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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. IV - Page 122« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Dr. Charles Francis Gregory)

Mr. Dulles.
end of this particular bullet is because of two things. The size of the wound of entrance, and the fact that it is irregular surfaced permitted it to pick up organic debris, materials, threads, and carry them into the wound with it.
Now, you will note that Dr. Shaw earlier in his testimony and in all of my conversations with him, never did indicate that there was any such loss of material into the wrist, nor does the back of this coat which I have examined show that it lost significant amounts of cloth but I think the tear in this coat sleeve does imply that there were bits of fabric lost, and I think those were resident in the wrist. I think we recovered them.
Mr. Specter.
Is the back of that bullet characteristic of an irregular missile so as to cause the wound in the wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. I would say that the back of this being fiat and having sharp edges is irregular, and would possibly tend to tear tissues more than does an inclined plane such as this.
Mr. Specter.
Would the back of the missile be sufficiently irregular to have caused the wound of the right wrist, in your opinion?
Dr. GREGORY. I think it could have; yes. It is possible.
Mr. Specter.
Would it be consistent with your observations of the wrist for that missile to have penetrated and gone through the right wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. It is possible; yes. It appears to me since the wound of exit was a small laceration, that much of the energy of the missile that struck the Governor's wrist was expended in breaking the bone reducing its velocity sufficient so that while it could make an emergence through the underlying soft tissues on his wrist, it did not do great damage to them.
Mr. Specter.
Is there any indication from the extent of the damage to the wrist whether the bullet was pristine, that is: was the wrist struck first in flight or whether there had been some reduction in the velocity of the missile prior to striking the wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. I would offer this opinion about a high velocity rifle bullet striking a forearm.
Mr. Specter.
Permit me to inject factors which we have not put on the record although it has been brought to your attention previously: Assume this is a 6.5-millimeter missile which was shot from a rifle having a muzzle velocity of approximately 2,000 feet per second, with a distance of approximately 160 to 200 feet between the weapon and the victim; and answer the prior question, if you would, Dr. Gregory, with those factors in mind?
Dr. GREGORY. I would fully expect the first object struck by that missile to be very badly damaged, and especially if it were a rigid bone such as the wrist bone is, to. literally blow it apart. I have had some experience with rifle wound injuries of the forearm produced by this type of missile, and the last two which I attended myself have culminated in amputation of the limb because of the extensive damage produced by the missile as it passed through the arm.
Considerably more than was evidenced in the Governor's case either by examination of the limb itself or an examination of these X-rays.
Mr. Specter.
Now, as to the experience you had which you experienced which resulted in amputations, what was the range between the weapon and the victim's limb, if you know?
Dr. GREGORY. The range in those two instances, I concede was considerably shorter but I cannot give you the specific range. By short I mean perhaps no more than 15 or 20 yards at the most.
Mr. Specter.
Would the difference between the 15 or 20 yards and the 160 to 250 feet make any difference in your opinion, though, as to the damage which would be inflicted on the wrist had that bullet struck it as the first point of impact?
Dr. GREGORY. No, sir; I don't think it would have made that much difference.
Mr. Specter.
Do you know what the color was of the fragments in the wrist of the Governor, Dr. Gregory?
Dr. GREGORY. As I recall them they were lead colored, silvery, of that color. I did not recall them as being either brass or copper.
Mr. Specter.
Are there any other X-rays of the Governor's wrist which would aid the Commission in its understanding of the injuries to the wrist?
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