First shot reactions

[Charles Collins]

In the clip below, I believe that you can see each of the limo occupants simultaneously react to the sound of the first shot.



JFK suddenly drops his right hand from his hair and looks to his left (towards Jackie). Then suddenly returns his head to the crowd on his right (probably reacting to the sound of someone yelling).

John Connally first turns to his right, then quickly turns to his left (towards Nellie), then back to his right.

Jackie suddenly turns her head further to her left, then back towards the front of the limo.

Nellie Connally suddenly turns to her right (towards John Connally).

Agent Roy Kellerman suddenly turns his head to his right, then quickly back towards the front.

Agent Greer (driver) appears to have his gaze towards the camera (Zapruder) and doesn't appear to move his head. He is the exception, perhaps Zapruder (up high on the pedistal) caught his eye.

And last, but not least, William T. McIntyre (on the left running board of the presidential follow-up car) Hickey suddenly looks to his left and down. He appears to me to be looking at the tires of the limo for a blow-out. (Perhaps he thought the loud noise might have been a tire blowing out.)

Edit: William T. McIntyre is almost hidden behind Clint Hill. However, I believe I see him suddenly duck his head and look around Clint Hill.

[Charles Collins]

Additionally, notice the contrast in the facial expressions in the two photographs below:

Willis took this photo near the beginning of the clip posted in the first post above. Everyone is smiling and in contact with the crowd.




Croft took this photo closer to the end of the clip in the original post. Both John Connally and Jackie have quizzical expressions. It appears to me that they are looking around and wondering what that loud noise they just heard was.

[Andrew Mason]

In the clip below, I believe that you can see each of the limo occupants simultaneously react to the sound of the first shot.



JFK suddenly drops his right hand from his hair and looks to his left (towards Jackie). Then suddenly returns his head to the crowd on his right (probably reacting to the sound of someone yelling).

John Connally first turns to his right, then quickly turns to his left (towards Nellie), then back to his right.

Jackie suddenly turns her head further to her left, then back towards the front of the limo.

Nellie Connally suddenly turns to her right (towards John Connally).

Agent Roy Kellerman suddenly turns his head to his right, then quickly back towards the front.

Agent Greer (driver) appears to have his gaze towards the camera (Zapruder) and doesn't appear to move his head. He is the exception, perhaps Zapruder (up high on the pedistal) caught his eye.

And last, but not least, William T. McIntyre (on the left running board of the presidential follow-up car) suddenly looks to his left and down. He appears to me to be looking at the tires of the limo for a blow-out. (Perhaps he thought the loud noise might have been a tire blowing out.)

All reactions are "sudden" if that is the test.  It does not take seconds to turn one's head or lift an arm.   

There is not only no evidence that there was a shot by that point but there is abundant evidence that there was not:  after z186 (Betzner; Hughes); after z191 (after the VP limo finished the turn) and just before z202 (Willis); when the President was opposite the Thornton Freeway sign (TE Moore) or opposite the west corner of the TSBD (Greer).  Furthermore, there are at least 20 witnesses who said JFK reacted to the first shot by immediately moving left/bringing his hands toward his neck/looking startled or surprised. No one said he looked like he does in the frames prior to z195 after the first shot.

The movements you see from z162 or so to z195 is consistent with what Mary Woodward said occurred just before the first "horrible ear-shattering noise".

[Charles Collins]

The leftward turns were from hearing shouts from the crowd there. During the turning and straightening up of the limousine. the Kennedys and Connallys had ten seconds or so to interact with the crowd on their right. Jackie and the Connallys said they turn their heads to their right in reaction to the first shot. The Connallys begin to make rightward head turns in the Z160s, followed by Mrs. Kennedy in the early-Z170s.

Nellie would have been turned rightward enough to see the President stop waving and assume he was wounded on the first shot. She may also have seen him stop smiling if he had seen the Umbrella Man protester.

I can't see Kellerman turn his head.

You seem to have gotten McIntyre mixed up with Agent Hickey.

    "After a very short distance I heard a loud report which sounded like a firecracker.
     It appeared to come from the right and rear and seemed to me to be at ground level.
     I stood up and looked to my right and rear in an attempt to identify it."

Supposedly he was not "stood up" when he heard the first shot.

The leftward turns were from hearing shouts from the crowd there. During the turning and straightening up of the limousine. the Kennedys and Connallys had ten seconds or so to interact with the crowd on their right. Jackie and the Connallys said they turn their heads to their right in reaction to the first shot. The Connallys begin to make rightward head turns in the Z160s, followed by Mrs. Kennedy in the early-Z170s.

Jerry, there wasn't much of a crowd on that side of the street (to shout). And the expressions on the faces of Jackie and John Connally in Croft's photo certainly don't show any connection to the crowd. John Connally briefly turns to his right, then left, and back to the right. All of the reactions by six different people happen in the same span of 2.07 seconds.

You seem to have gotten McIntyre mixed up with Agent Hickey.

Yes, I believe you are correct. Thank you. McIntyre is almost hidden right behind Clint Hill. However, on a closer look, it appears to me that he also reacts by suddenly ducking his head and looking around Clint Hill. That would be seven different people reacting during the same interval of 2.07 seconds.

[Charles Collins]

All reactions are "sudden" if that is the test.  It does not take seconds to turn one's head or lift an arm.   

There is not only no evidence that there was a shot by that point but there is abundant evidence that there was not:  after z186 (Betzner; Hughes); after z191 (after the VP limo finished the turn) and just before z202 (Willis); when the President was opposite the Thornton Freeway sign (TE Moore) or opposite the west corner of the TSBD (Greer).  Furthermore, there are at least 20 witnesses who said JFK reacted to the first shot by immediately moving left/bringing his hands toward his neck/looking startled or surprised. No one said he looked like he does in the frames prior to z195 after the first shot.

The movements you see from z162 or so to z195 is consistent with what Mary Woodward said occurred just before the first "horrible ear-shattering noise".

Additional evidence (that can be pretty accurately clocked) to counter your opinion:

Harkness suddenly turns from his duty of controlling the Main Street/Houston Street intersection and looking intently for something in the direction of the presidential limo.

Hughes' film shows he lifted his finger enough to stop the camera for six frames (a very brief 0.3 seconds, very unusual and could be indicative of a reaction to the first shot). Simultaneously, the Dorman film shows an extremely blurred frame then stops for 49 frames.

Tina Towner film stopped just before the unusual Hughes and Dorman films' anomalies. Tina has said she stopped filming just before the first shot.

The observant Howard Brennan said in his 11/22/63 affidavit that JFK's back was inline with the last window of the TSBD when the first shot occurred. From Brennan's position this puts JFK inline with those windows at just before Z133.

Rosemary Willis suddenly turns her head over her right shoulder and looks back in the direction of the TSBD just after Z133 and begins to slow (in order to stop). She has said that she did just that.

[Charles Collins]

Do you know how Dorman was holding her camera?

By "last window" do you mean the SW window? Mason made the same mistake.

Brennan said "the President's back was in line with the last set of windows I have previously described". That means the SE corner window set. He appears to be describing Kennedy's back was facing the SE corner when he heard the first shot. This works fairly well for the Z220s, but very angular if a Z240s shot. Brennan said it was the first shot in an affidavit that describes two shots in total.

She's watching where's she headed and looking over at the cars.

Do you know how Dorman was holding her camera?

Yes, she wasn’t looking through the viewfinder, if that is what you mean.

By "last window" do you mean the SW window?

Yes, that is the logical interpretation.

She's watching where's she headed and looking over at the cars.

No way

[Gary Craig]

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.

[Charles Collins]

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.

In my opinion, Willis got the sequence a little confused. I don’t doubt that the noise of the first shot caused him to press the shutter button. However, I believe it was on the previous photo. The one that I posted above (in the second post). It appears that he was still trying to focus when it was inadvertently taken due to the noise of the first shot.