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
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Referring now to the front side of the Governor's shirt,
what, if anything, did you observe with respect to a tear or a hole
thereon, as to the body of the shirt?
Mr. FRAZIER, I found in the right chest area of the shirt, considering
the shirt when it is being worn, a very irregular tear more or less
in the form of an "H," of the letter "H." This tear was approximately
1-1/2 inches in height, with the crossbar tear being approximately 1
inch in width, which caused a very irregularly shaped and enlarged
hole in the front of the shirt. The hole is located 5 inches from the
right-side seam, and 9 inches below the top of the right sleeve. The
9-inch figure is from the top of the right shoulder where the sleeve
adjoins the yoke of the shirt.
Mr. SPECTER. Had that garment been cleaned and pressed, Mr. Frazier,
prior to the time you examined it?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Were there sufficient characteristics then remaining on
the hole on the front side to enable you to formulate an opinion as to
the cause of the hole?
Mr. FRAZIER. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Could it have been caused by a 6.5 millimeter bullet
exiting from the chest of the Governor?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, it could.
Mr. SPECTER. Now what, if anything----
Mr. DULLES. Could I ask there, would the size and character of this
hole indicate the condition of the bullet, I mean as to whether it was
tumbling or whether it was a mutilated bullet or anything of that kind?
Mr. FRAZIER. No, sir; it would not.
Mr. DULLES. Even a bullet in full flight, full velocity could have made
this kind of a hole in the shirt?
Mr. FRAZIER. It could have, particularly if the shirt had been wrinkled
at the time it passed through, and particularly because the material in
this shirt tore rather severely at the time the object passed through,
indicating a very weak structure of the cotton fiber, so that it would
tear out of all proportion to a stronger fabric.
And for that reason, the shape of the hole could be affected by the
condition of the material as well as any folds in the material or, as
you say, by a mutilated bullet or a passage of a bullet through the
cloth at an angle to the surface or the passing of a bullet partially
sideways through the cloth.
(Discussion off the record.)
Mr. DULLES. Will you proceed?
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. Frazier, what, if any, defect or hole did you observe
on the right sleeve of the Governor's shirt?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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