The First Shot

[Dan O'meara]

Why not use Mary Woodward's DMN article that she wrote within a couple of hours of the events:

• "The President was looking straight ahead and we were afraid we were afraid we would not get to see his face.But we started clapping and cheering and both he and Mrs. Kennedy turned, and smiled and waved, directly at us, it seemed. Jackie was wearing a beautiful pink suit with beret to match. Two of us, who had seen the President last during the final weeks of the 1960 campaign remarked how relaxed and robust he looked.
  
  As it turned out, we were almost certainly the last faces he noticed in the crowd.
  
  After acknowledging our cheers, he faced forward again and suddenly there was a horrible, ear-shattering noise coming from behind us and a little to the right".
  

We can see beginning that prior to z170 the President is facing forward and a bit to the right but not sharp right. Jackie is looking left.  At this point the President is approaching Mary Woodward and her friends (the President is opposite them at z190-195).  We can see that they are clapping.  At z170-180 his head turns fully right and looks at them and he gives a full wave of his right hand and smiles.  Jackie's head turns from looking left to looking sharp right, as well from z173 to z192, which is one second, .  JFK then turns forward by z206. 

This is exactly what Mary Woodward described as occurring just before the first shot. She said that she thought that they were the last people the President acknowledged before that first "horrible, ear-shattering noise".

You're making an argument for a first shot @z223 and against a first shot in the z190's
JFK turns forward (@ z206) "and suddenly there was a horrible, ear-shattering noise coming from behind us and a little to the right".
A shot at z223 would be less than a second after JFK faced forward.
In her account, Woodward makes it clear both JFK and Jackie "turned, and smiled and waved, directly at us".
In the Towner film, at no point is Jackie looking to her right, she is clearly looking to her left.
From z133 Jackie is looking to her left.
She starts to turn @ z170 but it's not until about z190 that both she and JFK are looking to their right. JFK is still waving and smiling.
As you say, this is the moment described by Woodward.
She describes JFK turning to face ahead (this happens @ z206) immediately after which was the first shot (I would argue at z223 which is the only model that makes sense of Woodward's observations)
The Towner film proves Jackie did not turn to her right as the limo turned the corner at Houston and Elm.

[Andrew Mason]

You're making an argument for a first shot @z223 and against a first shot in the z190's
JFK turns forward (@ z206) "and suddenly there was a horrible, ear-shattering noise coming from behind us and a little to the right".
A shot at z223 would be less than a second after JFK faced forward.
In her account, Woodward makes it clear both JFK and Jackie "turned, and smiled and waved, directly at us".
In the Towner film, at no point is Jackie looking to her right, she is clearly looking to her left.
From z133 Jackie is looking to her left.
She starts to turn @ z170 but it's not until about z190 that both she and JFK are looking to their right. JFK is still waving and smiling.
As you say, this is the moment described by Woodward.
She describes JFK turning to face ahead (this happens @ z206) immediately after which was the first shot (I would argue at z223 which is the only model that makes sense of Woodward's observations)
The Towner film proves Jackie did not turn to her right as the limo turned the corner at Houston and Elm.

Well, it is evidence that indicates that the first shot was around z206 or later. It is difficult to pinpoint when he started to turn forward and all Mary Woodward says is that the first shot did not occur before he made that turn.  He is turned sharp right and waving in z193 which is the clearest frame between z190 and z207.  At z193 he was opposite Mary Woodward so if he turned forward after he passed her, as her account indicates, he could have begun his turn earlier than z206.  On the other hand, we can see in Willis' photo taken at z202 that JFK appears to still have his head is still turned somewhat right.  But he is not looking back toward Mary Woodward who was then about 10 feet behind him.

Mary Woodward is one witness.  Of course, we have to look at all the evidence.  And the evidence of Linda Willis, who was a couple of feet to her father's right and on the step behind him, said that the President was between her and the Stemmons sign when the first shot occurred.  From Phil Willis' view at z202, he was just past the Stemmons sign. So from Linda Willis' point of view, at z202 the president would be just about past the Stemmons sign. We also have Rosemary's sharp right turn back toward the TSBD at z204-207 and if that was in response to a shot, it must have come a few frames earlier.

I would agree that the most difficult to determine bracket for the first shot is the "not after" bracket.  There is abundant evidence that the "not before" bracket is at least z186. 

[Dan O'meara]

Well, it is evidence that indicates that the first shot was around z206 or later. It is difficult to pinpoint when he started to turn forward and all Mary Woodward says is that the first shot did not occur before he made that turn.  He is turned sharp right and waving in z193 which is the clearest frame between z190 and z207.  At z193 he was opposite Mary Woodward so if he turned forward after he passed her, as her account indicates, he could have begun his turn earlier than z206.  On the other hand, we can see in Willis' photo taken at z202 that JFK appears to still have his head is still turned somewhat right.  But he is not looking back toward Mary Woodward who was then about 10 feet behind him.

Mary Woodward is one witness.  Of course, we have to look at all the evidence.  And the evidence of Linda Willis, who was a couple of feet to her father's right and on the step behind him, said that the President was between her and the Stemmons sign when the first shot occurred.  From Phil Willis' view at z202, he was just past the Stemmons sign. So from Linda Willis' point of view, at z202 the president would be just about past the Stemmons sign. We also have Rosemary's sharp right turn back toward the TSBD at z204-207 and if that was in response to a shot, it must have come a few frames earlier.

I would agree that the most difficult to determine bracket for the first shot is the "not after" bracket.  There is abundant evidence that the "not before" bracket is at least z186.

Woodward is not the first witness you have presented that has refuted your own model. Her observations fit very well with my own model.
As for the Willis's, in particular Rosemary's turn in response to the sound of the first shot. This has been dealt with numerous times and it is somewhat disheartening to have to refute the same point again and again and again.
One last time -
In the Z-film we can see Rosemary Willis' response to what is possibly a shot somewhere in the z190's
A few feet away from her we can also see a vehicle full of specially trained Secret Service Agents
Not one of these Agents makes any kind of meaningful response for the entire time they are in view (up to z207)
You are (again) asking us to believe that this little girl is responding to a shot but that the car full of SS Agents are completely oblivious to it.
Even though many of these agents describe reacting immediately to the first 'explosive noise'
This is the reaction we see in Altgens 6

Rosemary Willis is not reacting to the sound of the first shot.
The Z-film proves this beyond reasonable doubt.
Surely this is the end of this particular matter

[Andrew Mason]

Woodward is not the first witness you have presented that has refuted your own model. Her observations fit very well with my own model.
As for the Willis's, in particular Rosemary's turn in response to the sound of the first shot. This has been dealt with numerous times and it is somewhat disheartening to have to refute the same point again and again and again.
One last time -
In the Z-film we can see Rosemary Willis' response to what is possibly a shot somewhere in the z190's
A few feet away from her we can also see a vehicle full of specially trained Secret Service Agents
Not one of these Agents makes any kind of meaningful response for the entire time they are in view (up to z207)
You are (again) asking us to believe that this little girl is responding to a shot but that the car full of SS Agents are completely oblivious to it.
Even though many of these agents describe reacting immediately to the first 'explosive noise'
This is the reaction we see in Altgens 6

Rosemary Willis is not reacting to the sound of the first shot.
The Z-film proves this beyond reasonable doubt.
Surely this is the end of this particular matter

Rosemary Willis turns her head suddenly at 204-207:

Please explain how you know that she does not do this in response to the first shot. 

The problem is not that the Secret Service agents did not respond.  The problem is that we can't see them respond.  We can only see Landis and Hill after z212 and frames 208-211 are missing.

Landis appears to be looking down at the side of the president's limo and Hill was fixated on JFK. That is how they said they reacted.

Jack Ready lifts his right hand off the front hand-hold and starts to turn his body to the right at z199.  By z207 his right arm is down by his side. He said he turned around to his right in response to the first shot.

 

[Jerry Organ]

Porkie Mason. Rosemary was still running when she said she heard the first shot. Must take more than a frame to come to a stop. Maybe not in your world.

Jack Ready lifts his right hand off the front hand-hold and starts to turn his body to the right at z199.  By z207 his right arm is down by his side.

All you're talking about is Ready having to release his right hand if he's to look more full rearward. It's like with Rosemary: you think she can do everything (hear the shot, process it, decide how to react) in one frame.

He said he turned around to his right in response to the first shot.

    "At about Z164, Ready turned to face forward again, then at Z177
     snapped his head to the right, and by Z255 had turned sharply to
     his right-rear (as seen in a photograph by James Altgens)."

Dale K. Myers thinks Agent Ready reacted to the first shot earlier. Some clear frames ...


Agent Ready is standing camera-left on the front of the "Queen Mary's" followup-car running board.

    "At about 12:30 p.m. we began the approach to the Thornton Freeway
     traveling about 20-25 MPH in a slight incline. I was about 25-30 feet
     from President Kennedy who was located in the right rear seat. I heard
     what appeared to be fire crackers going off from my position. I immediately
     turned to my right rear trying to locate the source but was not able to
     determine the exact location."

To think Ready could turn fully to his right rear "immediately" in a literal sense is not realistic, given his precarious perch on the running board. Ready describes "fire crackers" (plural) before he completed his full turn, which could mean he didn't get turned fully back until after hearing a second shot (ie: the second shot I place in the early Z220s works better than your nonsensical Z271 second shot). Or Ready could have meant he heard more than one shot in a general way and that he began to turn his head on hearing the first shot.

[Steve M. Galbraith]

I think showing Rosemary Willis's reactions starting at Z-204 can be misleading. Here's a fuller clip below. To me she is fully stopped before 204 and at about frame ~190. And she is slowing down well before that. Again: why? On the other hand, if she heard a shot wouldn't she immediately stop and not "slow" stop? Trying to figure this out is maddening.

[Jerry Freeman]

Mr Price was not called to testify. Gee, I wonder why 

[Andrew Mason]

I think showing Rosemary Willis's reactions starting at Z-204 can be misleading. Here's a fuller clip below. To me she is fully stopped before 204 and at about frame ~190. And she is slowing down well before that. Again: why?

Maybe she began to realize as the limo proceeded down Elm Street faster than she could run that there was no point in running after it. She slowed gradually. Her feet continued to move until z198.

On the other hand, if she heard a shot wouldn't she immediately stop and not "slow" stop? Trying to figure this out is maddening.

Of course, if she had already decided to slow down before she heard the shot and the shot occurred while slowing..... one would not be able to tell when the shot occurred by watching her slow down.