The Other Side of Six Seconds in Dallas
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The Other Side of Six Seconds in Dallas By Milicent Cranor This is—by definition—a one-sided review pointing them out. Several witnesses to the Z nal which they were allowed to "run through... of Six Seconds in Dallas. film, both Connallys, the Parkland doctors, several times," and (3) slides made from the From a distance, Six Seconds in Dallas seems Secret Servicemen and others had all noted original. (5H138,139) to bulge with good information expressed in these separate reactions. Thompson had seen In a footnote, Thompson quotes from a literate English backed by mathematics made the "inferior" film numerous times at the Ar- memo in which Lyndal Shaneyfelt expressed vivid with pictures and actual words of wit- chives, he explains, and, he, too, was already a desire for a "more clear film print." Thomp- nesses. But these words were made to seem familiar with the separate reactions when he son then goes on to say that Shaneyfelt "never as ephemeral as the smoke on the knoll, dis- sat down to watch the original: managed to acquire his clear print." In fact. sipating in the wind. the FBI analyst obtained something much Once again the dark blue Lincoln began its fatal better: a set of slides made directly from the Josiah Thompson concluded there is no glide. The President was hit. then the Governor. proof of conspiracy in the assassination of then the President again I knew each movement original. John E Kennedy. He continues to promote this in detail—yet this time ... the picture was infi- Mr. Orth volunteered to prepare 35-mm color slides position despite recent revelations that sug- nitely brighter and clearer than the one I had seen directly from the original.. (5H I 39) gest otherwise. To some, this may suggest only days before in the National Archives in Wash- When we obtained the slides from Life Magazine. standards of ratiocination so rigorous that ington. (Six Seconds, p.8) we went through those very thoroughly. because nothing suffices to definitively contradict the The original no doubt revealed more de- they gave so much more detail and were so much lone assassin theory. Are these standards tail, but the "inferior" copy had already con- clearer and analyzed again all these things about manifest in this book? What exactly is in this tradicted the SBT. Yet, Thompson writes on the reaction of the President and Mr. Connally. try- book? What was omitted, and why? the next page: ing to ascertain where he was reacting.. - (51-i 1421 Covering Op the Cover-up As I inspected the frames. one by one. the full im- Thompson admits the Commission had in- pact of the Commission's oversight was brought dividual slides to study but, in the main body In Six Seconds, Thompson exposes a fatal home to me... I saw for the first time enough evi- of the text, does not explain that the slides flaw in the single bullet theory (SBT). He de- dence to prove that Connally had not been hit un- were made from the original. The impression scribes noticing "for the first time" separate til... (Six Seconds. p 9) left is that they were made from the "infe- reactions to bullets, that one struck Kennedy, The Commission's "oversight" is not ap- rior" copy of the copy. (Six Seconds, p.9) Thus and another Connally, on the original Za- parent in this passage: each slide would be a copy of a copy of a copy. pruder (Z) film at Life Magazine. Thompson buries in the references a mislead- A disturbing question was raised by the Mr. Dulles. But ... you would think if Connally had ing note about the origins of the slides: U.S. government's promotion of the single been hit at the same time (he) would have reacted bullet theory: did the government lie? Thomp- in the same way. and not reacted much later as The testimony of FBI expert Lyndal Shaneyfelt im- son suggests they did not know any better, these pictures show. plies. however. that both sets of transparencies were made from the original film If this is indeed that it was "an "oversight" due to the "infe- Mr. McCloy. That is what puzzles me. the case, then the only explanation for the differ- rior" copy of the Z film they viewed. Mr. Dulles That is what puzzles me. (5H I SS) ence in quality must be that the copying lob done by Life for the Commission was a poor one in com- . the Commission had chosen to disregard his Thompson's representation of what was (Connally's) testimony. prompted by their desire parison with the one done by Life for Life (Six Sec. to believe that there had been only one assassin studied is also misleading: onds, p.17) and aided. unknowingly perhaps, by the inferior While the film we were watching at Life was a copy As can be seen from Shaneyfelt's com- quality of the film they had used for reference (Six made directly from the original_the FBI's working ments quoted earlier, he did more than imply Seconds, p.9) copy was made not from the original but from a the slides were made from the original; he was It seemed clear, then, that the Commission had copy of it. which made their 'official' version a copy explicit. of a copy. or a copy once removed. And it was the either neglected or only hastily examined the pho- I was with a group of teenagers who saw tographic record of the assassination. (p 14) Washington copy of the Zapruder film, inferior by comparison. with which the FBI had undertaken the absurdity of the SBT in the early sixties, Life Magazine had already shown that photoanalysis for the Commission. (Six Seconds. just by looking at Commission Exhibit 885, Kennedy was hit before Connally in their Me- pp-B-9) the small, blurry, black and white Xeroxed stills of the Zapruder film in the Warren Com- morial issue, November 29, 1963_ This pre- The FBI studied three materials: (1) their mission Hearings. The subtle changes in Con- SBT issue featured small black and white stills copy of the Secret Service film, (2) the origi- showing the separate reactions, with captions nally didn't show, of course, but something nem September-October, 1999 else did: Kennedy with his hands about his stalled one. The other two men remained with the Instead, he presents Moorman as a witness -face. while Connally holds onto his'Stetson, pickup truck along with two other officers. Shortly to the actual first shot—a shot she wasn't even :poking just fine. prior to the arrival of the motorcade. the man he aware of, according to her FBI and Warren returned with a Thompson provides an illustration de- had taken to the bank building Commission statements, in his "First Shot, second truck. and all three of the men left with First Hit" section (Six Seconds, p.36) signed to demonstrate the quality of the ma- the two trucks. one pushing the other. terials the Commission had to study (Sir Seconds, Moorman's account as recorded by the FBI: p.8): two tiny black and white versions of Z- Murphy further stated it was probable that one of ... she took a photograph of the procession as it 207, one with a splice (Archives copy) and one these men had taken something from the rear of proceeded toward her... and the photograph without (Life copy). In the caption, he com- this truck in an effort to start it. He stated that showed the police motorcycle escort preceding the ments on "the difference in clarity between these persons were under observation all during President's car In the background of this photo- the film the Commission studied and the one the period they were stalled on Elm Street because graph she said the Texas School Book Depository owned by Life is apparent in a comparison of the officers wanted the truck moved prior to the Building was visible. copies of frame 207." The faces in the frames arrival of the motorcade, and it would have been impossible for any of them to have had anything are less than 2 square millimeters—about the She took a second [author's emphasis] photograph to do with the assassination of President Kennedy. size of a gnat. of the President as his automobile passed her. and Why does Thompson say the above is just as she snapped the picture, she heard what A Man with a Gun Case enough to close this case? Because the truck she at first thought was a firecracker and very shortly thereafter heard another similar Here is an example of the care in which belonged to a company? Because the men had sound...She recalls seeing the President "sort of Thompson evaluates an extraordinary state- jobs and were in the area on business? So was lump- and start to slump sideways in the seat... ment by a witness. He accepted Dallas patrol- Oswald. Or is Thompson satisfied with the (Moorman cook an earlier photograph, yet man Joe Murphy's report to the FBI—even policemen's surveillance of the truck? Thompson refers to the Polaroid as Moorman's though it contained an inherent contradiction. The Clincher "one grainy picture" on page 13.) Did Julia Ann Mercer see a gunman carry a gun Either the truck was under observation all Moorman's Warren Commission testi- case onto the grassy knoll shortly before the as- during the relevant period—or it was not. If it mony: sassination? was, they would have known for sure whether As 1 snapped the picture of President Kennedy.