Note: Contrary to popular belief, the "magic" bullet,
CE399, is not the only ballistic evidence found in the JFK assassination
evidence. Most people are surprised when informed of how many
fragments were left behind:
1. CE 567 (found driver's
side front seat of limo)
2. CE 569 (found beside front seat
of limo)
3. CE 840 (3 fragments
found from underneath the left jump seat. \ One
is now missing from NARA.)
4. CE 843 Gov. Connally's wrist
(Parkland, fragments were removed)
5. Gov. Connally's wrist
(Parkland, fragments left in, shown on Xray)
6. CE 843 Pres.
Kennedy's brain (Bethesda, 2 fragments removed | (receipt
states missile) | Note
on sizes
7. Pres. Kennedy's brain
(Bethesda, fragments left in, shown on Xray)
8. Strike on Commerce
Street curb left metal smear (Dealey Plaza, from missed shot,
fragment or bullet)
Latest
News On Fragment Testing:Subject: Analysis of Bullet Fragment
Testing
From: JFK News
To: All UsersJFK LINE MEDIA ALERTCONTACT: DEBRA CONWAY
949-699-2744
debra@jfklancer.com
http://jfklancer.com/LNE/THE REPORT "FURTHER SCIENTIFIC
EXAMINATION OF THE JFK ASSASSINATION EVIDENCE" (1/21/2000)
AND SOME RESULTANT NEWSMEDIA ANALYSIS.
"the testing proves
nothing at all."
On January 21, 2000, the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA) released a report on the analysis
of materials adhering to Warren Commission Exhibit #567, the
nose of a bullet found in the limousine in which President Kennedy
was riding when assassinated on November 22, 1963. These materials
were found to consist of fibers, as well as human tissue which,
we are told, did not yield conclusive results in DNA testing.On the same
day as the release of the report, at least one news program that aired
on a Los Angeles radio station stated that the testing of the fibers had
proved the "single
bullet theory" of the assassination correct, thereby bolstering
the concept of a lone gunman.CAN A POSITIVE BE PROVED BY THE DISPROVING
OF A NEGATIVE?The press release accompanying the report
states, in part, that:
"the Department of Justice said that
if "alleged fiber evidence embedded in the bullet nose recovered
from the front seat of the limousine" was "consistent
with the President's shirt collar, tie, and tie liner,"
then there might have been a "different trajectory than
that previously identified" by the Warren Commission.*
The Justice Department's logic is simple
to follow: Any fragment of a bullet that passed through clothing
would be expected to carry microscopic traces of cloth fibers.
Also, if the above bullet fragment proves to have caused any of
the wounds that the Warren Report attributed to the nearly-pristine bullet
found at Parkland Hospital, then the 'Parkland Bullet' ceases to be a 'Single
Bullet' . Since the Warren Commission concluded that a lone gunman could
not have fired more than 3 shots in the allotted timespan, and with one
shot missing the car and another causing the fatal wound to the President's
head, the addition of two more bullets, rather than just the single
bullet, would make 4 shots --- too many bullets --- necessitating
the presence of more than one gunman.The new Report found that none of
the fibers adhering to the piece of bullet fragment #567 came from the
clothing of either man. This, on the surface, would appear to rule out
fragment #567 as causing most, if not all, of the non-fatal wounds
(the possible exception being the wrist wounds of Governor Connally.)However
the question remains: Does the elimination of bullet fragment #567 as causing
the non-fatal wounds in any way establish that
the Parkland Bullet was, indeed, a single bullet causing all
non-fatal wounds? It does not.In the case of the news report above, someone
unfamiliar with the facts of the case jumped to the conclusion
that if fragment #567 did not cause any of the
non-fatal wounds, this automatically proves that the 'Parkland
Bullet' did cause all the non-wounds. This, however,
is not the basis of a sound argument.WHAT DOES THE TESTING OF THE BULLET
FRAGMENT PROVE?By being unable to match the fibers to
any known fibers within the assassination setting, and by not
being able to determine the source of the tissue found, the testing
proves nothing at all.WHAT CAN WE FURTHER LEARN FROM THIS?In the
press release, the Justice Department does, however, implicitly take a
position that is not an assumption, but a fact consistent with forensic
science --- a bullet passing through clothing and human flesh will contain
microscopic traces of cloth fibers, as well as blood and tissue.What the
JD does not comment on is the fact that the nearly-pristine bullet found
at Parkland Hospital, and which for over 3 decades the Government has contended
caused all of the non-fatal wounds to both the President and the Governor,
contained not the slightest microscopic residue of either cloth
fibers, blood or tissue.Testimony of FBI Agent Frazier; 3/31/64:
Q: Did you clean the bullet prior
to the examination?
A: No, sir; it was not necessary. The bullet was clean when we
received it, and it was not necessary to change it in any way.
This would seem to also rule out the Parkland
Bullet as a cause of the non-fatal wounds, making it at least
the 4th bullet to have been fired that day in Dallas.*
The "trajectory" referred to above is the path of the theoretical
'single bullet', proposed by then-Commission Counsel Arlen Specter to have
entered the back of the President's neck, striking no bone and exiting
through the front of his throat, entering the back of Governor
John Connally, striking a piece of the Governor's rib, exiting
through the front of his chest, passing through his wrist and
severing tendons, and then partially embedding itself in Connally's
leg.
Copyright © 2000 JFK Lancer. All rights
reserved.1-21-00Subject: Bullet Fragment Test Report
From: JFK News
Folks,I have been alerted by the National Archives that a report
on the bullet fragment testing has been released. The release
being faxed to me now (29 pages). I will scan them and post
on our web site right away. A few questions I already have is
if the fiber could be carpet from the limousine and if the
report will state if the fragment was ever kept in another
container? Of course, we already knew the DNA would be
inconclusive due to the sent-by-mistake memo a few months
ago.I request that anyone with further information or insight
to
please send it along. To refresh your understanding of this
testing see the article by Joe Backes and myself at http://
jfklancer.com/LNE/fragments.html.Meanwhile I have received the following
press release from
Karen Gullo (AP). See below:Sent to JFK Lancer:> NARA
2000-075
>
> NOTICE
>
> Expiration Date: 01/21/2001
>
> Lab tests on JFK assassination evidence now complete
>
> All employees
>
> We are releasing today a report on laboratory analyses of
evidence from the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.
>
> The evidence analyzed was Warren Commission Exhibit (CE)
#567 containing the nose portion of a bullet recovered from the
limousine in which the President was riding. The exhibit, which
has been in NARA custody since 1966, consisted of five fragments:
one copper and lead fragment with adhering fibrous debris, and
four smaller pieces of organic material. Tests were made of the
debris and the organic material to determine their composition
for possible relevance to the Commission's conclusion that alleged
assassin Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
>
> In requesting such tests, the Department of Justice said
that if "alleged fiber evidence embedded in the bullet nose
recovered from the front seat of the limousine" was "consistent
with the President's shirt collar, tie, and tie liner,"
then there might have been a "different trajectory than
that previously identified" by the Warren Commission. Scientists
concluded from the test that the fibers were of non-textile origin
and did not come from the clothing of John F. Kennedy, nor of
John B. Connally. The Department of Justice also had speculated
that the organic fragments might shed light on the assassination,
but DNA analysis of them proved inconclusive.
>
> Most of the analysis was accomplished on site at NARA. Instrumental
analysis of a portion of the fibrous material was undertaken
at the FBI Laboratory (Washington, DC); histological preparations
of samples taken from the four organic fragments were processed
at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Walter Reed Complex);
and mitochondrial DNA examinations of samples taken from the
four organic fragments were conducted at the Armed Forces DNA
Identification Laboratory (Rockville, MD).
>
> The final report on the investigation, entitled "Further
Scientific Examination of JFK Assassination Evidence," describes
the scientific decision-making process, summarizes the findings,
and appends the individual laboratory reports. The three investigative
agencies that cooperated on the project were the FBI Laboratory,
The Armed Forces Medical Examiner, and the Armed Forces DNA Identification
Laboratory. The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
of the Maimonides Medical Center and the Smithsonian Center for
Materials Research and Education supplied independent participants
in the testing.
>
> 2
>
> For work on this matter, I wish to express particular appreciation
to Margaret Kelly (NWTD), who coauthored the summary report,
and Steven Tilley (NWCTF).
>
> For questions regarding this notice, please contact Jerry
George (NCOM) in room 4400, AII; on 301-713-7360, ext. 264; by
fax on 301-713-7344; or by email.
>
> JOHN W. CARLIN
> Archivist
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 Article on Fragment Testing.
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