilled with the letter from actor Hugh Brannum (1910-87), who played "Mr. Green Jeans" on the children's program "Captain Kangaroo."

Carol Tagg's identity as Holmes' source for information that Dallas schoolchildren cheered news of the president's death was a closely guarded secret for more than four decades. Even when interviewed by the Museum in 2007, Holmes declined to name his source. However, with permission from the Tagg family and with Carol's son, Eric Tagg, in the audience, Holmes publicly revealed his source for the first time on November 20, 2008, at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator