Who Really Assassinated John F. Kennedy?

Mar 07, 2008 - 16:24 PM PST
Memories are bizarre mental functions that have an immense impact on our everyday lives, from crawling, to song lyrics. There are times and places that stick in our memories, but the reason we remember certain things is a mystery. Maybe you remember when and where you went on your first date, or how you felt when you finally got your driver’s license. Perhaps you remember how sad you felt when the first person close to you died, or how happy you felt when you were accepted to college.
Some memories that fuse themselves in our minds are of events that are more prominent than others; events we will never forget. These moments in time are the ones where we remember exactly where we were when history was made. For example, my generation remembers the Columbine shooting, the Oklahoma bombing, when the Columbia space shuttle crashed, President Clinton’s Monica Lewinsky scandal, and 9/11. Past generations remember the Vietnam War, watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, Woodstock, and the assassination of the nation’s youngest President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy’s death was a shock to the majority of the United States. The assassination is the most disputed case in American history (McAdams). Did Lee Harvey Oswald kill the President? Was it the government, possibly the mafia, or maybe some other unknown conspiracy? There’s that word, conspiracy. If the assassination was a conspiracy, than is everything a conspiracy? Should we have to watch out for ‘Big Brother?’ We may never know. According to Harris Wofford, the theory of conspiracy in this case was not pursued due to respect for the Kennedy family (388).
In 1946, John F. Kennedy, or Jack Kennedy as many knew him, was elected to the House of Representatives and in 1952, to the Senate. He ran for Vice President in 1956 and lost, but in the next election, at the age of 43, he achieved a higher goal, the youngest President of the United States (Pietrusza 6). In 1961, Kennedy ordered an attack on communist controlled Cuba, which failed. Then in 1962, nuclear missiles were placed by Soviets in Cuba. Because Soviet warheads had never been placed so close to America before, Kennedy denied access to Cuba and turned back Soviet ships (Pietrusza 9).
Many Americans disapproved of some the President’s actions, so he wasn’t certain that he would win the coming election. No Democrat had ever won a Presidential election without carrying Texas, so obviously a trip to Texas was a step in the right direction. He would first make a brief stop in Fort Worth in the morning, and then fly to Dallas where he would parade toward his luncheon destination. But signals showed that Kennedy would not receive a warm welcome in Dallas. As proof, flyers with the slogan “Wanted for Treason” were distributed. On the bulletin included a picture of the President and information that said he was “soft on Communists” and he “persecuted loyal Americans (Pietrusza 13).”
At 11:40 AM, November 22, 1963, Air Force One landed in Dallas (Pietrusza 13). John and Jackie Kennedy climbed into the Presidential limo with Governor Connally, the Texas governor, his wife, and two secret service agents. Leading the procession, were two Dallas police officers on motorcycles, the Dallas police chief and another secret service agent in a white Ford, and then three more police officers on motorcycles (Pietrusza 14). Next came the midnight blue Lincoln, the President’s limo. Slightly behind and to the sides of the limo were two more motorcycle police, and behind the Lincoln was another car holding eight secret service agents with very large guns (Wofford 212). As the crowd cheered, it was realized that Kennedy was getting a much warmer reception than expected from the Texans, until shots were fired.
According to David Pietrusza, at 12:30 PM, the first bullet passed the Presidential limousine and struck a curb, breaking off a piece of concrete that flew in all directions. There was a pause and then the second and third shots were fired almost in the same instant. The second shot hit President Kennedy in the back and throat, and also hit Governor Connally. The third shot hit the President’s skull, and brains spewed out his head (21).
The driver quickly sped up realizing what had happened, and hastily drove to the nearest hospital, Parkland Memorial (Pietrusza 22). Surgeons hurriedly did an emergency tracheotomy, the correct procedure, but John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 PM (Pietrusza 76). Kennedy’s body was taken from Texas before an autopsy was performed. His casket was loaded onto Air Force One and taken to Washington D.C. While in flight the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, took the Presidential Oath with a bloodstained Jacqueline Kennedy at his side (Pietrusza 79). At a news conference that afternoon, the doctors who worked on Kennedy and Connally in the hospital discussed the president’s wounds. Their statements were conflicting and incorrect (McAdams).
At 1:12 PM, the Police found three bullet cartridges and a rifle on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building. A man named Lee Harvey Oswald was under suspicion, because he matched witnesses’ descriptions and he had been seen on the sixth floor that day. He also had easy access to the building, because he worked there (Pietrusza 29). Dallas police officer, J.D. Tippit saw a man matching the description he had been given over the radio of a man who’d been seen in the Depository. The man was Oswald. When Tippit motioned for him to stop and got out of his car, Oswald shot and killed him. At 1:50, Oswald was arrested in a Texas movie theatre for the murder of Officer Tippit. Oswald was interrogated at the Dallas Police Department for four hours, unaware that he was also under suspicion for the murder of the President (Pietrusza 16).
When questioned, Oswald’s mother said she thought her son was an FBI or CIA informant, but could not probe it. Both the CIA and FBI directors testified that Oswald was never employed at either agency (Warren 282). It was also found that Oswald had bought the rifle used to shoot Kennedy under a fake name, Alek J. Hidell (Pietrusza 31). With evidence building up, Oswald was charged for the murder of Kennedy. While being taken to a lineup, where witnesses identify criminals, he was said to have yelled, “I’m just a patsy!” to a bunch of reporters (Pietrusza 32).
Sunday, November 24, 1963, Oswald was to be transferred to a county jail, but he never made it out of the Dallas PD. At 11:21, he was shot in the stomach by a man named Jack Ruby, and pronounced dead at 2:07 at the same hospital as Kennedy (Pietrusza 38). Jack Ruby owned the Carousel Club, a nightclub in Dallas. Supposedly, he openly sobbed over the death of JFK. He was said to be an unstable man, prone to violence, and possible connected to “underworld” activities, AKA the mafia (Pietrusza 40).
After the death of Lee Harvey Oswald, there was of course no trial, because the man held responsible for President Kennedy’s death was now dead himself. However, there were and today there are still, investigations on the murder of John F. Kennedy. Its has been found that there were numerous mistakes regarding the security of the President, on the fatal day of November 22, 1963. One mistake was that the motorcade route was published in Dallas papers three days before the assassination, and they did not change the route (Warren 273). As a result, everyone knew where the President would be at all times during the parade. An additional mistake was there was supposed to be a man on each side of the limousine. However, they were ordered not to be there because the President’s view was blocked from the public (Pietrusza 15). Another fatal error was in the operation room, when the President was given an emergency tracheotomy. The doctors did do the correct procedure, but they destroyed crucial evidence about the nature of the wounds in the process (Pietrusza 24).
Various witnesses testified about the assassination. They were asked where the shots had come from and how many shots they saw. They were also asked if they saw anyone suspicious. Some thought that shots had come from the Texas School Book Depository. Others thought that they had come from behind the picket fence on the “Grassy Knoll”, some from the railroad over pass. One witness even claimed that shots had been fired inside the limo (Pietrusza 26). Several witnesses closest to the motorcade said that John F. Kennedy’s head had “exploded” and brains had splattered in all directions, when shot (McAdams). Abraham Zapruder, a ladies’ dress manufacturer, filmed the famous “Zapruder Film”. The film is the only known video recording of the entire assassination of President Kennedy. Although the film is silent, it was very helpful in the investigation of the assassination. Mr. Zapruder allowed investigator to study it, frame by frame (McAdams).
President Johnson appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to lead the “blue-ribbon commission” on the investigation of the President’s murder, and report the conclusions to the nation (Pietrusza 42). The Warren Commission found that three shots were fired, two struck the President and it is likely that one of these hit Governor Connally (Warren 272). Evidence indicated that the shots that hit the President entered in the neck and head from behind and above him (Warren 271). It was originally said that the throat wound could have been an entry or exit point. Later it was concluded an exit wound. The commission determined that all shots were fired from behind (Warren 274). Johnson pressured the commission to issue its report before the 1964 presidential election. Of course, this deadline did not encourage thoroughness (Pietrusza 44). Two mistaken drawings of Kennedy’s wounds were published in the report (McAdams).
As I’ve mentioned before, a large part of this investigation has been based on conspiracy theories. There are several odd coincidences supporting these theories. Every twenty years a President is elected on a year that ends in ‘0.’ Since 1840, beginning with President William Henry Harrison and excluding our current President, Presidents elected on those years have either: died in office, been assassinated, or in the case of Ronald Reagan, survived an assassination attempt. (Fischer).
There are a great many incidents regarding the similarities in the assassinations of President Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy. Such as, Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, while Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. Abe Lincoln was elected President in 1860, and Kennedy was elected President in 1960 (Fischer). Both John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln were concerned with civil rights, both Presidents’ wives lost children while living in the White House, and both men were shot in the head on a Friday (Fischer). Both men who succeeded these two Presidents were southerners. They were Andrew Johnson, born 1808 and Lyndon Johnson, born 1908. Another coincidence to point out, the last names of the two Vice Presidents turned President are the same (Fischer). Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who was born in 1839. Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939. Both of these assassins were known by their three names, which both consist of fifteen letters. Both assassins were southerners and both assassins were killed before their trials (Fischer). Lincoln was shot at “Ford Theatre.” Kennedy was shot in a car called “Lincoln” made by “Ford” (Fischer).
It seems that there are also some motives for conspiracy theories. During Kennedy’s Presidency, he had problems with racial segregation, organized crime, and the cold war. Troops were ordered into Alabama during the civil rights movement (Pietrusza 7). Robert Kennedy questioned his own responsibility in his brother’s death (Wofford 384). Kennedy had pursued a campaign against the Mafia and Cuban communism. CIA had plans to kill Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator. The fact that there were motives for killing the President, for Castro, the mafia, the CIA Cubans, or other CIA was not only kept from the Warren Commission, but was kept form everyone (Wofford 389). The government sought through the CIA to assassinate leaders of foreign governments. There is concrete evidence that there were at least eight plots to kill Castro. Administrative officials and Kennedy advisors, who testified, believed that Kennedy did not know of the plots against Castro and Cuba and would have disapproved (Wofford 395).
Four years after the assassination of President Kennedy, a New Orleans district attorney, Jim Garrison, opened his own investigation on the case. Garrison arrested local businessman, Clay Shaw, and charged him with masterminding a plan that ended in Kennedy’s death. Shaw was once a CIA source through the Domestic Contact Service, or DCS (Holland). DCS officers sought contact with American people who traveled overseas, and were in a position to gain vital foreign information routinely. 150,000 Americans were sources for DCS by the mid 1970’s (Holland). Shaw volunteered his first report to the DCS in 1948. It included information on Czechoslovakia, a communist dictatorship. After 1956, there was no record of a relationship between Shaw and the DCS (Holland).
It so happens that, Shaw was not just an ordinary businessman. He also worked for an artificial commercial company, Centro Mondiale Commercial, or the CMC. Allegedly, CMC was a cover up for transferring funds to Italy for unlawful political espionage activities (Holland). CMC did exist in Rome and Shaw was a board member, but Italy denied any link between the CIA and the CMC. The CIA also said that it had not contact with the CMC, but they did have contact with Clay Shaw (Holland). Jim Garrison said that Oswald was under the control of the CIA and that the CIA had lied to the Warren Commission, covering up for the real assassins (Holland).
In 2001, a government scientist, Donald Thomas, published an article on the Kennedy assassination, based on a mathematical review of sound evidence. He said that there were five shots, fired from two different directions (Morley 90). In 2004, at the Library of Congress, Carl Harber and Vitaliy Fadeyev began trying new sound preservation techniques. In the National Archives is a Dallas Police Department Dictabelt No. 10 that contains sounds recorded on a police radio channel Nov 22, 1963 between 12:05 and 12:40 PM. With the new sound preservation techniques, Harber and Fadeyev have been able to discover new evidence on the Dictabelt. From what they have concluded there are four shots, and a 4.8 second gap between the third and fourth shots. On the Zapruder, film there is also a 4.8-second gap between two crucial shots (Morley 91).
Many people have decided to change their minds on their opinions of what happened the day Kennedy died. There is dispute over the quality of Oswald’s marksmanship (Pietrusza 48). There are questions regarding the “star eyewitness,” Howard Brennan and there is suspicion over the physical evidence of Kennedy’s wounds and whether his autopsy was tampered with (Pietrusza 49).
Dr. Charles Crenshaw, was in the emergency room when both Kennedy and Oswald were there, and claimed in his 1992 book to be “finally telling the truth.” He claims that the back of Kennedy’s head was blown out and that his throat wound was an entrance wound. He says, “Other doctors at Parkland feared to speak out” (McAdams).
The evidence continues, along with the theories. Some blame it on the mafia, others on the government. Some blame it on Jackie, some even think John is still alive. The truth will never be known to the world, unless someone builds a time machine, but even then the chance of finding out about the truth, and living to tell the tale, is iffy. If you want to know my opinion, which you obviously do or you probably wouldn’t be reading my paper in the first place, it was all a conspiracy. The government is hiding everything from us. We’re just pawns on a very large chessboard, waiting to be played. But we’re all entitled to our own opinion, and your guess is just as good as mine.

JFK
Works Cited
Fischer, Mark and Kristi. “The Assassination of JFK”. Seize the Night. April 2003.
Carpe Noctem. 5 September 2005 .

Holland, Max. The Lie That Linked CIA to the Kennedy Assassination. 2001.
4 September 2005 .

McAdams, John. The Kennedy Assassination. 2004. 3 September 2005 .

Morley, Jefferson. “The JFK Murder.” Reader’s Digest March 2005: 84-91.

Pietrusza, David. Mysterious Deaths: John F. Kennedy. San Diego: Lucent, 1997.

Warren Commission. The Warren Report. USA: Associated Press, 1964.

Wofford, Harris. Of Kennedys and Kings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Works Cited
Fischer, Mark and Kristi. “The Assassination of JFK”. Seize the Night. April 2003.
Carpe Noctem. 5 September 2005 .

Holland, Max. The Lie That Linked CIA to the Kennedy Assassination. 2001.
4 September 2005 < _2001/ article02.html>.

McAdams, John. The Kennedy Assassination. 2004. 3 September 2005 .

Morley, Jefferson. “The JFK Murder.” Reader’s Digest March 2005: 84-91.

Pietrusza, David. Mysterious Deaths: John F. Kennedy. San Diego: Lucent, 1997.

Warren Commission. The Warren Report. USA: Associated Press, 1964.

Wofford, Harris. Of Kennedys and Kings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Who Really Assassinated John F. Kennedy?


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