Warren Commission (04 of 26): Hearings Vol. IV (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (04 of 26): Hearings Vol. IV (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Dr. GREGORY. As a matter of fact, it is the mate to this very film,
the lateral view marked "B", which shows the same three fragments in
essentially the same relationship to the various levels of the forearm
that leads me to believe that these do, in fact, represent metallic
fragments.
Mr. SPECTER. Will you describe as specifically as you can what those
metallic fragments are by way of size and shape, sir?
Dr. GREGORY. I would identify these fragments as varying from
five-tenths of a millimeter in diameter to approximately 2 millimeters
in diameter, and each fragment is no more than a half millimeter in
thickness. They would represent in lay terms flakes, flakes of metal.
Mr. SPECTER. What would your estimate be as to their weight in total?
Dr. GREGORY. I would estimate that they would be weighed in micrograms
which is very small amount of weight. I don't know how to reduce it to
ordinary equivalents for you.
It is the kind of weighing that requires a microadjustable scale, which
means that it is something less than the weight of a postage stamp.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you now described all the metallic substances which
you observed either visually or through the X-rays in the Governor's
wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. These are the three metallic substance items which I saw.
Now if I may use these to indicate why I view the path as being from
dorsal to volar, from the back of the wrist to the palm side, these
have been shed on the volar side suggesting that contact with this bone
resulted in there being flaked off, as the remainder of the missile
emerged from the volar side leaving the small flakes behind.
Mr. SPECTER. Are the X-rays helpful in any other way in ascertaining
the point of entry and the point of exit?
Dr. GREGORY. There is a suggestion to be seen in Exhibit B, the lateral
view, a suggestion of the pathway as seen by distortion of soft
tissues. This has become a bit irregular on the dorsal side. There is
evidence of air in the tissues on this side suggesting that the pathway
was something like this.
Mr. SPECTER. And when you say indications of air on which side did you
mean by "this side," Doctor?
Dr. GREGORY. Air distally on the volar side. There is some evidence
of air in the tissue on the volar side too but they are at different
levels and this suggests that they gained access to the tissue plans in
this fashion.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you elaborate on just what do you mean by "this
fashion," indicating the distinctions on the level of the air which
suggest that conclusion to you?
Dr. GREGORY. Recall that I suggested that the wound of entrance,
certainly the dorsal wound lay some distance, 5 cm. above the wrist
joint, approximately here, that the second wound considered to be the
wound of exit was only 2 cm. above this point, making the pathway an
oblique one.
Mr. DULLES. Would you show that on your own wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. Yes.
Mr. DULLES. We have to explain this a little for the record but I think
it would be very useful.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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