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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. III - Page 382« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Dr. Malcolm Perry)

Mr. Specter.
Dr. PERRY. I found none. To the best of my knowledge neither did anyone else.
Mr. Specter.
Was the President ever turned over at any time?
Dr. PERRY. Not by me nor did I see it done.
Mr. Specter.
Were you present as long as any other doctor was present in the emergency room?
Dr. PERRY. No, sir; I think that at the time that I left trauma room one, I went outside, and washed my hands, and I opened the door briefly to retrieve my coat which I had left there on the floor and the nurse handed my coat.
At that time as I recall Doctor Jenkins was still in the room and there several other people there including Mrs. Kennedy and the priest, and gentlemen whom I did not know.
Mr. Specter.
Now, did you make any effort to examine the clothing of President Kennedy?
Dr. PERRY. I did not.
(At this point, Representative Boggs entered the hearing room.)
Mr. Specter.
Why was it, Dr. Perry, that there was no effort made to examine the clothing of President Kennedy and no effort to turn him over and examine the back of the President?
Dr. PERRY. At the termination of the procedure and after we had deter mined that Mr. Kennedy had expired, I cannot speak for the others but as for myself, my work was done. I fought a losing battle, and I actually obviously, having seen a lot of wounds, had no morbid curiosity, and actually was rather anxious to leave the room. I had nothing further to offer.
Mr. Specter.
With the President having been declared dead, did you consider it was your function to make any further exploration of the President's body?
Dr. PERRY. This is not my function or my prerogative. This would be undertaken by suitable authorities at the time of postmortem, people with experience superior to mine in determining things of this sort.
Mr. Specter.
Where was Mrs. Kennedy, if you know, during the course of the treatment which you have described that you performed?
Dr. PERRY. I had the initial impression she was in the room most of the time although I have been corrected on this. When I entered the room she was standing by the door, rather kneeling by the door, and someone was standing there beside her. I saw her several times during the course of the resuscitative measures, when I would look up from the operative field to secure an instrument from the nearby tray--
Mr. Dulles.
Under your procedure who had the responsibility for declaring that the President was dead?
Dr. PERRY. This was a combination of factors, Mr. Dulles, undertaken by those of us all in attendance, by Dr. Clark and Dr. Jenkins and myself particularly since we were the senior people there.
I was informed subsequently that Mrs. Kennedy left the room several times to just outside the door but returned although as I say, I saw her several times in the room. I did not speak to her nor she to me so I do not have any knowledge as to exactly what she was doing.
Mr. Specter.
Did you observe any wound in the President's chest?
Dr. PERRY. I did not.
Mr. Specter.
Did you observe any wound on the left side of the President's head?
Dr. PERRY. No, sir.
Mr. Specter.
Have you heretofore during the course of your testimony today described all of the wounds in the President which you have observed?
Dr. PERRY. I have.
Mr. Specter.
Were you and the other doctors affected, in your opinion, in your treatment of the President by virtue of the fact that he was the President of the United States?
Dr. PERRY. Yes, sir; I am sure that is true. At the time that I was going down the stairs to the emergency room I was, of course, quite concerned, not
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