Testimony of Ruth Standridge

TESTIMONY OF RUTH JEANETTE STANDRIDGE

The testimony of Ruth Jeanette Standridge was taken at 1:35 p.m., on March 21, 1964, at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Arlen Specter, assistant counsel of the President's Commission.

Mr. SPECTER - Miss Standridge, would you stand up and raise your right hand, please?
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you give before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy in these deposition proceedings will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I do.
Mr. SPECTER - All right, you may be seated.
Miss Standridge, the President's Commission is investigating the assassination of President Kennedy and all the facts relating thereto, and we have asked you to appear to have your deposition taken in connection with the treatment which was given to Governor Connally in Parkland Memorial Hospital and to President Kennedy in Parkland Memorial Hospital, and all facts relating to that. Have you received a letter from the President's Commission requesting that you appear?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, there was a letter came and I was out of town and they opened it, the supervisor opened it and she had the letter, but I haven't seen it yet.
Mr. SPECTER - You haven't seen it yet ?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No.
Mr. SPECTER - Well, let me show you the enclosures which were in the letter so that you may be familiar with them. Here is a copy of the White House Executive order establishing the Commission, and here is a resolution establishing the rules for taking testimony. Permit me to explain to you that the rules require that we give you 3 days' notice, so that if you would request it now, we could delay taking your deposition until sometime next week, if you would prefer, or if you are agreeable to have us take your deposition, we can go right ahead and take it now.
Miss STANDRIDGE - (reading instruments referred to). Thank you, you can just go ahead if you want to---it's all right with me.
Mr. SPECTER It doesn't make any difference to you whether it is today or next week?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No; it does not.
Mr. SPECTER - Would you state your full name, please?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Ruth Jeanette Standridge.
Mr. SPECTER - What is your occupation or profession?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Head nurse of the emergency rooms.
Mr. SPECTER - At what hospital?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Mr. SPECTER - What were your duties on November 22, 1963?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I was working as charge nurse in the major surgery area in Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Mr. SPECTER - And did you receive notification that the President of the United States was en route to Parkland Hospital?

115

Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes; by my supervisor, Doris Nelson.
Mr. SPECTER And st about what time did you receive that notification?
Miss STANDRIDGE - About 12:30, I guess.
Mr. SPECTER - And what action, if any, did you take as a result of getting that notice?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Immediately went to trauma room 2 and I was in trauma room 2 and began to set up Renger liquid and check the suction machine.
Mr. SPECTER - And was trauma room 1 set up?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Mrs. Nelson was setting trauma room 1 up at the same time.
Mr. SPECTER - Were you present when one or more of the victims arrived?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - And who was it arrived?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Governor Connally was brought into trauma room 2 first.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you observe President Kennedy arrive?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No; I was busy with the Governor..
Mr. SPECTER - And what did you do when the Governor arrived ?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, we began to take his clothing off and the orderlies continued that and the doctors and I started handing the syringe and medicine and things necessary to start the IV.
Mr. SPECTER - And, what do you mean by "IV" ?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Intravenous fluids.
Mr. SPECTER And did you assist in the taking off of Governor Connally's clothes?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER What, if anything, did you notice with respect to the Governor's shirt?
Miss STANDRIDGE - There was blood on the front of it.
Mr. SPECTER - Was there any bullet hole on the front of the shirt?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Not that I can say for sure.
Mr. SPECTER - There could have been or could not have been, but you just don't know?
Miss STANDRIDGE - There could have been, but mostly it was just blood that we noticed.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you notice anything on the coat?
Miss STANDRIDGE - There was blood on the coat.
Mr. SPECTER - Was he wearing his suit coat?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you notice whether or not there was any bullet hole-in the coat?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I didn't see one.
Mr. SPECTER - What was Governor Connally's position when you first saw him?
Miss STANDRIDGE - He was laying on his back on the cart.
Mr. SPECTER - And what kind of cart was he lying on?
Miss STANDRIDGE - The emergency cart on rollers.
Mr. SPECTER - What is that emergency cart constructed of ?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, it's just a thin fixture with rubber padding on the top, and it is used to transfer the patients to the wards, and to X-ray and to surgery.
Mr. SPECTER - Is it made of metal?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Of metal with four big tires on it.
Mr. SPECTER - With four roller tires on it?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - And what was on the cart underneath the Governor?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, there was just a sheet was all we had on there.
Mr. SPECTER - Was there anything on top of the Governor?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, we put a sheet, when we unclothed him.
Mr. SPECTER Was he completely undressed?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - And was he lying on top of that cart while he was being undressed?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.

116

Mr. SPECTER - And who assisted you in the process of undressing him?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, David Sanders was helping, he was my orderly that was in the room, and also an aid, Rosa Majors, and she took the money out of his pants, and Dr. Fueishier.
Mr. SPECTER - How do you spell that?
Miss STANDRIDGE - F-u-e-i-s-h-i-e-r (spelling), and Dr. Duke, and there was a couple of other doctors--I don't remember who they were, but they were up at the head, Dr. Fueishier and Dr. Duke, and Dr. Shaw came in before they got the Governor's clothes off.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you notice any object in Governor Connally's clothing?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Not unusual.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you notice a bullet, specifically?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you hear the sound of anything fall?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I didn't.
Mr. SPECTER Were there other noises going on, in the room at that time?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes, there were.
Mr. SPECTER - Was Governor Connally completely undressed in the emergency room?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I believe so, to the best of my knowledge he was, I think everything was taken off.
Mr. SPECTER - And what was done with Governor Connally following the completion of his being undressed?
Miss STANDRIDGE - He was immediately carried to the elevator---emergency elevator.
Mr. SPECTER - And in what way was he carried to the emergency elevator?
Miss STANDRIDGE - On the emergency cart that he came into emergency room on.
Mr. SPECTER - Is that also describable as a stretcher?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - You say "Yes"?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you assist in pushing him into the elevator?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I started and then there was enough doctors pushing him and I went back to get his clothing and by the time I came back up again---I went just as quickly as I could walk back to trauma room 2 and got the clothing, I ran back up to catch him, and the elevator was closing with him on it.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you actually see Governor Connally being wheeled into the elevator?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No, the door was closing as I got back around. I started with him down the hall and then before I got back, they had put him into the elevator.
Mr. SPECTER - Who assisted in pushing him out of the emergency room and down the hall---is it a little ways?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, it's through the OB and GYN section.
Mr. SPECTER - Is that "Obstetrics and Gynecology" section?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes; you go through that section to get to this elevator from the major surgery section.
Mr. SPECTER - How far did you help push him from the major surgery section?
Miss STANDRIDGE - About from the door that went into OBGN.
Mr. SPECTER - About how far is that?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Oh, about 20 feet, I guess, and they had about another 20 feet to go before they turned to the left to get to the elevator, which is about 6 or 8 feet.
Mr. SPECTER - So, you left him and went back to the emergency room to get his clothes, and when you came back, did you see any part of the stretcher?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, I could just see---I could see the stretchers---yes; and the doors and everybody in the elevator and the door was closed in.
Mr. SPECTER - Could you see Governor Connally on the stretcher?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No, not---I think his feet were at the end---I could just see feet---I believe the feet were there at that door, you know.
Mr. SPECTER - And, you saw the same doctors around the stretcher who were pushing him when you last saw him?

117

Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - Are you sure that was Governor Connally?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No, that's what I said---I. Just saw his feet, which I assumed it was--it was the same doctors.
Mr. SPECTER - About how long elapsed from the time you stopped pushing
the stretcher until the time you got there to look and see just his feet?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Just a second, I mean, just a few seconds.
Mr. SPECTER - You went back and got his clothes?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - What did you do with those clothes?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I asked the administrator who should I give them to, and they told me to give them to Governor Connally's party and they were in the minor medicine section and I went out there and there were two gentlemen out there and I asked them who I wanted to see---I wanted to see somebody in Governor Connally's party, and they opened the door and they asked for somebody, and he said he was---he identified himself as Cliff Carter.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you give him the clothing?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - Do you know what he did with it?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No.
Mr. SPECTER - Have you heard what he did with it?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I've heard that it got lost and they found it in Representative Gonzales' office in a closet.
Mr. SPECTER - And is he a Texas Representative?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I believe so.
Mr. SPECTER - In his office closet where?
Miss STANDRIDGE - In Washington, D.C.
Mr. SPECTER - Are you. limited in anyway from entering into the operating room area?
Miss STANDRIDGE - We are limited, but there is a place where the spots are painted on the floor that is is legal for us to go through into the hallway into the nurses' station.
Mr. SPECTER - You can go around in part of the operating room area?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Isn't into the premises---it's just in the hallway into the nurses' station.
Mr. SPECTER - And what is the reason for limiting you from going beyond that into the operating room area?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, we are not considered--we would be contaminating.
Mr. SPECTER - Well, is there some problem about flammable gases up there?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Anesthesia equipment, that's right, and these spots are painted there, and if you don't have the proper shoes on, they will be a conductor, you know, and these spots are there for that area.
Mr. SPECTER - Was Governor Connally removed from the stretcher at anytime while he was in the emergency room?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No; he wasn't. He never went to X-ray or he wasn't taken off at all.
Mr. SPECTER - Does the elevator that the stretcher was pushed into go only to the operating room?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No; it stops on first floor and also goes up to delivery-up to the delivery room on third floor.
Mr. SPECTER What is on first floor?
Miss STANDRIDGE.. No patients--only classrooms and administrative offices----business offices.
Mr. SPECTER - What is on third floor?
Miss STANDRIDGE - The delivery room---it opens up into the delivery room and then the post mortem wards.
Mr. SPECTER - Do you have anything you would like to add which you think might be helpful to us in any way?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, not that I can think of other than that I have already stated.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you see President Kennedy's stretcher at any time?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes; I was in the room---I took the mop in. The orderlies

118

mopped the floor and we cleaned the wall, the blood off of the walls and so forth, to get it presentable before Mrs. Kennedy came back in.
Mr. SPECTER - And was President Kennedy in the room at that time?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you see him there?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER And you identified him from what you knew he looked like?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - And how was he clothed at that time?
Miss STANDRIDGE.. Well, as far as from his waist up---was all that was uncovered and they were trying to protect his head with a sheet---it was wrapped around his head.
Mr. SPECTER - What clothing did he have on from the waist down?
Miss STANDRIDGE - It was just a sheet cover---I don't know of anything under the cover, whether there was or not. I assumed he was all unclothed, which we do routinely.
Mr. SPECTER - He was all unclothed?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I said I assumed he was---I don't know.
Mr. SPECTER - What did he have from the waist up?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Nothing.
Mr. SPECTER - What was he on at that time ?
Miss. STANDRIDGE. A stretcher cart.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you see 'what happened to that stretcher afterward?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I didn't notice. They moved it from the room.
Mr. SPECTER - Do you know what happened to the sheets that were on the President's stretcher?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No; I don't.
Mr. SPECTER - Did you and I meet previously before I started to take the deposition here today and talk about the procedures for the investigation by the Warren Commission?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Yes.
Mr. SPECTER - And have you and I been discussing here, with me asking questions and you making answers all the things which we talked about before the court reporter came in?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I believe so.
Mr. SPECTER - Have you ever talked to any other representative of the Federal Government?
Miss STANDRIDGE - The Secret Service---yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER - And did you talk with them once or more than once?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, I talked with them one time in Mr. Wright's office and another time just briefly---he came to see the layout of the emergency room.
Mr. SPECTER - Whose office Mr. Wright?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Personnel manager here.
Mr. SPECTER - What did the Secret Service men ask you about on those occasions?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, just the same thing we have gone over today.
Mr. SPECTER - And you talked with the Secret Service man in another part of the hospital on another day, you say?
Miss STANDRIDGE - I think he came back up into the emergency room at that time.
Mr. SPECTER - What did you talk about in the emergency room at that time?
Miss STANDRIDGE - Well, Mrs. Nelson, she showed him the different areas.
Mr. SPECTER - And you identified some of the things?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER - Have you ever talked with any other representative of the Federal Government?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No.
Mr. SPECTER - Any representative of the State government?
Miss STANDRIDGE - No.
Mr. SPECTER - Thank you very much. Those are all---those are the only questions I have.
Miss STANDRIDGE - Thank you for that