Incredible Wounds of Governor Connally

[Albert Doyle]

The exit hole in Connally's coat was nowhere near his lapel, and while the debris from the wound may push the coat outward, how would it cause the lapel to flip outward independently?

5 centimeters is pretty big. I assume it was that size because it pushed an equal chunk of flesh out with it. It would make sense to apply science to the bullet hole in Connally's jacket and determine the diameter of the flesh chunk that didn't penetrate the jacket fabric. The remaining area would constitute a force that had to translate to the jacket since the jacket caught and 'netted' this chunk at bullet speed. This would be more than enough force the shock the jacket and flip the lapel open. I'm surprised nobody realized this. A shockwave force would whip through the jacket and the lapel was at the loose end of that process as it traveled through it.