New Evidence in Kennedy Killing (Dallas not Mass)

History Channel ^ | Image of an Assassination

[keving]

Did anyone see the show on the History Channel about the archiving of the Zapruder film?

"Image of an Assassination"

Saturday, November 22 @ 8am ET/PT

On November 22, 1963, Dallas dress manufacturer Abraham Zapruder brought his movie camera to film President John F. Kennedy's motorcade for his grandchildren. As it turned out, Zapruder captured one of the 20th century's most important documents. In 1997, two media companies created a digital replica of the original, which is presented here, along with Zapruder's business associates, photography experts, and National Archives employees, who piece together the history of the crucial 26-second film. TV PG-V

It was very interesting. The most revealing part was that the frames that claim to be the Zapruder film are cropped copies of the original (1/3 to 1/2 screen).

The best part of the film is that the "fatal" blow when Kennedy's head explodes is cleary shown traveling from the side of the limo - grassy knoll area.

The "expanded" version or original version of the film included the trajectory of the bullet which could not be indicated on the cropped photo version.

Please view programs - it is very clear.

[The Mayor]

bump!

[elmer fudd]

It wouldn't surprise me if his head had moved in the opposite direction of the shot. Nervous reflexes can result in odd spasms and convulsions. What makes me think he was shot from the front though are the wounds. Entry wounds are always small and exit wounds are generally much larger.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

google, Ricky White Roscoe Anthony White.

One hit is "Son of Dallas Cop Says Dad Was 1 of 3 Who Shot Kennedy"

I don't know if there are other "My dad the policeman killed the President" stories but here's one.

[RonHolzwarth]

It seems to me as though there has been enough actual war footage taken by now to conclusively determine if a head shot makes the head move towards the source of a bullet rather than away.

All the shots I can recall show movement in more or less the origional trajectory of the bullet.

Didn't they think to examine ACTUAL archival footage of ACTUAL gunshot wounds, or were they just looking for money for grant money to study such?

[The Great RJ]

The ABC News special on Thursday had a digital recreation of the Zapruder film that could be viewed from any angle. It convincingly showed the path of the bullets coming solely from Oswald's position. There was also a book about 10 years ago by Des Moines attorney James Behlin--a staffer for the Warren Commission-- that also clearly dispells any of the conspiracy theories.

What has fueled the conspiracy theories was the way in which the Kennedy family whisked JFK's body back to Washington instead of letting the local authorities do their investigation and autopsy. This was likely to prevent revealing JFK's true medical condition, his Addison's disease and likely a drug screen showing heavy use of various drugs and painkillers. Given his sexual appetites some history of VD might also have been revealed.

However, what is most convincing to me is that after 40 years no leak of any conspiracy has surfaced --other than obvious nut cases. Given the number of people who would have had to be involved in a conspiracy, someone would have leaked details during the last four decades.

[DoughtyOne]

Warning graphic description follows.

I'm going to be pretty frank here about what I have observed regarding the Zapruder film.  It serves to explain why I believe Kennedy's most violent blow was initiated from above, behind and to the right of him.  If you have a weak stomach or would prefer not to read my clinical comments, please stop here.

A close review of the Zapruder film on a number of occasions over the years (on the television) has caused me to believe that what I was observing was a blowing away of Kennedy's facial tissue.  Look rather closely and I believe that you will notice the same thing.

Jackie was looking right into his face from his left side as his hands were reaching for his throat area.  Just then another violent blow struck Kennedy, this time appearing to cause a rip in Kennedy's facial tissue on his left side from approximately his left temple to his chin or neck area.  As a result of this dynamic, it appears to me that his facial tissue was blown forward and momentarily to the right before it rebounded back to roughly it's original location.

A physical blow delivered by a round from the right rear above would apply the most pressure to the left opposing side of Kennedy's head.

I'm not saying shots were not fired from the grassy knoll, but it's my opinion that the most severe shot came form the school book depository window.

Some have mentioned the dynamic of a head or melon moving toward the entry point.  I've seen the same studies on television.  I think they are valid.  It's the facial tissue dynamic that has caused me to believe that the bullet trajectory in question was top right rear to bottom left front.  

[farmfriend]

I agree with everything you have said here. The footage I have seen clearly shows a spray exiting the front causing the head to jump back from the force of the blowout.

as his hands were reaching for his throat area.

This would also be consistent with the recent documentary as they were talking about an entry wound to his neck about where a tracheotomy would be.

[Maria S]

Kennedy was sitting higher and in back of Connolly; one bullet went through Kennedy's neck and then into Connolly. There was no pristine bullet found on the stretcher; that was purely fictionalized in the "JFK" Oliver Stone movie. The bullet that went through both of them was very badly damaged. Oswald was a sharpshooter and sniper; the ABC Peter Jennings special showed Oswald's grade report of his sniper training, and the guy was a crack shot. An 88 year-old man (can't remember his name) showed how he could pull off the same shots, using an identical rifle, in 7.2 seconds. A huge amount of this speculation has come about simply because of the JFK movie.

[usafsk]

Colt .45 writes: "The way the spray comes off of Kennedy's head clearly delineates a frontal shot. His head snapping back means that it was a reaction to a force being applied from the front somewhere! Its Newton's 3rd Law - For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Actually, you are demonstrating a lack of knowledge regarding ballistic physics. A bullet is of minute weight in relation to a human body, and despite it's speed has little effect on a moving human body. All of the energy of the bullet is expended traversing the body. Little is tranmitted to the body. The bullet that struck Kennedy's head hit on the right rear of his skull, blew out two large skull fragments (skin held them on), and then exited the right upper front of his head. The largest damage was to the front of the skull, exactly what one would expect from an exit wound of a high velocity bullet. The exposive force of this ejection forced his head backward, as the matter ejected in this direction outweighed the light bullet by several orders of magnitude.

Moreover, head shots that cause severe neurological damage may induce massive and unexplainable reactions in the victim.

Colt .45 writes: "And accounts of one of the surgeons (Dr. Charles A. Crenshaw) who operating on Kennedy in the Emergency Room at Parkland Hospital that day stated that there was no bullet hole in the back of the cranium."

There's no bullet hole because the damage was traumatic, if you'll excuse the pun. The skull was fractured, skin torn, and any entry wound merged into the overall head trauma. Would you expect an exit and entry wound if you shot a bowling ball covered in leather?

Simply having a screen name of Colt .45 doesn't make you an expert. And a frontal kill shot, nor additional shooter is required for a conspiracy to have existed. Maybe Oswald acted alone, maybe he was part of a conspiracy, but maybe the conspiracy hounds would be better off if they left the frontal head shot issue alone. As is often true in physics and ballistics, what seems obvious is actually wrong.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the comments.

[Oatka]

OSWARD RECALLED AS WEAK, BAD SHOT

Interesting post! Soon after the shooting, there was an article in one of the Men's magazines (Argosy, etc.) that captured my imagination.

The gist of it was that Oswald was trying to kill then governor Connally, and because he was a lousy shot, killed Kennedy instead.

The reason was that Oswald had a Dishonorable Discharge and couldn't get the GI bill or housing or any of the other vet bennies and that Connally repeatedly refused to upgrade the discharge.

By sheer chance, just before the shooting, I had mail-ordered one of those Carcano rifles from the same dealer and found the gun, even in good condition, was a POS. The scope was also crap - low light-gathering capability and resolution. The bolt handle was forward of the trigger, which made fast accurate shooting a chore for someone who was not a crack shot.

To this day, I believe Oswald was the only shooter. If there is any cover-up, I would say that it is that the Powers That Be prefer the public to think of Kennedy as a martyr rather than some poor schmuck who was killed by mistake. The irony boggles the mind.

[rightofrush]

His head snaps back and to the left from the force of the bullet exitting the front.

And the bullet exiting the front caused those behind JFK to be showered with his brains?

BTW, many thanks for putting me on your ping list for things historical.

[rightofrush]

"The Men Who Killed Kennedy" is currently being aired on the History Channel.

[Ichneumon]

[His head snaps back and to the left from the force of the bullet exitting the front.]

And the bullet exiting the front caused those behind JFK to be showered with his brains?

Yes, the motorcade was moving forward, and the people immediately behind Kennedy thus drove through the blood cloud that was still in the air for a few seconds.

You'd get the same effect if the motorcade were standing still and a strong breeze were blowing from "front to back" -- the air would carry the blood spray back onto the people behind Kennedy.

And the spray in frame 313 *very* clearly shows the blood and brain matter spewing forward from JFK, as a result of a shot from the *rear*, no matter how much conspiracy nuts may try to obscure that by hand-waving about specks of blood on a motorcycle officer immediately behind JFK, or his head/body movement subsequent to the shot, etc.

[Iscool]

Didn't they think to examine ACTUAL archival footage of ACTUAL gunshot wounds, or were they just looking for money for grant money to study such?

There is miles of footage out there of head shots of people as well as animals...The only reason you'd have to shoot a watermelon is so you can fabricate evidence to your own liking and sell it to the public...

[JoeA]

7.2 seconds? The Zapruder film establishes the timeline, and it's 6 SECONDS. One shot every two seconds with a 20year old bolt action rifle with a scope that wasn't set right, hitting a moving target. THe FBI couldn't do it, in reenactments for the Warren Commission, with a corrected scope, and had to use a stationary target to get close to the six seconds.

[Iscool]

There was also a book about 10 years ago by Des Moines attorney James Behlin--a staffer for the Warren Commission-- that also clearly dispells any of the conspiracy theories.

But like the Murrah Bldg bombing, most of the witnesses have turned up mysteriously dead...Another Nothing to see here, just move along....

[ALASKA]

The Zapruder film I have seen clearly shows a shot from behind. His head snaps back and to the left from the force of the bullet exitting the front.

Those of us still alive in 50 years will still be talking about the same things we are today. Without the Zapruder film, we would be talking about 1000 other things. The film, along with physical evidence from the limo and areas near the limo, clearly points to the fatal shot coming from the the right front of the President. The melons and gelaton used it tests sited on subsequent replies in this post were not attached to the bulk of a human body, much less one held upright by a back brace such as the one JFK was wearing that day. The head-snap in the film is an extremely violent movement, similar to someone being hit in the face with a baseball bat. The mass of his head would not have been forced back like it was from "blowout". Regardless of the head movement in the film, a shot from the rear would have blown large quantities of blood, tissue, bone and brain matter onto the back of Connally's seat, and into the front of the limo. This did not happen. The trunk of the limo was covered with this matter, and Mrs. Kennedy even climbed onto the trunk to retrieve a piece of her husband's skull. The motorcycle policeman behind and to the left of the limo was also sprayed with large quantities of material from the President's head. His face and windshield were covered with it. A piece of the President's skull was also found the next day in the grass behind and to the left of where JFK was shot the day before. This "spray" of matter from JFK's fatal wound is NOT consistant with a shot from the rear. The "blowout" discussed by proponents of head shot from the rear would have blown everything forward, not to the left-rear. You can't have it both ways. Unless the laws of physics were suspended that day, the shot that killed JFK had to come from the front and to the right of the Presidential limo.

[wolficatZ]

"Image of an Assassination" has been out for since 1998. I would hardly describe it as "new evidence".

"One of the first results of the Zapruder Film Conference
held at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, 9-11 May 2003,
was the discovery that the films available to the public,
including David Lifton's "Z Film" (undated), the Macmillan
CD (1993), Robert Groden's "The Assassination Films" (1965),
and MPI's "Image of an Assassination" (1998), all differ
significantly in the amount of information they provide.
Even the best, MPI's "Image of an Assassination" (1998)
does not include frames 155 and 156; does not include
frames 208, 209, 210, and 211; has reversed frames 331
and 332; and also does not include (what ought to be)
frames 341, 350, and (even) 486 (!). This is stunning.

John P. Costella, Ph.D., has produced a fresh version of
the film, which overcomes all of these deficiencies and
introduces improvements never before seen in any Zapruder
film, namely: corrections for pincushion and aspect ratio
distortion; inclusion of the so-called "ghost panels"; and
masking of open sprocket holes to make information more
accessible. In the interest of advancing the frontiers of
knowledge, education, research, science, and inquiry, this
new, improved version is being made available to the public
free of charge to contribute to better understanding of the
death of JFK. It should be of interest to every researcher.
It may be viewed at http://www.assassinationresearch.com/zfilm/? "

The version above is offered as individual jpg's, but they can be compiled into a viewable film using various utilities.

A. B. Smith, zoom version (AVI, 27.7 MB)   (MPI-"Image of an Assassination")

http://www.jfk-online.com/films.html

There are lot's of resources available to the general public on the net, people. All you have to do is look. That's the first step.