17-06-2013, 12:30 AM
This is why I asked whether the Kennedys knew about the security measure. I mean, knowing RFK, if plans like these for crowd control were formulated, I would think he'd know and have given final approval. At such a great distance from the event (and more than thirty years since the publication of Best Evidence), it is surprising that his or Jackie's being privy to such a maneuver has not come out by now. Plus there were others in the entourage (Godfrey McHugh, for instance, other SS agents, and even Burkley) who claimed to have been with the body all the time, so if this was done, they would have had to know. But we are completely in the realm of speculation here.
Of course, just for the sake of completeness , we should remember that it could be argued that the story of the hearse is wrong too, that that arrival (of some other deceased officer) was confused with the transfer of JFK to the morgue. But then you've got to deal with O'Connor's (and Custer's, and maybe Jenkins') testimony (whatever the time of entry was) that JFK was in a "shipping casket". It seems to me the only way out of that bind is just to say they were wrong. I'm not sure I'm prepared to just chalk this up to false closure or some other mnemonic illusion.
Of course, just for the sake of completeness , we should remember that it could be argued that the story of the hearse is wrong too, that that arrival (of some other deceased officer) was confused with the transfer of JFK to the morgue. But then you've got to deal with O'Connor's (and Custer's, and maybe Jenkins') testimony (whatever the time of entry was) that JFK was in a "shipping casket". It seems to me the only way out of that bind is just to say they were wrong. I'm not sure I'm prepared to just chalk this up to false closure or some other mnemonic illusion.