Earliest Parkland medical staff statements re: large head wound location

[Denny Zartman]

“Top of the head” seems to be an easy way to characterize the location of JFK’s large head wound, with no ambiguity whatsoever.

Warren Commission lawyer Arlen Specter twice describes the wound as being at the “top” of the head. “...massive wound at the top of the President’s head” - Warren Commission Hearings Volume 6, Pg 25. “Did you notice any bullet hole below that large opening at the top of the head?” - WC H Vol 6, Pg 42

At least two official JFK autopsy photos allegedly taken at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland on the night of November 22, 1963 appear to show a small bullet entrance wound in the back of JFK’s head, which otherwise appears to be intact.

According to these autopsy photos, the large head wound seems to be positioned at the top of JFK’s head. Was this what the nurses and doctors in Dallas, Texas saw when JFK was brought into the hospital just after 12:30 pm?

Here are all the major medical staff witnesses at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 that I was able to find, and what they had to say about the location of JFK’s large head wound.

Assembling this list, I attempted to rely exclusively on witnesses identified by the Warren Commission and the Assassination Records Review Board and their earliest available recorded statements in 1963, as well as their Warren Commission testimony from 1964. There should be no post-1965 statements on this list.

Bones at the top of the head are frontal and parietal. The bones on the side of the head are temporal, and the bone in the lower rear of the head is the occipital.

I also made special note of the witnesses who reported seeing cerebellum, the part of the brain near the lower back of the head and covered by the occipital bone.

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - Occipital parietal 
Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Temporal occipital, Temporal parietal, Cerebellum
Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Back of head
Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Curtis, Dr. Don T. - Right side of head
Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - Left side of head, brow line to occiput
Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Back of the head
Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Temporal occipital, Cerebellum 
Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - Right posterior/back side
McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - Right posterior, Cerebellum
Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Right occipital parietal
Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - Right occipital parietal 
Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - Right temporal

Additional Parkland medical witnesses identified by the WC and ARRB, but from what I was able to determine were not able to provide useful information on the location of the large head wound:

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - “Massive”
Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - Not questioned
Dulany, Dr. Richard - “Large”
Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - No information
Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - No information
Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information
White, Dr. Martin G. - No information

SOURCES

Warren Commission Hearings Volume 6 - Parkland medical staff testimony

WC H Vol 17 - CE 392 Parkland medical staff statements

WC H Vol 21 - Price Exhibits 2, 24

Dr. Perry, footage reportedly from November 22, 1963. YouTube Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

November 22, 1963 Drs. Perry and Clark press conference transcript - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits:
MD 96-99

-

DETAILED ALPHABETICAL BREAKDOWN

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Akin said “The back of the right occipital parietal portion of his head was shattered with brain substance extruding” “I assume that the right occipital parietal region was the exit, so to speak, that he had probably been hit on the other side of the head or at least tangentially in the back of the head…” - WC H Vol 6, Pgs 65, 67

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - In WC testimony March 25, 1964 Dr. Bashour called the head wound ”massive”, no other information about the location of the head wound. - WC H Vol 6, Pg 62

Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Nov 22, 1963 handwritten statement “temporal and occipital bones were missing…the brain was lying on the table”, underlining the word “on.” - Commission Exhibit 392, WC Vol 17, Pg 8.

In WC testimony taken on March 24, 1963, the WC requested Dr. Baxter read his Nov 22, 1963 handwritten statement into the record. The WC quotes Dr. Baxter as reading “temporal and parietal” instead of “temporal and occipital.” - WC H Vol 6, Pg 44

In the same March 24, 1963, WC testimony, Dr. Baxter said “literally the right side of his head was blown off. With this and the observation that cerebellum was present - a large quantity of brain was present on the cart…” “this wound was in temporal parietal plate of bone laid outward to the side and there was a large area, oh, I would say 6 by 8 or 10 cm of lacerated brain oozing from this wound…” - WC H Vol 6, Pg 41

Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Helped move Kennedy from the presidential limousine to a stretcher. WC testimony March 24, 1964 “I saw the condition of his head… the back of his head… well it was very bad… I just saw one large hole.” - WC H Vol 6 pg 136

Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1620 hrs (4:20 pm) “slow oozing from cerebral and cerebellar tissue” - WC H Vol 17 - CE 392, pg 4-5

In WC testimony taken March 25, 1964, Dr. Carrico said he saw a large gaping wound that was more or less circular and 5-7 cm in diameter in occipital parietal and that he saw cerebellar tissue. He also said he saw no wounds in any other area of the skull. - WC H Vol 6, pg 6

Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Press conference, Nov 22, 1963, 2:16 pm “a missile had gone in or out of the back of his head causing extensive lacerations and loss of brain tissue.” “...the back of his head.” - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

Dr. Clark's handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1615 hrs (4:15 pm) “...amount of cerebellar tissue”, “large wound beginning in the right occipital and extending into the parietal region” - WC H Vol 17 CE 392, Pgs 9-10

Official summary of observations letter from Dr. Clark to Dr. Burkley, dated Nov 23, 1963: “Occipital” “Large wound in the right occipital parietal” “cerebral and cerebellar tissue were extruding from the wound” - WC H Vol 21 - Price Exhibit #2, Pgs 151-152

In WC testimony March 21, 1964 Dr. Clark said “...large gaping wound in the right posterior part, with cerebral and cerebellar tissue being damaged and exposed” and the only bleeding wound he observed on JFK’s back was located “...in the back of his head”, “right occipital region” - WC H Vol 6, pgs 20, 29

Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - No statement, not questioned by the WC.

Curtis, Dr. Don T. - In WC testimony, says the head wound was on JFK's right side. No other information. - WC H Vol 6, Pg 60

Dulany, Dr. Richard - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “...he had a large head wound.” WC H Vol 6, Pg 114

Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, is unique among Parkland witnesses in that he remembers the large head wound as being on the left side of JFK’s head. “It seemed that from the vertex to the left ear and from the brow line to the occiput on the left hand side of the head the cranium was entirely missing.” - WC H Vol 6, Pg 74

Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - In WC testimony, no information on location of head wound.

Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - In WC testimony says she did not see any wounds from where she was standing on Kennedy's left side. - WC H Vol 6, Pg 77

Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963 “...bleeding profusely from a wound on the back of his head…”  - WC H Vol 21, Pg 216 and ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits: MD 99

Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “a great laceration to the right side of the head (temporal and occipital), causing a great defect in the skull plate so that there was herniation and laceration of great areas of the brain, even to the extent that the cerebellum had protruded from the wound.” - WC H Vol 17 CE 392, pg 15

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Jenkins said “...part of the brain was herniated. I really think part of the cerebellum, as I recognized it, was herniated from the wound.” WC H Vol 6, Pg 48

Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - WC testimony March 24, 1963 “a large wound in the right posterior side of the head” “...large defect in the back side of the head.” - WC H Vol 6 Pg 53

McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - WC testimony on March 21, 1964 “the right posterior portion of the skull had been extremely blasted…posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue had been blasted out.” “...massive head injuries with losses of large amounts of cerebral and cerebellar tissues…” - WC H Vol 6, Pgs 33-34

Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information on the location of the head wound that I am able to find.

Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “large wound right parietal cranium” - WC H Vol 17, CE 392, pg 6

November 1963 statement Dr. Perry says on camera “Large wound to the head in the right posterior area” - YouTube - “November 27, 1963 | Dr. Malcolm Perry Interview” - Uploaded by Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Perry testifies that the head wound was in the “right posterior parietal” and that it was a “large avulsive injury of the right occipital parietal area” - WC H Vol 6, Pg 9, pg 11

Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - WC testimony March 24, 1964 : “It seemed to me that in the right occipital parietal area that there was a large defect. There appeared to be bone loss and brain loss in the area.” WC H Vol 6, Pg 71

Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “I came in on the left side of him and noticed that his major wound seemed to be in his right temporal area at least from the point of view that I could see him…” - WC H Vol 6, Pg 81

White, Dr. Martin G. - WC testimony “I saw the wound in his head as he was brought into the trauma room where he was treated.” No other information. - WC H Vol 6, Pg 82

Edited August 11 by Denny Zartman
Updated

[Keven Hofeling]

8 hours ago, Denny Zartman said:

“Top of the head” seems to be an easy way to characterize the location of JFK’s large head wound, with no ambiguity whatsoever.

Warren Commission lawyer Arlen Specter describes the wound as a “massive wound at the top of the President’s head” - H vol 6, Pg 25.

At least two official JFK autopsy photos allegedly taken at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland on the night of November 22, 1963 appear to show a small bullet entrance wound in the back of JFK’s head, which otherwise appears to be intact.

According to these autopsy photos, the large head wound seems to be positioned at the top of JFK’s head. Was this what the nurses and doctors in Dallas, Texas saw when JFK was brought into the hospital just after 12:30 pm?

Here are all the major medical staff witnesses at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 that I was able to find, and what they had to say about the location of JFK’s large head wound.

Assembling this list, I attempted to rely exclusively on witnesses identified by the Warren Commission and the Assassination Records Review Board and their earliest available recorded statements in 1963, as well as their Warren Commission testimony from 1964. There should be no post-1965 statements on this list.

Bones at the top of the head are frontal and parietal. The bones on the side of the head are temporal, and the bone in the lower rear of the head is the occipital.

I also made special note of the witnesses who reported seeing cerebellum, the part of the brain near the lower back of the head and covered by the occipital bone.

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - Occipital parietal 
Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Temporal parietal, Cerebellum
Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Back of head
Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Curtis, Dr. Don T. - Right side of head
Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - Left side of head, brow line to occiput
Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Back of the head
Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Temporal occipital, Cerebellum 
Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - Right posterior/back side
McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - Right posterior, Cerebellum
Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Right occipital parietal
Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - Right occipital parietal 
Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - Right temporal

Miscellaneous Parkland medical witnesses identified by the WC and ARRB, but from what I was able to determine they were not able to provide useful information on the location of the large head wound:

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - “Massive”
Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - Not questioned
Dulany, Dr. Richard - “Large”
Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - No information
Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - No information
Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information
White, Dr. Martin G. - No information

SOURCES

Warren Commission Hearings Volume 6 - Parkland medical staff testimony

H Vol 17 - CE 392 Parkland medical staff statements

H Volume 21 - Price Exhibits 2, 24

Dr. Perry, footage reportedly from November 22, 1963. YouTube Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

November 22, 1963 Drs. Perry and Clark press conference transcript - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits:
MD 96-99

-

DETAILED ALPHABETICAL BREAKDOWN

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Akin said “The back of the right occipital parietal portion of his head was shattered with brain substance extruding” “I assume that the right occipital parietal region was the exit, so to speak, that he had probably been hit on the other side of the head or at least tangentially in the back of the head…” - H Vol 6, Pgs 65, 67

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - In WC testimony March 25, 1964 Dr. Bashour called the head wound ”massive”, no other information about the location of the head wound. H Vol 6, Pg 62

Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Nov 22, 1963 handwritten statement “temporal and parietal bones were missing…the brain was lying on the table”, underlining the word “on”. - ARRB Medical Exhibit MD 97, and WC H vol 6 Pg 44.

In WC testimony March 24, 1963, Dr. Baxter said “literally the right side of his head was blown off. With this and the observation that cerebellum was present - a large quantity of brain was present on the cart…” “this wound was in temporal parietal plate of bone laid outward to the side and there was a large area, oh, I would say 6 by 8 or 10 cm of lacerated brain oozing from this wound…” - H Vol 6, Pg 41

Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Helped move Kennedy from the presidential limousine to a stretcher. WC testimony March 24, 1964 “I saw the condition of his head… the back of his head… well it was very bad… I just saw one large hole.” - H Vol 6 pg 136

Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1620 hrs (4:20 pm) “slow oozing from cerebral and cerebellar tissue” - H Vol 17 - CE 392, pg 4-5

In WC testimony taken March 25, 1964, Dr. Carrico said he saw a large gaping wound that was more or less circular and 5-7 cm in diameter in occipital parietal and that he saw cerebellar tissue. He also said he saw no wounds in any other area of the skull. - H Vol 6, pg 6

Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Press conference, Nov 22, 1963, 2:16 pm “a missile had gone in or out of the back of his head causing extensive lacerations and loss of brain tissue.” “...the back of his head.” - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

Dr. Clark's handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1615 hrs (4:15 pm) “...amount of cerebellar tissue”, “large wound beginning in the right occipital and extending into the parietal region” - H Vol 17 CE 392, Pgs 9-10

Official summary of observations letter from Dr. Clark to Dr. Burkley, dated Nov 23, 1963: “Occipital” “Large wound in the right occipital parietal” “cerebral and cerebellar tissue were extruding from the wound” - H Vol 21 - Price Exhibit #2, Pgs 151-152

In WC testimony March 21, 1964 Dr. Clark said “...large gaping wound in the right posterior part, with cerebral and cerebellar tissue being damaged and exposed” and the only bleeding wound he observed on JFK’s back was located “...in the back of his head”, “right occipital region” - H Vol 6, pgs 20, 29

Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - No statement, not questioned by the WC.

Curtis, Dr. Don T. - In WC testimony, says the head wound was on JFK's right side. No other information. - H Vol 6, Pg 60

Dulany, Dr. Richard - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “...he had a large head wound.” H Vol 6, Pg 114

Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, is unique among Parkland witnesses in that he remembers the large head wound as being on the left side of JFK’s head. “It seemed that from the vertex to the left ear and from the brow line to the occiput on the left hand side of the head the cranium was entirely missing.” - H Vol 6, Pg 74

Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - In WC testimony, no information on location of head wound.

Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - In WC testimony says she did not see any wounds from where she was standing on Kennedy's left side. - H Vol 6, Pg 77

Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963 “...bleeding profusely from a wound on the back of his head…”  - H Vol 21, Pg 216 and ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits: MD 99

Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “a great laceration to the right side of the head (temporal and occipital), causing a great defect in the skull plate so that there was herniation and laceration of great areas of the brain, even to the extent that the cerebellum had protruded from the wound.” - H Vol 17 CE 392, pg 15

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Jenkins said “...part of the brain was herniated. I really think part of the cerebellum, as I recognized it, was herniated from the wound.” H Vol 6, Pg 48

Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - WC testimony March 24, 1963 “a large wound in the right posterior side of the head” “...large defect in the back side of the head.” - H Vol 6 Pg 53

McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - WC testimony on March 21, 1964 “the right posterior portion of the skull had been extremely blasted…posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue had been blasted out.” “...massive head injuries with losses of large amounts of cerebral and cerebellar tissues…” - H Vol 6, Pgs 33-34

Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information on the location of the head wound that I am able to find.

Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “large wound right parietal cranium” - H Vol 17, CE 392, pg 6

November 1963 statement Dr. Perry says on camera “Large wound to the head in the right posterior area” - YouTube - “November 27, 1963 | Dr. Malcolm Perry Interview” - Uploaded by Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Perry testifies that the head wound was in the “right posterior parietal” and that it was a “large avulsive injury of the right occipital parietal area” - H Vol 6, Pg 9, pg 11

Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - WC testimony March 24, 1964 : “It seemed to me that in the right occipital parietal area that there was a large defect. There appeared to be bone loss and brain loss in the area.” H Vol 6, Pg 71

Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “I came in on the left side of him and noticed that his major wound seemed to be in his right temporal area at least from the point of view that I could see him…” - H Vol 6, Pg 81

White, Dr. Martin G. - WC testimony “I saw the wound in his head as he was brought into the trauma room where he was treated.” No other information. - H Vol 6, Pg 82

Excellent work Denny!

[Denny Zartman]

2 hours ago, Keven Hofeling said:

Excellent work Denny!

High praise indeed. Thanks Keven.

[Robert Morrow]

14 hours ago, Denny Zartman said:

“Top of the head” seems to be an easy way to characterize the location of JFK’s large head wound, with no ambiguity whatsoever.

Warren Commission lawyer Arlen Specter describes the wound as a “massive wound at the top of the President’s head” - H vol 6, Pg 25.

At least two official JFK autopsy photos allegedly taken at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland on the night of November 22, 1963 appear to show a small bullet entrance wound in the back of JFK’s head, which otherwise appears to be intact.

According to these autopsy photos, the large head wound seems to be positioned at the top of JFK’s head. Was this what the nurses and doctors in Dallas, Texas saw when JFK was brought into the hospital just after 12:30 pm?

Here are all the major medical staff witnesses at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 that I was able to find, and what they had to say about the location of JFK’s large head wound.

Assembling this list, I attempted to rely exclusively on witnesses identified by the Warren Commission and the Assassination Records Review Board and their earliest available recorded statements in 1963, as well as their Warren Commission testimony from 1964. There should be no post-1965 statements on this list.

Bones at the top of the head are frontal and parietal. The bones on the side of the head are temporal, and the bone in the lower rear of the head is the occipital.

I also made special note of the witnesses who reported seeing cerebellum, the part of the brain near the lower back of the head and covered by the occipital bone.

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - Occipital parietal 
Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Temporal parietal, Cerebellum
Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Back of head
Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Curtis, Dr. Don T. - Right side of head
Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - Left side of head, brow line to occiput
Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Back of the head
Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Temporal occipital, Cerebellum 
Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - Right posterior/back side
McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - Right posterior, Cerebellum
Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Right occipital parietal
Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - Right occipital parietal 
Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - Right temporal

Miscellaneous Parkland medical witnesses identified by the WC and ARRB, but from what I was able to determine they were not able to provide useful information on the location of the large head wound:

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - “Massive”
Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - Not questioned
Dulany, Dr. Richard - “Large”
Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - No information
Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - No information
Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information
White, Dr. Martin G. - No information

SOURCES

Warren Commission Hearings Volume 6 - Parkland medical staff testimony

H Vol 17 - CE 392 Parkland medical staff statements

H Volume 21 - Price Exhibits 2, 24

Dr. Perry, footage reportedly from November 22, 1963. YouTube Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

November 22, 1963 Drs. Perry and Clark press conference transcript - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits:
MD 96-99

-

DETAILED ALPHABETICAL BREAKDOWN

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Akin said “The back of the right occipital parietal portion of his head was shattered with brain substance extruding” “I assume that the right occipital parietal region was the exit, so to speak, that he had probably been hit on the other side of the head or at least tangentially in the back of the head…” - H Vol 6, Pgs 65, 67

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - In WC testimony March 25, 1964 Dr. Bashour called the head wound ”massive”, no other information about the location of the head wound. H Vol 6, Pg 62

Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Nov 22, 1963 handwritten statement “temporal and parietal bones were missing…the brain was lying on the table”, underlining the word “on”. - ARRB Medical Exhibit MD 97, and WC H vol 6 Pg 44.

In WC testimony March 24, 1963, Dr. Baxter said “literally the right side of his head was blown off. With this and the observation that cerebellum was present - a large quantity of brain was present on the cart…” “this wound was in temporal parietal plate of bone laid outward to the side and there was a large area, oh, I would say 6 by 8 or 10 cm of lacerated brain oozing from this wound…” - H Vol 6, Pg 41

Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Helped move Kennedy from the presidential limousine to a stretcher. WC testimony March 24, 1964 “I saw the condition of his head… the back of his head… well it was very bad… I just saw one large hole.” - H Vol 6 pg 136

Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1620 hrs (4:20 pm) “slow oozing from cerebral and cerebellar tissue” - H Vol 17 - CE 392, pg 4-5

In WC testimony taken March 25, 1964, Dr. Carrico said he saw a large gaping wound that was more or less circular and 5-7 cm in diameter in occipital parietal and that he saw cerebellar tissue. He also said he saw no wounds in any other area of the skull. - H Vol 6, pg 6

Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Press conference, Nov 22, 1963, 2:16 pm “a missile had gone in or out of the back of his head causing extensive lacerations and loss of brain tissue.” “...the back of his head.” - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

Dr. Clark's handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1615 hrs (4:15 pm) “...amount of cerebellar tissue”, “large wound beginning in the right occipital and extending into the parietal region” - H Vol 17 CE 392, Pgs 9-10

Official summary of observations letter from Dr. Clark to Dr. Burkley, dated Nov 23, 1963: “Occipital” “Large wound in the right occipital parietal” “cerebral and cerebellar tissue were extruding from the wound” - H Vol 21 - Price Exhibit #2, Pgs 151-152

In WC testimony March 21, 1964 Dr. Clark said “...large gaping wound in the right posterior part, with cerebral and cerebellar tissue being damaged and exposed” and the only bleeding wound he observed on JFK’s back was located “...in the back of his head”, “right occipital region” - H Vol 6, pgs 20, 29

Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - No statement, not questioned by the WC.

Curtis, Dr. Don T. - In WC testimony, says the head wound was on JFK's right side. No other information. - H Vol 6, Pg 60

Dulany, Dr. Richard - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “...he had a large head wound.” H Vol 6, Pg 114

Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, is unique among Parkland witnesses in that he remembers the large head wound as being on the left side of JFK’s head. “It seemed that from the vertex to the left ear and from the brow line to the occiput on the left hand side of the head the cranium was entirely missing.” - H Vol 6, Pg 74

Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - In WC testimony, no information on location of head wound.

Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - In WC testimony says she did not see any wounds from where she was standing on Kennedy's left side. - H Vol 6, Pg 77

Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963 “...bleeding profusely from a wound on the back of his head…”  - H Vol 21, Pg 216 and ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits: MD 99

Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “a great laceration to the right side of the head (temporal and occipital), causing a great defect in the skull plate so that there was herniation and laceration of great areas of the brain, even to the extent that the cerebellum had protruded from the wound.” - H Vol 17 CE 392, pg 15

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Jenkins said “...part of the brain was herniated. I really think part of the cerebellum, as I recognized it, was herniated from the wound.” H Vol 6, Pg 48

Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - WC testimony March 24, 1963 “a large wound in the right posterior side of the head” “...large defect in the back side of the head.” - H Vol 6 Pg 53

McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - WC testimony on March 21, 1964 “the right posterior portion of the skull had been extremely blasted…posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue had been blasted out.” “...massive head injuries with losses of large amounts of cerebral and cerebellar tissues…” - H Vol 6, Pgs 33-34

Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information on the location of the head wound that I am able to find.

Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “large wound right parietal cranium” - H Vol 17, CE 392, pg 6

November 1963 statement Dr. Perry says on camera “Large wound to the head in the right posterior area” - YouTube - “November 27, 1963 | Dr. Malcolm Perry Interview” - Uploaded by Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Perry testifies that the head wound was in the “right posterior parietal” and that it was a “large avulsive injury of the right occipital parietal area” - H Vol 6, Pg 9, pg 11

Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - WC testimony March 24, 1964 : “It seemed to me that in the right occipital parietal area that there was a large defect. There appeared to be bone loss and brain loss in the area.” H Vol 6, Pg 71

Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “I came in on the left side of him and noticed that his major wound seemed to be in his right temporal area at least from the point of view that I could see him…” - H Vol 6, Pg 81

White, Dr. Martin G. - WC testimony “I saw the wound in his head as he was brought into the trauma room where he was treated.” No other information. - H Vol 6, Pg 82

That post is a thing of beauty. Which is precisely why, instead of believing that people at Parkland and Bethesda who did not know each other were mass hallucinating about a large whole in the back of JFK's head, I think that is prima facie evidence that SOME of the head x-rays were faked (too eliminate a large blowout whole in the back of JFK's head) and any autopsy photo that showed a large hole in the lower back of JFK's head were destroyed.

[Robert Morrow]

6 hours ago, Keven Hofeling said:

Excellent work Denny!

Everybody should copy this list to their home computer and blogs and credit Denny Zartman. We don't want this hard work to go to waste.

[Greg Doudna]

Denny Zartman, Keven Hofeling, the following is an autopsy photo. I would like you to answer straightforwardly the following two questions.

1. Do you see a massive gigantic gaping head wound--missing skullbone--on JFK's head in this autopsy photo?

2. Do you think that is a valid photograph of the massive gaping wound on JFK's head?

Thank you for brief, succinct, responsive answers. Here, the photo:

https://archive.org/details/jfk-autopsy-photos-hd_202204/Back wound (B%26W 11 %26 12) (uncropped) (JFK Absolute Proof).jpg

[Pat Speer]

15 hours ago, Denny Zartman said:

“Top of the head” seems to be an easy way to characterize the location of JFK’s large head wound, with no ambiguity whatsoever.

Warren Commission lawyer Arlen Specter describes the wound as a “massive wound at the top of the President’s head” - H vol 6, Pg 25.

At least two official JFK autopsy photos allegedly taken at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Maryland on the night of November 22, 1963 appear to show a small bullet entrance wound in the back of JFK’s head, which otherwise appears to be intact.

According to these autopsy photos, the large head wound seems to be positioned at the top of JFK’s head. Was this what the nurses and doctors in Dallas, Texas saw when JFK was brought into the hospital just after 12:30 pm?

Here are all the major medical staff witnesses at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 that I was able to find, and what they had to say about the location of JFK’s large head wound.

Assembling this list, I attempted to rely exclusively on witnesses identified by the Warren Commission and the Assassination Records Review Board and their earliest available recorded statements in 1963, as well as their Warren Commission testimony from 1964. There should be no post-1965 statements on this list.

Bones at the top of the head are frontal and parietal. The bones on the side of the head are temporal, and the bone in the lower rear of the head is the occipital.

I also made special note of the witnesses who reported seeing cerebellum, the part of the brain near the lower back of the head and covered by the occipital bone.

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - Occipital parietal 
Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Temporal parietal, Cerebellum
Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Back of head
Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Occipital parietal, Cerebellum
Curtis, Dr. Don T. - Right side of head
Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - Left side of head, brow line to occiput
Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Back of the head
Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Temporal occipital, Cerebellum 
Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - Right posterior/back side
McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - Right posterior, Cerebellum
Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Right occipital parietal
Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - Right occipital parietal 
Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - Right temporal

Miscellaneous Parkland medical witnesses identified by the WC and ARRB, but from what I was able to determine they were not able to provide useful information on the location of the large head wound:

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - “Massive”
Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - Not questioned
Dulany, Dr. Richard - “Large”
Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - No information
Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - No information
Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information
White, Dr. Martin G. - No information

SOURCES

Warren Commission Hearings Volume 6 - Parkland medical staff testimony

H Vol 17 - CE 392 Parkland medical staff statements

H Volume 21 - Price Exhibits 2, 24

Dr. Perry, footage reportedly from November 22, 1963. YouTube Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

November 22, 1963 Drs. Perry and Clark press conference transcript - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits:
MD 96-99

-

DETAILED ALPHABETICAL BREAKDOWN

Akin, Dr. Gene Coleman - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Akin said “The back of the right occipital parietal portion of his head was shattered with brain substance extruding” “I assume that the right occipital parietal region was the exit, so to speak, that he had probably been hit on the other side of the head or at least tangentially in the back of the head…” - H Vol 6, Pgs 65, 67

Bashour, Dr. Fouad A. - In WC testimony March 25, 1964 Dr. Bashour called the head wound ”massive”, no other information about the location of the head wound. H Vol 6, Pg 62

Baxter, Dr. Charles Rufus - Nov 22, 1963 handwritten statement “temporal and parietal bones were missing…the brain was lying on the table”, underlining the word “on”. - ARRB Medical Exhibit MD 97, and WC H vol 6 Pg 44.

In WC testimony March 24, 1963, Dr. Baxter said “literally the right side of his head was blown off. With this and the observation that cerebellum was present - a large quantity of brain was present on the cart…” “this wound was in temporal parietal plate of bone laid outward to the side and there was a large area, oh, I would say 6 by 8 or 10 cm of lacerated brain oozing from this wound…” - H Vol 6, Pg 41

Bowron, RN Diana Hamilton - Helped move Kennedy from the presidential limousine to a stretcher. WC testimony March 24, 1964 “I saw the condition of his head… the back of his head… well it was very bad… I just saw one large hole.” - H Vol 6 pg 136

Carrico, Dr. Charles James - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1620 hrs (4:20 pm) “slow oozing from cerebral and cerebellar tissue” - H Vol 17 - CE 392, pg 4-5

In WC testimony taken March 25, 1964, Dr. Carrico said he saw a large gaping wound that was more or less circular and 5-7 cm in diameter in occipital parietal and that he saw cerebellar tissue. He also said he saw no wounds in any other area of the skull. - H Vol 6, pg 6

Clark, Dr. William Kemp - Press conference, Nov 22, 1963, 2:16 pm “a missile had gone in or out of the back of his head causing extensive lacerations and loss of brain tissue.” “...the back of his head.” - https://www.jfk-assassination.net/press.htm

Dr. Clark's handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1615 hrs (4:15 pm) “...amount of cerebellar tissue”, “large wound beginning in the right occipital and extending into the parietal region” - H Vol 17 CE 392, Pgs 9-10

Official summary of observations letter from Dr. Clark to Dr. Burkley, dated Nov 23, 1963: “Occipital” “Large wound in the right occipital parietal” “cerebral and cerebellar tissue were extruding from the wound” - H Vol 21 - Price Exhibit #2, Pgs 151-152

In WC testimony March 21, 1964 Dr. Clark said “...large gaping wound in the right posterior part, with cerebral and cerebellar tissue being damaged and exposed” and the only bleeding wound he observed on JFK’s back was located “...in the back of his head”, “right occipital region” - H Vol 6, pgs 20, 29

Crenshaw, Dr. Charles - No statement, not questioned by the WC.

Curtis, Dr. Don T. - In WC testimony, says the head wound was on JFK's right side. No other information. - H Vol 6, Pg 60

Dulany, Dr. Richard - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “...he had a large head wound.” H Vol 6, Pg 114

Giesecke, Dr. Adolph Hartung - In WC testimony March 25, 1964, is unique among Parkland witnesses in that he remembers the large head wound as being on the left side of JFK’s head. “It seemed that from the vertex to the left ear and from the brow line to the occiput on the left hand side of the head the cranium was entirely missing.” - H Vol 6, Pg 74

Henchliffe, RN Margaret M. - In WC testimony, no information on location of head wound.

Hunt, Dr. Jackie Hansen - In WC testimony says she did not see any wounds from where she was standing on Kennedy's left side. - H Vol 6, Pg 77

Hutton, RN Patricia B. - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963 “...bleeding profusely from a wound on the back of his head…”  - H Vol 21, Pg 216 and ARRB Master Set of Medical Exhibits: MD 99

Jenkins, Dr. Marion Thomas - Typewritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “a great laceration to the right side of the head (temporal and occipital), causing a great defect in the skull plate so that there was herniation and laceration of great areas of the brain, even to the extent that the cerebellum had protruded from the wound.” - H Vol 17 CE 392, pg 15

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Jenkins said “...part of the brain was herniated. I really think part of the cerebellum, as I recognized it, was herniated from the wound.” H Vol 6, Pg 48

Jones, Dr. Ronald Coy - WC testimony March 24, 1963 “a large wound in the right posterior side of the head” “...large defect in the back side of the head.” - H Vol 6 Pg 53

McClelland, Dr. Robert Nelson - WC testimony on March 21, 1964 “the right posterior portion of the skull had been extremely blasted…posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue had been blasted out.” “...massive head injuries with losses of large amounts of cerebral and cerebellar tissues…” - H Vol 6, Pgs 33-34

Nelson, RN Doris Mae - No information on the location of the head wound that I am able to find.

Perry, Dr. Malcolm Oliver - Handwritten statement Nov 22, 1963, 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) “large wound right parietal cranium” - H Vol 17, CE 392, pg 6

November 1963 statement Dr. Perry says on camera “Large wound to the head in the right posterior area” - YouTube - “November 27, 1963 | Dr. Malcolm Perry Interview” - Uploaded by Real Time 1960’s - https://youtu.be/xeKtsfq8s8w?si=CzNMnx1clQAeSe8Y

WC testimony March 25, 1964, Dr. Perry testifies that the head wound was in the “right posterior parietal” and that it was a “large avulsive injury of the right occipital parietal area” - H Vol 6, Pg 9, pg 11

Peters, Dr. Paul Conrad - WC testimony March 24, 1964 : “It seemed to me that in the right occipital parietal area that there was a large defect. There appeared to be bone loss and brain loss in the area.” H Vol 6, Pg 71

Salyer, Dr. Kenneth Everett - WC testimony March 25, 1963 “I came in on the left side of him and noticed that his major wound seemed to be in his right temporal area at least from the point of view that I could see him…” - H Vol 6, Pg 81

White, Dr. Martin G. - WC testimony “I saw the wound in his head as he was brought into the trauma room where he was treated.” No other information. - H Vol 6, Pg 82

Huh... How weird? You seem to have missed Dr. McClelland's EARLIEST statements on the head wound. 

"The President was at the time comatose from a massive gunshot wound of the head with a fragment wound of the trachea... The cause of death was due to massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the left temple." (Report written 11-22-63.)

"he and Dr. Perry fully accept the Navy Hospital’s explanation of the course of the bullets."  "I am fully satisfied that the two bullets that hit him were from behind." "As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to suspect that any shots came from the front." (McClellland's early views as expressed to and quoted by Richard Dudman, as reported in the 12-18-63 St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)  

"The cause of death, according to Dr. McClelland was the massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the right side of the head." (McClelland's correction oh his initial report as published in the January 1964 Texas State Journal of Medicine. 

 

[Sandy Larsen]

1 hour ago, Pat Speer said:

Huh... How weird? You [ @Denny Zartman ] seem to have missed Dr. McClelland's EARLIEST statements on the head wound.

 

Now watch what Pat does to make it seem look there is some controversy in what the gaping-wound witnesses said, Dr. Robert McClelland in this case. Remember that almost all them said the wound was on the back of Kennedy's head, and McClelland was no exception.

 

1 hour ago, Pat Speer said:

[Dr. McClelland wrote:]  "The President was at the time comatose from a massive gunshot wound of the head with a fragment wound of the trachea... The cause of death was due to massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the left temple." (Report written 11-22-63.)

 

What Pat wants the reader to think is that what McClelland was saying early on is that the gaping wound was located near the temple. (We know this because that in fact what Pat has said in the past.) It's just that McClelland accidentally wrote "left temple" instead of "right temple."

But the fact is that McClelland was referring to a tiny entrance wound at the temple when he he said where the gunshot wound was. He didn't specify in his 11/22 statement where the gaping wound was located.

There are more details in the following proof I wrote last year:

Proof that Pat Speer is wrong about Dr. McClelland initially saying the gaping wound was near the temple.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Pat Speer said:

"[Dr. McClelland] and Dr. Perry fully accept the Navy Hospital’s explanation of the course of the bullets."  "I am fully satisfied that the two bullets that hit him were from behind." "As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to suspect that any shots came from the front." (McClellland's early views as expressed to and quoted by Richard Dudman, as reported in the 12-18-63 St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)

 

If this news report is accurate, then Dr. McClelland momentarily agreed with the bullet directions concluded in the autopsy report... but only after being shown the autopsy report. Both before and after the date this news report was published, McClelland was saying that the bullets came from the front. The following is from his WC testimony:

Dr. Robert McClelland:  "...I could very closely examine the head wound, and I noted that the right posterior portion of the skull had been extremely blasted. It had been shattered...so that the parietal bone was protruded up through the scalp and seemed to be fractured almost along its right posterior half, as well as some of the occipital bone being fractured in its lateral half, and this sprung open the bones that I mentioned in such a way that you could actually look down into the skull cavity itself and see that probably a third or so, at least, of the brain tissue, posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue had been blasted out...." (WC--V6:33)

McClelland made clear that he thought the rear wound in the skull was an exit wound. See WC-V6:35,37 for his Warren Commission testimony regarding it. And the St. Louis Dispatch report, which reports on what his thoughts were on 11/22/63.

 

1 hour ago, Pat Speer said:

"The cause of death, according to Dr. McClelland was the massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the right side of the head." (McClelland's correction oh his initial report as published in the January 1964 Texas State Journal of Medicine.

 

Yes, the bullet hit the right temple, according to Dr. McClelland. (See his drawing above.) Pat is still hoping that readers will be fooled into thinking that Dr. McClelland here is placing the gaping wound on the right side of the head rather than the entrance wound.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

 

P.S. Great job @Denny Zartman !

 

[Denny Zartman]

5 hours ago, Pat Speer said:

Huh... How weird? You seem to have missed Dr. McClelland's EARLIEST statements on the head wound. 

"The President was at the time comatose from a massive gunshot wound of the head with a fragment wound of the trachea... The cause of death was due to massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the left temple." (Report written 11-22-63.)

Where does it say "top" of the head, Pat?

And where's your source for this? I have given you every source for every statement that I could find on my list. Yet for some reason you don't give a source for this. Just an innocent mistake or oversight on your part?

6 hours ago, Pat Speer said:

"he and Dr. Perry fully accept the Navy Hospital’s explanation of the course of the bullets."  "I am fully satisfied that the two bullets that hit him were from behind." "As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to suspect that any shots came from the front." (McClellland's early views as expressed to and quoted by Richard Dudman, as reported in the 12-18-63 St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)  

"The cause of death, according to Dr. McClelland was the massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the right side of the head." (McClelland's correction oh his initial report as published in the January 1964 Texas State Journal of Medicine.

Where does it say "top" of the head, Pat?

[Denny Zartman]

7 hours ago, Robert Morrow said:

Everybody should copy this list to their home computer and blogs and credit Denny Zartman. We don't want this hard work to go to waste.

Hey, thank you. I double-checked them all before posting, but I'm human and there could still be something I missed or overlooked. All I can say is that if there are any mistakes or omissions they were unintentional.

Like an idiot, I went back and started all this from scratch. Where was JFK's large head wound, according to those medical professionals who saw it at the absolute earliest, before any possible alterations? I wasn't going to take anyone else's word for it. I wanted to find out for myself what the Parkland doctors and nurses on record said that they saw according to their earliest available recorded statements. And wherever they said it was located, I was going to report it faithfully, no matter what.

I've seen several comprehensive and exhaustive lists like this posted here on the forum before, but the instant someone includes a so-called "controversial" witness, contrarians use that as an excuse to ignore everything else. I don't agree with that approach, but that's what the contrarians do, so I took that into account. The contrarians also believe that "old" memories are unreliable. Again, I personally disagree with that viewpoint, but I recognize that it's used as a quick and convenient excuse to ignore important witnesses and their testimony. So I made a deliberate effort to keep the witness statements to the earliest ones available. I don't think there are any statements on my list that were made after 1964, but I said 1965 in an attempt to be conservative. I tried my best to be comprehensive with the list while also limiting myself to only witnesses identified by the WC and ARRB.

I still don't see anyone referring to the large wound on the top of the head. It seems to me that if it were on the top of the head, at least a couple of medical professionals would have noted that. "Top" is an easy word to say, so why does it appear that no one working at Parkland chooses to say it? Why would many of them use terms like "back", "rear", and "posterior" if the large wound was actually on the top of the head and the back of the head was intact the way it appears to be in photographs purportedly take later at Bethesda Naval Hospital?

Also, it should almost go without saying, if anyone reported seeing a large skull wound with cerebellum protruding from it, they are most likely describing a wound on or near the back of the head - not the top.

[Pete Mellor]

Denny, one more for your early witnesses:-

Motorcycle Patrolman Willie Price was at the Motor Pool at the Trade Mart.  He was then assigned to escort Vice President Johnson to Parkland Hospital.  Upon arrival he then assisted in removing the mortally wounded President from the limo.  In his interview with Wes Wise and Bob Porter for the Sixth Floor Oral History Collection on the 24th September 1994, he was asked about JFK's wounds.  Price said, "Well I knew the back of his head was blown out.  He was dead right there.  He had to be."

[Robert Morrow]

Doug Horne on the Fraudulent Back of the Head JFK Autopsy Photo – You Tube video at J. Keven Hofeling page:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK9Kz5pkwco

 Excerpt from Sep 18, 2014 'Altered History: Exposing Deceit and Deception in the JFK Assassination Medical Evidence' In this 5-part video, Douglas P. Horne, who served on the staff of the Assassination Records Review Board and who is the author of the five-volume book Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government’s Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK, discusses deceit and deception in the official autopsy of John F. Kennedy.

[Kevin Balch]

2 hours ago, Pete Mellor said:

Denny, one more for your early witnesses:-

Motorcycle Patrolman Willie Price was at the Motor Pool at the Trade Mart.  He was then assigned to escort Vice President Johnson to Parkland Hospital.  Upon arrival he then assisted in removing the mortally wounded President from the limo.  In his interview with Wes Wise and Bob Porter for the Sixth Floor Oral History Collection on the 24th September 1994, he was asked about JFK's wounds.  Price said, "Well I knew the back of his head was blown out.  He was dead right there.  He had to be."

How did someone at the Trade Mart escort Johnson to Parkland Hospital? Johnson was in the motorcade that rushed by the Trade Mart to get to Parkland. 

[Keven Hofeling]

On 8/9/2024 at 11:12 PM, Greg Doudna said:

Denny Zartman, Keven Hofeling, the following is an autopsy photo. I would like you to answer straightforwardly the following two questions.

1. Do you see a massive gigantic gaping head wound--missing skullbone--on JFK's head in this autopsy photo?

2. Do you think that is a valid photograph of the massive gaping wound on JFK's head?

Thank you for brief, succinct, responsive answers. Here, the photo:

https://archive.org/details/jfk-autopsy-photos-hd_202204/Back wound (B%26W 11 %26 12) (uncropped) (JFK Absolute Proof).jpg

On 8/9/2024 at 11:12 PM, Greg Doudna said:

1. Do you see a massive gigantic gaping head wound--missing skullbone--on JFK's head in this autopsy photo?

No, I do not see a "massive gigantic gaping head wound -- missing skullbone" on JFK's head in this autopsy photo. From the little that we can see at the top edge of this photograph, on the right hand side next to the prosector's forearm, I see part of the "batwing" that we see in some autopsy photographs but not in others, and to the immediate left of it, my best guess is that we are seeing what HSCA autopsy tech James Jenkins has identified as "fatty tissue" (which looks like folds of brain in the top of the head autopsy photos).

https://archive.org/details/jfk-autopsy-photos-hd_202204/Back wound (B%26W 11 %26 12) (uncropped) (JFK Absolute Proof).jpg

For several reasons, which I will outline in the following, I find this photograph to be highly confusing. 

In the following back of the head autopsy photograph which presents a better view of the area in question, and was arguably taken almost immediately before or after the photograph above, we see all the way to the top of the "batwing," but we don't see any of the fatty tissue, or anything else associated with a wound. Some have speculated that the prosector's hand is holding up a "flap" of scalp concealing the large avulsive wound attested to by roughly fifty witnesses, and I suppose you could argue that this is what is obscuring the large wound that you believe you see at the top of the photo above, but this doesn't make any sense as the purpose of autopsy photographs is to reveal and document the wounds, not to conceal and disguise them. One could speculate that there may be other autopsy photographs of similar views, but with the "flap" or "flaps" moved aside to show the large wound which have not been released to the public as bootlegs, but surely that would have been reported by Doug Horne or Cyril Wecht or any one of the many others who have been granted permission to view the original autopsy photographs at the National Archives, yet no such reports have been made. 

On the basis that I set forth below, I am suspicious that the autopsy photograph in question is fraudulent, either due to photographic falsification or due to having been deceptively staged, but as we can see from the following listing of the Fox collection of bootleg autopsy photographs, there is a pair of photographs taken closely together which would have allowed Dr. David Mantik to conduct stereoscopic analysis of the photo, which I'm sure he did, and he did not report detecting a soft matte insert in this photograph as he did with back of the head autopsy photographs 42 and 43 above. This is not dispositive, of course, as a different photographic alteration technique could have been used.

 

What I find to be deeply troubling about Fox 5 and 6 is that they depict JFK's hair cowlick, which we see high up on JFK's head in the back of the head photos, as being much lower on the back of the head, and something about this just doesn't look right.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157338428660318&set=pcb.1632575760238700

 

To further illustrate my point, take note of the curled tufts of hair that we see in Fox 5 and 6 in the following, and how these appear to be at about midline on the back of JFK's head in the photos:

 

Now look at the same tuft of hair curled over the prosector's index finger in the back of the head autopsy photograph which appears to be at the top of JFK's head. It just doesn't appear to be consistent. There is something wrong with these two photographs, particularly considering that we are seeing only hair where approximately fifty witnesses -- most of them medical and law enforcement professionals -- reported the presence of a large avulsive wound.

On 8/9/2024 at 11:12 PM, Greg Doudna said:

2. Do you think that is a valid photograph of the massive gaping wound on JFK's head?

No, I don't think it is valid primarily because of the absence of the large occipital-parietal wound that was reported in Dealey Plaza, Parkland Hospital and at the Bethesda autopsy.

However, I still want to address the point that I believe you were trying to make, which I think would have been better accomplished by presenting the following autopsy photographs which depict a mess of blood-soaked fatty tissue at the top of JFK's head. My answer to your two questions with regard to these two photographs is yes. I see the large wound in the top of the head, and I believe that these two autopsy photographs are genuine.

But the question is, does this mean that the large avulsive wound reported by nearly fifty witnesses to be in the back of JFK's head was actually in the top of his head consistent with these photographs? My answer to that is no, because we have a clear explanation as to the cause of the top of the head wound, and it is not a gunshot, it is a craniotomy and removal of shrapnel by the prosectors.

There is simply no way to get around this...

Dr. Humes always insisted that he never had to perform a craniotomy (skull cap removal surgery) to remove the President’s brain.

* Humes maintained this lie, under oath, for 33 years --- before the Warren Commission, the HSCA, and the ARRB.

* He also informed Army pathologist Pierre Finck, who arrived late at Bethesda to assist with the autopsy, that “no sawing of the skull was necessary” in order to remove President Kennedy’s brain (per Dr. Finck’s 1965 report to his Commanding Officer, General Blumberg).
 ---------------------------------------------
DR. DAVID MANTIK ON DOUG HORNE'S ACCOUNT OF THE BETHESDA AUTOPSISTS CLANDESTINELY ALTERING JFK'S HEAD WOUNDS WITH A BONE SAW:

"...So why does Horne conclude that H&B illicitly removed (and altered) the brain shortly after 6:35 PM, before any X-rays were taken, and before the official autopsy began? He here introduces two intriguing witnesses – the two R's, namely Reed and Robinson. Edward Reed was assistant to Jerrol Custer (the radiology tech), while Tom Robinson was a mortician. Rather consistently with one another, but quite independently, both describe critical steps taken by H&B that no one else reports. (Horne documents why no one else reported these events – almost everyone else had been evicted from the morgue before this clandestine interlude.) After the body was placed on the morgue table (and before X-rays were taken), Reed briefly sat in the gallery.[18] Reed states[19] that Humes first used a scalpel across the top of the forehead to pull the scalp back.

[18]. Horne, supra, Volume I at Figure 40, shows a sketch of the morgue floor plan, including the gallery.

[19]. Horne, supra, Volume IV at 1035, 1163-1171 and Volume II at 426 and 437.

Then he used a saw to cut the forehead bone, after which he (and Custer, too) were asked to leave the morgue. (Reed was not aware that this intervention by Humes was unofficial.) This activity by Humes is highly significant because multiple witnesses saw the intact entry hole high in the right forehead at the hairline. On the other hand, the autopsy photographs show only a thin incision at this site, an incision that no Parkland witness ever saw. The implication is obvious: this specific autopsy photograph was taken after Humes altered the forehead – thereby likely obliterating the entry hole.
⁠
Reed's report suggests that Humes deliberately obliterated the right forehead entry; in fact, the autopsy photograph does not show this entry site. Paradoxically, however, Robinson (the mortician) recalls[20] seeing, during restoration, a wound about 1/4º inch across at this very location.

[20]. Fetzer (2000), supra, at 250.

He even recalls having to place wax at this site. So the question is obvious: If Humes had obliterated the wound (as seems the case based on the extant autopsy photograph), how then could Robinson still see the wound during restoration? This question cannot be answered with certainty, but two options arise: (1) perhaps the wound was indeed obliterated (or mostly obliterated) and Robinson merely suffered some memory merge – i.e., even though he added wax to the incision (the one still visible in the extant photograph), he was actually recalling the way it looked before Humes got to it, or (2) the photograph itself has been altered – to disguise the wound that was visible in an original photograph. The latter option was seemingly endorsed by Joe O'Donnell, the USIA photographer,[21] who said that Knudsen actually showed him such a photograph.

[21]. Ibid. at 242.

Regarding Robinson, Horne concludes that he arrived with the hearse that brought the body (i.e., the first entry). After that, Robinson simply observed events from the morgue gallery; contrary to Reed's experience, he was not asked to leave. Just before 7 PM, Robinson[22] saw H&B remove large portions of the rear and top of the skull with a saw, in order to access the brain. (Robinson was not aware that this activity was off the record.)... 

[22]. Horne, supra, Volume IV at 1005.

...Contrary to Reed and Robinson, Humes[25] declared that a saw was not important:

[25]. Warren Commission Hearings, Volume II at 354.
⁠
"We had to do virtually no work with a saw to remove these portions of the skull, they came apart in our hands very easily, and we attempted to further examine the brain."

⁠Although James Jenkins (an autopsy technician) does not explicitly describe the use of a saw, he does recall that damage to the brain (as seen inside the skull) was less than the corresponding size of the cranial defect; this indirectly implies prior removal of some of the skull.[26]...

[26]. Horne, supra, Volume IV at 1042-1043.

...The reader might well ask why Reed and Robinson (and Custer, too) were permitted to observe (at least briefly) this illegal surgery by H&B. Horne proposes that the morgue manager that night (Kellerman) was not present for the first casket entry – that's because he was riding with Jackie and the bronze casket. Therefore, before he arrived (most likely that was shortly after 7 PM), there was no hands-on stage manager in the morgue ... Robinson, on the other hand, dressed in civilian clothing, may have seemed to Kellerman a lesser threat, so Robinson stayed...."

⁠https://www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-reviews/horne-douglas-inside-the-arrb-part-iv

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MD 180 - ARRB Meeting Report Summarizing 6/21/96 In-Person Interview of Tom Robinson:

http://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/arrb/master_med_set/md180/html/md180_0001a.htm

"...PAGE 2:

...- [mortician Tom Robinson] said he saw the brain removed from President Kennedy's body, and that a large percentage of it was gone "in the back" from the "medulla," and that the portion of the brain that was missing was about the size of a closed fist. He described the condition of the brain in this area as the consistency of "soup." He said that the brain was "not cut up" at the autopsy....

...-Visible damage to skull caused by the bullet of bullets (as opposed to damage caused by the pathologists): Robinson described 3 locations of wounds:

-he saw 2 or 3 small perforations or holes in the right cheek during embalming, when formaldehyde seeped through these small wounds and slight discoloration began to occur...

...-he described a "blow-out" which consisted of a flap of skin in the right temple of the President's head, which he believed to be an exit wound based on conversations he heard in the morgue amongst the pathologists (and executed two drawings of this right temporal defect on both a photocopy of a right lateral photograph of the President, and on a right lateral anatomy diagram of the human skull);

-he described a large, open head wound in the back of the President's head, centrally located right between the ears, where the bone was gone, as well as some scalp. He related his opinion that the wound in the back of the President's head was an entry wound occurring from a bullet fired from behind, based upon conversations he heard in the morgue among the pathologists. (Robinson executed two drawings of the hole in the back of the President's head, one on an anatomy drawing of the posterior skull, and one on an anatomy drawing of the lateral skull. On the annotated lateral skull drawing, the wound in the rear of the head is much larger than the wound in the right temple.)..."

"...REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT'S BRAIN: ROBINSON DREW DOTTED LINES ON THE DRAWING HE EXECUTED OF THE POSTERIOR SKULL WHICH SHOWS THE WOUND BETWEEN THE EARS. WHEN ASKED BY ARRB STAFF WHAT THE DOTTED...

PAGE 3:

"...LINES REPRESENTED, HE SAID "SAW CUTS." HE EXPLAINED THAT SOME SAWING WAS DONE TO REMOVE SOME BONE BEFORE THE BRAIN COULD BE REMOVED, AND THEN WENT ON TO DESCRIBE WHAT IS A NORMAL CRANIOTOMY PROCEDURE, SAYING THAT THIS PROCEDURE WAS PERFORMED ON JFK. HE SEEMED TO REMEMBER THE USE OF A SAW, AND THE SCALP BEING REFLECTED FORWARD (emphasis in this paragraph not in original)..."

"...FOX AUTOPSY PHOTOGRAPHS:

After completing his four drawings of head wounds and describing those wounds, ARRB staff showed Mr. Robinson a set of what is alleged to be the Fox autopsy photographs to see whether they were consistent with what he remembered seeing in the morgue at Bethesda. His comments follow, related to...

PAGE 5:

https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/arrb/master_med_set/md180/html/md180_0005a.htm

...various Fox photos:

-Right Superior Profile (corresponding to B & W #s 5 and 6); He does not see the small shrapnel holes he noted in the right cheek, but he assumes this is because of the photo's poor quality.

-Back of Head (corresponds to B & W #s 15 and 16): Robinson said; "You see, this is the flap of skin, the blow-out in the right temple that I told you about, and which I drew in my drawing." WHEN ASKED BY ARRB WHERE THE HOLE IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WAS IN RELATION TO THE PHOTOGRAPH, ROBINSON RESPONDED BY PLACING HIS FINGERS IN A CIRCLE JUST ABOVE THE WHITE SPOT IN THE HAIRLINE IN THE PHOTOGRAPH AND SAID "THE HOLE WAS RIGHT HERE, WHERE I SAID IT WAS IN MY DRAWING, BUT IT JUST DOESN'T SHOW UP IN THIS PHOTO." (emphasis not in original)

-Top of Head/Superior View of Cranium (corresponds to B & W #'s 7-10): ROBINSON FROWNED, AND SAID WITH APPARENT DISAGREEMENT, "THIS MAKES IT LOOK LIKE THE WOUND WAS IN THE TOP OF THE HEAD." HE EXPLAINED THAT THE DAMAGE IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS "WHAT THE DOCTORS DID," AND EXPLAINED THAT THEY CUT THIS SCALP OPEN AND REFLECTED IT BACK IN ORDER TO REMOVE BULLET FRAGMENTS (THE FRAGMENTS HE HAD OBSERVED IN A GLASS VIAL). ARRB STAFF MEMBERS ASKED ROBINSON WHETHER THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE TOP OF THE HEAD WHEN HE ARRIVED AT THE MORGUE AND BEFORE THE BRAIN WAS REMOVED; HE REPLIED BY SAYING THAT THIS AREA WAS "ALL BROKEN," BUT THAT IT WAS NOT OPEN LIKE THE WOUND IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD (emphasis not in original)...."

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TESTIMONY OF EDWARD F. REED:

"...Q: Where you present during the time of the first incision.

A: Yes.

Q: What was the first incision?

A: The cranium. The scalp, right here.

Q: And can you describe how that procedure -

A: Commander Humes made an incision. After we brought all the X-rays back, we were all allowed to sit up in the podium and observe. And Commander Humes made an incision - that I could see from my vantage point - an incision in the forehead, and brought back the scalp.

Q: Okay.

A: Like this.

Q: And you were making a line first across the top of your forehead, roughly along the hairline -

A: With a scalpel.

Q: -and then pulling the scalp back.

A: That's correct. Just like this.

Q: And were you able to see the size of the wound when the scalp -

A: Not from my - not from where I was, no. The podium was a good 20 feet away.

Q: What else did you observe from where you were with regard to any incisions or operations on the head?

A: WELL AFTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES, COMMANDER HUMES TOOK OUT A SAW, AND STARTED TO CUT THE FOREHEAD WITH THE BONE - WITH THE SAW. MECHANICAL SAW. CIRCULAR, SMALL, MECHANICAL - ALMOST LIKE A CAST SAW, BUT IT'S MADE -

Q: Sure.

A: - SPECIFICALLY FOR BONE. (emphasis not in original)

Q: And what did you see next?

A: We were asked to leave at that time. Jerry Custer and myself were asked to leave.

Q: Do you know why you were asked to leave?

A: Because we were - No more assistance - our assistance was not needed. X-rays were done. And someone decided that we weren't needed, and they asked us to leave...."

In The Matter Of: PDF https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/arrb/medical_testimony/pdf/Reed_10-21-97.pdf
Assassination Records Review Board
In Re: President John F. Kennedy, J1:
Deposition of Edward E. Reed
October 21, 1997

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Dr. Paul Peters on JFK Head Incision -- A Vince Palamara Video

Small wound(s) in the front of JFK's head - PART 1.3   https://www.reddit.com/r/JFKeveryday/comments/jz5sec/small_wounds_in_the_front_of_jfks_head_part_13/

In the photos showing the outside of the scalp, there are some points of interest on the right front of the head.

There is a semi-circular dark spot in the forehead, above the right eye. It is not clear whether this could be a piece of hair, a shadow, a bullet hole, or an artifact of photo-manipulation (NSFW): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aVqhS6WrvKXHdJjWfDXadtpCVhlQ5feN

...What made the v-shaped defect? On the 1988 PBS Nova program Who Shot President Kennedy?, Parkland's Dr. Paul Peters was given a chance to look at the official autopsy photos. Peters said afterward "I would have to say, honestly, in looking at these photos, they're pretty much as I remember President Kennedy at the time [gestures at right front of head], except for that little incision that seems to be coming down in the parietal area. In looking at the photographs, I could envision that an incision might have been made in order to pull the scalp back to expose this bone to make a photograph of that area" (Video, 47:57).

From The Third Decade newsletter, Volume 7, Issue 3, March, 1991:

[...p. 9, New Evidence of Body Tampering by Joanne Braun]

My next step was to write to the Dallas doctors, or to most of them, about fifteen in all, enclosing copies of the High Treason photo of the right side of the head. To Dr. Peters I quoted what he had said on Nova and asked him why he thought the V-shaped irregularity coming down on the right forehead was a surgical incision. In my letters to the other doctors I simply directed their attention to this feature and asked if they had seen it at Parkland. Eight of them replied.

Dr. Peters wrote, "It appeared to me, in reviewing the photos, that the incision was very sharp, as if cut by a knife, and I thought at the time that the prosector might have made it to enhance the removal of the brain and contents. I suppose it could have been an extension of the tear from the wound, but I did not notice it at the time we operated on President Kennedy."[37] (He also drew an arrow of the photo pointing to the "incision" and noted that he had meant to say it was in the "fronto-parietal" region.)

[37]. Letter from Paul C. Peters, M.D., dated August 25, 1989

Of the others, five of them, Drs. Curtis, Giesecke, Jones, Salyer and White merely said that they did not see this V-shaped feature at Parkland Hospital.[38]

[38]. Letter from Don T. Curtis, D.D.S., dated September 8, 1989; undated letters from Drs. Adolph H. Giesecke, Ronald C. Jones, Kenneth E. Salyer and Martin G. White.

Dr. Perry's answer was "there was no incision or indentation" in the right forehead.[39]

[39]. Letter from Malcolm O. Perry, M.D., dated August 29, 1989. Dr. Perry went on to say, “One of the problems was that there was so much damage to the skull and the scalp that the entire scalp and hair were displaced, sagging slightly forward and to the side, and of course this made it appear that there was something really there. (?) You must recognize that the parietal occipital bone was shattered and parts of it were missing which allowed the scalp to be displaced anteriorly.”

Dr. McClelland replied, "I did not see any such incisions at the time of examination in the Emergency Room at Parkland. I would imagine the incisions shown in the copy of the photograph you sent me were made during the autopsy in Bethesda and do not find them mysterious or any reason for concern."[40]...

[40]. Letter from Robert N. McClelland, Md.D., dated August 29, 1989

Parkland Hospital’s Dr. Kenneth Salyer appeared on the 1993 documentary JFK: The Case For Conspiracy. While looking at copies of the autopsy photos, Salyer said:

A: This wound is not correct, this isn't right.

Q: That is not right?

A: No. See, this- this has been doctored right here, this is laying open [gestures to right side of the head]. See, the way- the way you have him, the way they've got him here is- skinflaps have been have been cut, or altered, or pushed up, or changed, and isn't the way he looked. This- He looked- Here, this was wide open with brain open here. This is scalp that's pushed back, and it's all distorted.

[...]

A: Something's been done right here [points to v-shape], and the way he was on the- on the emergency table is this is open, and this whole area is an open wound.

(Video, 1:02:41)...

...So, at least 9 Parkland witnesses indicated they didn’t remember such a defect visible in the right forehead – Drs. Paul Peters, Don Curtis, Adolph Giesecke, Ronald Jones, Kenneth Salyer, Martin White, Malcolm Perry, Robert McClelland, and Nurse Diana Bowron. Was there any explanation from the autopsy pathologists from Bethesda? 

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FBI Report "Surgery to the Head" - Nurse Audrey Bell - Wound 5 Times Larger than in Dallas -- Nova

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Bethesda Tech Paul O'Connor Questions if a Craniotomy was Performed at Parkland in Best Evidence Video

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James Jenkins and Dr. Michael Chesser discuss JFK's brain and Humes saying "it fell out into my hand"

Former Bethesda Autopsy Tech James Jenkins discussing condition of JFK's brain with Dr. Michael Chesser, including Humes saying "it fell out into my hand."

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Bethesda Tech Paul O'Connor -- No Craniotomy at Autopsy -- 

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James Jenkins at 2018 Dallas Conference Tells Dr. David Mantik that a Craniotomy was not Needed

Former Bethesda Autopsy Tech James Jenkins tells Dr. Mantik that a standard skull cap (craniotomy) had not been needed due to pre-existing damage (AND INCISIONS) to JFK's skull. The significance is that there is much evidence that a bone saw WAS used to perform a craniotomy at Bethesda, including the testimony of mortician Tom Robinson and Bethesda Autopsy Tech Ed Reed.

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James Jenkins Tells Dr. Chesser No Bone Saw Used After Chesser Mentions Seeing Saw Cuts in Brain Autopsy Photographs

Former Bethesda Autopsy Tech James Jenkins tells Dr. Chesser there was no bone saw used after Chesser mentions seein saw cuts in autopsy photos of brain. The significance is that there is much evidence that a bone saw WAS used to perform a craniotomy, including the testimony of mortician Tom Robinson and Bethesda Autopsy Tech Ed Reed.

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PARKLAND DOCTOR MALCOLM PERRY DISAVOWS JAGGED THROAT WOUND

From Robert Groden’s appearance at a 2003 conference:

 […] As far as alteration of the body goes, the only evidence of that is the fact that when I interviewed Dr. Perry, he told me that he did not create that wound, he said- he stood up shocked and he pointed- pointed at the photograph, which I- again, I had shown him for the first time, he said I didn't do that. He said that's a butcher job. A tracheotomy hole is the size of a pencil to put a tube down there. If it leaks, it defeats the purpose. This hole is large enough to stick a fire hose down. It didn't work that way at all. It- it's sad but that's the case. […]

From another conference with Robert Groden, undated, uploaded to Youtube 9/28/2021 by the Lone Gunman channel UCAG--Ai7Xh56gr6nxnX-24A:

As far as alteration of the President's body goes, I believe that there’s there's- it's unquestionable that something was done to the president's throat. I interviewed Dr. Perry in 1978 and I showed him the autopsy photographs which he had never seen before, and he took a look at the throat wound in the photographs and he stood up at his desk and he was just shocked. He was silent for a moment, then he said ‘I didn't do that’, he said ‘that's a butchered job’. He said ‘I didn't do that’, and then he relived the entire tracheotomy, he stood up and he had his- what was supposed to be a- a scalpel in his hand and he showed doing it- doing the- the incision and said it was only about a little over an inch long he says- he just went on and on about why that couldn't have been what he had done. [...]

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Edited August 11 by Keven Hofeling