Pat Speer
"The Kennedy detail forcefully removed Kennedy's body from the hospital at the request of the Kennedy entourage, with the blessing of the new President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Kellerman's taking control of the medical evidence was performed under orders from the President's physician, George Burkley, almost certainly at the request of the Kennedy family."Who was the “Kennedy detail”? Who was the “Kennedy entourage”? It was Jackie Kennedy and the Secret Service. The author is just word smiting to pull the wool over our eyes so nothing there.
"The President's brain was kept at Bethesda until it could be further studied, after which Dr. Burkley, now working for President Johnson, gave it to the Secret Service Protective Research Section, where it remained until 1965. So yes, McLaren was unfair in accusing Kellerman of running off with the President's brain. Kellerman never had it in his possession."This was just McLaren’s understanding and has nothing to do with Hickey or the shot.
“The First Shot Miss”Again nothing to do with Hickey or the shot.
“The Second Shot Miss”Again nothing to do with Hickey or the shot.
“Re-inspecting Number 2” Again nothing to do with Hickey or the shot.
“The Third Shot Miss”"He cites S.M. Holland's initial statement that "After the first shot the secret service man raised up in the seat with a machine gun and then dropped back down in the seat" as evidence Hickey shot Kennedy. He fails to tell his viewers that Holland also claimed to see "a puff of smoke come from the trees" after this first shot, and no other puff of smoke. That's right. The smoke observed by Holland and others while standing atop the railroad bridge came from behind the picket fence on the grassy knoll. So how can McLaren cite them as support a rifle was fired in the middle of the plaza? He can't. So he doesn't. He claims ten witnesses "at ground level" smelled gunpowder, but never lists them."
I will list them:
Witnesses to smelling gunpowder at street level:
• Ralph Yarborough was in the car two cars behind the Presidents car and said he smelled gunpowder. He is a war veteran with more than 50 years experience with fire arms. WC Vol VII, pg 439
• Earl Brown, Dallas Police Patrolman – “Heard shot’s and then smelled gunpowder” WC Vol VI, pg 233
• Elizabeth Cabell, wife of Dallas mayor, said “acutely aware of the smell of gunpowder” WC Vol VII, pg 486
• Billy J. Martin, patrolman - “You could smell the gunpowder… you knew he wasn’t far away. When you’re that close, you can smell the powder burning. Why you—you’ve got to be pretty close to them… you could smell the gunpowder… right there in the street.”
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/19948-the-smell-of-gunpowder-in-dealey-plaza-from-murder-from-within-wind-speed-direction/ 8-30-2012
• Congressman Ray Roberts, seated next to her, had mentioned it also. Same source as Martin
• Tom C. Dillard, two cars behind the Cabell car, he “. . . very definitely smelled gunpowder when the cars moved up to the corner [of Elm and Houston Streets] Same source as Martin
• Virgie Rackley stood in front of the depository building close to the street. “She recalled that after the second shot, she smelled gun smoke…” same source as Martin
• One newspaper summed it up: “. . . seconds later the cavalcade was gone. The area still reeked with the smell of gunpowder.” Same source as Martin
“He cites Jean Hill's statements as evidence a member of the Secret Service fired a weapon. He fails to tell his viewers that Hill thought the first shot hit Kennedy in the head, and that she thought some or all of the shots she heard after he was hit in the head may have been fired by the Secret Service in retaliation.”Yeah, that would be Hickey
“He wonders whether Hugh Betzner's recollection he saw "a flash of pink" wasn't a reference to the muzzle blast from Hickey's rifle. that the flash of pink which Betzner observed, while standing 200 feet or so back behind the limousine at the moment of the head shot, was the pink-suited Mrs. Kennedy climbing out onto the back of the limousine, and then crawling back to her seat”.
The “flash of pink” was JFK’s brains be blown out and Hickey falling back down into his seat.
“Margaret Chisolm – Two men stood up and sat back down”All he is saying is what she saw, we don’t know if McLaren tried to contact her or not.
“Bill and Gayle Newman - The sound of a shot from Hickey's position would have come straight to their left ears. And yet they thought this shot came from behind.” This can be easily mistaken. Their heads were turned and they heard it through their left ears.
“Dave Powers - “Someone a foot away from me or two feet away from me couldn’t fire a gun without me hearing it.”Powers was not on the car at the time, he was running towards the JFK limo at the time Hickey fired the AR15. Look at the photo of Hickey holding the gun and Powers on the trunk of the JFK limo.
“Bronson film”I can’t make out anything in the Bronson film.
“The Whole Program Miss”Regardless where the bullet entered the back of JFK’s head, we did see the result of a frangible round blowing his head apart. And with all the melon experiments we saw what happens, small hole in the back of the head and an explosion out the front.
The purpose of Pat Speer’s “story” was to discredit Colin McLaren, Harold Donahue, and the findings in Mortal Error by Bonar Menninger. Again you have a dozen or so witnesses that smelled gun smoke, not car exhaust, gun smoke in the motorcade in line with the air flow on the motorcade. You have a dozen or so witnesses that saw Hickey with the gun, some of which thought he had fired it. That AR15 Hickey was holding was the only known source of the bullet that did that kind of damage to a human head.
Now you please tell me where the gun smoke and the frangible round came from?
