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The Single (Magic) Bullet Theory continues to endure as the official version of the wounding of Governor John Connally. Many highly regarded critics of the Warren Commission, rightly dismiss the idea that one bullet wounded both men, but accept the general time frame of the Governor's wounding. But if the presence of a fact, or the lack of a necessary fact makes a theory impossible; then that theory must be discarded, and a new theory developed which includes all of the known facts. To date what has been occurring is rather to ignore the evidence that doesn't fit the existing theory. I would like to offer a different scenario of the wounding of Governor Connally; one that is observable on the Zapruder film, is backed up by numerous testimony, and is supported by scientific evidence.
When I first began studying this case I was attracted to the wounding of Governor Connally because little attention had been paid to it, yet it is central to the Single Bullet Theory. I had read about the Governor's Lapel Flap, shoulder drop, and puffed cheeks. While I recognized that the time separation between these events logically precluded that they were all the result of a single bullet strike, I had no reason to believe that the Governor had not been wounded during that time frame. In this commonly accepted view, the Governor was wounded shortly after the throat shot to the President, but long before the fatal headshot. But, two thirds of all ear witnesses of three shots, including Secret Service Agents William Greer and Roy Kellerman seated in the front of the limousine, tell a story diametrically opposed to this. These witnesses heard a single shot followed by a pause, then two shots in rapid succession.
THE CONNALLY'S ASSESMENTS
Governor Connally told the Warren Commission, "I was turning to look back
over my left
shoulder into the back seat, but I never got that far in my turn. I got
about in the position I am in
now facing you, looking a little bit to the left of center, and then I felt
like someone had hit me in
the back."(1) He elaborated to the House Select Committee on Assassinations
(HSCA) "...so I
was in the process of, at least I was turning to look over my left shoulder
into the back seat to
see if I could see him. I never looked, I never made the full turn. About
the time I turned back
where I was facing more or less straight ahead, the way the car was moving,
I was hit. I was
knocked over, just doubled over by the force of the bullet. It went in my
back and came out my
chest about 2 inches below and to the left of my right nipple. The force of
the bullet drove my
body over almost double and when I looked, immediately I could see I was
just drenched with
blood. (2)
This sequence of events where the Governor turns to the left just prior to being hit is also reported by Mr. S.M. Holland, who was standing on the triple overpass, in Mark Lane's documentary film, Rush to Judgment -- The Plot to Kill Kennedy. "The first bullet, the President slumped over and Governor Connally made his turn to the right and then back to the left and that's when the second shot was fired and knocked him down to the floorboard."
Mrs. Nellie Connally supported her husband's description in her testimony to the House Select Commitee:
Mr. DODD: "So, you are still looking at the President and it is your recollection that you then heard what sounded like a second shot?
Mrs. CONNALLY: "Yes.
Mr. DODD: "Is that correct?
Mrs. CONNALLY: "Yes. What was a second shot."
Mr. DODD: "At that point your husband, Governor Connally, slumped over in your direction?"
Mrs. CONNALLY: "No, he lunged forward and then just kind of collapsed." (3)
What the Governor, his wife, and Mr. Holland aptly describe is Newton's Law of Conservation of Momentum. It says that when an object in motion collides with a stationary one, all momentum will be conserved, or in other words all momentum will be accountable after the collision. This conservation of momentum results in the deceleration of the bullet, accelerating the torso as the bullet penetrates the body impacting bones, etc.
IDENTIFYING THE IMPACT
When I learned of these statements concerning the impact of the bullet, it
was immediately
apparent that such forward motion would pinpoint the time of the impact
within one frame of the
Zapruder film, so I decided to look for that motion. At frame 224, the time
of the Lapel Flap
there is no motion that matches the description given by the Governor . So
I looked at Frame
236, the shoulder drop, surely if the bullet drove his shoulder down it
would have driven him
forward; but no. What about frame 238, the puffing of the cheeks? Still no
cigar. So rather than
accept that the Governor was not yet wounded most researchers choose to
ignore the
statements of the two people most intimate with the event, the wounded man
and his wife who
was seated next to him at the time of the shooting.
So I continued to let the VCR run in slow motion. During the headshot sequence I thought I saw the governor driven forward. I replayed the headshot sequence time after time at normal speed, in slow motion, and in single frame step mode, often covering the President with my hand so as to be able to focus completely on the Governor without my eyes being drawn to the headshot.
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All indications are that the Governor was the victim of the last two shots of what was obviously a four shot volley aimed at the President's head. The first shot of this volley, at frame 312, was apparently only a tangential hit, gently shoving the President's head forward and possibly denting the windshield frame of the limo. The second shot from the Grassy Knoll at frame 313 was a solid impact, driving the President's head violently backward. With JFK's head deflected from its targeted location, the third shot sailed past at frame 315 and into the Governor's back shattering his fifth rib, rupturing his right lung and exiting out of his chest. The last shot, fired at about frame 338, impacts the Governor's wrist, shattering the radius bone with the remains coming to rest in his thigh.
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Having determined that the Governor had been wounded immediately after the headshot to the President, what caused the Lapel Flap, Shoulder Drop and Puffed Cheeks?
NELLIE'S QUICK REACTION
A close analysis of the Zapruder film will reveal that Nellie Connally was
the first to react
defensively, by turning and pressing her back against the left side of the
car. In frame 190, and
the Willis Photo #5(5), taken at about the same time, Nellie is still facing
forward indicating that
she had not yet recognized the threat; but in frame 240, she can be seen to
be in this position
with certainty. Her location as evidenced by her hair, which is
essentially all that is visible,
appears already fixed as early as frame 225. Considering that she cannot be
seen to make a
turn after exiting from behind the Stemmons Freeway sign, it is appparent
that she had already
assumed the position much earlier. Her testimony to the HSCA indicates that
she made the turn
while hidden from the camera by the Stemmons Freeway sign, "I just heard a
disturbing noise
and turned to my right from where I thought the noise had come and looked in
the back and saw
the President clutch his neck with both hands." (6)
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THE LAPEL FLAP
Gerald Posner, in his book "Case Closed" (8), wrongly described the fact
that Governor
Connally's lapel flapped up at about frame 224, as evidence of a bullet
strike. For such a bullet
to penetrate both men, as proposed in the Single Bullet Theory, the right to
left trajectory through
Connally would have to line up with JFK's neck and the weapon.
At frame 224, Connally is seated erect, relaxed with his torso facing forward. The trajectory of the bullet that entered under his right armpit and exited below his right nipple was measured by Dr. Robert Shaw, Governor Connally's attending physician, at an angle of 27 degrees relative to the forward facing torso(9). If this trajectory were traced backwards at frame 224, the bullet would have passed several feet to Kennedy's right.
If the lapel flap is not the result of a bullet hit nor the result of wind as some assume, the only logical cause of the lapel flap is Nellie pulling to the left on the back of her husband's suit coat in her attempt to ... pull him down out of the line of fire. Evidence of Mrs. Connally's effort is that the "V" of his lapel is no longer centered, but is moved to the right beginning with frame 223, then causing the lapel flap at frame 224.
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THE SHOULDER DROP
Governor Connally's shoulder can be seen to drop sharply at frame 238,
while his torso remains
essentially stationary. This movement was reported as evidence of a bullet
hit by Dr. Cyril
Wecht in his testimony to the HSCA (10). Governor Connally was not hit in
the upper arm or the
shoulder, either of which could have driven the shoulder down; but instead
he was wounded
under the armpit. In addition, the trajectory through the body of 25
degrees downward, as
measured by Dr. Shaw (11), would have transferred the majority of its
momentum in the forward
direction instead of downward, as was noted by the Governor and his wife.
This shoulder motion could only have been the result of a downward pull on his right arm or coat sleeve by his wife in her attempt to extricate him from the line of fire. Since his torso was turned to face the right side of the car at this point in time, his right arm was within Nellie's reach. The fact that his right arm is not visible throughout this event is further indication that it was behind his back. During this time he rotates further around to the right as a result of Nellie pulling on his right arm/coat sleeve. Note that he remains in the same shoulder down orientation in frame 261, over a second later. If he had been struck by a bullet the shoulder would have rebounded upward after ending its downward travel; instead it is obviously being pulled down. Additional evidence of the pull on his right coat sleeve is that the collar and lapel of his coat are pulled toward his right shoulder.
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Both attempts of tugging at his coat and arm are consistent with Nellie's final success in getting him into her lap; so too is the puffing of his cheeks as he resisted the backward pull.
Additional evidence that the Governor was not hit between frames 220 and 240, is the fact that he does not exhibit the effects of the impact of a bullet. A high velocity bullet that destroys 5 inches of his fifth rib, parts of which practically explode out of his chest, would cause severe pain. It was described to the Warren Commission by Dr. Shaw as "... both a shocking and painful wound" (12). The pain would be evident as a grimace of agony on his face. It is NOT! His facial expression is one of being startled and confused. Shortly there after, as he is falling into his wife's lap, he can be seen watching the President with interest; an activity that he later denies. This obvious concern for the well being of another, visible in frame 273, is not the action of a severely wounded man.
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TRAJECTORY OF THE BACK WOUND
Importantly, while raising himself and turning left, his torso was leaned
over toward Nellie from
the seat that he originally occupied. This left leaning angle of the torso
relative to the normal
vertical posture, rotates the bullet's apparent trajectory clockwise. With
this rotation, the
downward angle of the shot gives the erroneous appearance of a more right to
left trajectory
through the body; which of course is exactly what we see with his wounds.
A photo of the limousine taken at Parkland Hospital (13) has evidence of the emergence of this bullet. There is a severe dent in the lower left corner of the chrome panel surrounding the ashtray in the back of the front seat. This final impact before falling to the floor of the car, would be consistent with the trajectory described earlier as well as bullet fragments retrieved from the vehicle.
THE GOVERNOR CRIES OUT
According to the Warren Commission Report, `Observing his blood covered
chest as he was
pulled into his wife's lap, Governor Connally believed himself mortally
wounded. He cried out,
"Oh, no, no, no. My God, They are going to kill us all".'(14) It is quite
evident on the Zapruder
film that he was NOT yet covered with blood when he was pulled into Nellie's
lap as is obvious in
frame 273; and this sequence of events is not supported by the Connally's
testimony to the
HSCA, as noted earlier. But, he does appear to be mouthing these words
during this period.
While it makes perfect sense for him to make such an exclamation after hearing the first shot, and prior to being wounded himself; it is ludicrous to expect this of a man who had " a sucking wound of the chest". This description of his chest wound and ruptured lung was given to the Warren Commission by Dr. Shaw as "...he had what we call a sucking wound of the chest. This would not allow him to breathe."(15) The "sucking wound of the chest" allows air to be inhaled and exhaled via the wound, rather than through the windpipe, larynx, etc. This inability to breathe would essentially eliminate any significant amount of air across the larynx, precluding his crying out.
Nellie supports the timing issue with her testimony to the Warren Commission, "...As the first shot was hit, and I turned to look at the same time, I recall John saying, `Oh, no, no, no., Then there was a second shot, and it hit John..."(16). She reinforced the timing with her statement to the HSCA, "...John had turned to his right also when we heard that first noise and shouted, `no, no, no,' and in the process of turning back around so that he could look back and see the President--I don't think he could see him when he turned to his right--the second shot was fired and hit him. (17) The Governor's statement to the HSCA indicates that he was having trouble keeping his story straight, "When I was hit, or shortly before I was hit--no, I guess it was after I was hit--I said first, just almost in despair, I said, "no, no, no,...". (18) This Freudian slip indicates that he actually made the statement before he was wounded, but that did not fit the official story and had to be altered.
THE LAST SHOT
The last shot, apparently a belated final round of the four shot volley,
strikes Connally in the wrist
and thigh at about frame 338 as he lay across the car. He can be seen to
make a violent
movement immediately after frame 338, which is evidence of the bullet's
impact. Timing for this
shot is supported by data developed during the acoustic analysis of the
Dallas Police radio tape,
performed by Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., as well as data on the camera
motion analysis of
the Zapruder film by W. K. Hartman, and Frank Scott separately for the HSCA
(19). This bullet's
trajectory, if extended back through the approximate location of JFK's head,
would most likely
originate from the roof of the Dallas County Records Building, where a spent
30.06 cartridge was
found in 1975 by an air-conditioner repairman (20).
SUMMARY
Contrary to popular belief, Governor Connally was not wounded until after
the fatal headshot to
the President. Several strange occurrences, such as the lapel flap, the
shoulder drop, and the
puffed cheeks that have been ascribed to be the result of bullet hits,
actually were due to Nellie's
continued and eventually successful efforts to pull her husband down into
her lap and out of the
line of fire. The key to determining the actual timing of the Governor's
wounding is the transfer
of the bullet's momentum to the torso as it impacts the rib bone. This
momentum transfer is
visible immediately after the headshot to the President. Both bullets that
wounded the Governor
were part of a final volley that included probably 4 shots in a little over
1 second.
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