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The hearse pulled up to a back door of the Bethesda Naval Hospital. A lab tech informed Dr. Galloway that the President's body had arrived. Two Secret Service agents stuck with the casket like glue as two soldiers delivered it to the morgue.

The lab techs opened the casket and placed the body on a stainless steel examining table. They unwrapped the bloody sheet from around the head--the dried and clotted blood made it difficult--a piece of skull stuck to the sheet. They looked into a hole in the top right side of the head and saw that half of the brain was gone (for six hours the brain had been dissolving--a process called liquefaction necrosis unique to brain tissue).

They rolled the body to radiology. Dr. Ebersole supervised the radiographic examination. They took front and side views of every portion of the body. The techs worked for twenty minutes and shot thirty-four pictures. Taking X-rays was an acceptable procedure, the doctors wanted to locate every single bullet fragment with maximum certainty and minimal disfigurement. They wheeled the body back to the morgue while the X-rays developed.

People flooded into the morgue and the autopsy gained momentum. Helms and three doctors entered wearing long white lab coats. The techs took photographs of every square inch of the body from every conceivable angle. Dr. Ebersole entered with a stack of X-rays. An Army General entered wearing a lab coat borrowed from Dr. Humes. Two FBI agents joined two Secret Service agents standing in a corner; as far away from the corpse as they could possibly get. An Air Force Captain got the last of Dr. Humes's lab coats. The agents were not exactly sure which man was the real Dr. Humes. Dr. Boswell laid autopsy forms on a table next to the deceased. Everyone felt awkward and uncertain. Dr. Ebersole attached X-rays of the head, neck, and chest, to a row of viewing boxes. He flicked the switches and the whole wall seemed to light up.

ANTERIOR LATERAL

The doctors gathered around and began to study the radiographs. "The head wound's massive," said Dr. Ebersole, he turned and spoke to Helms, "you say he was shot from behind?"

Helms kept things flexible "Yes, we think he was hit two or three times."

The doctors gave the X-rays a second look. After studying them for about five minutes, they all scratched their heads and frowned. "I don't see a bullet in these pictures. Do you see a bullet anywhere?" asked Dr. Ebersole.

"No, I don't see one," agreed Dr. Boswell.

"No bullet that I can see," said Dr. Humes.

"Might've surgically removed 'em," suggested Dr. Boswell.

"Were any bullets removed in Dallas?" asked Dr. Ebersole.

"Don't know. I'll call and check it out," said Dr. Galloway. He left the morgue.

One of the FBI agents heard part of the discussion--in his notes he wrote: surgery-Dallas.

Dr. Burkley, Kennedy' personal physician, entered the morgue. He walked over to the viewing boxes and introduced himself to the other doctors. Dr. Humes explained the missing bullets problem. "That's a massive head wound," said Dr. Burkley. "Bullet could've easily fallen out during transportation of the body." Dr. Humes told a tech to check the casket for a bullet. The tech looked, found none, then remembered the sheet that had been wrapped around the head. He didn't find a bullet in the sheet, but did find a fragment of skull bone which he showed to Dr. Boswell.

The doctors reexamined the head X-rays. "The skull's shattered to pieces. I'm not sure about the proper anatomic location is for that fragment," said Dr. Ebersole. "We'll try to piece it back together. I'm gonna get another set of X-rays--just to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"Good idea," said Dr. Burkley.

The techs rolled a portable X-ray machine to the morgue.

Helms decided to provide the doctors with a little coaching. "Is it possible for a bullet to go all the way through a person?" he hinted.

"Yes, it is," said Dr. Humes. He paused to think about the possibility, "Have someone check the limousine for a loose bullet."

"I'll call the White House and have the Secret Service check it," said Dr. Burkley.

"If a bullet fell out of the hole in the head, it might be back in Dallas," said Dr. Ebersole. Everyone in the morgue felt frustrated and confused. The techs repeated the whole body X-ray series.

Dr. Galloway phoned Parkland Hospital. "I need some information about your treatment of the President. The autopsy surgeons have a few questions."

"We didn't do a whole lot," said Dr. Perry. "There wasn't much we could do."

"I saw the head wound," said Dr. Galloway. "No chance to survive that one. We did a whole body X-ray series--can't find a single bullet. Did you surgically remove anything."

"We did some emergency procedures but we didn't remove a bullet," explained Dr. Perry.

"What kinda procedures?"

"Tracheotomy--cutdown on each ankle--made an incision on the right side for a chest tube but he expired before we got it in. We did recover a bullet at the hospital--laundry worker found it on the examining table--cops came and got it."

"Do you think the bullet passed all-the-way through him?"

"That's possible. It may have fallen out of the head wound. It might have come out the front neck wound and landed in his shirt, or sumthin'," said Dr. Perry. "Our Pathologist tried to do an autopsy but a couple of guys with guns weren't agreeable to the idea. This place was a madhouse. I've never seen anything like it."

"We've got a dozen people in the morgue tryin' to figure out how a bullet disappeared," said Dr. Galloway, "they're gonna be real glad to know you guys found it."

"Governor Connally also got hit. Looks like he's gonna make it," said Dr. Perry. "That explains another bullet. We have reports of three to five shots."

"Thanks you've been real helpful."

Dr. Galloway returned to the morgue with the new information. "They recovered a loose bullet in Dallas. Governor Connally also got hit--that explains a second bullet."

"What about surgery?" asked Dr. Humes.

"Tracheotomy, ankle cutdowns, and a chest tube."

Dr. Ebersole looked at the massive head wound and wondered why the patient needed a chest tube. He strained his brain but couldn't come up with a good answer.

The doctors examined the entire body surface, starting at the top of the head and working down. Dr. Boswell measured the opening in the top of the head. He held a ruler up to the wound while a tech snapped a picture. "The defect is 13 cm by 9 cm--irregular edges--probably a wound of exit."

Dr. Humes spoke reluctantly, "We really oughta shave the head so we can get a better look at the wound."

Dr. Galloway balked, "Let's pass on the shaving if possible."

"The family's wish--cosmetic considerations," pleaded Helms.

Dr. Burkley sanctioned the idea, "Let's try to accommodate them where we can." Everyone was glad to spare the former President the indignity.

Dr. Boswell tried to sketch the cranial defect but he was no artist.

The posterior head wound wasn't visible; a flap of scalp held firmly in place by dried blood covered it.

They rolled the body and began to examine the back. Dr. Humes noted the chest tube incision. Dr. Boswell spotted what looked like a wound over the right shoulder blade, he pushed his index finger about a half an inch in, then met resistance caused by the scapula bone, "It's very shallow."

"Are you sure it's a wound?" asked Dr. Ebersole.

Dr. Burkley said, "If it's a wound there should be a corresponding hole in the shirt."

Dr. Humes told a tech to get it. "The President wasn't wearing a shirt when he arrived," said the tech. "He only had a sheet wrapped around his head."

Sweat trickled down Dr. Humes’ brow, "Does anybody know where this man's shirt is?" In unison, half a dozen powerful and influential men shrugged their shoulders. The location of the shirt was officially a mystery.

"If a bullet hit him in the back and only penetrated a half inch--that's prob'ly the bullet they found in Dallas," speculated Dr. Burkley.

"Maybe they gave him cardiac massage and dislodged it," guessed Dr. Ebersole. Dr. Boswell made a mark on his autopsy form indicating the location of the back wound.

A Secret Service agent entered and produced a small lead bullet fragment.

Dr. Burkley gawked at the new variable and tried to make sense out of it. "Where'd you find this?"

"In the limousine," explained the agent.

"It may have fallen out of the President's head," offered Dr. Boswell.

"It could be a fragment that passed clear through him," suggested Dr. Ebersole.

"We seem to have more questions than answers," said Dr. Humes. His mind felt clogged. "We must be missing something. Things just don't add up--don't make sense.

"Dr. Perry said something about a wound on the front of the neck," said Dr. Galloway.

The actual entry wound on the front of the neck was tiny, round, and sealed with a drop of clotted blood--it looked like a mole. The incision on the front of the neck where the tracheotomy tube had been inserted was obvious to all. "When he said neck wound, did he mean this tracheotomy incision?" asked Dr. Humes.

"He said a wound on the front of the neck," said Dr. Galloway. "He might have meant the incision."

"It's possible that they made the incision directly on top of the wound site," speculated Dr. Burkley.

"That's a longshot, but it's possible," said Dr. Humes.

"If the bullet came out the front of the neck, they might have inadvertently enlarged the exit wound while doing the tracheotomy," suggested Dr. Boswell.

"He must have meant the tracheotomy incision," said Dr. Humes. "This puzzle has too many pieces." Dr. Boswell made a mark on his autopsy form indicating the location of the wound/incision.

ANTERIOR POSTERIOR

Humes took a deep breath and sighed, "Let's get on with the internal examination, that may help us clear up the picture." The progress of the autopsy delighted Helms. Anything that confused the issues helped his cause.

The autopsy continued. The doctors examined what remained of the brain. Dr. Humes peered into the large hole on the top of the head, "Brain's partially dissolved, liquefaction necrosis. There's a parasaggital (back to front) laceration on the right side. If we trace it we'll be able to determine the bullet's path."

Dr. Boswell said, "We can prob'ly get the brain out without doing a craniotomy."

"I'm sure the family'd appreciate that," said Dr. Galloway. Everyone concurred.

Dr. Boswell held the scalp flaps open, while Dr. Humes worked at removing the brain. "Looks like the force of the shot tore the right half of the brain away from the left," said Dr. Ebersole, "the corpus callosum's split right down the middle."

Dr. Burkley weighed the brain, "The cranial nerves on the right side are destroyed."

"Let's compare the brain laceration with the X-rays," suggested Dr. Ebersole. "That'll help us figure a precise trajectory." The doctors moved to the bright viewing boxes, stared at the pictures, scratched their heads, and groped for answers.

"Skull's shattered to pieces," said Dr. Humes. "Fracture lines go clear down to the base. Looks like the sixth cervical vertebra's fractured."

"Infraorbital bones're shattered. Bullet must've struck with tremendous force. I wonder if the bone fragment the techs found came from that posterior skull defect?" "Looks like the bullet took a course tangent to the top of the skull," guessed Ebersole.

Dr. Burkley pointed to a lateral view, "The wound's so large it could be both an entry and exit. It’s sprung open like it’s an exit. If the bullet exited, it had to enter somewhere, tangential shot makes sense."

The endless questions frustrated Dr. Humes. "We must be overlooking something."

"Seems to be a piece of skull missing from the back of the head," said Dr. Ebersole.

Dr. Boswell walked over to the body, reached into the head through the large wound, and fitted the piece of bone into the hollowed-out defect at the back of the skull. "It fits," he announced. "Must be a piece of occipital bone."

"We need to reshoot the skull X-rays now that the head's been reconstructed," said Dr. Ebersole.

In a corner of the morgue, the FBI agent jotted down another note: Head reconstructed.

The autopsy continued. Dr. Humes made a Y shaped incision in the front of the chest and abdomen. The abdomen was intact--they focused on the chest. The heart and the left lung were intact, but the top of the right lung was bruised and lacerated. "The shot that hit him in the back must've caused the lung damage," said Humes "The tracheotomy prob'ly damaged the neck muscles. I think we got this thing figured out."

"Let's dissect the wound tract," suggested Dr. Boswell.

"Is it really necessary to dissect him?" begged Helms. "Dr. Humes said we have the answers. Can't we let this man rest in peace?"

"I think the family'll be satisfied with the quality of this autopsy," said Dr. Burkley. "Speaking as the personal physician, I'm satisfied."

"That's good enough for me," said Dr. Galloway.

Dr. Humes and Dr. Boswell took tissue samples from the brain, spinal cord, and lung for microscopic examination. The techs took one last pair of reconstructed skull X-rays--Dr. Boswell instructed them to embalm the body. Everyone in the morgue was glad to conclude the ordeal.

Dr. Humes explained his conclusions. "One shot hit the President in the back but it must've been a faulty bullet--it barely penetrated the skin. It hit hard enough to bruise the upper portion of the right lung. That bullet fell out of the back while the Dallas doctors were treating him." Everyone agreed this seemed reasonable.

Dr. Humes continued. "The other shot struck the head tangentially--coursed back to front. That bullet went in and out the top right side of the head. That's why the X-rays don't show any bullets inside the body. The head shot tore the skull apart and created the large parasaggital laceration in the brain. The massive damage to the right side of his brain was fatal. The head shot killed the President."

MISSING PUZZLE PIECE

HARPER BONE FRAGMENT