Reply #61: Hmmmm [View All]

[maine_raptor]

Too bad you are "debunking" the Warren Commission itself. Just about all of what I posted came from the WC material.

But a couple of points:

"they were equally convinced that the three shots came from over their right shoulder

READ their testimony. They ASSUME the shots came from over the right shoulder.

"About a third of witnesses said they heard shots from the knoll. Not two thirds, nowhere near it. Many conspiracy buffs have repeated false numbers based on extrapolative conclusions. Witnesses for instance who said they heard shots from the SBD but saw or smelled smoke on the Knoll were classified as saying shots came from the knoll, even when some of them claimed the smoke smelled like exhaust or steam. Over half said they came from the SBD. A few said they came from other places, ranging from the overpass to inside the car itself. Five out of about a hundred thought they came from more than one direction."

Once again, not true. There were 267 people in Dealy Plaza at the time. From the testimony given to the FBI and used by the WC, and using ONLY those who gave an opinion as to the origin of the THIRD shot (head wound), 2/3'rds in those reports said the fatal shot came from the Grassy Knoll. That is based upon the DOCUMENTATION that rests in the National Archives.

And again:

"Zapruder said he didn't know where the shots came from, that the just reverbrated everywhere. That's very important, because we know from his filming that he was on the Grassy Knoll less than ten feet from where a shooter would have had to stand. "

Abraham Zapruder stood upon a concrete post (about 2-3" high) in the memorial. I have stood on the exact same spot, and I can assure you that the picket fence on the Grassy Knoll is a lot farther than a mere 10 feet (closer to 30 or 40).


"The wound in the back of Kennedy's shoulder is clearly higher than the exit wound in the bottom of Kennedy's throat..."

Sorry, I have SEEN the actual photos. I disagree, it is lower. Furthermore the autopsy doctors, which you rely upon for a description of the throat wound, stated in testimony before the Commission that they were "unable to find a path" between the back wound and the throat wound. See testimony of doctors in the Hearings and Exhibits.


"if you add the fact that Kennedy was leaning slightly forward"

The Zapruder Film shows NO "leaning slightly forward" by JFK at the time he was shot. He is seated upright until the shot hits.


"Some said it was an entry wound, some speculated an exit wound, and some thought it was an exit wound from a fragment of bullet from his brain.

Yes, some said that, but the actual doctors who did the trac, and both of whom were quite familiar with gunshot wounds far more than the autopsy doctors, both agreed that the small neat hole was more typical of entry. See Notes of Doctors in Hearings and Exhibits and Doctors testimony before the Commission.

The bullet fragment from the head wound causing the throat wound was something that was speculated much later after the WC report was issued.

As for your links, I am quite familiar with the work of John Lattimer. The problem with Mr. Lattimer is that he is and has been for quite some time a strong supporter of the WC. Back when the controversy over the WC findings first started to heat up, mid-60's, Lattimer was quite involved in "debunking" the opposing view. His smear tactics upon critics and willingness to use mis-information were quite well know within the assassination community.


"The co-worker who rode with Oswald that day said he did not carry his lunch, but carried a long package, which he said contained curtain rods. When asked the length, he guessed 27 inches, but said he wasn't sure. He repeated that he wasn't sure, several times, and that he had just glanced quickly at it in the back seat. He also saw Oswald carry the package into the SBD, but from about twelve feet away. The rifle, disassembled, would have been 35 inches--not a great difference."

Billy Lovelady was his name, and in his testimony, he stated that the package took up less than 1/2 of the width the back seat of his car. He also stated that Oswald carried the package with one end tucked into his armpit with the other end in the palm of his hand. Lovelady was specific on this because he thought it was an odd way to carry a package (see his testimony, he was not shaken on this point). The problem with his testimony in this regard is that a 35" package CANNOT be held that way, human arms are just not long enough.

" A long bag was found next to the rifle near the window. It was long enough to carry the rifle, it had fibers inside it consistent with the fibers of a blanket the rifle had been wrapped in while in Oswald's garage, and the paper was wrinkled in the correct places to mark a rifle. The bag had Oswald's fingerprints and palm prints on it. Six cops witnessed the bag's discovery, and there is a photograph of the bag being carried out of the SBD an hour after the shooting. It is clearly long enough."

Ah yes, the paper bag. First, FBI examination of the bag showed NO trace of gun oil. Yet the FBI agents that examined the rifle found that the rifle was well oiled. Second, an FBI Fingerprint Expert doubted that "Oswald's palm print" was actually on the bag, he could not find it when he tested the bag. At the time of his testimony, he was relying on Dallas Police reports. See, once again, the Hearing and Exhibits of the Warren Commission.

Third: "No curtain rods were found in the SBD, despite an extensive search for them.

Sorry, but a package of curtain rods WAS found and a report of the finding was forwarded to the WC, but the finding was never mentioned in the Report. A copy of the FBI report detailing the finding does exist within the 26 volumes of the Hearings and Exhibits of the Warren Commission.



Look you can believe that LHO shot JFK all by his lonesome, but I have read the WC, I have gone through the 26 volumes of Hearings and Exhibits, I have talked with those involved in the case, I have seen the autopsy photos at the National Archives, and I have been involved in this case for almost 40 years and nothing I have seen, heard, watched, or listened to has ever convinced me that JFK was shot by a lone gunman. And there is quite a bit of evidence just in the material assembled by the Warren Commission alone that points to more than one gunman.