The Terminal Annex sits on the far southern edge of Dealey Plaza at the intersection of Houston and Commerce streets. In another one of those unusual coincidences that populate the assassination story, this art deco building played an curious role in the confluence of events of 11.22.63.
Back in 1963, this post office building was home to U.S. Postmaster Harry D. Holmes. As postmaster, Holmes already had a relationship with the FBI, keeping authorities abreast of suspicious activity at Dallas post office boxes. It was in this very building -- just a stone's throw from the Book Depository's sixth floor window -- that Lee Harvey Oswald rented post office box # 6225 under the alias A.J. Hidell. When Oswald purchased the mail order rifle used in the murder attempt on General Walker and later the assassination of President Kennedy, he had the gun delivered to his PO box in this building.
From the fifth floor window of this building on 11.22.63, Holmes reported that he was watching the motorcade with binoculars and witnessed the assassination. Because of his vantage point and the binoculars, Warren Commission investigators asked him whether he had noticed any suspicious activity in the rail yard beyond the Grassy Knoll, prompting a classic reply: "No. I saw nothing suspicious and I am a trained suspicioner".
Immediately after the assassination, Holmes took a direct role in the investigation, telling the Warren Commission: "I never quit. I didn't get to bed for two days...I was doing all I could to help other agencies."
Among other things, Holmes mounted an investigation into how Oswald obtained the mail-order Italian war surplus rifle, and he tried unsuccessfully to track down the money order used to purchase the gun. Curiously, Holmes was allowed to take part in the interrogation of Oswald after his arrest on Sunday morning, November 24. He told the Warren Commission that he had driven his wife to church but decided to return to the police station where he encountered Dallas police Capt. Fritz, who invited him to take part in the questioning. Just after the interrogation, Oswald would be shot and killed by Jack Ruby in the police headquarters basement.
Holmes' notes of the interview can be found in Warren Commission Exhibit 2064 on pages 488 to 492 of Volume 24. They also appear as Holmes Exhibit No. 4 pages 177 to 181 of Volume 20, and, finally, in Appendix XI pages 633 to 637.
Note how the bulb actually nods toward the bullet just at the instant before it penetrates it (left bottom). That is the physical effect that caused Kennedy's slight nod forward just as he was hit in the head from a shot from the front.
The Death of a Lightbulb is cited by Bernd Karger - Chapter 9 Forensic Ballistics.
In intracranial gunshot wounds, several of the above-mentioned factors
enhance the degree of tissue disruption. The inelastic quality and the high
water content of brain tissue make it per se very vulnerable to cavitation and
stretch-mechanism. The penetration of the skull can imply the generation
of secondary missiles in the form of bone (Fig. 9.7) or bullet fragments [28,
41, 42, 43, 44] and a tendency towards early tumbling or deformation of the
bullet. Kirkpatrick and DiMaio [44], for example, were able to demonstrate
intracerebral bone chips solely by digital palpation of the brain in 16 out of 42
cases of civilian gunshot wounds to the brain.
Even more important, intracranial trajectories gain a new quality by the rigid
skull functioning as a non-yielding wall. Because brain tissue is almost incompressible, intracranial temporary cavitation and surrounding overpressure meet
counter-pressure from the skull. The skull will, so to speak, try to overcome the
principle of nonconfinement of the cavity by denying the free space necessary for
a gradual decrease of radial tissue displacement and associated overpressure. The
volume of the intracranial temporary cavity will consequently stay smaller than a
cavity formed under identical conditions in tissue not confined in a casing.
Intracranial overpressures around the expanding temporary cavity, however,
clearly exceed the pressures found in nonconfined tissue [4, 10, 45, 46]. These
high dynamic pressures, the asymmetric shape of the temporary cavity, and
unilaterally fixed tissue structures lead to shear forces within brain tissue. The
unyielding skull does not allow the brain to expand, so the brain will transfer the
overpressures to the skull. In other words, the brain’s surface gets pushed with
great force against the inner table of the neurocranium and the brain stem gets
forced down into the foramen magnum. Consequently, the layer of cerebral tissue
The skull will at first be slightly stretched by intracranial overpressures. If the
skull’s capacity to elastically stretch is surpassed, there will be indirect skull
fractures, i.e., fracture lines without contact to the primary bony entrance and
exit defects. Because the base of the skull is inhomogenous and less resistant to
stretching than the vault, preferential locations are the roofs of the orbitae
(Fig. 9.10) and the ethmoidal plates in the anterior cranial fossa [50]. While
secondary radial fractures originating from the gunshot defects are induced by
the bullet’s impact, tertiary concentric fractures connecting the radial fracture
lines (Fig. 9.11) are indirect heaving fractures [51, 52, 53] functioning as additional stress relief for internal overpressures. If the internal pressures are high
enough, indirect skull fractures will combine to an ‘‘explosive’’ type of
head injury [54] with comminuted fractures of the skull and laceration of the
brain (Fig. 9.12).
So the rigid skull which protects the brain from most blunt trauma also makes
the brain by far the most susceptible organ in the body to penetrating ballistic
injury. Intracranial pressure peaks and its effects vary greatly, depending on ballistic and anatomical parameters. Mathematically, the peak pressures recorded
vary in direct proportion to the projected cross-sectional area of the missile and
the square of its velocity but in inverse proportion to the distance from the point of
origin [4, 10, 45, 46]. In more practical terms, bullet wounds from handguns and
rifles differ considerably with regard to their effect in penetrating gunshots to the
head. Bullets from conventional handguns can produce indirect skull fractures
and pronounced cerebral tissue disruption [28]. Centerfire rifles, whether military
or hunting, almost invariably cause a strong ‘‘explosive’’ effect with comminution
of bone and laceration of at least part of the brain [42, 55, 56, 57]. Hits from
shotguns differ substantially depending on the range of fire. Close range shots
have a tremendous effect similar to centerfire rifles by literally riddling brain tissue
CHEMICAL AND FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF JFK ASSASSINATION BULLET LOTS: IS A SECOND SHOOTER POSSIBLE
By Cliff Spiegelman, William A. Tobin, William D. James, Simon J. Sheather, Stuart Wexler and D. Max Roundhill Texas A&M University, Forensic Engineering International, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, Hightstown High School and Chem Consulting The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) traumatized the nation. In this paper we show that evidence used to rule out a second assassin is fundamentally flawed. This paper discusses new compositional analyses of bullets reportedly to have been derived from the same batch as those used in the assassination. The new analyses show that the bullet fragments involved in the assassination are not nearly as rare as previously reported. In particular, the new test results are compared to key bullet composition testimony presented before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). Matches of bullets within the same box of bullets are shown to be much more likely than indicated in the House Select Committee on Assassinations’ testimony. Additionally, we show that one of the ten test bullets is considered a match to one or more assassination fragments. This finding means that the bullet fragments from the assassination that match could have come from three or more separate bullets. Finally, this paper presents a case for reanalyzing the assassination bullet fragments and conducting the necessary supporting scientific studies. These analyses will shed light on whether the five bullet fragments constitute three or more separate bullets. If the assassination fragments are derived from three or more separate bullets, then a second assassin is likely, as the additional bullet would not easily be attributable to the main suspect, Mr. Oswald,
"Details of quality control material analyses are in supporting material but, in each case, the standard deviation of measurement distributions overlaps with the quoted uncertainty of NIST values. NIST specifies that the uncertainties for their certified standard values are not statistically derived measures of variability but rather are “based on judgment.” Tabulated results of Trace Elements Research Lab standards are available in online supporting material."
Chemical and forensic analysis of JFK assassination bullet lots: Is a second shooter possible? PDF
In late 2004, Stuart Wexler, a high school social studies teacher in Hightstown, New Jersey, was examining this very contradiction. He approached me about helping with a study of the brand of bullets thought to have been used by Oswald to kill the president. Wexler and a chemist friend of his had bought a group of Western-Winchester Cartridge Co. Mannlicher-Carcano bullets to verify Guinn’s assumption that bullets were individually chemically distinct. He wanted to analyze the bullet fragments using science-based techniques not available to investigators decades earlier.
I put together a team including Wexler, two chemists, a metallurgist and two statisticians. We used neutron activation analysis to measure the chemical composition of the bullets. This process irradiates the bullets and then measures the gamma rays the radioactive bullets emit, to reveal their chemical compositions.
Specifically, we wanted to test Guinn’s claim that each bullet was chemically distinguishable from each other. If that wasn’t true, we also hoped to identify whether any of our bullets matched any of the bullet fragments from the Kennedy assassination investigation.
We analyzed 30 bullets, and found that all but one matched at least one of the other bullets in the batch. The one that didn’t match any others we tested did actually match with fragments taken from Kennedy’s head. This meant that Guinn was incorrect: Individual bullets did not have uniquely identifiable chemical components. In fact, the number of bullets involved could have been as few as the two Guinn claimed, or as many as five. Given the congressional conclusion that there had been four shots, it remains possible that Oswald was not the only shooter who hit the president – and that Oswald may not have fired the fatal shot.
Flawed forensic science had misled not only the congressional committee investigating the assassination, but also the entire nation. Our demonstration captured a lot of public attention. But more importantly, it suggests that a deeper understanding of truth can come from improving forensic science. This is useful as scholars examine newly released John F. Kennedy assassination documents, and as criminal trials around the country seek justice for victims and accused alike.
Into Evidence Promotional Video of the JFK assassination with Dr. Cyril Wecht
Dr. Cyril H. Wecht discusses the anniversary DVD set "Into Evidence" that investigates in great detail the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The full collection is available at http://historyexhumed.com/index.html
The Terminal Annex Building
The Terminal Annex sits on the far southern edge of Dealey Plaza at the intersection of Houston and Commerce streets. In another one of those unusual coincidences that populate the assassination story, this art deco building played an curious role in the confluence of events of 11.22.63.
Back in 1963, this post office building was home to U.S. Postmaster Harry D. Holmes. As postmaster, Holmes already had a relationship with the FBI, keeping authorities abreast of suspicious activity at Dallas post office boxes. It was in this very building -- just a stone's throw from the Book Depository's sixth floor window -- that Lee Harvey Oswald rented post office box # 6225 under the alias A.J. Hidell. When Oswald purchased the mail order rifle used in the murder attempt on General Walker and later the assassination of President Kennedy, he had the gun delivered to his PO box in this building.
From the fifth floor window of this building on 11.22.63, Holmes reported that he was watching the motorcade with binoculars and witnessed the assassination. Because of his vantage point and the binoculars, Warren Commission investigators asked him whether he had noticed any suspicious activity in the rail yard beyond the Grassy Knoll, prompting a classic reply: "No. I saw nothing suspicious and I am a trained suspicioner".
Immediately after the assassination, Holmes took a direct role in the investigation, telling the Warren Commission: "I never quit. I didn't get to bed for two days...I was doing all I could to help other agencies."
Among other things, Holmes mounted an investigation into how Oswald obtained the mail-order Italian war surplus rifle, and he tried unsuccessfully to track down the money order used to purchase the gun. Curiously, Holmes was allowed to take part in the interrogation of Oswald after his arrest on Sunday morning, November 24. He told the Warren Commission that he had driven his wife to church but decided to return to the police station where he encountered Dallas police Capt. Fritz, who invited him to take part in the questioning. Just after the interrogation, Oswald would be shot and killed by Jack Ruby in the police headquarters basement.
Holmes' notes of the interview can be found in Warren Commission Exhibit 2064 on pages 488 to 492 of Volume 24. They also appear as Holmes Exhibit No. 4 pages 177 to 181 of Volume 20, and, finally, in Appendix XI pages 633 to 637.
http://www.jfktourdallas.com/terminal-annex.html
A bullet travels in excess of 2000 feet per second. See Death of a Lightbulb:
https://puam-loris.aws.princeton.edu/loris/INV10547.jp2/full/!650,650/0/default.jpg
Note how the bulb actually nods toward the bullet just at the instant before it penetrates it (left bottom). That is the physical effect that caused Kennedy's slight nod forward just as he was hit in the head from a shot from the front.
The Death of a Lightbulb is cited by Bernd Karger - Chapter 9 Forensic Ballistics.
\\][//
9.2.4 Special Wound Ballistics of the Head
In intracranial gunshot wounds, several of the above-mentioned factors
enhance the degree of tissue disruption. The inelastic quality and the high
water content of brain tissue make it per se very vulnerable to cavitation and
stretch-mechanism. The penetration of the skull can imply the generation
of secondary missiles in the form of bone (Fig. 9.7) or bullet fragments [28,
41, 42, 43, 44] and a tendency towards early tumbling or deformation of the
bullet. Kirkpatrick and DiMaio [44], for example, were able to demonstrate
intracerebral bone chips solely by digital palpation of the brain in 16 out of 42
cases of civilian gunshot wounds to the brain.
Even more important, intracranial trajectories gain a new quality by the rigid
skull functioning as a non-yielding wall. Because brain tissue is almost incompressible, intracranial temporary cavitation and surrounding overpressure meet
counter-pressure from the skull. The skull will, so to speak, try to overcome the
principle of nonconfinement of the cavity by denying the free space necessary for
a gradual decrease of radial tissue displacement and associated overpressure. The
volume of the intracranial temporary cavity will consequently stay smaller than a
cavity formed under identical conditions in tissue not confined in a casing.
Intracranial overpressures around the expanding temporary cavity, however,
clearly exceed the pressures found in nonconfined tissue [4, 10, 45, 46]. These
high dynamic pressures, the asymmetric shape of the temporary cavity, and
unilaterally fixed tissue structures lead to shear forces within brain tissue. The
unyielding skull does not allow the brain to expand, so the brain will transfer the
overpressures to the skull. In other words, the brain’s surface gets pushed with
great force against the inner table of the neurocranium and the brain stem gets
forced down into the foramen magnum. Consequently, the layer of cerebral tissue
The skull will at first be slightly stretched by intracranial overpressures. If the
skull’s capacity to elastically stretch is surpassed, there will be indirect skull
fractures, i.e., fracture lines without contact to the primary bony entrance and
exit defects. Because the base of the skull is inhomogenous and less resistant to
stretching than the vault, preferential locations are the roofs of the orbitae
(Fig. 9.10) and the ethmoidal plates in the anterior cranial fossa [50]. While
secondary radial fractures originating from the gunshot defects are induced by
the bullet’s impact, tertiary concentric fractures connecting the radial fracture
lines (Fig. 9.11) are indirect heaving fractures [51, 52, 53] functioning as additional stress relief for internal overpressures. If the internal pressures are high
enough, indirect skull fractures will combine to an ‘‘explosive’’ type of
head injury [54] with comminuted fractures of the skull and laceration of the
brain (Fig. 9.12).
So the rigid skull which protects the brain from most blunt trauma also makes
the brain by far the most susceptible organ in the body to penetrating ballistic
injury. Intracranial pressure peaks and its effects vary greatly, depending on ballistic and anatomical parameters. Mathematically, the peak pressures recorded
vary in direct proportion to the projected cross-sectional area of the missile and
the square of its velocity but in inverse proportion to the distance from the point of
origin [4, 10, 45, 46]. In more practical terms, bullet wounds from handguns and
rifles differ considerably with regard to their effect in penetrating gunshots to the
head. Bullets from conventional handguns can produce indirect skull fractures
and pronounced cerebral tissue disruption [28]. Centerfire rifles, whether military
or hunting, almost invariably cause a strong ‘‘explosive’’ effect with comminution
of bone and laceration of at least part of the brain [42, 55, 56, 57]. Hits from
shotguns differ substantially depending on the range of fire. Close range shots
have a tremendous effect similar to centerfire rifles by literally riddling brain tissue
and blasting the skull [58, 59] (Fig. 9.12).
Forensic Ballistics -- Bernd Karger
\\][//
https://harveyandlee.net/Guns/Guns.html
Larry Sturtevant’s has been proven wrong:
CHEMICAL AND FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF JFK ASSASSINATION BULLET LOTS: IS A SECOND SHOOTER POSSIBLE
By Cliff Spiegelman, William A. Tobin, William D. James, Simon J. Sheather, Stuart Wexler and D. Max Roundhill Texas A&M University, Forensic Engineering International, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, Hightstown High School and Chem Consulting The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) traumatized the nation. In this paper we show that evidence used to rule out a second assassin is fundamentally flawed. This paper discusses new compositional analyses of bullets reportedly to have been derived from the same batch as those used in the assassination. The new analyses show that the bullet fragments involved in the assassination are not nearly as rare as previously reported. In particular, the new test results are compared to key bullet composition testimony presented before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). Matches of bullets within the same box of bullets are shown to be much more likely than indicated in the House Select Committee on Assassinations’ testimony. Additionally, we show that one of the ten test bullets is considered a match to one or more assassination fragments. This finding means that the bullet fragments from the assassination that match could have come from three or more separate bullets. Finally, this paper presents a case for reanalyzing the assassination bullet fragments and conducting the necessary supporting scientific studies. These analyses will shed light on whether the five bullet fragments constitute three or more separate bullets. If the assassination fragments are derived from three or more separate bullets, then a second assassin is likely, as the additional bullet would not easily be attributable to the main suspect, Mr. Oswald,
file:///C:/Users/18122/Desktop/CHEMICAL%20AND%20FORENSIC%20ANALYSIS%20OF%20JFK%200712.2150.pdf
\\][//
JFK — Dean Andrews Lunch Scene
https://youtu.be/-PSXQJ9jujk?t=1
David Von Pein website on JFK assassination
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Willy Whitten. Sort by date Show all posts
http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/search?q=Willy+Whitten
\\][//
JFK Assassination Records
> Warren Commission
> House Select Committee on Assassinations
> Assassination Records Review Board
Other Resources
> JFK Presidential Library
> History Matters
> John McAdams (The John F. Kennedy Assassination Information Center)
> Mary Ferrell Foundation
> JFK Links from the Archives Library
https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1a.html
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The Assassination Records Review Board Report
https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/review-board/report
\\][//
Jack Ruby worked for the mob since he was a kid running messages for the numbers racket in Chicago,
http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20Materials/White%20Assassination%20Clippings%20Folders/Warren%20Commission%20Folders/Warren%20Commission-Reopening/Item%20324.pdf
\\][//
https://www.whokilledjfk.net/
TOM ROSSLEY web site
"Details of quality control material analyses are in supporting material but, in each case, the standard deviation of measurement distributions overlaps with the quoted uncertainty of NIST values. NIST specifies that the uncertainties for their certified standard values are not statistically derived measures of variability but rather are “based on judgment.” Tabulated results of Trace Elements Research Lab standards are available in online supporting material."
Chemical and forensic analysis of JFK assassination bullet lots: Is a second shooter possible? PDF
\\][//
In late 2004, Stuart Wexler, a high school social studies teacher in Hightstown, New Jersey, was examining this very contradiction. He approached me about helping with a study of the brand of bullets thought to have been used by Oswald to kill the president. Wexler and a chemist friend of his had bought a group of Western-Winchester Cartridge Co. Mannlicher-Carcano bullets to verify Guinn’s assumption that bullets were individually chemically distinct. He wanted to analyze the bullet fragments using science-based techniques not available to investigators decades earlier.
I put together a team including Wexler, two chemists, a metallurgist and two statisticians. We used neutron activation analysis to measure the chemical composition of the bullets. This process irradiates the bullets and then measures the gamma rays the radioactive bullets emit, to reveal their chemical compositions.
Specifically, we wanted to test Guinn’s claim that each bullet was chemically distinguishable from each other. If that wasn’t true, we also hoped to identify whether any of our bullets matched any of the bullet fragments from the Kennedy assassination investigation.
We analyzed 30 bullets, and found that all but one matched at least one of the other bullets in the batch. The one that didn’t match any others we tested did actually match with fragments taken from Kennedy’s head. This meant that Guinn was incorrect: Individual bullets did not have uniquely identifiable chemical components. In fact, the number of bullets involved could have been as few as the two Guinn claimed, or as many as five. Given the congressional conclusion that there had been four shots, it remains possible that Oswald was not the only shooter who hit the president – and that Oswald may not have fired the fatal shot.
Flawed forensic science had misled not only the congressional committee investigating the assassination, but also the entire nation. Our demonstration captured a lot of public attention. But more importantly, it suggests that a deeper understanding of truth can come from improving forensic science. This is useful as scholars examine newly released John F. Kennedy assassination documents, and as criminal trials around the country seek justice for victims and accused alike.
https://theconversation.com/what-better-forensic-science-can-reveal-about-the-jfk-assassination-88224
\\][//
HSCA WITNESS TESTIMONY - (AUDIO VERSIONS) -- David Von Pein
http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/2015/02/hsca-testimony-miscellaneous-audio.html
\\][//
https://youtu.be/RtmOAYfWV2w?t=4
Into Evidence Promotional Video of the JFK assassination with Dr. Cyril Wecht
Dr. Cyril H. Wecht discusses the anniversary DVD set "Into Evidence" that investigates in great detail the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The full collection is available at http://historyexhumed.com/index.html
\\][//
NSAM 263: JFK’S ORDER TO WITHDRAWAL
https://jfkjmn.com/nsam-263/
A photocopy of NSAM 263:
https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F10826d98-e4dd-4830-b4b0-8144a00306ed_2449x3150.jpeg
\\][//
https://youtu.be/OPIh1vWGQyA?t=5 --
The Men on the Sixth Floor - Chap 9 The Strange Story of Gene Noblitt
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