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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VI - Page 70« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Dr. Conrad Peters Paul)

Mr. SPECTER. Who else was there, if anyone, that you can recall, or have you now given me everyone you can recall ?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I am giving you my impression of the situation as I walked in and those are the ones I remember right now. Dr. Kemp Clark also came in during the maneuvering.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, who else came in during the course of the operative procedures ?
Dr. PETERS. The anesthesiologists, Drs. Jenkins and Gene Akin, I believe, came in.

Mr. Specter.
Did anyone else come
Dr. PETERS. I am not certain of anyone else.
Mr. Specter.
Now, tell us what aid was rendered to President Kennedy.

Dr. PETERS. Dr. Perry and Dr. Baxter were doing the tracheotomy and a set of tracheotomy tubes was obtained and the appropriate size was determined and I gave it to Baxter, who helped Perry put it into the wound, and Perry noted also that there appeared to be a bubbling sensation in the chest and recommended that chest tubes be put in. Dr. Ron Jones put a chest tube in on the left side and Dr. Baxter and I put it in on the right side I made the incision in the President's chest, and I noted that there was no bleeding from the wound.
Mr. Specter.
Did you put that chest tube all the way in on the right side?
Dr. PETERS. That's our presumption--yes.
Mr. Specter.
And what else was done for the President?

Dr. PETERS. About the same time there was a question of whether he really had an adequate pulse, and so Dr. Ronald Jones and I pulled his pants down and noticed that he was wearing his brace which had received a lot of publicity in the lay press, and also that he had an elastic bandage wrapped around his pelvis at--in a sort of a figure eight fashion, so as to encompass both thighs and the lower trunk.
Mr. Specter.
What was the purpose of that bandage?
Dr. PETERS. I presume that it was--my thoughts at the time were that he probably had been having pelvic pain and had put this on as an additional support to stabilize his lower pelvis. It seemed quite interesting to me that the President of the United States had on an ordinary $3 Ace bandage probably in an effort to stabilize his pelvis. I suppose he had been having some back pain and that was my thought at the time, but we removed this bandage in an effort to feel a femoral, pulse. We were never certain that we got a good pulse.
Mr. Specter.
Would you describe in as much detail as you can the type of brace he was wearing?
Dr. PETERS. Well, it appeared similar to a corset.
Mr. Specter.
How thick was it?
Dr. PETERS. I would estimate it was one-eighth of an inch.
Mr. Specter.
An eighth of an inch thick?
Dr. PETERS. Yes.
Mr. Specter.
And how high was it?
Dr. PETERS. Well, it completely encompassed his midsection.
Mr. Specter.
It encompassed his midsection?

Dr. PETERS. His circumference--yes--and it was probably, I would guess about 8 to 11 inches.
Mr. Specter.
In width?
Dr. PETERS. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Running in his waist area at the top of his hips up to the lower part of his chest?
Dr. PETERS. I would estimate that it went from the lower part of his chest to the pelvic girdle. About this time it was noted also that he had no effective heart action, and Dr. Perry asked whether he should open the chest and massage the heart. In the meantime, of course, the tracheotomy had been done and completed and had been hooked on to apparatus for assisting his respiration.
Mr. Specter.
And what action, if any, was taken on the open-heart massage?
Dr. PETERS. It was pointed out that an examination of the brain had been done. Dr. Jenkins had observed the brain and Dr. Clark had observed the brain and it was pointed out to Dr. Perry that it appeared to be a mortal wound, and
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