Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy Read Online Free PDF Page B

the mike and
I said, "Lawson, this is Kellerman . . . we are hit; get us to the hospital
immediately." Now in the seconds that I talked just now, a flurry of
shells come into the car .. .
    Mrs. Connally testified she heard Kellerman say: "Pull out of the
motorcade. Take us to the nearest hospital." The limousine indeed pulled
out of the motorcade and raced to Parkland Hospital.
    Driver Greer said he was busy looking ahead to the railroad overpass
when he heard a noise he thought was a motorcycle backfire. Then he
heard the noise again and caught a glimpse of Connally starting to slump
over. He then heard two more noises that seemed to come one on top of the
other. Greer said after the second noise and a glance over his right
shoulder at Connally, he stepped on the accelerator. However, a film taken
that day shows the limousine brake lights remained on until after the fatal
head shot to Kennedy.
    Mrs. Connally recalled that after the first sound "very soon there was
the second shot which hit John [Connally]."
    Connally, in testimony consistent both with that of Mrs. Connally and
with films made that day, confirmed he was not hit by the first shot. The
governor said just after making the turn onto Elm he heard a noise he took
to be a shot from a high-powered rifle. He turned to his right because the
sound appeared to come from over his right shoulder, but he couldn't see
anything. He began to turn to his left when he felt something strike him in
the back.
    Although critically wounded, Connally was conscious of shots being
fired other than the one that struck him. Realizing that he had been hit a
second or so after hearing a shot, Connally told the Warren Commission:
". . . there were either two or three people involved or more in this or
someone was shooting with an automatic rifle." Connally then heard a final boom and heard the bullet hit home. He later recalled: ". . . it never
entered my mind that it ever hit anyone but the President . . . He never
uttered a sound that I heard."

    Connally noticed blue brain tissue covering his suit and knew Kennedy
was dead. He also noticed blood on the front of his shirt and realized he
was hurt badly, perhaps fatally. Crumpling into the arms of his wife,
Connally screamed out: "My God, they're going to kill us all!" Connally
heard his wife saying over and over, "Be still, you're going to be all
right," and he felt the car accelerate. He then lost consciousness.
    During the initial phase of the shooting, Mrs. Kennedy did not realize
what was happening. She was accustomed to the sounds of motorcycle
escorts backfiring and the motorcade had been a cacophony of sirens,
racing motors, cheering, and shouting. She did hear Connally shout, "Oh,
no, no, no!" She heard "terrible noises" to her right and turned to see
Kennedy with his hand at his throat and a "quizzical look on his face."
Then, the chief executive was struck in the head and fell into her lap. All
she could do was cradle him and say: "Oh, my God, they've shot my
husband _. . I love you, Jack."
    Over the years a great deal of misinformation has been presented about
her next actions. Many persons have stated she tried to climb out of the car
in panic or to help Agent Hill. Actually, she crawled onto the trunk of the
limousine and, reaching out, picked up a piece of her husband's head.
    Mrs. Kennedy, when talking to the Warren Commission on June 5,
1964, did not even recall this activity. But her action was captured in the
films taken that day and later, sitting in Parkland Hospital, she still had the
piece of skull clutched in her hand, according to a nurse who relieved her
of the gruesome fragment.
    Also, there is the testimony of Clint Hill, who told the Warren
Commission:
    Between the time I originally grabbed the handhold and until I was up
on the car, Mrs. Kennedy-the second noise that I heard had removed a
portion of the President's head, and he slumped noticeably to his left.
Mrs.