Mr. Specter.

it was about, I'd say, 5 or 6 inches in width, and made out of some white heavy fabric with the usual straps and buckles.

Mr. Specter.

Did you notice any Ace bandage strapping the President's buttocks area ?
Dr. AKIN. No.

Mr. Specter.

Was that area of his anatomy visible to you?
Dr. AKIN. Not his buttocks, he was lying supine.

Mr. Specter.

Was President Kennedy ever turned over, to your knowledge?
Dr AKIN. Not while I was there.

Mr. Specter.

And how long were you there altogether, Dr. Akin ?
Dr. AKIN. Oh, probably 15, maybe 20---perhaps 20 minutes.

Mr. Specter.

Were you present when he was pronounced to be dead?

Dr. AKIN. Yes--I didn't leave until Dr. Clark and Dr. Jenkins had mutually agreed that nothing else could be done.

Mr. Specter.

What time was he pronounced dead?
Dr. AKIN. 1300 hours.

Mr. Specter.

And what, in your opinion, was the cause of death?
Dr. AKIN. Massive gunshot injury to the brain--primary cause.

Mr. SPECTER. You have already described some of the treatment which was performed on the President; could you supplement that by describing what else was done for the President?
Dr. AKIN. Other than the placement of chest tubes, artificial respiration, brief external cardiac massage---I don't know. Anything else I said would be hearsay, and I understand that he did receive some cortisone. He received so much Ringer's lactate, but this is not of my own personal knowledge.
Mr. SPECTER. How many bullets were involved in the wounds inflicted on the President, Dr. Akin?
Dr. AKIN. Probably two.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you ever changed any of your original opinions in connection with your observations of the President or any opinions you formed in connection with what you saw?
Dr. AKIN. You mean as to how he was injured ?

Mr. Specter.

Yes, as to how he was injured.

Dr. AKIN. Well, no; not really because I didn't have any opinions, necessarily. Any speculation that I might have done about how he was injured was just that, it was just speculation. I didn't form an opinion until it was revealed where he was when he was injured and where the alleged assassin was when he fired the shots, so I didn't have any opinions. It was my immediate assumption that when I saw the extent of the head wound, I assumed at that point that he had probably been hit in the head with a high velocity missile because of the damage that had been done. The same thing happened to his head as would happen to a sealed can of sauerkraut that you hit with a high velocity missile.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you have any opinion as to the direction-that the bullet hit his head?
Dr. AKIN. I assume that the right occipitalparietal region was the exit, so to speak, that he had probably been hit on the other side of the head, or at least tangentially in the back of the head, but I didn't have any hard and fast opinions about that either.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you been interviewed by any representative of the Federal Government prior to today ?
Dr. AKIN. You mean concerning this matter?

Mr. Specter.

Concerning this matter.

Dr. AKIN. I think I was probably interviewed by a member of the Secret Service some weeks ago.

Mr. Specter.

What did you say to him ?

Dr. AKIN. Virtually the same thing, as I recall--I didn't make as long a statement, he just wanted to know where I was and what I did and I told him briefly and that seemed to satisfy him.
Mr. SPECTER. And is that the only time you have been interviewed by any representative of the Federal Government concerning this matter prior to today?