article.html
the JFK Assassination - Another Look
by Robert Harris
Copyright 1996
After more than three decades, the primary question has been resolved. The smoking
gun which proves beyond reasonable doubt that multiple shooters attacked President
Kennedy in 1963, did not come as the result of some obscure anomaly in a photo, or
shadow on the grassy knoll. It consisted of the discovery that a shot, probably the only
shot that day which missed the young President, was fired just one and one half seconds
before the terrible and explosive head wound.
Much of this article is based on the film by Abraham Zapruder, in which most of the
actions of the victims and those closest to them were captured. Throughout the article
we will be referring to numbered frames such as Z285 and Z312. In order to understand the numbering, the following timeline should be useful.
Zapruder's Bell & Howell camera captured images at the rate of precisely 18.3 frames
per second, so each individual frame in the film is the equivalent of about 1/18th
of one second. As an example, if one event happened at Z200, and another at Z209,
we would know that about 9/18ths or 1/2 second elapsed between the two.
You will notice references on the timeline to shots at Z186 and Z323. I believe there
is a great deal of evidence that shots occurred at those points, and especially for
the final shot which came just one half second after the third, though it was not
noticed by many of the witnesses. But I will save those topics for other articles. The
Z285 issue is conclusive to the question of conspiracy on it's own merits, and independent
of other previously unknown shots.
One of those rare issues which has never been seriously disputed is the amount of
time required to reload, aim, and fire the Mannlicher Carcano rifle Lee Harvey Oswald
was alleged to have used that day. FBI experts in 1964, as well as firearms experts
contracted by the HSCA (House Select Committee on Assassinations) in 1978 agreed that
a minimum of 2.25 - 2.3 seconds was required to operate the weapon found near the
sixth floor sniper's nest. Therefore, any two shots which were separated by a shorter
time span, constituted irrefutable proof of multiple shooters.
Amazingly, the large majority of Dealey Plaza witnesses who stated an opinion about
the gunshots told the Warren Commission exactly that. Most of them believed they
heard three shots. Of those, the large majority told the same story. They heard a
single, isolated report, followed by four or five seconds of silence, and then two very closely
spaced shots. Although they only mentioned the issue once in their final report,
the Warren Commission had to admit,
..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... 1
Witness after witness, from one end of the plaza to the other, repeated the same story.
A few typical examples:
Lee Bowers, "I heard three shots. One, then a slight pause, then two very close together."2
Sheriff's Deputy, C.M. Jones,
..A few short seconds later, I heard an explosion followed in about 3 to 5 seconds
later two more explosions.3
Congressman Ralph W. Yarborough,
..by my estimate--to me there seemed to be a longer time between the first and second
shots, a much shorter time between the second and third shots..4
Dallas Mayor Earle Cabell,
There was a longer pause between the first and second shots than there was between
the second and third shots. They were in rather rapid succession.5
Special Agent Forrest V. Sorrels in the lead car,
There was to me about twice as much time between the first and second shots as there
was between the second and third shots.6
Linda Willis, the fifteen year old daughter of Phil Willis,
Yes; I heard one. Then there was a little bit of time, and then there were two real
fast bullets together. When the first one hit, well, the President turned from waving alvarez
to the people, and he grabbed his throat, and he kind of slumped forward, and then
I couldn't tell where the second shot went.7
Those closest to the President were nearly unanimous about the shooting sequence.
The driver of the Secret Service followup car, SA Kinney was maintaining a distance
of just a few feet behind the Presidential limousine. He reported,
I saw the President lean toward the left and appeared to have grabbed his chest with
his right hand. There was a second of pause and then two more shots were heard. 8
Sitting next to him in the front seat, SA Roberts reported that the second and third
shots were so close that he couldn't tell which of them actually caused the explosive
fatal head wound. I do not know if it was the next shot or third shot that hit the
President in the head...9
Standing on the left running board of the followup car behind Clint Hill (much more
on Hill, later), SA McIntyre reported,
The Presidential vehicle was approximately 200 feet from the underpass when the first
shot was fired, followed in quick succession by two more.10
As we will see a bit later, the driver of the Presidential limousine, SA William Greer
and SA Kellerman, seated next to him, will provide further corroboration for this
shooting sequence.
At one point during the hearings, Warren Commissioner Allen Dulles noted the overwhelming
consistency of these witnesses, when he described the ratio of those confirming this
shooting scenario in comparison with others, "I would say it is something like 5 to 1 or something of that kind..."11
Obviously, the Warren Commission could not admit that any two shots were "bunched", unless they were willing to concede that the President
was attacked by multiple shooters. They handled this problem by simply deciding that
witnesses in general could not be trusted to accurately hear and report gunshots.
Perhaps even more amazingly, this arbitrary rejection of the Dealey Plaza witnesses
was never, during all these years, seriously challenged by Warren Commission critics.
Of course, conspiracy theorists were equally unhappy with these witnesses, who were
claiming that the second shot was fired well after both the President and Governor Connally
reacted to their first wounds. This would be clear evidence that Arlen Spector's
much despised, "Single bullet theory" was correct - one bullet really did pass through both victims.
There is of course, some truth in the claim that gunshots can be confusing to witnesses
- certainly, this is true in instances when there was a series of rapid gunfire.
We can cite many cases in which large crowds of witnesses miscounted the number of
gunshots under such circumstances. For example, we know that the terrified witnesses to
the murder of Police officer Tippett heard five shots, while the majority of them
reported only three. But the Dealey Plaza crowd was not faced with either the kind of rapidity or the terror
that the Tippett witnesses were. In fact, most of them didn't even realize the loud
explosions they heard were gunfire until the shooting was over. More importantly,
they almost unanimously described a shooting sequence which began with a single report
followed by a period of extended silence. Unlike those who heard the rapidfire shooting
in the Tippett murder, we would certainly expect most of our Dealey Plaza witnesses to get at least this first part of it right. It appears that most of them did.
The Early Shot?
Perhaps one of the silliest myths in this case is the claim advanced by some theorists
that there was an early, missed shot at approximately Zapruder frame, 160. Besides
the absurdity of the notion that such a demonstrably accurate gunman would miss the
entire limousine from the closest proximity of any of the gunshots, there is the fact
that not one single piece of bullet or other ballistic evidence was ever found in
that area. A bullet striking the pavement for example, would undoubtedly have caused
debris to spatter people in the crowd, or leave fragments in the area. Of course, none
were ever found. There has never been the slightest trace of ballistic or other evidence
that such a shot ever happened.
We might also consider that the occupants of the Presidential limousine and the followup
car would have been in the direct path of the muzzle blast. To their ears, this early
shot would have been the loudest explosion of the day. And yet, almost without exception, they supported the general consensus that there was only one shot fired before
the end of the attack in which the last shots were bunched.
On the fifth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, three men, James Jarman, Bonnie
Rae Williams, and Harold Norman, stood literally, under the shooter's feet. They
testified that the building shook with each gunshot and that plaster fell down from
the ceiling. Certainly, these men could not have overlooked an early shot from above
their heads. And yet, every one one of them contradicted the early shot theory, either
by confirming that the last two shots were bunched together, or by stating that JFK
reacted to the first gunshot, not the second.
Bonnie Rae Williams described the spacing of the shots, "The second and the third
shot was closer together than the first shot and the second shot.." 12
James Jarman also testified that he heard three shots, with the second and third closely
spaced, "...the third shot was fired right behind the second one." 13
Harold Norman was among those rare witnesses who claimed the shots were evenly spaced,
but he clearly stated that the President reacted to the first shot, rather than the
second. He described the first of three shots he heard that day, "..and then after
I heard the shot, well, it seems as though the President, you know, slumped or something.."14
Had these men heard the shooting scenario proposed by Posner, they would certainly
have claimed the first two shots were closer together, or they would have claimed
the President reacted to a second report, not the first. Like almost everyone else
in Dealey Plaza that day, they fully contradicted this theory.
Dr. Luis Alvarez
Dr. Luis Alvarez, the brilliant Physicist who discovered the probable cause of the
extinction of the dinosaur, wrote first in 1966, and then in an extensive paper in
1978, analyzing the assassination and in particular, the Zapruder film. While he
is better known to students of the case for his controversial, "jet effect" theory, he practically
invented a new technology when he deduced that shock waves from the gunshots fired
that day caused Abraham Zapruder's camera to produce streaking and blurred frames,
which provided critical clues to the timing of the gunshots.
Of course, Alvarez acknowledged that not all blurring was caused by gunshots, but
he was able to detect a pattern which helped to isolate those that were. These telltale
blurred frames came in very predictable cycles at intervals of one third of a second
following a gunshot. For example, after the known shot at Z312, there was heavy blurring
in Zapruder frame, Z318, six frames (6/18 frame = 1/3 second) later, followed by
a more lightly blurred frame at Z324, and a third blurred frame at Z331.
Alvarez discovered an identical, though weaker series of such frames, following Z285.
This apparent loud noise produced significant blurring at Z290-291 and was followed
by a lighter blurring at Z296 and and at Z302 which is easily seen in any decent
version of the Zapruder film. This particular sequence seemed to come out of nowhere after
a relatively long series of very clear frames.
Alvarez, a strong Warren Commission supporter, would not consider that this blurring
was caused by exactly what it appeared to be - a gunshot. It had been well established
that the Mannlicher Carcano rifle Oswald was alleged to have used, required a minimum of 2.25 seconds to reload, aim, and fire. Certainly, there could not have been a
gunshot at Z285, less than 1.5 seconds before the fatal head wound. This would amount
to proof beyond all reasonable doubt that at least one other gunman was at work that
day.
Instead, Alvarez speculated that a siren had gone off at Z285. But, Warren Commission
investigators who interviewed all Secret Service agents and police officers who had
access to sirens, heard the same story that everyone else in Dealey Plaza told that
day. No sirens came on until well after the shooting ended! In fact, of the 178 reporting
witnesses, not one person claimed to have heard a siren before the final shot.
Alvarez acknowledged the witnesses' denial, but suggested that they were again, simply
confused. And besides, the blurring in the frames just after Z285 were weaker than
those following the Z312 head wound. If the two episodes were both caused by gunshots, why was one clearly stronger than the other? We will see the answer to that question
when we look at the only plausible trajectory for this shot. We will also see why
it was the only shot fired that day which missed it's target.
The Shot
James Tague stated in his Warren Commission testimony that the bullet which struck
the pavement near him, causing a minor nick in his cheek, was caused by the second
of three shots. To this day, he believes he heard shots both before and after the
one that caused his minor wound. Since there is no plausible trajectory from the sixth floor
sniper's nest, to the curb damage, which does not pass more than eight feet above
the President's head, Warren Commission defenders have had to offer some rather
unconvincing explanations for the Tague wound, including Gerald Posner's claim that a bullet
bounced off a tree branch at an incredible angle back to Tague's location, or that
a fragment rose from the head wound at Z313, to cause the damage. This last idea
is virtually impossible, since a fragment rising at say, six degrees, a steep enough angle
to clear the limo's windshield and sun visors, and at a velocity great enough to
cause lead to smear on the curbing, would pass about 29 feet above the area in question.
Arguments that a piece of lead may have been spinning fast enough to cause it to curve
downward might sound plausible until we consider that the 29 foot deviation amounts
to 13% of the total distance, or the equivalent of a baseball pitcher throwing an
eight foot curve ball at a distance of 60 feet!
Besides defying the laws of physics, both of these theories contradict Tague's recollection
that the second shot caused his wound. A close examination of Dealey Plaza at the
frame Dr. Alvarez thought the loud noise occurred, leads us to a rather remarkable discovery.
If we use an accurate diagram of Dealey Plaza, and plot a line from the location of
the damaged curbing near Tague, passing through the position of the limousine at
Z285, and then continuing on in a straight line, we intersect a spot which has long
been suspected as a possible shooter's location. This is the second floor window behind
the fire escape at the Dal-Tex building.
James Altgens famous photo taken at Zapruder frame, 255.
The long suspected second floor broom closet in the
Dal-Tex building is encircled.
As students of the assassination well know, the DalTex is the only building in Dealey
Plaza in which a known, career criminal, was discovered. This was Eugene Brading,
who had recently changed his name to Eugene Braden, We will not spend much time on
Brading here, though it might be useful to remember a few facts about his history. First,
he had a long record involving burglary, gambling, and black market activities, and
was undoubtedly affiliated with the mafia.
HSCA investigators also connected Brading to a man named James Dolan, who was a close
friend of Jack Ruby's. In fact, Ruby was known to have visited the Cabana motel where
Brading was staying, late on the night before the assassination, though it has never been confirmed that he actually visited Brading.
In his book, "Conspiracy", researcher Anthony Summers reported other ominous links
between Brading and the long suspected David Ferrie. It was learned that they both
shared the use of an office owned by mafia boss, Carlos Marcellos in the Pere Marquette
Building in New Orleans. This office, designated as Room 1701 was used by Ferrie as
a mail dropoff, while Brading was giving the same address out to parole authorities,
as his place of employment.
Brading claimed he entered the Dal-Tex after the assassination and only went to the
third floor to borrow the telephone. After presenting ID with his new name, he was
not recognized as a criminal and was promptly released.
The diagram below, illustrates a possible trajectory from the suspected window in
the Dal-Tex, which could have caused the damage to the curbing near James Tague.
This line illustrates a miss to the right, and high, just after the limousine swerved
to the right. Of course, the bullet could easily have struck Main at a point, two or more
feet in any direction and still have caused the lead smear on the curb as well as
Tague's minor wound.
Besides the rather obvious implications of this trajectory we also discover the reason
for the weaker blurring patterns Dr. Alvarez discovered following the Z285 shot.
From Abraham Zapruder's position, the corner of the Depository building comes partially
between him and the Dal-Tex second floor shooter. So, much of that shock wave was
absorbed by the Depository. Certainly, the muzzle blast from the closer and unimpeded
sixth floor location would have been much sharper to Zapruder's ear, causing heavier
blurring after the Z312 shot.
Perhaps even more compelling than the scientific analysis or the fact that the bullet
would have passed directly across the President's head, is the knowledge that the
height of such a trajectory would also have been a near perfect match to his position.
The odds that a line from the damaged curbing, through Kennedy's head, would randomly
fall on this suspected window through sheer chance, defies all laws of probability.
The following photograph taken by FBI agent Shaneyfelt, illustrates that fact quite
clearly.
This is one of the Shaneyfelt photos taken from Ground level at the location of the
curb damage near James Tague. The greyed-in box shows the position of the long suspected
second floor window which looks out from a broom closet. At Z285, a line from that
window to the damaged curb, intersects JFK's head. This photo illustrates that the
height of the window also matches perfectly with this trajectory.
Good Assassins Don't Miss
Of all the shots fired at the President that day, this is probably the only one that
missed it's target. But why would a skilled rifleman miss his mark in tiny Dealey
Plaza, with such an easy target? The answer to that question is amazingly simple.
During the past year or so, I have posted many articles about this second gunshot
to Internet usenet groups as well as in my web page, which has been visited by several
thousand people. While I have received a lot of responses, not one person ever mentioned an issue that in retrospect should have been obvious. The shooter on the second
floor of the Dal-Tex building would have had a terrible time getting a clear bead
on the President, after the limo turned onto Elm St.
As we have long suspected, the killers probably did want the communist-connected Oswald
to be linked to the crime. So, he or whoever was in the sixth floor sniper's nest,
was allowed to take the first shot. If it was fatal, the President would have been
expected to fall and the other shooters would not have to risk exposure by firing their
weapons. Of course, the President was struck by the first shot, as well as Governor
Connally, which probably occurred around Z186. But, though the President was obviously wounded, he did not topple. The next fallback then, was for the Dal-Tex shooter to
finish the job.
But as he tried to track his quarry through the crosshairs, the would-be killer discovered
Murphy's law at work in the form of Secret Service agents Ready and Landis, standing
on the right running board of the followup car. His view of the President was completely blocked! The frustrated gunman finally got a glimpse of the President when
the limo driver, Bill Greer inadvertently swerved the limo to the right, as he spun
around to look over his shoulder. This is apparent in Zapruder frames just before
Z285. The Dal-Tex shooter didn't hesitate; as he briefly glimpsed the President's head,
he snapped off a rushed shot, which passed just above and possibly to the right
of his target, finally striking the Main Street pavement near James Tague. The bullet,
coming in on an extremely flat trajectory (less than two degrees relative to the street),
probably shattered into a multitude of pieces and spattered debris in several directions.
One larger fragment hit the curb, causing the visible lead smear, and a tiny piece of debris hit James Tague's cheek.
Of course, a gunshot at Zapruder frame 285 matches perfectly with the testimonies
of the huge majority of witnesses, but some of the most persuasive evidence comes
from specific statements which we can verify through photos and films taken that
day.
Special Agent Warren Taylor was riding three cars behind the Presidential limousine
in the Vice President's security car. Taylor reported in his original Treasury Dept.
report that he first heard a single gunshot. He responded promptly,
As a matter of course, I opened the door and prepared to get out of the car. In the
instant that my left foot touched the ground, I heard two more bangs and realized
that they must be gun shots.14
Taylor would have been just another of many witnesses reporting that the last two
shots were bunched closely together, except for the fact that we have a marvelously
clear photo take by AP photographer, James Altgens, which clearly shows Taylor's
status in the VP security vehicle, as he opens the door. This photo was confirmed to have been
taken at precisely Zapruder frame, 255. The picture below is a small cutout from
that photograph, with the left, rear door of the car Taylor was in, encircled.
Z255 (equivalent) - SA Warren Taylor has
not yet stepped out of the VP security car.
We can easily confirm Taylor's statement that he opened the back door in response
to the first gunshot, but it is equally easy to see that he has not yet stepped out
of the car! Taylor will not hear "two more bangs" until after his "left foot touched
the pavement.". We therefore know, that at this point, at least according to Taylor, only
one shot has been fired, and two more are yet to come.
Interestingly, the Mayor's car, which was following the car Taylor was in, has not
yet turned onto Elm St. in the Altgens photo. The driver of that car, Texas Highway
Patrolman Milton Wright only reported hearing the last two shots, but reported hearing
both of them after he had made the turn onto Elm,
The car I was driving had just turned onto Elm Street and approximately 30 feet from
the intersection when I heard the first shot. When the second shot was fired I noticed
a number of people running away from the Motorcade...15
Wright will hear those two shots only after he turns onto Elm St. The Altgens photo
proves indisputably, that by Z255 he has not yet made that turn.
Mrs. Connally
Nellie Connally's testimony that her husband was struck by a different shot than the
President has long been cited by conspiracy theorists as proof that the single bullet
theory was wrong. As it turns out, she was unwittingly, providing one of it's strongest confirmations. Nellie Connally also told us very clearly, through her testimony
and through her visible responses in the Zapruder film that she heard the second
shot just before the fatal head wound at Z312.
This is part of her testimony before the Warren Commission in which she describes
the first shot,
I heard a noise, and not being an expert rifleman, I was not aware that it was a rifle.
It was just a frightening noise, and it came from the right. I turned over my right
shoulder and looked back, and saw the President as he had both hands at his neck.16
By carefully examining the Zapruder film, it is easy to see when Mrs. Connally looks
back at the President. She begins to turn in the early Z230's, but before she completes
that turn she briefly glances at her husband during frames 236 to 249, or for about 2/3rds of one second. She continues her turn to the rear at about Z249, and can probably
see the President by about Z256.
But during that fraction of a second in which she examines her husband (Z236-249),
the wounded John Connally turns his back to her, as he twists involuntarily to his
right. Nellie is unable to see the pain we can see in his face from the Zapruder
side of Elm Street. She is simply unaware that her husband has been injured. She thinks that
like her, he is swinging to his right to examine the President.
Mrs. Connally confirmed her impression that her husband was unharmed and only turning
to check on the President, in this part of her testimony before the House Select
Committee on Assassinations.
John had turned to his right also when we heard that first noise and shouted, 'no,
no, no,' and in the process of turning back around so that he could look back and
see the President--I don't think he could see him when he turned to his right--the
second shot was fired and hit him..17
Clearly, Nellie thinks her husband was struck after he turned to his right, and after
he began to swing back to his left.
In the Zapruder film, we can see John Connally first begin to swing right, toward
the President at about frame 235. He leans back to his left again by around frame
285.
Although she glances briefly toward the front during the Z270's, probably in response
to Jean Hill's shouting for the President to turn for a picture, Nellie Connally
never focuses on her husband again until frame Z292. At this point, she twists abruptly
back toward him, not coincidentally, at the precise instant that Jackie Kennedy begins
to drop her head and lean forward.
This suggests that Jackie and Nellie both heard the second shot just before that frame.
The muzzle blast of a shot at Z285 would have been heard 2-3 frames later or by about
Z287, but the shrill, piercing sound of the bow shock which was measured at 130 decibels by HSCA ballistics experts would have immediately alerted the limo occupants
to the bullet passing just inches above their heads.
There have been speculations by some critics that the sequence of Nellie looking back
at the President and then hearing the second shot, may have happened much earlier.
Besides the fact that we can track Mrs. Connally's movements throughout the entire
film except for a single second while the limo was behind the Stemmons sign, she effectively
rejects this possibility with the simple statement, "I never again looked in the
back seat of the car after my husband was shot." 18
It is extremely revealing that Governor Connally and his wife disagreed on one critical
point. The Governor testified, "...I immediately, when I was hit, I said, 'Oh, no,
no, no'".19 Nellie Connally remembered differently. She testified, "I recall John saying 'Oh,
no, no, no, no'. Then there was a second shot, and it hit John..."20
Obviously, she thought he was shouting only because the limousine was under fire.
There is simply no doubt at all that Nellie Connally thought the Governor was hit
after the point when he shouted "Oh, no, no, no" and after she turned back to view the
President. Nellie was not the only one to get this false impression.
As we discussed before, Governor Connally did not fall immediately after being wounded.
He first turned far to his right, and then swung back to his left. This sequence
occurs during frames Z235-285. It is not surprising that Mrs. Connally whose attention
was on the President, as well as others who could not see the Governor's face, thought
he was unharmed at this point. In Mark Lane's documentary film, "Rush to Judgment
- The Plot to Kill Kennedy", Mr. S.M. Holland, who was standing on the triple overpass, confirmed Mrs. Connally's impressions by making exactly the same mistake:
The first bullet, the President slumped over and Governor Connally made his turn to
the right and then back to the left and that's when the second shot was fired and
knocked him down to the floorboard.21
Holland, who was obviously also unaware that the Governor was wounded earlier, confirms
Nellie's testimony that a shot occurred after the Governor's right-left turning sequence,
and just before he collapsed into her arms during the Z290's. Like Mrs. Connally, he thought Governor Connally was struck at the sound of the Z285 shot. He also
confirmed this in his Warren Commission testimony, when he described Governor Connally's
reaction to the second shot, "And another report rang out and he slumped down in
his seat."22 Since we can clearly see the Governor collapse during the Z290's, we can timestamp
Holland's impression as immediately after the Z285 shot, and before the fatal head
wound.
Holland's and Mrs. Connally's impressions were confirmed by Presidential aide Dave
Powers who was well positioned in the right jump seat of the Secret Service followup
car. This is from his affidavit to the Warren Commission:
There was a second shot and Governor Connally disappeared from sight and then there
was a third shot which took off the top of the President's head... 23
The gunshot at Z285 came just 1.5 seconds before the fatal head wound at Z312. The
proximity of this shot to the head wound, was confirmed by both of the Secret Service
agents who were in the Presidential limousine.
Special Agent (SA) Roy Kellerman, in the passenger's front seat describes his reaction
after hearing the first shot,
I turned around to find out what happened when two additional shots rang out, and
the President slumped into Mrs. Kennedy's lap and Governor Connally fell to Mrs.
Connally's lap..24
Zapruder frame 264 - SA Kellerman turns to his
left just before hearing the 2nd and 3rd shots.
Kellerman heard two shots after turning to look toward the back. We know that one
of them was the fatal head shot at Zapruder frame 313 after which, the President
did of course, "slump" into his wife's lap. Viewing Kellerman in the Zapruder film,
he first begins to turn to his left, looking into the back, just after Nellie Connally's turn,
during the Z250's. He appears to be turned far enough to see the President in the
back seat by about Z270. We might reasonably suspect that the second and third shots
he spoke of occurred at some point after that.
We also see that like Jackie, Roy Kellerman responds automatically to the whine of
the passing bullet, by ducking, or dropping his head. We can see this beginning
at Z293. Within less than a second, Kellerman has returned to his full, upright position.
SA Kellerman's head tips forward in response to the shot at Z285. The lines above
his head were superimposed to illustrate the correct angle.
SA William Greer was driving the limousine. He testified,
After the second shot, I glanced over my right shoulder and saw Governor Connally
start to fall, I knew then that something was wrong and I immediately pushed the
accelerator to the floor and Mr. Kellerman said, get out of here. 25
Greer's statement creates some confusion because he does turn to look back twice,
first in the Z260's range and then again, beginning at Z301. But his statement that
he "immediately pushed the accelerator to the floor", after turning back around suggests
that he is talking about the latter turn, since he does accelerate the vehicle shortly
after turning back to the front for the last time.
It is also noteworthy that Greer turns his head that second time at an astonishingly
high speed. In the Zapruder film, we see him still facing forward at frame 301, and
then turned completely around by Z305, or within just 2/9ths of one second. It is
hard to imagine anything other than a gunshot which could have provoked such an abrupt
reaction. Of course, before that, Greer had snapped his head to the front just as fast, beginning at Z292, the same 1/18th second frame in which Jackie began to duck, and Nellie Connally began to snap back toward her husband.
Greer further clarified what happened in this part of his testimony before the Warren
Commission:
Mr. Spector. To the best of your ability to recollect and estimate, how much time
elapsed from the first noise which you have described as being similar to the backfire
of a motor vehicle until you heard the second noise?
Mr. Greer: It seems a matter of seconds. I really couldn't say. Three or four seconds.
Mr. Spector. How much time elapsed, to the best of your ability to estimate and recollect,
between the time of the second noise and the time of the third noise
Mr. Greer. The last two seemed to be just simultaneously, one behind the other, but
I don't recollect just how much, how many seconds were between the two...26
Like most other witnesses that day, Greer confirmed that the last two shots were "bunched"
or very closely spaced.
Zapruder frame 306 - SA Greer looks back over his right
shoulder just after hearing the second shot.
The statements of Nellie Connally, Bill Greer, and Roy Kellerman all place a shot
just before the fatal head wound at Z312. We can confirm these recollections by matching
their turns with their testimonies, as well as through their very obvious reactions to the shot itself. Jackie and Kellerman begin to duck; Greer begins his first turn (to the front), and Nellie
Connally spins to inspect her husband, all within 1/9th of one second, during frames Z292
and 293. Greer then begins to spin abruptly back to the rear 4/9ths of a second
after that. But, they are not the only ones to visibly respond to this shot.
Jean Hill, wearing a bright, red overcoat is highly visible in the Zapruder film,
beginning at about Z187. As we see her begin to pass from right to left across the
film's display, Jean is very obviously watching the limousine and the President.
But, a strange thing happens beginning at about Z295 - Jean snaps her head sharply to the right.
By Z298, we can clearly see that she is looking to the rear of the limo. But, although
she disappears from our view in the Zapruder film, we can pick up on her orientation by watching her in the Muchmore film. It is very clear there, that she has snapped
her head back to her left before the fatal head wound at Z312. Within a single second,
she has abruptly snapped her head to the right and then back to her left.
We will discuss Jean again in another section, where it will be clear that her recollection
of two gunshots (Z285 and 312) at this point matches perfectly with her visible reactions.
Jean Hill snaps her head to the right and then left,
immediately after the shot at Z285.
Jean Hill then, becomes our fifth witness to respond to the Z285 gunshot, beginning
at around Z295, or 1/6th of a second after Nellie and Jackie's simultaneous response,
and 1/9th of a second after Kellerman begins to drop his head. As we will see a bit
later, she confirmed exactly what we see in the films. Jean Hill, as well as witnesses
directly across the road from her, heard a gunshot at precisely the instant that
the Presidential limousine passed between them.
Jackie
Over and over again, we have found testimonies which appeared to make little sense
until we compared their statements against their visible actions. There is probably
no better example of this than that of Jacqueline Kennedy. Because Jackie went into
a kind of shock after the horror of seeing her husband's head obliterated, we have always
tended to presume her entire testimony was worthless. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Prior to the fatal head wound, Jackie's recollections were nearly perfect.
All we had to do was take her statements literally and in the time sequence in which
she stated them.
This is the critical part of her testimony:
You know, there is always noise in a motorcade and there are always motorcycles, besides
us, a lot of them backfiring. So I was looking to the left. I guess there was a
noise, but it didn't seem like any different noise really because there is so much
noise, motorcycles and things.27
Jackie is recalling the point just after the limo has turned onto Elm. If she heard
a gunshot at this time, she doesn't immediately recognize it as such, "But then suddenly
Governor Connally was yelling, 'Oh, no, no, no.'".
This is the critical time stamp. In the Zapruder film, we can see Governor Connally's
mouth moving, starting at about frame Z235. It is important to understand, that for
Jackie to see the Governor, she has to look to her left. At this point, the Warren
Commission counsel, Rankin asked, "Did he turn toward you?". Jackie responded, No; I
was looking this way, to the left, and I heard these terrible noises..
For more than 32 years, we have all misunderstood this part of Jackie's testimony.
In this second reference to looking left, she is not talking about her earlier orientation toward the crowd on her left. In the Zapruder
film, we can see Jackie turn from facing her husband, to her left, and toward Governor Connally! This happens at about Z257. It is perfectly understandable
that she would respond to the Governor's cries by turning toward him.
It is while she is looking "to the left", and at the Governor that she hears the first of "these
terrible noises". Once we understand this, the rest of her testimony also makes
sense.
And my husband never made any sound. So I turned to the right.
We can very clearly see Jackie turn back "to the right" and toward John Kennedy in
Zapruder frames, 290 and 291. Jackie was rather vague about the first sound she heard,
but she expressed no doubt about these later "noises".
And all I remember is seeing my husband, he had this sort of quizzical look on his
face, and his hand was up, it must have been his left hand. And just as I turned
and looked at him, I could see a piece of his skull and I remember it was flesh colored..
Jackie ducks, lowering her head and looking away from her husband, by the time of
the fatal head wound at Z312. We do not see her look back toward him until Z323.
Of course, the "terrible noises" were the gunshots at Z285 and Z312. Like four other
visible witnesses in these frames, Jackie not only visibly responds to the Z285 shot,
but she testifies to hearing it at precisely the instant we see her reaction.
The People by the Lamppost
At Zapruder frame Z285, the limousine passes a lamppost on the North side of Elm.
Standing just a few feet to the west of it were Bill and Gayle Newman. Directly across
the road from them were Jean Hill, Mary Moorman, Charles Brehm, and Beverly Oliver.
Oliver and Moorman, who were occupied with cameras have always been vague about the
order of the gunshots, though both have confirmed hearing multiple shots at the end.
But the other witnesses in that area give us valuable clues about the precise timing
of that second shot.
Although the Newmans were probably a bit confused about which shot actually struck
the President, both of them were certain there was a gunshot as the limo passed directly
in front of them. Bill Newman said, "By this time he was directly in front of us
and I was looking directly at him when he was hit...".28
Gayle Newman described that shot as, "Just about the time President Kennedy was right
in front of us, I heard another shot ring out..." .29
On the other side of the road, directly across from the Newmans, Jean Hill said she
heard a shot, "..just as the limo came abreast of us."30 This is how she described the situation on 11/22/63,
Just as the car came right in line with us, the President looked up and just as he
looked up two shots rang out and he grabbed his chest.. 31
Of course, Jean heard at least the gunshots at Z285 and Z312.
Charles Brehm
At Z288, Brehm is still applauding and unaware that
the President was wounded much earlier.
Charles Brehm, who was interviewed immediately after the assassination on local television,
thought he saw the President react to being struck by a first bullet. In the Zapruder
film, we can see Brehm still applauding enthusiastically as he disappears from the camera's view just after Z290. This is part of the FBI's report of their interview
with him.
When the President's automobile was very close to him and he could see the President's
face very well, the President was seated, but was leaning forward when he stiffened
perceptibly at the same instant what appeared to be a rifle shot sounded. According
to BREHM, the President seemed to stiffen and come to a pause when another shot sounded
and the President appeared to be badly hit in the head. BREHM said when the President
was hit by the second shot, he could notice the President's hair fly up, and then roll over to his side, as Mrs. KENNEDY was apparently pulling him in that direction.
BREHM said that a third shot followed and that all three shots were relatively close
together. 32
Notice Brehm thinks the second shot was the head wound and that there was a third gunshot following that one. In
the Zapruder film, we can see him still applauding enthusiastically as late as Z290,
obviously unaware that the President has already been wounded. He has not yet had
time to respond to the gunshot at Z285.
Earlier in this article, we talked about a fourth shot at Z323, just one half second
after the fatal head wound. Although we won't elaborate on that now, it is obvious
that this was the shot Brehm thought was the third. He did not notice the real first
shot, and noticed only those at Z285, 313, and 323. That becomes even clearer in this
part of that same report.
BREHM expressed his opinion that between the first and third shots, the President's
car only seemed to move 10 or 12 feet.
Of course, the limo actually moved about 28 feet during those shots.
Brehm was not the only witness who heard the second, third, and fourth shots. This
is part of Dallas Police Chief Curry's testimony. Notice that unlike most witnesses
who heard the first shot shortly after the limo turned onto Elm, Curry thought it
was "halfway between Houston Street and the underpass".
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know or can you tell us approximately where the President's car
was at the time of the first shot that you heard?
Mr. CURRY. To the best of my knowledge, I would say it was approximately halfway between
Houston Street and the underpass, which would be, I would say probably 125-150 feet
west of Houston Street.
Mr. RANKIN. Can you give us the approximate location of where it was when you heard
the second shot?
Mr. CURRY. Well, it would have been just a few feet further because these shots were
in fairly rapid succession.
Mr. RANKIN. How many feet do you mean?
Mr. CURRY. I would say perhaps, and this is just an estimate on my part, perhaps 25
or 30 feet further along.
Mr. RANKIN. Then at the time of the third shot?
Mr. CURRY. A few feet further, perhaps 15-20 feet further.33
Clint Hill
Special agent Clint Hill, positioned on the left-front running board of the Secret
Service followup car proved himself to be the quickest and most responsive member
of the President's protective team that day, though he only reported hearing a total
of two gunshots. What is critical, is the question of which two he really heard. This is
part of his original Treasury Dept. report, filed just a week after the assassination,
On the left hand side was a grass area with a few people scattered along it observing
the motorcade passing, and I was visually scanning these people when I heard a noise
similar to a firecracker...
Clint Hill is visible throughout most of the early part of the Zapruder film. In fact,
in volume 18 of the Warren Commission report, there is a photo section which displays
black and white z-frames extending all the way into the area between the film's sprocket holes. In these wider frames, we can see Hill almost continuously, up to about
Z-248. From the time Hill appears on Elm St. it is obvious that he is looking only
to his right. We never
see him looking to his left at all. Hill continues,
The sound came from my right rear and I immediately moved my head in that direction.
In so doing, my eyes had to cross the Presidential automobile and I saw the President
hunch forward and then slump to his left. I jumped from the follow-up car and ran
toward the Presidential automobile. 34
A small group of people rush to see the President. This is the crowd to Clint Hill's
left which he will be scanning when he hears the shot at Z285.
We can also confirm his orientation in photos taken by Phil Willis and James Altgens.
Altgens took a picture at the equivalent of Zapruder frame, 255 which shows Hill
still looking to his right, and the only Special Agent standing on the running boards,
who has not yet reacted to the first gunshot. We can see the relaxed look of Hill's
face, as well as that of his left hand at that instant. Hill is clearly unaware of
the first explosion.
Clint Hill never looks to his left prior to Zapruder frame 255.
This leaves us with the question of when Hill heard what he thought was the first
shot. We know that he could not have been scanning the crowd on his left prior to
Z255 when the Altgens picture was snapped, so it had to have come after that. Hill
provides us with another clue in this part of his Warren Commission testimony, in which Gerald
Ford is asking him when he first saw the the President react (emphasis is mine):
Representative FORD. Did you see the President put his hands to his throat and chest
while you were still on the followup car, or after you had left it?
Mr. HILL. As I was leaving.
And that is one of the reasons I jumped, because I saw him grab himself and pitch
forward and to the left. I knew something was wrong. 35
We know that Clint Hill did not leave the running board of the followup car until
around Z312-313. Obviously, he was mistaken when he claimed that the President first
reacted at that late point. But Hill had just heard a gunshot, and when he turned
and saw JFK in distress, he naturally attributed that distress to the shot he had just heard.
Hill instantly jumped from the followup car.
There is nothing more confusing in this kind of situation than a shot which misses
everyone. Some witnesses, seeing Governor Connally fall almost simultaneous with
the Z285 shot, thought he was struck then. Others, like Hill and the Newmans thought
that shot hit the President.
SA Glenn A. Bennett, seated in the right, rear of the followup car tells this rather
baffling story,
At this point I heard what sounded like a fire-cracker. I immediately looked from
the right/crowd/physical area and looked towards the President who was seated in
the right rear seat of his limousine open convertible. At the moment I looked at
the back of the President I heard another fire-cracker 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.36
Bennett stands totally alone, as the only Special Agent, and almost the only witness
in all of Dealey Plaza that day to claim that the President was first hit by a second
shot.
The key to this puzzle is in Bennett's statement that "A second shot followed immediately
and hit the right rear high of the President's head...". Had Bennett actually heard
a second shot at say, Z224, he would have sat and stared at the wounded President
for five seconds before the fatal head wound came at Z312. This would hardly have
seemed to be "immediate".
What undoubtedly happened is that Bennett heard the first shot which did indeed strike
the President in the back. But, he did not immediately recognize it as a gunshot,
and did not look at the President right away. When he did look at him, it was just
as he heard the missed shot at Z285. When he heard the report, it was quite natural to
examine the President more closely. When he spotted the back wound, he of course,
presumed it was inflicted by the shot he just heard. Of course, the head wound at
Z312, came just 1.5 seconds later - certainly, much more consistent with the term, "immediate".
The Secret Service agents have been unfairly maligned since 1963. Everyone from the
Warren Commission to Gerald Posner, to an army of critics have presumed that they
remained stationary as at least two gunshots were fired (critics claimed three or
more early shots). The truth is that they heard only a single explosion prior to the flurry
at the end. They were not certain that the first sound was a gunshot, and as we see
in the Altgens photo, they responded by frantically turning to scan the area to see
what was going on.
When the second shot was fired, all hell belatedly broke loose. Clint Hill jumped
off the running board almost instantly. Bennett shouted "We're hit". Hickey went
for the rifle. Ready jumped off the right running board. But, the final three shots
came in a scant two seconds (more on the fourth shot in another article). The fact that all
of this did not happen until the end of the attack is just one more confirmation
that there were not multiple, early shots.
With the benefit of hindsight, we might still argue that they should have acted sooner,
but the President did not topple after the first shot, and the agents certainly could
not be expected to dive on the President at the sound of every motorcycle backfire.
With the obvious exception of the terrible head wound at Z312, nothing in this shooting
sequence in Dealey Plaza is more certain than the gunshot at Z285. The combination
of witness testimonies and visual confirmations makes witnesses like Nellie Connally, Clint Hill, Roy Kellerman, Bill Greer, Jean Hill, and others into virtually indisputable,
standalone proofs.
The analysis of Dr. Alvarez and the trajectory from the curb damage near witness James
Tague, to the only known location of a confirmed criminal, provides more confirmation.
The overwhelming consensus of witnesses who reported closely spaced or "bunched"
gunshots at the end is just more icing on the cake.
There are indeed aspects of this case which we may never understand, but the most
fundamental question of conspiracy is now settled. This must be made clear to the
world and to history. Whether six people were involved in this murder, or six thousand,
we now know it was not just one.
Ignored by critics and bureaucrats alike, a small army of Dealey Plaza witnesses simply
told us the truth. Even in 1964, it would have been easy for investigators to have
confirmed many of their statements through available films and photos. Certainly,
Dr. Luis Alvarez's analysis in 1966 should have alerted critics everywhere that something
was going on around Zapruder frame 285.
The sad fact is that the truth has been before us all along. True, it may not have
been immediately apparent, but it certainly wasn't hidden very deeply. There is simply
no doubt that government officials and conspiracy theorists alike have tried desperately over the years, to make the facts in the case fit their own preconceived notions.
Until recently, they have been all too successful.
1. Warren Commission report p.115 (St. Martin's Press edition).
2. Warren Commission Report Vol. 6, p.287
3. Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.512
4. Warren Commission Report vol. 7, p. 439
5. Warren Commission Report Vol. 7, p.478
6. Warren Commission Report Vol. 7, p.345
7. Warren Commission Report Vol. 7, p.498
8. Original Treasury dept. report- Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.730
9. Original Treasury dept. report 11/22/63- Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.733
10. Treasury dept. report - 11/29/1963 - Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.746
McIntyre, and others among these witnesses may well have actually heard the 2nd, 3rd and 4th shots based on his descriptions of events.
11. Warren Commission Report Vol. 5 p. 174
12. Warren Commission Report Vol. 3, p.183
13. Warren Commission Report Vol. 3, p.211
14. Original Treasury dept. report dated 11/22/63 - Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.782
15. Warren Commission Report, Vol. 18, p.802
16. Warren Commission Report Vol. 4, p. 147
17. Original HSCA testimony
18. Warren Commission Report Vol. 4, p.147
19. Warren Commission Report Vol. 4, p.133
20. Warren Commission Report Vol. 4, p.147
21. Documentary film, "Rush to Judgment - The Plot to Kill Kennedy", by Mark Lane
22. Warren Commission report, vol.6, p.243
23. Warren Commission Report Vol. 7, p.473
24. Original Treasury dept. report 11/29/63- Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.724
25. Original Treasury dept. report 11/22/63- Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.723
26. Warren Commission Report Vol. 2, p.118
27 Warren Commission Report Vol. 5, p.178 (Also applies to the succeeding quotes by Jackie Kennedy)
28. Warren Commission Report, Vol. 19, on pages, 488 and 490
29. Ibid
30. Interview with James Earl Jones in documentary film, "the Plot to Kill Kennedy".
31. WFAA telecast, 11/22/1963
32. FBI interview 11/24/1963
33. WCR Vol. 4, p.172
34. Original Treasury dept. report 11/29/63- Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.740
35. Warren Commission Report Vol. 2, p.139
36. Original Treasury dept. report- Warren Commission Report Vol. 18, p.760
Hits since Dec. 1, 1996: