A Bowling Green man helped keep secret thousands of documents that were created following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 40 years ago. As director of security for the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations, Bob Morrison of Bowling Green was a senior advisor and direct representative to the director of the committee. The committee was established in 1976 to conduct a complete investigation of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.I was fortunate to participate, Morrison said. Morrison managed all functions of security in the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C. He was in charge of about 120 staff members, developed and implemented security procedures and safeguarded all classified materials and committee-sensitive materials that went through the office. There were 93 secure containers that held classified materials at the office, he said. One hallway each was dedicated to information on Kennedy and King. Each piece of information that went through the office went by Morrison, and he would guide it to the appropriate people. Morrison was born in Glasgow and moved to Bowling Green in 1939. He attended grade school in Bowling Green and spent one semester at Western Kentucky University before joining the Navy. Morrison got his first taste at intelligence and security in Korea when he was assigned to the commander of Navy forces. After retiring from the Navy, he had trouble finding a job in Washington because of a government hiring freeze. He turned his resume in at 8 a.m. one Friday in December 1976, was called in for an interview that afternoon and started work the following Monday. When people came into the committee office to share the information they had about Kennedys death, Morrison would talk to them before sending over an investigator. We never turned one down, Morrison said. You would not believe the number of kooks that showed up. Each one was allowed to say their piece, and together with an investigator Morrison would pacify each one. Sometimes Capitol Police had to escort people out. One man came in wearing a horsehair wig to disguise his identity, Morrison said. He turned out to be a high-level government worker whod lost his job because of the Kennedy assassination. Morrisons position put him in contact with people of different backgrounds, which almost included a visit to Cuba to meet President Fidel Castro. Morrison was supposed to be responsible for the committees sensitive documents on the trip. But they didnt have the right containers, so that canceled me out, he said. Other notables who passed through the assassination committees offices included then-President Gerald Ford. People of lesser repute also came to testify. Morrison met with Carlos Marcello, a mobster from New Orleans, and Santos Trafficante, a mob chief from Florida. Once Morrison was supposed to transport Trafficante to a different part of Washington. He called the Capitol Police for a shuttle, but Trafficantes lawyer told Morrison the old man needed his exercise and wanted to walk. During the trip, Morrison said he faced two burdens: the task of keeping up normal conversation with the lawyer and the mobster while constantly checking over his shoulders for anyone attempting to kill the Mafioso. Word was out he was here, Morrison said. Another time, the chief of the Capitol Police brought Morrison into his office and asked him if he had been experiencing any problems with reporters. Morrison hadnt, but the chief and showed him the drawers of police files on reporters who worked in Washington. That amazed and floored me, Morrison said. During Morrisons work in security, he never carried a gun and never lost any secure documents, he said. And when asked about the issue of confidentiality, his reply is simple. You just keep your mouth shut, he said. Every employee of the committee signed a security termination statement, and much of the information that was classified then has been made public. He has been back in Bowling Green since 1988, after his mother died. Hes been married to his wife, Jo Jean, for 12 years. Morrison said many people still talk about the JFK assassination for one reason, theyre not satisfied with what they know. John Parker, a professor of political science at Western Kentucky University, sees it similarly. I think one fact why the topic remains so fascinating to people is that many believe the government hasnt been straight with us, Parker said. He notes that despite witness accounts of Kennedys head being blown off, the Warren Commission report, shows no holes in the back of Kennedys head rather, a tidy entry wound. Given the fact it happened 40 years ago, and seeing we dont have the truth, we might not get it, Parker said. So much of the evidence has been destroyed, much has disappeared and many of the photos taken by bystanders and other were turned over to the government. They may be lost too. Of course witnesses have died as well, so it becomes increasingly difficult to know the truth. At this point, I wish we did know the truth and I do hope we have someday what many people can accept as a final explanation, but Im not real optimistic on that as time passes.