The Magic Bullet - Fact or Fiction?

[Jerry Organ]

So we both agree he looks very different. In z193 he is smiling and waving and in z225 he has a look of terror.  You say it is umbrella man, I say it's a bullet.  We'll have to disagree on that.

Well, OK. When someone simply stops smiling, they automatically display a "look of terror."

Quite true.  They were not questioned, however, on the details. For example, JBC was never asked "Where is it that you turn around to look over your right shoulder to see JFK?"  and Nellie was never asked "You said you did not look in the back seat after the second shot, but there you are looking in the back seat after z232 when you say you think the second shot occurred".Why? JBC said he felt it immediately.

I think if Mrs. Connally is choosing the Z220s for the second shot and the Governor is choosing the Z230s for the shot he felt (ie: the second shot), then what does that tell you about where they felt their actions before that occurred?

He takes from z224 to z278 to fall back on his wife?

So what? Nellie said she noticed that immediately after the second shot, she saw that her husband had recoil so he was back-on to her. She said it was later that she pulled him towards her.

No.  Greer was describing the turn after the second shot as the turn before his last turn which was just before the head shot.  We can see both of those turns.  The first of those last two turns occurs from about z278-280.

Couldn't find that.

Not according to the actual dimensions of the car, the seats, the jump seat back height, the bullet trajectory from the SN and the positions of the men as seen in the zfilm:

Which you mostly got wrong.

Bullets do not necessarily hurt.  JBC said he never felt the thigh wound.   He said that he felt the impact but no pain from the back wound.  So why would he feel pain from the thigh wound? There was no loss of function of his leg, unlike from his chest wound. It is not uncommon in battle for soldiers to receive extremity wounds and not be aware of it until they or someone else notices blood.

There wasn't a battle going on in Dealey Plaza at the time. And for veteran politicians, there wasn't much about the motorcade to distract them. Jackie recalled that before the shots, she was mostly concerned about her physical comfort, thinking it would be cool under the overpass.

Here is the experience of someone who was shot in the leg:

• "Felt Like My Leg was Heavy And Wet, But Getting Shot Didn?t Hurt secondhand_organs: ?I took a bullet in the *ss cheek that did some kind of parabolic arc and exited out of the back of my thigh. I didn?t feel the impact, but wondered why my leg felt heavy and wet (I was on a bicycle at the time). Getting shot itself didn?t hurt, but getting treated for it did. "

Not sensing pain seems rare even on that page you cited.

Right. Give or take because we don't know exactly when in relation to the exposures the two shots occurred. So between shots captured in z272 and z313 there could be up to 54.7 ms x 42 + 30 ms = 2.33 seconds between them. That seems to fit "rapid succession" and puts the second perceptibly closer to the third than the first, unlike a second shot at z223. Not exactly "missed" shots - certainly not like missing the car, the road and everything else which is what the SBT requires.

The SBT now requires the missed shot to not hit the road? You just overplayed your hand, counselor.

It depends on what he was trying to hit. Both shots were very, very close to the target if JFK's head was the target. In fact, the shot at z271-72 was close enough to JFK's head that his hair flew forward, according to Hickey.

"According to Hickey"? You mean he actually said it was a bullet that made Kennedy's hair move on the second shot?

Time for a "Shoehorn"!

[Andrew Mason]

Well, OK. When someone simply stops smiling, they automatically display a "look of terror."

I am not sure what your point is. JFK in z225 does not look like he simply stopped smiling. Something caused him to assume that pained or startled look. Whatever it was, it happened more than 1/10th of a second (2 frames) earlier because that is the minimum reaction time.

I think if Mrs. Connally is choosing the Z220s for the second shot and the Governor is choosing the Z230s for the shot he felt (ie: the second shot), then what does that tell you about where they felt their actions before that occurred?

For the record, they both saw slides of the frames just before they testified to the WC.  They both chose the same frames - z229-z234:

4H145

Mr. SPECTER. I have just one other question, Governor. With respect to the films and the slides which you have viewed this morning, had you ever seen those pictures before this morning?
Governor CONNNALLY. I had seen what purported to be a copy of the film when I was in the hospital in Dallas. I had not seen the slides.
Mr. SPECTER. And when do you think you were hit on those slides, Governor. Or in what range of slides?
Governor CONNALLY. We took-you are talking about the number of the slides?
Mr. SPECTER. Yes.
Governor CONNALLY. As we looked at them this morning, and as you related the numbers to me, it appeared to me that I was hit in the range between 130 or 131, I don?t remember precisely, up to 134, in that bracket.
Mr. SPECTER. May I suggest to you that it was 231?
Governor CONNALLY. Well, 231 and 234, then.
Mr. SPECTER. The series under our numbering system starts with a higher number when the car comes around the turn, so when you come out of the sign, which was-
Governor CONNALLY. It was just after we came out of the sign, for whatever that sequence of numbers was, and if it was 200, I correct my testimony. It was 231 to about 234. It was within that range.
Mr. SPECTER. That is all.


4 H 149
Mr. SPECTER. Did you have an opinion as to which frame it was that Governor Connally was shot?
Mrs. CONNALLY. Yes. I was in agreement with the Governor. I am not sure I remember the numbers so correct me. but I thought at the time that it was that 229--it could hare been then through the next three or four frames.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have anything-
Mrs. CONNALLY. They were blurred.

Just a comment:  it is interesting that JBC says " It was just after we came out of the sign".  Perhaps he was recalling that he was hit just after he passed the sign. JBC passed the Stemmons sign at about z268 or so.

So what? Nellie said she noticed that immediately after the second shot, she saw that her husband had recoil so he was back-on to her. She said it was later that she pulled him towards her.

He did not describe hanging around for 3 seconds before falling back.  Greer said he fell back immediately.  He said he turned around immediately after the second shot and saw JBC falling back onto his wife.

Couldn't find that.

2 H 118: 
Mr. GREER I knew that after I heard the second one, that is when I looked over my shoulder, and I was conscious that there was something wrong, because that is when I saw Governor Connally. And when I turned around again, to the best of my recollection there was another one, right immediately after.

Mr. GREER. He was-he seemed to be falling a little bit toward Mrs. Connally, to the left. He started to go over a little bit to the left.
Mr. SPECTER. And how far did you catch his movement during the time you were able to observe him?
Mr. GREER. Just a second. He probably hadn?t gotten his shoulder, he hadn?t fell down or anything. He probably was in a Position such as I am now.
Mr. SPECTER. Did he fall to the rear or to the side or how?
Mr. GREER. In my opinion, he fell toward Mrs. Connally which would be to his left or to his side.

These last two turns he described which he described as occurring between the second and third shots.  He is turned around looking rearward at z280-291 and z303-317.   The turn at z303 begins at z301. So the turn at z280 probably began a similar amount of time before, z278 or so.  We can tell he is turned at z280 because we can see his face in z287 turned rearward and if you progress backward, the two light spots on the top of his head remain in the same position until z280 so his head does not turn during those 8 frames.

Which you mostly got wrong.

The point is that the bullet path from the SN at z197 goes to the left side of JBC. He was wounded in only one place on his left side and the wound is consistent with being hit by the butt end of an intact missile (Dr. Gregory).  The bullet wound was debrided down to the femur, according to the doctor who operated on it (Dr. Shires) and it was on an ang, along the direction of the femur.

Dr. Shires described the wound as follows (6 H 106):

"Dr. SHIRES. The wound on the thigh was a peculiar one. There was a 1 cm. punctate missile wound over the junction of the middle and lower third of the leg and the medial aspect of the thigh. The peculiarity came in that the X-rays of the left leg showed only a very small 1 mm. bullet fragment embedded in the femur of the left leg. Upon exploration of this wound, the other peculiarity was that there was very little soft tissue damage, less than one would expect from an entrance wound of a centimeter in diameter, which was seen on the skin. So, it appeared, therefore, that the skin wound was either a tangential wound or that a larger fragment had penetrated or stopped in the skin and had subsequently fallen out of the entrance wound.
Mr. SPECTER What size fragment was there in the Governor?s leg at that time?
Dr. SHIRES. We recovered none. The small one that was seen was on X-ray and it was still in the femur and being that small, with no tissue damage after tha debridement, it was thought inadvisable to remove this small fragment.
Mr. SPECTER. Is that fragment in the bone itself at the present time?
Dr. SHIRES. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. What would your best estimate be as to the size of that fragment?
Dr. SHIRES. One millimeter in diameter--one to two."

There wasn't a battle going on in Dealey Plaza at the time. And for veteran politicians, there wasn't much about the motorcade to distract them. Jackie recalled that before the shots, she was mostly concerned about her physical comfort, thinking it would be cool under the overpass.

Not sensing pain seems rare even on that page you cited.

You have to look at people who received just a flesh wound - no damage to bones or organs.  Besides, the best evidence is from JBC himself.  He said he never felt the thigh wound or wrist wound and even the chest wound did not hurt. He felt no pain until he got to Parkland, probably due to a collapsed lung.

The SBT now requires the missed shot to not hit the road? You just overplayed your hand, counselor.

Well, it vanished without causing any mark in the road.  There is really no evidence that it struck the road.

"According to Hickey"? You mean he actually said it was a bullet that made Kennedy's hair move on the second shot?

That was the conclusion he drew.  18 H 762:
"The first shot of the second two seemed as if it missed because the hair on the right side of his head flew forward and there didn't seem to be any impact against his head. "

It is apparent that he thought, at least in retrospect, that the shots were directed at JFK's head and he concluded from the hair flying up and no appearance of impact that the bullet missed.

[Jerry Organ]

I am not sure what your point is. JFK in z225 does not look like he simply stopped smiling. Something caused him to assume that pained or startled look. Whatever it was, it happened more than 1/10th of a second (2 frames) earlier because that is the minimum reaction time.

"Look of terror" downgraded to "pained or startled look".



He could have been half-smiling, for all the film tells us. But a "look of terror"?

Just a comment:  it is interesting that JBC says " It was just after we came out of the sign".  Perhaps he was recalling that he was hit just after he passed the sign. JBC passed the Stemmons sign at about z268 or so.

Connally says that in the same breath he's talking about his viewing of the Zapruder frames.

He did not describe hanging around for 3 seconds before falling back.  Greer said he fell back immediately.  He said he turned around immediately after the second shot and saw JBC falling back onto his wife.2 H 118: 
Mr. GREER I knew that after I heard the second one, that is when I looked over my shoulder, and I was conscious that there was something wrong, because that is when I saw Governor Connally. And when I turned around again, to the best of my recollection there was another one, right immediately after.

Mr. GREER. He was-he seemed to be falling a little bit toward Mrs. Connally, to the left. He started to go over a little bit to the left.
Mr. SPECTER. And how far did you catch his movement during the time you were able to observe him?
Mr. GREER. Just a second. He probably hadn?t gotten his shoulder, he hadn?t fell down or anything. He probably was in a Position such as I am now.
Mr. SPECTER. Did he fall to the rear or to the side or how?
Mr. GREER. In my opinion, he fell toward Mrs. Connally which would be to his left or to his side.

These last two turns he described which he described as occurring between the second and third shots.  He is turned around looking rearward at z280-291 and z303-317.   The turn at z303 begins at z301. So the turn at z280 probably began a similar amount of time before, z278 or so.  We can tell he is turned at z280 because we can see his face in z287 turned rearward and if you progress backward, the two light spots on the top of his head remain in the same position until z280 so his head does not turn during those 8 frames.

I think Greer's two turns between Z280 and Z271 are really one. Greer just momentarily looks ahead to check his steering. Greer simply didn't remember the brief turn forward, or thought it unimportant. His head is largely hidden by the windshield and rear-view mirror in many of the frames between the Stemmons sign and the Z270s, so he could have looked back earlier than Z280.



Kellerman said he turned around to see the President with his hands at his throat. He does a sharp leftward head-turn about Z252-Z290.

Mr. SPECTER. You just indicated that you had turned to the left.
          Had you turned to the left after hearing his voice?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes; certainly.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did you see? You have described what
          you saw in terms of position of his hands.
Mr. KELLERMAN. That was it.

Kellerman did not indicate there was a shot fired while he was looking backwards.

The point is that the bullet path from the SN at z197 goes to the left side of JBC.

"Computer says: No."

Well, it vanished without causing any mark in the road.  There is really no evidence that it struck the road.

That's what they'll be saying about the Andrew Mason Theory if this keeps up.

That was the conclusion he drew.  18 H 762:
"The first shot of the second two seemed as if it missed because the hair on the right side of his head flew forward and there didn't seem to be any impact against his head. "

It is apparent that he thought, at least in retrospect, that the shots were directed at JFK's head and he concluded from the hair flying up and no appearance of impact that the bullet missed.

I think Hickry is probably talking about the headshot ("hair flew forward"). Could have heard the impact on the head and the sound of the rifle report a split-second later as two shots ("there seemed to be practically no time element between them"). Kennedy's head went backwards and to the left, sort of in the direction of Hickey, so he would have perceived less of the head snap and more of the hair (scalp) flying away. Hearing the rifle report, he then sees the President's much-larger overall movements and thinks it's a reaction to a bullet strike.



Hickey couldn't see the little hair flutter in the Z270s

[Andrew Mason]

"Look of terror" downgraded to "pained or startled look".

The descriptors "terror" or "pained" or "startled" are different ways of describing JFK's look in z225. The look is consistent with something unexpected and unpleasant happening to him and inconsistent with him just deciding to stop smiling and waving. The timing also tells you that because the chance of him reacting to something sudden and unpleasant 55 ms. before, but unrelated to, his reaction to being shot seems rather unlikely.

Connally says that in the same breath he's talking about his viewing of the Zapruder frames.

I was just pointing out that he may not have realized that there was a  significant difference between appearing from behind the sign in the zfilm and actually passing the sign.  No one bothered to ask him. This was one of the problems with the WC: there was no counsel taking an opposing position and asking probing questions, such as I have suggested could have been asked.

I think Greer's two turns between Z280 and Z271 are really one.

??271?.  Did you mean z291?  If so, I agree. He remains turned from z280 to z291 because we can see the top of his head remaining in the same position.  It is not in that position in z279 and before that we cannot see Greer's head as it is blocked by the windshield frame/sun visor. There is no other turn until z301-303 which lasts to about z317.  So the turn at z280-291, which is when JBC falls back onto his wife, is definitely the one before the third shot and the one he described as having been made immediately after the second shot.

Greer just momentarily looks ahead to check his steering. Greer simply didn't remember the brief turn forward, or thought it unimportant. His head is largely hidden by the windshield and rear-view mirror in many of the frames between the Stemmons sign and the Z270s, so he could have looked back earlier than Z280.

Yes, he could have looked back earlier but he would not have seen JBC falling back onto his wife then.  He described his last two turns in relation to the shots he heard.  On the first of those last two turns, he saw JBC falling.  That has to be the turn from z280-291.  He turned forward beginning about z291 and turned back again from z301-303, less than a second later which is when the third shot occurred.

Kellerman said he turned around to see the President with his hands at his throat. He does a sharp leftward head-turn about Z252-Z290.

Mr. SPECTER. You just indicated that you had turned to the left.
          Had you turned to the left after hearing his voice?
Mr. KELLERMAN. Yes; certainly.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did you see? You have described what
          you saw in terms of position of his hands.
Mr. KELLERMAN. That was it.

Kellerman did not indicate there was a shot fired while he was looking backwards.

Kellerman is looking back while JBC is falling back onto his wife. He didn't comment on seeing that either.

"Computer says: No."

You did a 3D model to prove this? My computer says your computer hasn't done its homework. Anyone looking at your supposed 3D view will see that the trajectory through JFK is left to right, not right to left:


A left-to-right shot could not have come from the TSBD.

I think Hickey is probably talking about the headshot ("hair flew forward"). Could have heard the impact on the head and the sound of the rifle report a split-second later as two shots ("there seemed to be practically no time element between them"). Kennedy's head went backwards and to the left, sort of in the direction of Hickey, so he would have perceived less of the head snap and more of the hair (scalp) flying away. Hearing the rifle report, he then sees the President's much-larger overall movements and thinks it's a reaction to a bullet strike.


Hickey couldn't see the little hair flutter in the Z270s

Hickey would have disagreed with you. He said he saw it and he was not looking forward until after z256.

[Bill Chapman]

Myers match to Zapruder
-David Emerling

[Andrew Mason]

Myers match to Zapruder
-David Emerling

The following is evident from Myers supposed reconstruction.

1. Myers recognizes that there has to be a space between the hands in order for the bullet to go from JFK to JBC.  So he makes the space. The problem is that the space does not appear in z226, or z225 or z224.

2. Myers shows the two men in the correct lateral position but never explains how this puts JBC's right armpit left of JFK's midline at all, let alone a distance sufficient to have the bullet, moving right to left at about 9-10 degrees strike it. 

Myers refuses to show us the 3D model from above and refuses to show the path being a straight line going from JBC's right armpit, through JFK and back to the SN.  He refuses to discuss the angle used for his so-called bullet trajectory.  I did a 3D model based on a scale map of Dealey Plaza. It shows that a line from the SN through JFK's neck goes well to the left of JBC's right armpit at z197:




At z225 it is a bit better for the SBT but JBC is not turned as much if at all and the bullet strikes JBC in the middle of the spine:

[Bill Chapman]

@Andrew

The bullet has already passed through by the time the hands start to rise
Unless you believe that JFK's hands were faster than a speeding bullet




'Faster than a speeding bullet'

[Andrew Mason]

@Andrew

The bullet has already passed through by the time the hands start to rise
Unless you believe that JFK's hands were faster than a speeding bullet

There was no space between JFK's hands in z224 either.  If the shot passed through him during frame z224, how do you suppose it missed his hands, wrists and forearms?  Someone should at least be able to demonstrate the trajectory from his neck to JBC's right armpit that misses his arms/hands.  So far as I can tell, no second-shot SBT proponent has done this.