by Ricardo Smits
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/8/2/24826610/787809263.jpg)
This November 22, it was exactly 50 years ago that the American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated while visiting Dallas. The investigation led pretty quickly to a man named Lee Harvey Oswald. Mr. Oswald was charged for murder, but he denied every involvement. Two days later he himself was killed in the basement of the Dallas police station. In the midst of seventy-five armed police agents night-club owner Jack Ruby shot Mr. Oswald in the stomach, when he was escorted to a car. Mr. Ruby was immediately apprehended and convicted to life in prison. The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, better known as the Warren Commission named after their chairman Chief Justice Earl Warren, was established on November 29, 1963 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. On September 24, 1964 the Commission presented their findings. They concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only shooter, who shot three rounds at Mr. Kennedy, and that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Mr. Oswald. Case closed!
Today, fifty years after his death we are still obsessed with John F. Kennedy. There are approximately 40,000 books written about him, numerous television series, movies and documentaries. This year alone a couple of hundred books were published. Many of these books are about his death. The conclusions, however, created more controversy than consensus. Only a minority still believe the findings of the Warren Commission. There are roughly about sixty different theories and about one hundred variations on what happened in Dallas. The conspiracy theories involves the mafia, the C.I.A., the F.B.I., Cuba, the Soviet-Union and even Kennedy's Vice-president and successor Lyndon B. Johnson. The C.I.A. has even on their website a statement in which they deny any involvement in the assassination.[1]
After the Warren Commission finished its investigation in 1964, Jim Garrison, the District Attorney of New Orleans started an own investigation. The government and the intelligence commissions responded sceptical and was even frustrated his research. Members of his staff were put under pressure by the F.B.I. and multiple witnesses even died under suspicious circumstances. Mr. Garrison eventually prosecuted Clay Shaw, a businessman from New Orleans, for being a part, together with the C.I.A. and anti-Castro Cuban exiles, of a conspiracy in the John F. Kennedy assassination. Mr. Garrison also claimed that there were other shooters, beside Lee Harvey Oswald. The jury concluded that Shaw wasn't guilty, though they did believe Garrison's argumentation that there were more shooters and a conspiracy.
In the following years the official conclusions of the Warren Commissions were publicly denounced. Hundreds of books, articles, video reconstructions and documentaries by citizens and professional investigators demanded a new official investigation. In 1976 the House of Representatives authorized an investigation. United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established to investigate the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, who was assassinated in 1968. The HSCA concluded that there was indeed a fourth shot from a second shooter, at the Grassy Knoll, and thus there was a conspiracy. However, nothing was done after that. In 1992, after Oliver Stone's film JFK, that is based on the investigation of Jim Garrison and the book Crossfire of Jim Marrs, which suggested a theory of conspiracy made a public outcry to release more information. The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act was passed the U.S. Congress. All the documents relating to the assassination of President Kennedy were to be fully disclosed and turned over to the National Archives no later than October, 26, 2017.
It is not useful to join the debate of which conspiracy theory is the most plausible, as we can write entire libraries about it and it remains a lot of speculation. The available evidence that is mostly from the Warren Rapport and testimonies of eyewitnesses have to speak for itself. We first look at some of the troubles Mr. Kennedy endured in late 1963. Then go back to that November day and the events that happened. After that we answer the question: Did Mr. Oswald kill President Kennedy?
After the Warren Commission finished its investigation in 1964, Jim Garrison, the District Attorney of New Orleans started an own investigation. The government and the intelligence commissions responded sceptical and was even frustrated his research. Members of his staff were put under pressure by the F.B.I. and multiple witnesses even died under suspicious circumstances. Mr. Garrison eventually prosecuted Clay Shaw, a businessman from New Orleans, for being a part, together with the C.I.A. and anti-Castro Cuban exiles, of a conspiracy in the John F. Kennedy assassination. Mr. Garrison also claimed that there were other shooters, beside Lee Harvey Oswald. The jury concluded that Shaw wasn't guilty, though they did believe Garrison's argumentation that there were more shooters and a conspiracy.
In the following years the official conclusions of the Warren Commissions were publicly denounced. Hundreds of books, articles, video reconstructions and documentaries by citizens and professional investigators demanded a new official investigation. In 1976 the House of Representatives authorized an investigation. United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established to investigate the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, who was assassinated in 1968. The HSCA concluded that there was indeed a fourth shot from a second shooter, at the Grassy Knoll, and thus there was a conspiracy. However, nothing was done after that. In 1992, after Oliver Stone's film JFK, that is based on the investigation of Jim Garrison and the book Crossfire of Jim Marrs, which suggested a theory of conspiracy made a public outcry to release more information. The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act was passed the U.S. Congress. All the documents relating to the assassination of President Kennedy were to be fully disclosed and turned over to the National Archives no later than October, 26, 2017.
It is not useful to join the debate of which conspiracy theory is the most plausible, as we can write entire libraries about it and it remains a lot of speculation. The available evidence that is mostly from the Warren Rapport and testimonies of eyewitnesses have to speak for itself. We first look at some of the troubles Mr. Kennedy endured in late 1963. Then go back to that November day and the events that happened. After that we answer the question: Did Mr. Oswald kill President Kennedy?
Kennedy's troubles
President Kennedy was heading to the end of his term as president in late 1963. Although he was a very popular President, he also had a lot of critics. During Mr. Eisenhower's last months as President, the C.I.A. developed a plan for an invasion of Cuba led by Cuban exiles, supported by American air-forces. The plan disturbed Mr. Kennedy as he was an advocate of diplomacy over covert operations. He stripped the plan of all overt U.S. support. Mr. Kennedy couldn't stop the operation as the pressure of his advisers was enormous. The invasion was carried out, but became an utter fiasco as most of the exiles were captured or killed on the beaches of the Bay of Pigs. It was not only this invasion that damaged Kennedy's prestige as a week before the Soviet Union had beaten America by being first to put a man into space. Also a meeting with the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev made President Kennedy came off worse and damaged his and America's prestige. Last but not least, the failure of Mr. Kennedy to stop the construction of the Berlin Wall was not slightly forgotten.
In 1962 came another crisis. The Cuban missile crisis started when American spy-plane discovered Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba. America and Mr. Kennedy were seen by the American people and overseas as the big winner of the Cuban missile crisis, as the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, but in fact, in secrecy, had made a lot of concessions. Kennedy promised not to invade communist Cuba and removed in all secrecy the American missiles from Turkey. Communism was still only around 160 km from America. In the hearts and minds of most people the earlier setbacks were mostly forgotten, however, a lot of people were attacking Mr. Kennedy on his policy.
After the missile crisis America had the upper hand over the Soviets. According to Mr. Kennedy this new dominance wasn't to be used to destroy Russia, but to bring the two blocks more together. President Kennedy talked, in a speech at the American University, in a language of coexistence. How the President and the United States had moved on and what became his new policy is one of the many what-ifs.
His handling of the Bay of Pigs-invasion, the Cuban missile crisis and communism gave him criticism from the American people and, perhaps more dangerous, from a number of high-placed people in the government and military-industrial-complex. Furthermore Mr. Kennedy had enraged people inside the C.I.A., when he increased supervision. After the failed Bay of Pigs-invasion he fired director Allen Dulles and his deputy Charles Cabell. The coincidence is that Mr. Cabell's brother Earle was at that time mayor of Dallas. He changed the route of the motorcade on the last moment. Instead of Main Street, the motorcade drove over Elm Street, passed the schoolbook depository, from where Kennedy allegedly was shot. Purely coincidence? At the other side of the law Mr. Kennedy had also enemies. The mafia was being pursued relentlessly by President Kennedy and his brother Robert, who was the Secretary of Justice. Mr. Kennedy was even threatened from within the White house! The relationship with Vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson was abysmal. At the re-elections in 1964 Mr. Kennedy would have selected another running-mate. There were a couple judicial inquiries into Mr. Johnson. The ambitious Johnson, who wanted to become president, had even said to his mistress on the night of the 21st November 1963 (the night before the assassination) that the 'Kennedys will never embarrass me again—that's no threat—that's a promise'![2] Again, just some slander from a perhaps intoxicated and tired man, or a slip of the tongue that revealed the truth? As a Vice-president and later a President he definitely had the power and the influence to cover it up. What is clear is that although President Kennedy is now often seen as one of the most popular Presidents of all time, he sure had a lot of powerful enemies inside and outside the government. A lot of them had the motive, the power and the ability to assassinate him.
In 1962 came another crisis. The Cuban missile crisis started when American spy-plane discovered Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba. America and Mr. Kennedy were seen by the American people and overseas as the big winner of the Cuban missile crisis, as the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, but in fact, in secrecy, had made a lot of concessions. Kennedy promised not to invade communist Cuba and removed in all secrecy the American missiles from Turkey. Communism was still only around 160 km from America. In the hearts and minds of most people the earlier setbacks were mostly forgotten, however, a lot of people were attacking Mr. Kennedy on his policy.
After the missile crisis America had the upper hand over the Soviets. According to Mr. Kennedy this new dominance wasn't to be used to destroy Russia, but to bring the two blocks more together. President Kennedy talked, in a speech at the American University, in a language of coexistence. How the President and the United States had moved on and what became his new policy is one of the many what-ifs.
His handling of the Bay of Pigs-invasion, the Cuban missile crisis and communism gave him criticism from the American people and, perhaps more dangerous, from a number of high-placed people in the government and military-industrial-complex. Furthermore Mr. Kennedy had enraged people inside the C.I.A., when he increased supervision. After the failed Bay of Pigs-invasion he fired director Allen Dulles and his deputy Charles Cabell. The coincidence is that Mr. Cabell's brother Earle was at that time mayor of Dallas. He changed the route of the motorcade on the last moment. Instead of Main Street, the motorcade drove over Elm Street, passed the schoolbook depository, from where Kennedy allegedly was shot. Purely coincidence? At the other side of the law Mr. Kennedy had also enemies. The mafia was being pursued relentlessly by President Kennedy and his brother Robert, who was the Secretary of Justice. Mr. Kennedy was even threatened from within the White house! The relationship with Vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson was abysmal. At the re-elections in 1964 Mr. Kennedy would have selected another running-mate. There were a couple judicial inquiries into Mr. Johnson. The ambitious Johnson, who wanted to become president, had even said to his mistress on the night of the 21st November 1963 (the night before the assassination) that the 'Kennedys will never embarrass me again—that's no threat—that's a promise'![2] Again, just some slander from a perhaps intoxicated and tired man, or a slip of the tongue that revealed the truth? As a Vice-president and later a President he definitely had the power and the influence to cover it up. What is clear is that although President Kennedy is now often seen as one of the most popular Presidents of all time, he sure had a lot of powerful enemies inside and outside the government. A lot of them had the motive, the power and the ability to assassinate him.
Doomsday
So when Kennedy and his wife, Jacky, travelled to Texas, his re-election and even his nomination to get the Democratic Party presidential ticket was not sure. He had some competition from inside the Democratic Party, and needed the support in the conservative Texas to bolster his chances in what would be a tough upcoming election. Therefore he wanted to be visual and reachable to his audience. Because of this he chose to drive the presidential limousine in the open-air mode and didn't want Secret Service agents to be running next to the limousine or hanging on the backside of it.
Air Force One, the presidential airplane, landed at 11:40 at Love Field airport in Dallas. The plan was to drive through the city to the city hall to enjoy a lunch. The streets and buildings were crowded with people who wanted to catch a glimpse of the Kennedy's. When on 12:30 the motorcade turn left from Main Street on Houston Street and then made a 120 degree corner to the right on to Elm Street, it was driving dead slow. Suddenly witnesses heard bangs. Some think the bangs are fire crackers or the exhaust from the escorting police motorcycles, when Kennedy grabs to his throat. Mrs. Kennedy moves to her husband. Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who was in the following car, runs toward the presidential limo. Then the fatal shot hits Kennedy's head, opening up the right side of his head. Blood, skull-fragments and brain matter flew through the air. Mrs. Kennedy moved on the rear of the limousine when Mr. Hill climbed on the rear of the limo and summoned her back in the backseat.
The governor of Texas, John Connally, who was sitting in front of Mr. Kennedy, was severally wounded by a bullet. James Tague, a bystander standing at the Triple Underpass, was also wounded when his right cheek was hit by a bullet or bullet fragment. The presidential limousine raced towards the Parkland Hospital. They arrived at 12:38. Mr. Kennedy and governor Connally were rushed into the trauma rooms. Doctors frantically tried to save his life but the wound to his head was too severe. A large portion of the backside of Kennedy's skull was blown away and large portions of his brains were missing. At 13:00 Kennedy was pronounced death.
Mr. Johnson, who drove in the car behind the presidential limousine, was also in the hospital. He was ordered by the Secret Service to leave the hospital and go to Air Force One, the presidential plane. As Vice-president, Johnson would be sworn in as the next President. He wanted to keep Mr. Kennedy's death quiet until he left the hospital. Johnson said he feared for a conspiracy, and feared for his life as the news of Kennedy's death was known to the public. So when Mr. Johnson was ready to leave, he demanded that Mrs. Kennedy and the body of Mr. Kennedy would join him. However, the local doctors refused to release the body, as they, bounded by the Texas law, had to perform an autopsy on the body. Secret Service agents pushed the doctors at Parkland Hospital away, threatening the staff with their fire-arms, and at 14:00 the body of Mr. Kennedy was taken into a hearse to the airport. By 13:33 the white house press secretary entered the nurses' classroom to inform the press that president Kennedy had died. At 14.08 the body of Mr. Kennedy arrived at Air Force One. The plane didn't take off immediately as Mr. Johnson wanted to wait for a judge, to be sworn in. At 14:38 Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. The plane flew to Andrews Air Base, near Washington D.C., and from there the body of Mr. Kennedy travelled in hears to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where an autopsy was being performed.
In the meantime the investigation on who shot the President began immediately after the shots. Howard Brennan, a 44-year old pipefitter, standing at the corner of Houston and Elm Street was the only witness to have seen a gunman at the sixth floor of Texas Schoolbook Depository. Officers ran into the Depository and questioned the people there quickly. Among them was Lee Harvey Oswald. According to the official investigations he hid the rifle under a couple of boxes - but strangely enough let the empty shells lay in plain sight. He then would have descended from the sixth floor to the first floor. On this floor he met Officer Marrion Baker. So Mr. Oswald would have hid his weapon immediately after the last shot and the descended five floors and this all within ninety seconds. Strangely enough was Mr. Oswald not nervous or out of breath according to Officer Baker. When Officer Baker knew Mr. Oswald was an employee, Mr. Oswald stayed for some minutes inside the building, eating his lunch, and then left the Depository just before it was sealed of by police. He took the bus at 12:40 and due to the heavy traffic, left it and took a cab arriving at 13:00 at his boarding-house. At this time a description of the suspect was being broadcasted over the police radio. Mr. Oswald had in the mean time left his boarding-house and was around 13:15 being apprehended by police officer J.D. Tippit. Mr. Oswald would then have shot Officer Tippit with his revolver. Lee Harvey Oswald walked to a shop and was acting suspiciously according to the shop manager. Mr. Oswald then sneaked into the cinema. The shop manager called the police. The police arrived, the house lights were lid and the shop manager identified Mr. Oswald in the audience. The officers arrested him after a short brawl and he was taken to the police station. There he was first being questioned about the murder of Officer Tippit. News reporters flushed to the police station, where Mr. Oswald was being questioned. The police asked him if he had killed the President, but he denied. Later that evening he told the press that he 'didn't shoot anybody. I'm just a patsy'. He denied any involvement during his time at the police-station. At Sunday he should be taken to the county prison. On his way to a car, he must had passed officers and press members. One person in the crowd was night-club owner Jack Ruby. On what was broadcasted life in all American houserooms, Jack Ruby stepped forward and shot Mr. Oswald. He was taken to Parkland Hospital and was pronounced death later that day.
Mr. Johnson, who drove in the car behind the presidential limousine, was also in the hospital. He was ordered by the Secret Service to leave the hospital and go to Air Force One, the presidential plane. As Vice-president, Johnson would be sworn in as the next President. He wanted to keep Mr. Kennedy's death quiet until he left the hospital. Johnson said he feared for a conspiracy, and feared for his life as the news of Kennedy's death was known to the public. So when Mr. Johnson was ready to leave, he demanded that Mrs. Kennedy and the body of Mr. Kennedy would join him. However, the local doctors refused to release the body, as they, bounded by the Texas law, had to perform an autopsy on the body. Secret Service agents pushed the doctors at Parkland Hospital away, threatening the staff with their fire-arms, and at 14:00 the body of Mr. Kennedy was taken into a hearse to the airport. By 13:33 the white house press secretary entered the nurses' classroom to inform the press that president Kennedy had died. At 14.08 the body of Mr. Kennedy arrived at Air Force One. The plane didn't take off immediately as Mr. Johnson wanted to wait for a judge, to be sworn in. At 14:38 Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. The plane flew to Andrews Air Base, near Washington D.C., and from there the body of Mr. Kennedy travelled in hears to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where an autopsy was being performed.
In the meantime the investigation on who shot the President began immediately after the shots. Howard Brennan, a 44-year old pipefitter, standing at the corner of Houston and Elm Street was the only witness to have seen a gunman at the sixth floor of Texas Schoolbook Depository. Officers ran into the Depository and questioned the people there quickly. Among them was Lee Harvey Oswald. According to the official investigations he hid the rifle under a couple of boxes - but strangely enough let the empty shells lay in plain sight. He then would have descended from the sixth floor to the first floor. On this floor he met Officer Marrion Baker. So Mr. Oswald would have hid his weapon immediately after the last shot and the descended five floors and this all within ninety seconds. Strangely enough was Mr. Oswald not nervous or out of breath according to Officer Baker. When Officer Baker knew Mr. Oswald was an employee, Mr. Oswald stayed for some minutes inside the building, eating his lunch, and then left the Depository just before it was sealed of by police. He took the bus at 12:40 and due to the heavy traffic, left it and took a cab arriving at 13:00 at his boarding-house. At this time a description of the suspect was being broadcasted over the police radio. Mr. Oswald had in the mean time left his boarding-house and was around 13:15 being apprehended by police officer J.D. Tippit. Mr. Oswald would then have shot Officer Tippit with his revolver. Lee Harvey Oswald walked to a shop and was acting suspiciously according to the shop manager. Mr. Oswald then sneaked into the cinema. The shop manager called the police. The police arrived, the house lights were lid and the shop manager identified Mr. Oswald in the audience. The officers arrested him after a short brawl and he was taken to the police station. There he was first being questioned about the murder of Officer Tippit. News reporters flushed to the police station, where Mr. Oswald was being questioned. The police asked him if he had killed the President, but he denied. Later that evening he told the press that he 'didn't shoot anybody. I'm just a patsy'. He denied any involvement during his time at the police-station. At Sunday he should be taken to the county prison. On his way to a car, he must had passed officers and press members. One person in the crowd was night-club owner Jack Ruby. On what was broadcasted life in all American houserooms, Jack Ruby stepped forward and shot Mr. Oswald. He was taken to Parkland Hospital and was pronounced death later that day.
This is the official view on the events of that day. There are a ton of different opinions on what happened. Witnesses who claimed to have heard shots from different locations than from the Depository, mainly from the Grassy Knoll. Some of them claimed to have seen smoke from the firing of rifles at the Grassy Knoll. Witnesses heard more than three gunshots, veterans who claimed that the sound of the gunfire was from a high-powered rifle and not from the Mannlicher-Carcano that was found at the Depository. Police officers saw suspicious people around the Grassy Knoll, who identified themselves as Secret Service Agents, but as later would appear there were no such agents at that location at that time. Howard Brennan, the witness who claimed to have seen Mr. Oswald with his weapon on the sixth floor, was practically blind. Later that day Mr. Brennan was unable to identify Mr. Oswald as the person he saw in a police line-up. Multiple witnesses had seen Mr. Oswald enjoying his lunch on the first floor only moment before the shooting commenced. Witnesses came forward claiming that two persons killed the J.D. Tippit, the police-officer, and not Mr. Oswald. Supporting this claim is that although the cartridges cases that were found near officer Tippit's body were being fired from Mr. Oswalds weapon, but the bullet's taken from Mr. Tippit's body couldn't be positively identified as being fired from Mr. Oswald's revolver. What is true and what is not stays heavily debated, but the appearances are against the lone-gunmen theory. Especially when Mr. Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.
On March 14th, 1964 Jack Ruby was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. A few months later Mr. Ruby insisted on doing a lie detector test before the Warren Commission. Mr. Ruby denied he was part of a conspiracy and acted alone to save Mrs. Kennedy the ordeal of a trial against Mr. Oswald. He answered questions before the lie detector and he was not found lying according the machine. His lawyers successfully appealed his conviction by claiming that he never could have a fair trial in Dallas. One year after his conviction Mr. Ruby gave a brief television press conference. He stated that 'Everything pertaining to what's happening has never come to the surface. The world will never know the true facts of what occurred, my motives. The people who had so much to gain, and had such an ulterior motive for putting me in the position I'm in, will never let the true facts come above board to the world'. He was asked by a reporter: "Are these people in very high positions Jack?" Mr. Ruby responded: 'Yes'.[3] Just some ramblings of a crazy man or an attempt to insinuate a conspiracy?
In his testimony in front of the Warren Commission he insinuated that his life was in danger.
On March 14th, 1964 Jack Ruby was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. A few months later Mr. Ruby insisted on doing a lie detector test before the Warren Commission. Mr. Ruby denied he was part of a conspiracy and acted alone to save Mrs. Kennedy the ordeal of a trial against Mr. Oswald. He answered questions before the lie detector and he was not found lying according the machine. His lawyers successfully appealed his conviction by claiming that he never could have a fair trial in Dallas. One year after his conviction Mr. Ruby gave a brief television press conference. He stated that 'Everything pertaining to what's happening has never come to the surface. The world will never know the true facts of what occurred, my motives. The people who had so much to gain, and had such an ulterior motive for putting me in the position I'm in, will never let the true facts come above board to the world'. He was asked by a reporter: "Are these people in very high positions Jack?" Mr. Ruby responded: 'Yes'.[3] Just some ramblings of a crazy man or an attempt to insinuate a conspiracy?
In his testimony in front of the Warren Commission he insinuated that his life was in danger.
Chief Justice Warren: 'The President will know everything that you have said, everything that you have said'.
Mr. Ruby: 'But I won't be around, Chief Justice. I won't be around to verify these things you are going to tell the President'.
Mr. Tonahill: 'Who do you think is going to eliminate you, Jack?'
Mr. Ruby: 'I have been used for a purpose, and there will be a certain tragic occurrence happening if you don't take my testimony and somehow vindicate me so my people don't suffer because of what I have done'.
Chief Justice Warren: 'But we have taken your testimony. We have it here. It will be in permanent form for the President of the United States and for the Congress of the United States, and for the courts of the United States, and for the people of the entire world. It is there. It will be recorded for all to see. That is the purpose of our coming here today. We feel that you are entitled to have your story told'.
Mr. Ruby: 'You have lost me though. You have lost me, Chief Justice Warren'.
Chief Justice Warren: 'Lost you in what sense?'
Mr. Ruby: 'I won't be around for you to come and question me again'.
Chief Justice Warren: 'Well, it is very hard for me to believe that. I am sure that everybody would want to protect you to the very limit'.[4]
But Mr. Warren should have believed it. Mr. Ruby never came back again and before his trial could be done over, he died of a pulmonary embolism, an early stage of lung cancer, on January 3, 1967 at the Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The same hospital where also President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald died.
Did Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy?
Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly used a Mannlicher Carcano rifle to assassinate President Kennedy. This bolt-action rifle was made in Italy during the Second World War. These were essentially based on a design of 1890 and were used by the Italian and the Finnish army. They were regarded inferior compared to their counterparts as the Mosin-Nagant and the Lee Enfield. Therefore Finland and Italy sold the Carcano rifles after the war to the private sector.
The Warren Commission concluded that in Mr. Oswald, using the alias A.Hidell, ordered a Model 91/38 Italian Mannlicher Carcano bolt-action rifle from Klein's Sporting Goods in Chicago to be delivered to his post office box 2915 in Dallas. The Commission provided evidence to support its conclusion, including copies of the order blank, money order and envelope filled out by "Hidell". It concluded that Oswald had ordered the weapon from an advertisement in the February 1963 edition of American Rifleman Magazine. It was this rifle that was found on the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository by the Dallas Police forty-five minutes after the shooting of President Kennedy and Governor Connally.
The Warren Commission concluded that Mr. Oswald had fired three consecutive rounds at Mr. Kennedy within six seconds, with the last two within 1.7 seconds apart, and of which two hit the targets. Defence Attorney Mark Lane, one of the few who from early on believed in Oswald's innocence and offered to act as Mr. Oswald's attorney at the Warren Commission investigation, but that offer turned down by the Commission, stated in front of the Warren Commission that '(....) if Oswald did it with this weapon (...) it was an absolute miracle, because no one who knew anything about rifles would have chosen such a decrepit, worthless rifle, as this Italian carbine, manufactured in 1938, for which there is such pure (poor) ammunition'.[5]
The rifle itself was in a bad shape. F.B.I. inspectors and marksman of the United States army concluded that the rifle was hardly usable in its original condition. When the marksman of the army tried to use the telescopic sight it appeared to be useless. They had to adjust the sight before they could aim.[6] Secondly, with the repaired telescopic sight the rifle remained very inaccurate.[7] And lastly the condition of the bolt and the trigger pull were so bad, that it was nearly impossible to aim accurately. The best marksman of the F.B.I. and the military couldn't duplicate Mr. Oswald's performance.
There is evidence that the rifle that was found at the Depository was NOT fired on November 22, 1963! F.B.I. firearms expert Robert Frazier had examined the rifle one day after the assassination. In the hearings of the Warren Commission he stated that 'The stock is worn, scratched. The bolt is relatively smooth, as if it had been operated several times. I cannot actually say how much use the weapon has had. The barrel is - was not, when we first got it, in excellent condition. It was, I would say, in fair condition. In other words, it showed the effects of wear and corrosion'.[8] Mr. Frazier was then asked to be a bit more specific on the condition of the barrel:
The Warren Commission concluded that in Mr. Oswald, using the alias A.Hidell, ordered a Model 91/38 Italian Mannlicher Carcano bolt-action rifle from Klein's Sporting Goods in Chicago to be delivered to his post office box 2915 in Dallas. The Commission provided evidence to support its conclusion, including copies of the order blank, money order and envelope filled out by "Hidell". It concluded that Oswald had ordered the weapon from an advertisement in the February 1963 edition of American Rifleman Magazine. It was this rifle that was found on the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository by the Dallas Police forty-five minutes after the shooting of President Kennedy and Governor Connally.
The Warren Commission concluded that Mr. Oswald had fired three consecutive rounds at Mr. Kennedy within six seconds, with the last two within 1.7 seconds apart, and of which two hit the targets. Defence Attorney Mark Lane, one of the few who from early on believed in Oswald's innocence and offered to act as Mr. Oswald's attorney at the Warren Commission investigation, but that offer turned down by the Commission, stated in front of the Warren Commission that '(....) if Oswald did it with this weapon (...) it was an absolute miracle, because no one who knew anything about rifles would have chosen such a decrepit, worthless rifle, as this Italian carbine, manufactured in 1938, for which there is such pure (poor) ammunition'.[5]
The rifle itself was in a bad shape. F.B.I. inspectors and marksman of the United States army concluded that the rifle was hardly usable in its original condition. When the marksman of the army tried to use the telescopic sight it appeared to be useless. They had to adjust the sight before they could aim.[6] Secondly, with the repaired telescopic sight the rifle remained very inaccurate.[7] And lastly the condition of the bolt and the trigger pull were so bad, that it was nearly impossible to aim accurately. The best marksman of the F.B.I. and the military couldn't duplicate Mr. Oswald's performance.
There is evidence that the rifle that was found at the Depository was NOT fired on November 22, 1963! F.B.I. firearms expert Robert Frazier had examined the rifle one day after the assassination. In the hearings of the Warren Commission he stated that 'The stock is worn, scratched. The bolt is relatively smooth, as if it had been operated several times. I cannot actually say how much use the weapon has had. The barrel is - was not, when we first got it, in excellent condition. It was, I would say, in fair condition. In other words, it showed the effects of wear and corrosion'.[8] Mr. Frazier was then asked to be a bit more specific on the condition of the barrel:
Mr. McCloy: 'When you examined the rifle the first time, you said that it showed signs of some corrosion and wear?'
Mr. Frazier: 'Yes, sir'.
Mr. McCloy: 'Was it what you would call pitted, were the lands in good shape?'
Mr. Frazier: No, sir; the lands and the grooves were worn, the corners were worn, and the interior of the surface was roughened from corrosion or wear.
Mr. McCloy: Could you say roughly how many rounds you think had been fired since it left the factory, with the condition of the barrel as you found it?'
Mr. Frazier: 'No, sir; I could not, because the number of rounds is not an indication of the condition of the barrel, since IF A BARREL IS ALLOWED TO RUST, ONE ROUND WILL REMOVE THAT RUST and wear the barrel to the same extent as 10 or 15 or 50 rounds just fired through a clean barrel'.[9]
So if by visual inspection rust is found in a barrel, a weapon has not been used for some time, as just one bullet would get rid of the rust. Mr. Oswald allegedly had shot three bullets, so there should really be no rust at all in the barrel. The findings of Mr. Frazier disprove the theory that the rifle was being used that day. The Warren Commission did, however, nothing with this importantly new fact. This only confirms the prejudice and the focus of the Warren Commission to 'prove' that Mr. Oswald was the (sole) assassin. Evidence that countered that was being disregarded.
There is further evidence that Mr. Oswald didn't fire a rifle on November 22. A few hours after his apprehension the Dallas police did a paraffin-test on Mr. Oswald. His right cheek and both of his hands were scientifically tested if there were any nitrates. If someone fires a fire-arm residues of gunpowder will be at his hands and cheek. With a paraffin-test a cast is made with liquid paraffin wax what opens the skin's pores and extracts any dirt or foreign material present, even if the suspect had washed its skin. There were no nitrates found on Mr. Oswald's cheek, and only a little on his hands. Way too little for a person who just fired a rifle three times and a revolver twice. If a person fires a weapon, the palm-side of the hand is covered by the weapon and the backside is the side that is exposed. Therefore it is expected that there are more nitrates on the back-side. In Mr. Oswald's case the majority of the nitrates were on the palm-side. Further the source of the nitrates found on Mr. Oswald, wasn't solely from gunfire. The source of the nitrates could also be something he touched. Special Agent Cortlandt Cunningham explained the paraffin-test to the Warren Commission:
There is further evidence that Mr. Oswald didn't fire a rifle on November 22. A few hours after his apprehension the Dallas police did a paraffin-test on Mr. Oswald. His right cheek and both of his hands were scientifically tested if there were any nitrates. If someone fires a fire-arm residues of gunpowder will be at his hands and cheek. With a paraffin-test a cast is made with liquid paraffin wax what opens the skin's pores and extracts any dirt or foreign material present, even if the suspect had washed its skin. There were no nitrates found on Mr. Oswald's cheek, and only a little on his hands. Way too little for a person who just fired a rifle three times and a revolver twice. If a person fires a weapon, the palm-side of the hand is covered by the weapon and the backside is the side that is exposed. Therefore it is expected that there are more nitrates on the back-side. In Mr. Oswald's case the majority of the nitrates were on the palm-side. Further the source of the nitrates found on Mr. Oswald, wasn't solely from gunfire. The source of the nitrates could also be something he touched. Special Agent Cortlandt Cunningham explained the paraffin-test to the Warren Commission:
Mr. Cunningham: '(...) the reagents used in these two tests are not specific for gunpowder residues. Now, it is true that the nitrates and nitrites in gunpowder residues will react positively with diphenylamine and diphenylbenzidine, but they are not specific. They will react--these two reagents will react with most oxidizing agents'.
Mr. Eisenberg: 'Can you give us a few examples?'
Mr. Cunningham: 'Yes. Urine, tobacco, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soil, fertilizer, I have a list here of the different families or classes of compounds that will react. In addition to nitrates and nitrites, substances such as dichromates, permanganates, hypochlorites, periodates, some oxides, such as selenium dioxide and so forth. Also, ferric chloride and chromates and chlorates. The list of oxidizing agents is so large that will react--that you cannot specifically say it was a gunpowder residue'.[10]
So there weren't enough nitrates on Mr. Oswald's hands - not forget to mention that there should be a substantial amount of nitrates on the back-side of his hands and his cheek if he fired a weapon - and the nitrates that were found could easily came from something he touched. Especially because of it was found on the palm-side of his hands.
The F.B.I. performed two tests on the cast. After the first test F.B.I director J. Edgar Hoover wrote to J. Lee Rankin, the General Counsel of the Warren Commission, that as a result of the examination they were unable to detect any deposits from the Oswald paraffin casts as having been 'specifically associated with the rifle cartridges'. Elements that were found on the casts were barium and antimony. These elements are found in gunpowder, but also in numerous of other common substances, such as printing ink and printed paper.[11] Mr. Oswald was seen reading a newspaper that day. Thus there is no hard evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald fired a rifle that day. More than enough evidence for any judge to discharge any suspect from trial. However, in this case there was no trial as Mr. Oswald was already dead. Quite convenient in blaming the assassination on Mr. Oswald.
Essential for the claim of the Warren Commission that Lee Oswald was the only shooter, was the theory that three bullets were fired. The Commission based this partially on the three empty shells that were found on the sixth floor of the Depository building. Also the HSCA agreed with the single-bullet theory. If that theory is true, one bullet would have made quite a journey. One bullet hit Mr. Tague, the bystander, and another was the fatal shot that killed Mr. Kennedy. The other bullet would, according to the Commission, have inflicted the multiple non-lethal wounds to President Kennedy and Governor Connally. This bullet is being nicknamed the 'magical bullet'. According to the Warren Commission the magical bullet entered President Kennedy's head downward under an angle of 17 degrees. It then moved upwards and left the body by the front of the neck. Wound number two. Where it remained 1.6 seconds, presumably in mid-air where it goes right, then left, right and left again. It continued at Governor Connally's armpit. Wound number three. The bullet then went downward under an angle of 27 degrees, shattering Mr. Connally's fifth rib and exited at of the right side of his chest. Wound number four. The bullet then turned right and re-entered Mr. Connally's body at his right wrist. Wound number five. The bullet shattered his radius bone. Wound number six. The bullet than exited Mr. Connally's wrist and made an u-turn and entered his left thigh. Where it remained stuck. Wound number seven. In the hospital the bullet fell out on a stretcher where it was found in nearly pristine condition. Everyone knows that bullets don't make such movements. Yet, the Warren Commission could 'prove' in a test at some military test lab that the single bullet-theory was true, however, the exact details of the test are still secret. Separate from the Warren Commission, the army fired some comparable bullets to the bullets used with the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that allegedly was used by Mr. Oswald. Not one of those looks as pristine as the bullet found on the stretcher.
One bullet, that has made seven wounds, through fifteen layers of clothing, seven layers of skin, fifteen layers of tissue, through a necktie knot, displaced Connally's rib and shattered the radius bone. The theory that these wounds were caused by a single bullet is the foundation of the conclusions of the Warren Commission that Oswald was the only shooter. So, if we can conclude that this is virtually impossible, we know that there was at least a fourth shot and a second shooter, which turns the assassination in a conspiracy.
The F.B.I. performed two tests on the cast. After the first test F.B.I director J. Edgar Hoover wrote to J. Lee Rankin, the General Counsel of the Warren Commission, that as a result of the examination they were unable to detect any deposits from the Oswald paraffin casts as having been 'specifically associated with the rifle cartridges'. Elements that were found on the casts were barium and antimony. These elements are found in gunpowder, but also in numerous of other common substances, such as printing ink and printed paper.[11] Mr. Oswald was seen reading a newspaper that day. Thus there is no hard evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald fired a rifle that day. More than enough evidence for any judge to discharge any suspect from trial. However, in this case there was no trial as Mr. Oswald was already dead. Quite convenient in blaming the assassination on Mr. Oswald.
Essential for the claim of the Warren Commission that Lee Oswald was the only shooter, was the theory that three bullets were fired. The Commission based this partially on the three empty shells that were found on the sixth floor of the Depository building. Also the HSCA agreed with the single-bullet theory. If that theory is true, one bullet would have made quite a journey. One bullet hit Mr. Tague, the bystander, and another was the fatal shot that killed Mr. Kennedy. The other bullet would, according to the Commission, have inflicted the multiple non-lethal wounds to President Kennedy and Governor Connally. This bullet is being nicknamed the 'magical bullet'. According to the Warren Commission the magical bullet entered President Kennedy's head downward under an angle of 17 degrees. It then moved upwards and left the body by the front of the neck. Wound number two. Where it remained 1.6 seconds, presumably in mid-air where it goes right, then left, right and left again. It continued at Governor Connally's armpit. Wound number three. The bullet then went downward under an angle of 27 degrees, shattering Mr. Connally's fifth rib and exited at of the right side of his chest. Wound number four. The bullet then turned right and re-entered Mr. Connally's body at his right wrist. Wound number five. The bullet shattered his radius bone. Wound number six. The bullet than exited Mr. Connally's wrist and made an u-turn and entered his left thigh. Where it remained stuck. Wound number seven. In the hospital the bullet fell out on a stretcher where it was found in nearly pristine condition. Everyone knows that bullets don't make such movements. Yet, the Warren Commission could 'prove' in a test at some military test lab that the single bullet-theory was true, however, the exact details of the test are still secret. Separate from the Warren Commission, the army fired some comparable bullets to the bullets used with the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that allegedly was used by Mr. Oswald. Not one of those looks as pristine as the bullet found on the stretcher.
One bullet, that has made seven wounds, through fifteen layers of clothing, seven layers of skin, fifteen layers of tissue, through a necktie knot, displaced Connally's rib and shattered the radius bone. The theory that these wounds were caused by a single bullet is the foundation of the conclusions of the Warren Commission that Oswald was the only shooter. So, if we can conclude that this is virtually impossible, we know that there was at least a fourth shot and a second shooter, which turns the assassination in a conspiracy.
Answers
Even though it is clear from the evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald didn't shoot President Kennedy, it is still presented as facts by some highly regarded media. Although the Warren Repport inaccuracy is now widely accepted, however, we still can't lay a finger on what exactly occurred on that November day. A lot of documents that could solve the puzzle more are being kept behind by labelling them essential for the national security. Why the government would not want to release these documents and once and for all make an end to all the speculation? Are these documents to dangerous to some people? Some people who have played a role in a conspiracy to kill the President? There is no definitive answer as most of the conspiracy-theories have also many hiatus in their 'factsheet'. A famous example is the 'umbrella man'. This man stood on the side of Elm Street, thus nearly exactly where President Kennedy was shot, with his umbrella. Well, it was a clear and sunny day. Nobody was using his or hers umbrella. So that one man using his umbrella, standing precisely on Elm Street, had to be one of the conspirators. Wild theories about him were being formulated. He would have signalled the shooters to commence firing. One conspiracy-theorist even wrote that the umbrella was in fact a rocket launcher! That this man killed President Kennedy. When the HSCA did their investigation, the umbrella man was being taken so seriously that there was made publicly a call to this man to come forward. Indeed he came forward. His name is Louis Steven Witt. He brought an umbrella with him to protest the Kennedy's family advocacy of the policy of appeasement during the late 1930's. So he was just at the wrong time and the wrong place.
The most advocated theory is that the C.I.A. was involved in the assassination. As motives would be the handling of communism by Kennedy, the failure of the Bay of Pigs-invasion the plans of Kennedy to break down the Agency in smaller branches and his wish to end the American involvement in Vietnam. The C.I.A. had the opportunity and the power to manipulate the route, so that the limousine could drive dead slow at Dealey Plaza. The CIA was also the organization that could cover up the murder. However, according to Kennedy-specialist Larry Sabato approximately 1171 C.I.A. documents have to be released. Officially they will be released in 2017, but the next President can delay this release again. Therefore the assassination remains an incomplete puzzle to us, and conspiracy theories will rose for many years to come, until we definitely know who shot Mr. Kennedy and why. Hopefully we can someday close this chapter and know what have happened. Perhaps that day will never come.
Notes:
[1] https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol45no5/html/v45i5a02p.htm
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79lOKs0Kr_Y
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we2eucWXqjg
[4] http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh5/html/WC_Vol5_0111a.htm
[5] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh2/html/WC_Vol2_0030b.htm
[6] http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=39&relPageId=451
[7] http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?absPageId=16613
[8] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh3/html/WC_Vol3_0201b.htm
[9] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh3/html/WC_Vol3_0202a.htm
[10] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh3/html/WC_Vol3_0247b.htm
[11]http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh20/pdf/WH20_Gallagher_Ex_1.pdf
[1] https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol45no5/html/v45i5a02p.htm
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79lOKs0Kr_Y
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we2eucWXqjg
[4] http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh5/html/WC_Vol5_0111a.htm
[5] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh2/html/WC_Vol2_0030b.htm
[6] http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=39&relPageId=451
[7] http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?absPageId=16613
[8] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh3/html/WC_Vol3_0201b.htm
[9] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh3/html/WC_Vol3_0202a.htm
[10] http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh3/html/WC_Vol3_0247b.htm
[11]http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh20/pdf/WH20_Gallagher_Ex_1.pdf