Ray Mitcham

WHERE WAS PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S BACK WOUND?

Michael T. Griffith

2000

@All Rights Reserved

Second Edition

The Warren Commission (WC) said that JFK had a wound of entrance at the base of his neck. The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), based on an analysis of disputed autopsy x-rays and photos, moved the wound about two inches downward. However, the evidence indicates this alleged "neck wound" was actually five to six inches below the neck, considerably lower than where the WC, and quite possibly a little lower than where the HSCA located it.

Clearly, the back wound's placement is vital because it foundationally concerns the single-bullet theory; and if the single-bullet theory is wrong, then there had to be more than one gunman firing at President Kennedy. According to this theory, a bullet (often referred to as the "magic bullet") struck JFK near or on the neck, exited his throat, and then went on to cause all of Governor John Connally's extensive injuries. Without the single-bullet hypothesis, there can be no lone-gunman scenario.

Just what is the evidence that the bullet in question struck the President at least five inches down in the back, and not in or near the neck?

* The holes in JFK's shirt and coat place the wound five to six inches below the collar line. The claim that his coat and shirt were hunched up on his back when the bullet struck in such a way as to make the proposed higher back wound line up with the clothing holes is not only far-fetched, but, in my opinion, is refuted by the photographic evidence, as even lone-gunman theorist Jim Moore concedes. This bunched-clothing theory will be dealt with at greater length further on in this article.

* Dr. Boswell's autopsy face sheet diagram shows the wound five to six inches below the neck. That face sheet, by the way, was marked "verified."

* The President's death certificate places the wound at the third thoracic vertebra, which corresponds to the holes in the coat and shirt. This document was also marked "verified."

* Dr. John Ebersole, who got a look at the back wound during the autopsy, said the wound was near the fourth thoracic vertebra (63:721). This is even slightly lower than where the death certificate places the wound.

* Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who was called to the morgue for the specific purpose of viewing Kennedy's wounds, said the entrance point was "about six inches below the neckline to the right-hand side of the spinal column" . Hill's placement of the wound corresponds closely to the location of the holes in the President's shirt and coat.

* The FBI's 9 December 1963 report on the autopsy, which was based on the report of two FBI agents who attended the autopsy (James Sibert and Francis O'Neill), located the wound below the shoulder (i.e., below the top of the shoulder blade) .

* Three Navy medical technicians who assisted with the autopsy, James Jenkins, Paul O'Connor, and Edward Reed, have stated that the wound was well below the neck. Jenkins and O'Connor have also reported that it was probed repeatedly and that the autopsy doctors determined that it had no point of exit .

* Floyd Riebe, one of the photographers who took pictures at the autopsy, recalls that the back wound was probed and that it was well below the neck

.

* Former Bethesda lab assistant Jan Gail Rudnicki, who was present for much of the autopsy, says the wound was "several inches down on the back".

* Former Parkland nurse Diana Bowron, who washed the President's body before it was placed in the casket, has indicated that the back wound was two to three inches below the hole shown in the alleged autopsy photo of JFK's back, and this hole, by the HSCA's own admission, is about two inches lower than where the WC placed the wound. In other words, Nurse Bowron located the wound five to six inches below the neck, and at the same time challenged the authenticity of the alleged autopsy picture of the President's back. We will return to her account in a moment. (Some WC defenders argue that Bowrontold the WC she didn't see any wound other than the large head wound. But if one reads her testimony carefully, it is clear she was speaking of the condition of Kennedy's body when she first saw it in the limousine. What she said in effect was that she didn't notice any wounds other than the head wound when she first saw his body lying in the limousine. 

* In the transcript of the 27 January 1964 executive session of the Warren Commission, we read that chief counsel J. Lee Rankin said the bullet entered Kennedy's back below the shoulder blade

. Rankin even referred to a picture which he said showed that "the bullet entered below the shoulder blade".

* Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman, who got a very good look at the President's body, said the wound was "in the shoulder."

* Three recently released HSCA wound diagrams place the wound well below the neck, and in fact in almost the exact same spot shown on the autopsy face sheet. The diagrams were drawn for Select Committee investigators by Kellerman, Sibert, and O'Neill, each of whom got a very good, prolonged look at the body. This shows that when Kellerman said the wound was "in the shoulder," he meant it was visibly below the top of the right shoulder blade. Each agent placed the wound well below the neck, and visibly below the throat wound."

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Still think the jacket and the shirt moved up, David? All you got is a guess. 

"Dr Perry said the incision was "two to three centimeters" wide . Drs. Paul Peters and Robert McClelland, also present in trauma room one, said the incision was "sharp" and "smooth," respectively. After the breathing tube was removed, the incision closed, revealing the original wound in the throat, as described by Drs. Charles Crenshaw and Malcolm Perry. Dr. Crenshaw recalled, "When the body left Parkland there was no gaping, bloody defect in the front of the throat, just a small bullet hole in the thin line of Perry's incision". 

SS Agent Glen Bennett wrote that JFK had been hit in the back on the night of 11.22.63 before the back wound had been discovered. 

“I saw a shot that hit the boss about 4” down from the right shoulder: a second shoot [sic] followed immediately and hit the right rear high of the boss's head.”

http://jfkassassination.net/russ/exhibits/ce2112.htm

3 hours ago, Thomas Graves said:

Sandy,

If you tell me what software to download and maybe how to use it.  As I mentioned in a PM, I'm using Google Chrome with Windows 10.

--  Tommy

Try this by Robin Unger, Tommy.

http://www.jfkassassinationforum.com/index.php/topic,5650.0.html

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=43604&relPageId=5

“….even though Admiral Burkley and General Clifton insist on ambulance transport of JFK’s body to Bethesda, Gerald Behn at the White House subsequently orders Roy Kellerman:”You accompany the body aboard the helicopter” Finally, General Clifton insist and then repeats, in great detail, orders for a fork lift and platform at the left rear of the aircraft for the casket, a personnel ramp at the left front of the aircraft for President Johnson and other passengers debarkation, and another personnel ramp at the right front of the air plane (the dark, unlit side of the aircraft, where there is a galley door) for the departure of jacqueline Kennedy…..”

[snip]

“An air force document titled “Historical Highlights of Andrews Air Force Base, 1942/1989’ states that “the body of the slain President was removed to Walter Reed General Hospital…” 

23 minutes ago, Michael Clark said:

And he didn't say what he was doing. There was a commotion outside, which he later rushed downstairs to go out to see what was going on. He didn't say whether he took the stairs down. He didn't say whether he took the elevator down.
But he went downstairs, and as he went out the front, it seems as though he did have a coke with him, or he stopped at the coke machine, or somebody else was trying to get a coke, but there was a coke involved. He mentioned something about a coke. But a police officer asked him who he was, and just as he started to identify himself, his superintendent came up and said, "He is one of our men." And the policeman said, "Well, you step aside for a little bit."

 

I'm going to pick this apart a bit.... and then I'll rebuild it, taking some latitude.

 

And he didn't say what he was doing. testifying to nothing, so I'll delete

There was a commotion outside, which he later rushed downstairs to go out to see what was going on.

He didn't say whether he took the stairs down. testifying to nothing, so I'll delete

He didn't say whether he took the elevator down. testifying to nothing, so I'll delete

But he went downstairs, and as he went out the front, it seems as though he did have a coke with him, or he stopped at the coke machine, or somebody else was trying to get a coke, but there was a coke involved.
He mentioned something about a coke. he had a coke, by all accounts

But a police officer asked him who he was, and just as he started to identify himself, his superintendent came up and said, "He is one of our men."

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Upon reconstruction... with some commentary .....

"There was a commotion outside, which he later rushed downstairs to go out to see what was going on. The commotion is that the motorcade is arriving. The word "later"' looks to be an insertion, interpolation or forced assertion.

He had a coke with him.

"But a police officer asked him who he was, and just as he started to identify himself, his supervisor came up and said, "He is one of our men." "Just as he started to identify himself" looks awkward, forced. We can't have LHO identify himself to a cop this early in the game. "He is one of our men" sounds like cop talk. I would expect to hear "he works here", or "he works for me".

The policeman said, "Well, you step aside for a little bit." and Prayer Man is born.

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And now for the reconstruction and interpolation.

LHO was in the first floor lunchroom, the motorcade was late. He went up to get a coke. He could hear that the motorcade was coming, due to the commotion. He came back downstairs, and went out front, with the Coke. The assassination took place. Chaos ensues. Truly and and officer head up the steps, asking some quick quick questions. LHO identifies himself and steps aside, for a little bit.

That seems to fill the voids, Michael. Good synopsis.

Thanks for posting the frame comparison, Robin.

Strange that the same 6 or 7 frames are missing from each film. I wonder why?.

2 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

   I once knew an old fellow who I worked with at Caterpillar who would carry a cheese sandwich in his back pants pocket. It would remain there until time for lunch. He was a quiet fellow who kept to himself a lot. If Lee came to work with a jacket on that day .... I supposed he could have had a sandwich and an apple in his coat pocket.

Or even in a paper bag as he said.

Anybody know where Oswald could've gotten "a cheese sandwich and an apple"* from, on the morning of the assassination?

* from Fritz's handwritten notes.

If Oswald didn't take his lunch to work, what did he have for his lunch?

 There is no record of him buying his lunch from any other source.

Where did he get his cheese sandwich and an apple?

Well spotted, Sandy.  Looks like the highest number in that street is 2261. It then becomes Ryan Avenue.

Police were called to Bledsoe's house regarding a scuffle between Alek Hidell (aka Oswald) and J. Rubinstein (AKA Jack Ruby) on the 11th November 1963.

Seems to confirm that Ruby definitely knew Oswald.

35 minutes ago, Michael Clark said:

I think this is a good place to post this.

Michael, strange thing Bill Kelly said about "Tex"

"Tex" was actually from New Orleans, and looked remarkably like Lee Harvey Oswald, except for the chin"

 

Wasn't there dispute over the  chin of Oswald  in the BY photos?

Remember the FBI raced to show Lovelady "Altgens 6", and were all smiles when he said Doorman was him. They were worried stiff that it was Oswald, it would have blown their story out of the water.

I disagree with your comment,"It makes perfect sense that proving that LHO didn't or could not have done it would be huge milestone, but I don't think that really leads to who did do it", Michael, for one reason.We don't have to prove who did it, We just have to prove it was a conspiracy.Once that is proved then we can move on the who was responsible.

(IMO we have already shown-but not proven- that it was a conspiracy)

28 minutes ago, John Butler said:

Chris,

None of your shots stretch and distort the background and buildings on east Elm St. as Zapruder's camera supposedly did in Z frame 1.

That's because none on the shots of Chris show the East Elm Street buildings at full zoom as Zapruder did.

1 minute ago, John Butler said:

Does any of this really matter?  What's going to be the out come of the LGT vs. CTers arguments?  I'll start my really bleak forecast by asking "Do you know what is taught to Middle School and High School students"? 

What is taught is the verdict of the Warren Commission.  This has the backing of Government, Media, and Historians.

Most of us are old guys.  What's going to be the outcome in 50 years.  Will the assassination conspiracy books disappear from the library shelves?    Will the search engines on the Internet point to only LGT theories?  Will Amazon and other booksellers price assassination conspiracy books so high that no one will buy them?  

Can you see any signs of that today?

I favor a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.  To me the Conspiracy Camp has the best arguments.  But, in all reality they don't have any power.  The other side does through Government, Media, and College History professors.

I'm afraid, I dislike murderers, individual or conspirators,  getting away scot free, so, despite the fact that time and the powers that be are against me, I  will keep up trying to find enough evidence to see the truth come out. 

49 minutes ago, Micah Mileto said:

Was the pointed stretcher bullet also pristine with apparently no blood on it?

Doesn't really matter, does it. It wasn't CE133.

1 hour ago, Bill Miller said:

I think I only spoke to his saying that he saw the limo turn onto Elm Street. Rather may have seen the President's car had turned onto Elm Street from viewing the film, but he didn't see the limo actually make the turn onto Elm Street. Rather addressed his error in 1977.

The President was not driven forward with the head shot and Connally didn't fall backwards - Nellie reached out and pulled him back towards her. Those things are mis-interpretations that Rather made.

"May have seen"

"These things are misinterpretations"

Sure Bill.

"Not only had no bullet been found on Connally’s stretcher, but the bullet produced in evidence was not in fact the one discovered at the hospital. The Warren Commission’s bullet, Commission Exhibit 399, was not shown to Tomlinson during his testimony. Another hospital employee, O.P. Wright, who also saw the bullet on the stretcher, was not called to testify. Three years later, a researcher showed a photograph of the CE 399 bullet to Wright, who claimed that the bullet he had seen on the stretcher was of an entirely different type."

"Six Seconds in Dallas reported on an interview with O.P. Wright in November 1966. Before any photos were shown or he was asked for any description of #399, Wright said: “That bullet had a pointed tip.”

“Pointed tip?” Thompson asked.

“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.”

As Thompson described it in 1967, “I then showed him photographs of CE’s 399, 572 (the two ballistics comparison rounds from Oswald’s rifle) (sic), and 606 (revolver bullets) (sic), and he rejected all of these as resembling the bullet Tomlinson found on the stretcher. Half an hour later in the presence of two witnesses, he once again rejected the picture of 399 as resembling the bullet found on the stretcher.”
 

The above comments seem to make subsequent discussions of who handed the bullet to whom redundant, when it wasn't the same bullet.

I have no wagon to tie to Dan Rather's report.

Note that he also said that "..Governor Connolly in the seat in front appeared to have heard it..at least sensed something was wrong. The Governor's coat was open. He reached back,in this fashion, exposing his white shirt front. The assassin's window,(?) reached back as if to offer aid or to ask the President something. At that moment a shot clearly hit the Governor in front and he fell back in his seat.”

You trying to say that this news reporter didn't see that?

Bill Miller, (In red)

"Rather made a statement that was not possible"

Really, Bill, How do you know that? Or are you just saying that because it suits you theory? 

Ray - when did you ever inspect the original Zapruder film? Groden did and he said the start-up frames were there. Gary Mack also confirmed this. When I asked Gary why they were not seen on the MPI version - Gary said, 'they are there, but it was decided to adjust them so all the frames color and lighting would be consistent.'

I have never inspected the original film.Perhaps somebody can post it if it's available. And you believed Gary Mack?

Bill Miller (in red)

"Rather told a global audience that JFK's limo rounded the intersection of Houston & Elm Street & shortly afterwards, JFK was subsequently struck in his head, causing his head to move violently forward.

Rather didn't lie - shortly afterward can be interpreted to mean within 2 to 10 seconds."

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Dan Rather said he saw the limo turn the corner in the film version he saw. The extant film doesn't show that turn.

Dan Rather

"The film we saw,taken by an amateur photographer, who had a particularly good vantage point just past the building from which the fatal shot was fired. The film shows President Kennedy's open black limousine making a left turn off Houston Street onto Elm Street on the fringe of downtown Dallas, the left turn made just below the window in which the assassin was waiting..........Governor Connolly in the seat in front appeared to have heard it..at least sensed something was wrong. The Governor's coat was open. He reached back,in this fashion, exposing his white shirt front. The assassin's window,(?) reached back as if to offer aid or to ask the President something. At that moment a shot clearly hit the Governor in front and he fell back in his seat.”

 Bill Miller. (in red)

"Zapruder told a global audience on Dallas TV he began filming the JFK entourage parade car 'coming in from Houston Street, making its turn' (from Houston St. & onto Elm St.).

He was right - the lead cycles were filmed, but he obviously realized that the President's wasn't immediately behind them, so he took his finger off the button until he could actually see the President coming towards him."

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Nowhere did Zapruder say he stopped filming until the limo came down Elm Street. The extant film doesn't show a "Start up frame" (poor exposure) that cameras then made when they restarted filming, and should be there after the "splice".

8 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

Ray ... can you offer me more than "no it doesn't" ?

Let us see if we are on the same page at any point and then maybe we can find where one of us has moved off of it.

First this - is Baker's shadow ever paralleling the blue line .... let us start where the top of his shadow starts to pass the woman carrying the purse ------>

 

 

The shadow appears to move towards the doorway but it is because it has hit the raised curb.

On 1/6/2017 at 7:13 PM, Paul Trejo said:

 

"Watch Bakers shadow as it nears the red line ... just as its about to make contact with it - it turns to the left and away from it in the last two steps. The shadow tells the careful observer that Patrolman Baker also changed his path so to head up the steps. There can be no argument about this for if Baker had not turned, then the shadow would have had no choice by to cross the red line had it stayed on course"

No, it doesn't.