The First Shot

[Charles Collins]

The Mason Theory has the CE399 bullet transit Kennedy's neck and go on to pass to the left of Connally (not striking his torso or arm) and then strike the Governor's left thigh, when it stopped. He thinks the bullet was slowed down enough when it left the neck to not fracture the thigh bone.

Mason's second shot at Z271-ish is fired from the Sniper's Nest and directly strikes the Governor in the back and then the arm. I guess the bullet fractures or something. This is where Greer hears the second shot and is supposed to look back around Z282 and see the Governor "start to fall". The Governor's actions between emerging from behind the sign and being struck in the Z270s are explained as "expressing concern" for the President.

Mason appears to be on Planet Earth with the head shot.

Thanks, I must have forgotten some of his details. However, the physical evidence indicates that JBC’s back (near his right armpit) was lined up with the trajectory of the bullet, not his left thigh. Also that the thigh wound was not very deep. Neither of those support that theory.

[Andrew Mason]

Thanks, I must have forgotten some of his details. However, the physical evidence indicates that JBC’s back (near his right armpit) was lined up with the trajectory of the bullet, not his left thigh. Also that the thigh wound was not very deep. Neither of those support that theory.

I am not sure how you conclude that.  In order for JBC's right armpit to be in line with the exit trajectory from JFK's throat, JBC had to be where Thomas Canning put him:

In order to get JBC that far left, he had to assume that his right shoulder would have been visible in Betzner's z186 photo if he was any farther to the right:


But that was an error because JBC's shoulder was below the top of the car as seen in the Altgens #5 photo:


and we can see from this photo that JBC was not nearly as far left as Canning put him.

If the first shot occurred between z190 and z200 (which is consistent with Betzner, Croft, Willis and the witnesses along Elm and in the motorcade), you will see that JBC is turned to the right and you can readily see that he is not where Canning has placed him:


If his legs were spread apart (which I suggest is a reasonable possibility) JBC's left leg would have been exposed something like this:


As far as the depth of the thigh wound, Dr. Shires who operated on it and reviewed the xrays said that there was a bit of lead in the femur and he debrided the wound down to the femur.

[Charles Collins]

I am not sure how you conclude that.  In order for JBC's right armpit to be in line with the exit trajectory from JFK's throat, JBC had to be where Thomas Canning put him:

In order to get JBC that far left, he had to assume that his right shoulder would have been visible in Betzner's z186 photo if he was any farther to the right:


But that was an error because JBC's shoulder was below the top of the car as seen in the Altgens #5 photo:


and we can see from this photo that JBC was not nearly as far left as Canning put him.

If the first shot occurred between z190 and z200 (which is consistent with Betzner, Croft, Willis and the witnesses along Elm and in the motorcade), you will see that JBC is turned to the right and you can readily see that he is not where Canning has placed him:


If his legs were spread apart (which I suggest is a reasonable possibility) JBC's left leg would have been exposed something like this:


As far as the depth of the thigh wound, Dr. Shires who operated on it and reviewed the xrays said that there was a bit of lead in the femur and he debrided the wound down to the femur.

Here is a similar angled view (of a re-enactment) which appears to be just a few feet further down Elm Street (I don't remember for sure which exact Z-rame this re-enactment is portraying):




And this is an overhead view of the same position:



I believe that the reason we apparently don't see JBC's right shoulder in the Betzner photo is that the shot actually occurred a little later than when that photo was taken. JBC said that he turned to look at JFK and was in the middle of turning the other way (to look over his left shoulder for JFK) when he was hit (in the back). So JBC was moving during that time period, not stationary. A look at the Z-186 frame shows that JBC was turned to his right, I believe that that was approximately when he was turned as far right as he could. And his right shoulder was a little further towards the centerline of the limo than it was after he started to turn the other way. A look at the Z-frames that follow Z-186 confirms that JBC was turning back the other way.

Another point is: If you want to rely on witness testimony for the timing of this shot, then how the heck can you ignore the fact that JBC said that he felt the shot hit his back. If he had been shot in the left leg a few seconds before he was hit in the back (as you suggest), why wouldn't he have said that be the pain he said he felt when he was shot was in his left thigh?

[Andrew Mason]

Andrew, I counted 35 who said the last shots were closer but that is not specific of course. 22 of those used terms like "In rapid succession" or "almost at the same time". That is significant.

The reverberation in Dealey Plaza caused by the reflection of sound from the TSBD, the buildings along Houston and the concrete structures in the plaza had the effect of sustaining the sound after the gun fired. There was also a large building south of Dealey Plaza (Post office) that sound would have reflected from and sustained the sound for some time afterward. The distance from the TSBD to the Post Office was about 600 feet so the first reflection would have taken more than a second to return. Mary Woodward described the last two shots as follows:

"“The second two shots were immediate --- it was almost as if one were an echo of the other -- they came so quickly. The sound of one did not cease until the second shot.” … “and then the third shot came very, very quickly, on top of the second one”

It would have been interesting if someone had tested the reverberation to see how long it would take for the sound to die out. 

Several witnesses did describe the time interval as more than a second:Jackson: 2 seconds; Emmett Hudson: "'just about as fast as you could expect a man to operate a bolt action rifle"; Yarborough: 1.5 seconds; "not more than 2 seconds": Roger Craig.

One thing is certain: they were not describing a 5 second pause between 2 and 3.

[Andrew Mason]

Here is a similar angled view (of a re-enactment) which appears to be just a few feet further down Elm Street (I don't remember for sure which exact Z-rame this re-enactment is portraying):

Anyone can put a straight line between JFK's neck and JBC's right armpit. The difficulty is aligning it with a straight line from the SN. That photo does not do that. Neither did Arlen Specter's pointer.

And this is an overhead view of the same position:

This is a much better attempt.  Presumably the laser shows the path from the SN although I am not sure how that is done. The laser beam normally does not show up passing through air.  But even this shows that JBC's right armpit had to be to the left of the middle of the jump seat.  I don't see where that was ever the case.

I believe that the reason we apparently don't see JBC's right shoulder in the Betzner photo is that the shot actually occurred a little later than when that photo was taken. JBC said that he turned to look at JFK and was in the middle of turning the other way (to look over his left shoulder for JFK) when he was hit (in the back). So JBC was moving during that time period, not stationary.

You can't prove that the second shot occurred at z223 or so by using as a premise that that is when the second shot occurred, which is what you are doing.

A look at the Z-186 frame shows that JBC was turned to his right, I believe that that was approximately when he was turned as far right as he could. And his right shoulder was a little further towards the centerline of the limo than it was after he started to turn the other way. A look at the Z-frames that follow Z-186 confirms that JBC was turning back the other way.

JBC maintained that right turned posture until he disappeared behind the Stemmons sign. When he emerges in z223 we can see that he is turned facing forward. If that is where you think he was hit, his right shoulder is certainly not left of the middle of the jump seat.

Another point is: If you want to rely on witness testimony for the timing of this shot, then how the heck can you ignore the fact that JBC said that he felt the shot hit his back. If he had been shot in the left leg a few seconds before he was hit in the back (as you suggest), why wouldn't he have said that be the pain he said he felt when he was shot was in his left thigh?

He NEVER felt the thigh wound or the wrist wound.  Extremity wounds are not always felt.  Bullets hit and destroy tissue and nerves so you don't feel them.  What you feel is the loss of function resulting from the wound.  I have never been shot. I am just going by what wound experts and people who have been shot say they experienced.  Even JBC said he felt no pain from the bullet passing through his chest but he felt the impact. 

[Charles Collins]

Anyone can put a straight line between JFK's neck and JBC's right armpit. The difficulty is aligning it with a straight line from the SN. That photo does not do that. Neither did Arlen Specter's pointer.
This is a much better attempt.  Presumably the laser shows the path from the SN although I am not sure how that is done. The laser beam normally does not show up passing through air.  But even this shows that JBC's right armpit had to be to the left of the middle of the jump seat.  I don't see where that was ever the case.
You can't prove that the second shot occurred at z223 or so by using as a premise that that is when the second shot occurred, which is what you are doing.
JBC maintained that right turned posture until he disappeared behind the Stemmons sign. When he emerges in z223 we can see that he is turned facing forward. If that is where you think he was hit, his right shoulder is certainly not left of the middle of the jump seat.
He NEVER felt the thigh wound or the wrist wound.  Extremity wounds are not always felt.  Bullets hit and destroy tissue and nerves so you don't feel them.  What you feel is the loss of function resulting from the wound.  I have never been shot. I am just going by what wound experts and people who have been shot say they experienced.  Even JBC said he felt no pain from the bullet passing through his chest but he felt the impact.

But even this shows that JBC's right armpit had to be to the left of the middle of the jump seat.  I don't see where that was ever the case.

It is most clearly the case in Z186. I have added a red line to both of these images. In the top view it crosses both the gap between the front and rear doors and a point about 1/4 of the way between the upright supports of the handhold on the left rear of the trunk. In the z186 frame it does the same. Now, if you cannot see JBC is to the left of the middle of the seat then you are being blinded by your own confirmation bias.

[Jerry Organ]

How Mason's SketchUp alignment looks compared to the Zapruder film. He's got Connally's front almost parallel with the interior wall of the car. That's how he gets the flightpath to not strike Connally's back. It's devilishly-clever, I'll give him that. If it had been true, it could have solved the case.

The HSCA's limousine drawing was really off. I used that drawing myself for many years.



But it really didn't affect how inboard Canning determined Connally was relative to Kennedy. The throat wound and Connally's back wound are 24" apart. That's not based on the limousine dimensions. If Connally were more less inboard than Canning placed him, we would see the right edge of Connally's head in the Betzner photo. The Betzner and Altgens05 photos were just a part of how Canning determined that Connally was more inboard than Kennedy. He used the Zapruder frames.

You might get something like this today using better drawings. The Canning alignment doesn't change. He just didn't have Kennedy's right shoulder over the car rail. The seating compartment in the HSCA limousine drawing looks a bit narrow, so widening that area would move the rollbar pillar to the right. In other words, both Kennedy and the pillar were more rightward than Canning had them.



(This shows the SBT flightpath, not the Z190s flightpath of the Mason Theory.)

[John Tonkovich]

So, while out on a parade run, JFK sits far right in his seat, maybe to be closer and visible to the public?, while Connally... sits far left, to...uh, be away from the public? because...??