The 2025 declassified files finally confirm it — Gordon Arnold, the 22-year-old Army private who said he was standing on the grassy knoll during JFK’s assassination, was interviewed.
His account was recorded, flagged, and buried.
🧍♂️ The Man Who Wasn’t Supposed To Be There
Gordon Arnold was just back from basic training. On November 22, 1963, he was in Dallas — camera in hand — and wanted to see the President.
He positioned himself on the grassy knoll, aiming for the best angle to film the motorcade.
But before he could start rolling?
“A man with a badge came up, said he was Secret Service. Told me to move. Then he pointed toward the overpass.”
Arnold would later say the man had no ID. No credentials. Just a badge, a holstered weapon, and a firm grip on his camera.
🚫 The Camera Was Taken
“I told him I was just trying to film. He took my camera. Said it was for evidence. I never got it back.”
This part of Arnold’s story remained hearsay for decades. The Warren Commission never mentioned him. He wasn’t listed as a witness.
But in the 2025 release?
Box #44-71-B, Doc ID 877624, a typewritten memo from the FBI Dallas field office reads:
“Arnold (G.) claims to have witnessed activity on the knoll and was relocated by unknown badge-carrying male. Film was not retrieved post-event.”
This is the first time any official file has confirmed Gordon Arnold’s story was recorded by federal agents.
🔫 The Shot That Came From Behind Him
Arnold didn’t just lose his camera. He also heard the shots — not from the Depository, but from behind.
“The first shot made me duck. I hit the ground, heard another one real close. From behind me. Not ahead. I could feel it.”
He described the sensation of being in the direct path of a shot fired over his shoulder. He later told local press:
“I don’t know who fired. But it wasn’t from where they said it was.”
That quote never made it into any report.
📼 The Buried Interview
In the 2025 release is a log entry labeled INTERVIEW AUDIO – ARNOLD (G) – TO BE DESTROYED, with a handwritten addendum:
“Retain for internal archival. DO NOT RELEASE.”
It was flagged for destruction in 1975 — around the same time the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was reopening its investigation.
Arnold was never called to testify.
Why?
“Unverifiable witness. No corroboration. Account conflicts with established timeline.”
— CIA internal memo, January 1976
🧾 The Notes That Didn’t Disappear
Along with the memo was a handwritten note from an agent assigned to the Dallas detail.
“He’s credible. Scared. Said he got threats two days after. Thinks someone followed him home.”
There is no follow-up. No protection detail. No formal documentation of his camera.
Just one routing slip, marked:
“Set aside. Do not forward.”
🗺️ The Witness Who Placed A Shooter Where They Said None Existed
Gordon Arnold’s story is consistent. Not just over time — but with other witnesses on the scene who also described seeing movement or figures behind the fence on the knoll.
The difference?
He was standing there.
In his words:
“I was on that hill. I know where the shot came from. And I know who told me to leave.”
🕳️ His Story Was Never Debunked It Was Just Ignored
The 2025 files don’t prove who fired the shot.
They don’t prove who the man with the badge was.
But they prove this:
📌 Gordon Arnold gave a full statement.
📌 It was reviewed by the FBI.
📌 And someone made the decision not to let it surface.
Until now.
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