Lack Of Damage To CE-399

[Tim Nickerson]

The fragments seen in those X-rays were in soft tissue, not in bone.

[Andrew Mason]

The fragments seen in those X-rays were in soft tissue, not in bone.

In order to tell whether it is in the bone, you need both posterior/anterior and lateral views. 

The preoperative lateral view of the wrist shows the wrist fragments a short distance from the bone, so you are right about that. 

But the xrays of the thigh show the small fragment over the bone in both lateral and posterior/anterior views:

[Oscar Navarro]

    "A" pristine bullet takes in a lot of territory. Not to mention it distances itself from "THE" pristine bullet.

Forgot about this post. Yes, from where would this "A" pristine bullet have come from at the angle that it struck JBC. Dallas-Tex Bldg, lower floor of the TSBD, sixth floor SW end of the TSBD? Just trying to track this bullet if it wasn't CE-399.

[Gary Craig]

~snip~





~snip~

[Gary Craig]

Dr. Robert Shaw, Governor Connally's physician, says that CE 399, the "Magic Bullet", could not have caused the wounds he saw and treated in Governor Connally.

[Gary Craig]

November 22, 1963 - Dr. Robert Shaw, Governor John Connally's surgeon, Press Conference Parkland

@ 4:50 - 5:10  "bullet is still in his left leg, it will be removed"

[Tim Nickerson]

In order to tell whether it is in the bone, you need both posterior/anterior and lateral views. 

The preoperative lateral view of the wrist shows the wrist fragments a short distance from the bone, so you are right about that. 

But the xrays of the thigh show the small fragment over the bone in both lateral and posterior/anterior views:

From HSCA Report, Volume VII:

(409) Dr. Reynolds' report on Governor Connally's X-rays describes the X-ray of the left femur and left lower leg:

Film of the shaft of the left femur and of the left lower leg reveals no fracture in this area. A tiny metallic fragment is seen in the lower medial aspect of the thigh, in the subcutaneous fat. (82)

FIGURE 43. Photograph of a LogEtronic enhancement of a thigh X-ray, showing the location of the missile fragment in the subcutaneous fat.
FIGURE 44.--Photograph of a LogEtronic enhancement of a thigh X-ray, showing the location of the missile fragment in the subcutaneous fat.

(410) On November 29, 1963, Dr. Reynolds prepared a supplementary X-ray report which further characterizes the shadows within the thigh:

AP (anterior-posterior) and lateral films of the digital portion of the left thigh were obtained and include the distal portion of the shaft and the region of the knee. One film is in the AP projection and the other the lateral projection with the direction of the beam from roedial to lateral and the film lying adjacent to the lateral aspect of the thigh. fractures are seen. A few punctuate and linear densities are seen on the film but these are inconsistent, and appear on one and not the other and therefore interpreted as artifacts. There is, however, one density which remains constant on both films and appears to lie beneath the skin of the region of the subcutaneous fat in the roedial aspect of the thigh. By measurement on the films, without correction for target film distance and object film distance, this small density lies 15.2 centimeters above the distal end of the medial femoral condyle on the AP film and, on this film, lies 8 millimeters beneath the external surface of the skin. It is 6.25 centimeters medial to the femoral shaft. On the lateral film, the center of this small metallic density lies 15 centimeters above the distal end of the roedial femoral condyle. It lies 4.9 centimeters posterior to the skin of the anterior surface of the thigh and it is superimposed on the shaft of the femur. In relation to the femur, the density is superimposed on a point 1.5 centimeters posterior to the exterior of the anterior cortex. The shape of this density is irregular but is roughly oval. Precise measurements are difficult but it is estimated that the greatest length in the AP projection is about 3.5 millimeters and the greatest width about 1.3 millimeters. Measurements of the densities in the lateral projection reveal the greatest length to be about 2 millimeters and the greatest width to be about 1.5 millimeters. The long axis of the metallic object is oriented generally along the axis of the femur. (83)

(411)The panel concurs with Dr. Reynolds' opinion that the 2-millimeter density is a missile fragment that was just under the skin and was not deep within the thigh in the femur bone, as described in the Warren Commission Report. The panel believes the density in the femur bone was erroneously described and is an artifact in the X-ray film and not a bullet fragment.