The above picture (click to enlarge) was taken by James "Ike" Altgens of Associated Press, and became Commission Exhibit CE-900.

It was taken a fraction of a second after the shot that wounded President Kennedy in the throat.

As you can see, the motorcycle patrol see there is something wrong with Kennedy, Secret Service follow-up car driver SA. Sam Kinney, SA. Emory Roberts, and SA. Clint Hill also notice this.

Also look in the back of the picture.

That is the Dal-Tex building, home of Dallas Textiles (where Abraham Zapruder has his company), but it's also the home of the Dallas County Sheriff's Office. There is someone sitting on the staircase. To that left of the stair case there is an open window, and to the right are three people hanging out of the window. The utmost left person seems to respond to something she heard or saw to her right.

This is where I believe the first "pop" came from - what some described as a firecracker, cannon, or the backfire from a motorcycle exhaust.

Although difficult to see in this picture, there is a hole in the windshield of the Presidential limousine by now.

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Below is the testimony of James Tague, the third man to be wounded at Dealey Plaza that day.

He indicated he was fairly sure he was wounded by the second shot. Possibly the third.

Now, to him there were three shots and only three shots, PLUS that firecracker or cannon before the shooting began.

By his indication then, the second shot [ the magic bullet ] or the third shot [ the head shot ] would have wounded him.

This simply isn’t possible. He HAD to have been hit by that first shot, that sounded to him like a firecracker or canon.

He didn’t know he was wounded until a police officer pointed it out to him. He felt the sting, but didn’t think much about it.

New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison claimed Tague had to have been hit by a shot after the head shot, but that’s not how Tague experienced it, because he only heard 3 shots PLUS the firecracker or cannon – please read:

 

[ the Warren Commission testimony of James Thomas Tague, taken July 23, 1964, by Mr. Wesley J. Liebeler ]

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Mr. TAGUE - "Well, I was standing there watching, and really I was watching to try to distinguish the President and his car. About this time I heard what sounded like a firecracker. Well, a very loud firecracker. It certainly didn't sound like a rifleshot. It was more of a loud cannon-type sound. I looked around to see who was throwing firecrackers or what was going on and I turned my head away from the motorcade and, of course, two more shots. And I ducked behind the post when I realized somebody was shooting after the third shot. After the third shot, I ducked behind the bridge abutment and was there for a second, and I glanced out and Just as I looked out, the car following the President's car, the one with the Secret Service men, was just flying past at that time."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Going on Elm Street under the triple underpass?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Right. Going on Elm. So I stood there looking around. I looked up---there was a motorcycle policeman, and he stopped and had drawn his gun and was running up the embankment toward the railroad tracks. A crowd of people; several people, were starting to come down into that area where he was running, and the people pointing, and excitement up there and so on, and about that time a patrolman who evidently had been stationed under the triple underpass walked up and said, "What happened?" and I said, "I don't know; something."

And we walked up to the---by this time the motorcycle policeman returned back close to where his motorcycle was, and we walked up there and there was a man standing there. Seeing that he was very excited--I don't remember his name at the time I did have it on the tip of my tongue very excited saying he was watching the President and it seemed like his head just exploded. This was a couple or 3 minutes after this happened. And the patrol-man said, "Well, I saw something fly off back on the street."

We walked back down there, and another man joined us who identified himself as the deputy sheriff, who was in civilian clothes, and I guess this was 3 or 4 minutes after. I don't know how to gage time on something like that.

And I says, "Well, you know now, I recall something sting me on the face while I was standing down there."

And he looked up and he said, "Yes; you have blood there on your cheek."

And I reached up and there was a couple of drops of blood. And he said, "Where were you standing?"

And I says, "Right down here." We walked 15 feet away when this deputy sheriff said, "Look here on the curb." There was a mark quite obviously that was a bullet, and it was very fresh. We turned around and we looked back up to see where this possibly could have come from, and the policeman thought he had seen something over here."

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[ in picture CE-354 position #6 marks where Tague stood, position #7 marks where the motorcycle officer noticed a fresh nick in the curb. Position #7 is where the bullet struck the curb and from where either a fragment of concrete or bullet was launched against Tague’s face. Position #7 also happens to be pretty much the same spot where the Newmans stood – could this shot have come from the Dal-Tex? ]

 

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Mr. LIEBELER - "How long after did you feel yourself get hit by anything?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I felt it at the time, but I didn't associate, didn't make any connection, and ignored it. And after this happened, or maybe the second or third shot, I couldn't tell you definitely--I made no connection. I looked around wondering what was going on, and I recall this. We got to talking, and I recall that something had stinged me, and then the deputy sheriff looked up and said, "You have blood there on your cheek." That is when we walked back down there."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Do you have any idea which bullet might have made that mark?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I would guess it was either the second or third. I wouldn't say definitely on which one."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Did you hear any more shots after you felt yourself get hit in the face?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I believe I did."

Mr. LIEBELER - "You think you did?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I believe I did."

Mr. LIEBELER - "How many?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I believe that it was the second shot, so I heard the third shot afterwards."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Did you hear three shots?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I heard three shots; yes sir. And I did notice the time on the Hertz clock. It was 12:29."

Mr. LIEBELER - "That was about the time that you felt yourself struck?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I just glanced. I mean I just stopped, got out of my car, and here came the motorcade. I just happened upon the scene."

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Mr. LIEBELER - "I have another picture here that purports to be a picture of a curb with a bullet mark on it. I ask you if that looks like what you saw that day."

Mr. TAGUE - "It looks similar, but I can't say whether this is the actual one or not, because you can see it appears to be a bullet mark."

Mr. LIEBELER - "I have initialed this picture, having marked it Tague Exhibit No. 1, and I would like to have you initial it for the purpose of identification." [Mr. Tague initials.)

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[ it’s amazing that despite the above statement of a bulletmark on a curb, even remarked as such by Liebeler, the Warren Commission stuck with three shots, three bullets ... when there was clearly evidence of a fourth bullet, and thus four shots ]

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…                                              

Mr. LIEBELER - "I understand. Did you have any idea where these shots came from when you heard them ringing out?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Yes; I thought they were coming from my left."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Immediately to your left, or toward the back? Of course, now we have other evidence that would indicate that the shots did come from the Texas School Book Depository, but see if we can disregard that and determine just what you heard when the shots were fired in the first place."

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[ Liebeler actually tries to mess with Tague’s thinking, telling him evidence points to the shots coming from the TSBD ]

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Mr. TAGUE - "To recall everything is almost impossible. Just an impression is all I recall, is the fact that my first impression was that up by the, whatever you call the monument, or whatever it was----"

Mr. LIEBELER - "Up above No. 7?"

Mr. TAGUE - "That somebody was throwing firecrackers up there, that the police were running up there to see what was going on, and this was my first impression. Somebody was causing a disturbance, that somebody had drawn a gun and was shooting at the crowd, and the police were running up to it. When I saw the people throwing themselves on the ground is when I realized there was serious trouble, and I believe that was after the third shot was fired."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Your impression of where the shots came from was much the result of the activity near No. 7?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Not when I heard the shots."

Mr. LIEBELER - "You thought they had come from the area between Nos. 7 and 5?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I believe they came from up in here."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Back in the area"C"?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Right."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Behind the concrete monument here between Nos. 5 and 7, toward the general area of "C"?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Yes."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Did you look up near the railroad tracks in that area after you heard the shots?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I looked all around. I looked at the complete area to try to find out where the disturbance was. And for some reason, after the third shot, I believe I ducked down back in here."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Under the railroad tracks?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Right. Behind an abutment. And when I stuck my head outside, the Secret Service car was just starting to pass under the underpass."

Mr. LIEBELER - "The car immediately behind the President. Did you see any evidence of anybody having fired from the area on the railroad tracks above the triple underpass?"

Mr. TAGUE - "None."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Do you think that it is consistent with what you heard and saw that day, that the shots could have come from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Yes."

Mr. LIEBELER - "There was in fact a considerable echo in that area?"

Mr. TAGUE - "There was no echo from where I stood. I was asked this question before, and there was no echo. It was just a loud, oh, not a cannon, but definitely louder and more solid than a rifleshot."

Mr. LIEBELER - "So you, being in a place where there was no echo, you were able to recognize how many shots there were quite clearly?"

Mr. TAGUE - "I believe so."

Mr. LIEBELER - "And you say you heard three shots?"

Mr. TAGUE - "That is right."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Do you remember seeing anything else or observing anything else that day that you think would be helpful to the Commission, that I haven't asked you about?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Not that I can think of. There is lots of things that you recall about something like that, that you don't recall for certain. What struck me the most was that everybody said all three shots were accounted for. I felt very strongly that the third shot hit down there, and there was the deputy sheriff and the patrolman down under the bridge right there with me."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Now you say you thought it was the third shot that hit down there?"

Mr. TAGUE - "No; I said I thought that all three shots were accounted for. All the newspaper accounts for months said all the shots were accounted for."

Mr. LIEBELER - "In terms of hitting in the car?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Hitting into the car; yes."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Well, there was a story in the paper more recently that indicated that one of them might have missed."

Mr. TAGUE - "That's right."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Did you see that?"

Mr. TAGUE - "That's right; yes."

Mr. LIEBELER - "Other than that, is there anything that you can think of that you think the Commission should know about of what you heard and saw that day?"

Mr. TAGUE - "No; I don't know a thing. The only thing that I saw that I thought was wrong. was that there was about 5 or 6 or 7 minutes in there before anybody done anything about anything."

Mr. LIEBELER - "That was after the shots were fired?"

Mr. TAGUE - "That was after the shots were fired."

Mr. LIEBELER - "What do you mean, "Before they did anything"?"

Mr. TAGUE - "There was no action taken except for the one policeman that I could see that stopped his motorcycle, and it fell over on him at first, and he got it standing upright and drew his gun, and he was the only one doing anything about it."

Mr. LIEBELER - "You didn't see any other policemen around in the area?"

Mr. TAGUE - "Not for 4 or 5 minutes. If Oswald was in that building, he had all the time in the world to calmly walk out of there."

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[ so Mr. Tague clearly indicates, several times actually, that he was sure the shots came from the immediate area to his left, ie. the grassy knoll or railroad tracks and his mind can’t be changed about it – he also clearly states that only one officer reacted right away and went to that same area – however despite this, he still makes the final strange remark regarding Oswald ]

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So now Mr. Tague’s wound presented the Warren Commission with a serious problem that had to be explained: which of the bullets had wounded him and how? After all, only three shots were fired there and the wounds that Kennedy and Connally had received were already complicated enough. And that, ladies and gentleman, is exactly how the single bullet theory was born.

Had Tague not been wounded, it would have been three bullets, three shots, one shooter, and that’s it.

But rather than look for a possible second shooter, they focused on just one.

And with that, in my opinion, they lost their perspective of reality.

 

Now, based on the testimonies of at least half of the witnesses you'll be reading about on the next page, as well as the above testimony of Mr. Tague, I’ve drawn up an overview of what I believe happened. Based on the fact that four reports were heard in total (I'm counting that firecracker / canon sound as a muffled rifle shot – perhaps shot through a box), and keeping in mind that one of the purposes was to set-up Lee Oswald as the patsy. So I figure at least two shots were covered by the sound of two other shots so more damage can be done.

The fact that just three expended cartridges were left behind as evidence of just three shots, it’s clear this was very cleverly put together.

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Shot 1         Many thought it was a back fire, but it wasn’t – it missed the occupants in the car, went through the windshield, hit the curb, and

                    wounded James Tague. This shot most likely came from the second floor of the Dal-Tex building

 

Shot 2         Hit Kennedy in the throat – it could have only come from the front, as there was no wound on the back of his neck to indicate an

                    entry from behind, like Arlen Specter tries to accomplish with his single bullet theory by moving Kennedy's back wound up 5" 

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Shot 3         All wounds in Connally – from a high position behind him and to his right - this shot came from TSBD

 

Shot 4         Hit Kennedy in the back – this shot possibly came from a low position behind them – it’s thought this shot came from the Dal-Tex

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                     - shots 2, 3, and 4 were most likely fired on top of each other since most witnesses only heard 3 shots -

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Shot 5         Hit Kennedy in the head – this shot was probably right on top of shot #4, so two shooters from two positions at the same time;

                    This shot most definitely came from somewhere in front of the limousine.

 

Shot 6        Missed both men as they slumped out of sight, and quite likely hit the windshield frame, and eventually hit the grass next to a

                   manhole cover between Elm and Main  – this shot came from the TSBD

 

This last bullet was never found, though pictures were taken of a blond haired man in a black suit kneeling between police officers and FBI agents, and apparently picking something from the grass in that immediate area and putting it in his pocket.

When certain documents from the National Archives became de-classified in 1993 and 1994, among them was one very interesting one.

It was a report written on the day of the assassination by J. Gordon Shanklin, FBI agent for the Dallas office, in which he claims two bullets had been recovered (the bullet that killed Kennedy and the bullet that wounded Connally).

Also among the de-classified files was a document that had been sent by the FBI office in Dallas to the FBI laboratory in Baltimore by American Airlines flight 20, captained by Captain Motley on December 3, 1963;

“Letter to FBI Laboratory in the 9-1832, containing a bullet.”

In 1996 researcher Anna-Marie Kuhns-Walko found some interesting things in the National Archives.

She found, among other things, an empty envelope marked ‘7.65 shell found in Dealey Plaza on 12/02/1963’ followed by ‘DETERMINED OF NO VALUE AND DESTROYED’.

[ note that it says “SHELL”, not bullet ]

Now why on earth was that envelope not destroyed? It's also fair to assume it was accidentally de-classified. In either case it adds to the confusion and just fuels the many conspiracy theories out there, right? But it's hard proof that a 7.65 bullet was fired at some time, and from somewhere in the Dealey Plaza area. It was found 10 days after the assassination, but it's a shame the envelope didn't reveal the location of the find. And that makes this envelope a valuable and very interesting piece of evidence.

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Let's continue with some more witnesses and evidence:

 

The Newmans

Although they were never called to testify before the Warren Commission, they were interviewed on television almost immediately after the assassination. Bill and Gayle Newman were pretty much the closest people to the President at the time of the head shot we see in Zapruder frame 313. They described how they were standing a little back from the sidewalk between the pedestal Zapruder was standing on, and the book depository building. The first shot (for them that meant the throat shot) came from behind them, although they didn't realize this until later. Then there were two other shots. They weren't positive where they came from, due to fear, but they too could have come from some-where behind them. They pushed their two small boys to the ground and began to shield them from any possible stray bullets.

 

 

Howard Brennan (standing very near Amos Euins) 

He saw a man wearing khaki colored clothes in the sniper's nest, and saw the shooter firing the last shot. He could not positively identify Oswald as that shooter when he was shown in the identification line up the next day, despite having seen Oswald's picture on the tv news and in the newspapers. He later changed some of his statements, claiming in one of them that he saw Oswald fire the shots.

 

 

Bonnie Ray Williams was in the 'sniper's nest' (SE corner of TSBD) minutes before the shooting started

He was having his chicken lunch up there. (presumably the whole time the shooter was waiting patiently in the SW corner to move into position) He left the leftovers and his empty pop bottle in the 'sniper's nest' and went to the 5th floor to join his co-workers.

He was later photographed on the 5th floor with Junior Jarvis and Harold Norman. 

 

 

The dictabelt recording - this was due to an open mic on one of the motorcycles

In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the HSCA, using the newly discovered dictabelt recording as the only audio evidence of the assassination, concluded there was a fourth shot. The first shot had the same strength and volume as the three known shots, and this meant there were at least two shooters active that day - close by each other, and thus a conspiracy, as opposed to the WC lone gunman conclusion - to this day both conclusions stand and are official government conclusions. More than four shots couldn’t be identified on that poor recording at the time, given the available technology of that time, but forensic evidence recovered around Dealey Plaza, and from pictures of the limousine taken at Parkland Memorial Hospital, shows it’s obvious more than 4 shots were fired.

Later analysis of the recording revealed a fifth report, thus 5 shots. This was had less intensity, which means it was further away.

 

 

The missing Carcano clip (holds 6 rounds .. ejects automatically after last bullet ... only 3 shells found)

This was a mysterious little item that many didn’t notice in the beginning.

When the rifle was found, it didn’t have the clip in it. Which means that all the bullets in the 6-bullet clip had been used up, and the clip had been auto-ejected. But only three shells were found in the 'sniper’s nest', and the clip was never mentioned to be found anywhere in the book depository. Then the Mannlicher-Carcano was photographed being carried out of the book depository with the clip sticking out of the bottom of the rifle, which would indicate that only three shots had been fired, and thus the clip was never ejected. And then at the police station the rifle was photographed again, this time being shown to the media by a willing police officer, held high over his head, and clearly showing that there is no clip protruding from the underside of the rifle. And this was never explained.

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Click each picture to enlarge individually

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The growing Mannlicher-Carcano

The Mannlicher-Carcano found in the TSBD was a 40” model, while the shipping manifest above shows Hidell ordered, paid for and received a 36” Mannlicher-Carcano from Klein’s Sporting goods in Chicago, Illinois. 

This is a discrepancy clearly no one took into account that might come to haunt them some day.

The advertisement mentions that C20-750 is the 40” version with 4x scope, and that the C20-T750 is the 36” version with the same scope. The shipping manifest shows that a C20-T750 was shipped to A. Hidell, p/o box 2915, Dallas, Texas.

If Oswald had known the size of the rifle that was found in the book despository, he wouldn’t have denied being A. Hidell.

Of course now it gets difficult to explain the shifting scope on the Mannlicher-Carcano that was found on the 6th floor of the book despository, not to mention that rusty bolt. Did someone switch rifles once they had access to his home to search for more evidence?

Did they find Oswald’s rifle in the garage of Ruth Paine, with whom his wife Marina and their two kids were living at the time, where Oswald said he usually hid it because he couldn’t take it to his boarding room?

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Click to enlarge

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In any case, this is NOT the rifle Arnold Rowland and Amos Euins saw on the 6th floor.

Not in the West window, and certainly not in the East window.

By all means, please feel free to measure the above rifle yourself – all 40 inches of it, from the end of the barrel, to the end of the stock.

The 24-inch ruler in the picture is courtesy of the Warren Commission.

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