Paul Landis Oral History

Object number2016.001.0096

Date09/12/2016

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Paul Landis

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)

DimensionsDuration: 93 Minutes

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Paul Landis. As a U.S. Secret Service agent on the White House Detail, Landis was assigned at various times in the early 1960s to President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy and the Kennedy children. On November 22, 1963, he was on the running boards of the follow-up car directly behind the presidential limousine. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on September 12, 2016 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and thirty-three minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

It was an honor to interview Paul Landis for the Museum's Oral History Project after meeting him for the first time in 2010. When we first met, I had the extraordinary privilege of touring Mr. Landis, alongside his former Secret Service colleague Clint Hill, through the Museum. Recognizing the significance of these two former agents being on the sixth floor of the Depository building, I was incredibly nervous. I was especially aware of the emotional impact that the assassination had had on Clint Hill. At the time, I never imagined that either man would consent to a video interview. Remarkably, just a few months later I was able to record a lengthy oral history with Clint Hill. Paul Landis was more reluctant, although he finally agreed to sit down for this interview some six years later while visiting Dallas. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator