Warren Commission (05 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (05 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Dr. OLIVIER. It struck the rib of the Governor at a lower velocity
because that bullet was less flattened than the bullet through the goat
material.
Mr. SPECTER. Based on the nature of the wound inflicted on the
Governor's wrist, and on the tests which you have conducted then, do
you have an opinion as to which is more probable on whether the bullet
passed through only the Governor's chest before striking his wrist, or
passed through the President first and then the Governor's chest before
striking the Governor's wrist?
Dr. OLIVIER. Will you say that again to make sure I have it?
Mr. SPECTER. [To the reporter.] Could you repeat that question, please?
(The question was read by the reporter.)
Dr. OLIVIER. You couldn't say exactly at all. My feeling is that it
would be more probable that it passed through the President first. At
least I think it is important to establish line of flight to try to
determine it.
Mr. SPECTER. Aside from the lines of flight, based on the factors which
were known to you from the medical point of view and from the tests
which you conducted, what would be the reason for the feeling which you
just expressed?
Dr. OLIVIER. Because I believe you would need that, I mean to account
for the damage to the wrist. I don't think you would have gotten a low
enough velocity upon reaching the wrist unless you had gone through the
President's body first.
Mr. SPECTER. The President's body as well as the Governor's body?
Dr. OLIVIER. As well as the Governor's.
Mr. SPECTER. Does the nature of the wound which was inflicted on
Governor Connally's thigh shed any light on this subject?
Dr. OLIVIER. This, to my mind, at least, merely indicates the bullet
at this time was about spent. In talking with doctor, I believe it was
Gregory, I don't think he did the operation on the thigh but at least
he saw the wound, and he said it was about the size of an eraser on a
lead pencil. This could be accounted for--and there was also this small
fragment of bullet in this thigh wound--this, to me, indicates that
this was a spent bullet that had gone through the wrist as the Governor
was sitting there, went through the wrist into his thigh, just partly
imbedded and then fell out and I believe this was the bullet that was
found on the stretcher.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you have any opinion as to the velocity of that
bullet at the time it struck the Governor's thigh?
Dr. OLIVIER. No. We didn't do any work to simulate this, but it would
have been at a very low velocity just to have gone in that far and drop
out again.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Olivier, in the regular course of your work for the
U.S. Army, do you have occasion to perform tests on reconstructed human
skulls to determine the effects of bullets on skulls?
Dr. OLIVIER. Yes; I do.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you have occasion to conduct such a test in
connection with the series which you are now describing?
Dr. OLIVIER. Yes; I did.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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