1954 Shooting
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_pages_goodwin.xml
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives About this object House Pages carry a stretcher bearing a wounded Member to a waiting ambulance.
Video
Remembering the Day
Representative Kanjorski provides a detailed account of the shooting in the House Chamber.
The Honorable Paul Kanjorski, U.S. Representative of Pennsylvania
Interview recorded October 26, 2011
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Deed of Gift
Reflections on the Aftermath of the Shooting
Representative Kanjorski reflects on the aftermath of the attack.
The Honorable Paul Kanjorski, U.S. Representative of Pennsylvania
Interview recorded October 26, 2011
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Deed of Gift
Reaction of the Pages
Representative Kanjorski shares his memories of the reaction of Pages to the violence.
The Honorable Paul Kanjorski, U.S. Representative of Pennsylvania
Interview recorded October 26, 2011
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Deed of Gift
Account of the Shooting
Memories of the shooting on the House Floor.
Joe Bartlett, Clerk to the Minority
Interview recorded October 12, 2006
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Deed of Gift
Transcript (PDF)
Representative Edna Kelly of New York
Recollections of Representative Edna Kelly of New York during the attack.
Pat Kelly, Editor, Daily Digest, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
Interview recorded February 2, 2011
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Deed of Gift
Transcript (PDF)
Recollections of the 1954 Shooting in the House Chamber: Part One
Eyewitness account of the shooting in the House Chamber on March 1, 1954.
Bill Goodwin, Page, U.S. House of Representatives
Interview recorded November 2, 2009
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Deed of Gift
Transcript (PDF)
Recollections of the 1954 Shooting in the House Chamber: Part Two
Eyewitness account of the shooting in the House Chamber on March 1, 1954.
Bill Goodwin, Page, U.S. House of Representatives
Interview recorded November 2, 2009
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Deed of Gift
Transcript (PDF)
Eyewitness to History
Detailed account of the shooting in the House Chamber on March 1, 1954.
Benjamin C. West, Superintendent, Daily Press Gallery, U.S. House of Representatives
Interview recorded May 23, 2007
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Deed of Gift
Audio
Famous 1954 Photograph
Detailed description of a photograph taken on March 1, 1954, in which House Pages are bearing a stretcher carrying wounded Michigan Congressman Alvin Bentley down the steps of the Capitol to a waiting ambulance.
Bill Goodwin, Page, U.S. House of Representatives
Interview recorded October 20, 2005
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Deed of Gift
Transcript (PDF)
Images & Artifacts
Congressional Pages Carrying Members
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_pages_goodwin.xml
In this image taken moments after the shooting on March 1, 1954, (from left foreground) House Pages Bill Goodwin, Paul Kanjorski, and Bill Emerson carry a stretcher bearing wounded Representative Alvin Bentley of Michigan, to a waiting ambulance on the East Front of the Capitol.
Image courtesy of Bill Goodwin, provided by the Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives
Shooting in the House Chamber
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_chamber_hc.xml
Detectives scour the Chamber looking for spent bullets and other evidence after four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire onto the House Floor from the gallery on March 1, 1954. Five Members were wounded: Alvin Bentley, Ben Jensen, Clifford Davis, George Fallon, and Kenneth Roberts. All five survived the attack, although Bentley was critically wounded.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
About this object
Alvin Morell Bentley
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_bently_hc.xml
Congressman Alvin Bentley shows where a bullet pierced his chest when four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire onto the House Floor from the gallery on March 1, 1954. The dissidents—advocating for independence for their homeland—wounded four additional Members, Ben Jensen, Clifford Davis, George Fallon, and Kenneth Roberts. Bentley was the most critically wounded.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
About this object
Shooting in the House Chamber
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_halleck_hc.xml
Congressman Charles Halleck shows Speaker Joe Martin the bullet hole in the desk he was occupying when a group of Puerto Rican separatists opened fire onto the House Floor. The dissidents, proponents of their country’s independence from the United States, shot five Members before being subdued. No one died in the 1954 shooting, but Congressman Alvin Bentley was critically wounded.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
About this object
Bullet Hole in the Back of a Chamber Chair
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_bulletchair_hc.xml
The bullet hole in this remnant of the House Chamber’s seating differentiates it from every other piece of Chamber upholstery. Seat 120D’s back, with the bullet hole squarely in the center, was preserved after the Chamber was repaired.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives, Preserved and Returned to the House of Representatives by Harry T. and Mildred Cuyle Fritzinger
About this object
About this object
Ambulance, Police Cars, Wait After Shooting
/tiles/non-collection/o/oh_evnt_1954_ambulences_hc.xml
A police car, ambulance, and jittery crowd gathered at the Capitol after nationalists seeking Puerto Rican independence opened fire in the House Chamber on March 1, 1954. This newspaper photograph circled Capitol policeman Jack Brunner and the Puerto Rican flag he had seized from the perpetrators.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
About this object
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