Post by Allan G. JohnsonPost by Anthony MarshPost by Allan G. JohnsonPost by Anthony MarshPost by Allan G. JohnsonPost by d***@gmail.comPost by Allan G. JohnsonMissed first shot in Walker attempt (didn't realize it til later) and
missed first shot in JFK attempt, didn't want to make same mistake twice,
took two more shots at JFK to be sure. Where's the conspiracy in that?
Sounds like the same guy to me.
The Walker shot was deflected by a wooden window pane divider. It was
reported that General Walker would have been a dead man had that bullet
not been deflected. For all we know, the same is true with regards to the
missed shot in the Kennedy assassination. There was no shortage of
possible obstructions during the time frame of the 1st shot. After all,
it's hard to imagine that Oswald turned into a crack shooter (2nd and 3rd
shot) after having missed the entire limousine with his 1st shot.
I think it's fair to say that something unusual happened with the 1st shot
- something beyond simply missing. But, again, I readily admit that I'm
speculating.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN
Some think he flinched at the first shot and pulled it, being too
close, could be he used the scope to sight but, being too close, the
target was moving too fast to be acquired properly or it wasn't zeroed in
to shoot at that close range, but most likely, the first shot deflected
off something because it missed the entire car just below him.
I like that very much. Can we call it equipment malfunction or rookie
error?
Post by Allan G. JohnsonPersonally, I think the first shot deflected off the traffic light
signal, not the pole, and split up, parts (lead) going down range near
Tague, parts (copper) hitting pavement next to the limo. Either way, he
wasn't about to chance another miss and he kept firing until the target
was out of range. He did load the fourth shot remember but it wasn't
taken.
No. He did not load the fourth round. Friz the klutz did.
But Max could not find any holes. Don't you believe Max? What about
deflecting off the support bar?
Fritz loaded the fourth round? I think not. According to Lt. Carl
Day, Chief of the DPD crime scene search unit, after checking for prints,
he held the rifle "while Captain Fritz pulled the bolt and a live round
fell out". Day and Fritz both said a round was in the chamber of the
rifle when they were inspecting it.
Alyea saw him do it. He pulled the bolt back and an empty shell flew
out. Then he closed the bolt which put the live round in the chamber
then picked up the empty shell and threw the empty shells on the floor.
Why doesn't Alyea have film of any of that?
His statiion threw it away. outtakes. They said it was a fire hazard.
Haven't you read anything about Alyea?
Tom Alyea, "Facts and Photos"
From Connie Kritzberg's Secrets from the Sixth Floor Window, pp. 39-46
I was the first newsman into the building and the only newsman to
accompany the search team as they went from floor to floor searching for
the person who fired the shots. At this time, we did not know the
president had been hit. I rushed in with a group of plain clothesmen and a
few uniformed officers. . . .
I [followed] the search team that was on its way to the rear
elevator, to start the floor by floor search. We searched every floor, all
the way to the roof. The gunman could have still been in the building.
Finding nothing, they started back down. After approximately 18 minutes,
they were joined by Captain Fritz, who had first gone to Parkland
Hospital.
The barricade on the sixth floor ran parallel to the windows,
extending in an "L" shape that ended against the front wall between the
first and second twin windows. The height of the stack of boxes was a
minimum of 5 ft. I looked over the barricade and saw three shell casings
laying on the floor in front of the second window in the two window
casement. They were scattered in an area that could be covered by a bushel
basket. They were located about half way between the inside of the
barricade. I set my lens focus at the estimated distance from the camera
to the floor and held the camera over the top of the barricade and filmed
them before anybody went into the enclosure. I could not position my eye
to the camera's view finder to get the shot. After filming the casings
with my wide angle lens, from a height of 5 ft., I asked Captain Fritz,
who was standing at my side, if I could go behind the barricade and get a
close-up shot of the casings. He told me that it would be better if I got
my shots from outside the barricade. He then rounded the pile of boxes and
entered the enclosure. This was the first time anybody walked between the
barricade and the windows.
Fritz then walked to the casings, picked them up and held them in
his hand over the top of the boxes for me to get a close-up shot of the
evidence. I filmed about eight seconds of a close-up shot of the shell
casings in Captain Fritz's hand. I stopped filming, and thanked him. I do
not recall if he placed them in his pocket or returned them back to the
floor, because I was preoccupied with recording other views of the crime
scene. I have been asked many times if I thought it was peculiar that the
Captain of Homicide picked up evidence with his hands. Actually, that was
the first thought that came to me when he did it, but I rationalized that
he was the homicide expert and no prints could be taken from spent shell
casings. Therefore, any photograph of shell casings taken after this, is
staged and not correct. It is highly doubtful that the shell casings that
appear in Dallas police photos of the crime scene are the same casings
that were found originally. The originals by this time were probably in a
plastic bag at police headquarters. Why? Probably this was a missing link
in the report the police department had to send to the FBI and they had to
stage it and the barricade box placement to complete their report and
photo records.
The position of the barricade, while difficult to follow for one
who was not there, is important because of the difference in photographs
seen today.
There are four different box positions.
1) There was one box in the barricade stack that was considerably
higher than the others. This box is the one that can be seen
in the photos taken from outside the window by Tom Dillard,
because it was high enough to catch the sunlight and still be
seen from the ground below. It is not to be confused with the
second box set at an angle in the window sill, that was used
as a brace for the assassin's rifle.
2) A portion of this box can also be seen in these same photos
taken by Tom Dillard. It shows up in the lower right hand
corner of the picture.
3) Two boxes were stacked on the floor, inside the window, to
give arm support to the assassin. The top box was one of the
two boxes from which the crime lab lifted palm prints.
4) The fourth box of importance was on the floor behind the
sniper location. Officers also lifted palm prints from this
box. It is suspected that the sniper sat on this box while he
waited for the motorcade to pass.
The positioning of boxes 2, 3, and 4 were recorded by the police
crime lab. They are the only boxes involved in the crime scene.
The actual positioning of the barricade was never photographed by
the police. It s actual positioning is only on my movie footage, which was
taken before the police started dismantling the arrangement.
We all looked over the barricade to see if the half open window
with three boxes piled to form a shooting rest for a gunman. One box was
actually on the window sill, tilted at an angle. There was a reason for
this that I cover in my JFK Facts newsletter. The shooting location
consists of two windows set together to form one single window. (The
police photo showing the shell casings laying next to the brick wall was
staged later by crime lab people who did not see the original positioning
because they were not called upon the scene until after the rifle was
found nearly an hour later.) . . .
Only recently I saw a picture of Lt. Day with a news still
cameraman on the 6th floor. Day was shown pointing to the location where
the rifle was found. This was nearly 3:30 or after. It was my
understanding that Day and Studebaker had taken the prints, rifle and
homemade sack back to police headquarters. I personally would like to know
what they were doing back at the scene unless it was to reconstruct shots
they had failed to take during the primary investigation. But this
evidence had been destroyed and they were forced to create their own
version. The photo I have seen of the barricade wasn't even close. I have
also seen recently a police photo of the assassin's lair taken from a high
angle which indicates that it was shot before the barricade box
arrangement was destroyed, but it did not show the barricade itself. This
has no bearing on the case other than the public has never seen the
original placement. . . .
Police officers who claim they were on the 6th floor when the
assassin's window was found have reported that they saw chicken bones at
or near the site. One officer reported that he saw chicken bones on the
floor near the location. Another said he saw chicken bones on the
barricade boxes, while another reported that he saw chicken bones on the
box which was laying across the window sill. Some of these officers have
given testimony as to the location of the shell casings. Their testimony
differs and none of it is true. I have no idea why they are clinging to
these statements. They must have a reason. Perhaps it is because they put
it in a report and they must stick to it.
One officer stated that he found the assassin's location at the
6th floor window. He went on to say that as he and his fellow officers
were leaving the building, he passed Captain Fritz coming in. He said he
stopped briefly to tell Captain Fritz that he had found the assassin's
lair at the 6th floor window. This seems highly unlikely because Captain
Fritz joined us on the 5th floor and aided in the search. The chances are
great that this, or these officers heard the report, that stemmed from
WFAA-TV's incorrect announcement that the chicken bones were found on the
6th floor. This officer or officers perhaps used this information to
formulate their presence at the scene. There were no chicken bones found
on the 6th floor. We covered every inch of it and I filmed everything that
could possibly be suspected as evidence. There definitely were no chicken
bones were no chicken bones on or near the barricade or boxes at the
window. I shot close-up shots of the entire area. The most outstanding
puzzle as to why these officers are sticking to this story is the fact
they claim to have found the sniper's location, then left the building, as
they said to join the investigators at the Tippit shooting location. I
have never seen a report that indicates they attempted to use any
telephone in the building in an attempt to notify other investigators.
They just left the scene to check another assignment, and by chance ran
into Capt. Fritz coming in the front door. They claim to have placed a
detective at the location but they did not relay their finding to any
other officer before they left the building. I presume that the alleged
detective they allegedly left at the scene was instructed to stand there
until someone else stumbled upon the scene, or they found time to report
it after investigating the Tippit scene. Sorry, it doesn't wash.
I do however know that Officer Mooney was present when the rifle
was found because I took film of him at the scene. He is shown talking to
another detective, but this was nearly an hour after the sniper's location
was found at the window. I have no idea when he arrived. We ended up with
more men than when we started. As they joined us during the search the
latecomers would bring us the latest news of the president's condition.
When Captain Fritz arrived 18 minutes after we started, he brought news
that both Governor Connally and the president had been hit but by the time
he left, the seriousness of their wounds was unknown. Fritz left the
hospital almost immediately when he was notified that a search was
underway in the Texas School Book Depository for the sniper. We in the
search team had no phones, radios or TV sets. As I recall, we learned that
the president was dead about the time we found the rifle. I don't know who
brought us this word. Several officers arrived while we were waiting for
Lt. Day. One of them was Roger Craig, who is responsible for giving much
misinformation to the press. None of us were prepared to hear that the
president's wound was a fatal one. We thought perhaps it was a minor thing
or possibly a flesh wound. It was a stunning shock, and our attitude
[towards] the rifle had suddenly changed. We stared at the small portion
of the butt as it lay under the overhang boxes while we waited for Lt. Day
to arrive and recover the weapon that killed our president. . . .
We finished combing the 6th floor, looking for the assassin or
any other evidence. Finding nothing more at this time Captain Fritz
ordered all of us to the elevator and we started searching the 7th floor
and from there we went to the roof.
Nothing in the way of evidence was found so we retraced our
search back down, floor by floor. Shortly after we arrived back on the 6th
floor, Deputy Eugene Boone located the assassin's rifle almost completely
hidden by some overhanging boxes near the stairwell. I filmed it as it was
found. In my shot, the figure of Captain Fritz is standing within the
enclosure next to the rifle. He knew then that the possibility of a fire
fight with the sniper had greatly diminished. He dispatched one of his men
to go down and call for the crime lab. About fifteen minutes later, Lt.
Day and Studebaker arrived. Still pictures were taken of the positioning
of the rifle, then Lt. Day slid it out from its hiding place and held it
up for all of us to see. The world has seen my shot of this many times.
Lt. Day immediately turned toward the window behind him and started
dusting the weapon for fingerprints. Day was still within the enclosure
formed by the surrounding boxes. I filmed him lifting prints from the
rifle. He lifted them off with scotch tape and placed them on little white
cards. When he had finished, he handed the rifle to Captain Fritz. Fritz
pulled the bolt back and a live round ejected and landed on the boxes
below. Fritz put the cartridge in his pocket. I did not see Fritz pick up
anything other than the live round. . . .
I filmed Captain Fritz talking with associates in this dismantled
area [the "sniper's nest"], along with Studebaker, who was dusting the Dr.
Pepper bottle which had been brought up to him from the 5th floor. This is
all recorded on my film. I never learned if prints were lifted from the
pop bottle. I'm not sure if anybody ever asked.
I took the film from my camera, placed it back into its metal
can, wrapped the tape around it, and tossed it to our News Editor, A. J.
L'Hoste, who was waiting outside with the other newsmen who were not
allowed in the building. A. J. raced it to the television station which
was about three blocks away. About fifteen minutes later the world saw the
murder weapon, where it was found and pictures of the crime lab people
dusting it for fingerprints, and the shell casings that once housed those
bullets. They also saw how the assassin prepared for his ambush and the
view he had of the killing zone.
Addendum #1
A correspondent asked Tom Alyea about the accuracy of the above
material and forwarded Alyea's response:
Thanks for sending me the material from Connie Kritzberg's
"Secrets from The Sixth Floor." I never read the book. Many years ago she
interviewed me about what I saw during the search. I gave her some
pictures to use in her story. This is the first time I have seen the
story. I regret to say that there are some inaccuracies, which is to be
expected in an interview. You must remember that she was not on the sixth
floor. She was at her desk in the city room at the Dallas Times Herald
newspaper. It is disjointed and out of sequence, which makes it difficult
to follow. This is often the case when the interviewer asks the questions
and was not at the scene. Connie is a friend of mine, and a good reporter,
but I did not see the final draft before it went to press. There is always
the possibility that I failed to make my answers clear, and she derived a
different meaning. Please remember that these short statements contained
little detail and circumstances behind the situation.
I shall make a few corrections that I feel are necessary to
maintain accuracy:
Corrections:
The average height of the barricade (Barricade #1) was four and a
half feet. I don't know how high this would be in the Metric scale.
My shot of the shell casings in Capt. Fritz's hand was between
three and four seconds.
(Important correction:) Take out the sentence that starts with,
"It is highly doubtful???"
My statement was that after Capt. Fritz held the casing over the
barricade for me to film, he turned to examine the shooting support boxes
on the windowsill. I couldn't see the captain put the casings in his coat
pocket because his coat pocket was below the top of the barricade. He did
not return them to the floor and he did not have them in his hand when he
was examining the shooting support boxes. Over thirty minutes later, after
the rifle was discovered and the crime lab arrived, Capt. Fritz reached
into his pocket and handed the casings to Det. Studebaker to include in
the photographs he would take of the sniper's nest crime scene. We stayed
at the rifle site to watch Lt. Day dust the rifle. You have seen my
footage of this. Studebaker never saw the original placement of the
casings so he tossed them on the floor and photographed them. Det.
Studebaker was alone at this site until after Lt. Day left the building
with the rifle. We in the search team went to the sniper's site.
Studebaker had already photographed the casings on the floor and was busy
dusting the pop bottle when we arrived. The casings were no longer on the
floor. I never saw them again. The barricade had been completely
dismantled and the boxes from the West side of the barricade had been
removed and placed in various locations around the site. We did not
realize at the time that Studebaker had not recorded on film the original
placement of the boxes in the barricade. He also had removed the shooting
support boxes on the window ledge and stacked them one on top of the other
on the floor inside. He took a picture of this reconstructed arrangement.
This is the view researchers have of the shooting support boxes that were
originally on the brick window ledge. The corner of the outside box was
positioned over the lower window channel that tilted the box at an angle.
(Important correction)???Take out the sentence that starts with,
"I have also seen recently???"
This high angle photograph was taken after the crime lab returned
to the sixth floor three days later 'Monday, November, twenty-five. Capt.
Fritz had seen the photographs and had directed the crime lab to correct
the shots of the window boxes and the casings on the floor. He had seen
the original placement and ordered the crime lab to correct it. Neither
Lt. Day nor Det. Studebaker had seen the original placement, so they
procured my film from the TV station to get it right. The high angle shot
(shots) were made to show the original placement. Their reconstruction was
close, but not exact. However, they did not bring the casings with them so
they did not make the correction of the original placement of the shell
casings.
(Important correction) Take out the sentence that starts with
:" I do however know that Officer Mooney???"
Mooney was a Sheriff's Deputy, not a police officer. He did not
arrive on the sixth floor until after the rifle was found and the search
was over.
(Important correction) Take out the sentence that starts with,
"He dispatched one of his men???"
Capt. Fritz did this after the shooting site was discovered, with
the instructions to have the crime lab men wait on the first floor when
they arrived. We were still looking for an armed gunman. We had only found
his shooting location. After the rifle was found, Capt. Fritz sent one of
his detectives down in the elevator to bring up the crime lab, because it
was obvious that the sniper had escaped and the threat of a firefight was
unlikely. The crime lab is never called to a scene that has not been
secured. I hope you researcher friends will realize this when the read the
police testimonies where they place Lt. Day at the shooting site crime
scene while we in the search team were still searching for an armed sniper
on the same floor. They had a noble reason for giving this false
testimony. They wanted to protect their boss, Capt. Fritz from possible
censure for picking up the casings before the crime lab arrived and
processed them. The easiest way was to place Lt. Day at the scene before
Capt. Fritz arrived. All this is detailed in my report.
Addendum #2
From: Dale Myers (***@rust.net)
Subject: Re: Tom Alyea on the sixth floor evidence
Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy.jfk
Date: 1999/07/04
As we all know, time alters recollections. Case in point:
compare Tom Alyea's more recent statements (posted by Dave Reitzes) with
his statement from December 19, 1963:
------------------------------[quote on]
"...I ran on upstairs with the Secret Service men. Then other
units came in - the Riot Squad. I thought I was going to film a gun fight.
They ran to the 4th floor and I went with them. Some of the other units
went to the top of the building. They were conducting a systematic search.
It boiled down to the sixth floor. After awhile it was obvious that the
assassin was not in the building. They looked for the gun. I filmed 400
ft. of film of the Secret Service men looking for the assassin, climbing
over boxes, over the rafters, and the actual finding of the gun. At the
time it was suspected that the assassin had stayed quite a time there.
There was a stack with a stack of chicken bones on it. There was a Dr.
Pepper bottle which they dusted for fingerprints. The fingerprints were
not Oswald's. You know how he piled the boxes up? The gun was found across
the length of the room from where he fired. It was stashed between boxes.
I had difficulty in filming. They did not want me closeto the window or to
the gun. I asked permission to go to the window to film. A Secret Service
man said, 'You are close enough.' I asked the Secret Service man to take
pictures of the stashed gun. I set the camera but he wiggled the camera. I
got a picture of them taking the gun from the hiding place and dusting it
for fingerprints. After this the Crime Lab man, Captain Will Fritz - and I
have footage of this - pulled the bolt back and a live round came out.
They dusted the gun for fingerprints. This was my third camera. They
wouldn't let me out of the building and they wouldn't let anyone else in.
I never saw my film on the air because I had to get the film to someone
outside. This was the first film from there. We had Mal Couch's film of
the crowd but not of the President being hit. [How did you get the film
out?] There's a story for you. I actually handed it out through the door
but it had been publicized over the air and established everywhere that I
had thrown it out of the building through a window. I hesitate to tell you
the real story. I started to throw it out of the building but being so
close and knowing that we had the other film, I wanted our station to be
the first to show a film of the assassination. A A.J. L'Hoste was under
the window. I yelled out to him. In actuality I tossed the film out the
front door to Ron Reiland who had gotten back from covering the
apprehension of Oswald at the Texas Theater. This was another ABC
exclusive. There were 2 policemen at the Depository door. They were not
sure that I should get things outside. Ron was outside and I was inside.
One of the policemen there called a Lieutenant and while they were calling
him, I threw the film out....."
------------------------------[quote off]
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