Welcome to the next installation of Assassination Mechanics: “If I did it”.
This time we will be covering JFK. No small feat discussing the grand daddy of all conspiracy theories.
There has been a ton of research for and against just about any theory out there with a small team of experts to support or refute all of those theories. It’s not my intent to get bogged down into any of them. Ahead is some ground work to lay out and get out of the way first.
HERE WE GO!!
Friday, 1963, November 22nd, 12:30 PM CST:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was fatally shot by assassin(s) at the Dealey Plaza in Dallas, TX, USA. He would later die of his wounds on or about 1300 hrs.
About 45 minutes to an hour later his alleged assassin was arrested. Lee Harvey Oswald the alleged assassin would die 2 days later being transferred out of the police station after being shot by Jack Ruby. Oswald died of his wounds, never standing trial.
September 1964 The Warren Commission (more than half the commission had an axe to grind with the Kennedy’s!) concluded that Oswald acted alone in shooting JFK. A later investigation, “HSCA (House Select Committee on Assassinations)” would find: “The Committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The Committee is unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy. “- link to archives
Anyone who knows anything about firearms knows the “magic bullet theory” is complete bullshit. With all the witness tampering or out right ignoring them, physical evidence that’s been mishandled or gone missing including coroner reports etal, Oswald would never have been convicted.
Oliver Stone recently (2021) did an excellent documentary that shreds the “official narrative” of the single assassin based on chain of custody and standards of evidence.
There are some folks who think Oswald is innocent or at the very least did not act alone.
I don’t think Oswald was innocent at all but I do think he was the fall guy or “patsy” as he said himself to a television reporter.
The alleged assassin’s rifle (aka Oswald rifle) is reported to be a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle(exhibit 139).
The actual nomenclature for any sticklers out there (like myself) is 6.5 x52mm Carcano Model 91/38 carbine.
**He paid $19.95 for it through mail order.**
It was a WW2 surplus rifle that Oswald had ordered by mail from “American Rifleman” an
NRA publication.
There was apparently a partial palm print found but no other fingerprints or evidence it was used by Oswald.
That price is interesting as I have had discussions with various researchers and enthusiasts over the years that would say that’s all Oswald could afford at the time. Setting aside Oswald’s finances for a moment there was an incredibly better rifle with a scope available in the ad display of that same publication Oswald allegedly used. Here’s a copy of it:
OK the picture is a bit hard to see due to the limitations
of this blog and my own skills in blogging. The “Oswald Rifle” is on the left and third one down and sold with scope for $19.95.
My problem with the “it’s the best he could afford” statement is that it is bullshit.
Oswald was a Marine and grew up in gun culture. ( I will come back to this link later on).
Third rifle down on the right is a Lee-Enfield rifle chambered in .303 British.
That rifle is incredibly more accurate and reliable than the Carcano and it was 7 cents cheaper with a scope!!! I always wondered why Oswald wouldn’t have used an M1 Garand, as that was what he would have used in the service and at the time it was a commonly available milsurp rifle.
Granted it would have been more expensive but it’s a semi auto, accurate and had an 8 shot bloc-clip. It is a .30 caliber vs the Carcano .268 cal (not a huge difference). Note that the Lee-Enfield Rifle used the .303 Brit which ,ballistically speaking, is superior to all of em.
The Enfield is also the most accurate of the three. Regardless of which rifle he may or may not have used I always wondered why the hell did he wait till Kennedy’s car was driving away down Elm street toward the triple overpass?
The most optimal time (if shooting from the 6th floor far corner window) would have been as the motorcade slowed to a near stop and started to turn left or to the shooters right.
View of the alleged sniper perch. 6th floor and rightmost (if your looking at it from outside) window. The motorcade was going down Main Street taking a right onto Houston street before slowing (in front of sniper perch) to turn onto Elm. Superimposed picture of the School Book Depository upper middle.
“IF I DID IT”
IF you ever saw me on TV ,being walked through the police station I would be fucking freaking out and screaming that I was being set up and to get my fucking lawyer right NOW!!
“DON’T LET THESE MUTHERFUCKERS KILL ME BABY JESUS!!!” It would not be the calm and cool Lee routine I can tell you that. Now let’s take a look at the lay of the land:
Grabbed this pic at random and not sure of the attribution. If anyone knows it let me know and I will amend.
On the top left is the Dal-Tex Oil Corp building.
I’m not going to the most popular kid in conspiracy school for saying so but I think the Schoolbook Depository offers a great view….until the motorcade goes by the trees.
Which is why I have to take a look at things separately as a single shooter and team shooters ,2 or more.
Single shooter: doable and the School Book Depository looks like an ideal location for shooting but the problems are getting the hell out (especially from the 6th floor) and if the target is not engaged during the turn then there is a limited window of opportunity as the moving target takes off at speed and cover from the trees on Elm street.
My firearm of choice would be a semi-auto with iron sights like an M1 Garand (or other semi) as the distances involved are not that great. Its a distance of about 81 meters or 88 yards from the window to position of historical head shot in the JFK limo. An explosive device dropped out the window would have worked just as well.
Wind conditions were 15-30 MPH from the South. Dealey Plaza is surrounded by large buildings and wide streets,the wind would be blowing toward the Schoolbook Depository was not strong. Temperature was about 21C or 70F,not significant factors for ballistics.
It had rained earlier in the day and the sun was starting to come out around noon from what was a gloomy day.
Ammo: at these close distances could be anything. Probably I would have went with an FMJ round.
Escape: This would have to be a get lost in the crowd moment. Which historically Lee did (allegedly).
Alternate locations: (single shooter) the Grassy Knoll is a good one. A maybe the Dal-Tex Oil Corp building but would suffer the same sight line limitations (at height) as the limo drives away down Elm.
I did look at the Triple Underpass and have a few points about it: the top is unlikely as all the rail-yard workers were watching the Presidential motorcade passing. Taking a shot from there would be difficult to get away with.
I also took a look under the overpass and even a block West out near the Bail-bonds place on the other side of the underpass. The view from there is obscured by large support columns that seriously reduce the target view and there would have been moving vehicles obscuring the target zone. That leads us now to a team effort….
IF I DID IT….with a friend
This was starting to look like a job that required a team effort:
I gave Mr.K (one of the EvS crew) a call, and asked him if he was going to pop JFK how would he have done it.
He said something to the effect of, “your really going to drag me down this fucking rabbit hole aren’t you?”
We debated the various points of the case, likely vs unlikely scenarios as well as available firearms of the time for military and civilians alike.
At some point Mr.K asked if I remembered the D.C. Snipers from back in 2002. I did and we discussed their mobile sniper hide (the blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice) with a hole cut out in the trunk of the car so they could shoot from the car and none would be the wiser.
We also took a look at various pictures of the Grassy Knoll and especially the fence line near the parking lot facing Elm Street and faces directly to the motorcade.
Now granted the rail workers and other witnesses (including the majority of police and other who ran toward the fence line) did report “puffs of smoke” and rifle fire from the grassy knoll.
Using the D.C. Snipers (aka Beltway Snipers) technique in this scenario does seem like a good bet, provided you can get the car trunk facing the right way.
Choice of firearms in this case is still the same (semi auto and iron sites) but a bolt action with a smooth action would work fine. Again the distances are not that great.
From the ground level the shots would actually be easier with the target traveling from a near dead stop, then turning onto Elm Street and driving toward the shooter.
The Grassy Knoll parking lot and fence is slightly elevated offering a good platform to see the target now headed West bound. The get away would be as simple as driving away or again get lost in the crowd, leaving the gear in the car.
Quick summary looks like a team effort with Grassy Knoll and Schoolbook Depository. Individual the most sense would be Grassy Knoll to ensure an escape. The School Book Depository is still the best for initial site lines but only if the shooter starts shooting while the motorcade is starting to turn West on Elm Street.
I deliberately glossed over a lot of things as to the who and why of the assassination history.
My best guess is Allan Dulles (former CIA director and Bay of Pigs architect) was involved and ran the operation through one of his trusted off the books teams.
He was still running his own shadow control of the CIA even after JFK fired him and threatened to break up the agency.
J. Edgar (FBI director) Hoover ran interference for Dulles.
There would have been a few intelligence operators who seen the Kennedy’s as “traitors” and even being soft or collaborating with Communism. Hoover’s F.B.I. hated the Kennedy’s as much as Dulles.
Guys like Dulles and Hoover were the establishment. Politicians came and went but they were the forever guys who seen themselves as the only ones fighting the real enemy, doing what others were afraid to do.
If you want to know more about the JFK Assassination there are a few researchers I would like to point out and give mention to:
Len Osanic the host and one of the main interviewers (he’s had a diverse team over the years) has interviewed just about everyone and anyone of note in the JFK Assassination research community.
long time researcher, writer, commentator since at least the 70’s.
Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Supports the “official narrative” but worth a look.
fortunately the “way back machine” helped to archive this site. It was a treasure trove for anyone deep diving the JFK hit. It has some far out stuff here and there but it really was/is gold!
Putting some class on JFK research. Well organized and thought out.
Not an endorsement but giving the devil his due. Or in this case pointing out the system shill. This is the guy that prosecuted/covered up the Manson case and got a book deal out of it (Helter Skelter). Since that time he kept getting himself into legal hot water but his benefactors always bailed him out as long as he was willing to push any official narrative and try to destroy anyone who went against it.
There’s a ton of other amazing researchers and authors etc who do great work. This list is not to the exclusion of any just a really short and dirty guide to get anyone started.
***Word to the wise****
If you get deep enough into the JFK research world try to steer around the strong opinions and the strong stances on various theories. These are some of the most passionate people I have ever talked to about any kind of topic. They can also be pretty rough on each other and there is plenty of strong feelings around the community.
Thanks for tuning in!- Evil von Scary