Two Smoking Guns and Eyes Open Wide

Smoking Gun - Blue Rodeo

FROM MY LEARNED EYES

November 22nd 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the person many believe was the greatest president elected in the United States of America. Indeed it is hard to find anyone who has not heard of John Fitzgerald Kennedy or the Kennedy family. JFK (as he was known) was gunned down as he traveled in an open limousine in Dallas, Texas. Many lined the streets along the designated route taking pictures and home movies, but one became the most watched and scrutinized for it's graphic capture of the moment a life ended. It is known as the Zapruder film because of the camera operator and an enhanced version is included below. 

John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Nov. 1963

The assassination is one of those times that many mark as a life milestone. Do you remember where you were when...moments in time? I wasn't much more than an infant and have no recollection. Yet, I felt a strange connection with the man because his death coincided so close with my birthday. I learned about the events when I came across a book on my mothers book shelves I didn't read it but I flipped it open to put a leaf between the pages as we often did (the leaf is still there). When I opened the book, it was the pictures that drew me. He looked kind and caring and Jacqueline was beautiful in my eye. She reminded me of my mom and I imagined that my dad was much like JFK. Of course where she was concerned the similarity probably had more to do with the hairstyle and the kindness I saw in her eyes.

Over the course of time, I learned more and more about the man who made young ladies swoon and men admire him. But truth is that I knew far more about his death than his life. Admittedly, I got caught up in all the conspiracy theories because the official version of events didn't make a lot of sense and very few articles and programs talked about the Warren Commissions findings of the version of events but rather disputing it. 

The evidence of there being more than one gun is right in front of our eyes and I never saw it until it was pointed out. There is no dispute that Kennedy was struck twice. Once (the supposed magic bullet) that passed through the neck of JFK then the chest and wrist of Governor Connally before coming to rest in his thigh. The bullet was recovered relatively intact. The second bullet struck Kennedy's head and exploded sending skull fragments and brain matter flying. One bullet passes cleanly through another fragments upon impact. Conclusion - TWO weapons. And two guns makes a conspiracy. 

THE WHAT and THE WHERE

So this is how I see it. There were 3 shot fired. There were two gunmen. There was no conspiracy. There was however a deadly accident. 

Bullet casings as found in the snipers lair

Lee Harvey Oswald only got off two shots. Despite there were 3 shell casings found in the snipers nest on the 6th floor, it is quite likely that one of those casings was used as a storage plug to keep moisture our of the weapon. If they were all fired from the same position at the window, all three casings would be in the same area. But as you can see in this photo to the right, two are right below the window and one is a distance away.

The first shot nicked the president and went on to hit the curb and James Tague who was in the further ahead of the motorcade. The limousine was behind a freeway sign and the shot was therefore not captured by the Zapruder film. However this explains why Gov. Connally turned around in his seat. There have been reports of the President holding his neck and saying that he was hit. Contrary to the picture I posted, Tague was hit before the president's fatal head shot. If the bullet that hit Connally was recovered that only leaves a first errant bullet.

The layout of the scene of the crime

The second shot (the so-called magic bullet) was a straight shot made by Oswald that passed through the president and the governor. It surprises me that people still talk about the "Magic Bullet", even the TV show Seinfeld made fun of the theory. Someone put a little common sense to the theory and soon discovered the truth. The bullet traveled straight and true. The governor was seated slightly lower and to the left of the president and turned almost 45 degrees. The Warren Commission seemed to support this single bullet theory but did not explain to the skeptical public how it was possible. Trying to make sense of the nonsensical people turned to conspiracy and the government appointed Warren Commission led to government cover-up. I don't think that there is any way to dispute this single shot fact any longer.

There is no question either that this bullet was fired from Oswalds' Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. This weapon was often referred to as a humanitarian weapon because it was designed to stop a victim without too much damage. 

The third shot was the fatal shot.  None of the bullet casings found in Lee Harvey Oswalds sniper nest in the Texas School Book Depository was of the caliber or type to cause the catastrophic trauma seen in even the Zapruder film. One bullet is designed for combat soldier to be able to have one shot penetrate several enemies. In this case both the president and the governor. The other bullet is meant to scatter fragments upon impact causing the maximum amount of damage to the individual. In this case the head of the president. We don't see this explosive impact with the previous shot.

THE HOW and WHO

Secret Service Agent Hickey holding the machine gun

So where did this shot come from. The Secret Service car travelling directly behind the presidential limousine. Specifically Agent George Hickey. With no conspiracy involved but rather a tragic accident that was followed by an extensive cover-up. Public awareness that the beloved President of the United States was shot and killed by a member of the team assigned to protect him would have had a very negative impact on the perception on the ability of the Secret Service Agency. George Hickey was a new recruit who was assigned car detail (preparing vehicles and/or driving) not protecting the president. Yet, circumstances found him in the follow up car charged with doing exactly that.

Supporting this theory are several often over-looked facts by both the Warren Commission and the public.

• several bystanders and dignitaries in follow up cars in the motorcade testify to smelling gun powder at street level. Wind conditions that day in Dallas support the source coming from the front of the motorcade and not from above (either book depository or over-pass or even the grassy knoll). 

• following the trajectory of the entry wound at the back of the president's head indicate the shot came from a lower angle than where Oswald was stationed. 

• There was an AR-15 machine gun loaded, cocked and ready to go on the floor of the follow up car. This was denied to Warren Commission but later stated as fact by the Secret Service

• The weapon accessible to the Secret Service agent was loaded with the hollow-point type of bullet that would expand upon penetration and cause increased internal damage before creating a larger exit wound. 

• George Hickey was never questioned by the Warren Commission but in a statement wrote that he picked up the gun, cocked and readied it after the head shot was evident. Pictures and 11 witness accounts refute this timeline. Witnesses include 7 other agents some of them in the same car.

I really don't believe in a conspiracy theory in that George Hickey or any member of the Secret Service had intended to kill President Kennedy for it would be quite co-incidental or conspiratory for the Secret Service to have the intent to commit such a crime at the exact moment that Lee Harvey Oswald is firing from his 6th Floor perch. Hickey was a relatively in-experienced agent who in his efforts to protect the president after he was hit picked up a weapon, flicked off the safety just as the motorcade sped up knocking him off balance and the weapon went off. Kennedy was for all intents and purposes dead.

It breaks my heart to think that if this the true events of what happened that George Hickey had to live with the knowledge in a silent hell. For would the next Jack Ruby come after him or his family? I don't and can't assign blame for something that was completely unintentional and accidental but the law has terms and labels for that as well. I wouldn't want any of them to be assigned to George Hickey. 

THE WHY

Lee Harvey Oswald - looking smug

Lee Harvey Oswald is a character that despite his actions, still has my sympathies. He was a troubled boy who became a more troubled adult. He was friendless and bullied in part for his unpopular views and political beliefs. He was trying to find some acceptance and notoriety when he set out in this second assassination attempt. Yes indeed, he did make an attempt on the life of General Walker in April of 1963, possibly because he was fiercely and openly anti-communist. It is thought that Lee Oswald would finally find some acceptance among the communist movement. Certainly the only time in his life that he was recognized as important having been interviewed in May 1963 by the media while distributing pro-Cuba literature in New Orleans. 

Oswald wanted to be a part of the inner circle of Fidel Castro's entourage but was denied entry into Cuba. Killing Kennedy could put him in high regard with Castro. Eleven weeks before Kennedy was assassinated, Castro was quoted as saying "Let Kennedy and his brother take care of themselves since they too can be victims of an attempt that will cause their deaths". Perhaps Oswald took this as a challenge. Certainly things fell into place very nicely for him to carry out his deed. 

Maybe today psychiatrists would jump on the crazy train with Oswald and diagnose him with a multitude of ailments. His actions were definitely troubling regardless of what he expected to be the outcome. Did he think he would get away with it as he had eluded authorities with the Walker attempt? In some of the film clips taken after his arrest he certainly seemed cocky and even a little smug. But like Hitler and the German army, there was family left behind that had to carry the burden of his misdeeds. 

The Abraham Zapruder Film enhanced

THE MAFIA CONNECTION MAYBE?

Jack Ruby was a nobody who wanted to be a somebody. Based on what I have read and heard, I think Jack Ruby was as deeply affected by the assassination as the rest of the nation. But his "I'm a big shot" mentality led him to believe that he would be a hero if he offed the man who killed the President. His actions that day would seem to indicate that he did not have intent to kill Oswald. He left his dog in the car while he ran an errand a short distance from the police station. A delay in the transfer of the prisoner Oswald to the jail led to Ruby witnessing a commotion and going to investigate. Oswald appears flanked by police officers and he almost has a smirk on his face. Ruby is incensed and steps out and shoots him at close range, killing him. He is shocked when he is arrested by the police instead of praised and interviewed by the assembled media.

Jack Ruby about to shoot Oswald

Jack Ruby's own cryptic statement "The world will never know the true facts of what occurred...my motive. In other words, I'm the only person in the background that knows the truth." only added fuel to the already out-of-control inferno of speculation.

If the Mafia contracted Ruby to assassinate Oswald to keep him quiet, why was Ruby running errands when the transfer was supposed to take place? Was there somebody in place to then assassinate Jack Ruby to keep him quiet? That would also mean that the Mafia contracted Oswald to kill Kennedy. Then I would have to believe that he was set up to fail and really was the Patsy that he claimed to be. 

But what do I really know about the Mafia and their motives for anything. It's not like I am in their inner circle and privy to information.  I just speak the language and share a heritage.

THE MAGIC BULLET

Because this is so far fetched that I can't believe anybody would buy into it, I share it here. The bullet was fired from 80 yards away and entered the back of JFK's neck and exited cleanly just above the knot in his tie It then stopped in mid-air for 1.6 seconds before turning to the right and entering Connally's back shattering a rib bone on the right side of his chest. The bullet then exited his chest and turned right as if exiting the vehicle but abruptly turned left to hit his wrist and fracturing a bone therein before exiting once more before coming to a rest in Connally's left thigh. 

The path of the "Magic Bullet"

How anyone could subscribe to that theory blows my mind? Was the Warren Commission really interest in finding out the truth or just placating the public? In the span of 10 days the Warren Commission heard from 552 witnesses which translated to 888 pages of information. No doubt, they had their work cut out for them. Without the ability to cross-reference the frequency of corroborating testimony, it is difficult to distinguish the recurring stories to validate fact from fiction. Plus eye-witness accounts are notoriously unreliable and biased. 

There wasn't a dispute that Lee Harvey Oswald pulled the trigger with an intention of killing the president. The Commission was charged with determining if there was a conspiracy. Witnesses were questioned to support the accepted theory of events not to investigate for the Commission was comprised of mostly political figures and lawyers not investigators from police departments schooled in the interrogation of witnesses. 

It has been said (and I would tend to agree) that the Warren Commission report was a document of omission. Witnesses with valuable information and insight were not called. Critical testimony was not heard - often written accounts were read by committee members instead. Questions were not asked if testimony was contradictory. Evidence was ignored. There was many complaints that instead of continuing with relevant questioning the subject was changed. 

The only thing the Warren Commission got right was that there wasn't a conspiracy to kill John Fitzgerald Kennedy in so much that it wasn't a planned event. But more than one gun did strike the President and cause his death. The big conspiracy and cover-up occurred behind closed doors of the autopsy room after the announced death of the president.


credit where credit is due:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSBXW1-VGmM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald#Kennedy_and_Tippit_shootings
http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/Warren_Commission
http://www.sanfordherald.com/news/x2082482323/TAKE-5-Author-Accidental-shot-killed-JFK