In January 2006 I had the opportunity to fulfill an ambition by visiting the Grassy Knowl in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas.
This was a pit-stop made during my honeymoon that took in New York, Dallas, Vegas, Hawaii and San Francisco.
This was an incredible opportunity to put myself in the same position that I believe the assassin assumed on Friday 22nd November, 1963 when he fired the fatal shot at the head of President John F Kennedy.
This was a pit-stop made during my honeymoon that took in New York, Dallas, Vegas, Hawaii and San Francisco.
This was an incredible opportunity to put myself in the same position that I believe the assassin assumed on Friday 22nd November, 1963 when he fired the fatal shot at the head of President John F Kennedy.
Since I was 16 years-old I have had an interest in the assassination of JFK which was a sensational murder captured on camera in broad daylight. For me, ignoring the array of conspiracy theories about who was responsible, the very crux of the case is the ‘crime scene.’
This consists of the wooden stockade fence located on the grassy knowl from which the assassin had a perfect line of sight as he focused his telescopic sight on JFK who was so exposed sat in an open-top slow-moving limousine.
Forget Lee Harvey Oswald as having anything to do with the shooting on this day – the murder of a President was the work of a professional assassin – if Oswald was the shooter he would have been better of taking his aim on Houston Street as the motorcade approached the front of the Texas School Book Depository NOT Elm Street. If you miss (as a lone gunman) you can try again, even if the car speeds up.
I believe that the only reason to wait until the car was on Elm Street was to get him in a crossfire. There was a professional gunman in the TSBD – it just wasn’t Oswald. This coordinated triangulation of fire increases the chance of success. It takes skill to shoot with a rifle and the assassins were patient, situated in favourable positions with a plan.
As tragic as it was for JFK to be murdered equally tragic were the failings of the Dallas Police to contain the scene, namely the grassy knowl and no scene preservation meant no prospect of recovering forensic clues.
Secret Service agents would check and secure each floor and each window of each building. This is not as big a job as it may seem. The Secret Service knows the exact timing of the movements of the President and they see to it, using radios and men on rooftops, that his progress is covered all the way. This is their business and they are good at it.
But in Dallas, for some strange reason, someone picked a dangerous turn in the road. The procession passed slowly to the right cruising at 25mph on Houston Street, and then it slowed to a speed of 10mph to make the left turn onto Elm Street, and during this manoeuvre the President's car was right under hostile windows. It was the job of the Secret Service to have checked the buildings, to have sealed any unused floors (such as that famous deserted sixth floor), and then to have shut all of the front windows. Then, by placing a radio-equipped man in the Plaza, all he would have had to do was to watch if a single window opened. If it did, he would call to the man on the roof and have someone dispatched to check that window, and with that same call he would have alerted the rest of the Secret Service, especially those with the President's party.
Standard Secret Service practice was to have their own marksmen covering the vulnerable positions with radio communications. It was a violation of the most basic mobile protection principles and an indication that there was an organised plot to assassinate JFK.
In my opinion, having visted the Grassy Knowl, the position behind the fence is a good spot for a head shot. You are afforded concealment, within reason, by the fence and under the cover of trees.
A comprehensive and scholarly approach to the assassination of JFK can be found at -
Based on footage from the Abraham Zapruder footage the facts of the case are 3 shots wer fired in 5.6 seconds.
The supposed bolt-action rifle used by Oswald took 2.3 seconds to recycle. He had to contend with hitting a moving target at a distance of 80 metres.
The essence of the case is very simply that Lee Harvey Oswald simply could not do the shoot.
For a brief overview of the 'badgeman' phenomenon follow this link -
