The 'Other' Wounds

[Bob Prudhomme]

There were three major JFK Critical Community Conferences leading up to the 50th Anniv. -- Wecht, Lancer and COPA.

How many times during the course of those conferences was the following question asked from the podium:

"What happened to the bullets that caused the back and throat wounds?"

To the best of my knowledge (I'd love to stand corrected!), this key question was asked once.

Once.

By Cyril Wecht, who didn't try to answer the question during his presentation, but afterwards went on TV and claimed that one bullet caused both wounds.

The Zombie Lie from Pittsburgh!

What was the hot topic at Wecht?

The headwound/s.

So please tell me who is being mono-manical here, Albert-- me, or all ya'all?
::laughingdog::

Perhaps another good question would be: Why did certain bullets not penetrate further or cause more damage than they did?

It is easy to dismiss the back wound, which only penetrated an inch or two (according to Humes), as a "short shot" caused by a defective cartridge, but this is unlikely in the extreme. While Italian 6.5mm Carcano military ammunition was known to be very unreliable, often causing hangfires and misfires, the 6.5mm Carcano ammunition made by the Western Cartridge Co. did not share this reputation. It is believed, in some circles, that the bullet that struck JFK in the back first struck a branch of the Texas live oak that stood between the SN and the limo but this also seems unlikely. This bullet left a round hole, and a bullet striking a large limb should have been tumbling when it struck JFK, and left a "keyhole" type of wound. If it were a small branch, and not big enough to disturb the flight of the bullet significantly, the bullet should have retained much of its original muzzle velocity of 2200 fps, and penetrated well into JFK's pleural cavity.

There are oddities about other bullet strikes in the limo, as well. I will let you respond to my above remarks before I bring them up.