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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VI - Page 99« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Dr. Charles Francis Gregory)

such fragments could have been flaked off of a total missile mass without reducing its volume greatly.
Now, just how much, depends of course upon what the original missile weighed. In other words, on the basis of the metal left behind in Governor Connally's body, as far as I could tell, the missile that struck it could be virtually intact, insofar as mass was concerned, but probably was distorted.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you have any idea at all as to what the fragments which you observed in the Governor's wrist might weigh, Doctor?
Dr. GREGORY. No, not really, but it would have been very small---very small. Mr. SPECTER. What treatment or action did you take with respect to treating the Governor's wrist for him, Dr. Gregory?
Dr. GREGORY. Upon completing the debridement, we were then faced with a decision as to whether we should suture his wound in the conventional manner or not, and we chose not to, leaving the wound open in deference to potential infection that might be produced by retained fragments of clothing. Having decided upon that course of action, the fractured radius bone was then manipulated into a reduced position and the entire limb was encased in a plaster-paris cast.

Mr. Specter.
Did that complete your operative procedure?
Dr. GREGORY. That completed my operative procedure for that day for Governor Connally--yes.
Mr. SPECTER. What other wounds, if any, did you notice on the Governor at that time?
Dr. GREGORY. In addition to the chest wound and the wound just described in his right forearm there was a wound in the medical aspect of his left thigh. This was almost round and did not seem to have disturbed the tissues badly, but did definitely penetrate and pass through the skin and to the fascia beneath. I could not tell from the superficial inspection whether it had passed through the fascia. An X-ray was made of his thigh at that time and there was not present in his thigh any missile of sufficient magnitude, in my opinion, to have produced the wound observed on his medial aspect. Repeat X-rays failed to reveal any such missile and an additional examination failed to reveal any wound of exit.
Mr. SPECTER. What did the X-rays reveal with respect to the presence of a missile?
Dr. GREGORY. In the thigh there was a very small shadow, perhaps 1 mm. by 2 mm. in dimension, lying close to the medial aspect of the femur, that is, the thigh bone, but was in my opinion much too small to have accounted for the dimensions of the wound on the medial aspect of his thigh or a wound of that character.
Mr. SPECTER. What were the dimensions of the wound on the medial aspect of his thigh.
Dr. GREGORY. I would say that that wound was about a centimeter in diameter, much larger than the identifiable fragment of metal in the thigh. I might add that this prompted some speculation on our part, my part, which was voiced to someone that some search ought to be made in the Governor's clothing or perhaps in the auto or some place, wherever he may have been, for the missile which had produced this much damage but which was not resident in him.
Mr. SPECTER. Approximately what type of a missile would it have taken to produce a wound which you have described on his thigh ?
Dr. GREGORY. Well, it would take a fragment of metal of approximately the same diameter--a centimeter, and in general---round.
Mr. SPECTER. Would that correspond with the measurement of a 6.5-mm. missile ?
Dr. GREGORY. I will have to guess--I don't know what dimension-of a 6.5-mm.--yes, a 6.5-mm. would be .65 cm., approximately, yes, that could have very well have occurred from such a missile, yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Dr. Gregory, I now show you two typewritten pages which are a portion of a document identified as Commission Exhibit No. 392, which in its total aspect constitutes all of the medical records from Parkland Hospital on President Kennedy and Governor Connally and the two pages to which I direct your attention relate an operation on Governor Connally, where you are
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