Gov. John Connally Grips His White Stetson Hat at Z-272

[David Von Pein]

DVP has argued that at Z225 JFK and JBC both show other signs of being struck and he might be right about that. He bases that on JFK's facial expression at Z225. Given the low resolution of the Z-film and we can't compare JFK's facial expression to Z224, I don't think that is conclusive. There is no question that JBC's right shoulder dips dramatically at Z225 but I simply can't say whether that is a reflexive response or it is being moved by the force of the bullet. Either seems possible to me.

It's not just Connally's right shoulder that is moving around between Z224 and 225, it's both shoulders that are (IMO) unquestionably flinching. And this flinching is occurring in the exact same frame (Z225) in which Connally's facial expression changes and his mouth opens. Also take note of Connally's necktie curling up, which was being caused no doubt by the sudden flinching of the shoulders, forcing the tie to move. What we're seeing here are the immediate involuntary reflex reactions being exhibited by Governor Connally after being struck by a bullet:



And then, just one frame later, the Hat Flip:

[Andrew Mason]

It's not just Connally's right shoulder that is moving around between Z224 and 225, it's both shoulders that are (IMO) unquestionably flinching. And this flinching is occurring in the exact same frame (Z225) in which Connally's facial expression changes and his mouth opens. Also take note of Connally's necktie curling up, which was being caused no doubt by the sudden flinching of the shoulders, forcing the tie to move. What we're seeing here are the immediate involuntary reflex actions being exhibited by Governor Connally after being struck by a bullet:

The movement couldn’t possibly be preparing to turn around because:
1. JBC had just heard a rifle shot
2. He feared an assassination of the President was underway
3. He wanted to turn around to look behind him to see JFK.

That would require evidence. 

Oh, but there is a lot of evidence that the first shot struck JFK but did not strike JBC in the back.

And there is a lot of evidence that the first shot was after z186.

And there is really a lot evidence that the last two were closer together, which would mean that the second shot has not occurred at z225.

But that’s just evidence.  Your ability to interpret equivocal parts of the zfilm is better than the observations of many witnesses who were there.

[David Von Pein]

The movement couldn’t possibly be preparing to turn around because:
1. JBC had just heard a rifle shot.
2. He feared an assassination of the President was underway.
3. He wanted to turn around to look behind him to see JFK.

You, therefore, think that Connally is exhibiting classic signs of sudden distress (flinching, suddenly opening his mouth, and jerking an arm up then down) merely because he was "preparing to turn around". Oh brother!

Looks like Andrew is in just about as much SBT Denial as Mr. James R. Gordon of The Education Forum. Mr. Gordon, btw, totally denied the Connally "hat flip" altogether. He thought it never occurred:

"Nor does John Connally’s hat begin to flip at Z 226 forwards. .... These “jerky” and “startled” reactions that you talk about only occur between Z 226 and Z 228. And these are blurred frames. These reactions have nothing to do with John Connally, they are a consequence of Zapruder moving his camera." -- James Gordon; May 15, 2015

How's that for a severe case of Denial?

More:

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/A Bitter SBT Debate

[John Corbett]

You, therefore, think that Connally is exhibiting classic signs of sudden distress (flinching, suddenly opening his mouth, and jerking an arm up then down) merely because he was "preparing to turn around". Oh brother!

Looks like Andrew is in just about as much SBT Denial as Mr. James R. Gordon of The Education Forum. Mr. Gordon, btw, totally denied the Connally "hat flip" altogether. He thought it never occurred:

"These “jerky” and “startled” reactions that you talk about only occur between Z 226 and Z 228. And these are blurred frames. These reactions have nothing to do with John Connally, they are a consequence of Zapruder moving his camera." -- James Gordon; 2015

How's that for a severe case of Denial?

David, for what it's worth, I could never get Tony Marsh to acknowledge the hat flip beginning at Z226 either. He simply didn't want to address the fact that JFK's and JBC's arms started moving up in perfect unison, so he simply denied it.

I will admit that my main focus has always been on the simultaneous upward movement of the two men's arms beginning at Z226 and had not focused much on the reactions you see at Z225. You might very well be correct about that. I wish we could see JFK's face at Z224 so we would have something to compare it to. Was there a significant change at Z225? No way to say for sure, but you make a strong case for that. There's no question that JBC's shoulders made a sudden dip at Z225.

I have calculated that the bullet that caused JFK's head to explode at Z313 with an estimated average velocity of 2000 fps would have required about 2 frames to cover the 88 yards from the muzzle to JFK's head. I want to emphasize the word estimate because I don't have an reliable figure for the bullet's velocity, but I think I'm in the ballpark. That means Oswald would have pulled the trigger at or about Z311. Frame Z318 is badly blurred indicating Zapruder likely jiggled his camera in reaction to hearing the muzzle blast. Since the distance from the muzzle to Zapruder's ears was a constant for all three shots, we should expect a similar lag time between the firing of the shot and the jiggle of Zapruder's camera, which for the head shot was 7 frames. That is an estimate because the actual lag time is unlikely to be an integer. Whether that figure is a little more or a little less than 7 frames I have no way of knowing. Trying to nail this down precisely is impossible due to the timepiece we are using which is Zapruder's camera. However, if we apply that estimated 7 frame lag time to the second shot, there is a blurring of frame Z227 which would indicate the second shot was fired at Z220. It's a slightly shorter distance for the bullet to cover but it's still almost 2 Z-frames which would mean the single bullet struck at or about Z222. That seems to me to be reasonable given the jacket bulge at Z224 and the arm flips at Z226.

[John Corbett]

I am posting this for the benefit of Andrew Mason.  In another thread, Robin Unger posted this picture which is an enhanced version of frame 193.



I believe that is the frame you theorize JFK was struck in the back at and that the bullet that exited JFK's throat continued to the left of JBC's torso and struck him in the left thigh. To show how that could have happened, you posted this drawing earlier in this thread along with the caption "Not with JBC turned sharply right:"



Since both the photo and the drawing purport to be of frame Z193, I ask you if you think JBC is turned as far in the photo as you depict in your drawing?