Nellie Connally Disputes Warren Commission

NewsMax.com ^ | 11/25/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

For all the coverage generated by the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination this past weekend, the media managed to miss the only genuine news to emerge from the commemoration.

Nellie Connally, wife of former Texas Gov. John Connally and the only person still alive who rode in the presidential death limousine, publicly disputed for the first time the Warren Commission's "magic bullet" theory, a scenario absolutely essential to its finding that Lee Harvey Oswald was Kennedy's lone assassin.

A year after the assassination the Commission concluded that Kennedy and Gov. Connally were both wounded by the first shot fired by Oswald from the Texas School Book Depository. A second shot missed completely. A third shot slammed into Kennedy's head and splattered his brains throughout the car.

But Mrs. Connally told CNN's Larry King that Kennedy and her husband couldn't have been struck by the same bullet, because she watched her husband react over a period of two seconds after the first shot struck the president.

"John [Connally] sitting right in front of him knew it was a shot," the former Texas first lady said. "He's a hunter and a shooter, you know. . . ."

Mrs. Connally continued:

"So he turned quick to his right and he couldn't see [Kennedy] because he was directly in front of him. And he said, 'No, no, no' and turned to his left. . . . Now this is a second or two. Then, as he whirled back, the second shot hit John . . ."

When pressed about the single bullet theory adopted by the Warren Commission, Mrs. Connally told King, "Do you think a bullet that went through the president's neck can hang there in air between the two seats while John turned to the right, turned to the left and came back?

"That's what I asked the Warren Commission," she explained. "I said, 'I don't believe a bullet could do that. That bullet -- the same bullet did not hit both of them.'"

[texasbluebell]

Seems like you know them very well, chuckw!

Well, considering that we're about 80% of the population, and growing, maybe someday the 20%-ers will give it up...

Nah. When the sbt follwers are down to maybe 2%, their dogma will still be the official story.

[chuckwalla]

I'm still puzzled though as to their psychological makeup.
Perhaps they can't handle anything that shakes their reality so they believe whatever the gov says because if the gov is wrong then they are on their own and that is just too scary.
Must be the same people that are all for gun control and only the gov owning guns because they feel safer when the "parents" are in control. Completely ignoring that gov's killed more people the last century than the entire population of the US now.

[I'm ALL Right!]

Saw that too...very compelling. I don't know what to believe, too many stories out there. HOWEVER, that woman was either psychotic and a really good liar, or she was telling the truth. Hmmmmmmmm I'd believe her before I believe the gov't.

[DustyMoment]

Doubtless, this will come as a shock to you - you're not the only one who knows anything about firearms and trajectories.

And, as a shooting incident, the angles still don't make sense.

[DustyMoment]

You said it, my friend. I don't understand why they cling so tightly to the Warren Commission report. It was discredited almost as soon as it was released and NOTHING has changed since then.

Except time.

[Tares]

I think if the jacket was hanging over the seat at the time and undamaged, they would say JFK was never shot.

Hey! You're onto something. I've never seen a bullet hole in Kennedy's hat, so the whole head shot thing must be a fake. JFK has been chillin' in Cuba with Castro all these years. Oswald was arranging it all in Mexico City.

[Tares]

JFK's jacket & shirt have matching holes corresponding to his back wound, indicating he was seated upright in a normal position.

The available photographic evidence also indicates Kennedy was basically upright. But have you considered The Case for a Bunched Jacket? What do you think of it?

[Tares]

If his right wrist has been shattered by the gunshot, why is he still holding his hat? That's the one thing that still makes me doubt the whole SBT scenario.

Governor Connally held his hat all the way to Parkland Hospital. Are you saying he couldn't have been hit in the wrist until after the motorcade reached the hospital?

[Tares]

You may be interested in the link in the above post.

[Peace will be here soon]

Governor Connally held his hat all the way to Parkland Hospital. Are you saying he couldn't have been hit in the wrist until after the motorcade reached the hospital?


Gotta love it! It must have been his favorite Stetson !! Those Texans sure love their hats !!

[tpaine]

5. The holes in the back of JFK's shirt and jacket are indeed too low to allow a bullet fired from the "sniper's nest" to emerge from Kennedy's throat and cause Governor Connally's back wound. The holes have been measured by the FBI, the Clark Panel (CP), and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA).

The measurements vary slightly, but are close enough to determine that the same missile made the respective holes in the shirt and jacket.
The locations determined are as follows:

Distance downward from jacket collar to hole:
FBI: 13.75cm.
CP: 12cm.
HSCA: 13.5cm.
Distance to the right of jacket midline:
FBI: 4.5cm.
CP: 5cm.
HSCA: 5cm.

Distance downward from shirt collar to hole:
FBI: 14.7cm.
CP: 14cm.
HSCA: 14cm.
Distance to the right of shirt midline:
FBI: 2.9cm.
CP: 2.5cm.
HSCA: 2.5cm.

Note that the only consensus between the sources in the above table is the shirt hole measurements as described by the Clark Panel and the House Select Committee on Assassinations.



The measurements do show, however, that the jacket and shirt holes align well enough that there can be no question but that the same missile made them.


At one point in time those two holes were in exact alignment. In order for the holes to align precisely, one or both garments must have been slightly askew.


If those bullet hole locations are taken at face value, the SBT fails.

---

The author then goes on to establish that the jacket was 'bunched up'.
He does not establish that the shirt was also bunched up identically.

Common sense experience tells us that jackets & shirts only align in identical positions when in conventional postures.
--- Thus, when those bullet hole locations are taken at face value, the 'Single Bullet Theory' fails.

[Tall_Texan]

Did he hold it in his right hand the entire way to the hospital? Seems once he rolled over on top of his wife, nobody is going to pay attention to how or with which hand he is holding his hat if he indeed held it the entire way.

But it is relevant to the "lapel flap" apologist who cite it as "proof" of when Connolly was hit. If the flap "proves" when he was hit, the Stenson ought to "prove" he wasn't.

[Taliesan]

NO ONE who knew Oswald considered him capable of violence.

He beat his wife constantly.

[Tares]

The author then goes on to establish that the jacket was 'bunched up'.

He does not establish that the shirt was also bunched up identically.

Common sense experience tells us that jackets & shirts only align in identical positions when in conventional postures.

As you quoted from the article:

In order for the holes to align precisely, one or both garments must have been slightly askew.

So, for the bullet holes to align perfectly, the shirt and jacket did not align perfectly. They were close, but "slightly askew." Thus, no need for the shirt to align precicely with the bunched up jacket. Only the holes have to line up. Thus, your common sense experience test is satisfied.

The author goes on further to say:

I would like to make one point before I address the photographic record, a record that is ripe with photographs and films of John Kennedy's jacket, yet shows precious little of his shirt, and nothing of the back of the shirt which concerns us here. In regard to the photographic record and the shirt back, it is inappropriate to speculate about that which cannot be seen. Yet, the issue must be dealt with in some fashion. Because the holes in the shirt and jacket align with one another, and if the jacket was flush and in the normal position when the shot struck, then the shirt must also have been flush and in the normal position. Conversely, because the holes align, if the jacket was elevated when the shot struck, the shirt must also have been elevated. That logic serves to conjoin the discussion about the photographic record of the shirt and the coat for the purpose of this essay.

I would also add that if the shirt was not bunched in a manner similar to the jacket (but not necessarily exactly---remember, "slightly askew" for the bullet holes to match), then an alternate explanation accounting for one bullet hole in the jacket with no corresponding hole the shirt and a second bullet hole, in the shirt, with no corresponding hole in the jacket, is necessary. Or, alternatively, one could postulate the holes were not bullet holes at all. But then one would have to explain how Kennedy got a bullet wound in the neck/back area without getting any bullet holes in the back of his shirt or jacket. Or, one could postulate that Kennedy wasn't shot in the back/neck area at all.

[Tares]

Did he hold it in his right hand the entire way to the hospital?

Decide for yourself: Nellie Connally

[tpaine]

The author says: "If those bullet hole locations are taken at face value, the SBT fails."


The author then goes on, ATTEMPTING to establish that the jacket was 'bunched up'.

He does not establish that the shirt was also bunched up identically.

Common sense experience tells us that jackets & shirts only align in identical positions when in conventional postures, seeing that shirts are restrained from
'bunching' by a tie at top & being tucked in at bottom.

--- Thus, when those shirt & jacket bullet holes WHICH DO INDEED ALIGN are taken at face value, the 'Single Bullet Theory' fails.
-- The bullet hole in JFKs back was to low to have exited at his tie, given the angle back to the sixth floor.

[Tall_Texan]

Thanks for the excerpt but it still doesn't prove anything. It sounds like the hat was pinned under Connolly as he rode to the hospital and who knows if his hand grasped it the entire time or not. The poster then specualates that Connolly wasn't actually holding the hat at all. Can't have it both ways.

Nellie was most concerned about her husband (proves what I had mentioned earlier in the thread - she was the only one at the time of the shooting focused on John Connally, not John Kennedy), not his hat. She would remember that the hat was still with him the whole time rather than whether it was still in his grasp or not.

What's relevant is the moments after impact, not later. The argument is that the SBT shattered bones in his right wrist yet it sure appears he still has his hat in the right hand after the SBT apologists claim he was hit. This doesn't sound logical to me and it strikes me that so many of the computer animations remove the hat altogether. I think if they left the hat in the simulations, more people would speculate as I have. And they don't want us thinking that way.

Both pro-conspiracy and pro-Warren Commission sides have a nasty habit of ignoring what doesn't fit their theories.

[Tares]

The author then goes on, ATTEMPTING to establish that the jacket was 'bunched up'.

What is your take on the numerous photos that the author posted in his attempt to establish that the jacket was bunched up?

He does not establish that the shirt was also bunched up identically.

If the jacket was bunched, the shirt also had to be similarly bunched (not identically), otherwise, the holes in the jacket and shirt would not line up and you then have to explain how JKF got TWO holes in the back of his clothing: one in his jacket, and a second in his shirt, which does not line up with the hole in the jacket.

[tpaine]

Common sense experience tells us that jackets & shirts only align in identical positions when in conventional postures, seeing that shirts are restrained from 'bunching' by a tie at top & being tucked in at bottom.
--- Thus, when those shirt & jacket bullet holes WHICH DO INDEED ALIGN are taken at face value, the 'Single Bullet Theory' fails.
-- The bullet hole in JFKs back was to low to have exited at his tie, given the angle back to the sixth floor.

If the jacket was bunched, the shirt also had to be similarly bunched (not identically),

They cannot 'bunch' identically. The shirt is relativily fixed by tie & belt, the jacket is not.

otherwise, the holes in the jacket and shirt would not line up

The holes lined up, proving that JFK was in a normal position when shot.

and you then have to explain how JKF got TWO holes in the back of his clothing: one in his jacket, and a second in his shirt, which does not line up with the hole in the jacket.

The holes do line up. Therefore, ~you~ have to explain how the two clothing holes line up with a hole in JFK's back, which does NOT line up with the exit hole at his tie, when viewed from the 6th floor window.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Thanks for posting the picture but it is NOT the entire windshield either since the passenger side portion is not shown at all. I believe the witnesses who claimed there was a bullet hole in it said it was in the portion not shown. One was a nursing student at Parkland the other a Ford technician who saw it when the limo was hastily and inexplicably sent to the Ford Rouge plant to rebuild it (destroy evidence.)