The Explosive Head Shot
This is by far the most interesting and significant aspect of Donahue's theory of the Kennedy assassination. Donahue arrived at the theory of the explosive head-shot coming from the AR-15 by examining trajectory, pathology evidence, eyewitness statements, and other evidence. He was a ballistics expert who examined the case from a ballistics standpoint, but sought input from pathologists and others to confirm aspects of his theory. His theory of this shot is basically that it was accidentally fired when the agent handling the Secret Service AR-15 (who was unrestrained in the follow-up car) fell over and accidentally discharged the weapon. Given that there were a lot of witnesses who said that the limousine stopped or "almost" stopped, given that (in the book The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine) limousine driver William Greer admitted to "tapping the brakes to check the tires" when he thought the sound of a shot was a tire blow-out, and given that the follow-up car was only five feet behind the President's limousine, I suspect that when follow-up car driver Sam Kinney saw the brake lights of the President's limousine, he slammed on the brakes of the follow-up car to avoid hitting the limousine, causing Hickey to fall over (as some witnesses described). Alternatively, Hickey could have fallen when the car started up again, as witness S.M. Holland described.
Another summary can be found here: http://www.lindastratmann.com/articles/mortal-error.aspx
By studying the Zapruder film carefully, Donahue determined the angle at which JFK’s head was inclined forward and turned to the left just before the head shot. By studying the entrance wound (actually, two locations for the entrance: the lower autopsy location and the higher Clark Panel/HSCA location, both of which Donahue studied) on the back of the head and lining it up with both the HSCA exit and area of the skull that was apparently blasted out, Donahue determined that the trajectory of the shot was from left-to-right and at a shallow (near horizontal) angle, whereas a shot made by Oswald would have been from right-to-left and at a steeper angle (exiting in Kennedy's face, which such a shot clearly did not do). Donahue's degree of head rotation and therefore trajectory disagreed with those of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, but given that Kennedy's nose can be seen on the Zapruder film just before the fatal shot, Donahue's calculations make more sense. Also, the fragmentation of the round that hit Kennedy’s head was more consistent with the type of high-powered frangible round favored by bodyguards and law enforcement. (In 1963, this type of round was exclusive to bodyguards.) From both a ballistics and a pathology standpoint, Kennedy’s head wound was not consistent with the type of full-metal-jacket round that Oswald used, but was consistent with a frangible AR-15 .225 bullet.
This is by far the most interesting and significant aspect of Donahue's theory of the Kennedy assassination. Donahue arrived at the theory of the explosive head-shot coming from the AR-15 by examining trajectory, pathology evidence, eyewitness statements, and other evidence. He was a ballistics expert who examined the case from a ballistics standpoint, but sought input from pathologists and others to confirm aspects of his theory. His theory of this shot is basically that it was accidentally fired when the agent handling the Secret Service AR-15 (who was unrestrained in the follow-up car) fell over and accidentally discharged the weapon. Given that there were a lot of witnesses who said that the limousine stopped or "almost" stopped, given that (in the book The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine) limousine driver William Greer admitted to "tapping the brakes to check the tires" when he thought the sound of a shot was a tire blow-out, and given that the follow-up car was only five feet behind the President's limousine, I suspect that when follow-up car driver Sam Kinney saw the brake lights of the President's limousine, he slammed on the brakes of the follow-up car to avoid hitting the limousine, causing Hickey to fall over (as some witnesses described). Alternatively, Hickey could have fallen when the car started up again, as witness S.M. Holland described.
Another summary can be found here: http://www.lindastratmann.com/articles/mortal-error.aspx
By studying the Zapruder film carefully, Donahue determined the angle at which JFK’s head was inclined forward and turned to the left just before the head shot. By studying the entrance wound (actually, two locations for the entrance: the lower autopsy location and the higher Clark Panel/HSCA location, both of which Donahue studied) on the back of the head and lining it up with both the HSCA exit and area of the skull that was apparently blasted out, Donahue determined that the trajectory of the shot was from left-to-right and at a shallow (near horizontal) angle, whereas a shot made by Oswald would have been from right-to-left and at a steeper angle (exiting in Kennedy's face, which such a shot clearly did not do). Donahue's degree of head rotation and therefore trajectory disagreed with those of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, but given that Kennedy's nose can be seen on the Zapruder film just before the fatal shot, Donahue's calculations make more sense. Also, the fragmentation of the round that hit Kennedy’s head was more consistent with the type of high-powered frangible round favored by bodyguards and law enforcement. (In 1963, this type of round was exclusive to bodyguards.) From both a ballistics and a pathology standpoint, Kennedy’s head wound was not consistent with the type of full-metal-jacket round that Oswald used, but was consistent with a frangible AR-15 .225 bullet.
Donahue rejected the notion of a specific outshoot for an AR-15 round, but he considered (and rejected) the HSCA outshoot as being inconsistent with a shot from the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD). Such a shot (from the Committee's determined inshoot, which was actually higher than where the autopsy doctors placed it) would have exited Kennedy's face, which it clearly didn't. A TSBD shot from the autopsy doctors' original location, with the Committee's outshoot (the lowest possible outshoot) made even less sense.
However, given that there was an apparent "gaping hole" head wound (which I suspect was largely created by a pre-autopsy surgery of the head, first proposed by David Lifton in Best Evidence, later confirmed by former ARRB analyst Doug Horne & additionally supported by the authors of Murder from Within), Donahue considered that a trajectory from the center of that gaping hole, and realized that it traced back to the follow-up car. However, I believe Donahue's initial thought to reject a specific out-shoot to be more correct, and I think the original entrance wound (low on the skull) specified by the autopsy doctors was also correct. (I also think the "back of the head blow-out," as reported by many witnesses, was caused by the AR-15 round.) So Donahue's trajectory analysis is, in my opinion, a moot point. However, that opinion does not dismiss or refute his theory, which is also based on other evidence, not just the trajectory analysis.
Special Agent George Hickey, four months new to the Secret Service and trained only as a driver, was assigned the duty of manning the AR-15 rifle by Assistant Special Agent In Charge Emory Roberts (most likely, as McLaren points out, because the other agents were hung-over from a late night of drinking until 5am the morning of the assassination. Gerald Blaine’s book The Kennedy Detail, while not accepting the Donahue theory, points out that the presidential detail was extremely short-handed and overworked, and all agents, including driver agents (Hickey), had been trained in use of the rifle. Blaine points out that rifle and shot-gun practice was only quarterly, so Hickey, who had been on the job for only four months, would have only had a chance to practice with the AR-15 rifle once. I disagree that Hickey's "rookie" status had much of anything to the events. Given Hickey's age at the time he joined the Secret Service (40), he likely had veteran's status, and I think that the AR-15 accident could have happened with any agent, even the most experienced Secret Service agent.
During his research, Donahue learned that the bullet that struck Kennedy in the head had disintegrated into at least forty fragments (many no bigger than the point of the pen, and the largest about the size of the nail on one’s little finger). This type of disintegration was more consistent with AR-15 .223 ammo than the military style rounds that Oswald used. Additonally, Kennedy autopsist Dr. Pierre Finck measured the entrance wound at 6mm. Since bullet entrance wounds through bone (Kennedy's skull) always leave holes bigger than their diameter, the entrance wound is entirely consistent with an AR-15 5.5mm round, but inconsistent with Oswald's 6.5mm rounds. Examination of the President’s brain and the edge scrapings from the entrance hole in the skull would provide evidence which would identify the type of bullet that caused Kennedy’s head wound, but that evidence "disappeared."
Donahue met with Dr. Alfred Olivier, whose experiments with firing Carcano rounds into ten gelatin-filled skulls were reported in the Warren Commission. (McLaren’s book offers more information on this, pointing out some of the weaknesses in Olivier’s experiments and conclusions.) One of the ten skulls did shatter, but in each case, Olivier found only two or three large bullet fragments, not the forty or more minute fragments that appeared on Kennedy’s X-rays. Furthermore, Olivier had fired his rounds in approximation of Oswald’s trajectory (into the autopsy-identified entrance wounds), and the resulting exit wounds were in the face of the skulls, shattering bones in the forehead area, not on the right side where Kennedy’s skull was damaged (by the pre-autopsy surgery of the head).
Donahue also studied eyewitness testimony from the Warren Commission and found reports of the smell of gunpowder around the Secret Service follow-up car in the motorcade, when the wind direction would have prevented gun smoke from the TSBD from reaching them. Menninger’s book mentions this, but McLaren’s book really drives the point home by recounting more than 20 such witness statemnts, including Senator Yarborough's, who said that the odor clung to the motorcade all the way to Parkland Hosptal.
Donahue supported the Single Bullet Theory (SBT) and thought that of the three shells found in the TSBD sniper's nest, one had not actually been fired (he thought that Oswald had kept it chambered in the Carcano to keep it clean). However, I think that the SBT and the chambered round are instances where Donahue made slight errors in his theory. I believe that Oswald did fire three shots, one of which was immediately after the head shot to create the bang-bang that so many witnesses heard (and which McLaren's book describes). I think there were four shots. I think the first shot hit Kennedy in the back (actually, I think it did more than that, as my book outlines), the second shot hit Connally, the third shot was the accidental AR-15 head shot, and the fourth shot was a miss from Oswald that caused bystander James Tague's injuries. My book describes what I think happened with all the shots fired in Dealey Plaza in more detail.
My take on the explosive head shot is below. This isn't necessarily Donahue's theory as described in Menninger's book, but adds the limousine stop (as Dan Roffe's book JFK Motorcade does) plus my own observations combined with other aspects of the assassination uncovered by other researchers.
Most of the President's Secret Service agents apparently thought the first shot was a fire-cracker or motorcycle backfire and did not react. SSA George Hickey was the exception. He was the first agent in the follow-up car to react. He can be seen looking to the left and down in the Zapruder film, but not at bystanders. He is looking toward the curb or the road. (My book outlines what I believe he is looking at.)
Driver of the presidential limo, William Greer, apparently had no idea that shots were being fired. The noise of the motorcycles mixed with the sounds of the gunshots, and he interpreted the sound that he heard as a tire blow-out. He tapped his brake to test the tires of the presidential limo (as described in the book The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine).. Meanwhile, Hickey started to take aim on Oswald. He pointed the AR-15 toward Oswald and flipped off the safety on the "ready-to-go" AR-15.
With the follow-up car only five feet behind the presidential limo, follow-up car driver Sam Kinney saw the brake lights of the presidential limo come on. Not knowing what driver Greer was going to do, Kinney hit his own brakes hard in order to avoid rear-ending the presidential limo. Meanwhile, SSA Clint Hill noted Jacqueline Kennedy's odd reaction in the presidential limo and began to realize something serious was going on. He prepared to jump off the running board of the follow-up car and run to the back of the presidential limo.
The inertia of the sudden stopping of the follow-up car caused Hickey to lose his balance and fall. Or, alternatively, starting up again after coming to a stop caused Hickey to fall (as witness S.M. Holland described). In any case, the gun went off, just when it was pointed to the back of Kennedy's head.
And then the cover-up began.
Actually, I believe there was more to it than that, a combination of Secret Service impotence, inaction, and accident. My book outlines my theory of the first shot and why that was covered up, as well.
However, given that there was an apparent "gaping hole" head wound (which I suspect was largely created by a pre-autopsy surgery of the head, first proposed by David Lifton in Best Evidence, later confirmed by former ARRB analyst Doug Horne & additionally supported by the authors of Murder from Within), Donahue considered that a trajectory from the center of that gaping hole, and realized that it traced back to the follow-up car. However, I believe Donahue's initial thought to reject a specific out-shoot to be more correct, and I think the original entrance wound (low on the skull) specified by the autopsy doctors was also correct. (I also think the "back of the head blow-out," as reported by many witnesses, was caused by the AR-15 round.) So Donahue's trajectory analysis is, in my opinion, a moot point. However, that opinion does not dismiss or refute his theory, which is also based on other evidence, not just the trajectory analysis.
Special Agent George Hickey, four months new to the Secret Service and trained only as a driver, was assigned the duty of manning the AR-15 rifle by Assistant Special Agent In Charge Emory Roberts (most likely, as McLaren points out, because the other agents were hung-over from a late night of drinking until 5am the morning of the assassination. Gerald Blaine’s book The Kennedy Detail, while not accepting the Donahue theory, points out that the presidential detail was extremely short-handed and overworked, and all agents, including driver agents (Hickey), had been trained in use of the rifle. Blaine points out that rifle and shot-gun practice was only quarterly, so Hickey, who had been on the job for only four months, would have only had a chance to practice with the AR-15 rifle once. I disagree that Hickey's "rookie" status had much of anything to the events. Given Hickey's age at the time he joined the Secret Service (40), he likely had veteran's status, and I think that the AR-15 accident could have happened with any agent, even the most experienced Secret Service agent.
During his research, Donahue learned that the bullet that struck Kennedy in the head had disintegrated into at least forty fragments (many no bigger than the point of the pen, and the largest about the size of the nail on one’s little finger). This type of disintegration was more consistent with AR-15 .223 ammo than the military style rounds that Oswald used. Additonally, Kennedy autopsist Dr. Pierre Finck measured the entrance wound at 6mm. Since bullet entrance wounds through bone (Kennedy's skull) always leave holes bigger than their diameter, the entrance wound is entirely consistent with an AR-15 5.5mm round, but inconsistent with Oswald's 6.5mm rounds. Examination of the President’s brain and the edge scrapings from the entrance hole in the skull would provide evidence which would identify the type of bullet that caused Kennedy’s head wound, but that evidence "disappeared."
Donahue met with Dr. Alfred Olivier, whose experiments with firing Carcano rounds into ten gelatin-filled skulls were reported in the Warren Commission. (McLaren’s book offers more information on this, pointing out some of the weaknesses in Olivier’s experiments and conclusions.) One of the ten skulls did shatter, but in each case, Olivier found only two or three large bullet fragments, not the forty or more minute fragments that appeared on Kennedy’s X-rays. Furthermore, Olivier had fired his rounds in approximation of Oswald’s trajectory (into the autopsy-identified entrance wounds), and the resulting exit wounds were in the face of the skulls, shattering bones in the forehead area, not on the right side where Kennedy’s skull was damaged (by the pre-autopsy surgery of the head).
Donahue also studied eyewitness testimony from the Warren Commission and found reports of the smell of gunpowder around the Secret Service follow-up car in the motorcade, when the wind direction would have prevented gun smoke from the TSBD from reaching them. Menninger’s book mentions this, but McLaren’s book really drives the point home by recounting more than 20 such witness statemnts, including Senator Yarborough's, who said that the odor clung to the motorcade all the way to Parkland Hosptal.
Donahue supported the Single Bullet Theory (SBT) and thought that of the three shells found in the TSBD sniper's nest, one had not actually been fired (he thought that Oswald had kept it chambered in the Carcano to keep it clean). However, I think that the SBT and the chambered round are instances where Donahue made slight errors in his theory. I believe that Oswald did fire three shots, one of which was immediately after the head shot to create the bang-bang that so many witnesses heard (and which McLaren's book describes). I think there were four shots. I think the first shot hit Kennedy in the back (actually, I think it did more than that, as my book outlines), the second shot hit Connally, the third shot was the accidental AR-15 head shot, and the fourth shot was a miss from Oswald that caused bystander James Tague's injuries. My book describes what I think happened with all the shots fired in Dealey Plaza in more detail.
My take on the explosive head shot is below. This isn't necessarily Donahue's theory as described in Menninger's book, but adds the limousine stop (as Dan Roffe's book JFK Motorcade does) plus my own observations combined with other aspects of the assassination uncovered by other researchers.
Most of the President's Secret Service agents apparently thought the first shot was a fire-cracker or motorcycle backfire and did not react. SSA George Hickey was the exception. He was the first agent in the follow-up car to react. He can be seen looking to the left and down in the Zapruder film, but not at bystanders. He is looking toward the curb or the road. (My book outlines what I believe he is looking at.)
Driver of the presidential limo, William Greer, apparently had no idea that shots were being fired. The noise of the motorcycles mixed with the sounds of the gunshots, and he interpreted the sound that he heard as a tire blow-out. He tapped his brake to test the tires of the presidential limo (as described in the book The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine).. Meanwhile, Hickey started to take aim on Oswald. He pointed the AR-15 toward Oswald and flipped off the safety on the "ready-to-go" AR-15.
With the follow-up car only five feet behind the presidential limo, follow-up car driver Sam Kinney saw the brake lights of the presidential limo come on. Not knowing what driver Greer was going to do, Kinney hit his own brakes hard in order to avoid rear-ending the presidential limo. Meanwhile, SSA Clint Hill noted Jacqueline Kennedy's odd reaction in the presidential limo and began to realize something serious was going on. He prepared to jump off the running board of the follow-up car and run to the back of the presidential limo.
The inertia of the sudden stopping of the follow-up car caused Hickey to lose his balance and fall. Or, alternatively, starting up again after coming to a stop caused Hickey to fall (as witness S.M. Holland described). In any case, the gun went off, just when it was pointed to the back of Kennedy's head.
And then the cover-up began.
Actually, I believe there was more to it than that, a combination of Secret Service impotence, inaction, and accident. My book outlines my theory of the first shot and why that was covered up, as well.