John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States of America was assassinated on 22 November 1963 at 12.30 p.m. while travelling in a presidential motorcade with his wife Jacqueline, John Connally (Texas Governor) and his wife Nellie in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q91RZko5Gw (The was taken by Mr. Abraham Zapruder using a home movie camera)
Gun Used by Oswald to Kill the President
A commission appointed by the government (Warren Commission) concluded after ten months of inquiry that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Kennedy acting alone using a bolt action rifle with six round magazine (6.5 mm Carcano Model 91/38).
(A bolt action rifle has a manually operated firing mechanism. The bolt or the rear of the rifle is opened manually with a handle. Then the spent cartridge is withdrawn and ejected. New round is placed in the firing chamber and firing pin is cocked. All this happen with the movement of the handle.)
The bullet used was round-nosed fully copper-jacketed bullet [ Diameter is 6.5 mm (.264 in) 160 gr (10 g)]
A Cartridge Similar to this was Used to Kill the President
The commission report was accepted by the majority of the American people when it was released. But the polls conducted between 1966 and 2003 found that as many as 80 percent of Americans have suspected that there was a plot or cover-up.
There are number of 'conspiracy' theories put forward by various people to explain their version of events which lead to the killing of the president. The agents or agencies which were believed to have been involved include the CIA, the KGB, the American Mafia, the Israeli government and Mossad, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, sitting Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Cuban President Fidel Castro, anti-Castro Cuban exile groups, the Federal Reserve, or some combination of those entities.
According to the official version three bullets were fired at Kennedy: one of the three bullets missed the vehicle entirely, one hit Kennedy, passed through him and struck Governor John Connally, and the third bullet was the fatal head shot to the President.
In the car President Kennedy and his wife were sitting behind the Governor Connally and his wife.
Lee Harvey Oswald shot the president from behind from the 6th floor of Texas School Book Depository.
Texas School Book Depository with 'A' indicating the place a man with a rifle was seen
The white arrow indicates where the president was hit on the head and the background building is the Texas School Book Depository (2008)
The postmortem report described an entry and exit on the back of the chest and front of the neck.
Wound on the Back
Wound on the Front of the Neck
Situated on the upper right posterior thorax just above the upper
border of the scapula there is a 7 x 4 millimeter oval wound. This
wound is measured to be 14 cm. from the tip of the right acromion
process and 14 cm. below the tip of the right mastoid process.
border of the scapula there is a 7 x 4 millimeter oval wound. This
wound is measured to be 14 cm. from the tip of the right acromion
process and 14 cm. below the tip of the right mastoid process.
Situated in the low anterior neck at approximately the level of the
third and fourth tracheal rings is a 6.5 cm. long transverse wound
with widely gaping irregular edges. (The depth and character of these
wounds will be further described below.)
third and fourth tracheal rings is a 6.5 cm. long transverse wound
with widely gaping irregular edges. (The depth and character of these
wounds will be further described below.)
(According to the doctors who had attended the President immediately after he was shot, the wound on the anterior neck was altered during the 'treacheostomy. That was why it was large. The original size of this wound had given rise to much controversy. Since it was thought be a few millimetres in diameter (4-5 mm) (The diameter of the bullet was 6.5 mm) and smaller than the 'entry' on the back of the chest some people did not believe that this was an exit. They claimed that this was another entry wound and hence there should have been another gunman who shot the President from the front as well. )
This is the description of the tract.
The second wound presumably of entry is that described above in
the upper right posterior thorax. Beneath the skin there is ecchymosis
of subcutaneous tissue and musculature. The missile path through
the fascia and musculature cannot be easily proved. The wound
presumably of exit was that described by Dr. Malcolm Perry of
Dallas in the low anterior cervical region. When observed by Dr.
Perry the wound measured "a few millimeters in diameter", however
it was extended as a tracheostomy incision and thus its character is
distorted at the time of autopsy. However there is considerable
eccymosis of the strap muscles of the right side of the neck and of
the fascia about the trachea adjacent to the line of the tracheostomy
wound. The third point of reference in connecting these two wounds
is in the apex (supra-clavicular portion) of the right pleural cavity. In
this region there is contusion of the parietal pleura and of the extreme
apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. In both instances
the diameter of contusion and ecchymosis at the point of maximal
involvement measures 5 cm. Both the visceral and parietal pleura are
intact overlying these areas of trauma.
the upper right posterior thorax. Beneath the skin there is ecchymosis
of subcutaneous tissue and musculature. The missile path through
the fascia and musculature cannot be easily proved. The wound
presumably of exit was that described by Dr. Malcolm Perry of
Dallas in the low anterior cervical region. When observed by Dr.
Perry the wound measured "a few millimeters in diameter", however
it was extended as a tracheostomy incision and thus its character is
distorted at the time of autopsy. However there is considerable
eccymosis of the strap muscles of the right side of the neck and of
the fascia about the trachea adjacent to the line of the tracheostomy
wound. The third point of reference in connecting these two wounds
is in the apex (supra-clavicular portion) of the right pleural cavity. In
this region there is contusion of the parietal pleura and of the extreme
apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. In both instances
the diameter of contusion and ecchymosis at the point of maximal
involvement measures 5 cm. Both the visceral and parietal pleura are
intact overlying these areas of trauma.
The second wound was described in the postmortem report as follows.
Entry Wound at the Back of the Head
Exit Wound at the Right Side of the Head
Diagrammatic Representation of the Mechanism of the Skull Wound
There is a large irregular defect of the scalp and skull on the right
involving chiefly the parietal bone but extending somewhat into the
temporal and occipital regions. In this region there is an actual
absence of scalp and bone producing a defect which measures
approximately 13 cm. in greatest diameter.
involving chiefly the parietal bone but extending somewhat into the
temporal and occipital regions. In this region there is an actual
absence of scalp and bone producing a defect which measures
approximately 13 cm. in greatest diameter.
Situated in the posterior scalp approximately 2.5 cm. laterally to the
right and slightly above the external occipital protuberance is a
lacerated wound measuring 15 x 6 mm. In the underlying bone is a
corresponding wound through the skull which exhibits beveling of
the margins of the bone when viewed from the inner aspect of the
skull.
right and slightly above the external occipital protuberance is a
lacerated wound measuring 15 x 6 mm. In the underlying bone is a
corresponding wound through the skull which exhibits beveling of
the margins of the bone when viewed from the inner aspect of the
skull.
Upon reflecting the scalp multiple complete fracture lines are seen to
radiate from both the large defect at the vertex and the smaller wound
at the occiput. These vary greatly in length and direction, the longest
measuring approximately 19 cm. These result in the production of
numerous fragments which vary in size from a few millimeters to 10
cm. in greatest diameter.
radiate from both the large defect at the vertex and the smaller wound
at the occiput. These vary greatly in length and direction, the longest
measuring approximately 19 cm. These result in the production of
numerous fragments which vary in size from a few millimeters to 10
cm. in greatest diameter.
The entry wound with inner bevelling on the occiput confirmed that the President was shot from behind and the large bone and scalp deficiency on the right side of the skull was the exit. When you look at the Zapruder film you would appreciate the unbelievable destructive power of a high velocity rifled bullet
Since the controversy regarding the wounds suffered by the President is centred around the wound on the front of the neck I would like to deal with it in more detail. The conspiracy theorists argue that it could not have been the exit as it is smaller than than the entry wound on the back of the chest.
As a general rule the former is true. All the text books say that the exit wounds of rifled firearm injuries are generally larger than than the entry wounds. The reason for this is that the bullet acquires certain movements (yawing and tumbling) as soon as it enters the body due to the contact with tissues, whether soft or hard and sometimes it gets deformed after contact with hard tissue. As a result instead of the nose, the bullet may present the side or rear end at the point of exit. Since the surface area of the side and the rear end is more than that of the nose the exit wound can be larger and more irregular than those of the entry wound. A deformed bullet also present a larger surface area than the nose at the exit point.
Then what caused the exit wound on the President's neck to be smaller than the entry?
The presence of objects pressing against the skin in the area of exit of the
bullet may affect the size and the appearance of the exit wound. Due to the pressure of such objects the external stretching of the margins is limited producing a wound with minimal tearing at the margin. The exit wound may be round and also have an 'abrasion collar'. Exit wounds of this nature may be seen when the
victim is lying on the ground or standing against a wall when shot and the
exited bullet is stopped by the ground or the wall. They may also be caused
when the exited bullet hits a belt, buckle, tough clothing or a similar object
in tight contact with the skin.
The wound tract of the President's neck wound had gone through his shirt and tie. Since the neck tissues were 'shored' and 'buttressed' by clothing the exit would appeared smaller than the exit and regular.
Therefore, the claim that there was a second gunman who shot at the President from front can be based on the appearance of the the wound on the front of the neck.
Priyanjith Perera
19/12/2012
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