Kennedy's Collar

As you can see, and in contrast to the preconceived notion that Kennedy's collar rests at C6, the bottom edge of his collar is much closer to the C4 vertebral level. The shoulders are fairly unreliable landmarks to determine vertebral height because of the large variation due to muscular contraction. In addition, we now know that Kennedy had advanced osteoporosis from years of abusing corticosteroids. Typically, this affects the thoracic spine the most by increasing the curvature. The contour of Kennedy's upper back is more rounded than expected. His head seems to be carried a little further in front of his body than would normally be expected. It has now been reported that he suffered from compression fractures of the spine from the advanced osteoporosis. One must wonder if this was affecting his posture.

Kennedy's Neck Crease

Theorists have speculated that the 'crease' in Kennedy's neck was at C6. They then measure down from that crease to see how far the bullet entry was from the crease. This argument is reproduced below.

This gives the appearance that, if C6 were the location of the neck crease, the wound is too low to be at the C7/T1 level where the autopsists report suggests. In addition, several researchers felt that since the wound is obviously below the shoulder, it had to be in the mid or upper thoracic spine. However, this is not the likely scenario and one should view my other page entitled "Could the Back Wound be Where the Autopsists Suggest - At C7/T1?". That article explains why the shoulder appears to be too high and how the bullet could very well have entered Kennedy very close to a C7/T1 entrance. However, our point here is to attend to why the bullet hole in the clothing seems so low. To completely understand, one must revisit vertebral anatomy. The image below is representative of Kennedy's spine as seen from the side. The red line is a line through the wounds. Note the downward trajectory and where it enters and exits.  

 

 

The transverse process of the second cervical vertebra typically lies behind the angle of the jaw. If you take your finger and place it on the 'corner' of your lower jaw, move it backwards about a half an inch then a little bit upwards, you'll find a prominent bump. That is the transverse process of your second cervical vertebra. It is located behind the jaw and below the mastoid process. With the head tilted back somewhat, it would be directly behind the angle of the jaw. This wound track measures a downhill angle of 22 degrees, similar to a shot from the sniper's nest in the TSBD building. An entrance at C7/T1 is easily conceived and fits perfectly with the description of the wounds in the autopsy report.

Kennedy's Shirt

The highlighted hole in the shirt collar has been the subject of much debate. It's location is indicative of conspiracy. Or is it? First, we must ascertain where it is. This is no easy task. In fact, the FBI, Clark Panel and the HSCA could not come to terms. Here's what they said: 

 

Distance from the shirt collar: 

HSCA- 14 cm 

Clark Panel- 14 cm 

FBI- 14.7cm 

 

Distance right of midline: 

HSCA- 2.5 cm 

Clark Panel- 2.5 cm 

FBI- 2.9 cm 

 

Apparently, Kennedy didn't buy his shirts preshrunk and the FBI measured before it did. At any rate, the measurements are to within 7mm on the vertical distance and 4mm on the horizontal.  

 

For those of us who have not yet converted to the metric system, the measurements are .98-1.14 inches right of midline and 5.51-5.79 inches from the top of the shirt collar. And, keep in mind, that's when it is on a hanger, not when it is being worn. The contour of the back changes the vertical height.

Kennedy's Suit Coat

 

This is much harder to see since the suit coat was a dark gray, Oleg Cassini suit coat. The highlighted area is in a similar location as the suit coat. But, just where was it exactly? You tell me. The FBI, Clark Panel and the HSCA had problems with this one, too.  

 

Distance from suit collar: 

HSCA- 13.5 cm 

Clark Panel- 12 cm 

FBI- 13.75 cm 

 

Distance right of midline: 

HSCA- 5 cm 

Clark Panel- 5 cm 

FBI- 4.5 cm 

 

And, once again, for those of us still thinking along the old English measuring units, it translates as 4.72-5.41 inches from the collar and 1.77 to 1.97 inches right of midline. The suit coat will move around more than the shirt. It is more dependent upon posture and body position. 

 

Of some importance, however, is the relative shape of the hole in the jacket. It's round, not drastically ovoid. The skin wound would have the same approximate shape. The wound in Kennedy's back was slightly ovoid in shape, measuring 4mm x 7mm. The shape of the wound can be affected by the elasticity of the skin overlying bone areas and general body contour at the entry site.  

 

Governor Connally's entrance wound to the back was estimated to be approximately 1.5cm in length and elliptical in shape. In other words, it was greatly different that President Kennedy's back wound.

Next Page 

 

Back 

 

Main Menu