Warren Commission (06 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (06 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. SPECTER. In what position would the wrist have had to be in, in
order to have the same bullet make all three wounds?
Dr. SHIRES. The main point was that his arm be up here. In other words,
in some fashion, however his hand happened to be turned, but he had to
have his right arm raised up, next to his chest.
Mr. SPECTER. His wrist would have to be up with the palm down, would it
not?
Dr. SHIRES. As depicted here.
Mr. SPECTER. In order for the point of entry to be on the dorsal side?
Dr. SHIRES. That's right, again, which makes it a little more likely
he was turning, since ordinarily you pronate your wrist as you turn,
whereas, this would have been a little strange for him to have been
sitting like this, but again, depending on what he had in his hand.
It's just a question of which side is up.
Mr. SPECTER. But it would be more natural, you say, for the palm to be
down in the turning, which was as contrasted with a relaxed sitting
position where it would be more likely his palm would be facing in
towards his chest area?
Dr. SHIRES. Right.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have any knowledge as to the damage which was done
to the rib?
Dr. SHIRES. Only from hearsay from Dr. Shaw, that's all.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have any knowledge as to what fragments there were
in the chest, bullet fragments, if any?
Dr. SHIRES. No, again except from postoperative X-rays, there is a
small fragment remaining, but the initial fragments I think Dr. Shaw
saw before I arrived.
Mr. SPECTER. How about the fragments in the wrist, do you have any
knowledge of that?
Dr. SHIRES. Again, there were small fragments which I saw during
the procedure on the wrist, but I was not directly involved in that
procedure.
Mr. SPECTER. What opinion do you have, if any, Dr. Shires, as to
whether the wound in the thigh might have been inflicted from a missile
that did not pass through any other part of the Governor's body,
assuming that it was a 6.5-mm. bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,000
feet per second, traveling approximately 160 to 250 feet between the
end of the weapon and the point of impact on the thigh?
Dr. SHIRES. Well, again, in that wound--it was strange in that the hole
in the skin was too large for the amount of damage inflicted on the
underlying tissues, so that had this been the case, this would have had
to have been a tangential wound. Had it been a tangential wound, then
it's possible that small fragments could have gone into bone as it did
and that the damage to the soft tissues was done only by that small
fragment, so that the major portion of the bullet simply hit the skin
in a tangent and went on in its course elsewhere.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, is it possible that the bullet could have hit
Governor Connally with the thigh being the initial point of impact and
do the damage which was done there with the high velocity missile that
I have just described for you?
Dr. SHIRES. Is it possible to get a wound like that?
Dr. SPECTER. Yes, sir.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account