JFK Assassination

WARNING

WARNING

WARNING

EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT TO FOLLOW

First, let's be clear about all of this - no matter how you feel about the matter or what you believe we all need to take a step back and realize that a truly wonderful man was tragically killed serving his country. Please, be the classy readers and responders that I know you to be and show respect for President Kennedy and his family.

Also, as a sidenote there are some changes to the blog today. Among those is a poll at the bottom I'd appreciate you voting in. You may also subscribe and have my blog sent directly to you, as well as to the right you have the option to share a post on facebook or twitter. Enjoy.

You might be asking why I chose to do a blog regarding the Kennedy assassination, and rightfully so. It is a bit of an odd subject to cover, however I think it deserves some critical thought on all our parts. Hopefully this graphic content of our nation's history might serve to educate all who view it, deter any who might think such actions are "cool", and if nothing else bring some new perspective to your thought processes about November 22, 1963.

My inspiration came from watching the film JFK starring Kevin Costner, directed by Oliver Stone. Sure, it's a film and I get it - a good bit of it is dramatized to be interesting however there is still far too much controversy about that day for me not to have doubts and questions that I feel justify some public examination.

First and foremost, I think it's appropriate to discuss the area in which Mr. Kennedy was shot as this is the beginning of my personal doubts.



This view isn't the best, however it does provide some basic overlay and introduction of matters we'll be discussing further later in this post. I've got to be honest with you, I'm not entirely certain what the blue star with "0" in it represents, I can only guess - my best guess would be to say that this is the location of the start of the much maligned "Zapruder Film" that tracks the motorcade from it's turn onto fateful Elm Street all the way out of sight speeding away after the assassination. Speaking of the "Zapruder Film" that's why there is a yellow circle marked "Zapruder". That is where Mr. Zapruder was standing while he filmed the chaos. Note that he is in near vicinity to the "grassy knoll" and "wooden fence". This is important again for later discussions. The black circle marked "6th Floor Sniper Nest" is supposedly where Lee Harvey Oswald shot from in the Texas Book Depository building. The maroon colored dashes are obviously the route of the motorcade, and then we have the red stars, marked "1" and "3". Note there there is no "2". The star marked "1" is when Kennedy was first shot - this shot struck him in his upper back, went through the middle of his neck (very near where you might see a tracheotomy) and then struck the Senator seated in front of him in the back, through his chest, into his wrist, and then lodged in his thigh.

This shot is often referred to as the "Magic Bullet Theory" as evidenced by the following:

Why is it called the Magic Bullet Theory you ask? Well, some rather poor research to start with. The suggestion is that this bullet zig-zagged in the bodies of Kennedy and Senator Connally which is not all that uncommon - in fact one of the main reasons that a .22 caliber pistol is recommended for a self-defense handgun, however where it gets really tricky is this bullet is said to have curved in mid-air. This idea is preposterous. The reason that some think the bullet zig-zagged the way it supposedly did is as stated, due to poor research. In examination of the vehicle as well as the Zapruder film it is plain to see that Connally is seated a little to the left of, and slightly lower than President Kennedy and is also turned slightly to the right. Therefore, the shot rang true and straight, however I will concede that in my examinations, it does appear that it changes trajectory a bit within flesh. Again, that fact is not uncommon.

I think I'll let ya'll watch two versions of the Zapruder Film and then we'll continue with some more discussion. Mind you, these films are exactly identical, one is just more zoomed than the other.

- The First Zapruder Film



- The Second Zapruder Film



Now this is where things get extremely chippy. Right about frame #230 (0:10 seconds in the second film) and 0:08 seconds in the first film you can see where Kennedy and Connally were shot the first time. Kennedy raises his arms toward his neck, and is visibly grimacing in pain, simultaneously Connally also has a grimace of pain and you can tell that his jacket has been disheveled by something.

Here's something REALLY important that I bet you didn't notice the first time you watched the first film. It's only in the first film because it is not zoomed in, however I want you to do something for me. Take a look at the scenery outside, note that the president's car has it's roof off, note the bright sunshine, think about what weather is like in Dallas in November. Now, pay extremely close attention at about 0:04 to 0:07. Did you see it? No? Take another look, and pay close attention to the bottom right of the road sign. See it now? YES! It is a bright, top-down, Dallas day, no rain in sight, and there it is! Someone CLEARLY opens a black umbrella literally just before Kennedy is shot the first time. Don't you think that's strange?

Make no mistake - the man holding the umbrella is a signal man. Opening the umbrella meant the mission was a go. This right here is infallible proof that at the VERY least Oswald had one other person working with him. If you don't think so, I think you are awful naive my friend. We'll get into why I don't think Oswald had much of a role in the assassination other than maybe two shots at best, and just a blame man at worst later..

Worth mention from the Zapruder Film is also the fact that the driver slows down right before the fatal shot that Kennedy took to the head. I can't blame people for noting this, I can't blame them for thinking why didn't the driver just speed off at the first shot? If he had Kennedy might have lived! In reality though, do I believe the driver was part of a conspiracy to murder the president? In a word, no. It's understandable that he slowed after the first shot - there was commotion, he was looking backward to see if the president had been hit, also he was possibly giving secret service agents an opportunity to run to the car. A fatal error? Yes, absolutely - but in my eyes nothing more than that, an error.

From here taking a look at the film we can dispel the "Grassy Knoll Theory". As any good hunter will tell you, what you are looking at in the second shot (or rather - what you see) is a classic exit wound. Entry wounds simply do not have a large, explosive contact and then exit in a calm, singular fashion. It is in fact, just the opposite. Again, look at the overlay of the land. Mind you that as Kennedy is shot the second time he is nearly directly in front of Zapruder and the "Grassy Knoll Theory" generally states that someone fired from the fence behind the grassy knoll. This is impossible given that the exit wound is clearly facing the camera. Supporters of the "Grassy Knoll Theory" will also tell you to watch Kennedy's body movement and notice that he falls back and to the left. Pay a little bit of close attention and you can see that he visibly lurches forward first and then falls back and to the left. Now, more complex minds will tell you about muscle reactions and different aspects of the body to explain this, but I'll make it even simpler - remember that the car slowed down? As soon as Kennedy is hit the second time you can see that the car rapidly accelerates and is at the beginning of a rightward curve. The only way for his body to fall is back, and to the left.

Got that Grassy Knoll conspirators? You're out in my book.

Here I'll let ya'll have a look at the Nix Film, shot from the opposite side of the street as the Zapruder Film. Not much is noteworthy about this one but that it shows more easily the slowing and acceleration of the vehicle of the president.

- The Nix Film



Again, the slowing and then acceleration is a bit upsetting, but not all that unbelievable of a perfectly innocent person trying to do the right thing in a hard situation. So, all you out there that think the driver shot Kennedy or was part of the conspiracy to murder him - I'm sorry, but you're also out in my book.

Alright so I'm sure ya'll are wondering what my take on things is, eh? Well, we can begin with a better aerial photo of Dealy Plaza:


Now, compare the two aerial photos and then tell me - if you were in the 6th story corner window of the book depository building that Oswald was said to be in, what shot would you take? Would you take the three shots that were taken with the winding road of Elm Street (you can now see where shot "2" ended up by the red dot just before the underpass), or would you take the head on shot straight ahead? I know what any experienced hunter, let alone an ex-marine would do.

Here's my thoughts - maybe Oswald did take a shot, but he in my eyes only took two. One was a hit - the first shot that went through Kennedy and Connally, the second was the miss notated by the red dot near the underpass most likely as the car was speeding away. Perhaps that second shot was intended for Mrs. Kennedy, or perhaps it was another shot intended for the president. Who knows, all one can do regarding a missed shot is to guess.

Here's the kicker, or the big bang of my theory. A second shooter, and one from a higher angle. Now this is feasible from a few buildings rooftop, or one with a high tower. Take a look again at the second overview. From the book depository where Oswald was supposedly shooting from go up one building and to the right three. What do you see? Ahhh! A building with a rather high tower!

Here is my theory, complete with trajectory and a final impact where Kennedy was at the time of the fatal shot:

In my eyes, this shot makes the most sense in regards to the fatal headshot. If it was not from this building, then it was from high up in the building directly to its left. The animated picture that follows sheds light as to why this makes the most sense to me..



Taken directly from the Zapruder Film and an animation of just three frames in the film at the moment of impact clearly show an angled zone of destruction. The yellow arrows help to highlight this angle of impact. Furthermore, we can look at Mr. Kennedy's autopsy photos to help strengthen this theory.

The first is from the back of Mr. Kennedy's head. Clearly you can see the entry wound, but pay attention to where the entry wound really is. Does it look like it came from high and to the right or high and to the left? You be the judge for you, but in my eyes it is definitely high and to the left - thus ruling Oswald out for this shot. Furthermore supporting the high and left as opposed to high and right - if the bullet had come from the right, Jackie or another passenger would have been first and foremost absolutely covered in blood and matter, instead it is all nearly from bleeding out that the blood stains appear. Second - if it had come from the left Jackie or another passenger almost certainly would have been struck with whatever fragments were left of the bullet (they were not). Third - watch the Zapruder Film again, does it look like the spray of blood comes from Mr. Kennedy via a shot just slightly angled behind and to the left of Mr. Zapruder or more to the right? Fourth - go back to watching the Zapruder Film again and pay close attention to the location of Jackie's head and John's head from 0:10 until 0:12 in the first film. Notice that the shot comes as soon as she moves her head? Again - you be the judge for you - but I know where I lie.



The next picture of Mr. Kennedy's autopsy is rather conclusive to me of how the bullet progressed from the entry wound via a high and left shot.



So there you have it - my thoughts are at least two shooters and at least one signal man. Is that all there is to it? Certainly not. In my eyes this was a largely government conspiracy to execute a man who's idea's were not popular with "the good old boys". Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, maybe a little of both. I'll leave you with this one final image of Lyndon Banes Johnson, beside grieving widow Jackie Kennedy immediately after he was sworn in as president just ninety-nine minutes after John Fitzgerald Kennedy was pronounced dead.


Notice the wink from his comrade, and his wide smile. Seem free of guilt to you?



If any of you were alive at the time - what do you remember most about November 22, 1963? Where were you? What were you doing? What was going through your head?