Dr.
Kemp Clark Volume VI
TESTIMONY
OF DR. WILLIAM KEMP
The testimony of Dr. William Kemp Clark was taken at 11:50 a.m., on March
21, 1964, at
Mr. SPECTER. Would you stand up please, Dr. Clark, and raise your right
hand?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give before the
President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy in this
deposition
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proceeding
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Dr. CLARK. I do.
Mr. SPECTER. You may be seated.
Dr. CLARK. Thank you.
Mr. SPECTER. The President's Commission is investigating all facts
related to the Assassination of President Kennedy, and you have been asked to
testify in this deposition proceeding relating to the medical treatment received
by President Kennedy at Parkland Memorial Hospital and all facts incident
thereto.
Dr. Clark, have you received a letter from the President's Commission
enclosing a copy of the Executive Order establishing 'the Commission' and a copy
of a Senate and House Joint Resolution about the Commission, and a letter
relating
to
the taking of testimony by the Commission?
Dr. CLARK. I have.
Mr. SPECTER. And are you willing to proceed with this deposition today,
even though 3 days have not elapsed between the time you received the letter and
this morning?
Dr. CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you state your full name for the record, please?
Dr. CLARK. William Kemp Clark.
Mr. SPECTER Will you outline in a general way your educational
background, please?
Dr. CLARK. Yes. I graduated
from the
Would you like the professional qualifications?
Mr. SPECTER. Yes; may I have the professional qualifications in summary
form, if you will, please.
Dr. CLARK. I am beard certified by the American Board of Neurological
Surgery. I am a Fellow with the
Mr. SPECTER. What is the Harvey Cushing Society, by the way?
Dr. CLARK. It is the largest society of neurological surgeons in the
world.
Mr. SPECTER. And what do your duties consist of with respect to the
Dr. CLARK. I am in charge of the division of neurological surgery and
carry the responsibility of administering this department or this division, to
arrange the instruction of medical students in neurological surgery and to
conduct research in this field.
Mr. SPECTER. What were your duties back on November 22, 1963?
Dr. CLARK. Essentially these. I
also, as chairman of the division, have the responsibility as director of
neurological surgery at
Mr. SPECTER. Did you receive notification on November 22, 1963, that the
President had been wounded and was en route to this hospital?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; I did.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know at approximately what time you got that
notification?
Dr. CLARK. Approximately 12:20 or 12:30.
Mr. SPECTER. And what action, if any, did you take as a result of
receiving that notification ?
Dr. CLARK. I went immediately to the emergency room at
Mr. SPECTER. And at approximately what time did you then arrive at the
emergency room ?
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Dr. CLARK. I would estimate it took a minute and a half to two minutes,
so I would guess that I arrived approximately 12:30.
Mr. SPECTER. And who was present, if anyone, upon your arrival, attending
to the President?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Jenkins, that is M. T. Jenkins, I suppose I ought to say,
Dr. Ronald Jones, Dr. Malcolm Perry, Dr. James Carrico; arriving either with me
or immediately thereafter were Dr. Robert McClelland, Dr. Paul Peters, and Dr.
Charles Baxter.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you observe the President's condition to be on your
arrival there?
Dr. CLARK. The President was
lying on his back on the emergency cart.
Dr. Perry was performing a tracheotomy.
There were chest tubes being inserted.
Dr. Jenkins was assisting the President's respirations through a tube in
his trachea. Dr. Jones and Dr.
Carrico were administering fluids and blood intravenously.
The President was making a few spasmodic respiratory efforts. I assisted.
in withdrawing the endotracheal tube
from the throat as Dr. Perry was then ready to insert the tracheotomy tube .
I then examined the President briefly.
My findings showed his pupils were widely dilated, did not react to
light, and his eyes were deviated outward with a slight skew deviation.
I then examined the wound in the back of the President's head.
This was a large, gaping wound in the right posterior part, with cerebral
and cerebellar tissue being damaged and exposed.
There was considerable blood loss evident on the carriage, the floor, and
the clothing of some of the people present. I would estimate 1,500 cc. of blood
being present.
As I was examining the President's wound, I felt for a carotid pulse and
felt none. Therefore, I began
external cardiac massage and asked that a cardiotachioscope be connected.
Because of my position it was difficult to administer cardiac massage.
However, Dr. Jones stated that he felt a femoral pulse.
Mr. SPECTER. What is a femoral pulse?
Dr. CLARK. A femoral artery is the main artery going to the legs, and at
the junction of the leg and the trunk you can feel the arterial pulsation in
this artery. Because of my position,
cardiac massage was taken over by Dr. Malcolm Perry, who was more advantageously
situated.
Mr. SPECTER. What did the cardiotachioscope show at that time?
Dr. CLARK. By this time the cardiotachioscope, we just call it a cardiac
monitor for a better word----
Mr. SPECTER. That's a good word.
Dr. CLARK. The cardiotachioscope had been attached and Dr. Found Bashour
had arrived. There was transient
electrical activity of the President's heart of an undefined type.
Approximately, at this time the external cardiac massage became
ineffectual and no pulsations could be felt. At this time it was decided to
pronounce the President dead.
Mr. SPECTER. At what time was this fixed ?
Dr. CLARK. Death was fixed at 1 p.m.
Mr. SPECTER. Was that a precise time or an approximate time, or in what
way did you fix the time of death at 1 o'clock?
Dr. CLARK. This was an approximation as it is, first, extremely difficult
to stage precisely when death occurs. Secondly,
no one was monitoring the clock, so an approximation of 1 o'clock was chosen.
Mr. SPECTER. Who was it who actually fixed the time of death?
Dr. CLARK. I did.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you have any part in the filling out of the death
certificate?
Dr. CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did you do with respect to that?
Dr. CLARK. I filled out the death certificate at the request of Dr.
George Burkley, the President's physician at the White House, signed the death
certificate as a registered physician in the State of
Texas, and gave this to him to accompany the body to Washington.
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Mr. SPECTER. Did you advise anyone else in the Presidential party of the
death of the President?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; I told Mrs. Kennedy, the President's wife, of his death.
Mr. SPECTER. And what, if anything, did she respond to you?
Dr. CLARK. She told me that she knew it and thanked me for our efforts.
Mr. SPECTER. Were any bullets or parts of bullets found in the
President's body?
Dr. CLARK. Not by me, nor did I see any such missiles recovered at
Mr. SPECTER. Were you a part of any press conference which followed on
the day of the assassination?
Dr. CLARK. Yes sir; I was.
Mr. SPECTER. And who made the arrangements for the press conference?
Dr. CLARK. Mr. Malcolm Kilduff, the Presidential press secretary.
Mr. SPECTER. At what time did the press conference occur?
Dr. CLARK. Approximately 2:30.
Mr. SPECTER. Where was it held?
Dr. CLARK. It was held in room 101-102,
Mr. SPECTER. What mechanical instruments were used, if any, by the press
at the conference?
Dr. CLARK. Tape recorders and television cameras, as well as the usual
note pads and pencils, and so forth.
Mr. SPECTER. And who was interviewed during the course of the press
conference and photographed?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Malcolm Perry and myself.
Mr. SPECTER. No one else?
Dr. CLARK. No.
Mr. SPECTER. What, if anything, did you say then in the course of that
press conference?
Dr. CLARK. I described the President's wound in his head in very much the
same way as I have described it here. I
was asked if this wound was an entrance wound, an exit wound, or what, and I
said it could be an exit wound, but I felt it was a tangential wound.
Mr. SPECTER. Which wound did you refer to at this time?
Dr. CLARK. The wound in the head.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you describe at that time what you meant by
"tangential"?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; I did.
Mr. SPECTER. What definition of "tangential" did you make at
that time?
Dr. CLARK. As I remember, I defined the word "tangential" as
being---striking an object obliquely, not squarely or head on.
Mr. SPECTER. Will you describe at this time in somewhat greater detail
the consequences of a tangential wound as contrasted with another type of a
striking?
Dr. CLARK. Let me begin by saying that the damage suffered by an organ
when struck by a bullet or other missile---
Mr. SPECTER. May the record show that I interrupted the deposition for
about 2 minutes to ascertain what our afternoon schedule would be here because
the regular administration office ordinarily closes at 12 o'clock, which was
just about 15 minutes ago, and then we resumed the deposition of Dr. Clark as he
was discussing the concept of tangential and other types of striking. Go ahead,
Doctor.
Dr. CLARK. The effects of any missile striking an organ or a function of
the energy which is shed by the missile in passing through this organ when a
bullet strikes the head, if it is able to pass through rapidly without shedding
any energy into the brain, little damage results, other than that part of the
brain which is directly penetrated by the missile.
However, if it strikes the skull at an angle, it must then penetrate much
more bone than normal, therefore, is likely to shed more energy, striking the
brain a more powerful blow.
Secondly, in striking the bone in this manner, it may cause pieces of the
bone to be blown into the brain and thus act as secondary missiles.
Finally, the bullet itself may be deformed and deflected so that it would
go through or penetrate parts of the brain, not in the usual direct line it was
proceeding.
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Mr. SPECTER. Now, referring back to the press conference, did you define
a tangential wound at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And what else did you state at the press conference at 2:30
on November 22?
Dr. CLARK. I stated that the President had lost considerable blood, that
one of the contributing causes of death was this massive blood loss, that I was
unable to state how many wounds the President had sustained or from what angle
they could have come. I
finally remember stating that the President's wound was obviously a massive one
and was insurvivable.
Mr. SPECTER. What did Dr. Perry say at that time, during the course of
that press conference, when the cameras were operating?
Dr. CLARK. As I recall, Dr. Perry stated that there was a small wound h
the President's throat, that he made the incision for the tracheotomy through
this wound. He discovered that the
trachea was deviated so he felt that the missile had entered the President's
chest. He asked for chest tubes then to be placed in the pleural cavities. He
was asked if this wound in the throat was an entrance wound or an exit wound. He
said it was small and clean so it could have been an entrance wound.
Mr. SPECTER. Did he say anything else that you can recollect now in
response to the question of whether it was a wound of entrance or exit?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir; I cannot recall.
Mr. SPECTER. Were you a part of a second press conference, Dr. Clark?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And when did that second press conference occur?
Dr. CLARK. On Saturday, the 23d.
Mr. SPECTER. At about what time?
Dr. CLARK. Sometime in the morning, as I recall.
Mr. SPECTER. Going back to the first press conference for just a minute,
which television networks were involved on that ?
Dr. CLARK. Without sounding facetious, everyone, including some I had
never heard of.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you recollect any besides the three major networks--ABC,
CBS, and NBC?
Dr. CLARK. This is all I remember. I
remember seeing in the room two reporters from
Mr. SPECTER. Now, going back to the second conference which I had started
asking you about, had you had an opportunity to tell me what time of day that
was?
Dr. CLARK. It was in the morning, as I recall.
Mr. SPECTER. And what television stations or networks were involved in
the conference ?
Dr. CLARK. Again, all three major networks, and I believe through our
local affiliates. It does not seem as though this one was as Jammed and as full
as t first one.
Mr. SPECTER. And who arranged that press conference?
Dr. CLARK. That press conference was arranged by Mr. Steve Landregan
assistant administrator and public relations officer for the hospital. This is
his office.
Mr. SPECTER. And who spoke at that press conference while the television
cameras were grinding?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Perry and myself.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did you say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Essentially the same thing as I had on the first press
conference again defining tangential, and again describing the' President's
wound as be massive and unsurvivable.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did Dr. Perry, at that time, say ?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Perry said very little. He described the President's
condition as he first saw him, when he was first called, and he described the
manner which he was called to the emergency room.
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Mr. SPECTER. Did he say anything about whether the neck wound was a point
of entry or exit?
Dr. CLARK. I do not remember---I specifically discussed this---may I add
something to what I said in the first press conference?
Mr. SPECTER. Yes; please do, if you find something that comes to mind,
please feel free to add that.
Dr. CLARK. All right. Let me
check what I remember Dr. Perry said at the first press conference.
He was asked if the neck wound could be a wound of entrance or appeared
to be a wound of exit, and Dr. Perry said something like "possibly or
conceivably," or something of this sort.
Mr. SPECTER. And, did he elaborate as to how that projectory would have
been possible in that press conference?
Dr. CLARK. He did not elaborate on this. One of the reporters with
gestures indicated the direction that such a bullet would have to take, and Dr.
Perry quite obviously had to agree that this is the way it had to go to get from
there to the top of his head.
Mr. SPECTER. But that was a possible trajectory under the circumstances?
Dr. CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. How would that have been postulated in terms of striking
specific parts of the body ?
Dr. CLARK. Well, on a speculation, this would mean that the missile would
have had to have been fired from below-- upward or that the President was
hanging upside down.
Mr. SPECTER. Did Dr. Perry discuss anything with you prior to that second
conference about a telephone call from
Dr. CLARK. Yes; he did.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you relate briefly what Dr. Perry told you about that
subject ?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; Dr. Perry stated that he had talked to the Bethesda Naval
Hospital on two occasions that morning and that he knew what the autopsy
findings had shown and that he did not wish to be questioned by the press, as he
had been asked by Bethesda to confine his remarks to that which he knew from
having examined the President, and suggested that the major part of this press
conference be conducted by me.
Mr. SPECTER. Was anyone else present when he expressed those thoughts to
you?
Dr. CLARK. I believe that Mr. Price and Dr. Shires were present. I could
be wrong on that.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, were you a part of a third press conference?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And when did that occur?
Dr. CLARK. During the following week--I have forgotten exactly the day.
Mr. SPECTER And what networks were involved at that time ?
Dr. CLARK. It was CBS.
Mr. SPECTER. Was that a television conference?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; this was filmed.
Mr. SPECTER. And who arranged that conference?
Dr. CLARK. Again, Mr. Landregan.
Mr. SPECTER. And who spoke at that conference?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Shaw, Dr. Shires, Dr. Baxter, Dr. McClelland, Dr. Jenkins,
Dr. Gieseke, and myself.
Mr. SPECTER. Was Dr. Perry there at that time ?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; Dr. Perry was there.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you outline briefly what you said at that time, if it
differed in any way from what you said before?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir; it did not.
Mr. SPECTER. What did Dr. Perry say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Essentially the same thing that he had said before, describing
the wound in the throat, describing the condition of the President, how he was
called and so forth.
Mr. SPECTER. Did he comment at that time as to whether it was an entrance
wound or an exit wound or what?
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Dr. CLARK. I don't remember.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did Dr. Shaw say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Shaw described Governor Connally's chest wound.
He described what was done for him, the operation in some detail.
He described the fact that Governor Connally was conscious up until the
time he was anesthetized in the operating room.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did Dr. Shires say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Shires described the wounds suffered by Oswald and what
was done in an attempt to save him.
Mr. SPECTER. And how about Dr. Gieseke, what did he say?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Gieseke corroborated Dr. Shaw's statements regarding
Governor Connally's condition and his remaining conscious until he was
anesthetized by Dr. Gieseke.
Mr. SPECTER. What did Dr. Baxter say at that conference?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Baxter described President Kennedy's condition as he saw
it, stated that he had assisted in the placing in the chest tubes on President
Kennedy, and that he had been present at Oswald's operation.
Mr. SPECTER. Did Dr. Baxter describe the neck wound that President
Kennedy suffered with specific respect as to whether it was point of entry or
exit?
Dr. CLARK. I don't remember--I don't believe he did.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, have we covered all the doctors who spoke at that press
conference?
Dr. CLARK. Except Dr. Jenkins.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did Dr. Jenkins say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Jenkins described being called to attend President
Kennedy, how he got there with his anesthesia machine, that he found an
endotrachea tube had already been inserted.
He hooked up and he described the activities in the emergency room,
operating room No. 1, and he described the stopping of the President's heart and
the decision to pronounce him dead. He
went ahead to describe the operation on Mr. Oswald and the extent of blood loss,
etc., which he had sustained.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, were you involved in still a subsequent press
conference?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; I was.
Mr. SPECTER. And with whom was that press conference?
Dr. CLARK. This was with NBC and was approximately 2 weeks after the
assassination.
Mr. SPECTER. And who arranged that press conference?
Dr. CLARK. Mr. Landregan.
Mr. SPECTER. And was that
filmed?
Dr CLARK. Yes, that was also
filmed.
Mr. SPECTER. And who spoke at that time?
Dr. CLARK. I spoke alone as a representative of the department and so in
the conference.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did you say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Essentially the same thing as had been stated before.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, were you a
part of still another press conference?
Dr .CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. When was that?
Dr. CLARK. The week after the assassination.
Mr. SPECTER. And with whom was that press conference
Dr. CLARK. With BBC.
Mr. SPECTER. Who arranged that?
Dr. CLARK. Mr. Landregan, again.
Mr. SPECTER. And did anyone else participate in that press conference
with you?
Dr. CLARK. No.
Mr. SPECTER. And was that televised, filmed, or simply recorded?
Dr. CLARK. It was simply recorded.
Mr. SPECTER. And what did you say at that time?
Dr. CLARK. Exactly the same thing as I have said at the previous
conferences, describing the President's condition, his wound, and what
transpired after I arrived.
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Mr. SPECTER. At any of the press conferences were you asked about a hole
on the left side of the President's head?
Dr. CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. At which conference or conferences?
Dr. CLARK. I was asked about this at the CBS conference and I stated that
I personally saw no such wound.
Mr. SPECTER. And who asked you about it at that time, if' you recall?
Dr. CLARK. The man who was conducting the conference.
This was brought up by one of the physicians, I think Dr. McClelland,
that there was some discussion of such a wound.
Mr. SPECTER. Did Dr. McClelland say that he had seen such a wound?
Dr. CLARK. No.
Mr. SPECTER. What was the origin, if you know, as to the inquiry on the
wound, that is, who suggested that there might have been a wound on the left
side?
Dr. CLARK. I don't recall--I don't recall.
Mr. SPECTER. Had there been some comment that the priests made a comment
that there was a wound on the left side of the head?
Dr. CLARK. I heard this subsequently from one of the reporters who
attended the press conference with NBC.
Mr. SPECTER. Were priests actually in trauma room 1 ?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Where were they in relation to the President at that time?
Dr. CLARK. They were on the right side of the President's body.
Mr. SPECTER Now, you described the massive wound at the top of the
President's head, with the brain protruding; did you observe any other hole or
wound on the President's head?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir; I did not.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you observe, to make my question very specific, a bullet
hole or what appeared to be a bullet hole in the posterior scalp, approximately
2.5 cm. laterally to the right, slightly above the external occipital
protuberant, measuring 15 by 6 mm.
Dr. CLARK. No, sir; I did not. This
could easily have been hidden in the blood and hair.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you observe any bullet wounds or any other wound on the
back side of the President?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir; I did not.
Mr. SPECTER. Was the President ever turned over while he was in the
emergency room?
Dr. CLARK. Not in my presence; no, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you leave before, with, or after all the other
doctors who were in attendance?
Dr. CLARK. I left after all the other doctors who were in attendance,
because I stayed with Dr. Burkley until we had the death certificate signed and
the arrangements had been made to transport the President's body out of
Mr. SPECTER. You say Dr. Burkley or Buckley?
Dr. CLARK. Dr. Burkley.
Mr. SPECTER. That's the President's private physician?
Dr. CLARK. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Clark, would your observations be consistent with some
other alleged facts in this matter, such as the presence of a lateral wound
measuring 15 by 6 ram. on the posterior scalp approximately 2.5 cm. laterally to
the right and slightly above the external occipital proturberant--that is to
say, could such a hole have been present without your observing it?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, in the presence of this much destruction of skull and
scalp above such a wound and lateral to it and the brief period of time
available for examination--yes, such a wound could be present.
Mr. SPECTER. The physicians, surgeons who examined the President at the
autopsy specifically, Commander James J. Humes, H-u-m-e-s (spelling); Commander
J. Thornton Boswell, B-o-s-w-e-l-l (spelling), and Lt. Col. Pierre A. Finck, F-i-n-c-k
(spelling), expressed the Joint opinion that the wound which
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I
have just described as being 15 by 6 mm. and 2.5 cm. to the right and slightly
above the external occipital protuberant was a point of entrance of a bullet in
the President's head at a time when the President's head was moved slightly
forward with his chin dropping into his chest, when he was riding in an open car
at a slightly downhill position. With
those facts being supplied to them in a hypothetical fashion, they concluded
that the bullet would have taken a more or less straight course, exiting from
the center of the President's skull at a point indicated by an opening from
three portions of the skull reconstructed, which had been brought to
them---would those findings and those conclusions be consistent with your
observations if you assumed the additional facts which I have brought to your
attention, in addition to those which you have personally observed?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Clark, in the line of your specialty, could you comment
as to the status of the President with respect to competency, had he been able
to survive the head injuries which you have described and the total wound which
he had?
Dr. CLARK. This, of course, is a question of tremendous importance.
Just let me state that the loss of cerebrellar tissue would probably have
been of minimal consequence in the performance of his duties.
The loss of the right occipital and probably part of the right parietal
lobes would have been of specific importance.
This would have led to a visual field deficit, which would have
interfered in a major way with his ability to read, not the interpretation of
reading matter per se, but the acquisition of information from the printed page.
He would have had specific difficulty with finding the next line in a book or
paper. This would have proven to be
a specific handicap in getting information on which, as the President of the
How much damage he would have had to his motor system, that is, the
ability to control or coordinate his left extremities, I would not know.
This conceivably could have been a problem in enabling him to move about,
to appear in public, et cetera. Finally,
and probably most important, since the brain, far as at its higher levels,
largely as a unit, the loss of this much brain tissue likely would have impaired
his ability in abstract reasoning, imagination; whereas, the part of the
President's brain struck is not that part specifically concerned with these
matters. The effect of loss of
considerable brain tissue does affect the total performance of the organ in
these matters. There would be grave
doubts in my mind as to our ability as physicians to give a clear answer
regarding his ability to function as President of the
Our ability to judge this is sometimes sorely tried when dealing with
people with considerably less intellectual and moral demands made upon them.
Mr. SPECTER. Doctor, did you prepare certain written reports based on
your participation in the treatment of President Kennedy?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; I did.
Mr. SPECTER. And I now show you a document which has been supplied to the
President's Commission, which we have marked as Commission Exhibit No. 392, and
I now show you the second and third sheets, which purport to be the summary made
by you and ask if that was prepared by you?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; it was.
Mr. SPECTER. And, are the facts set forth in those two sheets true and
correct?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And I now show you a 2 3/4-page summary which purports to
bear your signature, being dated November 22, 1963, and I ask you if that, in
fact, is your signature?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; it is.
Mr. SPECTER. And, was, in fact, this report made in your own hand
concerning the treatment which you rendered to the President?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER And are the facts set forth therein true and correct?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you made any other written report or other writings of
any sort concerning this matter?
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Dr. CLARK. No; I have not.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you been interviewed or discussed this matter with any
Federal representative prior to today?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; I have.
Mr. SPECTER. And whom did you talk to?
Dr. CLARK. I talked to an FBI agent a few days after the assassination,
in Mr. Jack Price's office.
Mr. SPECTER. And who is Mr. Price, for the record at this point?
Dr. CLARK. He is .the administrator of
Mr. SPECTER. Did he ask you anything further?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you tell him anything further?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir. I offered
to answer any questions he might have asked and he said that was all he wished
to know.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you talk to any other representative of the Federal
Government at any time before today?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; I talked to a member of the Secret Service approximately
a .month after the assassination. I
talked to him on ,two occasions, once by phone, and he asked me if I had a copy
of the written report submitted by Dr. Ronald Jones, and I told him I did not.
I subsequently talked to him in person.
He showed me the summary that I prepared .and sent to Dr. Burkley, the
same document I just identified here, and my own handwritten report of the
events of the afternoon of the 22d of November.
He asked me if I prepared these and I told him I had.
He asked me if I had any other written records. I told him I did not. He
said,
"Do
you have any additional information than you have written?"
I said I did not. He thanked
me very much for coming.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you now summarized all of the conversations you have
had
with any representative of the Federal Government prior to today?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And have you had any conversations with any representative
of the State government prior to today?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Before you were sworn in to have your deposition taken, did
you and I have a discussion about this matter?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir; a pleasant discussion of what the function of this
Commission is.
Mr. SPECTER. And, also, all of what I would be asking once the record was
open
and we started taking your deposition?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And have we covered on the record with the court reporter
transcribing all the subjects which you and I discussed informally and prior to
the start of the more formal session here?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, air.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have anything which you would care to add, which you
think might possibly be helpful to the Commission in any way, Dr. Clark?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir; I'm afraid I don't.
Mr. SPECTER. Thank you very much for coming.
We surely appreciate it, Dr. Clark. Thank you, Dr. Clark.
Dr. CLARK. Thank you.
TESTIMONY
OF DR. KEMP CLARK RESUMED
The testimony of Dr. Kemp
Clark was taken at 12:05 p.m., on March 25, 1964, at
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Mr. SPECTER. May the record show that Dr. Kemp Clark has returned to have
a few additional questions asked of him following the deposition which was taken
on March 21.
Dr. Clark, the purpose of this additional deposition is the same as the
first one, except that I am going to ask you a few additional questions based
upon a translation of an article which appeared in "L' Express", which
has been provided to me since the deposition of last Saturday.
Would you please stand up again and raise your right hand?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give before the
President's Commission in this deposition proceeding will be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Dr. CLARK. I do.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Clark, I have made available to you, have I not, what
purports to be a translation from French of the "L' Express" issue of
February 20, 1964?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And let me read for the record and for you this excerpt.
"On his part according to the New York Times of November 27, 'Dr.
Kemp Clark, who signed the Kennedy death certificate, declared that a bullet hit
him right where the knot of his necktie was.'
He added," apparently referring to you, " 'this bullet
penetrated into his chest and did not come out'.
The surgeon went on to say that .the second wound of the President was
'tangential' and that it had been caused by a bullet which hit 'the right side
of his head' "
Dr. Clark, my first question is--what, if anything, did you say to a New
York Times representative or anyone, for that matter, with respect to whether a
bullet hit the President where the knot of his necktie was.
Dr. CLARK. I remember using
the phrase to describe the location of a wound in the President's throat as
being at the point of his knot of his necktie.
I do not recall ever specifically stating that this was an entrance
wound, as has been said before. I
was not present when the President arrived and did not see this wound.
If any statement regarding its entrance or exit was made by me, it was
indicating that there was a small wound described there by the physicians who
first saw the President.
A specific quotation regarding entrance or exit, I feel, is a partial
quotation or incompletely quoted from me. The
part pertaining to the bullet entering the President's chest rests on the
reasons for the placing of the chest tubes which were being inserted when I
arrived. It was the assumption,
based on the previously described deviation of the trachea and the presence of
blood in the strap muscles of the neck that a wound or missile wound might have
entered the President's chest.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, what was there, Dr. Clark, in the deviation of the
trachea and the presence of blood in the strap muscles of the neck which so
indicated?
Dr. CLARK. Assuming that a missile had entered the pleural space, if
there had been bleeding into the pleural space, the trachea would have been
deviated or had there been leakage of air into the pleural space, the trachea
would have been deviated, as it is the main conduit of air to the two lungs.
Collapse of a lung would have produced, or will produce deviation of the
trachea. There being a wound in the
throat, there being blood in the strap muscles and there being deviation of the
trachea in the presence of a grievously wounded patient without opportunity for
X-ray or other diagnostic measures, Dr. Perry assumed that the findings in the
neck were due to penetration of the missile into the chest.
For this reason, he requested chest tubes to be placed.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, is the deviation of the trachea and the presence of
bleeding on the strap muscles of the neck and the other factors which you have
recited equally consistent with a wound of exit on the neck?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir. Furthermore, let me say that the presence of the
deviation of the trachea, with blood in the strap muscles, are by no means
diagnostic of penetration of the chest, and the placing of the chest tubes was
prophylactic had such an eventuality occurred.
Mr. SPECTER. Was there any external indication that there was a missile
in the chest?
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29
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Was it the preliminary thought that the missile might have
been in the chest by virtue of the
fact that this wound was noted on the neck?
Dr. CLARK. Yes; with the other factors I have enumerated.
Mr. SPECTER. And at that time, not knowing what the angle might have been
or any of the surrounding circumstances, then you proceeded to take
precautionary measures as if there might have been a missile in the chest at
some point?
Dr. CLARK.. That is correct. Measures were taken, assuming the worst had
happened.
Mr. SPECTER. As the quotation appears in the issue of "L'
Express," "This bullet penetrated into his chest and did not come
out," would that then be an accurate quotation of something that you said,
Dr. Clark?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Clark, while you are here again, I would like to ask you
a few additional questions.
Let the record show that since I have taken your deposition, I have taken
the depositions of many additional witnesses and none has been transcribed, so I
am not in a position to refer to a record to see what I asked you before or to
frankly recollect precisely what I asked you before, so, to some extent these
questions may be overlapping. Did you observe the President's back at that time
when he was in the emergency room?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. What was the reason for your not looking at his back?
Dr. CLARK. First, the duration of time that the President was alive in
the emergency room was a brief duration. All efforts were bent toward saving his
life rather than inspection for precise location of wounds. After his death it
was not our position to try to evaluate all of the conceivable organs or areas
of the body, knowing that an autopsy would be performed and that this would be
far more meaningful than a cursory external examination here.
Mr. SPECTER. Was there any bleeding wound in the President's back?
Dr. CLARK. In the back of his head.
Mr. SPECTER. But how about on the back of his body, was there any
bleeding wound noted?
Dr. CLARK. Since we did not turn the President over, I cannot answer that
specifically. We saw none, as I previously stated.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you undertake any action to ascertain whether there had
been a violation to a major extent of the back part of his body?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. That is, none was taken by you personally?
Dr. CLARK. That's correct.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Carrico testified earlier today, being the first doctor
to reach him, that he felt the President's back to determine whether there was
any major violation of that area. Would that be a customary action to take to
ascertain whether there was any major wound, by the doctor who first examined
the patient?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Assuming that the President had a bullet wound of entry on
the upper right-posterior thorax, just above the upper border of the scapula, 14
cms. from the right acromion process, 14 cm. below the tip of the right mastoid
process, would there have been a bloody type wound?
Dr. CLARK. I'm sorry--your question?
Mr. SPECTER. Would such a wound of entry by a missile traveling
approximately 2,000 feet per second, approximately
Dr. CLARK. No, sir. Such a
wound could have easily been overlooked in the presence of the much larger wound
in the right occipital region of the President's skull, from which considerable
blood loss had occurred which stained the back of his head, neck and upper
shoulders.
Mr. SPECTER, Dr. Clark, I want to ask you a question as it is raised here
in "L' Express".
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"How did the practitioner who signed the death certificate of the
President fail to take the trouble to turn him over?"
Of course, that refers to you and will you give me your answer to that
question, as the news media has posed it?
Dr. CLARK. Quite simply, as I previously stated, the duration of time the
President was alive was occupied by attempts to save his life.
When these failed, further examination of the patient's body was not
done, as it was felt that little could be gained or learned that would be
helpful in deciding the course of events leading up to his assassination, that
is, examination by me, as I knew an autopsy would be performed which would be
far more meaningful and revealing than any cursory external examination
conducted in the emergency room by me.
Mr. SPECTER.. Now, was the action taken by you in signing the death
certificate based upon the examination which you made in accordance with what
you believed to be good medical practice?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. So that the characterization here of "L' Express"
that the failure to turn the President over would not constitute gross
negligence in your professional Judgment, as they have characterized it here.
Dr. CLARK. No, sir. One other point, if I may here?
Mr. SPECTER. Yes.
Dr. CLARK. In order to move the President's body to
This is the second part of the signing of the death certificate.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have anything to add, Dr. Clark, which you think
might be helpful at all in the inquiry being made by the President's Commission?
Dr. CLARK. NO; I don't think so.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you and I chat for just a moment or two about the
questions I would ask you on this supplemental deposition before it went on the
record?
Dr. CLARK. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And have you talked to any representative of the Federal
Government between the time I took your deposition last Saturday and this
Wednesday morning?
Dr. CLARK. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Thank you very much, Dr. Clark.
Dr. CLARK. All right.
Dr.
Robert Nelson McClelland
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