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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 1975)
Zapruder film evidence Oswald didn’tact alone,researchers sav Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two part series concerning the Kennedy As sassination and the movement for a new investigation. Wednesday’s story will cover theories concerning the inno cence of Lee Harvey Oswald and back ground for current conspiracy theories. By CURT KOEHLER and CHIP BERLET (CPS) — When John Kennedy died in Dallas over 11 years ago, the world changed. Camelot was shattered, and in its place came the turmoil of the 60 s and early 70 s: race riots, the nightmare of Vietnam, protests and counter-protests tearing the nation apart, still more assassinations, the Nixon presidency and Watergate. An increasing number of people, prod ded by a group of dedicated, sometimes fanatical “conspiracy researchers,” have come to believe that history had some help that day. They reject the Warren Commission's finding that Lee Harvey Os wald, alone and unassisted, shot President Kennedy to death. Instead they have argued that the War ren Commission, during its ten-month in vestigation, succeeded only in offering a timid and flawed defense of suppositions formed in the hours immediately following the shooting, that Kennedy was indeed murdered as part of a well-planned conspi racy and that the murderers still remain at large loaay. These claims are based, in part, upon analysis of photographic evidence which indicates the President may have been fired upon by from two to four gunmen and re-exammaticn of medical evidence used by the Warren Commission to support the single assassin theory which indicates the original autopsy resuits were ineptly pre pared, forged or both. Much of the controversy starts with a home movie of the assassination made by Abraham Zapruder, a Dallas dressmaker who captured the moments during which Kennedy died. By timing the film speed investigators have established that the shots fired at the Presidential motorcade were fired during a 5.6 second interval. Tests conducted by the commission on the rifle popularly believed fired by Oswald determined it was impossi ble to load and shoot the dumsy, single shot weapon more than three times during those 5.6 seconds. The Zapruder film consequently be comes crucial to any analysis of the shoot ing. For if it could be shown that more than three shots were fired that day in Dallas, it would follow instantly and irrefutably that someone other than Oswald fired upon the President. And if someone other than Oswald fired, it also follows that there was a conspiracy to kill Kennedy. Wednesday evening the uncut Zapruder film will be shown in the EMU Ballroom. The film, and slides, will be shown by Rusty Rhodes, executive director of the Commit tee to Investigate Political Assassinations. Rhodes will also lecture on “A Decade of Conspiracy from Dallas to Watergate.” The 8 p.m. event, sponsored by the EMU Cul tural Forum, is free of charge. FLIGHT OF THE SUPERBULLET President Kennedy, Texas Gov. John Connally and spectator James Tague were all wounded during those critical 5.6 sec onds. The Warren Commission argued that the first bullet struck Kennedy and Con nally, the second missed the motorcade completely, hit a curb and sent a concrete splinter flying into Tague’s cheek, while the third, fatal bullet struck Kennedy in the head, literally blowing his brain apart. The first bullet, said the commission, struck the President in the base of his neck, exited from his throat, slammed into Connally’s back shattering his fifth rib, emerged from the Governor’s chest and passed through his right wrist, breaking at least one bone, and finally came to rest in Connally’s left thigh. This bullet, commonly called the Superbullet, inflicted seven wounds, broke at least two bones, and was found in near perfect condition by a janitor on a stretcher in Parkland Hosoital. Bu'. the president of the American Mcaaemy ot »-orensic science finds this these extremely doubtful. Dr. Robert Joling told CPS, “It is to me inconceivable that the bullet in question could have passed through Kennedy and Connally and then be found in such a pristine condition.” Joling said if it were possible to weigh the lead fragments found in Kennedy and Connally and add them to the weight of the un scathed bullet, the total weight would ex ceed the normal weight of a single bullet. There are other reasons to label this lone bullet the Superbullet. Examination of Kennedy’s shirt and jacket, the initial au topsy sketches and testimony of witnesses present at the autopsy have indicated the Superbullet entered Kennedy s back six in ches below the wound in the President’s throat from which the bullet allegedly ex ited. Since Oswald was firing from above Kennedy, this means the Superbullet must have turned in midair before striking the President, passed through him on an up ward path, and then made a second, downward turn before striking Connally. The final autopsy sketches, however, show the initial entrance wound above the exit wound, where it would have to be to uphold the Superbullet theory. "THEY ALTERED THE SKETCHES” According to Dr. Cyril Wecht, past presi dent of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American College of Legal Medicine, the autopsy doctors changed their sketches to suit this theory. “They (the autopsy doctors) simply al tered the sketches that pinpointed the wounds,” said Wecht. “I’ve seen the first sketches made of the wounds and they Showed a wound six inches below the shoulder. I’ve also seen the holes in Kennedy’s shirt and jacket and everything matches up. But in testimony before the Warren Commission the doctors simply moved the hole up several inches." Wecht has since described the Kennedy autopsy as “one of the most incomplete, superficial, incompetent, medical-legal au topsies that I have ever seen.” Testimony of witnesses present during the autopsy has indicated the Superbullet may never, in fact, have exited from Kennedy’s back after inflicting the initial wound. Secret Service agent Roy Keller man has described how one of the autopsy doctors probed the bullet entrance wound as Kellerman asked, “Where did it (the bul let) go?" The doctor replied, “There are no lanes for an outlet of this entry in this man's shoulder." Furthermore, doctors were unable to trace a path for the Superbullet through Kennedy’s body. According to Dr. Milton Helpem, Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, 'There is no such thing as a rifle bullet passing through a neck without leav ing a path...It is a sine qua non of forensic pathology that if a bullet passes through a body it must leave a discernible path.” Here follow inescapable conclusions. If the first bullet never exited, the “exit wound” in the throat must have been made by a fourth bullet, and a fourth bullet means a second assassin and a conspiracy. The Warren Commission steadfastly maintained that the superbullet did pass through Kennedy and continued on to strike Connally. The Zapruderfilm, however, then sets the scene for another amazing claim for this bullet: it pauses in mid-air for .5 to 1.5 seconds. The film shows Kennedy has been hit by frame #224. Connally, though, is appar ently unharmed until Frame #234. This dif ference represents .5 seconds. Since Kennedy’s limousine passed behind a sign during the impact of the initial bullet, it's exact moment of impact is unknown and could have been up to 1.5 seconds before Connally visibly reacted to his wounds. Warren Commission defenders have maintained Connally experienced a de layed reaction. Critics of the commission have claimed Connally was hit by another bullet. "A bullet travelling 1,800 to 2,100 feet per second simply does not hang around that long to decide which way it wants to go," said Jol ing. If the bullet did not pause, once again the conclusion follows: another bullet, another assassin. KENNEDY THRUST BACKWARDS? The Zapruder film was recently shown twice on national TV and provided, during the instants surrounding the final, fatal shot, what may be the most dramatic evidence of a conspiracy. The film shows that Kennedy and Connally have been hit. The final shot then strikes Kennedy in the head and snaps his upper torso backwards into the arms of his wife, showering bits of blood and brain likewise backwards. Conspiracy theorists have argued if Ken nedy was hit from behind, where Oswald was supposed to be, his body would have been pushed forward. While Warren Com mission defenders have claimed Kennedy falling backwards was a neuromuscular reaction to the destruction of his brain, cri tics have charged it is the final proof that someone fired from the front of the motor cade. Joling has his own copy of the Zapruder fHm and after extensive viewings has con cluded the head shot could have been fired from the front or rear, although he said he tends to think the fatal shot came from the front, because of Kennedy’s body move ment backwards and to the left. Oddly enough, this sequence of frames was printed in the Warren Commission re port in reverse order, so that it appeared as though Kennedy was thrust forward. This has since been acknowledged as a “print ing error." Another piece of critical evidence regard ing the fatal shot, Kennedy’s preserved brain, has been reported missing from the National Archives. The brain, preserved in formalin so future forensic pathologists could trace the track of the bullet or bullet fragments that killed Kennedy, turned up missing when Wecht went to examine it as part of his study of the Warren Commission findings. In addition, microscopic tissue slides of the alleged entrance and exit wounds, spe cial slide sections of the brain, and photo graphs of Kennedy’s interior chest are also reportedly not in the archives. Wecht states, “Probably the four most important items of hard physical forensic pathology evidence regarding the autopsy of the Pres ident are missing.” Joling, however, told CPS that a box con taining what may be tissue samples or other brain matter has recently been found in the Archives and attempts are being made to examine the contents. REOPENING THE INVESTIGATION While much of this information has been around for years, the combination of Watergate and CIA revelations plus new disclosures obtained under Freedom of In formation act suits have created increased demands for re-opening the Kennedy As sassination investigation. Even a staff member of the Warren Commission has joined those calling for a new investigation. “The case ought to be reopened,” Burt Griffin, now a judge in Cleveland, told Rolling Stone magazine. “It’s not at all clear to me how to approach it,” Griffin said. “But the public is concerned and it’s all tied in with everything that’s been happening in our government for the past ten years.” Concluded another observer, “It does matter who killed John Kennedy...simply because a great deal might have been dif ferent if (he) had lived." Back then: rising (not declining) enrollments caused money crunch “In blunt terms, the State Sys tem of Higher Education needs more money. "University Pres. Arthur S. Hemming has said on several oc casions that 1965 will be the year of crisis.” So began the third of a three part series on the University budget in the Friday, May 25, 1962, Oregon Daily Emerald. The biggest problem the Uni versity and the rest of the state sytem faced, according to the Emerald managina editor, who wrote the articles, was "mush rooming enrollments.” The state system had requested $2.7 million from the Legislature and received $150,000 from the Legislature’s emergency fund. “The issue touched off a mild controversy (over) whether taxes would have to be raised...which reached a dramatic high point whefi State Senator Robert Straub (D-Eugene) accused Gov. Mark Hatfield of “failing his re sponsibility.’ ” Thirteen years later it seems that the shoe is on the other foot! “The state system still did not receive the needed addi tional funds," the managing editor wrote, it is perhaps unfortunate that the Emerald does not deter mine for the rest of the state how much money the state system "needs.’’ In the Wednesday, June 2, 1972, Emerald — the last of the spring quarter — Frederic Merrill, assistant law professor and Chief of the Law School Placement of fice, was quoted to the effect that law school grads were ‘‘not among the many college grads facing a poor job market this year.” However, he admitted the profession was “beginning to feel the crunch of the economic reces sion.” Was that the same reces sion we are in the throes of now, or a different one? The top beginning salary a 1971 University law school. Merrill said could expect, was $14,000 ac cording to Merrill. Most of this year's grads would love to start with a salary that high! Another thing about the law school’s graduating class that has changed radically in the last four years is the number of women graduates. In June. 1971, only eight women graduated from the University Ipw school, Merrill said he believed that sex discrimina tion was diminishing but still ex isted. Meanwhile, an editorial in that same June 2 Emerald argued, “Students are being priced out of the University.” After admitting that it was difficult to ascertain who or what is to blame for the tuition increases and budget cuts then (if not constantly!) taking place at the University, the editor ial writer charged that “The war and all its ramifications have something to do with it." But that was only part of the story as far as the Emerald was concerned. It also asserted that, it was "the attitude of most people toward students” that “really propels the? knife toward their backs.”