Phantom Shot

[Bob Prudhomme]

I'm not sure if I made myself clear or not but, the whole point of that long post was to demonstrate it is impossible for a bullet to travel from the back wound to the throat wound, or vice versa, without going through a vertebra. In other words, it just did not happen the way the WC told us, unless they can produce an x-ray showing one of JFK's cervical vertebrae with a bullet hole through it.

[Bob Mady]

I am interested in the truth, do you know what it is?

You want the truth??? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!

But seriously, here is the anatomical truth, as I understand it.

The cervical vertebrae, all seven of them, are neatly stacked in a pile and sit atop of the thoracic vertebrae. Each vertebra has a projection out each side, and these are known as the "transverse processes".

JFK was shot, or so we are told, at the level of the join between cervical vertebra C7 and thoracic vertebra T1. It is an anatomical fact that the right transverse process of the T1 vertebra is longer than the transverse process of the C7 vertebra. We are told that the bullet missed the tip of the C7 transverse process but grazed the upper edge of the T1 transverse process, and that this was what made the downward travelling bullet level out and carry on to Connally's armpit. What made it turn down again at Connally's armpit is something no one has quite been able to figure out. It should be also pointed out that the space between the C7 transverse process and the T1 transverse process is not large enough for a 6.5mm bullet to pass through.

Anyways, for a bullet to enter the upper back (or lower neck, take your pick), miss the tip of the C7 right transverse process and still travel through the right side of the trachea would require that bullet to be travelling a right to left course through the neck at a minimum angle of 23° from a line drawn through the centre of the spine and sternum. As the Sniper's Nest was only 9° laterally from a line drawn longitudinally through the limo, JFK would have had to have his shoulders turned to the right a minimum of 14°, which he did not do.

This would only get the bullet through JFK's neck without hitting vertebrae; how it then found its way to the right again to hit Connally's armpit is another mystery.

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee36...WHD48V.jpg

Below, from Gray's Anatomy, is a cross section of the neck at the C6 vertebra, which is similar in size to C7. The vertebra is shown in speckled. The bullet would have to clear the outside edge of the transverse process, shown here projecting to the left, and go on to hit the outer left portion of the trachea, shown at the top of the drawing. Note the close proximity of the carotid artery to the path of the bullet.

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee36...ray384.png

Cross section of neck at T1. Vertebra shown in light brown, trachea at top of drawing.

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee36...39311W.jpg

Just to break up the monotony, here is one about killing trees.

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee36...de1cdb.jpg

Just to give you some idea of the sea of blood vessels the Magic Bullet had to navigate.

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee36...ages-3.jpg

Bob, I remain confused in that lets say I believe the bullet struck KENNEDY in the throat, did it pass out his back or was it traveling at a speed were it did not pass thru his body, the hole on his back being added later to explain the pristine bullet?

In other words, the bullet either went thru these holes front to back or back to front or was it just an entry wound in the neck?

As far as the bullet coming from behind i.e. TSBD, I have not seen compelling evidence for this.

In other words two holes 1 bullet, there must be a path, correct?

No, not at all. Have you read the thread I started on here, "Inexplicable Wounds made by Special Bullets"?

The three greatest lies about the back wound are this:

1. JFK was struck in the back of the neck at the collar line, and not 5 3/4 inches below the collar line at the level of thoracic vertebra T3, as observed by many witnesses and as was recorded by Admiral Burkley on JFK's death certificate.

2. The back wound was a shallow wound made by a bullet that did not penetrate more than an inch, and certainly did not enter the top of JFK's right lung.

3. The bullet that caused the back wound on JFK was a "short shot" and was fired from a defective rifle cartridge that was unable to propel the bullet at sufficient velocity to penetrate JFK's back more than an inch.

If you can get past this mythology, the truth is just on the other side.

P.S.

Too bad about the gag order over at the Ed Forum. I might not agree with everything you say but, I like your threads, as they tend to make people think, and then go back and do more homework.

Bob, I appreciate you comments about the Forum, your point is superb, no one is forced to agree with posts, it should be thought provoking, why would we want to continue to mull over the same stuff when another perspective sometimes brings illumination to evidence. The same stuff has not solved the mystery in 51 years, we don't get it.

I don't know what to think about this back wound, IMO I believe one wound was post added to KENNEDY, this was intended to explain the pristine bullet (Lifton). I know that KENNEDY was struck initially in the throat from the front, BURKLEY recorded a wound in the back, I don't recall any testimony from other medical staff that recognized the back wound, could it be that KENNEDY did not have a back wound and the shot to the throat was only meant to penetrate shallowly, in other words maybe the carrier of a toxin that would kill KENNEDY whether he was hit a second time or not?

The back wound and neck wound by your accounts can not be connected.
Did you also consider that on the photographs, if they are real, show two spots that could be wounds, one produced by conspirators the other by exiting bullet(?).

[Bob Prudhomme]

Hi Bob

The back wound is very real, and many witnesses at the autopsy observed it, as well, and not where the WC located it. Almost unanimously, witnesses placed it 5-6 inches below the collar line, at about the level of thoracic vertebra T3, and 1.5-2 inches to the right of the spinal mid line. Whether or not there were two back wounds, as you propose, is irrelevant, as neither of them could have connected with the throat wound without going through vertebrae.

Representatives of the HSCA interviewed many autopsy witnesses in the late 70's and the contents of these interviews were suppressed until the ARRB forced their release in the 90's. At that time, it was discovered that the HSCA's summary that all of the witnesses pretty much agreed with the WC's autopsy results was a patent lie.

Now that Myth # 1 has been dismissed, let us examine Myths # 2&3.

The 6.5mm Carcano M91/38 short rifle propels a 162 grain round nosed bullet at a muzzle velocity of just under 2000 feet per second (fps). At a range of under 100 yards, which the back shot pre-z224 was, a bullet of this design and weight and travelling at this velocity has the capability to pass through two or three men, if no hard bones are encountered. And yet, there was no exit wound on the front of JFK's chest, as one would expect to see from a bullet entering at the level of T3 at a downward angle of 17°.

So, what happened to the bullet? I'm glad you asked. One popular fairy tale, and I'm sure the conspirators had a hand in its origin, is that the bullet that made the back wound only penetrated the surface of the back by an inch, and fell out somewhere on the way to the hospital or the autopsy. The reason for this, and this fantasy is still being pushed by disinfo agents 51 years later just to keep us guessing, is that the bullet was a "short shot". A short shot is a bullet fired from a defective cartridge where the gunpowder is either deteriorated or fails to ignite properly, resulting in a drastically reduced muzzle velocity.

There are two problems with this theory:

1. In order to be travelling slowly enough to only penetrate an inch in flesh, the velocity of the bullet would have to be reduced by at least 75%, if not even more. At this velocity, the bullet would not be spinning fast enough to stabilize it gyroscopically, and it would begin to tumble shortly after leaving the barrel. If it did strike JFK`s back, it would leave a messy oblong hole instead of a small round hole.

2. It is called a "short shot" for a very good reason, as the bullet will invariably land far short of its intended target. Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that Oswald had sighted the Carcano in to be accurate at 100 yards. This means that, if he looks through the scope at a target 100 yards away on level ground and places the cross hairs on that target, the bullet should hit pretty much where he is aiming, assuming a standard Carcano muzzle velocity of 2000 fps. However, should a defective cartridge rob that bullet of +75% of its muzzle velocity, it simply does not now have the "legs" to get out to where he wants it to go, and I would estimate a shot aimed at JFK's head would land somewhere about two thirds of the way to the limousine. In simple terms, a "short shot" would not have hit JFK at all, and should not even be considered when attempting to explain the back wound.

So, you're thinking, it penetrated, but did not exit. What gives? Well, you're obviously too lazy to read the thread I recommended to you, or you would be asking all the appropriate questions right about now, instead of still chasing your tail about whether or not the bullet passed through JFK's neck or not, so I guess there is nothing to do but explain everything to you from the start.

I have to go eat my supper now but I will leave you this diagram to study and I will continue later. Note, in this diagram, that the T3 vertebra is well below the top of the lungs, and a bullet entering 1.5-2 inches to the right of the spine would go directly into the top section of the right upper lung (RUL).