PSC482G, Spring 2000
Answers to Assignment 7, Howard Brennan
(N.B. This assignment is for your guidance only. It need not be turned in.)
Read: Excerpts from Howard Brennan’s Eyewitness to History; as much of his Testimony to the WC as you can.
Answer these questions (briefly):
1. How many shots does Brennan recall? He recalled three in the book, but only two in his testimony. Which of them hit Kennedy or Connally? The second and third. Does this sequence agree with any of those proposed by the Warren Commission? Yes. It agrees with one of the WC’s two favored sequences.
2. For how long did he observe Oswald, and what did he see him do? He watched him before, during, and after the assassination. For details, see question 12.
3. What kinds of features about Oswald did he recount? 25–35 years old, a couple inches under six feet tall, slim build, dark hair beginning to recede, light-colored clothes, unsmiling.
4. Did he believe in a lone gunman or in a conspiracy? He thought there was a single gunman but a conspiracy behind him. What were his reasons? Gut feeling—no real reasons given. If conspiracy, whom did he propose was behind it? “The Communists.”
5. How soon after the assassination did rumors of conspiracy begin? By that afternoon they were swirling about.
6. Why did the FBI put Brennan and his wife in protective custody? In the off chance that there was a conspiracy that would want to harm Brennan because he disrupted their plans.
7. Why was Brennan so afraid of publicity? It would give the conspiracy a direct path to him and his family.
8. What did he think about the mysterious car parked illegally alongside the TSBD? That it might have been part of the conspiracy.
9. In principle, Brennan could have spotted Oswald leaving the Depository. What does Brennan think prevented him from doing so? His being repeatedly distracted by a TV crew trying to get an interview.
10. Why were Brennan’s observations so important to the FBI? Because he was the only eyewitness who actually saw Oswald firing the shots.
11. Why did Brennan decline to identify Oswald unambiguously? Because he had been promised that the process would leave him anonymous, but it didn’t.
12. In what ways did Brennan’s book differ from his testimony to the Warren Commission? The book contained these items that his testimony did not: He saw the mystery car parked next to the Depository; he saw Oswald fired the second shot; he watched Connally react to the second shot; he saw Oswald fire the third shot; and he saw a spray of red coming from JFK’s head.
13. Does his book contain any factual errors? A few minor ones, but nothing serious.
14. Can you find any reasonably objective ways of evaluating the accuracy of any part of his book or his testimony? Only to compare it with strong evidence from the assassination. If so, how well does his testimony stand up? It does not disagree with any independent strong evidence.
15. Overall, do you find his observations of Lee Harvey Oswald credible? I find them very credible. Why or why not? (a) He had excellent eyesight. (b) He had no reason to distort the story. (c) He was a very moral person who wanted to tell the truth. (d) Nothing in his account contradicts any strong evidence.