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
Mr. SPECTER. Permit me to inject factors which we have not put on the
record although it has been brought to your attention previously:
Assume this is a 6.5-millimeter missile which was shot from a rifle
having a muzzle velocity of approximately 2,000 feet per second, with
a distance of approximately 160 to 200 feet between the weapon and the
victim; and answer the prior question, if you would, Dr. Gregory, with
those factors in mind?
Dr. GREGORY. I would fully expect the first object struck by that
missile to be very badly damaged, and especially if it were a rigid
bone such as the wrist bone is, to literally blow it apart. I have had
some experience with rifle wound injuries of the forearm produced by
this type of missile, and the last two which I attended myself have
culminated in amputation of the limb because of the extensive damage
produced by the missile as it passed through the arm.
Considerably more than was evidenced in the Governor's case either by
examination of the limb itself or an examination of these X-rays.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, as to the experience you had which you experienced
which resulted in amputations, what was the range between the weapon
and the victim's limb, if you know?
Dr. GREGORY. The range in those two instances, I concede was
considerably shorter but I cannot give you the specific range. By short
I mean perhaps no more than 15 or 20 yards at the most.
Mr. SPECTER. Would the difference between the 15 or 20 yards and the
160 to 250 feet make any difference in your opinion, though, as to the
damage which would be inflicted on the wrist had that bullet struck it
as the first point of impact?
Dr. GREGORY. No, sir; I don't think it would have made that much
difference.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know what the color was of the fragments in the
wrist of the Governor, Dr. Gregory?
Dr. GREGORY. As I recall them they were lead colored, silvery, of that
color. I did not recall them as being either brass or copper.
Mr. SPECTER. Are there any other X-rays of the Governor's wrist which
would aid the Commission in its understanding of the injuries to the
wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. Only to indicate that there were two fragments of metal
retrieved in the course of dealing with this wound surgically.
For the subsequent X-rays of the same area, after the initial surgery
indicate that those fragments are no longer there.
And as I stated, I thought I had retrieved two of them. The major one
or ones now being missing. The small one related to the bone or most
closely related to the bone, and I will put back up here----
Mr. SPECTER. On the new X-rays which you put up, would you identify
them first by indicating the date the X-ray was taken?
Dr. GREGORY. Yes; the date of the X-ray is the same, November 22,
1963, and they may be identified as Exhibit "C" anteroposterior view
postoperative, which is this one.
Mr. SPECTER. Did they bear the same numbers, Dr. Gregory?
Dr. GREGORY. They will bear the same numbers; yes.
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