The
Connally Bullet
One
of the most contentious issues of the JFK debate has always been the question of
the validity of CE-399, the bullet which the government claimed, passed through
President Kennedy and Governor Connally. Critics have argued that it was not
possible for the bullet to have passed through both victims and emerged in near
pristine condition. Perhaps more significantly, CE-399 contained no traces of
blood or tissue when examined under a microscope.
Government defenders countered with the argument that tests have proven that
it was not impossible for a bullet to remain in good condition under such
circumstances and that it was also possible that there would be no evidence
of blood or tissue. As such, the debate has remained in stalemate for nearly
half a century. But in more recent times, a far stronger case against the
legitimacy of CE399 has emerged. As we shall see, it also happens to be a
conclusive indictment of the integrity of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.
Our study begins at Parkland hospital with the discovery of a bullet by orderly, Daryl Tomlinson. Tomlinson told the Warren Commission that he returned Governor Connally's stretcher from the second floor back to the ground floor, and then parked it behind another stretcher that was in front of the door to a rest room. During his testimony, he illustrated the positions of the two stretchers, producing the following diagram:
Tomlinson labelled the two stretchers, "A" and "B", in response to Specter's request:
Specter also asked him to label the rest room in the diagram as "C" and explain how he acquired the bullet,
Clearly, Tomlinson was stating that the bullet was on a different stretcher than the one he brought down on the elevator. Nonetheless, Specter repeatedly badgered him to change his story, but could only manage to get his inconvenient witness to say that he wasn't sure. But Tomlinson further confirmed what happened, in this CBS documentary, narrated by Walter Cronkite. (move the timeline to 30:10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvqCtaBkyyE
Tomlinson passed the bullet to his supervisor, Mr. O.P. Wright who also examined it and in an interview with Josiah Thompson, was adamant that it was shaped much differently than CE-399. This is from Josiah Thompson's classic book, Six Seconds in Dallas,
Wright's and Tomlinson's unanimous rejection of CE-399 was further confirmed by this top secret FBI airtel, which was never shown to the Warren Commission.
Instead, the FBI told the commission that the two civilians had been interviewed by special agent Bardwell Odum, who was told by the men, that the stretcher bullet "appears to be the same one". But when Josiah Thompson and Dr. Gary Aguilar contacted the National Archives, they found no record of such an interview, in spite of the fact that the FBI was required to document interviews like that. And when they contacted Bardwell Odum in person, he denied ever conducting such an interview and stated that he had never even seen CE399.
According to FBI chief examiner Robert Frazier's notes, the FBI received large bullet fragments that were found in the front of the limousine at 11:50 PM on the night of the assassination. They were labelled Q2 and Q3. Of course, the lab was on duty and working all night.
Notes of FBI lead investigator, Robert Frazier which
demonstrate that they received bullet fragments from the limo
at 11:50 PM. (discovered by John Hunt)
These fragments were deemed by the FBI to be substantial enough to confirm that they were consistent with Oswald's rifle and forensics experts who testified before the Warren Commission confirmed that. Of course, considering the FBI's track record, it's hard to say whether they provided the actual fragments or not, but one thing seems quite certain - the fragments they received did not match the bullet that Tomlinson found.
Considering the time zones, it was between 90 minutes and 2 hours after the arrival of those fragments at the FBI labs, that Tomlinson was awakened by someone from the FBI, demanding that he "keep his mouth shut" about the bullet he found at Parkland hospital. This is from the recorded 1967 interview of Tomlinson by Ray Marcus. The interview is also documented in the HSCA records.
Marcus: About the circumstances of your finding the bullet?
Tomlinson: That is (one short word, unintelligible) what I found…
Marcus: I understand exactly what you mean, when they call you, it's pretty authoritative. But the thing is this, did they say - was there any particular thing about what they said or they just didn't want you to talk about it period?
Tomlinson: Just don't talk about it period.
As we will see, the FBI found a better solution to their problem making lemonade out of this nasty lemon. Instead of threatening a key witness, they seem to have simply decided to replace the inconvenient bullet with one that did indeed come from Oswald's rifle. And as is often the case, one lie requires a multitude of other lies to support it.
Wright gave the bullet to Secret Service agent, Richard Johnsen, who in turn, passed it on to his supervisor, James Rowley. Not surprisingly, both of those men also refused to corroborate CE399, a fact which even the FBI had to admit, stating in Commission exhibit 2011, that the two agents "could not identify" it. It is interesting that the FBI never reported the reason why the two agents refused to corroborate this dubious piece of evidence. Like FBI agents, Secret Service agents were required to initial forensic evidence, and it is hard to imagine them being negligent in such an important case.
Further corroboration that at least Johnsen marked the bullet, came from ex-Secret Service agent, Gerald Blaine, who is a close friend of SA Clint Hill. In an email to David Von Pein, he stated that Hill had spoken with agent Johnsen, who told him that he did indeed, mark the bullet. This is from that email.
The bullet found on the stretcher was retrieved and marked by SA Richard Johnsen and submitted as evidence.
Von Pein, an avid Warren Commissioner defender, replied to Blaine, warning him that this disclosure would prove that CE399 was not the actual bullet that Tomlinson found, and Blaine promptly amended his statement, claiming that Johnsen must have meant that he initialed the envelope the bullet was in, rather than the bullet itself. As it turned out however, researcher John Hunt had photographed that envelope and Johnsen's signature was not on it. In his final fallback position, Von Pein made the rather dubious claim that what Johnsen really meant when he said he marked the bullet, was that he had typed up a memo that had been attached to the envelope.
Obviously, the explanation for Johnsen and Rowley's rejection of CE399 is that not only did the stretcher bullet look much different than the original, but their initials were nowhere to be found on it. And they were not the only ones whose initials were missing.
The next step in the chain of possession took place when Rowley passed the bullet to FBI agent, Elmer Todd. Todd was adamant that he initialed the stretcher bullet, as he was required to do. But when researcher, John Hunt examined extreme closeup photos of CE-399, he was able to identify initials that were written in later, but could find no trace of Todd's. This is from his article on the subject:
The entire article can be found here:
http://www.jfklancer.com/hunt/phantom.htm
After looking around the web a bit, I was able to find a considerably better copy of the CE399 photos and after sharpening the image a bit, and blowing it up, managed to produce a much clearer image. Not surprisingly, there was no trace of Todd's initials.
The only logical conclusion which can be drawn from this evidence is that the bullet Tomlinson found on the stretcher in front of the rest room door had nothing to do with the assassination. Parkland was (and is) the largest hospital in Dallas and processes hundreds of gunshot victims every year. Doctor McClelland testified that Parkland, "receives all of the indigent patients of this county, many of whom are involved frequently in shooting altercations, so that we do see a large number of that type patient almost daily".
But it appears that the FBI didn't think about that when they received the stretcher bullet at their labs on Friday night. And when they discovered that the bullet didn't match Oswald's rifle, they panicked. It was quite simple to fire a round from the alleged murder weapon into water or cotton wading and use that bullet to replace the one that Tomlinson found. That would explain the near pristine condition of the bullet, the absence of blood and tissue, the missing initials of SA Todd, and those of the two Secret Service agents, as well as the adamant rejection of that bullet by Tomlinson and Wright.
But there is an even better reason why we can be quite certain that CE399 was not the bullet that wounded Governor Connally. The real bullet was found on the second floor and recovered by a nurse, who then passed it on to officer Bobby Nolan, who then delivered it to the Dallas Police department. The confirmation of this begins with Governor Connally. This is from his autobiography entitled, "In History's shadow".
What the governor obviously didn't realize however, is that the bullet was not "swept aside". Certainly, the nurse who recovered it would not have just discarded the most important piece of forensic evidence she had ever handled. As it turned out, the Dallas District attorney arrived at the hospital, eager to find out how his old friend, governor Connally was doing. It seems that he arrived at about the same time that the surgery on the governor was completed, when he ran into that same nurse who found the bullet. This is from an interview of Dallas District attorney, Henry Wade, by the Dallas Morning News.
The nurse promptly carried out the district attorney's instructions, passing the bullet to the nearest uniformed officer in sight, who happened to be Patrolman, Bobby Nolan, who was working security for Governor Connally and standing in the hallway talking to Connally aide, Bill Stinson. This is from my interview of Nolan in 2010.
Nolan delivered the bullet to the Dallas Police department that evening, and the next morning, was interviewed by the FBI, who reported (emphasis is mine),
Obviously, Nolan told the FBI, exactly what the nurse told him - that the envelope contained a bullet from Governor Connally's gurney, which as the Governor himself stated, had fallen out from the wound in his "thigh".
Bill Stinson further corroborated the other witnesses, when he was interviewed by the now defunct, Ramparts magazine.
The entire article can be seen here,
http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_issues/09th_Issue/ramparts.html
Stinson was mistaken about the bullet being removed during surgery. He had been permitted to stand in the operating room then, but it is unlikely that he would have been permitted to get close enough to examine the fragments as they were being removed. It makes perfect sense however, that he would assume that it came from surgery, when shortly afterward, the nurse came out, in scrubs, and told him and Nolan that she had an envelope containing a bullet from Connally's thigh.
So, by Saturday, the FBI had already received the bullet that Tomlinson found and had plenty of time to analyze it and confirm that it was not from Oswald's rifle. A second Connally bullet would provide indisputable proof of multiple snipers.
At roughly the same time that this nurse was passing the bullet from Connally's thigh to Nolan, nursing supervisor Audrey M. Bell was processing four tiny fragments that were removed from the governor's wrist by Dr. Gregory. She told the HSCA and later, the ARRB that she removed the fragments from a container the scrub nurse had placed on her desk and put them into a clear, plastic box which she then inserted into a small envelope. She filled the envelope out, writing that it contained "fragments" from Connally's "right arm" and then gave it to two plain clothed agents who came into her office. She was unsure whether they were from the Secret Service or the FBI, but was certain they were not in uniform. She said that both she and one of the agents, initialed the envelope and that the two of them then signed a receipt. All of this was standard operating procedure at Parkland, which Bell had carried out hundreds of times in the past.
Audrey Bell was interviewed the next day (11/23/63) by the FBI, as she herself confirmed in her ARRB interview. But when she was shown a copy of the associated FBI report, she was adamant that it contained false claims. This is from ARRB document MD184, which summarized her interview,
To corroborate her denial, Bell suggested that they look at the receipt she was required to fill out, which she had passed on to Parkland administrator, Jack Price. That receipt was an important verification of the chain of possession and something the FBI had to have confiscated. It would contain the name of the agent who Bell gave it to. This is more from MD184,
But according to the National Archives, there is no record of the ARRB ever finding that receipt and the Archives were not able to find it either. So Bell's receipt, which would have confirmed the name of at least one of the men she gave the envelope to, and which had to have been taken by the FBI, seems to have evaporated.
This is the FBI report, allegedly from their interview dated, 11/23/63 with Audrey Bell.
And this is the HSCA's report of what Dr. Gregory told them,
As a full time emergency room physician, at Parkland, it seems strange that he could never provide a straight answer, regarding this nurse who worked with him every day. Why is it that he could only answer that he "had been advised"? And why was the source of his advice, unnamed?
At the request of Dr. Burkley, the President's physician, Parkland Doctor, Kemp Clark researched and prepared a report on 11/23/1963, describing events at the hospital related to the treatment of Connally and President Kennedy. For many years, it was filed away as "Top Secret". In this section, he describes what Drs. Shires and Duke, who assisted Gregory, told him. In the first sentence of the cited segment, "he" refers to Shires.
The wording here is fascinating and much more informative for what it doesn't say than what it does. Notice that there is no straightforward declaration that Bell passed the wrist fragments to Nolan - only that the doctors, "agreed to release to Mrs. Wright the information that..". And why was there, just one day after the assassination, this concern that "only one bullet was involved in Governor Connally's injury"? That sounds much more like something the FBI would be worried about than the doctors.
And why were they parroting the FBI's mistaken claim that this was just a single fragment, rather that multiple fragments, as was clearly written on the envelope Bell was supposed to have filled out?
And why is there no mention anywhere in the report about what supervisor, Audrey Bell had to say? She was on duty that day and just a buzz on the intercom, away. Why wasn't she asked? Had she actually said what the FBI claimed she said, she would have been eager to confirm that she gave the wrist fragments to Nolan.
It would not have been possible for the FBI to have pulled this scam, without the help of a least a doctor or two and probably, the nurse who actually recovered the Connally bullet. Of course, the notion that Parkland doctors or nurses were involved in a sinister coverup, is absurd. What is not so absurd however, is that like many others, they were told that if the investigation proved that there was a conspiracy, it would point to Fidel Castro and lead us into a crisis that could incite a nuclear, world war. In 1963, nuclear war was a fear that we all had to live with, every day of our lives. It was powerful enough to make even the most honest person, tell a little white lie if he was convinced that it was for the benefit of humanity.
The notion that Bell handed over an envelope containing Connally's wrist fragments to officer Nolan, fails in pretty much every conceivable way. Not only does that contradict what both Bell and Nolan told us, but there is no statement on record by any of her coworkers that she did such a thing, and no record of any of them even claiming that she said she did such a thing. But perhaps, what is stranger yet, is that no one claims to have even asked her.
What is easily proven however, is that the FBI falsely claimed that Bell was processing only a single fragment. It is preposterous to think that she told them such a thing. What makes infinitely more sense is, that they needed to make an envelope go away, which really DID contain a single, large fragment or bullet. But they could not do that if her envelope only contained tiny, almost microscopic particles. And so they falsely quoted her, saying that she dealt with a single, metal fragment. And of course, their claim that she stated that she turned her single fragment over to officer Nolan, is equally preposterous.
Nolan's envelope was turned in at approximately 8:30PM on 11/22/63. From then on, the FBI had unrestricted access to the evidence and the right to open and inspect it. Whatever was really in Nolan's envelope, had to have been known to the FBI, prior to their interviews of Nolan and Bell. If it had really contained tiny particles, they certainly would have said so, instead of referring to what could only have been, the singular content of the envelope Nolan delivered.
The nurse who spoke to district attorney Wade and gave an envelope to Nolan could not have been Audrey Bell. Three men, Governor Connally, DA Henry Wade, and officer Bobby Nolan, all confirmed that this nurse recovered a bullet from Connally's gurney and then showed it to Wade, before turning it over to officer Nolan. The envelope Bell processed, was given to an FBI agent, which is why it was never delivered to the Dallas police department, or at least, why there is no surviving record that it was.
In contrast to all of these very solid corroborations, we have 100% denial by the four men who examined the bullet that Tomlinson found, that it was CE399. Unlike many other issues related to the case, this one is not a tough call. It seems that J. Edgar Hoover agreed, because in recordings of telephone conversations between him and LBJ, he suggested that Connally was wounded because he came between the President and an assassin, and that if Connally had not come between them, JFK would have taken his bullet.
Our study begins at Parkland hospital with the discovery of a bullet by orderly, Daryl Tomlinson. Tomlinson told the Warren Commission that he returned Governor Connally's stretcher from the second floor back to the ground floor, and then parked it behind another stretcher that was in front of the door to a rest room. During his testimony, he illustrated the positions of the two stretchers, producing the following diagram:
Tomlinson labelled the two stretchers, "A" and "B", in response to Specter's request:
Mr. SPECTER. Will you mark with a
"B" the stretcher which was present at the time you pushed
stretcher "A" off of the elevator?
Specter also asked him to label the rest room in the diagram as "C" and explain how he acquired the bullet,
Mr. SPECTER. Where is the men's
room located on this diagram?
Mr. TOMLINSON. It would be right there (indicating) beside the "B" stretcher.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you draw in ink there the outline of that room in a general way?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, I really don't know.
Mr. SPECTER. And would you mark that with the letter "C"?
Mr. SPECTER. That's fine. What happened when that gentleman came to use the men's room?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, he pushed the stretcher out from the wall to get in, and then when he came out he just walked off and didn't push the stretcher back up against the wall, so I pushed it out of the way where we would have clear area in front of the elevator.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did you push it to?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I pushed it back up against the wall.
Mr. SPECTER. What, if anything, happened then?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I bumped the wall and a spent cartridge or bullet rolled out that apparently had been lodged under the edge of the mat.
Mr. SPECTER. And that was from which stretcher?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I believe that it was "B".
Mr. TOMLINSON. It would be right there (indicating) beside the "B" stretcher.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you draw in ink there the outline of that room in a general way?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, I really don't know.
Mr. SPECTER. And would you mark that with the letter "C"?
Mr. SPECTER. That's fine. What happened when that gentleman came to use the men's room?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, he pushed the stretcher out from the wall to get in, and then when he came out he just walked off and didn't push the stretcher back up against the wall, so I pushed it out of the way where we would have clear area in front of the elevator.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did you push it to?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I pushed it back up against the wall.
Mr. SPECTER. What, if anything, happened then?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I bumped the wall and a spent cartridge or bullet rolled out that apparently had been lodged under the edge of the mat.
Mr. SPECTER. And that was from which stretcher?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I believe that it was "B".
Clearly, Tomlinson was stating that the bullet was on a different stretcher than the one he brought down on the elevator. Nonetheless, Specter repeatedly badgered him to change his story, but could only manage to get his inconvenient witness to say that he wasn't sure. But Tomlinson further confirmed what happened, in this CBS documentary, narrated by Walter Cronkite. (move the timeline to 30:10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvqCtaBkyyE
Tomlinson passed the bullet to his supervisor, Mr. O.P. Wright who also examined it and in an interview with Josiah Thompson, was adamant that it was shaped much differently than CE-399. This is from Josiah Thompson's classic book, Six Seconds in Dallas,
Before any photos were shown or he
was asked for any description of #399 (Wright) said:
'That bullet had a pointed tip.' I said, 'Pointed tip?' He said, 'Yeah, I'll show you.
It was like this one here,' he said, reaching into his desk and pulling out the .30 caliber
bullet pictured in Six Seconds. After Thompson showed Wright the various bullet photos
and finally #399, Wright asked, "Is that the bullet I was supposed to have had?".
'That bullet had a pointed tip.' I said, 'Pointed tip?' He said, 'Yeah, I'll show you.
It was like this one here,' he said, reaching into his desk and pulling out the .30 caliber
bullet pictured in Six Seconds. After Thompson showed Wright the various bullet photos
and finally #399, Wright asked, "Is that the bullet I was supposed to have had?".
Wright's and Tomlinson's unanimous rejection of CE-399 was further confirmed by this top secret FBI airtel, which was never shown to the Warren Commission.
WFO (FBI Washington Field Office),
neither DARRELL C. TOMLINSON,
who found bullet at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, nor O. P. WRIGHT, Personnel
Officer, Parkland Hospital, who obtained bullet from TOMLINSON and gave
to Special Service, at Dallas 11/22/63, can identify bullet.
who found bullet at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, nor O. P. WRIGHT, Personnel
Officer, Parkland Hospital, who obtained bullet from TOMLINSON and gave
to Special Service, at Dallas 11/22/63, can identify bullet.
Instead, the FBI told the commission that the two civilians had been interviewed by special agent Bardwell Odum, who was told by the men, that the stretcher bullet "appears to be the same one". But when Josiah Thompson and Dr. Gary Aguilar contacted the National Archives, they found no record of such an interview, in spite of the fact that the FBI was required to document interviews like that. And when they contacted Bardwell Odum in person, he denied ever conducting such an interview and stated that he had never even seen CE399.
According to FBI chief examiner Robert Frazier's notes, the FBI received large bullet fragments that were found in the front of the limousine at 11:50 PM on the night of the assassination. They were labelled Q2 and Q3. Of course, the lab was on duty and working all night.
demonstrate that they received bullet fragments from the limo
at 11:50 PM. (discovered by John Hunt)
These fragments were deemed by the FBI to be substantial enough to confirm that they were consistent with Oswald's rifle and forensics experts who testified before the Warren Commission confirmed that. Of course, considering the FBI's track record, it's hard to say whether they provided the actual fragments or not, but one thing seems quite certain - the fragments they received did not match the bullet that Tomlinson found.
Considering the time zones, it was between 90 minutes and 2 hours after the arrival of those fragments at the FBI labs, that Tomlinson was awakened by someone from the FBI, demanding that he "keep his mouth shut" about the bullet he found at Parkland hospital. This is from the recorded 1967 interview of Tomlinson by Ray Marcus. The interview is also documented in the HSCA records.
Tomlinson: On Friday morning about
12:30 to 1 o'clock - uh, excuse me, that's Saturday morning - after the
assassination, the FBI woke me up on the phone and told me to to keep my
mouth shut.
Marcus: About the circumstances of your finding the bullet?
Tomlinson: That is (one short word, unintelligible) what I found…
Marcus: I understand exactly what you mean, when they call you, it's pretty authoritative. But the thing is this, did they say - was there any particular thing about what they said or they just didn't want you to talk about it period?
Tomlinson: Just don't talk about it period.
As we will see, the FBI found a better solution to their problem making lemonade out of this nasty lemon. Instead of threatening a key witness, they seem to have simply decided to replace the inconvenient bullet with one that did indeed come from Oswald's rifle. And as is often the case, one lie requires a multitude of other lies to support it.
Wright gave the bullet to Secret Service agent, Richard Johnsen, who in turn, passed it on to his supervisor, James Rowley. Not surprisingly, both of those men also refused to corroborate CE399, a fact which even the FBI had to admit, stating in Commission exhibit 2011, that the two agents "could not identify" it. It is interesting that the FBI never reported the reason why the two agents refused to corroborate this dubious piece of evidence. Like FBI agents, Secret Service agents were required to initial forensic evidence, and it is hard to imagine them being negligent in such an important case.
Further corroboration that at least Johnsen marked the bullet, came from ex-Secret Service agent, Gerald Blaine, who is a close friend of SA Clint Hill. In an email to David Von Pein, he stated that Hill had spoken with agent Johnsen, who told him that he did indeed, mark the bullet. This is from that email.
The bullet found on the stretcher was retrieved and marked by SA Richard Johnsen and submitted as evidence.
Von Pein, an avid Warren Commissioner defender, replied to Blaine, warning him that this disclosure would prove that CE399 was not the actual bullet that Tomlinson found, and Blaine promptly amended his statement, claiming that Johnsen must have meant that he initialed the envelope the bullet was in, rather than the bullet itself. As it turned out however, researcher John Hunt had photographed that envelope and Johnsen's signature was not on it. In his final fallback position, Von Pein made the rather dubious claim that what Johnsen really meant when he said he marked the bullet, was that he had typed up a memo that had been attached to the envelope.
Obviously, the explanation for Johnsen and Rowley's rejection of CE399 is that not only did the stretcher bullet look much different than the original, but their initials were nowhere to be found on it. And they were not the only ones whose initials were missing.
The next step in the chain of possession took place when Rowley passed the bullet to FBI agent, Elmer Todd. Todd was adamant that he initialed the stretcher bullet, as he was required to do. But when researcher, John Hunt examined extreme closeup photos of CE-399, he was able to identify initials that were written in later, but could find no trace of Todd's. This is from his article on the subject:
There is no question but that only
three sets of initials appear on CE-399. There is likewise no question
that they have all been positively identified: RF was Robert
Frazier, CK was Charles Killion, and JH was Cortland Cunningham. (See
Figure 5.) It can be stated as a fact that SA Elmer Lee Todd's mark is not
on the historical CE-399 bullet.
The entire article can be found here:
http://www.jfklancer.com/hunt/phantom.htm
After looking around the web a bit, I was able to find a considerably better copy of the CE399 photos and after sharpening the image a bit, and blowing it up, managed to produce a much clearer image. Not surprisingly, there was no trace of Todd's initials.
The only logical conclusion which can be drawn from this evidence is that the bullet Tomlinson found on the stretcher in front of the rest room door had nothing to do with the assassination. Parkland was (and is) the largest hospital in Dallas and processes hundreds of gunshot victims every year. Doctor McClelland testified that Parkland, "receives all of the indigent patients of this county, many of whom are involved frequently in shooting altercations, so that we do see a large number of that type patient almost daily".
But it appears that the FBI didn't think about that when they received the stretcher bullet at their labs on Friday night. And when they discovered that the bullet didn't match Oswald's rifle, they panicked. It was quite simple to fire a round from the alleged murder weapon into water or cotton wading and use that bullet to replace the one that Tomlinson found. That would explain the near pristine condition of the bullet, the absence of blood and tissue, the missing initials of SA Todd, and those of the two Secret Service agents, as well as the adamant rejection of that bullet by Tomlinson and Wright.
But there is an even better reason why we can be quite certain that CE399 was not the bullet that wounded Governor Connally. The real bullet was found on the second floor and recovered by a nurse, who then passed it on to officer Bobby Nolan, who then delivered it to the Dallas Police department. The confirmation of this begins with Governor Connally. This is from his autobiography entitled, "In History's shadow".
"..the most curious discovery
of all took place when they rolled me off the stretcher, and onto the
examining table. A metal object fell to the floor, with a click no louder
than a wedding band. The nurse picked it up and slipped it into her
pocket. It was the bullet from my body, the one that passed though my
back, chest and wrist and worked itself loose from my thigh.
There was enormous significance to
that scrap of metal, but I can't be certain how many years later I
understood the importance of it. I have always believed that three bullets
found their mark. What happened in the hospital demonstrated how easily a
bullet could have been swept aside and lost.."
What the governor obviously didn't realize however, is that the bullet was not "swept aside". Certainly, the nurse who recovered it would not have just discarded the most important piece of forensic evidence she had ever handled. As it turned out, the Dallas District attorney arrived at the hospital, eager to find out how his old friend, governor Connally was doing. It seems that he arrived at about the same time that the surgery on the governor was completed, when he ran into that same nurse who found the bullet. This is from an interview of Dallas District attorney, Henry Wade, by the Dallas Morning News.
I also went out to see (Gov. John)
Connally, but he was in the operating room. Some nurse had
a bullet in her hand, and said this was on the gurney that Connally was on. I talked with Nellie
Connally a while and then went on home.
Q: What did you do with the bullet? Is this the famous pristine bullet people have talked about?
A: I told her to give it to the police, which she said she would. I assume that's the pristine bullet.
a bullet in her hand, and said this was on the gurney that Connally was on. I talked with Nellie
Connally a while and then went on home.
Q: What did you do with the bullet? Is this the famous pristine bullet people have talked about?
A: I told her to give it to the police, which she said she would. I assume that's the pristine bullet.
The nurse promptly carried out the district attorney's instructions, passing the bullet to the nearest uniformed officer in sight, who happened to be Patrolman, Bobby Nolan, who was working security for Governor Connally and standing in the hallway talking to Connally aide, Bill Stinson. This is from my interview of Nolan in 2010.
Nolan: I was talking to a man who
was one of governor Connally's aides. His name
was - I think it was either Stinton or Stimmons (Bill Stinson). And he was an
aide to the Governor. And she came up and told him that she had the bullet
that came off of the gurney.
Now I don't know what gurney. I think they meant Governor Connally's gurney.
And she said, "What do you want me to do with it?" He and I were just sitting
there in the hallway talking to me and said, "Give it to him"
Q. Was it a bullet fragment or a complete bullet?
Nolan: I don't know. It was a - they told me that is was a bullet.
And I don't know if it was a fragment of a bullet or a whole bullet because it was
in a little, small brown envelope. And it was sealed and it was about, I'd say 2 by 3
inches. And it was in that envelope when I got it and I never did look at it or anything."
Q. Now when the nurse gave it to you, did she describe it as a bullet fragment or as
a bullet.
Nolan: Uh no. She just said it was a bullet. That's all.
was - I think it was either Stinton or Stimmons (Bill Stinson). And he was an
aide to the Governor. And she came up and told him that she had the bullet
that came off of the gurney.
Now I don't know what gurney. I think they meant Governor Connally's gurney.
And she said, "What do you want me to do with it?" He and I were just sitting
there in the hallway talking to me and said, "Give it to him"
Q. Was it a bullet fragment or a complete bullet?
Nolan: I don't know. It was a - they told me that is was a bullet.
And I don't know if it was a fragment of a bullet or a whole bullet because it was
in a little, small brown envelope. And it was sealed and it was about, I'd say 2 by 3
inches. And it was in that envelope when I got it and I never did look at it or anything."
Q. Now when the nurse gave it to you, did she describe it as a bullet fragment or as
a bullet.
Nolan: Uh no. She just said it was a bullet. That's all.
Nolan delivered the bullet to the Dallas Police department that evening, and the next morning, was interviewed by the FBI, who reported (emphasis is mine),
Bobby M. Nolan, Texas highway
patrolman, Tyler district, was interviewed relative
to a bullet fragment removed from the left thigh of Governor Connally, which was
turned over to him at Parkland Hospital in Dallas for delivery to the FBI.
Nolan stated his instructions were apparently not clear at the outset and that following
contact with his superior officers while at the Dallas Police Department, he turned the
bullet fragment over to Captain Will Fritz [Dallas Police Department.] at approximately
7:50 p.m. He stated he had no further information concerning the matter and that his
only participation in this series of events was the acceptance of the fragment and delivery
of same to Captain Fritz.
to a bullet fragment removed from the left thigh of Governor Connally, which was
turned over to him at Parkland Hospital in Dallas for delivery to the FBI.
Nolan stated his instructions were apparently not clear at the outset and that following
contact with his superior officers while at the Dallas Police Department, he turned the
bullet fragment over to Captain Will Fritz [Dallas Police Department.] at approximately
7:50 p.m. He stated he had no further information concerning the matter and that his
only participation in this series of events was the acceptance of the fragment and delivery
of same to Captain Fritz.
Obviously, Nolan told the FBI, exactly what the nurse told him - that the envelope contained a bullet from Governor Connally's gurney, which as the Governor himself stated, had fallen out from the wound in his "thigh".
Bill Stinson further corroborated the other witnesses, when he was interviewed by the now defunct, Ramparts magazine.
"Before the Commission
discredited Connally's testimony they should at least have heard all the
important witnesses. Ramparts found one the Commission never talked to;
they never even asked him for an affidavit. He is William Stinson, an aide
to Governor Connally at the time of the assassination. Today, although
officially employed by the Veterans Administraton, he has an office in the
White House. Stinson told us he was in the operating room, wearing a
sterile uniform, when the doctors operated on Connally at Parkland
Hospital. 'The
last thing they did,' said Stinson, 'was
to remove the bullet from the governor's thigh---because that was the
least thing that was wrong with him.'".
The entire article can be seen here,
http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_issues/09th_Issue/ramparts.html
Stinson was mistaken about the bullet being removed during surgery. He had been permitted to stand in the operating room then, but it is unlikely that he would have been permitted to get close enough to examine the fragments as they were being removed. It makes perfect sense however, that he would assume that it came from surgery, when shortly afterward, the nurse came out, in scrubs, and told him and Nolan that she had an envelope containing a bullet from Connally's thigh.
So, by Saturday, the FBI had already received the bullet that Tomlinson found and had plenty of time to analyze it and confirm that it was not from Oswald's rifle. A second Connally bullet would provide indisputable proof of multiple snipers.
At roughly the same time that this nurse was passing the bullet from Connally's thigh to Nolan, nursing supervisor Audrey M. Bell was processing four tiny fragments that were removed from the governor's wrist by Dr. Gregory. She told the HSCA and later, the ARRB that she removed the fragments from a container the scrub nurse had placed on her desk and put them into a clear, plastic box which she then inserted into a small envelope. She filled the envelope out, writing that it contained "fragments" from Connally's "right arm" and then gave it to two plain clothed agents who came into her office. She was unsure whether they were from the Secret Service or the FBI, but was certain they were not in uniform. She said that both she and one of the agents, initialed the envelope and that the two of them then signed a receipt. All of this was standard operating procedure at Parkland, which Bell had carried out hundreds of times in the past.
Audrey Bell was interviewed the next day (11/23/63) by the FBI, as she herself confirmed in her ARRB interview. But when she was shown a copy of the associated FBI report, she was adamant that it contained false claims. This is from ARRB document MD184, which summarized her interview,
When shown an FBI FD-302 dated
November 23,1963 (Agency File Number 000919, Record
# 180-l 0090-10270), she felt it was inaccurate in two respects: it quotes her as turning over
“the metal fragment (singular),” whereas she is positive it was multiple fragments - it says she
turned over the fragment to a Texas State Trooper, whereas she recalls turning it over to
plainclothes Federal agents who were either FBI or Secret Service.
# 180-l 0090-10270), she felt it was inaccurate in two respects: it quotes her as turning over
“the metal fragment (singular),” whereas she is positive it was multiple fragments - it says she
turned over the fragment to a Texas State Trooper, whereas she recalls turning it over to
plainclothes Federal agents who were either FBI or Secret Service.
To corroborate her denial, Bell suggested that they look at the receipt she was required to fill out, which she had passed on to Parkland administrator, Jack Price. That receipt was an important verification of the chain of possession and something the FBI had to have confiscated. It would contain the name of the agent who Bell gave it to. This is more from MD184,
She independently recalled filling
out a receipt on 1l/22/63 for the fragments, on half-page
sized paper with red lettering in the letterhead, which was signed for by one of two men in civilian
clothes (whom she thought were Federal agents) who accepted the fragments. She said she personally
delivered the original of this receipt to Parkland Hospital Administrator Jack Price. (ARRB staff
promised to try to locate this document, and promised that if located, we would mail her a photocopy
for verification purposes.)
sized paper with red lettering in the letterhead, which was signed for by one of two men in civilian
clothes (whom she thought were Federal agents) who accepted the fragments. She said she personally
delivered the original of this receipt to Parkland Hospital Administrator Jack Price. (ARRB staff
promised to try to locate this document, and promised that if located, we would mail her a photocopy
for verification purposes.)
But according to the National Archives, there is no record of the ARRB ever finding that receipt and the Archives were not able to find it either. So Bell's receipt, which would have confirmed the name of at least one of the men she gave the envelope to, and which had to have been taken by the FBI, seems to have evaporated.
This is the FBI report, allegedly from their interview dated, 11/23/63 with Audrey Bell.
One thing that is beyond dispute is that the FBI's references to a
single fragment, could not be true. It makes no sense that Bell told
them that. Even if we speculate that she was hopelessly confused, the
envelope which the FBI tells us was filled out by Bell, clearly states
that it contained "Bullet
fragments" from
Connally's "Right
arm". And we can easily see that the clear plastic container
that was in the envelope, contained four tiny particles.
The only logical explanation for why the FBI would have deliberately
misrepresented Bell by claiming she reported only a single fragment is
that the interviewer was not really concerned about the envelope that
she actually handled. They were much more concerned about another
envelope which did indeed, contain a single bullet or fragment (very
likely, a badly mangled bullet) from Governor Connally's thigh. In order
to make that inconvenient bullet and envelope go away, they only needed
to claim that the envelope Bell gave to one of their agents, was the one
that Nolan received. All that was missing was the three capital letters
from Nolan's initials, which could be easily forged and copied onto
CE-842.
The other FBI claim that Bell denied, was that she passed the envelope to the fully uniformed officer Nolan. If we believe the FBI, then we must believe that Bell not only forgot that she gave her envelope to Nolan on 11/22, but that she also forgot that she told the FBI that, the next day. She also would have to have suffered the delusion that she gave the envelope to plain clothed officers who came into her office.
All of these discrepancies have to have been the result of either deliberate deception by the FBI or a hopelessly incompetent and forgetful Audrey Bell. If Bell was the problem, then she not only forgot virtually every aspect of how she processed those bullet fragments on 11/22/63, but during the minutes between filling out that envelope and her encounters with DA Wade and officer Nolan, she forgot that she had just written "bullet fragments" from the "Right arm" and told both of those men that it contained a single bullet from Governor Connally's gurney, that originated in his left thigh. And then Nolan somehow didn't notice that the envelope he carried around the rest of the day and turned in to the DPD, was clearly labelled as containing multiple fragments from the right arm.
The other FBI claim that Bell denied, was that she passed the envelope to the fully uniformed officer Nolan. If we believe the FBI, then we must believe that Bell not only forgot that she gave her envelope to Nolan on 11/22, but that she also forgot that she told the FBI that, the next day. She also would have to have suffered the delusion that she gave the envelope to plain clothed officers who came into her office.
All of these discrepancies have to have been the result of either deliberate deception by the FBI or a hopelessly incompetent and forgetful Audrey Bell. If Bell was the problem, then she not only forgot virtually every aspect of how she processed those bullet fragments on 11/22/63, but during the minutes between filling out that envelope and her encounters with DA Wade and officer Nolan, she forgot that she had just written "bullet fragments" from the "Right arm" and told both of those men that it contained a single bullet from Governor Connally's gurney, that originated in his left thigh. And then Nolan somehow didn't notice that the envelope he carried around the rest of the day and turned in to the DPD, was clearly labelled as containing multiple fragments from the right arm.
As we ponder the possibility that this was a scam on the part of the
FBI, we might think that the people who worked with nurse Bell would
provide an answer for us. Surely, if she had really told the FBI that
she gave the fragments to Nolan, others would have known about it. But
as I looked at the statements by those who should have known, I found
absolutely no one who claimed either first hand knowledge, one way or
the other, or even a second hand claim that Bell told them who she gave
them too. This is what Dr. Charles Gregory told the Warren Commission,
Mr. SPECTER - What did you do,
Dr. Gregory, with the missile fragments which
you removed from his wrists?
Dr. GREGORY - Those were turned over to the operating room nurse in attendance
with instructions that they should be presented to the appropriate authorities present,
probably a member of the Texas Rangers, but that is as far as I went with it myself.
you removed from his wrists?
Dr. GREGORY - Those were turned over to the operating room nurse in attendance
with instructions that they should be presented to the appropriate authorities present,
probably a member of the Texas Rangers, but that is as far as I went with it myself.
And this is the HSCA's report of what Dr. Gregory told them,
He (Doctor Gregory) stated he did
not on his own knowledge know, however, but he
had been advised [that] Miss Bell obtained a receipt from State Trooper Bob Nolan
[a State of Texas highway patrol officer] and transferred the metal fragment to him in
accordance with instructions from the Governor's office at Parkland Hospital.
had been advised [that] Miss Bell obtained a receipt from State Trooper Bob Nolan
[a State of Texas highway patrol officer] and transferred the metal fragment to him in
accordance with instructions from the Governor's office at Parkland Hospital.
As a full time emergency room physician, at Parkland, it seems strange that he could never provide a straight answer, regarding this nurse who worked with him every day. Why is it that he could only answer that he "had been advised"? And why was the source of his advice, unnamed?
At the request of Dr. Burkley, the President's physician, Parkland Doctor, Kemp Clark researched and prepared a report on 11/23/1963, describing events at the hospital related to the treatment of Connally and President Kennedy. For many years, it was filed away as "Top Secret". In this section, he describes what Drs. Shires and Duke, who assisted Gregory, told him. In the first sentence of the cited segment, "he" refers to Shires.
It seems that Shires' initial statement, which was later altered, was
that officer Nolan was given a single fragment from the
"thigh", since the word was later crossed out and replaced by
"wrist". But look at the oblique description of how Dr. Clark
and Dr. Duke, came to the politically correct conclusion that Nolan was
given wrist fragments,
"I called Dr. Duke, the
resident who was present when I talked with Dr.
Shires. He had heard our conversation, and had assisted Dr. Shires with
this part of the surgery. Two of us conferred, and together agreed to release
to Mrs. Wright the information that according to Dr. Shires, only one bullet
was involved in Governor Connally's injury and that the fragment of this
bullet which was removed by Dr. Gregory from the wrist was in the possession
of Ranger Nolan."
Shires. He had heard our conversation, and had assisted Dr. Shires with
this part of the surgery. Two of us conferred, and together agreed to release
to Mrs. Wright the information that according to Dr. Shires, only one bullet
was involved in Governor Connally's injury and that the fragment of this
bullet which was removed by Dr. Gregory from the wrist was in the possession
of Ranger Nolan."
The wording here is fascinating and much more informative for what it doesn't say than what it does. Notice that there is no straightforward declaration that Bell passed the wrist fragments to Nolan - only that the doctors, "agreed to release to Mrs. Wright the information that..". And why was there, just one day after the assassination, this concern that "only one bullet was involved in Governor Connally's injury"? That sounds much more like something the FBI would be worried about than the doctors.
And why were they parroting the FBI's mistaken claim that this was just a single fragment, rather that multiple fragments, as was clearly written on the envelope Bell was supposed to have filled out?
And why is there no mention anywhere in the report about what supervisor, Audrey Bell had to say? She was on duty that day and just a buzz on the intercom, away. Why wasn't she asked? Had she actually said what the FBI claimed she said, she would have been eager to confirm that she gave the wrist fragments to Nolan.
It would not have been possible for the FBI to have pulled this scam, without the help of a least a doctor or two and probably, the nurse who actually recovered the Connally bullet. Of course, the notion that Parkland doctors or nurses were involved in a sinister coverup, is absurd. What is not so absurd however, is that like many others, they were told that if the investigation proved that there was a conspiracy, it would point to Fidel Castro and lead us into a crisis that could incite a nuclear, world war. In 1963, nuclear war was a fear that we all had to live with, every day of our lives. It was powerful enough to make even the most honest person, tell a little white lie if he was convinced that it was for the benefit of humanity.
The notion that Bell handed over an envelope containing Connally's wrist fragments to officer Nolan, fails in pretty much every conceivable way. Not only does that contradict what both Bell and Nolan told us, but there is no statement on record by any of her coworkers that she did such a thing, and no record of any of them even claiming that she said she did such a thing. But perhaps, what is stranger yet, is that no one claims to have even asked her.
What is easily proven however, is that the FBI falsely claimed that Bell was processing only a single fragment. It is preposterous to think that she told them such a thing. What makes infinitely more sense is, that they needed to make an envelope go away, which really DID contain a single, large fragment or bullet. But they could not do that if her envelope only contained tiny, almost microscopic particles. And so they falsely quoted her, saying that she dealt with a single, metal fragment. And of course, their claim that she stated that she turned her single fragment over to officer Nolan, is equally preposterous.
Nolan's envelope was turned in at approximately 8:30PM on 11/22/63. From then on, the FBI had unrestricted access to the evidence and the right to open and inspect it. Whatever was really in Nolan's envelope, had to have been known to the FBI, prior to their interviews of Nolan and Bell. If it had really contained tiny particles, they certainly would have said so, instead of referring to what could only have been, the singular content of the envelope Nolan delivered.
The nurse who spoke to district attorney Wade and gave an envelope to Nolan could not have been Audrey Bell. Three men, Governor Connally, DA Henry Wade, and officer Bobby Nolan, all confirmed that this nurse recovered a bullet from Connally's gurney and then showed it to Wade, before turning it over to officer Nolan. The envelope Bell processed, was given to an FBI agent, which is why it was never delivered to the Dallas police department, or at least, why there is no surviving record that it was.
In contrast to all of these very solid corroborations, we have 100% denial by the four men who examined the bullet that Tomlinson found, that it was CE399. Unlike many other issues related to the case, this one is not a tough call. It seems that J. Edgar Hoover agreed, because in recordings of telephone conversations between him and LBJ, he suggested that Connally was wounded because he came between the President and an assassin, and that if Connally had not come between them, JFK would have taken his bullet.
LBJ:
How did it happen they hit Connally?
JEH:
Connally turned to the President, when the first shot was fired
and I think that in turning.. it was where he got hit.
LBJ:
If he hadn't turned he probably wouldn't have gotten hit?
JEH:
I think that is very likely.
LBJ:
Would the President've gotten hit by the second one?
JEH:
No, the President wasn't hit with the second one.
LBJ:
I say, if Connally hadn't been in his way?
JEH: Oh, yes, yes. The President would no doubt have been hit!
Today, we know that that scenario was not correct, but it is hard to
imagine Hoover believing that Connally was hit by a different assassin,
unless he had seen evidence for such a thing. The bullet or large
fragment that Nolan turned in, was obviously, not from Oswald's rifle.
If it was, the FBI would have flaunted it as absolute proof of the
accused assassin's guilt. Instead, it provided absolute proof that
Connally was hit by a bullet from a different assassin. Until recently,
only Hoover and a handful of others, were aware of that.