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. And was the President subsequently pronounced dead?
Dr. PETERS. That's correct.
Mr. SPECTER. And about what time was that pronouncement made?
Dr. PETERS. I could not give you the time within 5 or 10 minutes--I can
tell you this much, though, I know what actually did happen.
Mr. SPECTER. Tell me that.
Dr. PETERS. I was--we pronounced him dead and I was in the room,
present while the priest gave him the last rites, during which time
there was Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Baxter and Dr. McClelland, Mrs. Kennedy,
the priest, and myself. Dr. Perry had left, as had most of the others
by that time.
Mr. SPECTER. Why did you remain?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I just hadn't gotten out of the door when the priest
first came in and Dr. Jenkins asked everyone to leave except those
people I have just named.
Mr. SPECTER. Why did he exclude those from the group which were to
leave?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I think they were nurses, and several other people he
thought just best not remain and I'm sure that there was no intention
to personally exclude anyone behind his request. He just sort of looked
around and saw who appeared to be there and asked the others to leave.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you observe as to the nature of the President's
wound?
Dr. PETERS. Well, as I mentioned, the neck wound had already been
interfered with by the tracheotomy at the time I got there, but I
noticed the head wound, and as I remember--I noticed that there was a
large defect in the occiput.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you notice in the occiput?
Dr. PETERS. It seemed to me that in the right occipitalparietal area
that there was a large defect. There appeared to be bone loss and brain
loss in the area.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you notice any holes below the occiput, say, in this
area below here?
Dr. PETERS. No, I did not and at the time and the moments immediately
following the injury, we speculated as to whether he had been shot once
or twice because we saw the wound of entry in the throat and noted
the large occipital wound, and it is a known fact that high velocity
missiles often have a small wound of entrance and a large wound of
exit, and I'm just giving you my honest impressions at the time.
Mr. SPECTER. What were they?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I wondered whether or not he had been shot once or
twice--that was my question at the time.
Mr. SPECTER. When you say "we speculate," whom do you mean by that?
Dr. PETERS. Well, the doctors in attendance there.
Mr. SPECTER. Any doctor specifically?
Dr. PETERS. I wouldn't mention anyone specifically, we all discussed
it. I did not know whether or not he had been shot once or twice.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you have an opportunity to observe the wound on his
neck prior to the time the tracheotomy was performed?
Dr. PETERS. No, I did not. The tracheotomy was already being done by
Dr. Baxter and Dr. Perry when I got in the room. I did not see the
wound on his neck.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you make any written reports on the treatment of
President Kennedy?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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