| Download Photo 1 | Kenneth L. | Bounds | CA - San Diego; CA - Los Angeles; IL - Springfield; FBIHQ | 1951 - 1975 | Freedom Riders, Alton Bank Robbery | Civil Rights, Freedom Riders, James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King, George Zeiss | For the FBI Oral History Heritage Project sponsored by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, Inc., which holds the copyright to the material.
Special Agent Kenneth L. Bounds served in the FBI from 1951 to 1975. This interview took place on August 23, 2006. Interviewed by Stanley A. Pimentel.
After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, SA Bounds was assigned to the San Diego Field Office. He then transferred to the Los Angeles Field Office, where Hollywood was his assigned area. He briefly left the Bureau but was reinstated and assigned to the Springfield (IL) Field Office. He then transferred to the old FBI Academy and served as a firearms instructor.
During the 1960s, he was assigned to a Civil Rights desk at FBIHQ. He was sent on a Special to the Jackson (MS) Field Office under the leadership of Clarence Kelley, who was the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Memphis Division and later became the Director of the FBI. SA Bounds was assigned to observing the Freedom Riders in Mississippi. His next assignment was the Inspection Staff followed by a Bank Robberies desk at FBIHQ.
When James Earl Ray killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he escaped to London where he was identified after being arrested for a bank robbery. SAs Bounds and George Zeiss were sent to England to bring Ray back to the U.S; however, Ray was held in London and SAs Bounds and Zeiss returned to the U.S. empty handed. Ray was eventually extradited to the U.S. but, this time, SA Bounds was assigned to meet him in Memphis to make sure he arrived safely to the jail. SA Bounds describes this event in detail. He tells of the civil rights process from FBIHQ’s standpoint and the interface with the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.
SA Bounds touches on some bank robberies, his research into the assassination of Martin Luther King, and his work in firearms where he trained the first two black FBI Special Agents. He also notes how proud he is of the Humanitarian Service Award that he received from the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI for his work in aquatics with handicapped people. | Download PDF 1 | Download PDF 2 | |