JFK Facts - Invasion Of the Body Snatchers

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

One of the most debated issues concerning the assassination, is the basic yet not fully answered question of, the locations and causes of the President’s wounds. This is a question that may never be answered due to the President’s highly questionable autopsy. The bizarre events concerning the autopsy are probably some of the best evidence of a massive conspiracy, because it shows clear evidence tampering by the Secret Service and high ranking military officials only minutes after the assassination.

The motorcade arrives at Parkland hospital.

Immediately after the assassination the motorcade rushed to nearby Parkland hospital. There, civilian doctors rushed to save the President’s life. The doctors saw a large hole on the front right of his head, and a large hole four to five inches wide in the back of the head. About 1/4 of the back of the head was blown out. Brain fragment had sprayed everywhere when he was shot and much of the brain was still hanging out the back. The doctors were very specific about these wounds when testifying to the Warren Commission. When asked if they saw a small hole on the back of the head, they said, no, there was only one large wound. The doctors said this wound had come from the front right and exited out the back of the head.

The Zapruder film clearly shows Kennedy’s brain blown out the back of his head, not the front. This is made even clearer in Kennedy’s hospital admission notice, exhibit 392, which reads, “The cause of death was due to massive head and brain injury from a gunshot wound of the left temple.”

The Parkland doctors also saw a small round wound on his throat. The doctors were also very specific about this wound as well. They all stated that it was a wound of entry, due to the fact that it was so small, round and smooth. The doctors described it as being only about 5mm in diameter. Dr. Malcolm Perry also cut open the wound in order to insert tubes into Kennedy’s throat to perform a tracheotomy, but testified that by doing so he did not obliterate the bullet wound.

At a 1:00pm press conference just after the President had been pronounced dead, White House Press secretary Malcolm Killduff shows reporters how based on doctors’ observations, Kennedy was killed by a gunshot to the front right.

The doctors never turned Kennedy’s body over, so they never saw any wounds on his back.

After the President was declared dead it was time to perform the autopsy. Texas law requires that an autopsy must be performed on a homicide victim before the body is taken out of the state. However the Secret Service illegally removed the body, over the objections of the doctors. They tried to tell the Secret Service that an autopsy had to be performed first.

This issue of the body being illegally removed came up during the testimony of Dr. Charles Baxter when he was questioned by Arlen Specter.

Mr. Specter.

Would your examination have been conducted in any different way had this particular victim not been the President of the United States?

Dr. Baxter.

I think--yes--in that we would certainly have, particularly, postmortem examined the body much more carefully than we did. We would have undressed him completely and determined all of the direction of the wounds at the time. This did not seem feasible under the circumstances.

Mr. Specter.

Why was it not feasible under the circumstances?

Dr. Baxter.

Mrs. Kennedy was in the room, there was a large number of people in the room by that time Secret Service Agents, the priests and so on. As soon as the President was pronounced dead, the Secret Service more or less-- well, requested that we clear the room and leave them with the President’s body, which was done. Everything that the Secret Service wished was carried out.

Dr. Paul Peters also detailed the lack of an autopsy.

“Dr. Earl Rose was a forensic pathologist well trained in medical legal autopsies. And he appeared at trauma [room] one and said, ‘This is a homicide in DallasCounty and I will do the autopsy on President Kennedy.’

“In the meantime the casket and been acquired and the president’s body had been placed in it. And he was informed by the Secret Service if he didn’t get out of the way he would be run over by the casket as they were leaving. This was the president of the United States and they were taking him back to Washington.”(TMWKK)

The Secret Service’s draconian tactics also embarrassed Aubrey Wright an ambulance driver for Parkland.

“There was a lot of cursing going on. I was embarrassed especially for Mrs. Kennedy cause she was standing right behind us; a priest was there. A lot of it was what I thought was you know too foul a language to speak to a woman. It was terrifying back then. It’s hard to believe that grown people could be so childish about things and everyone wanting to take over.” (TMWKK)

Kennedy’s personal physician, Dr. George Burkley said that while at Parkland hospital, the Dallas Medical Examiner told the Secret Service that an autopsy had to be performed first, but that the Secret Service removed the body anyway.

Presidential aid Lawrence F. O’Brien also mentioned the Secret Service’s illegal removal of the body when being questioned by Francis Adams.

Mr. O’Brien.

The coffin was wheeled into the emergency room. At that point, a man arrived on the scene who, I assume, was the coroner, or someone representing the coroner’s office. I do not know his name. And he stated that the President could not be taken from the hospital...

Mr. Adams.

Well, going back to this official who said the body could not be removed-- you were present at that time with Mr. [Kenneth] O’Donnell and Mr. [Daniel] Powers?

Mr. O’Brien.

Yes.

Mr. Adams.

And what happened with respect to that discussion?

Mr. O’Brien.

Well, Dr. Burkley, the President’s physician, entered into that discussion. And as I recall he and this official went into a little room just outside these doors and carried on further discussion that seemed to involve members of the hospital staff and others. And the discussion went on for a period of several minutes. Burkley-- Dr. Burkley was quite exercised. It was apparent that this fellow was not going to-- he was going to be adamant in his position. And very soon another official arrived on the scene that was described to me as a judge... But he was then described, as the judge-- a judge, and the indication was that he, therefore, was in a higher position of authority than the other official that had been carrying on this discussion with Dr. Burkley. He was equally adamant. The reference was made, either specifically by him or by someone in the official group, that this had to be treated as just another homicide, and that no other-- no special considerations could be given to the problem. That, of course, increased our concern about Mrs. Kennedy, who said she would not leave her husband, and that we could envision Mrs. Kennedy in that state in the hospital for hours or even longer. So, therefore, it was our determination that the President should be taken from the hospital... The casket was brought out from the emergency room, wheeled out through these two folding doors. And the members of the Secret Service gathered around it. They had made a determination on their own as to the exit. An ambulance was waiting. Preparations had been made by the Secret Service to accomplish this. And we all-- Mr. O’Donnell, Mr. Powers and I, General McHugh, and two or three members of the Secret Service proceeded to push the coffin down this corridor. My recollection is that objections were still being raised by some or all officials. My recollection is also that we paid little heed to it.

Mr. Adams.

These were vigorous objections, I gather.

Mr. O’Brien.

I would say they were. And the only very minor problem that occurred in reading the exit was that the priest who was third in point of arrival was still present. The other two priests had departed after expressing their condolences to Mrs. Kennedy. But this priest was standing in the corridor and was rather insistent that he formalize some prayers at that point. And I suggested to him that he step aside. Our concern still was whether or not there was going to be an effective block in our way.

Presidential aid Kenneth O’Donnell also testified about trouble at Parkland. “We-- the casket was brought out about halfway, and a gentleman arrived who said that we would not be allowed to remove the body from the hospital until the necessary papers had been signed.” He said that as they were bringing out the casket a man, “shouted very loudly, ‘You can’t do that, you can’t leave here now.’ Nobody paid any attention to him.”

Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman testified,

“...I should say that as for the casket being brought into the hospital, another gentleman came into this little doctor’s room, his name I don’t recall, but he represented himself to from the Health Department or commission, some form. He said, ‘There has been a homicide here, you won’t be able to remove the body. We will have to take it down there to the mortuary and have an autopsy.’ I said, ‘No, we are not.’ And he said, ‘We have a law here whereby you have to comply with it.’

“With that Dr. Burkley walked in, and I said, ‘Doctor, this man is from some health unit in town. He tells me we can’t remove this body.’ The doctor became a little enraged; he said, ‘We are removing it...This is the President of the United States and there should be some consideration in an event like this.’ And I told this gentleman, I said, ‘You are going to have to come up with something a little stronger than you to give me the law that this body can’t be removed.’

“So, he frantically called everybody he could think of and he hasn’t got an answer; nobody is home. Shortly he leaves this little room and it seems like a few minutes he is back and he has another gentleman with him, and he said, ‘...He is a judge here in Dallas... He will tell you whether you can remove this body or not.’ I said, ‘It doesn’t make any difference. We are going to move it... Judge do you know who I am?’

“And he said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘ There must be something in your thinking here that we don’t have to go through this agony; the family doesn’t have to go through this. We will take care of the matter when we get back to Washington.’ The poor man looked at me and he said, ‘I don’t know who you are... I can’t help you out.’ I said. ‘All right, sir.’ But then I happened to look to the right and I can see the casket coming on rollers, and I just left the room and let it out through the emergency entrance and we got to the ambulance and put it in, shut the door after Mrs. Kennedy and General McHugh and Clinton Hill in the rear part of this ambulance.”

The House Select Committee on Assassinations found that one of the many reasons for the autopsy being deficient was that, “The body was moved out of the geographical area statutorily responsible for investigation of the death and autopsy.”

The President’s body was wrapped in white sheets and put into a bronze funeral casket. The casket was loaded onto Air Force One and flown back to Washington. On the plane Lyndon Johnson was sworn into office, as we all remember from those famous pictures. It was undecided where the President’s body would be taken to have the autopsy performed, to Walter Reed Army Hospital, or to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Some claim that Mrs. Kennedy was given a choice and chose Bethesda. If this were true, this is where things get fuzzy. Really fuzzy.

No American can forget those famous photos of Kennedy’s bronze casket being off loaded from Air Force One into a Hertz with Mrs. Kennedy. But was the body really in this casket?

Here is where there’s a serious brake in the chain of evidence. We know that Kennedy’s body in the bronze casket was loaded onto the plane. The body was next seen at Bethesda Naval Hospital, being taken out of a black army style bodybag inside of a gray shipping casket. This was observed by Paul K. O’Connor, and Captain John Stover. The House Select Committee on Assassinations also confirmed that this was the case.

Kennedy’s personal physician, Dr. George Burkley said in a sworn statement to the FBI, that while on Air Force One, the original casket had been “replaced” by a new casket. Since Burkley was never called as a witness before the Warren Commission, Burkley was not specific as to how or why this casket switching was done.

This famous footage of the evening of the assassination shows Air Force One arriving outside of Washington DC. We see the bronze casket from Parkland Hospital being placed in the Hertz. There is now serious doubt as to whether the President’s body was in this casket. Some believe while the bronze casket was putting on a show for the press, Kennedy’s real body was being tampered with elsewhere.

So what happened to the bronze casket which we’ve all seen on TV? This remained a complete mystery until 1999 when JFK Jr. announced that in 1966 this coffin was filled with sand and dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. Some reporters concluded that this was done in order to honor Kennedy for serving in the Navy. However, Kennedy had served in the Pacific and not the Atlantic.

Two months after this admission, JFK Jr. was dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. He, his wife, and sister in law died when their plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The autopsy was performed that evening at Bathesda Navel Hospital by Dr. James J. Humes, Dr. J. Thornton Boswell, and Dr. Pierre A. Finck. FBI agents Francis X. O’Neil and James W. Sibert were present for the autopsy and wrote in their FBI report that the autopsy doctors told them that surgery had been performed on the head. Remember that no surgery had been performed on the head at Parkland. The doctors concluded that the President had died as the result of two gunshot wounds inflicted from behind. The exact opposite of Parkland doctors. One bullet had hit him in the back and had later fallen out. A second bullet had hit Kennedy in the back of the head, leaving a small hole, and exited through the front right of the head. They did not consider the throat wound to be a bullet wound.

This meant the official story was that there were three shots from the Book Depository, one of the shots hit Kennedy in the back, a second hit Connally, the third hit Kennedy in the back of the head. This seemed to wrap up the case, but there were two major problems with this three bullet theory. What about bystander James Tague’s wound, and Kennedy’s throat wound seen by the Parkland doctors? These two wounds threw a monkey wrench into the government’s whole lone assassin theory.

Now the official whitewash story was, one bullet missed the car and hit Tague. Another shot hit Kennedy in the back and ricocheted injuring Connally. The third shot hit Kennedy in the back of the head.

Although the House Select Committee on Assassinations agreed with almost all of the Warren Commission’s conclusions, they did find that the autopsy was seriously deficient in many areas.

“The body was moved out of the geographical area statutorily responsible for investigation of the death and autopsy... The [Autopsy doctors] did not confer with the physicians who had treated the president at Parkland Hospital before commencing their examination and did not therefore realize that a bullet perforation in the neck had been altered by a tracheotomy... Proper photographs were not taken... The president’s clothing was not examined by the pathologists... The external examination did not take thorough note of all the wounds: The [throat] wound was not noticed, the head entrance wound was not accurately located... the bullet track in the back and neck was not dissected, so extent of injury to the neck structures was not evaluated and course through the body was not fully appreciated... The angles of the bullet tracks through the body were not measured relative to the body axis... The brain was not properly examined and sectioned.”

The Committee also found the autopsy report to be incomplete.

“The autopsy report was incomplete, prepared without reference to the photographs, and was inaccurate in a number of areas:

1. The entrance head wound location was incorrectly described...

3. There was no description of the neck areas which were not dissected...”

Why these massive inconstancies? The Parkland and Bethesda doctors both concluded that President Kennedy had died from two gunshot wounds, but from two completely different angles. It sounds like the doctors had examined two completely different bodies. And what about the mix up with the caskets? The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded, “... [testimony] by eye witnesses at Parkland Hospital differed dramatically from the testimony of the autopsy doctors and the account set forth in the Warren Report.” This is putting it lightly.

These bizarre events present massive inconsistencies in the medical evidence. How could two sets of doctors reach the exact opposite conclusions of the wounds? What possible scenarios can be offered to explain these massive inconsistencies? Over the years many researchers have asked this question and have narrowed down the answer to one of these four possible scenarios.

A. The Parkland doctors perjured themselves about what

they saw.

B. The Bethesda doctors perjured themselves about what

they saw.

C. The wounds were changed between the two

examinations.

D. The doctors examined two different bodies.

Over the years researchers have agreed with one, some, none, or all of these theories. Each of these theories should be examined carefully.

A. Did the Parkland doctors perjure themselves about what they saw?

This is highly unlikely. All the doctors and medical personal at Parkland saw the President immediately after the assassination. They all reached the same or similar conclusions and have never changed their stories since the day of the assassination. They were civilian medical personnel who had no reason to lie about what they saw. The Parkland doctors are all credible witnesses.

However, much of the mainstream media has chosen to except this explanation by claiming that the doctors may merely have been mistaken about the wounds they saw. They claim the doctors were in too much of a rush to save the president’s life to observe his wounds. This explanation simply does not hold water. Anyone who reads the testimony of the Parkland doctors will see that these doctors were very very specific about the wounds they saw. If one chooses to disbelieve the Parkland doctors, then they must believe that they perjured themselves.

B. Did the Bethesda doctors perjure themselves about what they saw?

Of all the four theories this one is by far the most valid. All the military doctors had to follow orders and therefore their testimony could have been influenced by military superiors. In fact, both Dr. Humes and Dr. Finck later gave testimony which seriously impeaches their previous Warren Commission testimony.

Since Kennedy’s throat wound came from the front and because the autopsy doctors concluded there was no exit wound for Kennedy’s throat wound, then it would be a fair conclusion that the bullet would still be inside his neck. Yet the neck was not dissected to find the bullet. Why? This point came up in the Clay Shaw trial when Dr. Finck testified for the defense that a proper autopsy had been performed and their conclusions were correct. But on cross examination, the prosecution gets Finck to crack. Here are the highlights from Dr. Finck’s testimony in Louisiana Vs. Claw Shaw. Questions are being asked by Assistant DA Al Oser with Judge Edward Haggerty presiding.

Dr. Finck.

I will remind you that I was not in charge of this autopsy, that I was called-

Mr. Oser.

You were a co-author of the report though, weren’t you, doctor?

Dr. Finck

Wait. I was called as a consultant to look at these wounds, that doesn’t mean that I was running the show.

Mr. Oser.

Was Dr. Humes running the show?

Dr. Finck.

Well, I heard Dr. Humes stating that-he said, “Who’s in charge here?” and I heard an Army general, I don’t remember his name, stating, “I am “ You must understand that in those circumstances, there were law enforcement officers, military people with various ranks and you have to coordinate the operation according to directions.

Mr. Oser.

But you were one of the three qualified pathologists standing at the autopsy table, were you not, doctor?

Dr. Finck.

Yes, I was.

Mr. Oser.

Was this Army general a qualified pathologist?

Dr. Finck.

No.

Mr. Oser.

Was he a doctor?

Dr. Finck.

No. Not to my knowledge.

Mr. Oser.

Can you give me his name, colonel?

Dr. Finck

No, I can’t. I don’t remember.

Mr. Oser.

Do you happen to have the photographs and X rays taken of President Kennedy’s body at the time of the autopsy and shortly thereafter? Do you?

Dr. Finck.

I do not have X-rays or photographs of President Kennedy with me.

Mr. Oser.

How many other military personnel were present at the autopsy room?

Dr. Finck.

That autopsy room was quite crowded. It is a small autopsy room, and when you are called in circumstances like that to look at the wound of the President of the United States who is dead, you don’t look around too much to ask people for their names and take notes on who they are and how many there are. I did not do so. The room was crowded with military and civilian personal and federal agents and Secret Service agents, FBI agents, for part of the autopsy but I cannot give you the precise breakdown as regards the attendance of the people in that autopsy room at Bathesda Naval Hospital.

Mr. Oser.

Colonel, did you feel that you had to take orders from this Army general that was there directing the autopsy?

Dr. Finck.

No, because there were others, there were admirals.

Mr. Oser.

There were admirals?

Dr. Finck.

Oh, yes there were admirals, and when you are a lieutenant colonel in the Army you just follow orders, and at the end of the autopsy we were specifically told-as I recall it, it was by Admiral Kinney, the Surgeon General of the Navy -this is subject to verification-we were specifically told not to discuss the case.

Mr. Oser.

Did you have occasion to dissect the track of that particular bullet in the victim as it lay on the autopsy table?

Dr. Finck.

I did not dissect the track of the neck.

Mr. Oser.

Why?

Dr. Finck.

This leads us into the disclosure of medical records.

Mr. Oser.

Your honor I would like an answer from the colonel and I would ask the Court so to direct.

Judge Hagerty.

That is correct. You should answer doctor.

Dr. Finck.

We didn’t remove the organs of the neck.

Mr. Oser.

Why not doctor?

Dr. Finck.

For the reason that we were told to examine the head wounds and the-

Mr. Oser.

Are you saying that someone told you not to dissect the track?

Judge Hagerty.

Let him finish his answer.

Dr. Finck.

I was told that the family wanted an examination of the head, as I recall the head and the chest, but prosectors in this autopsy didn’t remove the organs of the neck, to my recollection.

Mr. Oser.

You have said they did not. I want to know why didn’t you as an autopsy pathologist attempt to ascertain the track through the body which you had on the autopsy table in trying to ascertain the cause or causes of death? Why?

Dr. Finck.

I had the cause of death.

Mr. Oser.

Why did you not dissect the track of the wound?

Dr. Finck.

As I recall I didn’t remove these organs from the neck.

Mr. Oser.

I didn’t hear you.

Dr. Finck.

I examined the wounds but I didn’t remove the organs of the neck.

Mr. Oser.

You said you didn’t do this, I am asking you why you didn’t do this as a pathologist?

Dr. Finck.

From what I recall I looked at the trachea, there was a tracheotomy would the best I can remember, but I didn’t dissect or remove these organs.

Mr. Oser.

Your honor, I would ask your honor to direct the witness to answer my question. I will ask you the question one more time, why did you not dissect the track of the wound you have described today and you saw at the time of the autopsy at the time you examined the body? Why? I ask you to answer the question.

Dr. Finck.

As I recall I was told not to but I don’t remember by whom.

Why were the doctors ordered by admirals not to perform a proper autopsy? Why was the Warren Commission and the Navy trying to cover up the angles of Kennedy’s wounds that proved shots were fired from separate locations? The fact that Dr. Finck mentioned none of these strange events of the autopsy to the Warren Commission, and his acknowledgement that the autopsy was controlled by military superiors, has led many researchers to question Dr. Finck’s credibility when it comes to the locations of the President’s wounds.

There also seemed to be other concerns about what really went on during the autopsy. During an interview with Dr. Humes about the autopsy with the House Select Committee on Assassinations’ Forensic Pathology Panel, Dr. Humes confirmed that he concluded that the bullet from the back wound had fallen out. Here are the highlights from Humes’ testimony in 1977. As the reader will see, Humes provides some very strange answers to the Panel’s questions.

Over the years some have theorized that Kennedy may have had Addison’s disease. Dr. George Burkley, JFK’s personal physician said that Kennedy had Addison’s disease. Parkland doctor Paul Peters said that Burkley told him that Kennedy had Addison’s disease. The possibility of Addison’s disease could have been determined by examining the adrenal glands. Since there is no mention of the adrenal glands in the autopsy report or Warren Report, this is one of the first issues brought up in the interview.

Dr. Petty.

...First of all, let me start with the question that was on the lips of everyone here and that is, did you or didn’t you look at the adrenals?

Dr. Humes.

I would ask, you-did that bear, or does that bear, on your investigation of the event that took place that night?

Dr. Petty.

No; all we were wondering was-we noticed that that was noticeably absent from the autopsy report.

Dr. Humes.

Since I don’t think it bore directly on the death of the President, I’d prefer not to discuss it with you doctor.

Dr. Petty.

All right. Fine. If you prefer not to, that’s fine with me. We were just curious because normally we examine adrenals in the general course that the autopsy, as we undertake it. OK, so--

Dr. Humes.

I’d only comment for you that I have strong personal reasons and certain other obligations that suggest to me that it might not be preferable.

Personal reasons? Other obligations? Might not be preferable? It sounds like Dr. Humes is under duress even fourteen years after the assassination. The Parkland doctors never refused to answer any questions. If Humes was under duress how can we believe anything that Humes says?

Later in the interview the Panel and Dr. Humes began examining stills of the Zapruder film to more carefully examine the head wound. This caused Dr. George Loquvam burst out angrily.

Dr. Loquvam.

Gentlemen, may I say something?

Dr. Davis.

Yes.

Dr. Loquvam.

I don’t think this discussion belongs in this record.

Dr. Petty.

All right.

Dr. Humes.

I agree.

Dr. Loquvam.

We have no business recording this. This is for us to decide between ourselves... You guys are nuts. You guys are nuts writing this stuff. It doesn’t belong on the damn record... Why not turn of the record and explain to him [Dr. Humes] and then go back and talk again?... Here’s Charles and Joe talking like mad in the damn record, and it doesn’t belong on it. Sorry.

What about the Zapruder film doesn’t Loquvam want the American people to know? What is it they have to explain to Humes in private? This is another example of how the House Select Committee on Assassinations didn’t want the American people to hear the truth.

Humes also corroborated what Dr. Finck had testified about the conditions of the autopsy being poor, and how they had been working under the orders of high ranking military personnel.

Dr. Humes.

...There were four times as many people in the room most of the time as there are in this room at this moment, including the physician to the President, the surgeon General of the Navy, the commanding officer of the Navel Medical center, the commanding officer of the Navel Medical School, the Army, Navy, and Airforce, aides to the President of the United States at one time or another, the Secret Service, the FBI and countless nondescript people who were unknown to me. Mistake No.1. So there was considerable confusion... there was no way we could get out of the room. You’d have to understand that situation, that hysterical situation that existed. How we kept our wits about us as well as we did is amazing to me. I don’t know how we managed as poorly or as well as we did under the circumstances...

Dr. Humes also testified that the neck wound was too distorted, possibly by the tracheotomy at Parkland, to possibly examine the bullet wound.

Dr. Humes.

...Tracheotomy incision effect destroying its value to us and obscuring it very gorgeously for us...

This contradicted what he had told the Warren Commission. He told the Warren Commission that the throat wound was clearly a wound of exit. It sounds like Humes is having a hard time keeping his lies straight

Since Humes had previously admitted that he’d destroyed his notes from the autopsy, his testimony merely furthered proof that Humes had something to hide about the autopsy. When questioned about why he had destroyed his notes, Humes said he had done it to prevent the notes from falling into the wrong hands.

Dr. Humes.

...I destroyed, some notes related to this, by burning in the fireplace of my home, and that is true. However, nothing that was destroyed is not present in this write-up. Now, why did I do that? It’s interesting, and I’ve not spoken of this in public...I destroyed those pieces of paper. I think I’d do the same thing tomorrow. I had a similar problem, because I felt they would fall into the hands of some sensation seeker.

Humes’s answer as to why he destroyed his notes doesn’t really make sense. These notes could have helped in the criminal investigation. Remember, Oswald wasn’t dead yet. Humes seems to think that he’s above the law. Any average person who destroyed important evidence would have been facing criminal charges. Did Humes have some kind of advance knowledge of Oswald’s murder? Or did he destroy the notes because he was ordered to, just as he was ordered during the autopsy?

In his testimony Humes said that he resented the implication that he was involved in any way with any type of conspiracy to alter or conceal evidence.

Dr. Baden.

Is there anything that perhaps we haven’t covered that might be of pertinence to the group?

Dr. Humes.

No, I’m distressed with the confusion and allegations of complicity in some plot that we may have been engaged in, which of course is totally ridiculous. We operated under great difficulty in testifying before the Warren Commission, because at that juncture we had not photographs or the X-rays available to us...

If Humes doesn’t want to be accused of being complicit with the conspiracy then maybe he shouldn’t have refused to answer questions, destroyed his notes, and failed to mention the discovery of a bullet during the autopsy.

The autopsy doctors clearly were less than truthful with the Warren Commission and therefore little weight can be put on their testimony and this would account for the massive inconsistencies between Bethesda and Parkland doctors’ testimonies. Of all of the theories, this one makes the most sense. The Bethesda doctors probably saw the truth and were ordered to lie about it.

C. Did the wounds change?

This is another important theory is one made famous by David Lifton in his 1980 book Best Evidence which became a best seller. Lifton researched the assassination while in college, just like this author. Lifton found massive inconsistencies in the medical evidence and debated his theories with Warren Commissioner Wesley J. Liebeler. With Liebeler’s help Lifton was able to interview both the Parkland and autopsy doctors and believed both of their testimonies.

Lifton’s overall theory is that because neither set of doctors lied, then the wounds must have changed between the two hospitals. Lifton believes that while on Air Force One, Kennedy’s body was removed from the bronze casket and placed into the gray shipping casket. The body was then taken to Walter Reed Army hospital where doctors replaced the President’s brain with a new one and rebuilt his body, in order to conceal the gunshot wounds from the front. The doctors then inflicted new gunshot wounds from behind and sent the body to Bathesda for the autopsy. This way the autopsy doctors would think that the wounds had come from behind.

Lifton’s theory may seem a bit strange but there is evidence to support that the body was tampered with, that can not be denied. Clearly the changing of caskets and the evidence of surgery shows that something was not right. So this could imply that the wounds were changed.

However this author does not believe Lifton’s theory. Changing the head wound would be very difficult. How could someone simply replace 1/4 of the back of the head? If the back wound was also moved upward, from 6 to 2 inches below the shoulders, how could someone just cover up a bullet hole in the Presidents back? Besides, Secret Service Agent Clinton J. Hill told the Warren Commission that when the wound was measured it was 6 inches below the shoulders. If this wound changed then why did Hill see it the correct way, while the doctors saw it the incorrect way?

The throat wound could much more easily have been changed, it could have been cut open to be more jagged and be made to look like an exit wound. However why didn’t the autopsy doctors initially notice this?

Lifton also failed to realize that simply rebuilding a body is impossible. Surgery on a corpse is much different from surgery on a living person. Certainly the autopsy doctors would have realized this.

While it has been shown that there were massive breaks in the chain of evidence, as to where the President’s body was taken and what was done to it, it is still highly unlikely that the back wound could just disappear and that his head wound could just close up. It is simply more likely that the autopsy doctors lied.

D. Were there two Kennedy’s?

Reading the testimony of the Parkland and Bethesda doctors, it sounds like they examined two different bodies. Some people believe this is exactly what happened. They believe a Kennedy double, or just another body was taken to Bethesda to be examined. This possibility can not be ruled out, but it does seem far fetched and there has been no solid evidence to support it.