April 22, 1964
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
FROM: Melvin A. Eisenberg
Subject: Conference of April 14, 1964, to determine which
frames in the Zapruder movies show the impact of
the first and second bullets
---------------------------------------------------------
On April 14, 1964, a conference was held to determine which
frames in the Zapruder film portray the instants at which the first
and second bullets struck.
Present were: Commander James J. Humes, Director of
Laboratories of the Naval Medical School, Bethesda, Maryland;
Commander J. Thorton Boswell, Chief Pathologist, Naval Medical School,
Bethesda; Lt. Col. Pierre A. Finck, Chief of Wound Ballistics
Pathology Branch, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; Dr. F.W. Light,
Jr. Deputy Chief of the Biophysics Division at Edgewood Arsenal,
Maryland, and Chief of the Wound Assessment Branch of the Biophysics
Division; Dr. Oliver, Chief of the Wound Ballistics Branch of the
Biophysics Division at Edgewood Arsenal; Messrs. Malley, Gauthier,
Shaneyfelt, and two other unidentified agents of the FBI; Messrs.
Kelley and Howlett of the Secret Service; and Messrs. Redlich, Specter
and Eisenberg of the Commission staff.
A screening was held of the Zapruder film and of slides
prepared by LIFE from the film. Each slide corresponded with a
separate frame of film, beginning with frame 171. The consensus of
the meeting was as follows:
(a) The President had been definitely hit by frames 224-225,
when he emerges from behind a sign with his hands clutching his
throat.
(b) The reaction shown in frames 224-225 may have started at
an earlier point - possibly as early as frame 199 (when there appears
to be some jerkiness in his movement) or, with a higher degree of
possibility, at frames 204-206 (where his right elbow appears to be
raised to an artificially high position).
(c) If the reaction did not begin at 199 or 204-206, it
probably began during the range of frames during which the President
is hidden from Zapruder's camera by a sign, namely, frames 215-24.
cc: Mr. Rankin Mr Belin
Mr. Willens Mr. Specter
Mr. Redlich Mr. Eisenberg
Mr. Ball
Page Two--------------------------------------------------
(d) The President may have been struck by the first bullet as
much as two seconds before any visible reaction began. In all
likelihood, however, the maximum delay between impact and reaction
would be under one second, and it is possible that the reaction was
instantaneous. Putting this in terms of frames, the President may
have been struck as much as 36 frames before any visible reaction is
seen. If the visible reaction begins at 199, the President may have
been struck as early as 163; if the visible reaction begins at
204-206, he may have been struck as early as 168-170; if the visible
reaction begins while the President is behind the sign, he may have
been struck as early as 179-188.
(e) The velocity of the first bullet would have been little
diminished by its passage through the President. Therefore, if
Governor Connally was in the path of the bullet it would have struck
him and (probably) caused the wounds he sustained in his chest cavity.
Strong indications that this occurred are provided by the facts that
(1) the bullet recovered from Governor Connally's stretcher does not
appear to have penetrated a wrist and (2) if the first bullet did not
hit Governor Connally, it should have ripped up the car, but
apparently did not. Since the bullet recovered from the Governor's
stretcher does not appear to have penetrated a wrist, if he was hit by
this (the first) bullet, he was probably also hit by the second
bullet.
(f) If Governor Connally was hit by the first and second
bullets, it is impossible to say definitively at what point, or by
what point, he had been hit by the second bullet.
(g) Governor Connally seems to straighten up at frames
224-226, and may be reacting to a wound at this point. (If so, it
would be a wound from the first bullet).
(h) Governor Connally seems to begin showing an expression of
anguish around 242. If he was hit with two bullets, this expression
may have resulted from his second wound.
(i) After Governor Connally straightened up at frames 224-26,
he starts to turn to the right. As a result of this turn, at no time
after frame 236 was Governor Connally in a position such that a bullet
fired from the probable
Page 3----------------------------------------------------
site of the assassin would have caused the wound in his chest cavity
which Governor Connally sustained--that is, after frame 236, the
Governor presented a side view to the assassin rather than a back
view.*
(j) It is not possible to say whether prior to 236 Governor
Connally was ever in a position such that one bullet could have caused
the five wounds he sustained.
(k) As in the case of the President, Governor Connally could
have conceivably been hit two seconds before he begins to react, but
the maximum likely time interval between hit and reaction is one
second, and the reaction may have been instantaneous. The likelihood
of an instantaneous reaction is particularly great in regard to the
wrist wound, since pain is usually felt more quickly in a limb than in
the torso.
*/ Mr. Specter disagrees with this, and feels the Governor was in
position to receive the chest wound up to 242.
----------------------------------------------------------
April 22, 1964
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
FROM: Melvin A. Eisenberg
SUBJECT: Conference of April 21, 1964, to determine which
frames in the Zapruder movies show the impact of
the first and second bullets.
----------------------------------------------------------
On Tuesday, April 21, 1964, a conference was held to determine
which frames in the Zapruder film portray the instants at which the
first and second bullets struck.
Present were: Dr. F.W. Light, Jr., Deputy Chief of the
Biophysics Division and Chief of the Wound Assessment Branch of the
Biophysics Division at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland; Dr. Oliver, Chief of
the Wound Ballistics Branch of the Biophysics Division at Edgewood
Arsenal, Maryland; Dr. Joseph Dolce, Consultant to the Biophysics
Division at Edgewood Arsenal; Dr. Charles F. Gregory and Dr. Robert
Shaw of Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas; Messrs. Geuthier,
Shaneyfelt, and one other unidentified agent of the FBI; and Messrs.
Redlich, Spector, Belin and Eisenberg. Later in the proceedings,
Governor and Mrs. Connally, Mr. Rankin and Mr. McCloy joined the
conference.
A screening was held of the Zapruder film and of slides
prepared by LIFE from the films. Each slide corresponded with a
separate frame of film, beginning with frame 171.
The consensus of the meeting was as follows:
(a) The President had been definitely hit by frame 224-225
when he emerges from behind a sign with his hands clutching at his
throat.
(b) After the Governor Connally straightened up at frames
224-225 he starts to turn to the right. As a result of this turn, at
no time after frame 236 was Governor Connally in a position such that
a bullet fired from the probable site of the assassin would have
caused the wound in the chest cavity which Governor Connally sustained
-- that is, after frame 236 the Governor presented a side view to the
assassin rather than a back view.(1)
(1) Mr. Specter disagrees.
Page 2-------------------------------------------------
(c) In many frames up to 250, the Governor's wrist is held in
a position which exposed him to the type of wrist wounds he actually
received.
(d) After viewing the films and slides, the Governor was of
the opinion that he had been hit by frame 231.
(e) The Governor stated that after being hit, he looked to his
right, looked to his left, and then turned to his right. He felt the
President might have been hit by frame 190. He heard only two shots
and felt sure that the shots he heard were the first and third shots.
He is positive that he was hit after he heard the first shot, i.e., by
the second shot, and by that shot only.
In a discussion after the conference, Drs. Light and Dolce
expressed themselves as being very strongly of the opinion that
Connally had been hit by two different bullets, principally on the
ground that the bullet recovered from Connally's stretcher could not
have broken his radius without having suffered more distortion. Dr.
Oliver withheld a conclusion until he has had the opportunity to make
tests on animal tissue and bone with the actual rifle.
------------------------------------------------------
April 24, 1964
MEMORANDUM
TO: Messrs. Redlich, Specter, Belin
FROM: Melvin A Eisenberg
SUBJECT: Determination of the Trajectories of the Three Shots
1. My memos of the conferences of April 14, 1964, and April
21, 1964, designate the frames in the Zapruder film which portray or
may portray the impact of the first and second bullets. My memo of
earlier conferences designated the frames in the Zapruder, Nix, and
Muchmore films which portray the impact of the third shot. In order
to translate these determinations into actual distances, it appears to
me to be necessary to go to Dallas.
2. The first step to take in Dallas is to place viewfinders
on the spots at which Zapruder, Nix and Muchmore were standing, and
place a replica car, bearing six occupants on Elm Street. The replica
car should then be positioned so that, viewed through the viewfinders,
the relationship between the actual car and the landmarks on November
22, as shown in the designated frames.
3. Pictures should be made showing the car (positioned under
paragraph 2) from the following vantage points: (a) the spots at
which the photographers were standing; (b) a point in the TSBD
approximating the point at which the muzzle of the rifle was located;
and (c) several point on the overpass. Still pictures, and moving
pictures taken through the cameras actually used by Zapruder, Nix,
and Muchmore should be taken from vantage point (a). Two sets of
still pictures, one through a 4x telescopic sight, should be taken
from vantage points (b) and (c).
4. Tapes should then be laid on Elm Street over the points or
ranges at which the President and Governor were located when the three
shots struck. Each tape should be marked to show every designated
frame, and at the first tape should also be marked at the point where
the President first became visible from vantage point (b) after
emerging from behind the tree. On-the-street measurements should then
be taken of the distances (i) from the marked points on each tape to
the marked points on every other tape and (ii) from the marked points
on each tape to the mid-point of a line connecting the southeast and
southwest curbs of Elm street.
5. The position of the tapes and all marked points thereon
should then be mapped on a survey, and the lengths of the various
possible trajectories should be measured by the surveyor on a
trigonometric basis, measuring from the point at which the muzzle was
probably located to the beginning, end, and marked points of each
tape. The surveyor should also determine the angle each trajectory
makes with the horizontal. Copies of the surveyor's work-sheets and
calculations should be sent to us.
6. The steps outlined herein are not to be deemed as
exclusive. In particular, an attempt should be made to photograph
various relative positions of the persons simulating the President and
Governor Connally with a view to determining whether the first bullet
probably did or did not hit the Governor as well as the President.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
April 27, 1964
MEMORANDUM
TO: J. Lee Rankin
FROM: Norman Redlich
The purpose of this memorandum is to explain the reasons why
certain members of the staff feel that it is important to take certain
on-site photographs in connection with the location of the approximate
points at which the three bullets struck the occupants of the
Presidential limousine.
Our report presumably will state that the President was hit by
the first bullet, Governor Connally by the second, and the President
by the third and fatal bullet. The report will also conclude that the
bullets were fired by one person located in the sixth floor southeast
corner window of the TSBD building.
As our investigation now stands, however, we have not shown
that these events could possibly have occurred in the manner suggested
above. All we have is a reasonable hypothesis which appears to be
supported by the medical testimony but which has not been checked out
against the physical facts at the scene of the assassination.
Our examination of the Zapruder films shows that the fatal
third shot struck the President at a point which we can locate with
reasonable accuracy on the ground. We can do this because we know the
exact frame (no. 313) in the film at which the third shot hit the
President and we know the location of the photographer. By lining up
fixed objects in the movie frame where this shot occurs we feel that
we have determined the approximate location of this shot. This can be
verified by a photo of the same spot from the point where Zapruder was
standing.
We have the testimony of Governor and Mrs. Connally that the
Governor was hit with the second bullet at a point which we probably
cannot fix with precision. We feel we have established, however, with
the help of medical testimony, that the shot which hit the Governor
did not come after frame 240 on the Zapruder film. The governor feels
that it came around 230, which is certainly consistent with our
observations of the film and with the doctor's testimony. Since the
President was shot at frame 313, this would leave a time of at least 4
seconds between the two shots, certainly ample for even an
inexperienced marksman.
Prior to our last viewing of the films with Governor Connally
we had assumed that the President was hit while he was concealed
behind the sign which occurs between frames 215-225. We have expert
testimony to the effect that a skilled marksman would require a
minimum 2 seconds between shots with this rifle. Since the camera
operates at 18 1/3 frames per second, there would have to be a minimum
of 40 frames between shots. It is apparent, therefore, that if
Governor Connally was even as late as frame 240, the President would
have to have been hit no later than frame 190 and probably even
earlier.
We have not yet examined the assassination scene to determine
whether the assassin in fact could have shot the President prior to
frame 190. We could locate the position on the ground which
corresponds to this frame and it would then be our intent to establish
by photography that the assassin would have fired the first shot at the
President prior to this point. Our intention is not to establish the
point with complete accuracy, but merely to substantiate the
hypothesis which underlies the conclusions that Oswald was the sole
assassin.
I had always assumed that our final report would be
accompanied by a surveyor's diagram which would indicate the
approximate location of the three shots. We certainly cannot prepare
such a diagram without establishing that we are describing an
occurrence which is physically possible. Our failure to do this will,
in my opinion, place this Report in jeopardy since it is a certainty
that others will examine the Zapruder films and raise the same
questions which have been raised by our examination of the films. If
we do not attempt to answer these observable facts, others may answer
them with facts which challenge our most basic assumptions, or with
fanciful theories based on our unwillingness to test our assumptions
by the investigatory methods available to us.
I should add that the facts which we now have in our
possession, submitted to us in separate reports from the FBI and
Secret Service, are totally incorrect and, if left uncorrected, will
present a completely misleading picture.
It may well be that this project should be undertaken by the
FBI and Secret Service with our assistance instead of being done as a
staff project. The important thing is that the project be undertaken
expeditiously.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
May 7, 1964
Mr. J. Edgar Hoover
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20535
Dear Mr. Hoover,
This commission has been making a careful study of the various
motion picture films taken at the scene of the assassination. In this
project we have had the valuable assistance of members your Bureau,
particularly Inspector James Malley, Inspector Leo Gauthier and
Special Agent Lyndal A. Shaneyfelt. As a result of the information
obtained from these films, the Commission would like the cooperation of
your Bureau in the performance of certain additional investigation at
the scene of the assassination.
I will personally be available to supervise this work and will
have such other staff members present as may be deemed necessary. We
would hope to be able to perform this work in Dallas on May 18 and May
19. The purpose of this letter is to set forth the steps which we
feel are necessary to properly complete this project.
I. PROBABLE RANGES FROM WHICH FIRST TWO SHOTS OCCURRED
Our examination of the Zapruder films indicates that Governor
Connally was hit at some point prior to frame 240. (All references to
frames in the Zapruder films are on the basis of a numbering system
worked out with the FBI personnel who have been working on this
project). Doctors familiar with the Governor's wounds concluded that
after frame 236 his body was not in a position to have received the
wound from a projectile fired from the sixth floor southeast corner
window of the Texas School Book Depository Building. The Governor
feels he was hit at approximately frame 230; some members of our staff
feel that it could have been as late as frame 240. Governor and Mrs.
Connally also testified that the Governor was hit by the second shot.
cc: Mr. Rankin
Mr. Redlich
Mr. Willens
The FBI laboratory examination of the Zapruder camera
establishes that it operates at a speed of 18-1/3 frames per second.
Weapons experts have testified that the minimum time required to
operate the assassination weapon is 2-1/4 seconds. It would appear,
therefore, that a minimum of 41 frames would have to elapse between
the first and second shots. (18-1/3 x 2-1/4).
The Commission is aware that it is impossible to determine the
exact point at which the first two shots were fired. We request the
following on-site investigatory steps, however, in order to determine
whether it was possible for a person located on the sixth floor
southeast corner window of the TSBD building to fire two shots at the
Presidential car, the second of which occurred no later than frame
240:
(1) A point should be marked on the road corresponding to
frame 199 on the Zapruder film, which is the last point at which the
assassin could have fired from the window and still have been able to
fire again by frame 240. A car should be photographed on this spot
from the point where Zapruder was standing so that this photograph can
be compared with frame 199 to make certain that the location is
accurate. This should be done with the Zapruder camera, which has
been retained for this purpose. A Polaroid should also be used for
immediate comparison.
(2) After a car has been placed at this point on the road it
should be photographed from the assassination window to determine
whether the assassin had a clear shot at the occupants of the rear
seat, with particular reference to the tree which at some point blocks
the view from this window.
(3) If the car had passed the tree at frame 199, when viewed
from the window, the car should be moved forward to the point at which
there is a first clear view from the window and photographed at this
point from both the window and at the place where Zapruder was
standing so that we may determine what frame in the Zapruder films
corresponds with this location.
(4) If the car has in fact passed beyond the tree at frame
199, it should be moved back to the point where it first cleared the
tree and photographed from the window and the Zapruder location to
establish the corresponding frame reference.
(5) The car should also be placed at the point where there is
the last clear shot before it goes behind the tree and photographed
from the window and the Zapruder location to determine the frame
reference at this point.
(6) All the above points should be mapped on a survey.
Lineal distances should be measured on the ground between these
various points. Trigonometric readings should be taken to determine
the distances from these various points to the assassination window
and the surveyor should also determine the angle with the horizontal
which is made when a line is plotted from each of these point to the
assassination window.
II. PROBABLE LOCATION OF THE THIRD SHOT
Unlike shots one and two, the third shot has been fixed at a
particular frame in the Zapruder films (frame 313), as well as a
particular frame in the other two films (frame 24 of the Nix film and
frame 42 of the Muchmore film). A car should be placed at the point
which we believe to be the approximate location corresponding to these
frames and then photographed from the point where the three cameramen
were standing to establish the accuracy of this location. Distances
should be measured from this point to the various points described in
part I and angles and distances established between this point and the
assassination window to establish the view which the assassin had when
he fired the third shot.
III. PLOTTING TRAJECTORIES FROM THE RAILROAD OVERPASS
From each of the ground points established in parts I and II
trigonometric readings should be taken from a point on either end of
the overpass to chart the path which a bullet would travel if fired
from those points on the overpass to the rear seat of the car. It
should be determined whether a bullet could reach the rear seat
without hitting the windshield, and the angle with the horizontal
which would be made by a bullet fired from these points to a car
located at each of the points to a car located at each of the points
on the ground as determined in parts I and II.
A copy of this letter has been sent to Chief Rowley of the
Secret Service with a request that the Secret Service provide such
assistance in this work as the Commission and your Bureau may require.
The Secret Service has furnished the Commission with photographs,
surveys, and measurements which we have used in our examination of the
films and which will no doubt be useful to your Bureau in completing
this project.
We would like your Bureau to make all necessary arrangements
for this project. Members of the Bureau assigned to this project
should contact either Mr. Norman Redlich or Mr. Melvin Eisenberg of
the Commission staff if additional information is required.
Sincerely,
J. Lee Rankin
General Counsel
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MEMORANDUM
June 11, 1964
TO: Mr. J. Lee Rankin
FROM: Arlen Specter
If additional depositions are taken in Dallas, I suggest that
Jim Tague, 2424 Inwood, Apartment 253, and Virgie Rackley, 405 Wood
Street be deposed to determine the knowledge of each on where the
missing bullet struck. These two witnesses were mentioned in the
early FBI reports, but they have never been deposed.
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