Were the Parkland Physicians able to see the Head Wound?

[Robert Prudhomme]

The argument has been repeatedly made that none of the surgeons in Trauma Room One would have been able to see a large gaping wound in the right rear of JFK's head, as he was lying on his back and the wound would have been concealed.

Look at this photo:

If this man was lying on a table at about waist height, would there not be a perfectly good view of the right rear of his head to someone standing on his right side? Add to this the fact there were many procedures going on, and no one was making any attempt to hold JFK's head perfectly still. The least jostle could turn the head to the left (or right) and the view would get even better.

[Bill Miller]

Clint Hill mentioned the large hole in the back of JFK's head as well as Dr. Crenshaw and I believe Dr. Clark as well. Dr. McClelland was another who saw the hole in the back of JFK's head. These people and others have had their observations well documented and should be common knowledge.

Mr. SPECTER - Assuming that the President had a bullet wound of entry on the upper right-posterior thorax, just above the upper border of the scapula, 14 cms. from the right acromion process, 14 cm. below the tip of the right mastoid process, would there have been a bloody type wound?
Dr. CLARK - I'm sorry--your question?
Mr. SPECTER - Would such a wound of entry by a missile traveling approximately 2,000 feet per second, approximately
Dr. CLARK - No, sir. Such a wound could have easily been overlooked in the presence of the much larger wound in the right occipital region of the President's skull, from which considerable blood loss had occurred which stained the back of his head, neck and upper shoulders.

 

 

McClelland speaks of mentioning the wound in the back of the head starting at the 5:30sec mark

 

Edited December 12, 2016 by Bill Miller

[Robert Prudhomme]

I'm glad to see there is a topic we are in agreement on.

[Robert Prudhomme]

No one have an opinion on this? Strange. 

[Sandy Larsen]

It depends on where the witness was standing. Those on Kennedy's right could definitely see the part of the wound on the right side of the skull, particularly those who are closer to the head than the feet.

I think it's important to note that Kennedy's body wasn't stuck to the table in one position the whole time, and that witnesses weren't stuck to the floor in their positions. Kennedy's head was likely tilted at times. The witnesses moved around as they did their jobs. Kennedy's body was lifted and moved around when it was being prepared to be transported.

[Robert Prudhomme]

Precisely.

[Robert Prudhomme]

A member from the JFKMURDERSOLVED forum was kind enough to send me this link to a BBC interview with Parkland doctor Robert Grossman from several years ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/saturdaylive/saturdaylive_20080628.shtml

In this interview, Grossman clearly states that JFK's head was lifted up to afford Parkland surgeons a better view of the large gaping wound in the right rear of JFK's head.

[Robin Unger]

In the video above what  i see is Crenshaw promoting his new book.

He mentions a frontal shooter, Government Conspiracy, coverup etc.

all good hype for the Conspiracy crowd.

 

 

 

[Robin Unger]

Good extended McClelland interview.

He mentions the right side Cerebellum falling out onto the gurney.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Robin Unger

[Robin Unger]

7 hours ago, Robert Prudhomme said:

A member from the JFKMURDERSOLVED forum was kind enough to send me this link to a BBC interview with Parkland doctor Robert Grossman from several years ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/saturdaylive/saturdaylive_20080628.shtml

In this interview, Grossman clearly states that JFK's head was lifted up to afford Parkland surgeons a better view of the large gaping wound in the right rear of JFK's head.

Quote:

 

---

 

That is the issue: not what Dr. Grossman alleges he saw; not his interpretations; but whether he was there.  Whether he is a legitimate witness.

Because if he is legitimate, if he was really there, why is it that nobody else records his presence?   How can a man pick up the President’s head, when he lay dying in Trauma Room One, and no one report that?  Why doesn’t he appear in the reports or testimony of anyone else present?  Trauma Room One (also known as ER-1)  was a small room.  How is it possible for Dr. Grossman to have rushed into the room with Dr. Kemp Clark (that is his story) and then been at the side of Dr Kemp Clark—during a period that lasted some at 20 minutes—with no one reporting him there?   (As a friend of mine has remarked: was he Casper, the Friendly Neurosurgeon?) That is the question, and that is the issue which must be explored.

So let us begin at the beginning—November 22, 1963, and  the moment when the Presidential limousine carrying the mortally wounded president, and the wounded Governor, screeched to a halt outside Parkland Hospital.

About 15 Dallas physicians and nurses went to the Emergency Room of Parkland Hospital and were eyewitnesses to history—to the death of a U.S. President: who sustained gunshot wounds of the neck and head.  JFK was lying face up on a small hospital gurney, doctors and nurses crowded around.  The emergency treatment didn’t last very long.  A tracheotomy was performed, but it was apparent JFK’s head wound was fatal, so creating an airway to assist breathing was largely irrelevant.  Although chest tubes were put in place, and some cutdowns done, after taking a good look at the head wound, and after cardiac massage seemed obviously hopeless, Dr. Kemp Clark, head of neurosurgery—pronounced JFK dead.   Based on contemporaneous Secret Service records, it would appear that President Kennedy was pronounced dead at around 1:13 pm.  When Dr. Clark first filled out the death certificate, he wrote that the time of death was “13:20” (1:20 p.m.).   But the official time of death was set at 1 pm.; and the public announcement was made at about 1:35.  These details are minor, but are provided here only as a rough guide as to how long the doctors and nurses were crowded around the President’s body—a time period lasting from about 12:38 p.m., to 1:13 p.m, plus or minus, and that fits with what Dr. Clark told the press when he and Dr. Perry faced reporters at about 2:15 p.m.  When asked how long the president had received treatment, he answered 40 minutes. (See White House Transcript of Clark-Perry News Conference).

That number becomes important in considering whether someone can be present, in front of a group of witnesses, and not be seen.  Because it is doctor Grossman’s position that he entered the room with Clark (“raced in” as he put it), was at Clark’s side constantly; and specifically, when Clark lifted the President’s head and looked at the wound.  Indeed, he says he lifted the President’s head, with Clark.

The doctors and nurses present when JFK died formed a very special class of witnesses—those in a position to have direct knowledge of the president’s wounds.  And the President’s wounds, of course, were of the utmost importance in determining the origin of the shots.  All those present were asked to make medical reports of everything they had done and seen. Those reports were stamped TOP SECRET and forwarded to Washington.  The person who gathered those reports was, appropriately, Dr. Kemp Clark, the doctor who pronounced JFK dead—and Elizabeth Wright, a senior nursing official at Parkland.

One can find those reports—with their TOP SECRET stamps—in the Price Exhibits in Volume 20 of the Warren Commission’s 26 volumes; they bear that name because they were entered into evidence when hospital administrator Jack Price testified.

Not only did Dr. Grossman file no report, he is not mentioned by anyone who did write a report found in that collection.  On December 11,  two  Secret Service agents met with the doctors who had been with the President. The purpose of the meeting was to show them the Bethesda autopsy report.  Dr. Grossman was not at that meeting

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/grossman.htm

 

[Ray Mitcham]

Recollections of Audrey Bell to ARRB   (04/l 4/97 Summary of ARRB interview)

 

She did not see the throat wound herself.

 

Although only in Trauma Room One for 3-5 minutes, she did see the head wound. After asking Dr Perry “where is the wound”, she said he turned the President's head slightly to the President's anatomical lef, so that she could see a right rear posterior head wound, which she described as occipital in both her oral remarks, and in her drawings.

 

She said she could see brain and spinal fluid coming out of the wound, but could not tell what type of brain tissue it was:

 

She said it was her recollection that the right side of the president's head, and the top of his head were intact, which is why she had to ak Dr Perry where the wound was in the first place.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Ray Mitcham

[Ray Mitcham]

Dr Kemp Clark

 

"Dr. CLARK - The President was lying on his back on the emergency cart. Dr. Perry was performing a tracheotomy. There were chest tubes being inserted. Dr. Jenkins was assisting the President's respirations through a tube in his trachea. Dr. Jones and Dr. Carrico were administering fluids and blood intravenously. The President was making a few spasmodic respiratory efforts. I assisted. in withdrawing the endotracheal tube from the throat as Dr. Perry was then ready to insert the tracheotomy tube . I then examined the President briefly.
My findings showed his pupils were widely dilated, did not react to light, and his eyes were deviated outward with a slight skew deviation.
I then examined the wound in the back of the President's head. This was a large, gaping wound in the right posterior part, with cerebral and cerebellar tissue being damaged and exposed. There was considerable blood loss evident on the carriage, the floor, and the clothing of some of the people present. I would estimate 1,500 cc. of blood being present.
 

"I then examined the wound in the back of the President's head"

For those who say there wasn't a wound at the back of the head, was  Dr Clark, the chief neurosurgeon  at Parkland hospital. lying or was he just mistaken?