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MARTIN AGRONSKY

 

 

Single Bullet THEORY

 

 

 

 

 

Contrary to Original witness Reports that the shots had come from the President's right front  (the grassy knoll.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The official story said that 3 shots came from above/behind (6th floor window of the TSBD.  (Texas Schoolbook Depository Building)

For Months the Official story said that there were 3 shots resulting in 3 hits.

Below is a graphic from the United States Information Information Service

1 First shot hit JFK in the back entering only a couple of inches.

  1a. Original report said JFK was hit in the Throat.

2 Second shot hit Governor Connally in the back at right arm pit

   2a. Original report said JBC was shot in the Chest..

 

 

3 Third shot was the Fatal shot to JFK's head.

   3a. Original report said entered right temple.

Months later when the Warren Commission was Forced to recognize that James Tague was  wounded during the shooting sequence.

Tague was standing down by the triple overpass.

Which indicated that there was indeed a 4th shot which in turn indicated another shooter,  proving Conspiracy.

THAT is when Warren Commission Staff Lawyer Arlen Specter along with Warren Commission  Member Gerald Rudolph Ford  gave birth to the SBT.  (Single Bullet Theory) 

Collectively Specter/Ford "MOVED" Kennedy's back wound 6 inches Higher that it actually was. Claiming that the bullet entered JFK in the back of the NECK.

below is ford's hand written  changes.

 

WCR Defenders like to use the photo above to align all of the wounds in the SBT.

This one below from the Other Side shows the SBT to be IMPOSSIBLE.

 

SEE Above/Below the FBI location of the back wound on the Re-Creation>>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbftrC6Tqdo&feature=related

Immediately after coming out from behind the tree, the 2 victims do NOT "Line-Up" !

BELOW THE DATE IS APRIL 4TH 1964.

 

 

 

Page 92 of the WCR states that the hole in JFK's jacket was 5 3/8 inches below the top of the collar.

Page 92 of WCR states that the hole in JFK's shirt was 5 3/4 inches below the top of the collar.

The Official autopsy face sheet shows the back wound 5-6 inches below the shoulders.

Warren commission Supporters said the face sheet was made inaccurately in haste.

NOT True....It was Verified by Admiral Burkely.  see below.

Testimony of Secret Service Agent Glenn Bennett positioned in the follow up car states that                                                                                                       

"I heard a shot & saw it hit the boss 4 inches below the shoulder".

Look at the date on the FBI Report Below.

The signed affidavit of JFK's personal physician Admiral George Burkley states that the back wound was  at the level of the third     thoracicvertebra. (5-6 inches below                ocated at the level of the 3rd   horacicvertebra. (5-6 inches below the shoulders)  

Dr. Carrico said "Penetrating" wound in the throat.

Page below is from FBI Report.

 

To Buttress the Single Bullet "Theory" the WC offered "Drawings" of the bullet trajectories through JFK and JBC.

Ask a Warren Commission Supporter to Explain the two Different Angles.

HERE is the step by step procedure of the SBT;

1. Bullet entered the Back of JFK's neck.

2. Exited at JFK's throat by Adam's apple. striking NO bone.

    Hesitated in mid air for 3/4 to 1.5 seconds then turned Down/Right. 

3. Tumbled & entered JBC's back at the right arm pit leaving an 

    elongated entrance wound. (similar to an exit wound)

4. Took out 5 inches of JBC's 5th rib.

5. Exited 2 inches below JBC's right nipple. (round hole similar to entrance hole)

    Turned Up/Right.

6. Entered/Smashed JBC's right wrist smashing right radius bone.

7. Turned Left/Downward & Entered JBC's left thigh down to the bone.  (see below from HSCA.)

BACK WOUND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60vU41qoflU

 

 

The WCR wants us to believe that this bullet Fell Out of JBC's thigh wound and was found on someone                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   else's stretcher on another floor.

That bullet is Commission Exhibit # 399.

The ONLY damage to 399 is that it is slightly flattened on ONE Side.

There was NO evidence of blood/flesh/clothing from EITHER Victim.

There is NO "Chain of Possession" shown for CE 399.

The Parkland Hospital employee who found the bullet later described it as "Pointed Nose Bullet".

JBC X-Rays above Before/After surgery.

AFTER SURGERY  (Below)

WHERE did these come from?  (below)

 

For a Better Understanding.  see below

Different Ammo??   see below

VIDEOS BELOW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C06dg7xjAMk&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS3zrdkoCdY&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sSAvuVfcKQ&mode=related&search=

KICKER     KICKER     KICKER     KICKER

On November 27th, while still in Parkland Hospital, JBC was interviewed by Martin Agronsky. 

Upon hearing the first shot, JBC turned to his left & the President had SLUMPED.  Proving that JFK & JBC were struck by Different bullets.  A transcript of that interview is below.

In the future I will post the actual Video of that interview on my Video page.

http://media.myfoxdfw.com/JFKvideo

Gov. Connally's "ORIGINAL" account of the shooting (below)

http://media.myfoxdfw.com/JFKvideo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ViRMc29W0

AND, Another source. (Below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP04_lGjkO0

 

MORE ON THE SBT

http://www.jfklancer.com/SBT.html

COUPLED WITH>>>

http://whokilledjfk.net/john_connally.htm

 

It seems that there were FOUR (4) Magic Bullets;

Here's a Croft photo analyzed by someone from Law Enforcement

 

Also see>>>   http://whokilledjfk.net/april_22.htm

 

 

click here  FBI said NOT Oswald in M C

Here is information I gathered long before Computers, the Internet or, Websites.

 

                          PARKLAND HOSPITAL/BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL

 

THE MOTORCADE RUSHED TO PARKLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL .

DRS. OBSERVED AN "ENTRANCE" WOUND TO JFK'S THROAT, OVER WHICH

DR. PERRY PERFORMED A TRACHEOTOMY.

AND AN ENTRANCE WOUND TO JFK'S RIGHT TEMPLE . (Fatal) (CE 387)

The Catholic Priest (Fr. Oscar Huber) who administered the Last Rights to JFK had this to say: "He was shot in the RIGHT TEMPLE "

(Source: ALL newspapers Nov. 22/23/24, 1963)

 Volume VII pg. 560 Witness Emmet Hudson " RIGHT TEMPLE "           

 CE #1024 Volume XVIII Pg. 801 Texas Highway Patrolman Hurchel Jacks (Driver of V.P. Johnson's car) "Before the President's body was covered it appeared that the bullet had struck him above the right ear or near the temple"

 

  PARKLAND DRS. DESCRIBED THE HOLE IN THE REAR OF JFK'S HEAD

WAS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A SMALL APPLE (symbolic of an EXIT WOUND?)

(Entrance wound just below the Adam's apple. Exit wound at the back of the head. (WR page 91  Dr. Perry)…

 

DR. PERRY PERFORMED A TRACHEOTOMY OVER THE EXISTING WOUND IN JFK's THROAT IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESTORE HIS BREATHING.                             

CONNALY'S CLOTHES WERE TAKEN TO BE CLEANED & PRESSED.

   (WR pg. 94)   (rendering them USELESS as Evidence)

 

THE PRESIDENTIAL LIMOSINE WAS IMMEDIATELY SHIPPED BACK TO DETROIT FOR REPAIR AND REFURBISHING.  (Reports of a bullet hole in the front windshield.) Conspiracy of Silence pg. 105 by Dr. Charles Crenshaw)

 

ALL OF JFK's CLOTHING WAS REMOVED.

JFK'S BODY WAS WRAPPED IN SHEETS & PLACED IN AN

EXPENSIVE BRONZE CEREMONIAL CASKET.

 

JFK'S BODY WAS "ILLEGALLY & FORCIBLY" TAKEN AT GUNPOINT FROM TEXAS JURISDICTION BACK TO WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR AUTOPSY AT BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL BY DRS. HUMES, BOSWELL & FINCK (Hospital Administrators)

 They were career military men approaching retirement who were accustomed to doing what they were told to do.(During the course of the autopsy they were given orders on several occasions. Such as NOT to trace the path of a particular wound. (see Best Evidence book & video) (In 1963, Assassination was NOT a Federal Offense.)

THE BODY ARRIVED AT BETHESDA IN A CHEAP GREY SHIPPING CASKET

& IT WAS IN A BODY BAG, ZIPPED FROM HEAD TO TOE. (NO SHEETS)

THE BETHESDA DRS.FOUND A TRACHEOTOMY INCISION MUCH LARGER THAN THE INCISION MADE BY DR. PERRY IN DALLAS IN ADDITION TO A HOLE IN THE BACK OF THE SKULL 4 TIMES THE HOLE DESCRIBED BY DALLAS DRS. (See Best Evidence by David Lifton Book and Video)

See Dallas Dr 's drawing of head wound. (Best Evidence 310)

See Bethesda Dr 's drawing of head wound (Best Evidence 310)

 The ONLY possible explanation for the discrepancies in the wounds on JFK's body between Dallas and Bethesda is that they were ALTERED. As incredible as this may sound it certainly fits with the FBI report signed by  Sibert and O' Neill who attended the autopsy. This FBI report is reproduced on the next page.                                                                                                                                                                                  The most frightening aspect of this situation is the fact that the body of the President was in the SOLE possession of Federal authorities between Dallas & Bethesda . (The Secret Service)

 

A BULLET ENTRANCE HOLE WAS FOUND IN JFK'S BACK ABOUT 6 IN. DOWN

WHICH THEY ACCURATELY MARKED ON THE AUTOPSY FACE SHEET. (XVII pg 45)

& IT WAS AT THE LEVEL OF "THE THIRD THORACIC VERTEBRA" (CE #397)

  (Also stated on the Official Autopsy.)

Just for the heck of it: Ask you're Doctor to put his finger on you're back at the location of the third Thoracic Vertebra. Then ask yourself "If a bullet entered at that point on a DOWNWARD

Trajectory, striking NO bone, if said bullet could possibly exit the front of you're throat at a higher point." (you're Adam's Apple?)

 

THESE 2 LOCATION ID'S ALSO MATCH THE BULLET HOLES IN JFK'S

  JACKET 5 3/8 INCHES BELOW THE TOP OF THE COLLAR. (WR page 92)

  SHIRT 5 3/4 INCHES BELOW THE TOP OF THE COLLAR. (WR page 92)

 

WHEN QUESTIONED LATER ABOUT THE AUTOPSY FACE SHEET SHOWING A BULLET HOLE 6 INCHES BELOW THE SHOULDERS  IN JFK's BACK, COMMISSION SUPPORTERS SAID IT WAS DONE IN HASTE. (CE #397) (Even though it was detailed enough to                                                                                                                                                                                                  include an OLD back surgery scar and, cut-downs on JFK's left arm and left ankle for transfusions at Parkland .)

 

YEARS LATER WE DISCOVERED AN AUTOPSY FACE SHEET THEY CHOSE "NOT" TO PRINT. IT WAS INSCRIBED  "Accepted and Approved by me This Date" BY JFK's PERSONAL DR. DR. GEORGE BURKLEY.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             (which was an EXACT ORIGINAL of CE #397) Best Evidence 78

 

THE DR'S AT BETHESDA WERE NOT AWARE OF A BULLET ENTRANCE HOLE IN THE PRESIDENT'S THROAT BECAUSE, AT PARKLAND DR. PERRY PERFORMED A TRACHEOTOMY OVER THE THROAT WOUND. (SS Agents Kellerman & Greer                                                                                                                                                                                                           were present at Parkland AND Bethesda . Did they start keeping secrets that early?)

 

 ARE YOU UNDERSTANDING THIS SO FAR? THE OFFICIAL REPORT ON THE ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT "PROFESSIONAL" DOCTORS AT PARKLAND MISSED A BULLET                                                                                                                                                                                                                   HOLE IN THE VICTIMS BACK and "PROFESSIONAL" DOCTORS AT BETHESDA MISSED A BULLET HOLE IN THE VICTIMS THROAT.

 

THE LOCATION OF THE BULLET HOLE IN JFK's BACK IS FURTHER DETERMINED BY THE OFFICIAL REPORT OF 2 FBI AGENTS,  JAMES W. SIBERT AND FRANCIS X. O'NEILL, WHO  WERE PRESENT, IN THE LINE OF DUTY. (Inquest by E.J.Epstein) 

THEIR REPORT, DATED 11-22-63 STATES

 " The President's body was removed from the casket in which it has been transported and was placed on the autopsy table, at which time the complete body was wrapped in a sheet and the head area contained an additional wrapping which was                                                                                                                                                                                            saturated with blood. Following the removal of the wrapping, it was ascertained that the President's clothing had been                                                                                                                                                  removed and it was also apparent that a tracheotomy had been performed, AS WELL AS SURGERY TO THE HEAD AREA,  NAMELY, IN THE TOP OF THE SKULL."

 

(Where was this SURGERY performed? It certainly wasn't in Dallas .)

  Was the President's body wounds ALTERED between Dallas & D.C?   

Same FBI Report, Further on: 

   " During the latter stages of this autopsy, Dr. Humes located an opening which appeared to be a bullet hole which was BELOW THE  SHOULDERS and two inches to the right of the middle line of the spinal column."

   “This opening was probed by Dr. Humes with the finger, at which time it was determined that the trajectory of   the missile entering at this point had entered at a downward position of 45 to 60 degrees.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Further probing determined that the distance traveled by this missile was a short distance inasmuch that the end   of the opening could be felt with the finger."

   "Inasmuch as no complete bullet of any size could be located in the brain area and likewise no bullet could be located in the back or any other area of the body as determined by total body X-Rays and inspection revealing                                                                                                                                                                                                                 there was no point of exit, the individuals performing the autopsy were at a loss to explain why they could find no bullets."

THEN WHY DID SIBERT & O'NEILL SIGN A RECEIPT FOR A MISSILE RE-

MOVED FROM THE BODY DURING AUTOPSY? (same FBI report.)

 

   AFTER LEARNING: THAT AT PARKLAND , JFK RECEIVED EXTERNAL CARDIAC MASSAGE AND, A BULLET Commission Exhibit #399) WAS FOUND ON A STRETCHER, THE SAME FBI REPORT continues.

   "Immediately following receipt of this information, this was

made available to Dr. Humes who advised that in his opinion

this accounted for no bullet being located which had entered

the back region and that since external cardiac massage had

been performed at Parkland Hospital , it was entirely possible

that through such movement the bullet had worked its way back

out of the point of entry and had fallen on the stretcher."

 

I FIND IT INCREDIBLE THAT NOT ONE WORD OF THIS FBI REPORT WAS PRINTED IN THE WARREN REPORT's 888 pgs.                                                                                                                                                                                                           NOR ANYWHERE IN THEIR 26 VOLUMES. Because the Commission chose NOT to print this report among others                                                                                                                                                                                                                  they were free to claim that the recovered bullet (CE #399) was found on Gov. Connally's stretcher instead of JFK's.

 You can find this FBI report printed in it's entirety beginning on page 166 of INQUEST by Edward J. Epstein                                                                                                                                                                                                                    (Paperback edition by Bantam Press)

In a videotaped interview with retired FBI agent O'Neill now living in Connecticut he states that he doesn’t                                                                                                                                                                                                                  believe that there was a conspiracy. O'Neill also states that he does NOT believe in the single bullet theory.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           (If ONE bullet didn't wound BOTH JFK AND Connally, there HAD to be an additional bullet PROVING conspiracy.

 

 On Dec. 9th the FBI issued an official report stating that

  The first bullet hit Kennedy.

  The second bullet hit Connally.

  The third bullet hit Kennedy.

 

 On Dec. 13th the FBI issued a supplemental report stating that

   The first bullet hit Kennedy.

   The second bullet hit Connally.

   The third bullet hit Kennedy.

 

FURTHER TESTIMONY ON BACK WOUND:

 WR: page. 111 SS Agent Glen Bennett in follow-up car.

* * * " I looked at the back of the President. I heard another firecracker noise and saw the shot hit the President                                                                                                                                                                                                              about four inches down from the right shoulder.] A second shot followed

IMMEDIATELY, and hit the right rear high of the President's head."

 Once you take into account the bullet that hit Connally & the bullet that wounded Tague, it seems that Bennett heard FIVE shots!

 

VOLUME XVIII page 744 Secret Service Agent Clint Hill describes JFK's back wound thusly:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "I observed a wound ABOUT SIX INCHES DOWN from the neckline on the back just to the right of the spinal column."                                                                                                                                                                                                       (That's what Hill saw IN THE AUTOPSY ROOM)

 

Volume XVIII page 742 Agent Hill reports: "As I lay over the top of the back seat I noticed a portion of the President's                                                                                                                                                                                                        head on the right rear side was missing and he was bleeding profusely. Part of his brain was gone.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       I saw part of his skull with hair on it lying in the seat." (Compare this with CE #388 Volume XVI Pg. 984.)

 Same page: "I jumped onto the left rear step of the Presidential automobile. Mrs. Kennedy shouted,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 "They've shot his head off;" then turned and raised out of her seat as if she was reaching to her right rear                                                                                                                                                                                                                       toward the back of the car FOR SOMETHING THAT HAD BLOWN OUT".....                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            (She was retrieving a piece of JFK's skull that was blown backwards. At Parkland she handed it to Dr. Crenshaw.)

(source;  Conspiracy of Silence by Dr. Charles Crenshaw.)

 

Volume XVIII page 755 Secret Service Agent Paul Landis:

 "My immediate thought was that the President could not possibly be alive after being hit like he was.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     I still was not certain from which direction the second shot came, but my reaction at this time was that                                                                                                                                                                                                                             the shot came from somewhere towards the front, right-hand side of the road." (There's that

 Grassy Knoll AGAIN folks)

 

by tomnln

The Connally Bullet
 

One of the most contentious issues of the JFK debate has always been the question of the validity of CE-399, the bullet which the government claimed, passed through President Kennedy and Governor Connally. Critics have argued that it was not possible for the bullet to have passed through both victims and emerged in near pristine condition. Perhaps more significantly, CE-399 contained no traces of blood or tissue when examined under a microscope.

 
ce399

 
Government defenders countered with the argument that tests have proven that it was not impossible for a bullet to remain in good condition under such circumstances and that it was also possible that there would be no evidence of blood or tissue. As such, the debate has remained in stalemate for nearly half a century. But in more recent times, a far stronger case against the legitimacy of CE399 has emerged. As we shall see, it also happens to be a conclusive indictment of the integrity of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.

Our study begins at Parkland hospital with the discovery of a bullet by orderly, Daryl Tomlinson. Tomlinson told the Warren Commission that he returned Governor Connally's stretcher from the second floor back to the ground floor, and then parked it behind another stretcher that was in front of the door to a rest room. During his testimony, he illustrated the positions of the two stretchers, producing the following diagram:

 
Stretcher diagram
 


Tomlinson labelled the two stretchers, "A" and "B", in response to Specter's request:

 
Mr. SPECTER. Will you mark with a "B" the stretcher which was present at the time you pushed stretcher "A" off of the elevator?
 

Specter also asked him to label the rest room in the diagram as "C" and explain how he acquired the bullet,

 
Mr. SPECTER. Where is the men's room located on this diagram?
Mr. TOMLINSON. It would be right there (indicating) beside the "B" stretcher.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you draw in ink there the outline of that room in a general way?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, I really don't know.
Mr. SPECTER. And would you mark that with the letter "C"?
Mr. SPECTER. That's fine. What happened when that gentleman came to use the men's room?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, he pushed the stretcher out from the wall to get in, and then when he came out he just walked off and didn't push the stretcher back up against the wall, so I pushed it out of the way where we would have clear area in front of the elevator.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did you push it to?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I pushed it back up against the wall.
Mr. SPECTER. What, if anything, happened then?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I bumped the wall and a spent cartridge or bullet rolled out that apparently had been lodged under the edge of the mat.
Mr. SPECTER. And that was from which stretcher?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I believe that it was "B".
 

Clearly, Tomlinson was stating that the bullet was on a different stretcher than the one he brought down on the elevator. Nonetheless, Specter repeatedly badgered him to change his story, but could only manage to get his inconvenient witness to say that he wasn't sure. But Tomlinson further confirmed what happened, in this CBS documentary, narrated by Walter Cronkite. (move the timeline to 30:10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvqCtaBkyyE

Tomlinson passed the bullet to his supervisor, Mr. O.P. Wright who also examined it and in an interview with Josiah Thompson, was adamant that it was shaped much differently than CE-399. This is from Josiah Thompson's classic book, Six Seconds in Dallas,

 
Before any photos were shown or he was asked for any description of #399 (Wright) said:
'That bullet had a pointed tip.' I said, 'Pointed tip?' He said, 'Yeah, I'll show you.
It was like this one here,' he said, reaching into his desk and pulling out the .30 caliber
bullet pictured in Six Seconds. After Thompson showed Wright the various bullet photos
and finally #399, Wright asked, "Is that the bullet I was supposed to have had?".
 

Wright's and Tomlinson's unanimous rejection of CE-399 was further confirmed by this top secret FBI airtel, which was never shown to the Warren Commission.

 
WFO (FBI Washington Field Office), neither DARRELL C. TOMLINSON,
who found bullet at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, nor O. P. WRIGHT, Personnel
Officer, Parkland Hospital, who obtained bullet from TOMLINSON and gave
to Special Service, at Dallas 11/22/63, can identify bullet.
 

Instead, the FBI told the commission that the two civilians had been interviewed by special agent Bardwell Odum, who was told by the men, that the stretcher bullet "appears to be the same one". But when Josiah Thompson and Dr. Gary Aguilar contacted the National Archives, they found no record of such an interview, in spite of the fact that the FBI was required to document interviews like that. And when they contacted Bardwell Odum in person, he denied ever conducting such an interview and stated that he had never even seen CE399.



According to FBI chief examiner Robert Frazier's notes, the FBI received large bullet fragments that were found in the front of the limousine at 11:50 PM on the night of the assassination. They were labelled Q2 and Q3. Of course, the lab was on duty and working all night.


Notes of FBI lead investigator, Robert Frazier which
demonstrate that they received bullet fragments from the limo
at 11:50 PM. (discovered by John Hunt)


These fragments were deemed by the FBI to be substantial enough to confirm that they were consistent with Oswald's rifle and forensics experts who testified before the Warren Commission confirmed that. Of course, considering the FBI's track record, it's hard to say whether they provided the actual fragments or not, but one thing seems quite certain - the fragments they received did not match the bullet that Tomlinson found.

Considering the time zones, it was between 90 minutes and 2 hours after the arrival of those fragments at the FBI labs, that Tomlinson was awakened by someone from the FBI, demanding that he "keep his mouth shut" about the bullet he found at Parkland hospital. This is from the recorded 1967 interview of Tomlinson by Ray Marcus. The interview is also documented in the HSCA records.

 
Tomlinson: On Friday morning about 12:30 to 1 o'clock - uh, excuse me, that's Saturday morning - after the assassination, the FBI woke me up on the phone and told me to to keep my mouth shut.
 

Marcus: About the circumstances of your finding the bullet?

Tomlinson: That is (one short word, unintelligible) what I found…

Marcus: I understand exactly what you mean, when they call you, it's pretty authoritative. But the thing is this, did they say - was there any particular thing about what they said or they just didn't want you to talk about it period?

Tomlinson: Just don't talk about it period.
 

As we will see, the FBI found a better solution to their problem making lemonade out of this nasty lemon. Instead of threatening a key witness, they seem to have simply decided to replace the inconvenient bullet with one that did indeed come from Oswald's rifle. And as is often the case, one lie requires a multitude of other lies to support it.

Wright gave the bullet to Secret Service agent, Richard Johnson, who in turn, passed it on to his supervisor, James Rowley. Not surprisingly, both of those men also refused to corroborate CE399, a fact which even the FBI had to admit, stating in Commission exhibit 2011, that the two agents "could not identify" it. It is interesting that the FBI never reported the reason why the two agents refused to corroborate this dubious piece of evidence. Like FBI agents, Secret Service agents were required to initial forensic evidence, and it is hard to imagine them being negligent in such an important case. By far, the best explanation for their denial is that not only did the stretcher bullet look much different than the original, but their initials were nowhere to be found on CE-399. And they were not the only ones whose initials were missing.

The next step in the chain of possession took place when Rowley passed the bullet to FBI agent, Elmer Todd. Todd was adamant that he initialed the stretcher bullet, as he was required to do. But when researcher, John Hunt examined extreme closeup photos of CE-399, he was able to identify initials that were written in later, but could find no trace of Todd's. This is from his article on the subject:

 
There is no question but that only three sets of initials appear on CE-399. There is likewise no question that they have all been positively identified: RF was Robert Frazier, CK was Charles Killion, and JH was Cortland Cunningham. (See Figure 5.) It can be stated as a fact that SA Elmer Lee Todd's mark is not on the historical CE-399 bullet.
 

The entire article can be found here:

http://www.jfklancer.com/hunt/phantom.htm


After looking around the web a bit, I was able to find a considerably better copy of the CE399 photos and after sharpening the image a bit, and blowing it up, managed to produce a much clearer image. Not surprisingly, there was no trace of Todd's initials.

Blowup
                  of ce399 photos

The only logical conclusion which can be drawn from this evidence is that the bullet Tomlinson found on the stretcher in front of the rest room door had nothing to do with the assassination. Parkland was (and is) the largest hospital in Dallas and processes hundreds of gunshot victims every year. Doctor McClelland testified that Parkland, "receives all of the indigent patients of this county, many of whom are involved frequently in shooting altercations, so that we do see a large number of that type patient almost daily".

But it appears that the FBI didn't think about that when they received the stretcher bullet at their labs on Friday night. And when they discovered that the bullet didn't match Oswald's rifle, they panicked. It was quite simple to fire a round from the alleged murder weapon into water or cotton wading and use that bullet to replace the one that Tomlinson found. That would explain the near pristine condition of the bullet, the absence of blood and tissue, the missing initials of SA Todd, and those of the two Secret Service agents, as well as the adamant rejection of that bullet by Tomlinson and Wright.

But there is an even better reason why we can be quite certain that CE399 was not the bullet that wounded Governor Connally. The real bullet was found on the second floor and recovered by a nurse, who then passed it on to officer Bobby Nolan, who then delivered it to the Dallas Police department. The confirmation of this begins with Governor Connally. This is from his autobiography entitled, "In History's shadow".

 
"..the most curious discovery of all took place when they rolled me off the stretcher, and onto the examining table. A metal object fell to the floor, with a click no louder than a wedding band. The nurse picked it up and slipped it into her pocket. It was the bullet from my body, the one that passed though my back, chest and wrist and worked itself loose from my thigh.
 

 
There was enormous significance to that scrap of metal, but I can't be certain how many years later I understood the importance of it. I have always believed that three bullets found their mark. What happened in the hospital demonstrated how easily a bullet could have been swept aside and lost.."
 

What the governor obviously didn't realize however, is that the bullet was not "swept aside". Certainly, the nurse who recovered it would not have just discarded the most important piece of forensic evidence she had ever handled. As it turned out, the Dallas District attorney arrived at the hospital, eager to find out how his old friend, governor Connally was doing. It seems that he arrived at about the same time that the surgery on the governor was completed, when he ran into that same nurse who found the bullet. This is from an interview of Dallas District attorney, Henry Wade, by the Dallas Morning News.

 
I also went out to see (Gov. John) Connally, but he was in the operating room. Some nurse had
a bullet in her hand, and said this was on the gurney that Connally was on. I talked with Nellie
Connally a while and then went on home.

Q: What did you do with the bullet? Is this the famous pristine bullet people have talked about?

A: I told her to give it to the police, which she said she would. I assume that's the pristine bullet.
 

The nurse promptly carried out the district attorney's instructions, passing the bullet to the nearest uniformed officer in sight, who happened to be Patrolman, Bobby Nolan, who was working security for Governor Connally and standing in the hallway talking to Connally aide, Bill Stinson. This is from my interview of Nolan in 2010.

 
Nolan: I was talking to a man who was one of governor Connally's aides. His name
was - I think it was either Stinton or Stimmons (Bill Stinson). And he was an
aide to the Governor. And she came up and told him that she had the bullet
that came off of the gurney.

Now I don't know what gurney. I think they meant Governor Connally's gurney.
And she said, "What do you want me to do with it?" He and I were just sitting
there in the hallway talking to me and said, "Give it to him"

Q. Was it a bullet fragment or a complete bullet?

Nolan: I don't know. It was a - they told me that is was a bullet.

And I don't know if it was a fragment of a bullet or a whole bullet because it was
in a little, small brown envelope. And it was sealed and it was about, I'd say 2 by 3
inches. And it was in that envelope when I got it and I never did look at it or anything."

Q. Now when the nurse gave it to you, did she describe it as a bullet fragment or as
a bullet.

Nolan: Uh no. She just said it was a bullet. That's all.
 

Nolan delivered the bullet to the Dallas Police department that evening, and the next morning, was interviewed by the FBI, who reported (emphasis is mine),

 
Bobby M. Nolan, Texas highway patrolman, Tyler district, was interviewed relative
to a bullet fragment removed from the left thigh of Governor Connally, which was
turned over to him at Parkland Hospital in Dallas for delivery to the FBI.

Nolan stated his instructions were apparently not clear at the outset and that following
contact with his superior officers while at the Dallas Police Department, he turned the
bullet fragment over to Captain Will Fritz [Dallas Police Department.] at approximately
7:50 p.m. He stated he had no further information concerning the matter and that his
only participation in this series of events was the acceptance of the fragment and delivery
of same to Captain Fritz.
 

Obviously, Nolan told the FBI, exactly what the nurse told him - that the envelope contained a bullet from Governor Connally's gurney, which as the Governor himself stated, had fallen out from the wound in his "thigh".

Bill Stinson further corroborated the other witnesses, when he was interviewed by the now defunct, Ramparts magazine.

 
"Before the Commission discredited Connally's testimony they should at least have heard all the important witnesses. Ramparts found one the Commission never talked to; they never even asked him for an affidavit. He is William Stinson, an aide to Governor Connally at the time of the assassination. Today, although officially employed by the Veterans Administraton, he has an office in the White House. Stinson told us he was in the operating room, wearing a sterile uniform, when the doctors operated on Connally at Parkland Hospital. 'The last thing they did,' said Stinson, 'was to remove the bullet from the governor's thigh---because that was the least thing that was wrong with him.'".
 

The entire article can be seen here,

http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_issues/09th_Issue/ramparts.html

Stinson was mistaken about the bullet being removed during surgery. He had been permitted to stand in the operating room then, but it is unlikely that they would have let him get close enough to examine the fragments as they were being removed. However, it makes perfect sense that he would assume that it came from surgery, when shortly afterward, the nurse came out, in scrubs, and told him and Nolan that she had an envelope containing a bullet from Connally's thigh.

So, by Saturday, the FBI had already received the bullet that Tomlinson found and had plenty of time to analyze it and confirm that it was not from Oswald's rifle. A second Connally bullet would provide indisputable proof of multiple snipers.

At roughly the same time that this nurse was passing the bullet from Connally's leg to Nolan, nursing supervisor, Audrey M. Bell was processing four tiny fragments that were removed from the governor's wrist by Dr. Gregory. She told the HSCA and later, the ARRB that she removed the fragments from a container on the scrub nurse's desk and placed them into an envelope, which she filled out and then gave to two plain clothed agents who came into her office. She was unsure whether they were from the Secret Service or the FBI, but was certain they were not in uniform. She said that both she and one of the agents, initialed the envelope and that the two of them then signed a receipt. All of this was standard operating procedure at Parkland, which Bell had carried out hundreds of times in the past.

Audrey Bell was interviewed the next day (11/23/63) by the FBI, as she herself confirmed in her ARRB interview. But when she was shown a copy of the associated FBI report, she was adamant that the FBI was wrong. This is from ARRB document MD184, which summarized her interview,

 
When shown an FBI FD-302 dated November 23,1963 (Agency File Number 000919, Record
# 180-l 0090-10270), she felt it was inaccurate in two respects: it quotes her as turning over
“the metal fragment (singular),” whereas she is positive it was multiple fragments - it says she
turned over the fragment to a Texas State Trooper, whereas she recalls turning it over to
plainclothes Federal agents who were either FBI or Secret Service.
 

To corroborate her denial, Bell suggested that they look at the receipt she was required to fill out, which she had passed on to Parkland administrator, Jack Price. Of course, that receipt had to have been confiscated by the FBI, since it was critical to confirming the chain of custody. This is more from MD184,

 
She independently recalled filling out a receipt on 1l/22/63 for the fragments, on half-page
sized paper with red lettering in the letterhead, which was signed for by one of two men in civilian
clothes (whom she thought were Federal agents) who accepted the fragments. She said she personally
delivered the original of this receipt to Parkland Hospital Administrator Jack Price. (ARRB staff
promised to try to locate this document, and promised that if located, we would mail her a photocopy
for verification purposes.)
 

But according to the National Archives, there is no record of the ARRB ever finding that receipt and the Archives were not able to find it either. So Bell's receipt, which would have confirmed the name of at least one of the men she gave the envelope to, and which had to have been taken by the FBI, seems to have evaporated.

This is the FBI report, allegedly from their interview dated, 11/23/63 with Audrey Bell.

 

 

 

 
One thing that is beyond dispute is that the FBI's references to a single fragment, could not be true. It makes no sense that Bell told them that. Even if we speculate that she was hopelessly confused, the envelope which the FBI tells us was filled out by Bell, clearly states that it contained "Bullet fragments" from Connally's "Right arm". And we can easily see that the clear plastic container that was in the envelope, contained four tiny particles.

 

 

The only logical explanation for why the FBI would have deliberately misrepresented Bell by claiming she reported only a single fragment is that the interviewer was not really concerned about the envelope that she actually handled. They were much more concerned about another envelope which did indeed, contain a single bullet or fragment (very likely, a badly mangled bullet) from Governor Connally's thigh. In order to make that inconvenient bullet and envelope go away, they only needed to claim that the envelope Bell gave to one of their agents, was the one that Nolan received. All that was missing was the three capital letters from Nolan's initials, which could be easily forged and copied onto CE-842.

The other FBI claim that Bell denied, was that she passed the envelope to the fully uniformed officer Nolan. If we believe the FBI, then we must believe that Bell not only forgot that she gave her envelope to Nolan on 11/22, but that she also forgot that she told the FBI that, the next day. She also would have to have suffered the delusion that she gave the envelope to plain clothed officers who came into her office.

All of these discrepancies have to have been the result of either deliberate deception by the FBI or a hopelessly incompetent and forgetful Audrey Bell. If Bell was the problem, then she not only forgot virtually every aspect of how she processed those bullet fragments on 11/22/63, but during the minutes between filling out that envelope and her encounters with DA Wade and officer Nolan, she forgot that she had just written "bullet fragments" from the "Right arm" and told both of those men that it contained a single bullet from Governor Connally's gurney, that originated in his left thigh. And then Nolan somehow didn't notice that the envelope he carried around the rest of the day and turned in to the DPD, was clearly labelled as containing multiple fragments from the right arm.

As we ponder the possibility that this was a scam on the part of the FBI, we might think that the people who worked with nurse Bell would provide an answer for us. Surely, if she had really told the FBI that she gave the fragments to Nolan, others would have known about it. But as I looked at the statements by those who should have known, I found absolutely no one who claimed either first hand knowledge, one way or the other, or even a second hand claim that Bell told them who she gave them too. This is what Dr. Charles Gregory told the Warren Commission,

 
Mr. SPECTER - What did you do, Dr. Gregory, with the missile fragments which
you removed from his wrists?

Dr. GREGORY - Those were turned over to the operating room nurse in attendance
with instructions that they should be presented to the appropriate authorities present,
probably a member of the Texas Rangers, but that is as far as I went with it myself.
 

And this is the HSCA's report of what Dr. Gregory told them,

 
He (Doctor Gregory) stated he did not on his own knowledge know, however, but he
had been advised [that] Miss Bell obtained a receipt from State Trooper Bob Nolan
[a State of Texas highway patrol officer] and transferred the metal fragment to him in
accordance with instructions from the Governor's office at Parkland Hospital.
 

As a full time emergency room physician, at Parkland, it seems strange that he could never provide a straight answer, regarding this nurse who worked with him every day. Why is it that he could only answer that he "had been advised"? And why was the source of his advice, unnamed?

At the request of Dr. Burkley, the President's physician, Parkland Doctor, Kemp Clark researched and prepared a report on 11/23/1963, describing events at the hospital related to the treatment of Connally and President Kennedy. For many years, it was filed away as "Top Secret". In this section, he describes what Drs. Shires and Duke, who assisted Gregory, told him. In the first sentence of the cited segment, "he" refers to Shires.


 

It seems that Shires' initial statement, which was later altered, was that officer Nolan was given a single fragment from the "thigh", since the word was later crossed out and replaced by "wrist". But look at the oblique description of how Dr. Clark and Dr. Duke, came to the politically correct conclusion that Nolan was given wrist fragments,

 
"I called Dr. Duke, the resident who was present when I talked with Dr.
Shires. He had heard our conversation, and had assisted Dr. Shires with
this part of the surgery. Two of us conferred, and together agreed to release
to Mrs. Wright the information that according to Dr. Shires, only one bullet
was involved in Governor Connally's injury and that the fragment of this
bullet which was removed by Dr. Gregory from the wrist was in the possession
of Ranger Nolan."
 

The wording here is fascinating and much more informative for what it doesn't say than what it does. Notice that there is no straightforward declaration that Bell passed the wrist fragments to Nolan - only that the doctors, "agreed to release to Mrs. Wright the information that..". And why was there, just one day after the assassination, this concern that "only one bullet was involved in Governor Connally's injury"? That sounds much more like something the FBI would be worried about than the doctors.

And why were they parroting the FBI's mistaken claim that this was just a single fragment, rather that multiple fragments, as was clearly written on the envelope Bell was supposed to have filled out?

And why is there no mention anywhere in the report about what supervisor, Audrey Bell had to say? She was on duty that day and just a buzz on the intercom, away. Why wasn't she asked? Had she actually said what the FBI claimed she said, she would have been eager to confirm that she gave the wrist fragments to Nolan.

It would not have been possible for the FBI to have pulled this scam, without the help of a least a doctor or two and probably, the nurse who actually recovered the Connally bullet. Of course, the notion that Parkland doctors or nurses were involved in a sinister coverup, is absurd. What is not so absurd however, is that like many others, they were told that if the investigation proved that there was a conspiracy, it would point to Fidel Castro and lead us into a crisis that could incite a nuclear, world war. In 1963, nuclear war was a fear that we all had to live with, every day of our lives. It was powerful enough to make even the most honest person, tell a little white lie if he was convinced that it was for the benefit of humanity.

The notion that Bell handed over an envelope containing Connally's wrist fragments to officer Nolan, fails in pretty much every conceivable way. Not only does that contradict what both Bell and Nolan told us, but there is no statement on record by any of her coworkers that she did such a thing, and no record of any of them even claiming that she said she did such a thing. But perhaps, what is stranger yet, is that no one claims to have even asked her.

What is easily proven however, is that the FBI falsely claimed that Bell was processing only a single fragment. It is preposterous to think that she told them such a thing. What makes infinitely more sense is, that they needed to make an envelope go away, which really DID contain a single, large fragment or bullet. But they could not do that if her envelope only contained tiny, almost microscopic particles. And so they falsely quoted her, saying that she dealt with a single, metal fragment. And of course, their claim that she stated that she turned her single fragment over to officer Nolan, is equally preposterous.

Nolan's envelope was turned in at approximately 8:30PM on 11/22/63. From then on, the FBI had unrestricted access to the evidence and the right to open and inspect it. Whatever was really in Nolan's envelope, had to have been known to the FBI, prior to their interviews of Nolan and Bell. If it had really contained tiny particles, they certainly would have said so, instead of referring to what could only have been, the singular content of the envelope Nolan delivered.

The nurse who spoke to district attorney Wade and gave an envelope to Nolan could not have been Audrey Bell. Three men, Governor Connally, DA Henry Wade, and officer Bobby Nolan, all confirmed that this nurse recovered a bullet from Connally's gurney and then showed it to Wade, before turning it over to officer Nolan. The envelope Bell processed, was given to an FBI agent, which is why it was never delivered to the Dallas police department, or at least, why there is no surviving record that it was.

In contrast to all of these very solid corroborations, we have 100% denial by the four men who examined the bullet that Tomlinson found, that it was CE399. Unlike many other issues related to the case, this one is not a tough call. It seems that J. Edgar Hoover agreed, because in recordings of telephone conversations between him and LBJ, he suggested that Connally was wounded because he came between the President and an assassin, and that if Connally had not come between them, JFK would have taken his bullet.
 

LBJ: How did it happen they hit Connally?
 

JEH: Connally turned to the President, when the first shot was fired
and I think that in turning.. it was where he got hit.
 

LBJ: If he hadn't turned he probably wouldn't have gotten hit?
 

JEH: I think that is very likely.
 

LBJ: Would the President've gotten hit by the second one?
 

JEH: No, the President wasn't hit with the second one.
 

LBJ: I say, if Connally hadn't been in his way?
 

JEH: Oh, yes, yes. The President would no doubt have been hit!

Today, we know that that scenario was not correct, but it is hard to imagine Hoover believing that Connally was hit by a different assassin, unless he had seen evidence for such a thing. The bullet or large fragment that Nolan turned in, was obviously, not from Oswald's rifle. If it was, the FBI would have flaunted it as absolute proof of the accused assassin's guilt. Instead, it provided absolute proof that Connally was hit by a bullet from a different assassin. Until recently, only Hoover and a handful of others, were aware of that.



Robert Harris





 

from warren report (belkow)

Warren Report pages 105 to 117.

 

COMMISSION EXHIBIT No. 697

Photograph of Presidential limousine taken during motorcade.

 

Page 105

also doubtful that even the most proficient marksman would have hit him through the oak tree.  In addition, the President's reaction is "barely apparent" in frame 225, which is 15 frames or approximately eight-tenths second after frame 210, and a shot much before 210 would assume a longer reaction time than was recalled by eyewitnesses at the scene.  Thus, the evidence indicated that the President was not hit until at least frame 210 and that he was probably hit by frame 225. The possibility of variations in reaction time in addition to the obstruction of Zapruder's view by the sign precluded a more specific determination than that the President was probably shot through the neck between frames 210 and 225, which marked his position between 138.9 and 153.8 feet west of station C.285

            According to Special Agent Robert. A. Frazier, who occupied the position of the assassin in the sixth-floor window during the reenactment, it is likely that the bullet which passed through the President's neck, as described previously, then struck the automobile or someone else in the automobile.286  The minute examination by the FBI inspection team, conducted in Washington between 14 and 16 hours after the assassination, revealed no damage indicating that a bullet struck any part of the interior of the Presidential limousine, with the exception of the cracking of the windshield and the dent on the windshield chrome.287 Neither of these points of damage to the car could have been caused by the bullet which exited from the President's neck at a velocity of 1,772 to 1,779 feet per second.288  If the trajectory had permitted the bullet to strike the windshield, the bullet would have penetrated it and traveled a substantial distance down the road unless it struck some other object en route.289  Had that bullet struck the metal framing, which was dented, it would have torn a hole in the chrome and penetrated the framing, both inside and outside the car.290 At that exit velocity, the bullet would have penetrated any other metal or upholstery surface of the interior of the automobile.291

       The bullet that hit President Kennedy in the back and exited through his throat most likely could not have missed both the automobile and its occupants.  Since it did not hit the automobile, Frazier testified that it probably struck Governor Connally.292  The relative positions of President Kennedy and Governor Connally at the time when the President was struck in the neck confirm that the same bullet probably passed through both men. Pictures taken of the President's limousine on November 22, 1963, showed that the Governor sat immediately in front of the President.293 Even though the precise distance cannot be ascertained, it is apparent that President Kennedy was somewhat to the Governor's right. The President sat on the extreme right, as noted in the films and by eyewitnesses, while the right edge of the jump seat in which the Governor sat is 6 inches from the right door.294  (See Commission Exhibit No. 697 p. 104.)  The President wore a back brace which tended to make him sit up straight, and the Governor also sat erect since the jump seat gave him little leg room.295

       Based on his observations during the reenactment and the position of Governor Connally shown in the Zapruder film after the car

 

Page 106

emerged from behind the sign, Frazier testified that Governor Connally was in a position during the span from frame 207 to frame 225 to receive a bullet which would have caused the wounds he actually suffered.296  Governor Connally viewed the film and testified that he was hit between frames 231 and 234.297  According to Frazier, between frames 235 and 240 the Governor turned sharply to his right, so that by frame 240 he was too far to the right to have received his injuries at that time.298  At some point between frames 235 and 240, therefore, is the last occasion when Governor Connally could have received his injuries, since in the frames following 240 he remained turned too far to his right.299  If Governor Connally was hit by a separate shot between frames 235 and 240 which followed the shot which hit the President's neck, it would follow that: (1) the assassin's first shot, assuming a minimum firing time of 2.3 seconds (or 42 frames), was fired between frames 193 and 198 when his view was obscured by the oak tree; (2) President Kennedy continued waving to the crowd after he was hit and did not begin to react for about 1 1/2 seconds; and (3) the first shot, although hitting no bones in the President's body, was deflected after its exit from the President's neck in such a way that it failed to hit either the automobile or any of the other occupants.

       Viewed through the telescopic sight of the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle from the sixth-floor window during the test, the marks that simulated the entry wounds on the stand-ins for the President and the Governor were generally in a straight line. That alinement became obvious to the viewer through the scope as the Governor's model turned slightly to his right and assumed the position which Governor Connally had described as his position when he was struck.  Viewing the stand-ins for the President and the Governor in the sight of the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle at the location depicted in frames 207 and 210, Frazier testified: "They both are in direct alinement with the telescopic sight at the window. The Governor is immediately behind the President in the field of view."300  (See Commission Exhibit No. 893, p. 102.)  A surveyor then placed his sighting equipment at the precise point of entry on the back of the President's neck, assuming that the President was struck at frame 210, and measured the angle to the end of the muzzle of the rifle positioned where it was believed to have been held by the assassin.301 That angle measured 21°34'.302 From the same points of reference, the angle at frame 225 was measured at 20°11, giving an average angle of 20°52'30'' from frame 210 to frame 225.303  Allowing for a downward street grade of 309', the probable angle through the President's body was calculated at 17°43'30'', assuming that he was sitting in a vertical position.304

       That angle was consistent with the trajectory of a bullet passing through the President's neck and then striking Governor Connally's back, causing the wounds which were discussed above. Shortly after that angle was ascertained, the open car and the stand-ins were taken by the agents to a nearby garage where a photograph was taken to determine through closer study whether the angle of that shot could have accounted for the wounds in the President's neck and the Governor's

 

Page 107 

back.305  A rod was placed at an angle of 17ş43'30" next to the stand-ins for the President and the Governor, who were seated in the same relative positions.306 The wounds of entry and exit on the President were approximated based on information gained from the autopsy reports and photographs.307 The hole in the back of the jacket worn by the Governor and the medical description of the wound on his back marked that entry point.308 That line of fire from the sixth floor of the Depository would have caused the bullet to exit under the Governor's right nipple just as the bullet did.  Governor Connally's doctors measured an angle of declination on his body from the entry wound on his hack to the exit on the front of his chest at about 25°when he sat erect.309  That difference was explained by either a slight deflection of the bullet caused by striking the fifth rib or the Governor's leaning slightly backward at the time he was struck.  In addition, the angle could not be fixed with absolute precision, since the large wound on the front of his chest precluded an exact determination of the point of exit.310

        The alinement of the points of entry was only indicative and not conclusive that one bullet hit both men.  The exact positions of the men could not be re-created; thus, the angle could only be approximated.311 Had President Kennedy been leaning forward or backward, the angle of declination of the shot to a perpendicular target would have varied.  The angle of 17ş43'30" was approximately the angle of declination reproduced in an artist's drawing.312  That drawing, made from data provided by the autopsy surgeons, could not reproduce the exact line of the bullet, since the exit wound was obliterated by the tracheotomy.  Similarly, if the President or the Governor had been sitting in a different lateral position, the conclusion might have varied.  Or if the Governor had not turned in exactly the way calculated, the alinement would have been destroyed.

       Additional experiments by the Army Wound Ballistics Branch further suggested that the same bullet probably passed through both President Kennedy and Governor Connally.   (See app. X, pp. 582-585. )  Correlation of a test simulating the Governor's chest wound with the neck and wrist experiments.' indicated that course. After reviewing the Parkland Hospital medical records and X-rays of the Governor and discussing his chest injury with the attending surgeon, the Army ballistics experts virtually duplicated the wound using the assassination weapon and animal flesh covered by cloth.313 The bullet that struck the animal flesh displayed characteristics similar to the bullet found on Governor Connally's stretcher.314  Moreover, the imprint on the velocity screen immediately behind the animal flesh showed that the bullet was tumbling after exiting from the flesh, having lost a total average of 265 feet per second.315  Taking into consideration the Governor's size, the reduction in velocity of a bullet passing through his body would be approximately 400 feet per second.316

       Based upon the medical evidence on the wounds of the Governor and the President and the wound ballistics tests performed at Edgewood

 

Page 108

COMMISSION EXHIBIT No. 902

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 109

Arsenal, Drs. Olivier and Arthur J. Dziemian, chief of the Army Wound Ballistics Branch, who had spent 17 years in that area of specialization, concluded that it was probable that the same bullet passed through the President's neck and then inflicted all the wounds on the Governor.317  Referring to the President's neck wound and all the Governor's wounds, Dr. Dziemian testified: "I think the probability is very good that it is, that all the wounds were caused by one bullet."318  Both Drs. Dziemian and Olivier believed that the wound on the Governor's wrist would have been more extensive had the bullet which inflicted that injury merely passed through the Governor's chest, exiting at a velocity of approximately 1,500 feet per second.319 Thus, the Governor's wrist wound suggested that the bullet passed through the President's neck, began to yaw in the air between the President and the Governor, and then lost more velocity than 400 feet per second in passing through the Governor's chest.  A bullet which was yawing on entering into the Governor's back would lose substantially more velocity in passing through his body than a pristine bullet.320  In addition, the bullet that struck the animal flesh was flattened to a greater extent than the bullet which presumably struck the Governor's rib,321 which suggests that the bullet which entered the Governor's chest had already lost velocity by passing through the President's neck. Moreover, the large wound on the Governor's back would be explained by a bullet which was yawing, although that type of wound might also be accounted for by a tangential striking.322

            Dr. Frederick W. Light, Jr., the third of the wound ballistics experts, who. has been engaged in that specialty at Edgewood Arsenal since 1951, testified that the anatomical findings were insufficient for him to formulate a firm opinion as to whether the same bullet did or did not pass through the President's neck first before inflicting all the wounds on Governor Connally.323  Based on the other circumstances, such as the relative positions of the President and the Governor in the automobile, Dr. Light concluded that it was probable that the same bullet traversed the President's neck and inflicted all the wounds on Governor Connally.324

 

The Subsequent Bullet That Hit

 

            After a bullet penetrated President Kennedy's neck, a subsequent shot entered the back of his head and exited through the upper right portion of his skull.  The Zapruder, Nix and Muchmore films show the instant in the sequence when that bullet struck.  ( See Commission Exhibit No. 902, p. 108.)  That impact was evident from the explosion of the President's brain tissues from the right side of his head. The immediately preceding frame from the Zapruder film shows the President slumped to his left, clutching at his throat, with his chin close to his chest and his head tilted forward at an angle.325  Based upon information provided by the doctors who conducted the autopsy, an artist's drawing depicted the path of the bullet through the President's head, with his head being in the same approximate position.326

 

Page 110

             By using the Zapruder, Nix and Muchmore motion pictures, the President's location at the time the bullet penetrated his head was fixed with reasonable precision. A careful analysis of the Nix and Muchmore films led to fixing the exact location of these cameramen.  The point of impact of the bullet on the President's head was apparent in all of the movies.  At that point in the Nix film a straight line was plotted from the camera position to a fixed point in the background and the President's location along this line was marked on a plat map.327 A similar process was followed with the Muchmore film. The President's location on the plat map was identical to that determined from the Nix film.328 The President's location, established through the Nix and Muchmore films, was confirmed by comparing his position on the Zapruder film.  This location had hitherto only been approximated, since there were no landmarks in the background of the Zapruder frame for alinement purposes other than a portion of a painted line on the curb.329 Through these procedures, it was determined that President Kennedy was shot in the head when he was 230.8 feet from a point on the west curbline on Houston Street where it intersected with Elm Street.330 The President was 265.3 feet from the rifle in the sixth-floor window and at that position the approximate angle of declination was 15°21'.331

Number of Shots

Page 110

NUMBER OF SHOTS

 

            The consensus among the witnesses at the scene was that three shots were fired.332  However, some heard only two shots,333 while others testified that they heard four and perhaps as many as five or six shots.334  The difficulty of accurate perception of the sound of gunshots required careful scrutiny of all of this testimony regarding the number of shots.  The firing of a bullet causes a number of noises: the muzzle blast, caused by the smashing of the hot gases which propel the bullet into the relatively stable air at the gun's muzzle; the noise of the bullet, caused by the shock wave built up ahead of the bullet's nose as it travels through the air; and the noise caused by the impact of the bullet on its target.335  Each noise can be quite sharp and may be perceived as a separate shot.  The tall buildings in the area might have further distorted the sound.

       The physical and other evidence examined by the Commission compels the conclusion that at least two shots were fired.  As discussed previously, the nearly whole bullet discovered at Parkland Hospital and the two larger fragments found in the Presidential automobile, which were identified as coming from the assassination rifle, came from at least two separate bullets and possibly from three.336  The most convincing evidence relating to the number of shots was provided by the presence on the sixth floor of three spent cartridges which were demonstrated to have been fired by the same rifle that fired the bullets which caused the wounds.  It is possible that the assassin carried an empty shell in the rifle and fired only two shots, with the witnesses hearing multiple noises made by the same shot.  Soon after the three

 

Page 111

empty cartridges were found, officials at the scene decided that three shots were fired, and that conclusion was widely circulated by the press.  The eyewitness testimony may be subconsciously colored by the extensive publicity given the conclusion that three shots were fired. Nevertheless, the preponderance of the evidence, in particular the three spent cartridges, led the Commission to conclude that there were three shots fired.

The Shot that Missed

Page 111

THE SHOT THAT MISSED

 

            From the initial findings that (a) one shot passed through the President's neck and then most probably passed through the Governor's body, (b) a subsequent shot penetrated the President's head, (c) no other shot struck any part of the automobile, and (d) three shots were fired, it follows that one shot probably missed the car and its occupants.  The evidence is inconclusive as to whether it was the first, second, or third shot which missed.

 

The First Shot

 

            If the first shot missed, the assassin perhaps missed in an effort to fire a hurried shot before the President passed under the oak tree, or possibly he fired as the President passed under the tree and the tree obstructed his view.  The bullet might have struck a portion of the tree and been completely deflected.  On the other hand, the greatest cause for doubt that the first shot missed is the improbability that the same marksman who twice hit a moving target would be so inaccurate on the first and closest of his shots as to miss completely, not only the target, but the large automobile.

       Some support for the contention that the first shot missed is found in the statement of Secret Service Agent Glen A. Bennett, stationed in the right rear seat of the President's followup car, who heard a sound like a firecracker as the motorcade proceeded down Elm Street.  At that moment, Agent Bennett stated:

 

* * * I looked at the back of the President.  I heard another firecracker noise and saw that shot hit the President about four inches down from the right shoulder.  A second shot followed immediately and hit the right rear high of the President's head.337

 

 

Substantial weight may be given Bennett's observations.  Although his formal statement was dated November 23, 1963, his notes indicate that he recorded what he saw and heard at 5:30 p.m., November 1963, on the airplane en route back to Washington, prior to the autopsy, when it was not yet. known that the President had been hit in the back.338 It is possible, of course, that Bennett did not observe the hole in the President's back, which might have been there immediately after the first noise.

 

Page 112

       Governor Connally's testimony supports the view that the first shot missed, because he stated that he heard a shot, turned slightly to his right, and, as he started to turn back toward his left, was struck by the second bullet.339 He never saw the President during the shooting sequence, and it is entirely possible that he heard the missed shot and that both men were struck by the second bullet.  Mrs. Connally testified that after the first shot she turned and saw the President's hands moving toward his throat, as seen in the films at frame 225.340 However, Mrs. Connally further stated that she thought her husband was hit immediately thereafter by the second bullet.341  If the same bullet struck both the President and the Governor, it is entirely possible that she saw the President's movements at. the same time as she heard the second shot. Her testimony, therefore, does not preclude the possibility of the first shot having missed.

      Other eyewitness testimony, however, supports the conclusion that the first of the shots fired hit the President. As discussed in chapter II, Special Agent Hill's testimony indicates that the President was hit by the first shot and that the head injury was caused by a second shot which followed about 5 seconds later.  James W. Altgens, a photographer in Dallas for the Associated Press, had stationed himself on Elm Street opposite the Depository to take pictures of the passing motorcade.  Altgens took a widely circulated photograph which showed President Kennedy reacting to the first of the two shots which hit him.  (See Commission Exhibit No. 900, p. 113.)  According to Altgens, he snapped the picture "almost simultaneously" with a shot which he is confident was the first one fired.342  Comparison of his photograph with the Zapruder film, however, revealed that Altgens took his picture at approximately the same moment as frame 255 of the movie, 30 to 45 frames (approximately 2 seconds) later than the point at which the President was shot in the neck.343  (See Commission Exhibit No. 901, p. 114.)  Another photographer, Phillip L. Willis, snapped a picture at a time which he also asserts was simultaneous with the first shot. Analysis of his photograph revealed that it was taken at approximately frame 210 of the Zapruder film, which was the approximate time of the shot that probably hit the President and the Governor.  If Willis accurately recalled that there were no previous shots, this would be strong evidence that the first shot did not miss.344

       If  the first shot did not miss, there must be an explanation for Governor Connally's recollection that he was not hit by it.  There was, conceivably, a delayed reaction between the time the bullet struck him and the time he realized that he was hit, despite the fact that the bullet struck a glancing blow to a rib and penetrated his wrist bone.  The Governor did not even know that he had been struck in the wrist or in the thigh until he regained consciousness in the hospital the next day.  Moreover, he testified that he did not hear what he thought was the second shot, although he did hear a subsequent shot which coincided with the shattering of the President's head.345  One possibility, therefore, would be a sequence in which the Governor heard the first shot, did not. immediately feel the penetration of the bullet,

 

 

Page 113

COMMISSION EXHIBIT No. 900

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 114

COMMISSION EXHIBIT No. 901

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 115

then felt the delayed reaction of the impact on his back, later heard the shot which shattered the President's head, and then lost consciousness without hearing a third shot which might have occurred later.

 

The Second Shot

 

            The possibility that the second shot missed is consistent with the elapsed time between the two shots that hit their mark.  From the timing evidenced by the Zapruder films, there was an interval of from 4.8 to 5.6 seconds between the shot which .struck President Kennedy's neck (between frames 210 to 225) and the shot which struck his head at frame 813.346  Since a minimum of 2.3 seconds must elapse between shots, a bullet could have been fired from the rifle and missed during this interval.347 This possibility was buttressed by the testimony of witnesses who claimed that the shots were evenly spaced, since a second shot occurring within an interval of approximately 5 seconds would have to be almost exactly midway in this period.  If Altgens' recollection is correct that he snapped his picture at the same moment as he heard a shot, then it is possible that he heard a second shot which missed, since a shot fired 2.3 seconds before he took his picture at frame 255 could have hit the President at about frame 213. On the other hand, a substantial majority of the witnesses stated that the shots were not evenly spaced.  Most witnesses recalled that the second and third shots were bunched together, although some believed that it was the first and second which were bunched.348 To the extent that reliance can be placed on recollection of witnesses as to the spacing of the shots, the testimony that the shots were not evenly spaced would militate against a second shot missing. Another factor arguing against the second shot missing is that the gunman would have been shooting at very near the minimum allowable time to have fired the three shots within 4.8 to 5.6 seconds, although it was entirely possible for him to have done so.  (See ch. IV, pp. 188-194.)

 

The Third Shot

 

       The last possibility, of course, is that it was the third shot which missed.  This conclusion conforms most easily with the probability that the assassin would most likely have missed the farthest shot, particularly since there was an acceleration of the automobile after the shot which struck the President's head.  The limousine also changed direction by following the curve to the right, whereas previously it had been proceeding in almost a straight line with a rifle protruding from the sixth-floor window of the Depository Building.

       One must consider, however, the testimony of the witnesses who described the head shot as the concluding event in the assassination sequence.  Illustrative is the testimony of Associated Press photographer Altgens, who had an excellent vantage point near the President's car. He recalled that the shot which hit the President's head "was the last shot--that much I will say with a great degree

 

Page 116

of certainty."349 On the other hand, Emmett J. Hudson, the grounds-keeper of Dealey Plaza, testified that from his position on Elm Street, midway between Houston Street and the Triple Underpass, he heard a third shot after the shot which hit the President in the head.350  In addition, Mrs. Kennedy's testimony indicated that neither the first nor the second shot missed.  Immediately after the first noise she turned, because of the Governor's yell, and saw her husband raise his hand to his forehead.  Then the second shot struck the President's head.351

            Some evidence suggested that a third shot may have entirely missed and hit the turf or street by the Triple Underpass.  Royce G. Skelton, who watched the motorcade from the railroad bridge., testified that after two shots "the car came on down close to the Triple Underpass" and an additional shot "hit in the left front of the President's car on the cement."352 Skelton thought that there had been a total of four shots, either the third or fourth of which hit in the vicinity of the underpass.353  Dallas Patrolman J. W. Foster, who was also on the Triple Underpass, testified that a shot hit the turf near a manhole cover in the vicinity of the underpass.354 Examination of this area, however, disclosed no indication that a bullet struck at the locations indicated by Skelton or Foster.355

            At a different location in Dealey Plaza, the evidence indicated that a bullet fragment did hit the street.  James T. Tague, who got out of his car to watch the motorcade from a position between Commerce and Main Streets near the Triple Underpass, was hit on the cheek by an object during the shooting.356  Within a few minutes Tague reported this to Deputy Sheriff Eddy R. Walthers, who was examining the area to see if any bullets had struck the turf.357  Walthers immediately started to search where Tague had been standing and located a place on the south curb of Main Street where it appeared a bullet had hit the cement.358  According to Tague, "There was a mark quite obviously . that was a bullet, and it was very fresh."359 In Tague's opinion, it was the second shot which caused the mark, since he thinks he heard the third shot after he was hit in the face.360  This incident appears to have been recorded in the contemporaneous report of Dallas Patrolman L. L. Hill, who radioed in around 12:40 p.m.: "I have one guy that was possibly hit by a richochet from the bullet off the concrete."361 Scientific examination of the mark on the south curb of Main Street by FBI experts disclosed metal smears which, "were spectrographically determined to be essentially lead with a trace of antimony."362  The mark on the curb could have originated from the lead core of a bullet but the absence of copper precluded "the possibility that the mark on the curbing section was made by an unmutilated military full metal-jacketed bullet such as the bullet from Governor Connally's stretcher."363

      It is true that the noise of a subsequent shot might have been drowned out by the siren on the Secret Service followup car immediately after the head shot, or the dramatic effect of the head shot might have caused so much confusion that the memory of subsequent events was blurred. 

 

Page 117

Nevertheless, the preponderance of the eyewitness testimony that the head shot was the final shot must be weighed in any determination as to whether it was the third shot that missed. Even if it were caused by a bullet fragment, the mark on the south curb of Main Street cannot be identified conclusively with any of the three shots fired. Under the circumstances it might have come from the bullet which hit the President's head, or it might have been a product of the fragmentation of the missed shot upon hitting some other object in the area.364 Since he did not observe any of the shots striking the President, Tague's testimony that the second shot, rather than the third, caused the scratch on his cheek, does not assist in limiting the possibilities.

            The wide range of possibilities and the existence of conflicting testimony, when coupled with the impossibility of scientific verification, precludes a conclusive finding by the Commission as to which shot missed.

Time Span of Shots

Page 117

TIME SPAN OF SHOTS

 

            Witnesses at the assassination scene said that the shots were fired within a few seconds, with the general estimate being 5 to 6 seconds.365 That approximation was most probably based on the earlier publicized reports that the first shot struck the President in the neck, the second wounded the Governor and the third shattered the President's head, with the time span from the neck to the head shots on the President being approximately 5 seconds.  As previously indicated, the time span between the shot entering the back of the President's neck and the bullet which shattered his skull was 4.8 to 5.6 seconds. If the second shot missed, then 4.8 to 5.6 seconds was the total time span of the shots. If either the first or third shots missed, then a minimum of 2.3 seconds (necessary to operate the rifle) must be added to the time span of the shots which hit, giving a minimum time of 7.1 to 7.9 seconds for the three shots.  If more than 2.3 seconds elapsed between a shot that missed and one that hit, then the time span would be correspondingly increased.

Conclusion

Page 117

CONCLUSION

 

            Based on the evidence analyzed in this chapter, the Commission has concluded that the shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired from the sixth-floor window at the southeast corner of the Texas School Book Depository Building.  Two bullets probably caused all the wounds suffered by President Kennedy and Governor Connally.  Since the preponderance of the evidence indicated that three shots were fired, the Commission concluded that one shot probably missed the Presidential limousine and its occupants, and that the three shots were fired in a time period ranging from approximately 4.8 to in excess of 7 seconds.

 

Frame 210 to 313= 103

103 divided by 18.3fps = 5.6 seconds.

 

 

 

 

 

FINALLY>>

 


John and Nellie Connally destroy the single bullet theory. (Below)

 

below dr. shaw who attended connally's chest wound.

john and nellie connally destroy the single bullet theory (Below)

 


Incredible Wounds of Governor Connally

Posted March 23, 2014


Multiple problems with the descriptions of the injuries suffered by Governor Connally and the mislabeling of the presented X-rays strongly suggest that the Parkland physicians doctored their reports to hide an uncomplimentary posture of the victim when shot.

Two Descriptions of the Back Wound

The clinical report by Dr. Shaw on the preoperative treatment of Governor Connally described a sucking chest wound partially relieved by a pressure dressing. A tube was inserted into the chest cavity and the free ended connected to a waterseal bottle. These emergency measures relaxed the respiratory distress. Once in the operating room anesthesia was induced and the wounds were more carefully examined. Shaw found a wound of entrance just to the left of the right scapula. He reported that this wound was "approximately three cm in its longest diameter." The surrounding area was cleansed with Phisohex and Iodine then draped for the initial operation upon the far more serious frontal chest wound.

Perhaps someone from the ballistics community informed Shaw that a wound with a longer dimension equal to the length of the three-centimeter MC bullet indicates a strike by a missile traveling sideways. Under this condition the bullet had insufficient kinetic energy to exit the chest.

Dr. Shaw revised his description of the back wound for his Warren Commission testimonies. On March 23, 1964, Shaw testified in Dallas. He told the commission that Connally had a 1.5-cm roughly elliptical wound of the right posterior shoulder to the left of the right armpit. During his testimony in Washington, D.C. on April 21, 1964, he repeated the earlier description of the wound and added that the bullet did not penetrate the shoulder blade.

Doctor Gregory reported details of the back wound which partially disputed and partially corroborated the description of an elliptical wound by Shaw. In particular, Gregory noted a linear wound with a rounded central portion. This rounding of the central portion of the back wound was not noted on the linear wound of the wrist. By contrast the shape of a simple wound made by a bullet with a considerable yaw angle resembles a rectangle with rounded corners.


Wrist Wounds and the Fractured Radius

Figure 1 - Commission Exhibit 691

Connally suffered two wounds of his right wrist. The larger wound of entry was on the back or the dorsal side of the wrist with the smaller wound of exit on the palm or the volar side of the wrist. Doctor Gregory noted that a larger wound of entry was not at all characteristic.

During his testimony in Dallas on March 23, 1964, Gregory reported the dimensions of the wounds on the opposing sides of the wrist. He gave the longer dimension of the dorsal wound as 2 cm and the longer dimension of the volar wound as 1.5 cm. On April 21, 1964, Gregory more fully described both wounds of the wrist. He reported that the transverse exit wound on the volar side of the wrist resembled a small laceration with dimensions of 1.5 cm by 0.5 cm. The wound of entry on the dorsal side of the wrist was rather linear with dimensions of 2.5 cm by 0.5 cm. He did not mention any rounding of the central portion of the dorsal wound as he did when describing the linear back wound. The disagreement of the longer dimensions of the dorsal wound suggests that Gregory related the wound sizes from memory rather than notes.

Gregory described the wrist fracture as comminuted. He explained that comminuted means shattered into more than two pieces and counted seven or eight bone fragments on the presented X-rays. During his Warren Commission testimony of March 23, 1964, Shaw partially disputed and partially corroborated Gregory by describing acompound comminuted fracture of the radius. The description of the comminuted fracture as compound meant that the sharp edge of a recently fractured bone broke the skin and created a wound. On April 21, 1964, Shaw cited themotion of the wrist as evidence of the compound fracture.

Initially Gregory observed metallic fragments on the preoperative X-rays of the wrist. During debridement, he removed a few small fragments of lead found throughout the wrist and the fractured the radius. Gregory volunteered no opinion on whether the bullet deposited or irrigation carried the metal fragments to various positions within the wrist.


Superficial Wound of the Thigh

Dr. Shires in his operative report of November 22, 1963 described a 1-cm punctate wound and debriding the wound track into the muscle. He interpreted an X-ray as showing a small fragment imbedded in the femur. Shires repeated these descriptions during his testimony in Dallas and added his speculations on whether a tangential entry by a whole bullet or a fragment caused the observed peculiarities of this wound.

The description of the wound as punctate means that the abrasion surrounding the bullet hole was spotted. This punctate appearance implied entry by a spent missile with insufficient kinetic energy to produce the solid area of discoloration surrounding a typical bullet hole.

Shaw explicitly attributed the wound in the thigh being considerably longer than the size of the missile to a tangential entry by the bullet.

Prior to surgery, Dr. Gregory carefully observed the bullet hole in the thigh. He noted that the hole was almost round and could see penetration from the skin to the underlying fascia. During his testimony in Washington, D.C., Gregory described a puncture wound on the inner aspect of the thigh and a little toward the front. The wound appeared rounded with a diameter of about 6 mm. This size excluded the surrounding abrasion reported by Shires.

The preoperative X-rays produced by Gregory revealed a shallow fragment inline with the femur and just beneath the skin. These observations contradicted Shires who asserted that the fragment deeply penetrated the thigh and was imbedded in the bone.

The Forensic Pathology Panel dismissed the presumed fragments on the X-rays as artifacts.

Cynics have suggested that the Parkland doctors concocted the story of a fragment in the thigh to reduce the embarrassment of Doctor Shaw who during the Friday afternoon press conference told the World that the bullet is in the leg and will be removed during surgery. This statement is made just beyond five minutes from the start of the linked recording.


Clothing Evidence

Figure 2 - Front View of Coat

Connally's coat had regular defects that conveyed to the analyst valuable information not obtainable from the irregular defects of the shirt. This fortuitous situation made the defects of the coat the preferred garment for comparison with the wounds of the torso.

On the back side of the coat, SA Robert A. Frazier of the FBI Laboratory described a defect that measured approximately five-eights of an inch horizontally by one-quarter of an inch. The one-quarter inch dimension coincided with the diameter of a 6.5-mm bullet and the five-eights inch measurement agreed with the 15-mm dimension of the back wound described by Dr. Shaw in his testimonies. The failure of Frazier to describe the shape of the defect on the rear of the coat as either rectangular or oval allows entry by a bullet with a 30-degree yaw angle or a bullet with negligible yaw angle and an approximate 66-degree incidence angle.

Frazier described a defect on the front of the coat as approximately round with a diameter of three-eights of an inch. The smallness of this hole shown on Figure 2 ensures that only a bullet with negligible yaw could have made this defect.

Frazier measured the angles made by a straight line joining the defect on the rear of Connally's coat with the defect on the front. He found a line sloping leftward from the rear to the front. This line made a 20-degreeangle with the sagittal plane of the coat.

The FBI also used these defect on the rear and the front of the coat to calculate the angle made by a straight line joining the entry and the exit wounds with the transverse body plane. A disagreement between the transverse angle for the coat with the transverse angle though the torso shows that the posture of Connally was not relaxed when shot. The straight line joining the defect on the rear of the coat sloped downward toward the defect on the front of the coat. This line made a 35-degree angle with the transverse plane of the coat. The line joining the corresponding defects of the shirt made a lesser 30-degree angle with the same plane. These measurements show that Connally had a strained posture when or immediately before being shot.

Frazier examined the trousers worn by Connally. He found a small circular defect with a diameter of about one quarter inch. This quarter inch defect of the trousers stands with the small 6-mm bullet hole described by Gregory and disputes the suggestion by Shires that a tangential entry caused the 10-mm punctate abrasion which surrounded the bullet hole in the thigh.


Composite Wounding

The Parkland doctors in the operating room collectively developed the idea that one missile inflicted all the wounds suffered by Connally. Dr. Shires discussed this idea with his assistants, Drs. Baxter, McClelland and Patman. Shires had direct knowledge of similar discussions among Drs. Shaw, Boland and Duke. He surmised that Dr. Gregory, Osbourne and Parker also discussed the wounding. These groups concluded that one bullet inflicted the five wounds suffered by Connally.

Gregory cited progressively less damage from the chest, through the wrist and into the thigh as evidence of wounding by a single bullet. The bullet inflicted considerable damage upon the torso in shattering ten centimeters of the fifth rib and punching a 5-centimeter roughly circular hole in the chest. These injuries consumed a considerable portion of the kinetic energy of the transiting bullet. This less energetic bullet inflicted lesser injury upon the wrist. The wounds of entry and exit were elongated slits and cleaved a few pieces of bone from the radius. These lesser injuries consumed more kinetic energy. The bullet upon striking the thigh had insufficient kinetic energy to produce a solid abrasion and perforate the leg. Instead this spent missile produced a punctate abrasion surrounding the wound track which extended to but not through the muscle.

The report of an initially small tunneling wound by Shaw is evidence of entry and initial transit of the torso by a bullet with negligible angles of yaw and pitch. Coupling these observations of the back wound with the report by Frazier of a round 3/8-inch hole in the front of the coat shows exit by a bullet with negligible angles of yaw and pitch. These observations argue for overall transit of the torso by a properly aligned bullet and explain the absence of metallic fragments in the chest.

Problems arose when the doctors provided further details of the injuries.

Figure 3 - 60° Incidence Angle

The elliptical wound twice described by Shaw and corroborated by Gregory required that the bullet entered the back with an approximate 60° incidence angle as shown on Figure 3. The locations of the back and the chest wounds required that this tangentially entering bullet deflected by an incredible angle of between forty and sixty degrees during transit of the torso. So both the original and the revised descriptions of the back wound are entangled in insoluble problems.

Following the testimony of Shaw on March 23, 1964, Specter and Shaw had a conversation off the record then went back on the record and discussed whether a tumbling bullet struck Governor Connally in the back. Shaw mistakenly associated an elliptical wound with a bullet which had struck something else. This testimony strongly suggests that Doctor Shaw and the authorities reached a compromise. In particular the authorities would forgive doctoring his medical reports in exchange for capitulation to tolerate the SBT.

The locations and dimensions of both wrist wounds and especially the linear shape of the volar wound imply transit by a bullet with a considerable though decreasing angle of yaw. For the dorsal wound the given dimensions imply striking by a bullet with a yaw angle between arcsin ( 2 / 3 ) or forty two degrees and arcsin ( 2.5 / 3 ) or fifty six degrees. Upon exit from the volar side of the dimensions of the wound yield a lesser yaw angle of arcsin ( 1.5 / 3 ) or thirty degrees. The modifications of these calculations to account for the elongation of the wounds by a few tenths of a centimeter due to tangential entry and exit by the yawed bullet would be inconsequential.

However, the ante posterior X-rays of the wrist, CE 691 and CE 692 show no evidence of a yawed bullet having punched a slot with dimensions ranging from 1/4 inch by 1 inch nearer the dorsal side of the wrist to 1/4 inch by 4/5 inch nearer the volar side. Given the locations of these wounds, a slot punched by a yawed bullet would have been seen on the ante posterior X-rays as a through and through gap in the radius. So the failure to see this large void of bone stands in contradiction with the description of the surface wounds.

By contrast, a properly aligned bullet with negligible yaw angle could have tangentially perforated the wrist and tunneled a track with a 1/4 inch diameter through the bone. This bullet track would appear as a narrow strip of lesser opacity on the X-rays.

Apparently Gregory learned by experience that a yawed bullet could produce linear surface wounds and another bullet could tunnel a small cylindrical track through a bone. However, his role as a medical doctor did not require him to analyze whether one wound could embody the special characteristics of two other unrelated wounds. Probably these gaps in his knowledge account for the contradictions in the presented descriptions of wrist wounds.

The X-rays presented by Gregory showing the tiny fragment inline with the femur on some views and just beneath the skin on orthogonal views effectively disproves Shires' claim of a fragment imbedded in the bone. Further the report by Gregory of a 6-millimeter "almost round" thigh wound discredits the speculation by Shires of a tangential entry by the bullet. The implications of these two reports by Gregory consistently point to an unexpected posture for the leg when wounded.

If Connally's left leg were crossed with its calf resting near his right knee then a bullet on an earlier course from below the right nipple and straight through the wrist would strike the inner surface of the left thigh at a small angle of incidence. This trajectory would carry the bullet and any shed fragment closer to the knee while not penetrating toward the bone by a comparable distance.

Perhaps the authorities interpreted this implied posture of Connally as feminine and moved the left leg to a normal masculine position when shot. The problems with Shires' testimony in Dallas and his latter absence from testifying in Washington, D.C. are consistent with this possibility.

When Doctors Shaw, Gregory and Shires testified in Dallas during March 1964 they referenced and did not present easily accessible X-rays to document the injuries suffered by Governor Connally. The following month when Shaw and Gregory packed their evidence and traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify they brought nine X-rays with them.

 

Figure 4 - X-ray of the Repaired Wrist
Source: Warren Commission testimony of Dr. Robert Roeder Shaw on April 21, 1964 - 4H, 106

 

Mr. SPECTER. Would it be useful - As to that X-ray, Dr. Shaw, will you tell us what identifying data, if any, it has in the records of Parkland Hospital, for the record?
Dr. SHAW. On this X-ray it has in pencil John G. Connally.
Mr. SPECTER. Is that G or C?
Dr. SHAW. They have a "G" November 22, 1963, and it has a number 218-922.

Despite the confirmation of a "G" by Dr. Shaw, Specter persists to place into the record his reaffirmation of "C" as the middle initial on the X-rays.

Source: WC testimony of Doctor Charles Francis Gregory on April 21, 1964 - 4H, 124

 

Mr. SPECTER. Have you brought the X-ray with you?
Dr. GREGORY. Yes; I have.
Mr. SPECTER. On what date was that X-ray taken?
Dr. GREGORY. This X-ray is marked as having been taken on November 22, 1963. It indicates that it was made of the left thigh, and it belongs to John Connally, John G. Connally.
Mr. SPECTER. That says "G" instead of "C"?
Dr. GREGORY. Yes. It appears to me to be a "G." The number again is 219-922.

At this point, Specter had manipulated the record to allow him to plead confusion if the credibility of the X-rays were to be challenged.

Skipping ahead a witness to Mrs. Connally shows that Arlen was intent upon expanding his protection.

Source: WC Testimony of Mrs. John Bowden Connally, Jr. on April 21, 1964 - 4H, 146

 

Mr. SPECTER. Are you the wife of Governor John C. Connally?
Mrs. CONNALLY. No, I am the wife of Governor John B. Connally.

The answer to the first question of the previous witness discredits ignorance as an excuse for Arlen Specter not knowing the middle initial of Governor Connally.

Source: WC Testimony of Gov. John Bowden Connally, Jr. on April 21, 1964 - 4H, 129

 

Mr. SPECTER. Will you state your full name for the record, please?
Governor CONNALLY. John Bowden Connally.

Four pages earlier in the testimony of Dr. Shaw, Arlen Specter disclosed knowledge of the middle initial of John Connally.

Source: Warren Commission Testimony of Dr. Robert Roeder Shaw on April 21, 1964 - 4H, 102

 

Mr. SPECTER. Were you called upon to render medical aid to Gov. John B. Connally on that day?
Dr. SHAW. Yes.

I wonder when Arlen Specter stop knowing the middle initial of John Connally?

Forcing Governor Connally's wounds to fit a sitting posture had an embarrassing consequence for Dr. Gregory. He was asked by Specter whether a bullet with a declination angle of forty five degrees could have inflicted Connally's wounds. Gregory had no choice and answered the question affirmatively.

Source: Warren Commission Testimony of Doctor Charles Francis Gregory on April 21, 1964 - 4H, 127

 

Mr. SPECTER - Dr. Gregory, could all of the wounds which were inflicted on the Governor, that is those described by Dr. Shaw and those which you have described during your testimony, have been inflicted from one missile if that missile were a 6.5 millimeter bullet fired from a weapon having a muzzle velocity of approximately 2,000 feet per second at a distance of approximately 160 to 250 feet, if you assumed a trajectory with an angle of decline approximately 45 degrees?
Dr. GREGORY - I believe that the three wounds could have occurred from a single missile under these specifications.

Dr. Gregory was no dummy. Without doubt, he could have solved the eleventh-grade problem of the isosceles right triangle and mentally calculated the height of the muzzle above Connally as between 160 sin ( 45 ) or 112 foot and 250 sin ( 45 ) or 175 foot. By contrast the sniper in their nest on the sixth floor of the TSBD was less than 70 foot above their victim.


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Last Updated on March 25, 2014 by Herbert Blenner

 

 

 

 

 

 

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