The aptly-named “turkey-shoot” is so over-the-top, it completely defies any kind of logic, apart from the fact that it is an essential requirement for this Hollywood blockbuster! It has no connection with reality, and does not stand up to close scrutiny of the Zapruder film. (“JFK” was released before the 1992 computer-enhanced findings, which proved that Connolly was hit at frame 224, not at 238.)
From any elevated position on that day, the President would have been an easy target. If a professional hit-man had been used, only a single shot would have been required, thus eliminating any later need to cover-up the direction and number of shots! But, in “JFK” we are presented with a number of assassins. And they are such bad shots. Two complete misses! Another miss that manages to hit Connolly! And only one head-shot out of six attempts! Those guys were definately in the wrong profession.
And there were stories. Such as the tale of the three mysterious tramps, or hobos, discovered inside a freight-train, close to the Depository, some thirty minutes after the shooting. Are these guys really members of the three professional hit-teams used in the assassination? Dallas police records released in 1989 revealed that the men had been identified and booked shortly after their arrest. As soon as the news became public knowledge, the tramps were quietly dropped by the conspiracy writers. But they still managed to make it to Hollywood.
Other mysterious figures treated with tender-loving-care by “JFK”, were the so-called “umbrella-man” and the phony epileptic.
The former supposedly used his unnecessary appendage, for the day that was in it, in order to signal to the shooters, as the motorcade approached. (Why they required such a signal is not explained.) Standing on the grassy knoll, half way down Elm and just up off the sidewalk, Louie Steven Witt had less view of the Lincoln as it turned onto Elm, than the supposed shooters did! He appeared before the HSCA in September of 1978, in order to explain his actions on that day. An attempted protest against the Kennedy administration, ended up simply as a case of “wrong time, wrong place”. But, fifteen years after the event, this important member of the conspiracy-team was still living in Dallas, and even brought his old umbrella along for the Committee members to inspect!
And what of the man who staged the epileptic seizure on Houston Street, in order to “make it easier for the shooters to move into their places”? This poor man, Jerry Belknap, later tracked down by the FBI, was found to be a life-long epileptic.
With around thirty cameras, movie and still, in the possession of private individuals inside Dealey Plaza at the time of the assassination, how could the supposed hit-team be expected to go completely undetected? There were another thirty-odd cameras in the possession of newspaper-men and others inside the mororcade itself.
More potentially revealing than the Zapruder film, were two home-movies shot by Mary Muchmore and Orville Nix, both positioned close to Main Street. As it turned out, at the exact moment of the head-shot, the Muchmore film excluded the top half of the fence up on the grassy knoll, where another gunman was said to be located, and it was a couple of seconds later before the fence appeared fully in the Nix film. But who knew these facts at the time, when plans were supposedly being hatched to remove the President’s body to Washington D.C., in order to alter the tell-tale wounds?
Dr. Earl Rose, the Dallas medical examiner, with an office at Parkland hospital, who was insisting that the autopsy would have to be performed in Dallas, was asked by the President’s physician to travel to Washington, in order to witness it carried out there. Lucky for the conspirators, Rose refused!
Within an hour of the assassination, Lt. Carl Day was dusting for fingerprints at the 6th floor south-east corner window of the Depository. He was paying particular attention to three book-cartons that appeared to have been constructed as a gun-rest, and to a fourth which had apparently been used as a seat.
Oswald’s right palmprint, discovered on the carton used as a seat, was extremely distinct, and appeared to indicate that the hand had been resting there for some time. By itself, the palmprint was not enough to convict him of anything, but it placed him at the window, probably at lunchtime on that day. It was certainly enough to arouse suspicion.
A home-made paper bag was found discarded on the floor close to the snipers window, and had apparently been constructed so as to hold the disassembled Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. Oswald’s prints were discovered on the bag. A fellow-employee recalled giving Oswald a lift to work that morning, and had noticed him carrying a long parcel.
On Thursday afternoon, the day prior to the assassination, Oswald had returned unexpectedly to the house of his estranged wife, in a Dallas suburb. All previous visits had been made at weekends, but this time he went to collect his rifle.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the FBI traced the suppliers of the rifle to a sporting-goods company in Chicage. The original order-form had been preserved on microfilm, and although he had used an alias, there was no question but the writing was Oswald’s.
While the wooden stock of the rifle was unlikely to provide any prints, because of its poor quality, Oswald’s right palmprint was discovered on the underside of the barrel. That print could only have been placed there in the disassembled condition.
When a photo of Oswald with the rifle was shown to the suspect while in custody, (one of the famous “backyard photos”) he knew that he had to deny ownership, and claimed it was a fake. He continued with that story, not knowing that the evidence was rapidly mounting against him.With the police holding positive proof of Oswald’s ownership of the rifle, the conspiracy writers never really explain why photos had to be faked, in order to link him to the weapon. If they were faked, there was one major slip-up!
Photos of the rifle taken after it was located inside the Depository, show that some type of leather sling, or strap, was attached to the weapon. When purchased, there had been no such attachment, but Oswald had obviously obtained one at a later stage. However, in all of the “backyard photos”, a thin rope was used as a sling, not the later appendage! (It appears to have been a rope taken from a childs toy.) If the “backyard photos” were really part of a set-up, surely the strap would not have been changed!
With so much evidence mounting against Oswald, there probably would have been no way for him to escape the guilty verdict. If he had murdered anyone except the President of the UnitedStates, there would have been little enough interest.But the Kennedy name was magic, and books would be written, and Hollywood would come calling.
Why did Oswald require three shots? Simply because he was not a professional hit-man! Located at the 6th floor corner window, a professional would have waited with confidence until the Presidential limo reappeared from under the foliage of the oak tree. He would then have required just one single shot! While Oswald was a good shot from his Marine days, he did not have the coolness and ability of a professional, so things did not turn out quite as expected. His first shot, taken hurriedly as Kennedy was disappearing from sight behind the oak tree, was unsuccessful. His second shot, although hitting the target, was not lethal.
At that point, Oswald must have been more than surprised at the slow reaction from the highly-rated Secret-Service agents inside the Lincoln. (In fact, the limo actually slowed down at this point!) All the conspirators in the world would not have expected the President to remain an easy target for almost five more seconds. But having been given that time, Oswald took full use of it.
The only person inside the Lincoln to immediately recognize a rifle-shot was Governor Connolly. If he had not been cut down by the second bullet, he might well have shouted a warning to the two agents in the front seats, neither of whom reacted until after the final shot! But it was not their fault. At that time “there was no formal training in the recognition of pistol shots or rifle shots”, for Secret-Service agents.
“JFK” is a well-produced crime-thriller with some fine acting, particularly in cameo-roles. But it is far from historically accurate, although mainly accepted as being so. Why were three hit-men used? Were they needed? The Jack Weaver Polaroid, mentioned at the start of this article, was taken just seconds before shooting commenced. Is that a professional hit-man at the snipers window, exposed to the people and the cameras below, and expecting to walk free afterwards? Or is it Lee Harvey Oswald, who had a plan, but holds no hope of escape?
What some people will never accept, is the fact that the most powerful man in the world was cut down by a nobody, a one-time Russian defector, a man who could not look after his wife and family. A man whose decision to kill Kennedy could have been given its final push, by the sight of two brand-new hunting-rifles being shown-off by a fellow-employee, inside the Depository building just a few days previously! From such small promptings, history has often been shaped.
As for Oswald’s claim that he was a “patsy”, he did make it, but not in the context that the conspiracy writers would have us believe. While in custody, he was asked by a reporter ; “Did you kill the President?”, and replied ; “No. They’ve taken me in because of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union. I’m just a patsy”. Hardly ground-breaking stuff! In any case, if he had been set-up, he would have to be silenced right away!
On the day of the assassination, the “Dallas Morning News” carried a full-page advertisement with the caption “Welcome Mr. Kennedy”. It accused the President of being a tool of the Communists, and was signed by a Bernard Weissman, Chairman of “The American Fact-Finding Committee”.
When Jack Ruby read the article he became upset at the content, and because the writer was Jewish. Ruby was Jewish, his given name was Rubenstein, and, following the assassination, he thought the Jews would be blamed for it.
Was Ruby a hit-man for the Mafia? Because he knew everyone, and because of the circus-like conditions prevalent at Police Headquarters, with reporters and camera-crews everywhere, Ruby managed to gain access just a few hours after Oswald’s arrest! He remained there for over two hours, from around 6pm until 8. For part of that time, he was outside the very room where the suspect was being questioned!
He again entered Police H.Q. shortly after 11pm, and passed within a couple of feet of Oswald, as the latter was being taken down to the basement, for the midnight press-conference. Ruby attended that abortive press-conference, and was once again close enough to the suspect to have shot him, if he had wanted to. But nothing happened. On the following day, Saturday, he spent another two hours inside the building, during the afternoon.
On Sunday morning Ruby again entered the basement assembly area, just as Oswald was about to be transferred to the county jail, and shot him dead! If the transfer had not been delayed, Ruby would have missed him. It was really a case of happenstance, as the interrogation had lasted longer than expected, and at the last moment Oswald had asked for a change of clothes! Why did Ruby do it? Was it because he was afraid that the Jews might be blamed for the assassination, or because of the bad name it would give his adopted city? Or because of all the death-threats that Oswald had received, he thought it would make him a hero? We do not really know. But Mafia hit-man he was not. If he had been, he would have carried out his assignment shortly after Oswald’s arrest, not two days later.
The Bermuda Triangle was very profitable for many writers, but the Kennedy assassination turned out to be the real mother-lode, with numerous conspiracy books becoming best-sellers. “JFK” became its apogee. But, there is something we know for certain. On the morning of Friday 22nd November, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald brought a rifle to his place of work, and the rest is history!
Sources ; Warren Report and 26 volumes of Hearings and Exhibits. HSCA Report and 12 volumes of Hearings and Appendices. “Who Killed Kennedy” Thomas G. Buchanan. “On the Trail of the Assassins” Jim Garrison. “Legend ; The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald” Edward Jay Epstein. “The Kennedy Conspiracy” 1989 edition, Anthony Summers. “Case Closed” Gerald Posner. “The American Assassins ; Lee Harvey Oswald and John F. Kennedy” CBS News Inquiry. “The Mysterious Career of Lee Harvey Oswald” An Invision Production for BBC in Association with WGBH/Boston. “The Killing of Kennedy” Discovery Network and Channel Four Television. “The Zapruder Fottage” BBC. “The Kennedy Assassination : Beyond Conspiracy” BBC.