The shot sequence, bang......bang......bang?

[Zeon Wasinsky]

Referring to this portion of Phil Willis's testimony: "when the first shot was fired, she turned to the right toward him and he more or less slumped forward" ....

I think seeing the Z226-228 slump would be considered witnessing a "hit" (or the reaction to a bullet strike).

Mr. LIEBELER. Did you think that the President had been hit by the first shot?
Mr. WILLIS. I didn't really know, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. You couldn't tell whether he was hit by the first shot? You couldn't tell whether he had been hit by the first shot or the second shot or the third shot, or by how many shots he had been hit?
Mr. WILLIS. No, sir.

From the Clay Shaw Trial:

 Q: Mr. Willis, did you have occasion to see any affect
     that any shot may have had on any occupants in the
     Presidential limousine?
 A: Honestly, no, sir, because I was trying to use the view
     finder for the camera and I was more interested in getting
     the whole car than focusing on an individual. I did not.



I'm pretty sure his view to the President would be blocked by the Z220s. I think more of the Secret Service limousine would be between Willis and Kennedy by then.



So if Willis in his testimony is describing that he witnessed a non-hit "slump" prior to taking his Z202 slide, it could be this.


Willis would have seen this small forward slump from behind, and so would not know the President was smiling and not distressed. The animation is slowed.

The point is, neither Betzner, nor Willis heard any loud noise like a rifle shot, before Betzners 186 photo.

Mr. WILLIS. No, sir; I took that picture just seconds before the first shot was fired, to get back close up. Then I started down the street, and the regular weekly edition of Life magazine came out and shows me in about three different pictures going down the street. Then my next shot was taken at the very--in fact, the shot caused me to squeeze the camera shutter, and I got a picture of the President as he was hit with the first shot. So instantaneous, in fact, that the crowd hadn't had time to react.

^Willis is refering to his photo at Z205 approx. So if there had been a shot prior, then neither he,nor Betzner heard it.
 
You can try claim that there is some noise 160 or 170 which is causing the Willis girl to slow down running, but the fact is, its actual about Z190 approx when she ABRUPTLY stops

Those SS agents in the follow car, they dont seem to be responding at all to a loud shot from behind even up until the Z207 frame. Only that SS agent Hickey, moves a little.

[Jack Nessan]

There are a few witnesses who thought they saw a bullet strike the pavement. I don't have their quotes right now.

Mary E. Woodward claimed: "I don't believe anyone was hit with the first bullet." She wrote: "The car proceeded down Elm, and when it was about 40 yards from us, we heard the first noise." I'm going out on a limb to suggest that maybe "yards" should read "feet." There's a Dec. 7, 1963 FBI report where she says the car was "about one hundred feet from her" at the time of the first shot. If we take it literal, the car would have just gone pass Tina Towner (looking eastward) or at the point where the head-shot occurs (looking westward). I don't know if she meant 40 feet, either, but I very much doubt a distance of 100-120 feet.

The term "from us" I take to mean the car was approaching her. So how does Woodward's position relative to the limousine relate to where the car was when the Connallys made their rightward head-turns in the Z160s (supposedly in reaction to hearing the first shot)?



Woodward also said the President didn't slump until the second shot (Kennedy seems to first "slump" at Z226-228). Woodward collapsed at the scene (it's been suggested this scrambled her recollections) and has stated the first shot occurred as they "went by" (suggestive that the car was at more of a right-angle to her).

Mary Woodward is very clear where the first shot takes place. It is after JFK faces forward which doesn't happen until Z204. JFK has already passed her and her friends. Also standing with Woodward was Ann Donaldson and she reported to her hometown newspaper there was only two shots.

"After acknowledging our cheers, he [JFK] faced forward again and suddenly there was a horrible, ear-splitting noise coming from behind us and a little to the right."



Ann Donaldson (11-22-63 first person account published in the Washington Evening Star, Second Extra Edition. Note: this article was apparently picked up from a Jackson, Mississippi paper.) "I was standing 70 feet from President Kennedy when he was assassinated today and saw him fall under the bullet that killed him. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy threw herself over his body as the President's car speeded up as soon as the driver realized what had happened. The crowd began to scream and wail and people standing nearby began to throw their children on the ground for safety. I heard two shots. The first shot sounded like a firecracker and the President heard it. He turned to look, as did everyone else, and then the second shot sounded.

[Jack Nessan]

Referring to this portion of Phil Willis's testimony: "when the first shot was fired, she turned to the right toward him and he more or less slumped forward" ....

I think seeing the Z226-228 slump would be considered witnessing a "hit" (or the reaction to a bullet strike).

Mr. LIEBELER. Did you think that the President had been hit by the first shot?
Mr. WILLIS. I didn't really know, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. You couldn't tell whether he was hit by the first shot? You couldn't tell whether he had been hit by the first shot or the second shot or the third shot, or by how many shots he had been hit?
Mr. WILLIS. No, sir.

From the Clay Shaw Trial:

 Q: Mr. Willis, did you have occasion to see any affect
     that any shot may have had on any occupants in the
     Presidential limousine?
 A: Honestly, no, sir, because I was trying to use the view
     finder for the camera and I was more interested in getting
     the whole car than focusing on an individual. I did not.



I'm pretty sure his view to the President would be blocked by the Z220s. I think more of the Secret Service limousine would be between Willis and Kennedy by then.



So if Willis in his testimony is describing that he witnessed a non-hit "slump" prior to taking his Z202 slide, it could be this.


Willis would have seen this small forward slump from behind, and so would not know the President was smiling and not distressed. The animation is slowed.

Willis heard the sound of the bullet strike JFK the same as Garland Slack referenced. He heard bullet impact JFK with the first shot. A bullet impacting flesh is a very definite sound and as a war veteran he probably knew the sound well.

Willis FBI Affidavit June 18, 1964:
"Willis advised that at just about the same time that the limousine carrying President Kennedy was opposite the Stemmons Freeway road sign he heard a loud report and knew immediately it was a rifle shot and knew also the shot "had hit." He stated he exclaimed "Someone is shooting at him," meaning President Kennedy. About two seconds later, he heard another rifle shot which also hit as did the third shot which came approximately two seconds later."


Garland Slack

VOLUNTARY STATEMENT. Not Under Arrest Form No. 86
SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
COUNTY OF DALLAS, TEXAS
Before me, the undersigned authority, on this the 22nd day of November A.D. 1963 personally appeared Garland Glenwill Slack, Address: 4130 Deely [sp?] St., Dallas, Age 59, Phone No. EV 1 2950
Deposes and says:
Today, I was standing on Houston Street, just below the window to Sheriff Decker's office waiting for the parade. I was standing there when the President's car passed and just after they rounded the corner from Houston onto Elm Street, I heard a report and I knew at once it was a high-powered rifle shot. I am a [cross-out] big game hunter and am familiar with the sound of hi [sic] powered rifles and I knew when I heard the retort [sic] that the shot had hit something. Within a [cross-out] few seconds I heard another retort [sic] and knew it also had hit something and all I could see was the highly colored hat that Mrs. Kennedy had on. I couldn't see anything else. I was so sick that I went back to my office but after thinking it over, I came back as a citizen to offer my statement if it could help in any way. During the time I was standing there I did look up into the building where the Texas Book Depository is and saw some people, maybe 12 or 14, hanging out of windows, but I didn't see anyone with a gun.
When the sound of this shot came, it sounded to me like this shot came from away back or from within a building. I have heard this same sort of sound when a shot has come from within a cave, as I have been on many big game hunts.
/s/ G. G. Slack
Subscribed and sworn to before me on this the 22nd day of Nov A. D. 1963

[Pat Speer]

And yet Willis also says...

Mr. LIEBELER. You couldn't tell whether he was hit by the first shot? You couldn't tell whether he had been hit by the first shot or the second shot or the third shot, or by how many shots he had been hit?
Mr. WILLIS. No, sir; except this one thing might be worthy of mention. When I took slide No. 4, the President was smiling and waving and looking straight ahead, and Mrs. Kennedy was likewise smiling and facing more to my side of the street. When the first shot was fired, her head seemed to just snap in that direction, and he more or less faced the other side of the street and leaned forward, which caused me to wonder, although I could not see anything positively. It did cause me to wonder.
Mr. LIEBELER. You say that the President looked toward his left; is that correct? Toward the side of Elm Street that you are standing on, or which way?
Mr. WILLIS. In slide No. 4 he was looking pretty much toward--straight ahead, and she was looking more to the left, which would be my side of the street. Then when the first shot was fired, she turned to the right toward him and he more or less slumped forward, and it caused me to wonder if he were hit, although I couldn't say.

And that's the thing. He says he heard three shots. He says the first shot happened at the Stemmons sign as he took slide 5, yet he says Jackie snapped her head in JFK's direction at the first shot. She can be seen clearly doing that at late z160's and continues looking at him until the throat shot happens. His (Willis) recollections don't match the Z film, or Jackie and Connolys statements.

The evidence is conflicting all round as we all know. What we must do at some point is decide which is reliable. Is the Z film accurate? If so who's testimonies can be corroborated by the film and testimony of others.

Jackie snaps her head to the right after z-190. This supports Willis' claim the first shot was fired just before 202.

[Gary Craig]

Jackie snaps her head to the right after z-190. This supports Willis' claim the first shot was fired just before 202.

Intersting.

How long would it have taken the sound to travel to their ears, register as a sound, and then prompt a

reaction? The Z film is 18 fps.

[Jerry Organ]

Jackie snaps her head to the right after z-190.

There is no "snap" after Z190; just a continuation of the head turn begun in the early Z170s.

This supports Willis' claim the first shot was fired just before 202.

This doesn't work with what Phil Willis said:

    "Mrs. Kennedy was likewise smiling and facing more to my
     side of the street. When the first shot was fired, her head
     seemed to just snap in that direction"

    "she was looking more to the left, which would be my
     side of the street. Then when the first shot was fired,
     she turned to the right toward him"

Jackie turned from "facing more to my side of the street ... to the right toward him".

Jackie begins to turn her head from Willis's side of the street in the early-170s, within the same second that the Connallys made rightward head-turns in the Z160s. By Z180, Jackie is not even close to looking at Willis's side of the street.

The point is, neither Betzner, nor Willis heard any loud noise like a rifle shot, before Betzners 186 photo.

Mr. WILLIS. No, sir; I took that picture just seconds before the first shot was fired, to get back close up. Then I started down the street, and the regular weekly edition of Life magazine came out and shows me in about three different pictures going down the street. Then my next shot was taken at the very--in fact, the shot caused me to squeeze the camera shutter, and I got a picture of the President as he was hit with the first shot. So instantaneous, in fact, that the crowd hadn't had time to react.

Willis thought his slide corresponded with Z226, a frame printed in the Life Memorial Edition that he refers to in his testimony. So he's under the impression that his Z202 slide shows Z226 from the rear, and that Kennedy is reacting to being struck by raising his hands up towards his throat.


Kennedy's right hand waving in Z202 wasn't visible to Willis when he took his slide. So Willis could assume that Kennedy's arms in his slide were the same as they were in Z226.



With that in mind, Willis could claim his No. 5 slide showed "Assassin's 1st Bullet Strikes The President". And maybe he was hearing reverberations from the first shot as he snapped his No. 5 slide.

^Willis is refering to his photo at Z205 approx. So if there had been a shot prior, then neither he,nor Betzner heard it.

Betzner thinks he heard more than two shots, but could only recall two shots because they related to things he was doing (winding his camera) or witnessing (the head shot). Some "Bunched" shot advocates claim Betzner missed hearing a shot that occurred between his "winding the camera" shot and the head shot. The "early miss" advocates claim the first shot was more likely to be overlooked or not as distinctively recalled as most thought the first shot was anything but a shot ("firecracker" or "backfire") and were concentrating on seeing the motorcade.

You can try claim that there is some noise 160 or 170 which is causing the Willis girl to slow down running, but the fact is, its actual about Z190 approx when she ABRUPTLY stops

I allow a second or so for the Willis girl, who is running full-on in the Z160s, to process the noise, decide to stop and physically bring her body to a stop.

Those SS agents in the follow car, they dont seem to be responding at all to a loud shot from behind even up until the Z207 frame. Only that SS agent Hickey, moves a little.

One can't take witness statements as absolutely literal, but if Agent John Ready (left inset, above) was reasonably accurate, he makes a rightward head-turn during the Z160s, about when the Governor and Mrs. Kennedy made theirs.

    "I immediately turned to my right rear trying to locate the
     source but was not able to determine the exact location."
                                                            -- John Ready

One can't say exactly why people are turning their heads rightward in the Z160s-170s or why Rosemary Willis was motivated to slow down and stop. I'm offering the thought that there might have been a shot fired then. Anything within reason is worth consideration. Things like Greer shooting Kennedy or Day constructing the paper bag probably are not worth consideration.

[Jerry Organ]

Mary Woodward is very clear where the first shot takes place. It is after JFK faces forward which doesn't happen until Z204.

I don't see how you can tell that Kennedy's head position is different in Z204 than it is in, for example, in Z193. The major difference is that his right hand obscures more of his face in Z204.

Also, there isn't much time between a post-Z204 first shot and (by my reckoning) the Z226-228 "slumping" second shot. Woodward said she saw Kennedy slump on the second shot.

JFK has already passed her and her friends. Also standing with Woodward was Ann Donaldson and she reported to her hometown newspaper there was only two shots.

"After acknowledging our cheers, he [JFK] faced forward again and suddenly there was a horrible, ear-splitting noise coming from behind us and a little to the right."

Kennedy turns his head forward between Z153 and the Z160s. Kennedy seems to be looking pass Woodward's group by then.

[Joe Elliott]

Jackie snaps her head to the right after z-190. This supports Willis' claim the first shot was fired just before 202.

Questions:

How does Altgen?s claim that the first shot occurred within a fraction of a second of his picture, at z255, which would mean a first shot after z234, support Willis?s claim of a shot just before he took his picture at z202?

Doesn?t there seem to be a pattern of photographers (Betzner, Willis and Altgens) convincing themselves that their picture was taken at a historically significant moment, just about when the first shot was fired?