Denny Zartman Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 For me, it’s very cool to participate on this forum with so many knowledgeable people. It’s especially interesting to be able to interact with authors whose names I see on my bookshelf. I appreciate the opportunity to read posts and have discussions with these experts. I just finished reading Vincent Palamara’s “JFK – From Parkland To Bethesda”, and since Vince is a frequent contributor to the forum, I hoped to start a thread to discuss this book specifically with him and to discuss the research presented. I thought the book was great. I’m my opinion it’s more for advanced students of the assassination and for other researchers than for total beginners, but anyone just starting to learn about the JFK assassination might also find it a useful guidebook to seeking out reference material. Vince himself acknowledges at the beginning that it is more like a map through the complicated medical evidence than a traditional JFK book. I thought of it as a super tricked out combo of an index and detailed footnotes. As an example, it will have a name and title, followed immediately by information on a chronological a. b. c. listing where that name has been referenced in other books or government records. If the work cited has specific references to wounds, those are quoted/summarized in long paragraphs which make for very interesting reading. Upon occasion, you can see slight (or even major) changes in some people’s stories. The names have been assembled thoroughly, even citing an account that was submitted semi-anonymously to a book by Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby) collecting stories from people recalling where they were when JFK was assassinated. Vince seems to have collected all the information possible about everyone on record as being around JFK and Connally at Parkland, and around JFK at Bethesda. It appears to be as comprehensive as one can get. I'm already working on breaking down some of the information in the book for analysis, but I wanted to start this thread first before digging in too deep. I hope to let others weigh in and for Vince to say a few words about how he came to write it as well as what he feels he learned from his research. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) Thanks a lot, Denny. The book was a labor of love, although it was almost an after thought. There was a fire at my house in 1998 and I worked on the book almost as therapy while the disaster restoration guys worked away. Although I am known as the "Secret Service expert", I have always had a fascination with the medical evidence and lamented that everything was, to paraphrase Kevin Costner/ Jim Garrison in "JFK", so spread around that the point gets lost. So, what I wanted to do was compile EVERY single reference, primary and secondary source, of EVERY known and obscure medical witness that I could (I was also no newbie to the medical field- I had interviewed, on video, Aubrey Rike on 11/22/97 and Jerrol Custer on 11/22/91 and twice in March 1998). It was privately published (can you say Kinkos LOL?) and then faded away, although it was mentioned by a few notable authors like William Law and Dr. David Mantik. Since my first book SURVIVOR'S GUILT did so well, my publisher wanted more, so I decided to dust it off and update it. Admittedly, it is an "advanced" book and not one for beginners. The response has been very good, indeed. My third book comes out 5/1/17. Edited November 8, 2016 by Vince Palamara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Zartman Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 (edited) It’s an excellent book, Vince. I’ve already dog-eared and marked it up as much as any JFK book I own, and likely more. I had been working a little on breaking down some of the Dealey Plaza witness testimony, so I really appreciate the opportunity to do similar research regarding the medical witnesses. Your book seems to the best resource for complete guidance on that topic. When trying to investigate the JFK assassination as a crime, I feel the need to step back and try to see the big picture if possible. So many books reference witnesses with “some say”, “many say”, “most say” and the like. There’s always part of me that wonders exactly how many witnesses say X or Y or Z, and if it’s even possible to calculate those numbers. REVISED and UPDATED Nov 12, 2016 Here is my informal analysis of information from all the 175 people listed in section one “Parkland” of the book “JFK – From Parkland To Bethesda.” This list should comprise all known individuals who were, in Vince’s words “The doctors, nurses, and sundry other people who were in some way connected to the emergency treatment of President Kennedy in Dallas Texas on November 22, 1963” Many names have no useful information regarding JFK’s wounds, so I have later tried to break down into numbers the opinions of those who did comment on the location of specific injuries. There is occasional difficulty in adding things up because some witnesses later went on to change their stories. Others describe multiple wounds and wounds in different areas of the head. This analysis focuses primarily on the location(s) and nature of wounds on Kennedy’s skull and anterior neck. These are the 5 characteristics that I tried to spotlight: Was there a head wound located in the occipital area (lower back of the skull) or the occipital parietal (referred to here as “Occipital right”, meaning the right side of the occipital area including some of the adjoining parietal area)? Was the wound in the temporal (the right side of the skull over the ear)? Was the head wound tangential (bullet striking the side, entering and exiting in the same wound)? Did the anterior neck wound (front of the throat just below Adam’s apple) have the appearance of an entrance or exit wound? Was cerebellum (brain from the lower back of the skull) seen? If there is no record of statements or expressed opinion on these six specific questions, I’ve noted “no info.” (That shouldn’t be interpreted as saying those labeled “no info” don’t have useful information on other subjects of interest.) I tried to minimize errors as much as possible, but I’m sure there are some. If anyone spots any, please let me know and I’ll correct them. The numbering of names on these following lists do NOT correspond to the numbering of names in the book. - BASIC INDEX OF NAMES, OCCUPATIONS (when applicable), AND OBSERVATIONS DOCTORS Clark, Dr. William Kemp – Chief neurosurgeon: Occipital right, throat wound entrance, saw cerebellum possible tangential Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver – Attending surgeon: Occipital right, throat wound entrance, saw cerebellum, possible tangential McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson – Attending surgeon: Occipital right, throat wound entrance, believes in frontal shot Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas – Chief Anesthesiologist: Temporal, Occipital right then later changed story, throat wound entrance, tangential, saw cerebellum then later changed story Carrico, Dr. Charles James – Resident Surgeon: Occipital right, later changed story to top right, throat wound entrance, saw cerebellum Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - Chief Resident Surgeon: Occipital right, throat wound entrance Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman (aka Solomon Ben Israel) - Resident Anesthesiologist: Occipital right, tangential, throat wound entrance Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad – Urologist: Occipital, Occipital right, throat wound entrance, saw cerebellum Crenshaw, Dr. Charles A. – Resident Surgeon: Occipital right, throat wound entrance, saw cerebellum Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus – Attending Surgeon: Temporal, occipital right, tangential, waffled on throat wound entrance, said head wound was so far in the back as not to be visible from looking at JFK’s head from the front Grossman, Dr. Robert G. – Resident Neurosurgeon: Reported seeing TWO WOUNDS – One on temporal and a second wound on occipital, also described a skin flap on right side of head Dulany, Dr. Richard Brooks – Resident Surgeon: Occipital, couldn’t see much until head was picked up, later indicated wound was on the top rear of JFK’s head Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung, Jr. – Anesthesiologist: Only saw JFK briefly before moving to Governor John Connally. Describes the side of JFK’s head gone, but says it was the left-hand side. Later admitted error. Occipital but later changed position. Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. – Chief Cardiologist: Occipital Curtis, Dr. Don Teel – Resident Oral Surgeon: Temporal, later tangential and occipital right, thought head wound was an exit wound Williams, Dr. Phillip Earle – Intern: Occipital right, saw cerebellum Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen – Anesthesiologist: Did not see back of head but heard occipital wound described, specifically did NOT see a temporal wound Zedlitz, Dr. William H. – Resident Surgeon: Occipital right, describes throat wound as “small” Stewart, David – Surgeon: Occipital right, describes entry wound in the left front of JFK’s head and the rear wound as one of exit Duke, Dr. James: Occipital Harper, Dr. Jack C.: Occipital (based on examination of Harper fragment) Cairns, Dr. A. B.: Occipital (based on examination of Harper fragment) Noteboom, Dr. Gerard: Occipital (based on examination of Harper fragment) Goldstritch, Dr. Joe D.: Throat wound entrance Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett – Resident Surgeon: Temporal, though Everett seems to viewed JFK from JFK’s left side only Midgett, Dr. William – OBGYN Resident: Temporal Shaw, Dr. Robert Roeder: Throat wound entrance Porto, Dr. Lito: Left temple entry wound White, Dr. Martin G. – Resident Surgeon: No specific references to wounds except did not see V cut above JFK’s right eye Burkley, Dr. / Admiral George Gregory - JFK’s Physician: Seemed to indicate the bullet entered JFK’s right temple, no other specific descriptions of wounds Seldin, Dr. Donald W. – Chief Internist: Seems to agree with official rear shot story while simultaneously saying JFK was hit in the forehead Rose, Dr. Earl Forrest – Dallas County Medical Examiner: Seems to disagree with location of head wound as described in JFK’s official autopsy report Gregory, Dr. Charles Francis: No info Shires, Dr. George Thomas: No info Nelson, Dr. John – Pediatric Resident: No info Stembridge, Vernon – Chief of Surgical Pathology: No info Stewart, Sidney C. – Resident Pathologist: No info Holcomb, Dr. Luther: No info Jackson, Dr. Donald: No info LeMaistre, Dr. C. A.: No info Pannill, Dr. Carter: No info Pepper, Chaplain / Dr. Ken: No info Gustafson, Dr. Gerry: No info McGaw, Dr.: No info Garvey, Dr. J: No info Guy, Dr.: No info Mebane, Dr. David: No info Boland, Dr. James: No info Patman, Dr. Ralph Don: No info Coln, Dr. Dale: No info Risk, Dr. William: No info Spier, Dr. Curtis: No info Gill, Dr. A. J.: No info Baker, Dr. Deuon: No info Reynolds, Dr. Jack: No info Rogers, Dr. Doyle: No info Pollock, Dr. Harlan: No info Osborne, Dr. William: No info Parker, Dr. John: No info NURSES Hutton, Patricia B.: Occipital, low on head, observed no temporal wounds Bell, Audrey N.: Occipital, observed no temporal wounds Bowron, Diana Hamilton: Occipital, throat wound entrance Hinchliffe, Margaret M.: Occipital, throat wound entrance Nelson, Doris Mae – Chief Supervising Nurse: Occipital Right Lozano, Bertha L.: No info, REFERENCES A PRIVATE PATIENT THAT WAS BLEEDING Standridge, Ruth Jeanette - Head Nurse : No info Farrington, Bertha: No info Lennon, Sally: No info Watkins, C.: No info Shelby, Faye Dean: No info Molden, Eleanor: No info Wright-Good, Elizabeth L. – Nursing Service Director: No info Settles, Sally: No info Schrader, Pat: No info Stravapolous, Mrs. – Head Nurse: No info Burkett: No info Oliver: No info Deming: No info Johnson: No info Lunsford: No info Simpson: No info Rutherford: No info J. D.: No info MISC: Ward, Theran - Justice of the Peace: Occipital right Rike, Aubrey L. – Asst. Undertaker: Occipital right Wright, Milton T. Jr. – Texas Highway Patrolman: Occipital right, though seems to later include temporal (and states wound was on the left side) Stamps, Roy – Fort Worth Newsman: Occipital Willie, Donna: Throat wound entrance Kennedy, Jaqueline – First Lady: Top of head Huber, Oscar L. – Priest: Described wound over JFK’s left eye Kantor, Seth – Scripps-Howard Reporter: Entry wound in right temple (though unclear if he witnessed this or was told) Jacks, Hurchel D. – Texas State Highway Patrolman: Temporal Powers, David F. – JFK Aide: Top of head, top parietal Kilduff, Malcolm – Assistant Press Secretary: Temporal, frontal, (and states wound was on the left side) Huggins, Hugh (aka Howell, Hugh) – Marine / Undercover CIA – Left temple entry wound, 2 temporal Wright, O. P. – Chief Of Security: : No info, apparently picked up a bullet that was not CE 399 Sanders, David – Orderly: No info Wester, Jane Carolyn – Operating Room Assistant Supervisor: No info Lumpkin, Era – Aide: No info Randall, Shirley – Aide: No info Majors, Rosa M. – Aide: No info Dunn, Tommy – Orderly: No info Richards, Joe – Orderly: No info Gerloff, Charles D. – Security Officer: No info Price, Charles Jack – Administrator: : No info Cabluck, Jarrold – Ft. Worth Star-Telegram Photographer: No info Cain, Thomas – Priest: No info Thompson, James – Priest: No info O’Neal, Vernon B. – Undertaker: No info McGuire, Dennis – Asst. Undertaker: No info Kinney, Samuel A. – Secret Service Agent: No info Rich, Joe Henry – Texas Highway Patrolman: No info Landregan, Steve – Parkland Assistant Administrator: No info Holcomb, Robert G. – Assistant Administrator: No info O’Donnell, Kenneth Patrick – JFK Aide: No info Tice, Wilma May: No info Smith, Merriman – United Press International Reporter: No info Harper, William Allen – Medical student: No info McCoy, Ulah – Admitting Office Chief Clerk: No info Geilich, Peter N. Administrative Assistant: No info Dutton, Robert – Administrative Assistant: No info Reddick, Carol – Administrative Aide: No info Tarrant, Jean – Aide: No info Scott, Frances – Aide: No info Haywood, Willie – Orderly: No info Pomeroy, Jill – Ward Clerk: No info Shankles, Joe H. – Security Officer: No info Moore, L. G. – Security Officer: No info Locklin, Henry N. – Security Officer: No info Ross, Henrietta Magnolia – Operating Room Technician: No info Jimison, R. J. – Orderly: No info Bartlett, Phyllis – Chief Telephone Operator – No info Lincoln, Evelyn – JFK’s Secretary – No info Deibel, Mrs.: No info Uzee, Norris: No info Struwe, Bob – Comptroller: No info Maher, Edward – Chairman Of the Board of Managers: No info Crall, Paul: No info Gannon, Fayetta: No info Lively, Mrs.: No info Huber, Katie: No info Martinets, Billie – Associate Nursing Supervisor: No info McLaughlin, Ruth – Operator: No info Willis, John – Purchasing Agent: No info Storey, Faye: No info Davis, Chaplain: No info Miller, Sara – Nursing Supervisor Out Patient Clinic: No info Owens, Luella: No info Reid, Virginia – Assistant Director of Nursing Service: No info Beck, Miss: No info Drake, Myrtle: No info Curtiss, Mrs. : No info Fitzgerald, Mrs. – Second Floor Supervisor: No info Rogers, Carolyn – Assistant Director of Nursing Service: No info Jones, Mr. : No info Nell, Mary: No info Magin, Madeleine – Assignment Desk: No info Palmer, Miss: No info Holse – Admitting Orderly: No info King, Miss: No info Davis, Mr. – Engineer: No info Reyse, Jose: No info Davenport, Mrs. : No info Watson, Mr. : No info Lewis, Mrs. – Housekeeping Department Supervisor: No info Ellis, Mrs. : No info Berger, Mrs. : No info Scroggins, Mrs. – Social Service: No info Geddis: No info Mata, Joe – Orderly: No info Harbison, Charles – Texas State Trooper: No info Raley, Ken – Reserve Policeman / Medical Technologist: No info Bishop, Colonel William C. – CIA Contract Agent: No info Ferguson, Anne – Switchboard operator: No info O’Brien, Lawrence F. – JFK Special Assistant: No info END MAIN INDEX - INITIAL BREAKDOWN / ANALYSIS It seems that the 175 people at Parkland on record as being involved or in the proximity of those involved with the treatment of injuries to Kennedy, Connally and Oswald from November 22-24, 1963 are comprised of: 59 Doctors 24 Nurses 92 Misc Out of 59 doctors, 29 seem to provide information about the location and/or nature of JFK’s skull and/or anterior neck wound(s). Clark Perry McClelland Jenkins Carrico Jones Akin Peters Crenshaw Baxter Grossman Dulany Giesecke Bashour Curtis Williams Hunt Zedlitz Stewart Duke Harper, Jack Cairns Noteboom Goldstritch Salyer Midgett Shaw Porto Burkley Out of those 29 doctors that expressed opinions: 20 doctors appear to refer to JFK’s head wound as being in the occipital or occipital right area only: Clark Perry McClelland Jenkins (later changed opinion) Carrico Jones Akin Peters Crenshaw Dulany Giesecke (later changed opinion) Bashour Curtis Williams Zedlitz Stewart Duke Harper Cairns Noteboom 7 doctors apparently referred to seeing cerebellum: Clark Perry Jenkins (later changed opinion) Carrico Peters Crenshaw Williams 4 doctors seemed to mention observing head wounds in the occipital right AND temporal region: Jenkins Baxter Grossman Teel 5 doctors seem to refer to a head wound in the temporal region ONLY: Midgett Salyer Jenkins (after changing story) Giesecke (after changing story) Teel (later changed story) Out of 24 nurses, 5 seem to provide information about the location and/or nature of JFK’s skull and/or anterior neck wound(s). All 5 nurses offering opinions about JFK refer to a wound in the occipital or occipital right skull: Hutton Bell Bowron Hinchliffe Nelson There seem to be NO nurses from Parkland who are on record as observing a temporal wound. Furthermore, it appears that 2 nurses and 2 doctors are on record as specifically stating that they DID NOT observe a wound in the temporal area: Nurse Hutton Nurse Bell Dr. Jones Dr. Hunt MISC Out of 92 miscellaneous people listed, 12 seem to be on record as providing information relating to the location or nature of JFK’s wounds: Ward Rike Wright, Milton Stamps Willie Kennedy Huber Kantor Jacks Powers Kilduff Huggins Out of those 12 misc. people giving opinions, it seems that 4 say they observed a wound in the occipital or occipital right area of the skull: Ward Rike Wright, Milton Stamps Out of those 12 misc. people giving opinions, it seems that 4 say they observed a wound in the temporal area: Wright, Milton (after changing story) Jacks Kilduff Huggins It seems 15 people (12 doctors, 2 nurses, and 1 misc.) who are on record as giving descriptions of JFK’s anterior neck wound described this wound as either being one of entrance or having the characteristics of an entrance wound. DOCTORS: Clark Perry McClelland Jenkins Carrico Jones Akin (Israel) Peters Crenshaw Zedlitz Goldstritch Shaw NURSES: Bowron HInchliffe MISC: Willie Other than 1 doctor (Baxter) who later seemed to be unsure of whether it was a wound of entrance or exit, it seems that NO observers at Parkland described JFK’s anterior neck wound as having the characteristics of an exit wound. FINAL BREAKDOWN REGARDING LOCATION OF JFK’s HEAD WOUND Out of 175 people identified with being associated with Parkland, 46 people (29 doctors, 5 nurses, and 12 misc.) are recorded as giving opinions regarding the location and/or nature of JFK’s head wounds. Out of 46 people overall who have given opinions regarding the location and/or nature of JFK’s head wounds, 33 people (24 doctors, 5 nurses, 4 misc.) reported seeing a head wound in the occipital or occipital right area of the skull. (3 of those doctors initially mentioned an occipital right wound but later changed their opinions: Jenkins, Dulany, Giesecke) 5 people (4 doctors, 0 nurses, 1 misc) mentioned head wounds in BOTH the occipital right and temporal region. 9 people (5 doctors, 0 nurses, 4 misc) seemed to indicate JFK’s head wound was temporal only. 3 of those doctors had previously indicated parietal or occipital. END Edited November 12, 2016 by Denny Zartman Updated Nov 12, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Terrific breakdown of the witnesses-wow! Do the same for the rest when you can (Bethesda). I am impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Zartman Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 Okay, the Parkland breakdown is complete. I edited my above post, and right now (Nov. 12, 2016) has the first revised and complete version. I did my best to catch any errors, but I'm sure there are some. Hopefully, I can now appreciate a fraction of the extraordinary effort it takes to do serious research and write a book like this. It was quite difficult to assemble and analyze the information, then try and comb through it for errors and make it somewhat comprehensible. I may have to take a little break before analyzing Bethesda. I'd also like to hear what people think of the analysis, and if they think I should be doing anything different. I'd love to hear anyone's feedback or criticism. Have I analyzed the relevant information? Are there other ways the information should be broken down in order to learn more? Anyway, doing this analysis, I have learned a tremendous amount already, like that three of the doctors that worked on Connally are on record as doubting the single bullet theory. That was quite interesting. There are also many fascinating nuggets of information that I hope to explore in other threads on this forum. Thank for writing the book, Vince. I'm sure it will be a valuable resource for research for many years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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