Living History with Jerry Kasten

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza presented an interview with Jerry Kasten, a social studies teacher at Bryan Adams High School in 1963. Kasten was also a member of the Dallas Police Reserves and was working crowd control on Commerce Street at the time of the Oswald shooting. Moderator was Museum Associate Curator Stephen Fagin.
This presentation took place at the Museum on September 19, 2015 as part of the 2015 Living History Series. To see related films, photos, documents and oral histories from The Sixth Floor Museum's collection, visit our online collections database (emuseum.jfk.org). Or make a research appointment to explore the books, DVDs and other materials available in the Museum's Reading Room (www.jfk.org/the....

[@truthseeker474]

Wonderful series looking back at a very historic day in history. Thank you.

[@cesarino72]

Mr. Kasten is a very interesting and entertaining witness. Sounds like he is also a very interesting teacher. Lucky students!

[@KishaAmenio06x]

Love these🎉🎉🎉great interview!

[@katherinechrisman5362]

You are such a talented interviewer!!!!

[@dianerudnicki8227]

Such an informative interview.

[@johnhoey4605]

This guy seems to be the Forrest Gump of the whole tragedy; somehow turning up at the most important moments throughout that weekend.

[@danielyoung6630]

60TH YEAR AND 6TH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DALEY PLAZA . LET US HOPE THIS DAY HONORED PROPERLY. AMEN. ON 11/22/2023.

[@figgybass]

Love these interviews!!

[@marilynmcfann295]

Interesting-! Super interview of living history-!

[@MTGrad1]

Interesting!

[@norobbery]

Poor ol' Bob Huffeker never could get Lee Harvey Oswald's name right. He's still calling him Lee Harold Oswald probably to this day.

[@johntexas8417]

Yeah, but its alright 🙋‍♂️🤠🇺🇲

[@bettywhite9634]

Was that Ruby’s lounge?

[@prant8998]

Questions not asked, (or answered), With all the security in the basement when Oswald was being transferred, why was an armed civilian, Jack Ruby, allowed there? Was he searched, was he told to leave, who allowed him to stay, (did everyone later go over to his place for free coffee)? Mr. Kasten, failed to say anything critical about the Dallas Police, of which, he was a member. Forget the city of Dallas, the police force was a national disgrace at the time, if not a joke. Stephen Fagin, the moderator, who in my estimation, has done a fantastic job through the series, allowed Mr. Kasten off the hook by not asking the obvious questions. Was this pre-arranged with Kasten? It would have been interesting to hear what Kasten had to say about the most glaring failure of the Dallas Police Department, or for that matter any police department in the history of the U.S.

[@snugasaglove]

There is another interview with Rio Sam Pierce who tells how Ruby slipped in. He was driving a car out UP a down ramp. The officer who was posted at the door moved into the street to direct traffic. THAT is when Ruby slipped by.

[@ericbaker9688]

I wish I was on some of these panels asking questions. I've seen maybe 15-20 of these regarding police officers of that era and just about all of DPD reject any kind of conspiracy. Is there a code of silence? Did I just answer my own question?

[@davidmoser3535]

no they are just being honest just because you dont agree, does not make them wrong. Remember they were there.

[@ericbaker9688]

@@davidmoser3535 Matters if they were there are not it's still odd that they all stick together. "Millions" think like I do regarding this matter. Far more than the ones who don't! DPD is one of the most crooked in the nation especially in those days. You would have to be a naive individual to not think so. They overturned Henry Wade's convictions because the majority of them were false, corrupt, and an injustice. George Stinney Jr is a prime example of how foul he was. The "Angels" that were involved were "there" covering for one another. I can care less what you believe. I just go by what my eyes see, raw footage, documents, obvious lies etc.

[@lukewarme9121]

Didn’t Jerry here realize that Oswald was a communist?

[@lukewarme9121]

Aren’t kids AWOL from school a bad thing? Parents should be upset if their child wasn’t at school and the school didn’t care.

[@lukewarme9121]

@@mikehiggins946 You’d let your kid go waste time to see a fraud like Biden? What the hell’s wrong with you?

[@jeromemurphy2572]

Spend less time talking about how conservative his superiors were and more about the JFK asssassination. Stephen you are showing your bias.

[@stevemaher7481]

I emphatically decline these changes

[@Ckom-Tunes]

‘But I can’t mention one single person or institution that is framing me’ - Lee Harvey Oswald.

[@scotth9857]

“A policeman hit me (but I won’t tell you I pulled a gun on him first).”