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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VI - Page 110« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Dr. T. Shires George)

Mr. Specter.
in the operating room in an attempt to plot out trajectory as best we could, this appeared to be our opinion.
Mr. Specter.
Did any of your assistants consult with you in those calculations?
Dr. SHIRES. I guess nearly all of them we have listed.
Mr. Specter.
Dr. McClelland, Dr. Baxter and Dr. Patman?
Dr. SHIRES. Yes.
Mr. Specter.
How about Dr. Osborne and Dr. Parker?
Dr. SHIRES. They were working with Dr. Gregory. If they discussed it, I'm sure they did---it was before I got there.

Mr. SPECTER. How about Dr. Boland and Dr. Duke who worked with Dr. Shaw?
Dr. SHIRES. Now, again, I talked to them and they were discussing it as they did the chest procedure, and again thought the same thing. Everyone was under the impression this was one missile---through and through the chest, through and through the arm and the thigh.
Mr. SPECTER. Was there any one of the doctors on either of these three teams who had a different point of view?
Dr. SHIRES. Not that I remember.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you think it is possible that Governor Connally could have been struck by two bullets, one entering his back and emerging from his chest and the second going into his wrist?
Dr. SHIRES. I'm sure it is possible, because missile sites are so variable, depending upon the size of the bullet, the speed at which it travels, whether it was tumbling or not. We have seen all kinds of combinations of entrance and exit wounds and it's just impossible to state with any certainty, looking at a given wound, what the nature of the missile was, so I am sure it is possible.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you think it is possible that, assuming a missile being a bullet 6.5 ram. with a velocity of over 2,000 feet per second, and the distance between the weapon and the victim being approximately 160 to 250 feet, that the same bullet might have passed through President Kennedy, entering his back near the midline and emerging from his neck, and then entering Governor Connally in the back and emerging from his chest, into his wrist, through his wrist and into the thigh?
Dr. SHIRES. I assume that it would be possible. The main thing that would make me think that this was not the case in that he remembers so distinctly hearing a shot and having turned prior to the time he was hit, and in the position he must have been, particularly here in Figure 5, I think it's obvious that he did turn rather sharply to the right and this would make me think that it was a second shot, but this is purely conjecture, of course.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, is there anything, aside from what he told you, that is, anything in the characteristics of the wounds on President Kennedy and the wounds on Governor Connally which would lead you to conclude that it was not the same bullet?
Dr. SHIRES. No--there is nothing. It could have been---purely from the standpoint of the wounds, it is possible.
Mr. Specter.
You referred just a minute ago to his turning position?
Dr. SHIRES. Yes.

Mr. SPECTER. Is the postulation of a turning by Governor Connally necessary to explain the point of entry in the back, exit in the chest, entry in the wrist, and exit in the wrist, and entry into the thigh, in order to have that line---to state it differently, is it necessary to postulate turning by the Governor?
Dr. SHIRES. Depending upon the angle of the trajectory---I suppose not. I don't know what the angle of the trajectory was from where the bullet was fired.
Mr. Specter.
Assuming an angle of declination of approximately 45 degrees?
Dr. SHIRES. This, I don't know without drawing it out, but as long as his right arm is drawn in front of him next to the exit wound on the chest, he is in a sitting position, if the angle of declination was right, then I think he could have received this facing straight forward.

Mr. SPECTER. Now, on the wrist, would that be palm of the wrist, back of the wrist, or how?
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