Identification and Evaluation of Sources
This investigation will explore: To
what extent is it possible that a magic-bullet was fired during the
assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 in
Dallas, Texas, United States?
The Warren Commission
Established
by presidential orders on November 29th, 1963, Johnson claimed that the
stated purpose of this document was “to evaluate all the facts and
circumstances surrounding the assassination and the subsequent killing
of the alleged assassin and to report its findings and conclusions to
him”. It is an official document, consisting of reports by the FBI,
Secret Service, Department of State, Attorney General of Texas, and
additional information from federal agencies, Congressional committees,
state and local experts. The Commission also took the testimony of 552
witnesses and visited Dallas, Texas, to review the assassination scene
and have the FBI simulate the gunshots from the Texas School Book
Depository. The report concludes that Oswald was a “lone gunman” and is
relevant because it was the first to introduce the magic-bullet theory.
Even though the final report was submitted on September 24th 1964 and
made public two days later, it is valuable because the investigation
started one week after the assassination and is thus composed of primary
data. However, to an extent this contextually limits the report because
it doesn’t have the benefit of hindsight, such as computer recreations
of the bullets trajectory. “This Commission was created in recognition
of the right of people everywhere to full and truthful knowledge
concerning these events”. Hence, this source is valuable because it was
the first investigation of the assassination, and even though in
hindsight one can identify the flaws of its content, it became the
primary reference for more updated and accurate sources.
The Zapruder Film by Abraham Zapruder

Despite
its primary purpose being a home movie capturing J.F.K. in the
motorcade through Dealey Plaza, it served a much greater secondary
purpose – live footage of the assassination. In fact, it is the only
film known to man that films the assassination from beginning to end.
Values in regards to its content include the view Zapruder had whilst
filming, as he was standing on a hill and was thus elevated.
Furthermore, the film is in colour and despite the occasional flicker of
the screen and the features of an old grained film, it is of good
quality. Despite this, the source has its limitations, such as not
having any sound, which is an issue when identifying the number of shots
fired. Also, in the instance where Kennedy is initially shot, a street
sign blocks the view and thus provides another limitation to the source.
Interestingly, Zapruder seems to have no emotional connection to
Kennedy being shot as he continues to film steadily – perhaps he
realized that his movie would be a crucial piece of evidence. In
addition to the sign, the nature of the film provides another barrier
when analyzing the motion of Kennedy’s suit popping up when shot, as the
film cannot be increased in screen size. However, the greatest
limitation of the movie is the 18.3 fps. frame rate of the 8mm Bell
& Howell Zoomatic Director Series Model 414 PD. This is because
inconsistent movements of the limousine prevent the movie from showing a
flowing visual, and have caused some historians including David Lifton
to believe that: “the film must have been tampered with”. Nevertheless,
this source is significant to the investigation because it is
considered the “best recorded evidence of the assassination”.
Investigation
The
magic-bullet theory suggesting that “a single bullet could have caused
the President’s … and all the Governor’s wounds” was initiated by the
Warren Commission in its investigation on John F. Kennedy’s death. The
bullet, a CE-399, got its name from being magically immaculate after it
should have caused the seven wounds of both men. This triggered
speculation that more than one shooter was involved, as there was too
little time between the apparent shots for them to be fired by one man.
Despite the magic-bullet theory being so debatable, it would address
both speculations. The Commission concludes that “the shots which killed
President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired from the
sixth floor window at the south east corner of the Texas School Book
Depository”. This is of relevance, as when the FBI recreated the shots
from that location, the trajectory was one of the factors that hinted
towards a single bullet being fired. This led to the report coining the
term magic-bullet, as “there is very persuasive evidence from the
experts to indicate that the same bullet which pierced the President’s
throat also caused Governor Connally’s wounds”. The report also states
that: “on the basis of the evidence before the Commission it concludes
that Oswald acted alone”. This is of relevance, as the autopsy
triggered disputes amongst doctors, as to whether a bullet entered or
exited his throat and thus would hint towards another gunman. Overall,
it can be seen that the Warren Commission was the first official
document to be published, attempting to resolve the case.
The
American attorney, Mark Lane, was the first to critique this in his
highly influential book Rush to Judgment. Lane criticizes materials
from the Warren report by looking at the actual testimonies given by
witnesses at the scene and comparing these with what has been reported.
For instance, he argues that “there were at least four shots, allowing
for the intervals of 2-3 seconds between shots” compared to the Warren
Commissions claim of there only being three shots. However, Lane wrote
in a limited time frame and includes some inconsistencies that were only
revealed with the latest computer enhancements of film and evidence in
books such as Case Closed by Gerald Posner. Posner’s purpose was to
“present the answers to the troubling issues and questions about the
assassination, the issue of who killed JFK and Oswald’s motivation”. He
clearly states that Oswald acted alone (thus agreeing with the Warren
Commission) but he believes that the magic-bullet theory is incorrect.
This can also be inferred from Connally’s testimony and the physical
analysis of the CE-399 bullet . However, FBI tests of the bullets
trajectory and the placement of the men in the car, support the
magic-bullet theory. Hence, this investigation will focus on whether a
single-bullet struck both men.
The
Zapruder Film, “serves as a time clock for the assassination”. Frame
160 is approximately the time of the first shot. Connally’s testimony,
where he says: “I heard this sound [coming from the right] that I
thought was a rifle shot” , is supported by the Zapruder film where he
turns to look over his right shoulder in frame 167. This thus opposes
the Warren Commission, which claimed the first shot to be the
magic-bullet, as “ear-witness testimony, in combination with the
Zapruder film, suggests the first shot actually missed”. However, the
Zapruder film gives rise to the magic-bullet theory when examining the
second shot. In
frame 223, one can observe Connally still turned to his right, and
Kennedy’s white jacket emerging from behind the sign, which appears to
bulge out in frame 224 – “He appears to be reacting to a bullet, which
means he was wounded somewhere behind the sign”. Likewise, Connally’s
suit pops out in frame 224, signifying that he has been shot too. Even
though the view is limited by the street sign, and hence makes it
unfathomable to determine whether the same bullet struck both men, one
can estimate that the magic-bullet struck “both the President and
Governor Connally just as their limousine emerged into Zapruder’s view
from behind the freeway sign.”
In
frame 230, Kennedy is holding his arms up to his throat and Connally is
in the motion of turning to his left. When viewing the video, it seems
like both men are reacting concurrently. As this all happened in a
matter of seconds, the rapidity of this event provides an inaccuracy in
determining how many bullets struck during these frames, but a
simultaneous reaction of both men would support the Warren report, which
states: “Kennedy was first struck by a bullet which entered at the back
of his neck and exited through the lower front portion of his neck. The
bullet hit Connally at the extreme right side of his back at a point
below his right armpit”. This is further supported by FBI tests, which
discovered that Oswald’s rifle could only fire one bullet every 2.25
seconds, which is the equivalent to 40-41 frames in the Zapruder film.
This suggests, that Oswald could not have fired two shots, but that one
single-bullet struck both men, implying that there was a magic-bullet.
Kennedy’s
autopsy photographs provide immense controversy as to weather a wound
was an entry or exit wound and thus make the analysis of the medical
background extremely difficult for doctors such as Dr. Robert Shaw, who
inspected Connally after the incident, and Dr. Michael West, who was
brought to Parkland hospital after Kennedy was shot. For example, Shaw
claims that the neck wound (see Appendix B) is an entry wound, whereas
West claims that the wound is an exit wound. When considering the
bullet’s trajectory, it can clearly be identified that the bullet must
have entered through Kennedy’s back and exited through his neck (see
Appendix C), thus agreeing with Dr. West.
The
bullet itself also provides skepticism to the magic-bullet theory, as
it was unscathed and found on a stretcher at the hospital. Even though,
the FBI said that the bullet was undoubtedly from Oswald’s rifle, to
date, it is not clear whether one of the victims was lying on the
stretcher on which it was found. If Kennedy would have been the victim
on the stretcher, this would have suggested that the bullet did not
pass through Connally, and thus disprove the magic-bullet theory, but if
the bullet was found next to Connally, it would have suggested
otherwise. Dr. Michael West was able to conclude that the bullet did in
fact go through Connally by using his neuromuscular expertise whilst
viewing the Zapruder film. He claims that he could see Connally perform
a neurological reaction to physics trauma when: “It took only an
instant for the bullet to pass through Connally’s chest, then strike his
wrist, and finally settle in his leg”. Dr. Charles Gregory, who
performed surgery on Connally, had not seen the Zapruder film before his
testimony but relied on his medical expertise to estimate when Connally
was shot. He was able to decipher this based on his physical state:
open mouth, puffed cheeks, compressed chest wall. When applied to the
Zapruder film, this would mean that Connally was in fact shot at the
same time Kennedy was wounded. Despite Connally’s own memory of the
situation being extremely lucid, it can be said that the fact that both
reacted concurrently, would lead to believe that a bullet was fired that
passed through both men.
Even
though it seems like the bullet’s trajectory must defy the laws of
physics, it does not. Images like Fig. 6 (created based on the
information from the Warren Report) are completely misleading. This
image is significant because it shows how Kennedy and Connally were
seated in the 1961 Lincoln Continental, a key feature of the
assassination that is often neglected, as Kennedy was seated three
inches higher than Connally. When tracing a line from Oswald’s rifle on
the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository to Kennedy’s back
(entry wound), his throat (exit wound), Connally’s right shoulder (entry
wound) and his exit wound, the line appears to be straight. Hence,
when understanding the actual placement of the seats, it becomes clear
that the trajectory of the bullet is linear and thus claiming it to be a
magic-bullet is accurate.
The
Warren Commission consists of “an initial chapter summarizing the
Commission’s basic findings and conclusions, followed by a detailed
analysis of the facts and the issues raised by the events of November
22, 1963”, and was the first official document concerning the magic
bullet theory. Mark Lane, in his book Rush To Judgement, was the first
to criticize the conclusions of the Warren Commission, especially the
conclusion of there being three shots. Lane argues that Oswald’s rifle
could have only fired one bullet every 2-3 seconds and thus whilst
appealing to the Zapruder film, could not have possibly fired two shots
between frames 223 and 224. Hence, a magic-bullet must have been fired.
Posner, in the author’s note of his book Case Closed, concludes that
“time and technology have caught up to the conspiracy critics…
ballistics and computer studies confirm the so-called magic-bullet
theory”. This agrees to what the FBI ballistic report concluded after
re-enacting the assassination. One must also realize that Connally was
sitting lower and slightly to the left of Kennedy in his booster seat,
so that when tracing a line from the 6th floor window of the Texas
School Book Depository, the trajectory of the bullet is in fact linear
and could have went through both men. Hence, it can be argued that a
single-bullet struck both men during the Kennedy assassination.
Reflection
One
must understand that even while the ink was still wet on the Warren
Commission, new questions were already raised. Posner himself said that
he was only able to uncover where the Warren Commission erred through
gaining access to “new explosive interviews, secret files and the latest
scientific and computer enhancements of film and evidence”. This
investigation thus highlighted the individual methods of historical
writing and how access to newer technologies, makes this specific
investigation easier for a 21st century historian compared to a 20th
century historian.
The
significance of selecting appropriate resources was also highlighted in
this investigation. The most reliable source was the Zapruder film, as
despite accused of being tampered with, it served as a time clock for
the assassination. Other highly relevant sources include the Warren
Commission, Mark Lane’s Rush to Judgement and Gerald Posner’s Case
Closed. Due to the unexpected nature of the event, I realized that many
sources were intertwined and that most books published on the
assassination are based on Marc Lane’s primary criticism of the Warren
Commission. I also recognized elements of personal bias towards Oswald
in Lane’s writing and that Warren himself considered him to solely be
seeking publicity. As the public was so gullible to believe the first
official report published with the intent of answering all questions
regarding the assassination, one could question: How far does one’s
character influence a historical source? This can be applied to today, a
time of ‘fake news’, where trusting the government becomes more and
more difficult.