Evening star., 1950-11-02
VT WAS Indian summer in


Square. The temperature stood
at IS degrees in the shade, but it
was hot in the good sunshine. And
people were walking slowly-just
looking and strolling.
Then a little dark man in a pin
striped suit and wearing a black
hat on his oily black hair strolled
past the last guard booth in front
of the Blair House.
Inside the booth were Secret
Service Man Floyd M. Boring, 35,
a husky broad shouldered blond
in a gray flannel suit and White
House Police Pvt. Joseph o,
Davidson, 81, a slender and
handsome dark-haired fellow.
"Strolled by Nonchalantly."
They noticed the man in the
black hat pass, but thought moth
ing of it.
He just sort of strolled by non
chalantly and slowly" Pvt. David
son recalled.
They paid no attention and up
stairs the President snoozed away.
But from the western side OF
the house came another dark
little man in a pin-striped suit,
wearing a black hat. He walked
slowly and no one paid any at
tention to him either. 49,
White House Police Pvt. Leslie
Coffelt. 40, sat in the little white
painted guard booth at the west
end of the temporary White
House. The door of the booth was
open and his feet were stretched
out. The door faced east. He
didn't see the little man in the
black hat approaching.
Back in the kitchen of the Blair
Lee House-a little alley on the
west end nearest Seventeenth
street.-The was especially good for
Pvt. Joseph Downs of the White
House Force. He had a good job
and he had four nice children.
His job was to drive the White
House station wagon on shopping
missions and make sure the house.
keeper was not molested.
Guard Relaxed in Kitchen.
The shopping had been done
and Pvt. Downs was relaxing in
the kitchen-the door was open,
but his duty was done.
Pvt. Downs could feel the balmy
breezes and like man does in
the autumn he wondered about
his children. There was Joseph,
for instance, 20 years old and a
good boy. registered with the
Selective Service. They were
shooting boys that age in Korea.
And little" James. 18. a track
star and a good athlete-"he d
Just registered too"
Foremost in his mind was the
hope that pm. would come
soon, and even a sergeant could
forgive him if he looked at the
clock often.
Because November yester-
day-was the 10th birthday ami
versary Of Pvt. Downs middle son,
Billy. a fine boy and good stu
dent. @
And so, Pvt. Downs waited out
the Indian summer day.
Little men in black hats meant
nothing to Pvt. Downs at that mo-
ment.
The hands of the kitchen clock
In the Balir House reached 2:15.
Pvt. Downs just shifted and wait
ed for 4 pm. Then the two little
men with hatred in their hearts
made mockery Of the gentle day.
At 2:15 pm, while nature
smiled and autumn leaves fell
gently, guns began to roar on
Pennsylvania avenue.
Baughman Reconstructs Event.
This is the way it happened, as
reconstructed later by U. E. Baugh-
man, chief of the Secret Service.
There is one stairway entrance
leading into Blair House and an
other into Blair-Lee House, which
adjoins the former. Pvt. Donald
T. Birdzell stood in an accustomed
post at the east end of the two.
He was looking west, when a loud
click caused him to whirl around
to face the man later identified as
Oscar Collazo, who had vicious
looking German P-38 automatic
pistol pointed directly at the
officer.
Without a word. Collazo started
firing. One shot struck Pvt. Bird
zell in the leg. but seemingly, be-
fore he pulled his own pistol to
fire, the policeman started running
toward the middle of the street,
retaining presence of mind enough
to seek to draw the gunf1re away
from Blair House.
Startled by the shot, but tensed
to action, Mr.. Boring. a skilled
marksman and Pvt. Davidson
opened fire on the assailant from
bIlC SQdlO " UOh dllo NO11dZO
slumped on the steps, a gaping
hole in the base of his throat. His
blood gushed over the sidewalk.
Which of the officers hit him was
not certain.
Fatal Shooting Still Unclear.
With the attention of partici-
pants and startled spectators CEN
tered on the gunf1re at that point,
the exchange of fire at the other
end Of Blair House where Pvt.
Coffelt and the gunman, Griselio
. Torresola, were slain. almost
: passed unnoticed. Hours after
wards. officers did not have a clear
picture of what happened there,
and Pvt. Downs, the only sur
vivor was in no condition to give
details.
Pvt. Coffelt was believed to have
been sitting in the guard box at
that time. Pvt. Downs presum-
III L., f