[MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO] >> For a moment, let's examine the ballistic evidence and some of the many questions that have arisen over the 50 years since President Kennedy's assassination. Look closely at the film recorded by Abraham Zapruder as the President's limousine passed through Dealey Plaza. We have slowed it down significantly for demonstration purposes. The time here is roughly 12:30 Central Standard time. And the President's limousine is just completing the hairpin turn from Houston street onto Elm street, where the President was shot. President and Mrs. Kennedy are seated in the back of the convertible limousine. Seated in front of the President is Texas Governor, John Connally. Seated in front of Mrs. Kennedy is Governor Connally's wife, Nellie Connally. From government and media reports, we know that Special Agent William R. Greer of the Secret Service was driving the Presidential limousine. On his right sat Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman, whose responsibilities included maintaining radio communications with the lead and follow cars, as well as scanning the route and getting out and standing near the President when the car stopped. There were four motorcycles, two on each side that flanked the rear of the Presidential car. There were other motorcycle officers within the motorcade, but these four were there to provide some cover for the President, and to keep back the crowd. On previous occasions, the President had requested that, to the extent possible, these flanking motorcycles keep back from the sides of his car. Immediately behind the President is the presidential follow car. This vehicle, a 1955 Cadillac eight passenger convertible, was especially outfitted for the Secret Service. It followed closely behind the President's automobile. It carried eight secret service agents, two in the front seat, two in the rear, and two on each of the right and left running boards. The agents in this car, under established procedure, had instructions to watch the route for signs of trouble. They were scanning not only the crowds, but the windows and roofs of buildings, overpasses, and crossings. They were instructed to watch particularly for thrown objects, for sudden actions in the crowd, for any movements toward the Presidential car that could be threatening. The agents on the front of the running boards, had directions to move immediately to positions just to the rear of the President and Mrs. Kennedy, when the President's car slowed to a walking pace or stopped or when the press of the crowd made it impossible for the escort motorcycles to stay in position on the car's rear flanks. The two agents on the rear of the running boards were to advance toward the front of the President's car whenever it stopped, or whenever it slowed down sufficiently for them to do so. Here is the moment of impact of the first shot that struck President Kennedy. Here is the moment of impact for the fatal head shot. To many people, the Zapruder film raises questions over whether the bullet that struck the President's head was fired from a gun that was behind him or in front of him. Notice that President Kennedy's head and upper torso are clearly thrown backward in a manner seemingly inconsistent with the shot coming from the rear. Some leading experts in physics have concluded that the recoil of the President's head proves that the fatal shot was not fired from the Depository, but rather from a location in front of Kennedy's limousine. By no means is this analysis unanimously supported. Others use photographic and scientific perspectives, to insist that the Zapruder film shows that the President initially fell forward having been hit from behind. Then the jet propulsion factor took effect pushing the President backwards. Jackie Kennedy is in shock, jumps up. it's clear that she is trying to retrieve a piece of the President's skull that has fallen on the back of the limousine, on the trunk of the limousine. but it's also very dangerous because the driver is getting ready to speed up to go to Parkland hospital. So her Secret Service Agent, Clint Hill, who is on her side of the car is making a mad dash. He had already started to run, having realized that President Kennedy was under attack, but he was just short of the car. He was unable to prevent that bullet from striking President Kennedy's head. He was, however, able to push Mrs. Kennedy into the car at which point Clint Hill covered the First Lady and the President with his body, trying to protect them as they went, went down under the overpass and on the way to Parkland Hospital, which was five minutes away. There were people on the other side of the overpass. They had no idea what had happened. They were waving, but of course, instead of seeing the President, they saw a foot sticking out. It was Clint Hill's foot. For a long time, people thought it was President Kennedy's, but it was actually Clint Hill's foot as he was trying to cover them and trying to make room for his body. Listen to some of the chaos, confusion, and incorrect reports that were recorded by the Dallas Police Department in the minutes surrounding the assassination. >> [INAUDIBLE] Get down on top of the underpass. See what happened up there. Go up to that overpass. Who got shot? station five move all men available out of my department. [INAUDIBLE] and [INAUDIBLE] down here and hold everything secure until homicide and other investigators can get there. It looks like the President's been hit. [INAUDIBLE] >> We were standing here close to it and it came from the Texas School Book Depository Building here with that roof on top. >> Evidently there has been a shooting with the President involved. I do not know the seriousness of it. One is at Parkland along with Dallas One. >> Eye witnesses say it came from the fourth floor. [SOUND] [INAUDIBLE] Depository Book store at Houston. [INAUDIBLE] Depository store on the corner of Elm and Theil. Officers are now surrounding and searching the building 1240. [INAUDIBLE] [NOISE] [SOUND] >> This is the sound of Agent Willie Price, who was stationed at the Trade Mart, the site to which the President was traveling for his luncheon speech. He also accompanied President Johnson to Parkland Hospital, reporting over the police radio system what he saw when he reached the hospital. >> The President's head was practically blown off. >> The call time of his report was 12:40, but the public wouldn't hear the official news for about another hour. Upon arrival at Parkland Hospital, Governor Connally, who had fainted from shock and loss of blood, regained consciousness and was immediately helped onto a stretcher. About 1:20 the bullet was found on the stretcher by Parkland's Chief Engineer, Darrell Tomlinson. But later Tomlinson was uncertain that this stretcher was used for Connally, and others wondered whether the bullet had been planted in order to implicate Lee Harvey Oswald. Further questions have been raised about the condition of this bullet, which was only slightly compacted at its base, despite having allegedly passed through two bodies and broken bones in Governor Connally. The ambiguous nature of the visual evidence can lead to diametrically opposite conclusions, and that was true of the only two official governmental reports that have been conducted since the assassination. Remember in the year after the President's assassination, the Warren Commission concluded that the assassination was the result of the actions of a single person. A lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. More than a decade after the Warren Commission's findings were released, another government investigation would be opened by the House Select Committee on Assassinations at the US House of Representatives. This second governmental body flatly contradicted the Warren Commission by concluding that the assassination of President Kennedy was the result of a conspiracy. So which government conclusion is correct? Was the assassination really the work of just one person, or were others involved? What other person or groups of people had reason to want to murder President Kennedy? We'll discuss some of those possibilities in our next segment. [BLANK_AUDIO]
