What Happened - Shot 4
Sections
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Introduction
The fourth shot of my scenario is the AR-15 accidental "slam-fire" shot unintentionally fired from the defective weapon being handled by Secret Service agent George Hickey. The stopping of the Presidential limousine (due to driver William Greer thinking that the sound of a shot was a "tire blow-out" and subsequently having "tapped the brake to test the tires" per Secret Service agent Clint Hill in one of his books) caused Secret Service Follow-up Car driver Sam Kinney to slam on his brakes, in order to avoid rear ending the limousine and running over fellow agent Clint Hill--who by this time was trying to reach the step at the back of the limousine. The sudden stopping of the follow-up car was described by Greg Burnham in his description of the "other" Zapruder film. It occurred after a distance gap had increased between the Presidential Limousine and the Secret Service Follow-up Car, and the Follow-up Car driver (Sam Kinney) had apparently slammed on the brakes and "stopped on a dime" in order to avoid rear-ending the Presidential car. Burnham doesn't specifically mention Clint Hill, but since Hill has frequently described the head shot as occurring just as he was trying to step onto the back of the limousine.
The fourth shot of my scenario is the AR-15 accidental "slam-fire" shot unintentionally fired from the defective weapon being handled by Secret Service agent George Hickey. The stopping of the Presidential limousine (due to driver William Greer thinking that the sound of a shot was a "tire blow-out" and subsequently having "tapped the brake to test the tires" per Secret Service agent Clint Hill in one of his books) caused Secret Service Follow-up Car driver Sam Kinney to slam on his brakes, in order to avoid rear ending the limousine and running over fellow agent Clint Hill--who by this time was trying to reach the step at the back of the limousine. The sudden stopping of the follow-up car was described by Greg Burnham in his description of the "other" Zapruder film. It occurred after a distance gap had increased between the Presidential Limousine and the Secret Service Follow-up Car, and the Follow-up Car driver (Sam Kinney) had apparently slammed on the brakes and "stopped on a dime" in order to avoid rear-ending the Presidential car. Burnham doesn't specifically mention Clint Hill, but since Hill has frequently described the head shot as occurring just as he was trying to step onto the back of the limousine.
The sudden stopping of the Follow-up car is what caused (four-months new) Secret Service agent George Hickey (who by this time had picked up the AR-15 rifle and was facing backward to try and acquire his target (the TSBD shooter) to fall backwards, towards the front of the car. The sudden movement of the fall caused the too-heavy firing pin of the defective AR-15 to engage with the too-sensitive ammunition primer, and set off a "slam fire" discharge. (See the Bonar Menninger article "What if Hickey Didn't Pull the Trigger?" at https://mokan9997.medium.com/what-if-hickey-didnt-pull-the-trigger-dd9fae6a664c.) The gun just happened to be pointed at Kennedy's head when it discharged, resulting in an extremely embarrassing freak accident that was subsequently covered up.
There is a lot of evidence to support this scenario, from the medical evidence to witness accounts. No one saw Hickey take aim to shoot at the President, because he didn't. He fell, and the gun went off. There were plenty of witnesses to his falling, but they misinterpreted the fall as a "Secret Service agent (having been shot and) killed, too." There was the odor of gun smoke at street level--an odor that could not. have come from Oswald's weapon, given the wind direction and the sixth floor elevation of the shooter's window--that lingered "all the way to the Hospital" and was even detected inside the hospital--what Australian detective Colin McLaren called a "plume of residue" (in McLaren's book JFK: The Smoking Gun). There were witness accounts of a "puff of smoke," which the early model AR-15's were known to produce. There is evidence of CIA involvement in a "benign cover-up." There was a "pointed" stretcher bullet seen at Parkland Hospital ("pointed" being much closer to a description of an AR-15 bullet than to a round-tipped Carcanno bullet). And more.
We begin with an examination of the medical evidence.
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The Medical Evidence
According to the autopsy report, the only bullet entrance mentioned was slightly "above and to the right of the external occipital protuberance (EOP). This entrance wound at the back of the head was measured at "6.0 mm" by the hole in the scalp, with a "corresponding wound" in the skull. 6.0 mm is too small to have been created by a 6.5 mm Carcanno bullet, so the difference was explained away as the "natural elasticity of the scalp." So why was the measurement of the wound in the skull never given? The report never gives an explanation. Nor is the wound in the skull ever really described other than that it was "corresponding" to the wound in the scalp.
The exit point for this entrance is never given in the autopsy report. However, the Warren Commission provides a drawing (no autopsy photos were presented) placing the exit above the right ear:
According to the autopsy report, the only bullet entrance mentioned was slightly "above and to the right of the external occipital protuberance (EOP). This entrance wound at the back of the head was measured at "6.0 mm" by the hole in the scalp, with a "corresponding wound" in the skull. 6.0 mm is too small to have been created by a 6.5 mm Carcanno bullet, so the difference was explained away as the "natural elasticity of the scalp." So why was the measurement of the wound in the skull never given? The report never gives an explanation. Nor is the wound in the skull ever really described other than that it was "corresponding" to the wound in the scalp.
The exit point for this entrance is never given in the autopsy report. However, the Warren Commission provides a drawing (no autopsy photos were presented) placing the exit above the right ear:
This is, essentially, the correct trajectory for the AR-15 shot. There are, however, two problems with this drawing: 1) the "blow-out" at the exit location (which did not match with testimonies by Parkland medical staff); and 2) the location of the apparent "neck" wound (which does not match sworn accounts of the wound's actual location).
This trajectory through the head also approximately matches that of FBI autopsy participant Francis O'Neill, who executed this drawing for the HSCA, showing an entrance at roughly the EOP location, an exit roughly above the right ear, and the correct location for the back wound:
This trajectory through the head also approximately matches that of FBI autopsy participant Francis O'Neill, who executed this drawing for the HSCA, showing an entrance at roughly the EOP location, an exit roughly above the right ear, and the correct location for the back wound:
from https://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/arrb/master_med_set/md86/html/md86_0011a.html
This wound location also approximately matches that of a wound described by autopsy participant James Jenkins. Jenkins heard the doctors say that the wound was "caused by a bullet" and mistakenly believed the wound to be an "entrance"--probably because it was a small wound rather than a "blow-out," and because his mind was set to another autopsy in which he had participated where there was a gunshot entrance at this approximate location.
Howard Donahue analyzed the EOP entrance location and Warren Commission exit location, and realized that this trajectory did not make any sense, given Kennedy's head position in frame 312 of the extant Zapruder film. This trajectory did not work for either a TSBD shot or an AR-15 shot, because (again, given Kennedy's head position in the Zapruder film) the bullet would have to have been traveling in an upward direction, from the trunk of the car!
Howard Donahue analyzed the EOP entrance location and Warren Commission exit location, and realized that this trajectory did not make any sense, given Kennedy's head position in frame 312 of the extant Zapruder film. This trajectory did not work for either a TSBD shot or an AR-15 shot, because (again, given Kennedy's head position in the Zapruder film) the bullet would have to have been traveling in an upward direction, from the trunk of the car!
Since this problematic trajectory made absolutely zero sense, Donahue resolved it by accepting the "cowlick" entry location he had been told was the "actual" entry location. I resolve it differently, by contending that the extant Zapruder film is a fake.
There is another conflict similarly resolved, from Dr. Humes' televised HSCA testimony, when he is asked to indicate the entry point of the bullet causing the blow-out. Humes points to what appears to be the "cowlick" location on the "computer-enhanced" X-ray image (without specifying "cowlick," but saying "here"--and a bit later states that he was "troubled" by the image, because he remembered the entry being lower, at the "EOP"), but when one considers that the entry he pointed to was on a composite image of the un-enhanced HSCA-published left lateral X-ray--with its "occipital defect" caption--and the right lateral living X-ray, Humes is actually pointing simultaneously to the forehead entrance location on the HSCA-published X-ray and the "cowlick" location on the "living" X-ray. Thus was the dissemblance accomplished. A few days after his filmed testimony, Humes marked a skull with his "EOP" entry location.
These three mutually exclusive entry points can't all be correct! Not for the same bullet!
There is another conflict similarly resolved, from Dr. Humes' televised HSCA testimony, when he is asked to indicate the entry point of the bullet causing the blow-out. Humes points to what appears to be the "cowlick" location on the "computer-enhanced" X-ray image (without specifying "cowlick," but saying "here"--and a bit later states that he was "troubled" by the image, because he remembered the entry being lower, at the "EOP"), but when one considers that the entry he pointed to was on a composite image of the un-enhanced HSCA-published left lateral X-ray--with its "occipital defect" caption--and the right lateral living X-ray, Humes is actually pointing simultaneously to the forehead entrance location on the HSCA-published X-ray and the "cowlick" location on the "living" X-ray. Thus was the dissemblance accomplished. A few days after his filmed testimony, Humes marked a skull with his "EOP" entry location.
These three mutually exclusive entry points can't all be correct! Not for the same bullet!
Left: Dr. James Humes points to the apparent "cowlick" location as the bullet entry point during his HSCA testimony.
Center: The HSCA
-published X-ray with its "occipital defect" caption.
Right: A few days after his testimony point at left, Humes indicated on a skull model the bullet entry point as being at the EOP, as noted by the red circle annotation. The "cowlick" location is noted in the star annotation at the top of the skull.
So this is a huge problem, for a question that should have been settled in the autopsy: Where was the bullet entry? The "EOP"? The "cowlick"? Or the forehead? I take the autopsy's stated entry, the "6.0 mm" entry, as the one for the AR-15 shot, the fourth shot in my scenario.
But there is also another problem, of sorts. The blow-out location, according to testimony from the Parkland doctors and the "occipital defect" caption of the HSCA-published lateral X-ray (not specified as right or left, but which I believe is the left lateral), was at the back of the head, in the "occipital" or "occipital-parietal" area. Lead autopsist Dr. James Humes made the bizarre statement in his Warren Commission testimony that "Scientifically, sir, it is impossible for it (the "one" head shot) to have been fired from other than behind. Or to have exited from other than behind."
Since exits are generally larger than entrances, and blow-outs are generally indicative of exits, this back of the head blow-out creates a rather large conundrum...
...unless one realizes that the EOP entry (my AR-15 entry) was not the first, or only, head shot.
But there is also another problem, of sorts. The blow-out location, according to testimony from the Parkland doctors and the "occipital defect" caption of the HSCA-published lateral X-ray (not specified as right or left, but which I believe is the left lateral), was at the back of the head, in the "occipital" or "occipital-parietal" area. Lead autopsist Dr. James Humes made the bizarre statement in his Warren Commission testimony that "Scientifically, sir, it is impossible for it (the "one" head shot) to have been fired from other than behind. Or to have exited from other than behind."
Since exits are generally larger than entrances, and blow-outs are generally indicative of exits, this back of the head blow-out creates a rather large conundrum...
...unless one realizes that the EOP entry (my AR-15 entry) was not the first, or only, head shot.
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The Back of the Head Blow-Out
It may seem contradictory that I contend that there was a back of the head blow-out (where medical testimony places it, in the "occipital" area or "occipital-parietal" area) while simultaneously claiming that there was no front of the head or above the ear blow-out, despite that it is well-known that exit wounds are generally larger than entrance wounds.
This contradiction is resolved by the first shot of my scenario, the forehead entry with a back-of-the-head exit. This shot, with its small forehead entry and larger back-of-the-head exit, created the beginning of the blow-out, ejecting a skull fragment that landed on Bobby Hargis' cheek and stuck there momentarily, until it landed on the pavement. The timing of that landing, coupled with the President's momentarily delayed neuromuscular decorticate posture response, fooled some bystanders (like Charles Brehm) into thinking that Kennedy had been hit with the second shot of my scenario (the Altgens 6 shot), when he had actually been hit by the first shot (the Smith/Allman shot).
It may seem contradictory that I contend that there was a back of the head blow-out (where medical testimony places it, in the "occipital" area or "occipital-parietal" area) while simultaneously claiming that there was no front of the head or above the ear blow-out, despite that it is well-known that exit wounds are generally larger than entrance wounds.
This contradiction is resolved by the first shot of my scenario, the forehead entry with a back-of-the-head exit. This shot, with its small forehead entry and larger back-of-the-head exit, created the beginning of the blow-out, ejecting a skull fragment that landed on Bobby Hargis' cheek and stuck there momentarily, until it landed on the pavement. The timing of that landing, coupled with the President's momentarily delayed neuromuscular decorticate posture response, fooled some bystanders (like Charles Brehm) into thinking that Kennedy had been hit with the second shot of my scenario (the Altgens 6 shot), when he had actually been hit by the first shot (the Smith/Allman shot).
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The "Pointed" Stretcher Bullet
The Stretcher Bullet purportedly seen in Trauma Room One and on the Hallway Stretcher
The Stretcher Bullet purportedly seen in Trauma Room One and on the Hallway Stretcher
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Ralph Yarborough's Accounts
In my scenario, this is the AR-15 "slam fire" accidental shot that struck Kennedy in the head for the.second time (after he had been struck in the head the with the first shot by Oswald--or at least, the TSBD 6th Floor shooter.
Attributing the AR-15 "slam fire" accident as the "fatal head shot" explains why Senator Ralph Yarborough, who was in the car immediately behind the Follow-Up Car where Hickey was located, was able to smell gun smoke "nearly all the way" to the hospital, why he thought that the "third" shot "might have been a Secret Service man returning the fire."
In my scenario, this is the AR-15 "slam fire" accidental shot that struck Kennedy in the head for the.second time (after he had been struck in the head the with the first shot by Oswald--or at least, the TSBD 6th Floor shooter.
Attributing the AR-15 "slam fire" accident as the "fatal head shot" explains why Senator Ralph Yarborough, who was in the car immediately behind the Follow-Up Car where Hickey was located, was able to smell gun smoke "nearly all the way" to the hospital, why he thought that the "third" shot "might have been a Secret Service man returning the fire."
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The Nose Witnesses
Yarborough wasn't the only gun smoke witness, of course. Triage nurse Bertha Lozano smelled the gun smoke inside the hospital when the entourage arrived:
Yarborough wasn't the only gun smoke witness, of course. Triage nurse Bertha Lozano smelled the gun smoke inside the hospital when the entourage arrived:
And back in Dealey Plaza, there were a number of witnesses who could smell the gun smoke, such as the mayor's wife Elizabeth Cabell, who testified to the Warren Commission that she was "acutely aware of the odor of gun smoke." There were others, as this diagram from Murder from Within demonstrates:
Given the wind direction and 6th Floor elevation, this odor could not have originated from the TSBD, but could well have originated from the AR-15.
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The Ear Witnesses
Ear witness accounts are a little tricky. Right vs. left is fairly easy to discriminate, but there is a phenomenon called "front-back reversal" wherein witness accounts of a sound originating from in front of them is often perceived as having originated from in back of them, and vice-versa.
Nevertheless, there are accounts of a shot coming from the general vicinity of where the Follow-up car would have been, rather than from the TSBD window.
One such account was Royce Skelton, one of the railroad men who was standing on top of the Triple Underpass, who made the following under-oath statement to the Warren Commission:
Ear witness accounts are a little tricky. Right vs. left is fairly easy to discriminate, but there is a phenomenon called "front-back reversal" wherein witness accounts of a sound originating from in front of them is often perceived as having originated from in back of them, and vice-versa.
Nevertheless, there are accounts of a shot coming from the general vicinity of where the Follow-up car would have been, rather than from the TSBD window.
One such account was Royce Skelton, one of the railroad men who was standing on top of the Triple Underpass, who made the following under-oath statement to the Warren Commission:
Mr. BALL. Where did (the shots) seem to come from?
Mr. SKELTON. Well. I couldn’t tell then, they were still so far from where I was.
Mr. BAI,L. Did the shots sound like they came from where you were standing?
Mr. SKELTON. No, sir; definitely not. It sounded like they were right there--more or less like motorcycle backfire, but I thought that they were these dumb-balls that they throw at the cement because I could see the smoke coming up off the cement.
Mr. BALL. You saw some smoke come off of the cement?
Mr. SKELTON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Where did it seem to you that the sound came from, what direction?
Mr. SKELTON. Towards the President's car.
Mr. BALL. From the President's car?
Mr. SKELTON. Right around the motorcgcles and all that-1 couldn’t distinguish because it was too far away.
Mr. SKELTON. Well. I couldn’t tell then, they were still so far from where I was.
Mr. BAI,L. Did the shots sound like they came from where you were standing?
Mr. SKELTON. No, sir; definitely not. It sounded like they were right there--more or less like motorcycle backfire, but I thought that they were these dumb-balls that they throw at the cement because I could see the smoke coming up off the cement.
Mr. BALL. You saw some smoke come off of the cement?
Mr. SKELTON. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Where did it seem to you that the sound came from, what direction?
Mr. SKELTON. Towards the President's car.
Mr. BALL. From the President's car?
Mr. SKELTON. Right around the motorcgcles and all that-1 couldn’t distinguish because it was too far away.
Standing next to Royce Skelton was fellow railroad worker Austin Miller, who said this:
Mr. BELIN. Well, describe what happened. Did you see the motorcade come by?
Mr. MILLER. Yes, sir ; it came down Main Street and turned north on Houston Street and went over two blocks and turned left onto Elm Street.
Got about halfway down the hill going toward the underpass and that is when as far as I ran recall the first shot was fired.
Mr. BELIN. Did you know it was a shot when you heard it?
Mr. MILLER. I didn’t know it. I thought at first the motorcycle backfiring or somebody throwed some firecrackers out.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you hear or see?
Mr. MILLER. After the first one, just a few seconds later, there was two more shots fired or, or sounded like a sound at the time. I didn’t know for sure. And it was after that I saw some man in the car fall forward, and a woman next to him grab him and hollered, and just what, I don’t know exactly what she said.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you see?
Mr. MILLER. About that time I turned and looked toward the--there is a little plaza sitting on the hill. I looked over there to see if anything was there, who threw the firecracker or whatever it was, or see if anything was up there, and there wasn't nobody standing there, so I stepped back and looked on the tracks to see if anybody run across the railroad tracks, and there was nobody running across the railroad tracks.
So I turned right straight back just in time to see the convertible take off fast.
Mr. BELIN. You mean the convertible in which the President was riding?
Mr. MILLER. I wouldn’t want to say it was the President. It was a convertible. but I saw a man fall over. I don’t know whose convertible it was.
Mr. BELIN. Where did the shots sound like they came from?
Mr. MILLER. Well, the way it sounded like, it came from the, I would say from right there in the car. Would be to my left, the way I was looking at him over toward that incline.
Mr. BFZLIN. Is there anything else that you can think of that you saw.
Mr. MILLER. About the time I looked over to the side there, there was a police officer. No; a motorcycle running his motor under against the curb, and jumped off and come up to the hill toward the top and right behind him was some more officers and plainclothesmen, too.
Mr. BELIN. Did you see anyone that might be, that gave any suspicious movements of any kind over there?
Mr. MILLER. No, sir; I didn’t.
Mr. MILLER. Yes, sir ; it came down Main Street and turned north on Houston Street and went over two blocks and turned left onto Elm Street.
Got about halfway down the hill going toward the underpass and that is when as far as I ran recall the first shot was fired.
Mr. BELIN. Did you know it was a shot when you heard it?
Mr. MILLER. I didn’t know it. I thought at first the motorcycle backfiring or somebody throwed some firecrackers out.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you hear or see?
Mr. MILLER. After the first one, just a few seconds later, there was two more shots fired or, or sounded like a sound at the time. I didn’t know for sure. And it was after that I saw some man in the car fall forward, and a woman next to him grab him and hollered, and just what, I don’t know exactly what she said.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you see?
Mr. MILLER. About that time I turned and looked toward the--there is a little plaza sitting on the hill. I looked over there to see if anything was there, who threw the firecracker or whatever it was, or see if anything was up there, and there wasn't nobody standing there, so I stepped back and looked on the tracks to see if anybody run across the railroad tracks, and there was nobody running across the railroad tracks.
So I turned right straight back just in time to see the convertible take off fast.
Mr. BELIN. You mean the convertible in which the President was riding?
Mr. MILLER. I wouldn’t want to say it was the President. It was a convertible. but I saw a man fall over. I don’t know whose convertible it was.
Mr. BELIN. Where did the shots sound like they came from?
Mr. MILLER. Well, the way it sounded like, it came from the, I would say from right there in the car. Would be to my left, the way I was looking at him over toward that incline.
Mr. BFZLIN. Is there anything else that you can think of that you saw.
Mr. MILLER. About the time I looked over to the side there, there was a police officer. No; a motorcycle running his motor under against the curb, and jumped off and come up to the hill toward the top and right behind him was some more officers and plainclothesmen, too.
Mr. BELIN. Did you see anyone that might be, that gave any suspicious movements of any kind over there?
Mr. MILLER. No, sir; I didn’t.
There are a number of things to pick out from Austin Miller's testimony. Not only did he perceive a shot as sounding as if it came "from right there in the car," he also "saw a man in the car fall forward, and a woman next to him grab him." If he was describing Kennedy "falling forward," that action does not match the "back, and to the left" movement seen in the Zapruder film. Or it could be that when he later stated that he "saw a man fall over," it was Hickey that he saw falling. He also saw motorcycle police officers and plainclothesmen running up the hill. Those motorcycle officers and plainclothesmen will be addressed shortly.
But as an ear-witness, Miller's perception of the sounds as "backfire" (coming from the street level) and specifically the sound as coming "from right there in the car" are strong indications that not all the shots came from the TSBD, that at least one or two came from cars in the motorcade.
But as an ear-witness, Miller's perception of the sounds as "backfire" (coming from the street level) and specifically the sound as coming "from right there in the car" are strong indications that not all the shots came from the TSBD, that at least one or two came from cars in the motorcade.
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The "Puff of Smoke"
In addition to the gun smoke nose witnesses, there were the "puff of smoke" witnesses, who described a cloud of smoke over the road that "came out from under the trees." (Sam Holland) Again, given the wind direction, it could not have come from the picket fence. Rather a trick of perspective fooled Sam Holland into think it had.
Other witnesses accounts include these (taken from John Costella's compilation of What Happened on Elm Street? THE EYEWITNESSES SPEAK at https://johncostella.com/jfk/eyewitnesses.pdf under the sub-heading A puff of smoke emerged from the trees on the grassy knoll.
S. M. Holland (on top of the triple overpass), November 22, 1963: “I was standing on top of the triple underpass and the President’s Car was com- ing down Elm Street and when they got just about to the Arcade I heard what I thought for the moment was a fire cracker and he slumped over and I looked over toward the arcade and trees and saw a puff of smoke come from the trees ....” [Sheriff’s Department affidavit: 19H480]
Austin Miller (on top of the triple overpass), November 22, 1963: “I was something which I thought was smoke or steam coming from a group of trees north of Elm off the Railroad tracks.” [Sheriff’s Department affida- vit: 19H485]
S. M. Holland (on top of the triple overpass), November 24, 1963: “The only unusual thing that Holland could recall was an approximate one and one-half to two foot diameter of what he believed was gray smoke which appeared to him to be coming from the trees which would have been on the right of the Presidential car but observed no one there or in the vicin- ity.” [FBI report]
Clemon Johnson (on top of the triple overpass), March 17, 1964: “Mr. Johnson stated that white smoke was observed near the pavillion [sic], but he felt that this smoke came from a motorcycle abandoned near the spot by a Dallas policeman.” [FBI report: 22H836]
James Simmons (on top of the triple overpass), March 17, 1964: “Simmons said he thought he saw exhaust fumes of smoke near the embankment in front of the Texas School Book Depository Building.” [FBI report: CE1416: 22H833]
S. M. Holland (on top of the triple overpass), April 8, 1964: “There was a shot, a report, I don’t know whether it was a shot. I can’t say that. And a puff of smoke came out about 6 or 8 feet above the ground right out from under those trees. And at just about this location from where I was standing you could see that puff of smoke, like someone had thrown a firecracker, or something out, and that is just about the way it sounded. It wasn’t as loud as the previous reports or shots.” [Warren Commission testimony: 6H243]
Walter Winborn (on top of the triple overpass), May 5, 1966: (Galanor: “Did you see anything else that might be of interest?”) Winborn: “I just saw some smoke coming out in a—a motorcycle patrolman leaped off his machine and go up towards that smoke that come out from under the trees on the right hand side of the motorcade. Now that was——” (Galanor: “That’s up the grassy hill.”) Winborn: “Yes.” (Galanor: “Grassy knoll. There’s a wooden fence there.”) Winborn: “Yes.” (Galanor: “And you saw smoke.”) Winborn: “Yes.” (Galanor: “How many? Was it puffs of smoke?”) Winborn: “It looked like a little haze, like somebody had shot firecrackers or something like that. Or somebody had taken a puff off of a cigarette and maybe probably nervous and blowing out smoke, you know. Oh, it looked like it was more than one person that might possibly have exhaled smoke. But it was a haze there. From my general impression it looked like it was at least ten feet long and about, oh, two or three feet wide.” (Galanor: “And this was where now exactly?”) Winborn: “That was back over the sidewalk underneath those trees, that—of that fence that you were talking about ....” (Galanor: “The FBI spoke with you March 17th, 1964, I believe.”) Winborn: “That’s right.” (Galanor: “And they make no mention of the smoke that you saw. Did you tell them about that, that you saw smoke on the grassy knoll?”) Winborn: “Oh yes. Oh yes.” (Galanor: “They didn’t include it in their report.”) Winborn: “Well.” (Galanor: “Do you have any idea why they didn’t?”) Winborn: “I don’t have any idea. They are specialists in their field, and I’m just an ama- teur.” [Audio tape interview with Stewart Galanor]
Thomas Murphy (on top of the triple overpass), May 6, 1966: (Galanor: “That would be on the grassy hill up there.”) Murphy: “Yeah, on the hill up there. There are two or three hackberry and Elm trees. And I say it come from there.” (Galanor: “Was there anything that actually led you to believe that the shots came from there?”) Murphy: “Yeah, smoke.” (Galanor: “You saw smoke?”) Murphy: “Sure did.” (Galanor: “Could you tell me exactly where you saw the smoke?”) Murphy: “Yeah, in that tree.” [Interview with Stewart Galanor]
Ambiguous: Nolan Potter (on top of the triple overpass), March 17, 1964: “Potter said he recalls seeing smoke in front of the Texas School Book Depository Building rising above the trees.” [FBI report: CE1418: 22H834]
In addition to the gun smoke nose witnesses, there were the "puff of smoke" witnesses, who described a cloud of smoke over the road that "came out from under the trees." (Sam Holland) Again, given the wind direction, it could not have come from the picket fence. Rather a trick of perspective fooled Sam Holland into think it had.
Other witnesses accounts include these (taken from John Costella's compilation of What Happened on Elm Street? THE EYEWITNESSES SPEAK at https://johncostella.com/jfk/eyewitnesses.pdf under the sub-heading A puff of smoke emerged from the trees on the grassy knoll.
S. M. Holland (on top of the triple overpass), November 22, 1963: “I was standing on top of the triple underpass and the President’s Car was com- ing down Elm Street and when they got just about to the Arcade I heard what I thought for the moment was a fire cracker and he slumped over and I looked over toward the arcade and trees and saw a puff of smoke come from the trees ....” [Sheriff’s Department affidavit: 19H480]
Austin Miller (on top of the triple overpass), November 22, 1963: “I was something which I thought was smoke or steam coming from a group of trees north of Elm off the Railroad tracks.” [Sheriff’s Department affida- vit: 19H485]
S. M. Holland (on top of the triple overpass), November 24, 1963: “The only unusual thing that Holland could recall was an approximate one and one-half to two foot diameter of what he believed was gray smoke which appeared to him to be coming from the trees which would have been on the right of the Presidential car but observed no one there or in the vicin- ity.” [FBI report]
Clemon Johnson (on top of the triple overpass), March 17, 1964: “Mr. Johnson stated that white smoke was observed near the pavillion [sic], but he felt that this smoke came from a motorcycle abandoned near the spot by a Dallas policeman.” [FBI report: 22H836]
James Simmons (on top of the triple overpass), March 17, 1964: “Simmons said he thought he saw exhaust fumes of smoke near the embankment in front of the Texas School Book Depository Building.” [FBI report: CE1416: 22H833]
S. M. Holland (on top of the triple overpass), April 8, 1964: “There was a shot, a report, I don’t know whether it was a shot. I can’t say that. And a puff of smoke came out about 6 or 8 feet above the ground right out from under those trees. And at just about this location from where I was standing you could see that puff of smoke, like someone had thrown a firecracker, or something out, and that is just about the way it sounded. It wasn’t as loud as the previous reports or shots.” [Warren Commission testimony: 6H243]
Walter Winborn (on top of the triple overpass), May 5, 1966: (Galanor: “Did you see anything else that might be of interest?”) Winborn: “I just saw some smoke coming out in a—a motorcycle patrolman leaped off his machine and go up towards that smoke that come out from under the trees on the right hand side of the motorcade. Now that was——” (Galanor: “That’s up the grassy hill.”) Winborn: “Yes.” (Galanor: “Grassy knoll. There’s a wooden fence there.”) Winborn: “Yes.” (Galanor: “And you saw smoke.”) Winborn: “Yes.” (Galanor: “How many? Was it puffs of smoke?”) Winborn: “It looked like a little haze, like somebody had shot firecrackers or something like that. Or somebody had taken a puff off of a cigarette and maybe probably nervous and blowing out smoke, you know. Oh, it looked like it was more than one person that might possibly have exhaled smoke. But it was a haze there. From my general impression it looked like it was at least ten feet long and about, oh, two or three feet wide.” (Galanor: “And this was where now exactly?”) Winborn: “That was back over the sidewalk underneath those trees, that—of that fence that you were talking about ....” (Galanor: “The FBI spoke with you March 17th, 1964, I believe.”) Winborn: “That’s right.” (Galanor: “And they make no mention of the smoke that you saw. Did you tell them about that, that you saw smoke on the grassy knoll?”) Winborn: “Oh yes. Oh yes.” (Galanor: “They didn’t include it in their report.”) Winborn: “Well.” (Galanor: “Do you have any idea why they didn’t?”) Winborn: “I don’t have any idea. They are specialists in their field, and I’m just an ama- teur.” [Audio tape interview with Stewart Galanor]
Thomas Murphy (on top of the triple overpass), May 6, 1966: (Galanor: “That would be on the grassy hill up there.”) Murphy: “Yeah, on the hill up there. There are two or three hackberry and Elm trees. And I say it come from there.” (Galanor: “Was there anything that actually led you to believe that the shots came from there?”) Murphy: “Yeah, smoke.” (Galanor: “You saw smoke?”) Murphy: “Sure did.” (Galanor: “Could you tell me exactly where you saw the smoke?”) Murphy: “Yeah, in that tree.” [Interview with Stewart Galanor]
Ambiguous: Nolan Potter (on top of the triple overpass), March 17, 1964: “Potter said he recalls seeing smoke in front of the Texas School Book Depository Building rising above the trees.” [FBI report: CE1418: 22H834]
Most weapons did not produce such a "puff of smoke." However, the early model AR-15, with their gas ejection, frequently did produce such a "puff" or cloud. The image below is from the military M16, which was essentially the same weapon as the civilian AR-15:
No one actually saw Hickey firing the weapon, because he didn't take aim at the President. Nor was it physically possible for anyone to see the faster-than-the-speed-of-sound bullet traveling towards the President.
This firing of the AR-15 was an accidental "slam fire" incident. Although ballistics expert Howard Donahue originally theorized that Hickey had "reflexively pulled the trigger" due to a fall, his chronicler Bonar Donahue later learned that the AR-15 had a fatal flaw that could cause it to "slam fire" spontaneously--without the trigger even being pulled--because the firing pin was too heavy, and sudden movement could cause it to come into contact with the too-sensitive ammunition primer that was in use at the time. See Bonar Menninger's article "What if Hickey didn't pull the trigger?" at https://mokan9997.medium.com/what-if-hickey-didnt-pull-the-trigger-dd9fae6a664c.
The sudden movement was Hickey falling over when his car came to a sudden stop to avoid rear-ending the President's car and running over Clint Hill.
This firing of the AR-15 was an accidental "slam fire" incident. Although ballistics expert Howard Donahue originally theorized that Hickey had "reflexively pulled the trigger" due to a fall, his chronicler Bonar Donahue later learned that the AR-15 had a fatal flaw that could cause it to "slam fire" spontaneously--without the trigger even being pulled--because the firing pin was too heavy, and sudden movement could cause it to come into contact with the too-sensitive ammunition primer that was in use at the time. See Bonar Menninger's article "What if Hickey didn't pull the trigger?" at https://mokan9997.medium.com/what-if-hickey-didnt-pull-the-trigger-dd9fae6a664c.
The sudden movement was Hickey falling over when his car came to a sudden stop to avoid rear-ending the President's car and running over Clint Hill.
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A "Secret Service Agent Killed, Too"
There were early erroneous accounts that a "Secret Service man" was "also killed during the assassination." It was announced in the NBC same-day news as "confirmed" (by the Sheriff's Department) and was reported in a number of newspapers:
There were early erroneous accounts that a "Secret Service man" was "also killed during the assassination." It was announced in the NBC same-day news as "confirmed" (by the Sheriff's Department) and was reported in a number of newspapers:
NBC news same-day broadcast reported that it had been "confirmed" that a Secret Service man had been shot and killed during the shooting. This was also reported in some newspapers, before it became known that the reports were erroneous.
From the Dallas Times Herald final edition of November 22, 1963.
It was Sam Holland's account of a Secret Service man falling "backwards just like he was shot" that prompted Howard Donahue to develop his original AR-15 theory:
The Secret Service agent who fell over "just like he was shot" had to have been George Hickey, who had picked up the AR-15 rifle in preparation of returning fire. But when the President's limousine stopped (Clint Hill in one of his books, admitted that driver Bill Greer thought he had had a tire blow-out and "tapped the brake to test the tires." Bill Newman described the car as "rocking" when it came to its very brief stop. But in order to avoid rear-ending the President's car, Follow-up car driver Sam Kinney had to slam on the brakes, causing the Follow-up Car to "stop on a dime" per Greg Burnham, in his description of the "other" Zapruder film that he saw. It was that sudden stop of the Follow-up Car that caused Hickey, who was facing to the rear towards the TSBD, to fall "backwards" towards the front of the car. The fall caused the too-heavy firing pin of the early model AR-15 to come into contact with the too-sensitive ammunition primer, causing the gun to go off or and fire just at the instant when it was pointed coincidentally pointed at Kennedy's head (see Bonar Menninger's article "What if Hickey Didn't Pull the Trigger?" at https://mokan9997.medium.com/what-if-hickey-didnt-pull-the-trigger-dd9fae6a664c).
The rest, as they say, was "history." Or rather, it was altered history, cover-up, participated in by the CIA and the FBI.
The rest, as they say, was "history." Or rather, it was altered history, cover-up, participated in by the CIA and the FBI.
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The CIA's "Benign Cover-Up
CIA Director John McCone admitted to participating in a "benign cover-up" that was intended to keep the Warren Commission focused on "what the Agency believed at the time was the 'best truth'--that Lee Harvey Oswald, for as yet undetermined motives, had acted alone in killing John Kennedy."
CIA Director John McCone admitted to participating in a "benign cover-up" that was intended to keep the Warren Commission focused on "what the Agency believed at the time was the 'best truth'--that Lee Harvey Oswald, for as yet undetermined motives, had acted alone in killing John Kennedy."
The reason behind the "benign cover-up" was never given, and it was speculated that it had something to do with the CIA's clumsy "Operation Mongoose" attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. But that was just speculation. And that Operation Mongoose reason would not explain why there was a cooperative "Agreement between CIA and Secret Service" that was triggered by "the death of a President." However, the unintentional shooting of the President by his own protective agent would explain both the "benign cover-up" and the "Agreement" below that is evidences (by its lack of renewal) an earlier such agreement:
That cooperation, I contend, took the form of alteration of the original Zapruder film into the extant form we have today. See my article "Zapruder Film Alteration" at https://www.a-benign-conspiracy.com/zapruder-film-alteration.html. That cooperation also took advantage of the CIA's influence in the media (see Carl Bernstein's article "The CIA and the Media" at https://www.carlbernstein.com/the-cia-and-the-media-rolling-stone-10-20-1977) to tell its media assets how to counter scrutiny and criticisms of the Warren Report and its conclusions, as this "Dispatch" shows:
I'm certain that the FBI had a hand in the cover-up, as well, given the sketchy evidence chains I discussed in "Multiple Stretcher Bullets, AKA 'The Connally Bullet, Revisited" at https://www.a-benign-conspiracy.com/multiple-stretcher-bullets-aka-the-connally-bullet-revisited.html.
So let's look at some of the other aspects of this AR-15 "slam fire" accidental shot, the reason behind all this "benign cover-up," starting with the acoustical evidence.
So let's look at some of the other aspects of this AR-15 "slam fire" accidental shot, the reason behind all this "benign cover-up," starting with the acoustical evidence.
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Acoustical Alignment
The AR-15 is the 4th "suspect impulse" in the acoustical evidence, the one with the "95% or better" probability that it was a shot that originated from the "Grassy Knoll." Many witnesses described the last two shots occurring as a "double-bang" or "pow-pow" or "bang-bang" or "bam-bam" or knock-knock. Although most of the witnesses enumerated only "3" shots (e.g., Mary Moorman's "pow...pow-pow"), with inattention blindness and misperception of separate shots as "echoes," along with media reporting only "three" shots to match the 3 empty hulls found in the TSBD, explaining why these "3-shot" witnesses were likely to miss the "Moonwalking Bear" of earlier shots or other shots.
But that double-bang of the last two shots exactly matches the acoustical evidence.
This shot, the fourth in my sequence, would be the first shot of that double-bang, with the final one following only a half second or so afterward, the one that the acoustical experts attributed with "95% or better" confidence was a shot that originated from the "Grassy Knoll":
The AR-15 is the 4th "suspect impulse" in the acoustical evidence, the one with the "95% or better" probability that it was a shot that originated from the "Grassy Knoll." Many witnesses described the last two shots occurring as a "double-bang" or "pow-pow" or "bang-bang" or "bam-bam" or knock-knock. Although most of the witnesses enumerated only "3" shots (e.g., Mary Moorman's "pow...pow-pow"), with inattention blindness and misperception of separate shots as "echoes," along with media reporting only "three" shots to match the 3 empty hulls found in the TSBD, explaining why these "3-shot" witnesses were likely to miss the "Moonwalking Bear" of earlier shots or other shots.
But that double-bang of the last two shots exactly matches the acoustical evidence.
This shot, the fourth in my sequence, would be the first shot of that double-bang, with the final one following only a half second or so afterward, the one that the acoustical experts attributed with "95% or better" confidence was a shot that originated from the "Grassy Knoll":
That shot attributed to the "Knoll" could actually have come from the road in front of the Knoll. It was close enough to the test shot location to mimic a shot from there.
In Part 9 of my documentary series, I note how the "mic placement diagram" has no supporting evidence. The man who created it (James Barger) was not actually present in Dealey Plaza for the acoustical tests and had no personal first-hand knowledge of the mic placement. He created his diagram based on a list of "street features" he had been given. That list is not available for anyone to check. And it has problems. There are two "#10" microphones in the second array, no #10 mic in the third array, and the mic placement does not extend all the way down Elm Street to the Triple Underpass. Theoretically, it was not known which motorcycle had the "bike with the mic." For all anyone knew, it might have been one of the lead motorcycles, which this diagram would not account for.
In Part 9 of my documentary series, I note how the "mic placement diagram" has no supporting evidence. The man who created it (James Barger) was not actually present in Dealey Plaza for the acoustical tests and had no personal first-hand knowledge of the mic placement. He created his diagram based on a list of "street features" he had been given. That list is not available for anyone to check. And it has problems. There are two "#10" microphones in the second array, no #10 mic in the third array, and the mic placement does not extend all the way down Elm Street to the Triple Underpass. Theoretically, it was not known which motorcycle had the "bike with the mic." For all anyone knew, it might have been one of the lead motorcycles, which this diagram would not account for.
With this mic placement attribution, the acoustical experts were able to come up with structures that a sound echo could bounce off that matched the distance needed to correlate with echoes from the test shot location:
But son of a gun, I was able to come up with an echo correlation with those same distances, but matching "corner" vs. "middle of side" of a building, and a different edge of the same half-wall structure that also matches the echo correlation distances. On this diagram below, check the distances for each path, and you will see that the distances match:
So the echo correlations can match my AR-15 scenario. In determining their echo points, the acoustical experts could only look for structures based on the time distances (based on the speed of sound) between the initial muzzle blast, and the reception of echoes. They couldn't determine which structures, except by distance. But when presented with a fraudulent mic placement, they ended up correlating the wrong structures.
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The FBI Model
My "Shot 4" aligns with the limousine position for the FBI's "Shot 3." The FBI's "Visual Aids" model places this shot as farther down Elm Street from the Mary Moorman photograph, when the limousine was closer to the stairs. While I do not argue with their limousine placement, their attribution of this shot as originating from the TSBD Sixth Floor window is wrong. But this is their attribution (I've annotated their string-line attribution in red for easier viewing):
My "Shot 4" aligns with the limousine position for the FBI's "Shot 3." The FBI's "Visual Aids" model places this shot as farther down Elm Street from the Mary Moorman photograph, when the limousine was closer to the stairs. While I do not argue with their limousine placement, their attribution of this shot as originating from the TSBD Sixth Floor window is wrong. But this is their attribution (I've annotated their string-line attribution in red for easier viewing):
I played with the FBI "Visual Aid" to create my own "Visual Aid" (ignore the white string lines of the original FBI model). Although the limousine position is about the same, I substituted an image of the Presidential limousine for the FBI's white car (one wonders why the FBI didn't just get duplicate models of the Presidential car for their Visual Aid) and added the Secret Service Follow-Up Car behind it. This image below shows what I contend is the correct attribution in red. I've also added a red dot to represent the approximate position of DPD motorcycle officer Douglas Jackson (riding outboard to the right rear fender of the President's car) to create my "Shot 4" model below, with my attribution marked in red, and my own caption:
Jackson's position, with his left side to the path of the bullet as he is facing forward, will become critical momentarily, because I contend that Jackson not only had the "bike with the mic" that picked up the acoustical sounds of the gunshots and thus recorded them onto the DPD dicta belt tape, but also because he was in exactly the position to misperceive the AR-15 shot as having come from the Knoll. And that misperception caused him to bravely drive his motorcycle up the Knoll in search of his "phantom shooter."
Jackson not only had the "bike with the mic," he was also the "Knoll Rider."
Huh?
Jackson not only had the "bike with the mic," he was also the "Knoll Rider."
Huh?
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Acoustic Perception and the "Knoll Rider"
An acoustic phenomenon involving shockwaves from faster-than-the-speed-of-sound bullets creates a misperception as to the origin of the shot. From the HSCA testimonies of the acoustical experts, we know that the "bike with the mic" was in a position to pick up the acoustical shockwave of some of the shots. The acoustic shockwave perception phenomenon creates a misperception in the human perceiver as the shot having originated from a direction perpendicular to the acoustic shockwave (in some cases directly towards the path of the shockwave, and in other cases directly away from the path of the shockwave). Our "observer" perceives the bullet as having come from directly perpendicular away from the path of the shockwave. In this diagram presented to the HSCA by James Barger, the "observer" (i.e., the officer who had the "bike with the mic") perceives the supersonic bullet as having come from his right. We know from the acoustical experts' analyses that the "bike with the mic" received the acoustic shockwave from the "Grassy Knoll" shot. We also know that DPD motorcycle officer Douglas Jackson was riding in the outboard position of the President's limousine. This "observer" position matches that of motorcycle officer Douglas Jackson, who would have been in a position between Hickey and the President to match this diagram exactly, and who would have perceived the bullet as having come from his right--i.e., the Grassy Knoll. This prompted Jackson to try to drive his bike up the hill, and when his motorcycle could go no farther, dropping it and continuing the rest of the way on foot, thus earning him the nickname "The Knoll Rider."
An acoustic phenomenon involving shockwaves from faster-than-the-speed-of-sound bullets creates a misperception as to the origin of the shot. From the HSCA testimonies of the acoustical experts, we know that the "bike with the mic" was in a position to pick up the acoustical shockwave of some of the shots. The acoustic shockwave perception phenomenon creates a misperception in the human perceiver as the shot having originated from a direction perpendicular to the acoustic shockwave (in some cases directly towards the path of the shockwave, and in other cases directly away from the path of the shockwave). Our "observer" perceives the bullet as having come from directly perpendicular away from the path of the shockwave. In this diagram presented to the HSCA by James Barger, the "observer" (i.e., the officer who had the "bike with the mic") perceives the supersonic bullet as having come from his right. We know from the acoustical experts' analyses that the "bike with the mic" received the acoustic shockwave from the "Grassy Knoll" shot. We also know that DPD motorcycle officer Douglas Jackson was riding in the outboard position of the President's limousine. This "observer" position matches that of motorcycle officer Douglas Jackson, who would have been in a position between Hickey and the President to match this diagram exactly, and who would have perceived the bullet as having come from his right--i.e., the Grassy Knoll. This prompted Jackson to try to drive his bike up the hill, and when his motorcycle could go no farther, dropping it and continuing the rest of the way on foot, thus earning him the nickname "The Knoll Rider."
But there was no shooter at the top of the Knoll. There may have been an unarmed bystander (Paul Landis admitted to pointing at a "suspicious" Black man dressed in green pants and a khaki shirt who was running up the knoll (and the Nix film reveals someone running up the stairs), but there was no shooter.
Who was Landis pointing this man out to? I suspect he was doing so for the benefit of a pair of Secret Service agents who had come from Johnson's Follow-up car. Landis was in a similar position relative to the AR-15 as Jackson--slightly ahead of Hickey and to the right of the bullet's path. He could also be the "observer" in the diagram above. But since Jackson was the one whose motorcycle microphone picked up the gunshot sounds and the acoustic shockwave for the fourth "suspect impulse," in this case, the "observer" specifically refers to Jackson, who having misperceived the AR-15 shot as having come from the Knoll, then became the "Knoll Rider." But seeing Chaney heading up the hill, fellow motorcycle officer Bobby Hargis (who may have also perceived the acoustic shockwave and misjudged the origin as being towards the path of the bullet rather than away) also ran in that direction, having first left his motorcycle parked on the other side of the road. And farther behind in the motorcade, Clyde Haygood saw his fellows headed up the hill, drove to the area, dropped his bike, and followed them.
But Jackson and his fellow motorcycle officers weren't the only ones who headed up the hill. A number of witnesses reported some "plainclothesmen with guns drawn" running up the Knoll in addition to DPD officers. These "plainclothesmen with drawn guns" (wearing suits) could only have been Secret Service agents.
Who was Landis pointing this man out to? I suspect he was doing so for the benefit of a pair of Secret Service agents who had come from Johnson's Follow-up car. Landis was in a similar position relative to the AR-15 as Jackson--slightly ahead of Hickey and to the right of the bullet's path. He could also be the "observer" in the diagram above. But since Jackson was the one whose motorcycle microphone picked up the gunshot sounds and the acoustic shockwave for the fourth "suspect impulse," in this case, the "observer" specifically refers to Jackson, who having misperceived the AR-15 shot as having come from the Knoll, then became the "Knoll Rider." But seeing Chaney heading up the hill, fellow motorcycle officer Bobby Hargis (who may have also perceived the acoustic shockwave and misjudged the origin as being towards the path of the bullet rather than away) also ran in that direction, having first left his motorcycle parked on the other side of the road. And farther behind in the motorcade, Clyde Haygood saw his fellows headed up the hill, drove to the area, dropped his bike, and followed them.
But Jackson and his fellow motorcycle officers weren't the only ones who headed up the hill. A number of witnesses reported some "plainclothesmen with guns drawn" running up the Knoll in addition to DPD officers. These "plainclothesmen with drawn guns" (wearing suits) could only have been Secret Service agents.
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Armed Men in Suits Running Up the Knoll and the "Blond Agent"
Having seen Jackson heading up the Knoll, fellow motorcycle officer Bobby Hargis followed Jackson on foot. Secret Service agent Paul Landis recently admitted to pointing at a Black man in a green shirt and Khaki pants who was running up the steps, and whom he regarded as suspicious. This prompted agents from Johnson's follow-up car to run up the hill with their weapons drawn, as witnessed by Bill and Gayle Newman. For example, in “JFK Lancer 2016: A Conversation with Bill and Gayle Newman”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcJnww6pxw&t=831s ) at about 13:10, Bill Newman says this:
Having seen Jackson heading up the Knoll, fellow motorcycle officer Bobby Hargis followed Jackson on foot. Secret Service agent Paul Landis recently admitted to pointing at a Black man in a green shirt and Khaki pants who was running up the steps, and whom he regarded as suspicious. This prompted agents from Johnson's follow-up car to run up the hill with their weapons drawn, as witnessed by Bill and Gayle Newman. For example, in “JFK Lancer 2016: A Conversation with Bill and Gayle Newman”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcJnww6pxw&t=831s ) at about 13:10, Bill Newman says this:
I also remember some men—I thought they flopped back the cover on the convertible behind, and comin’ out with what I’d say short rifles, kind of like what I would imagine a Thompson submachine gun, and some of them going up the Grassy Knoll, you know, in that direction behind me. But that’s just stuck in my mind. And I’ve always said it, I think I’ve said it from the beginning, Stephen, these statements.
In another interview, he says that these men came from maybe from that car, or from several cars back--i.e., Johnson's Secret Service car. I contend that there were two Secret Service agents from Johnson's follow-up car who ran up the hill: Thomas "Lem" Johns (who admitted staying behind in Dealey Plaza for only a very short time, and later got a ride to Parkland Hospital with some newsmen) and the mysterious unnamed "Blond Agent" who was photographed in Dealey Plaza after the assassination, and who I think encountered Lee Harvey Oswald when he went inside the TSBD and asked directions to a telephone.
An unnamed "Blond Agent" was seen and photographed (from the side and rear) in Dealey Plaza, as in this picture by William Allen of the Blond Agent showing interest in the grass, while Sheriff's deputy Buddy Walthers (smoking a cigarette) and Patrolman J.W. Foster look on.
Of course, it was against protocol for Secret Service agents to remain behind to chase after shooters or investigate shootings. The protocol was to "cover and evacuate." Officially, no Secret Service agent remained in Dealey Plaza after the shooting, but I take that to be just another fabrication.
I believe this unnamed agent to have come Lyndon Johnson's follow-up car. Officially, there were only two Secret Service agents in the back seat of the car, but the Marie Muchmore film shows three men in the back seat of the car:
I believe this unnamed agent to have come Lyndon Johnson's follow-up car. Officially, there were only two Secret Service agents in the back seat of the car, but the Marie Muchmore film shows three men in the back seat of the car:
Image from the Marie Muchmore film, showing Johnson's Secret Service Follow-Up car, with Warren Taylor's open door and 3 total agents apparent in the back seat.
So why would the Blond Agent's presence in Dealey Plaza be covered up? 2 reasons: 1) as already mentioned, it was against protocol for agents to remain at the scene of a shooting, thus leaving their protectees with less protection; and 2) there was an unexplained pool of blood at the top of the stairs leading up the knoll. The pool of blood was covered up, and the cause is unknown, but I suspect it has something to do with the Black man in green pants and khaki shirt who was apparently chased up the steps by Douglas Jackson and the Secret Service agents who ran up there, described by the Newman's.
The result of Douglas Jackson, Bobby Hargis, and the armed Secret Service men running up the knoll is that it added to the impression that a shot originated from there, thus instigating the "Rush up the Knoll" by civilians like Jean Hill, who wanted to see the shooter arrested.
But what they found up there was...nothing.
Because the shooter was in a car that had already left Dealey Plaza and was following the President's car to Parkland Hospital. But the impression of a "Grassy Knoll Shooter" lingered.
The rush up the knoll, of course, happened after the AR-15 shot. But it was initiated by an acoustic misperception that the knoll was the origin of the shot, a misperception caused by the presence of the acoustic shockwave picked up by the "bike with the mic" and perceived--or misperceived--by its rider.
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No One Shooting Behind the Fence -- Lee Bowers
It is unfortunate that Lee Bowers' statements about seeing two men on the Elm Street side of the picket fence have often been misconstrued as meaning that he saw two men on his side of the fence--men that many have assumed to be involved in the assassination. It is equally unfortunate that when Bowers indicated that "no one" was on his side of the wooden fence and "obviously...there was no one there who could have...had anything to do with" the shooting, that that portion of the interview was edited out of the final version of the Rush to Judgement film.
From the Transcript of filmed interview of Lee Bowers, Jr., p.124, Roll GH600, from Rush to Judgment, in the papers of Emile de Antonio, Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, we get this image (taken from https://www.jfkfiles.com/jfk/html/badgeman_4.htm) of a portion of the Bowers interview that did not make it into the final cut of the film, probably cherry-picked out because it didn't fit the narrative that Mark Lane and Emile de Antonio wanted to tell, of a "shooter behind the picket fence":
It is unfortunate that Lee Bowers' statements about seeing two men on the Elm Street side of the picket fence have often been misconstrued as meaning that he saw two men on his side of the fence--men that many have assumed to be involved in the assassination. It is equally unfortunate that when Bowers indicated that "no one" was on his side of the wooden fence and "obviously...there was no one there who could have...had anything to do with" the shooting, that that portion of the interview was edited out of the final version of the Rush to Judgement film.
From the Transcript of filmed interview of Lee Bowers, Jr., p.124, Roll GH600, from Rush to Judgment, in the papers of Emile de Antonio, Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, we get this image (taken from https://www.jfkfiles.com/jfk/html/badgeman_4.htm) of a portion of the Bowers interview that did not make it into the final cut of the film, probably cherry-picked out because it didn't fit the narrative that Mark Lane and Emile de Antonio wanted to tell, of a "shooter behind the picket fence":
From the motorcade side of the fence, newsman Robert "Robin" MacNeil (later of the "MacNeil-Lehrer Report"), riding on a bus in the motorcade, made the bus driver stop and got out of the bus immediately after he heard the sounds of shots. He described how he saw policemen and "plainclothes men with guns out" (Secret Service agents) running up the Knoll, and he ran up after them. At the top of the hill, the cops went over the fence, so MacNeil went over the fence, too. "And there was nothing there, no signs of anything."
So despite the Knoll Rider's acoustic perception that a shot came from the top of the hill, it did not. The shot came from the car immediately behind the President's, and it left the scene of the shooting immediately. But Jackson's misperception that someone was shooting from the top of the Knoll, combined with Landis pointing at a man who was running up the hill, combined with bystanders who heard a shot coming from that general direction, combined with Douglas Jackson and Secret Servicemen and cops (like Clyde Haygood) after them heading up the Knoll, followed by people like Jean Hill who wanted to watch the arrest of the "phantom shooter" (thus creating a "rush up the Knoll")--combine all of that, and you have the beginning of the myth of the "Grassy Knoll Shooter." Then add Mark Lane's Rush to Judgment film--which left out the important section of Bowers saying that he had a clear view of the fence and there was no shooter there--with Sam Holland's misperception that the smoke he saw originated from there (the wind direction was not blowing out from the fence, as he thought)--and the myth became firmly fixed.
But that's all it was--a myth. The actual shooter was on the road in front of the Knoll, in a moving car, that left the scene immediately after the shooting.
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The Fit
It all fits: gun smoke nose witness accounts, the "puff of smoke" witnesses, the ear witnesses, the erroneous reports that "a Secret Service man was killed, too" (misinterpreting Hickey's fall as his being shot, also), the acoustical alignment, the misperception that a shot came from the "Grassy Knoll," the echo correlation (with the caveat that the "mic placement diagram:--again, with its flaws and its lack of supporting evidence--is fraudulent), the CIA's "benign cover-up," the fact that no shooter was seen behind the fence--Everything!
But my scenario isn't quite finished. There were five "suspect impulses" in the acoustical evidence. There was also one other victim in addition to President Kennedy and Governor Connally--a bystander named James Tague, who received some minor wounds from missed shot. That is the next, and last, shot of my five-shot scenario, to be discussed in my next article.
It all fits: gun smoke nose witness accounts, the "puff of smoke" witnesses, the ear witnesses, the erroneous reports that "a Secret Service man was killed, too" (misinterpreting Hickey's fall as his being shot, also), the acoustical alignment, the misperception that a shot came from the "Grassy Knoll," the echo correlation (with the caveat that the "mic placement diagram:--again, with its flaws and its lack of supporting evidence--is fraudulent), the CIA's "benign cover-up," the fact that no shooter was seen behind the fence--Everything!
But my scenario isn't quite finished. There were five "suspect impulses" in the acoustical evidence. There was also one other victim in addition to President Kennedy and Governor Connally--a bystander named James Tague, who received some minor wounds from missed shot. That is the next, and last, shot of my five-shot scenario, to be discussed in my next article.