Who Shot JFK?

The 1960s
Michigan Standards Addressed:
8.2.4 Domestic Confl icts and Tensions Using core democratic values, analyze and evaluate the
competing perspectives and controversies among Americans generated by U.S. Supreme Court
decisions (e.g., Roe v Wade, Gideon, Miranda, Tinker, Hazelwood), the Vietnam War (anti-war
and counter-cultural movements), environmental movement, womens rights movement, and the
constitutional crisis generated by the Watergate scandal. (National Geography Standard 16, p. 216)
Lesson Objectives:
Students will be able to deconstruct JFKs assassination and be able to critique the theories
behind his death by examining and evaluating evidence from the assassination
Materials:
Who Shot JFK? introduction video
Images 1-10 (see below)
Zapruder Film Frame Slowed Down (Video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=JbXI0WSlTGw) - Edited and on HD
JFK Assassination Magic Bullet Computer Recreation (Video, https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PfSXkfV_mhA#t=257.255761564)
Evidence Packets for Exhibits A-D
Evidence Packets containing additional evidence for each of the theories
Plan of Instruction:
1. Students watch a video introducing the lesson
2. Our mission:
Use evidence to determine the plausibility (aka truth value) behind some of the various
theories surrounding JFKs assassination.
Political cartoon from 2013 showing a few of the conspiracy theories. Ask students
the following questions:
What is the purpose of this cartoon? What is it trying to communicate to the
reader?
Some of the theories around JFKs death are ridiculous
Theories are more rumor and speculation than actually backed up by
evidence
We should be speculative when considering conspiracy theories
3. *When investigating an event such as this, investigators often construct a chronology of
events surrounding the JFK assassination, as this helps to provide context to the evidence
that is collected; students will be able to access a more detailed timeline while examining
theories at http://www.jfk.org/the-assassination/jfk-assassination-timeline/
(1) The Kennedys arrive Love Field on Air Force One and are greeted by a crowd of people
- 11:46 am (Show Image 6)
Part of Kennedy's early efforts for his 1964 Democratic reelection campaign, as the
1960 Kennedy-Johnson ticket narrowly won Texas, LBJ's home state.
(2) The Kennedys join Texas Governor John Connally and leave Love Field with the
Presidential motorcade for a scheduled luncheon at the Dallas Trade Mart - 11:52 am
(Show Image 7)

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-6

 (3) President Kennedy and Governor Connally are shot while driving through Dealey Plaza -
12:30 pm (Show Image 8)
President Kennedy is shot first through the throat and then in the right side of his head
Witnesses recall hearing 3 shots in total, with the second and third shot closer together
than the first and second.
Governor Connally is shot through the upper right portion of his back, in his right wrist
(shattering it) and his left thigh.
(4) President Kennedy arrives at Parkland Memorial Hospital - 12:36 pm
Dr. Malcolm Perry attends to President Kennedy and performs a tracheotomy in the
attempt to save the president's life.
(5) President Kennedy is pronounced dead and given his last rights by a Catholic Priest -
1:00 pm (Show Image 9)
The President is shortly thereafter put into a casket and transported to Air Force One
without an autopsy, which would be performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
(6) Dallas police officer J.D. Tippet is reported shot - 1:16 pm
13 witnesses identified Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee at the Texas School Book
Depository, as the shooter.
(7) Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested for shooting Officer Tippet at the Texas Theater in Dallas
- 1:51 pm
(8) Police find a rifle on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository hidden between
several boxes - 2:13 pm (Show Image 3)
Police photograph and film the rifle before handling it.
(9) Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as President of the United States on Air Force One - 2:38
pm by (Show Image 10)
President Kennedy is loaded onto Air Force One prior to this
(10)Lee Harvey Oswald is charged with the murder of President Kennedy as part of a
Communist plot - 11:26 pm
The Communist plot was later dropped from the official charges
(11)Oswald is shot and mortally wounded by Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner with Mafia
ties, on live television - 11:21 am (Show Image 5)
Oswald was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital and later died at 1:07 pm
4. Before we dive into our investigation, how did the Executive Branch of the government
respond to the JFK assassination? (LBJ was sworn in as President only an hour and a half
after the Presidents death) (2-3 minutes)
Why do you think it was so important for LBJ to be immediately sworn in as the next
President?
How do you think the people responded to the Presidents death?
5. *Examine evidence in Exploration Groups
Exhibit A: The Zapruder Film
Unedited Film found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXI0WSlTGw
Summary: While only 26 seconds long and without sound, the short, color film shot
by Abraham Zapruder, known as the Zapruder Film, is the clearest video evidence of
the JFK assassination. Zapruder filmed the Presidential motorcade from a concrete
pedestal on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza on a Model 414 PD Bell and Howell
Zoomatic Director Series camera. Zapruder showed the FBI investigators the film
the following day, after having it developed, and its graphic nature gave him
nightmares, to the point where he would not release frame 313, the frame where
President Kennedy is shot in the head, to to Life Magazine after selling the film to

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-7

 them for $150,000. (It was later sold back to the Zapruder family after Abrahams
death for $1).
After viewing the film for the first time, the following questions will be on the screen
and on the Exhibit A sheet:
What initial observations do you notice from the film?
When are President Kennedy and Governor Connally shot?
How does President Kennedy react after being shot?
Where does the final shot seem to come from?
Exhibit B: The Umbrella Man
Summery: A man is seen opening and holding an umbrella, seen very briefly in the
Zapruder film and several other photographs, just before the President is shot. This
is unusual because the forecast for the day was sunny and a high of 67 F. The man
was later identified as Louie Steven Witt, who still had possession of the umbrella.
Witt claims the umbrella was a protest of the Kennedy family, who supported the
Nazi-appeasing British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who's trademark fashion
accessory was a black umbrella, prior to WWII
After discussing the Umbrella Man, the following questions will be on the screen and
on the Exhibit B sheet:
What are your initial reactions to the Umbrella Man?
Is Witt's explanation for having the umbrella suspicious in any way?
Exhibit C: The Texas School Book Depository
Summery: The Texas School Book Depository is a building just north of where
President Kennedy was shot. Recreations of the shooting point the first shot that hit
both President Kennedy and Governor Conally from a window on the 6th floor.
Photographic evidence shows that this window was open at the time of the shooting.
Police located a rifle hidden among the boxes of school books on the 6th floor of the
Depository, along with three shell casings, two near the window and one, slightly
deformed, several feet away.
After discussing the Texas School Book Depository, the following questions will be on
the screen and on the Exhibit C sheet:
What are your initial reactions related to the Texas School Book Depository?
Does the evidence point to the 6th floor as the the shooting location? Why or
why not?
Exhibit D: Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was a former marine who traveled to Russia in an attempt to
become a Soviet citizen in 1959, but was denied. He gained interest in Karl Marx and
Communist ideas after the picking up a leaflet about the execution of Ethel and
Julius Rosenberg. He was an employee at the Texas School Book Depository. 13
witnesses identified Oswald as the man who shot and killed Dallas Police officer JD
Tippet with a revolver 45 minutes after President Kennedy was shot. Oswald denied
shooting both Tippet and Kennedy. He was arrested in the Texas Theater in Dallas,
where Police Officer Nick McDonald testified that he surrendered, saying, Well, its
all over now. Oswald was mortally wounded by Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner
with ties to the Mafia,on live television two days after President Kennedys death.
After discussing Oswald, the following questions will be on the screen:
What evidence stands out to you about Lee Harvey Oswald?
What motive could Oswald have for wanting to kill President Kennedy?

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-8

 Is it possible that Oswald was innocent? Is the evidence against him
circumstantial?
6. In their Exploration Groups, students use the above evidence, as well as some additional
supporting evidence relevant to particular theories, to develop an argument on whether or
not a particular theory is plausible, supporting it with evidence. During this, the teacher will
use informal assessment to direct student conversations toward important evidence and use
directed questions to encourage students to think critically about the evidence and their
theory.
Each group will examine the Warren Commissions conclusion and then at least one of the
other four conspiracy theories. If a group finishes one theory, they may begin another theory,
using the time allotted.
1. Warren Commission's conclusion
Additional Evidence:
Instructions
Short excerpts from the official report
Magic Bullet Theory video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PfSXkfV_mhA#t=257.255761564)
2. Lee Harvey Oswald acting as a Soviet agent
Additional Evidence:
Instructions
Moscow Programmed Oswald to Kill JFK Article
Oswald Working as a Soviet Agent Theory - Additional Evidence Handout
3. Lyndon B. Johnson behind the assassination (10-12 minutes)
Additional Evidence:
Instructions
LBJ Killed JFK Article
Testimony of Victoria Adams
President Nixon statement connecting Jack Ruby, Oswalds killer, with LBJ
4. Multiple Shooters (10-12 minutes)
Additional Evidence:
Instructions
Autopsy Report: Two very different bullet wounds on the President: The first
went straight through, entering in his upper back and exiting through just
below his neck with a small exit wound; the second entered near the base of
his skull and exited through his right forehead with a large exit wound.
Expert testimony explaining the type of bullets that cause wounds similar to
the Presidents.
The third bullet casing found in the Texas State Depository Building, which
was further away from the other two, had a dent in the top of it, suggesting it
was used as a barrel plug to keep moisture out of the rifle.
5. The Umbrella Man Theory (8 minutes)
Additional Evidence:
The Umbrella Weapon Article
Umbrella assassin weapon diagram

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-9

7. After the students have examined each of the different theories, each group will give a short
presentation (2-4 minutes each) on the first conspiracy theory they were assigned.
8. Following the student presentations, the teacher will conclude with a mini-lecture.
Initially, most Americans accepted the Warren Commissions Official report and mourned
the loss of of President Kennedy.
Evidence collected surrounding the JFK assassination began to create a shadow of
doubt over the Warren Commissions official report
This doubt began to create a sense of distrust toward the government in the minds of the
people and very well may have contributed to the cultural revolution that occurred in the
1960s and 70s.
Sources:
Andrews, Evan. "What Happened to the Zapruder Film?." History.com. http://www.history.com/
news/ask-history/what-happened-to-the-zapruder-film.
Breslow, Jason M. "8 Things You May Not Know About Lee Harvey Oswald." PBS Frontline.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-lee-harvey-
oswald/.
Hanks, Tom, Gary Goetzman, and Mark Herzog. The Sixties. Film, 2013.
History Matters. "HSCA Hearings - Volume IV." http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/
reportvols/vol4/html/HSCA_Vol4_0217a.htm.
Horsey, David. "Fifty years after JFK assassination, conspiracy theories live on." Los Angeles
Times, November 21, 2013. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/21/nation/la-na-tt-
conspiracy-theories-live-on-20131120.
JFK Assassination Information Center. "Testimony of Miss Victoria Elizabeth Adams." http://
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/adams_v.htm.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. http://www.jfklibrary.org.
McDonald, Malcom. JFK: The Smoking Gun. Film. Directed by Steve Lucas. Montreal, Canada:
Muse Entertainment Enterprises, 2013.
Prouty, Fletcher. "The Umbrella System." Gallery Magazine, June 1978 http://
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/prouty_tum.htm.
Stone, Roger, and Mike Colapietro. The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ. New
York: Sky horse Publishing, 2013.
Tuthill, Samantha-Rae. "Did Clear Weather Play a Role in JFK's Assassination?." AccuWeather.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/jfk-assassination-50th-anniversary/
20190519.
Warren Commission Report. "Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of
President Kennedy: Chapter 1 Summery and Conclusions." National Archives. http://
www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/chapter-1.html.
Washington, Ellis. "Did LBJ Kill JFK?." WND. http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/did-lbj-kill-jfk/
#2pECYiObPBw0gILA.99
WND. "Moscow 'programed Oswald to kill JKF'." http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/moscow-
programmed-oswald-to-kill-jfk/.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-10

 Who Shot JFK?
Investigation Instructions
Instructions:
During this investigation, your Exploration Group will examine the evidence related to the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas Texas. In class,
we will examine four pieces of evidence: the Zapruder film, the Umbrella man, the Texas School
Book Depository, and Lee Harvey Oswald. You will then use this evidence, along with other
relevant evidence directly related to particular theories, to judge the plausibility (aka is this a
possible representation of what actually happened on November 22, 1963?) and support that
argument with evidence for five theories behind JFKs assassination.
These theories are:
1. Warren Commission's conclusion
2. Lee Harvey Oswald acting as a Soviet agent
3. Lyndon B. Johnson behind the assassination
4. Multiple Shooters
5. The Umbrella Man Theory
As you examine evidence, be sure to pay attention to the details. Additionally, you may want to
use the detailed timeline, found at http://www.jfk.org/the-assassination/jfk-assassination-
timeline/, as a reference point in organizing your evidence and developing your argument.
As we discuss evidence in class, be sure to take notes. This could provide some useful insights
when judging the theories behind President Kennedys death. You may view the Zapruder film at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXI0WSlTGw.
Once you begin to examine the theories and use evidence to determine whether or not a
particular theory is plausible, it would be beneficial for you to take notes on your discussion as a
group. This will help you later as you write your journal entries.
Homework:
After you have determined whether or not your theory is plausible, write a paragraph in your
journal stating your position on the theory and what evidence you are using to support or refute
that theory. Your journals will be handed in two days after we finish the Who Shot JFK? lesson.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-18

Summary:
While only 26 seconds long and without sound, the short, color film
shot by Abraham Zapruder, known as the Zapruder Film, is the clearest
video evidence of the JFK assassination. Zapruder filmed the Presiden-
tial motorcade from a concrete pedestal on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza.
Zapruder showed the film to FBI investigators the following day, after
having it developed, and its graphic nature gave him nightmares, to the
point where he would not release frame 313, the frame where President
Kennedy is shot in the head, to to Life Magazine after selling the film to
them for $150,000.
Questions to Consider:
1) What initial observations do you notice from the film?
2) When are President Kennedy and Governor Connally shot?
3) How does President Kennedy react after being shot?
4) Where does the final shot seem to come from?
Notes:
Summary:
A man is seen opening and holding an umbrella, seen very briefly in the
Zapruder film and several other photographs, just before the President
is shot. This is unusual because the forecast for the day was sunny and
a high of 67 F. The man was later identified as Louie Steven Witt, who
still had possession of the umbrella. Witt claims the umbrella was a pro-
test of the Kennedy family, who supported the Nazi-appeasing
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, whos trademark fashion
accessory was a black umbrella, prior to WWII
Questions to Consider:
1) What are your initial reactions to the Umbrella Man?
2) Is Witts explanation for having the umbrella suspicious in any way?
Notes:
Summary:
The Texas School Book Depository is a building just north of where Pres-
ident Kennedy was shot. Recreations of the shooting point the first shot
that hit both President Kennedy and Governor Conally from a window
on the 6th floor. Police located a rifle hidden among the boxes of school
books on the 6th floor of the Depository, along with three shell casings.
Questions to Consider:
1) What are your initial reactions to the Texas School Book Depository?
2) Does the evidence point to the 6th floor as the shooting location?
Why or why not?
Notes:
Summary:
Lee Harvey Oswald was a former marine who traveled to Russia in an
attempt to become a Soviet citizen in 1959, but was denied. He gained
interest in Karl Marx and Communist ideas after the picking up a leaflet
about the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. He was an employ-
ee at the Texas School Book Depository. 13 witnesses identified Oswald
as the man who shot and killed Dallas Police officer JD Tippet with a
revolver 45 minutes after President Kennedy was shot. Oswald denied
shooting both Tippet and Kennedy. He was arrested in the Texas The-
ater in Dallas, where Police Officer Nick McDonald testified that he sur-
rendered, saying, Well, its all over now. Oswald was mortally wounded
by Jack Ruby, a local night-
club owner with ties to the Mafia,on
live television two days after
President Kennedys death.
Questions to Consider:
1) What evidence stands out to you
about Lee Harvey Oswald?
2) What motive could Oswald have for
wanting to kill President Kennedy?
3) Is it possible that Oswald was
innocent? Is the evidence against
him circumstantial?
Notes:
View of Elm Street from the 6th floor window:

Evidence collected at the 6th floor window:

Unit Plan - Stage III Exhibit C Evidence 3-22

Gun found on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository:

Shells collected near the 6th floor window. The shell farthest from the window has a slight dent
near the opening where the round would have been.

Unit Plan - Stage III Exhibit C Evidence 3-23

 Several eyewitnesses in front of the building reported that they saw a rifle being
fired from the southeast corner window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book
Depository. One eyewitness, Howard L. Brennan, had been watching the parade from a
point on Elm Street directly opposite and facing the building. He promptly told a
policeman that he had seen a slender man, about 5 feet 10 inches, in his early thirties,
take deliberate aim from the sixth-floor corner window and fire a rifle in the direction of
the President's car.
Excerpt from Page 4 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Capt. J. Will Fritz, chief of the homicide and robbery bureau
of the Dallas Police Department, arrived to take charge of the investigation. Searching
the sixth floor, Deputy Sheriff Luke Mooney noticed a pile of cartons in the southeast
corner. He squeezed through the boxes and realized immediately that he had
discovered the point from which the shots had been fired. On the floor were three empty
cartridge cases. A carton had apparently been placed on the floor at the side of the
window so that a person sitting on the carton could look down Elm Street toward the
overpass and scarcely be noticed from the outside. Between this carton and the half-
open window were three additional cartons arranged at such an angle that a rifle resting
on the top carton would be aimed directly at the motorcade as it moved away from the
building. The high stack of boxes, which first attracted Mooney's attention effectively
screened a person at the window from the view of anyone else on the floor.
Page 9
Mooney's discovery intensified the search for additional evidence on the sixth
floor, and at 1:22 p.m. approximately 10 minutes after the cartridge cases were found,
Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone turned his flashlight in the direction of two rows of boxes
in the northwest corner near the staircase. Stuffed between the two rows was a bolt-
action rifle with a telescopic sight. The rifle was not touched until it could be
photographed. When Lt. J. C. Day of the police identification bureau decided that the
wooden stock and the metal knob at the end of the bolt contained no prints, he held the
rifle by the stock while Captain Fritz ejected a live shell by operating the bolt. Lieutenant
Day promptly noted that stamped on the rifle itself was the serial number "C2766" as
well as the markings "1940" "MADE ITALY" and "CAL. 6.5." The rifle was about 40
inches long and when disassembled it could fit into a handmade paper sack which after
the assassination, was found in the southeast corner of the building within a few feet of
the cartridge cases.
Excerpt from Pages 8 and 9 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

Unit Plan - Stage III Exhibit C Evidence 3-24

 Exhibit D Evidence: Warren Commission Report
When the shots were fired, a Dallas motorcycle patrolman, Marrion L. Baker, was riding
in the motorcade at a point several cars behind the President. He had turned right from Main
Street onto Houston Street and was about 200 feet south of Elm Street when he heard a shot.
Baker, having recently returned from a week of deer hunting, was certain the shot came from a
high-powered rifle. He looked up and saw pigeons scattering in the air from their perches on the
Texas School Book Depository Building. He raced his motorcycle to the building, dismounted,
scanned the area to the west and pushed his way through the spectators toward the entrance.
There he encountered Roy Truly, the building superintendent, who offered Baker his help. They
entered the building, and ran toward the two elevators in the rear. Finding that both elevators
were on an upper floor, they dashed up the stairs. Not more than 2 minutes had elapsed since
the shooting.
When they reached the second-floor landing on their way up to the top of the building,
Patrolman Baker thought he caught a glimpse of someone through the small glass window in
the door separating the hall area near the stairs from the small vestibule leading into the
lunchroom. Gun in hand, he rushed to the door and saw a man about 20 feet away walking
toward the other end of the lunchroom. The man was empty handed. At Baker's command, the
man turned and approached him. Truly, who had started up the stairs to the third floor ahead of
Baker, returned to see what had delayed the patrolman. Baker asked Truly whether he knew the
man in the lunchroom. Truly replied that the man worked in the building, whereupon Baker
turned from the man and proceeded, with Truly, up the stairs. The man they encountered had
started working in the Texas School Book Depository Building on October 16, 1963. His fellow
workers described
Page 6
him as very quiet--a "loner." His name was Lee Harvey Oswald.
Excerpt from Pages 5 and 6 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

At 1:29 p.m., the police radio had noted the similarity in the descriptions of the suspects in the
Tippit shooting and the assassination. At 1:45 p.m., in response to Mrs. Postal's call, the police
radio sounded the alarm: "Have information a suspect just went in the Texas Theatre on West
Jefferson." Within minutes the theater was surrounded. The house lights were then turned up.
Patrolman M. N. McDonald and several other policemen approached the man, who had been
pointed out to them by Brewer.
McDonald ordered the man to his feet and heard him say, "Well, it's all over now." The
man drew a gun from his waist with one hand and struck the officer with the other. McDonald
struck out with his right hand and grabbed the gun with his left hand. After a brief struggle
McDonald and several other police officers disarmed and handcuffed the suspect and drove him
to police headquarters, arriving at approximately 2 p.m.
Excerpt from Page 8 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

[Prior to the assassination, on November 21st,] Oswald walked to Frazier's house about
half a block away and placed a long bulky package, made out of wrapping paper and tape, into
the rear seat of the car. He told Frazier that the package contained curtain rods. When they
reached the Depository parking lot, Oswald walked quickly ahead. Frazier followed and saw
Oswald enter the Depository Building carrying the long bulky package with him.
Excerpt from Page 15 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

Exhibit D Evidence
 Warren Commissions Report
Instructions
The Warren Commission was created by President Lyndon B. Johnson to independently
investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, with approval from Congress. The
committee consisted of Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the United States, U.S. Senators
Richard Russell and John Cooper, U.S. Representatives Hale Boggs and Gerald Ford, former
CIA Director Allen Dulles, and John McCloy, former President of the World Bank. These
individuals were chosen because of the high level of respect that the general public had for
them. The 888 page report the commission created included evidence from numerous
witnesses to the event as well as expert testimony on a variety of topics related to the shooting.

As investigators, closely examine the Commissions findings and compare their conclusions with
the evidence that you have gathered through each of the four exhibits. As you compare
evidence, consider the following questions:

1. What evidence that you have collected confirms the Commissions findings?

2. What evidence that you have collected contradicts the Commissions findings?

3. Can any of this contradictory evidence be explained in a way that still allows the
Commissions findings to be plausible?

After you have finished reviewing the Commissions findings and comparing it with the evidence,
organize your thoughts related to the plausibility of this report. Is this a likely explanation for
what happened during the JFK assassination? Write a short response in your journal.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-27

 Warren Commissions Conclusions
These conclusions represent the reasoned judgment of all members of the Commission and are
presented after an investigation which has satisfied the Commission that it: has ascertained the
truth concerning the assassination of President Kennedy to the extent that a prolonged and
thorough search makes this possible.
1 The shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired
from the sixth floor window at the southeast corner of the Texas School Book Depository.
This determination is based upon the following:
(a) Witnesses at the scene of the assassination saw a rifle being fired from the
sixth floor window of the Depository Building, and some witnesses saw a rifle in
the window immediately after the shots were fired.
(b) The nearly whole bullet found on Governor Connally's stretcher at Parkland
Memorial Hospital and the two bullet fragments found in the front seat of the
Presidential limousine were fired from the 6.5- millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano
rifle found on the sixth floor of the Depository Building to the exclusion of all other
weapons.
(c) The three used cartridge cases found near the window on the sixth floor at the
southeast corner of the building were fired from the same rifle which fired the
above-described bullet and fragments, to the exclusion of all other weapons.
(d) The windshield in the Presidential limousine was struck by a bullet fragment
on the inside surface of the glass, but was not penetrated.
(e) The nature of the bullet wounds suffered by President Kennedy and Governor
Connally and the location of the car at the time of the shots establish that the
bullets were fired from above and behind the Presidential limousine, striking the
President and the Governor as follows:
Page 19
1 President Kennedy was first struck by a bullet which entered at the back
of his neck and exited through the lower front portion of his neck, causing
a wound which would not necessarily have been lethal. The President
was struck a second time by a bullet which entered the right-rear portion
of his head, causing a massive and fatal wound.
2 Governor Connally was struck by a bullet which entered on the right side
of his back and traveled downward through the right side of his chest,
exiting below his right nipple. This bullet then passed through his right
wrist and entered his left thigh where it caused a superficial wound.
(f)There is no credible evidence that the shots were fired from the Triple
Underpass, ahead of the motorcade, or from any other location.
2 The weight of the evidence indicates that there were three shots fired.
3 Although it is not necessary to any essential findings of the Commission to determine
just which shot hit Governor Connally, there is very persuasive evidence from the
experts to indicate that the same bullet which pierced the President's throat also caused
Governor Connally's wounds. However, Governor Connally's testimony and certain other
factors have given rise to some difference of opinion as to this probability but there is no
question in the mind of any member of the Commission that all the shots which caused

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-28

 the President's and Governor Connally's wounds were fired from the sixth floor window
of the Texas School Book Depository.
4 The shots which killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally were fired
by Lee Harvey Oswald. This conclusion is based upon the following:
(a)The Mannlicher-Carcano 6.5-millimeter Italian rifle from which the shots were
fired was owned by and in the possession of Oswald.
(b)Oswald carried this rifle into the Depository Building on the morning of
November 22, 1963.
(c)Oswald, at the time of the assassination, was present at the window from
which the shots were fired.
(d)Shortly after the assassination, the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle belonging to
Oswald was found partially hidden between some cartons on the sixth floor and
the improvised paper bag in which Oswald brought the rifle to the Depository was
found dose by the window from which the shots were fired.
(e)Based on testimony of the experts and their analysis of films of the
assassination, the Commission has concluded that a rifleman of Lee Harvey
Oswald's capabilities could have fired the shots from the rifle used in the
assassination within the elapsed time of the shooting. The Commission has
concluded further that Oswald possessed the capability with a rifle which enabled
him to commit the assassination.
Page 20
(f)Oswald lied to the police after his arrest concerning important substantive
matters.
(g)Oswald had attempted to kill Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker (Retired, U.S. Army)
on April 10, 1963, thereby demonstrating his disposition to take human life.
5 Oswald killed Dallas Police Patrolman J. D. Tippit approximately 45 minutes after the
assassination. This conclusion upholds the finding that Oswald fired the shots which
killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally and is supported by the
following:
(a) Two eyewitnesses saw the Tippit shooting and seven eyewitnesses heard the
shots and saw the gunman leave the scene with revolver in hand. These nine
eyewitnesses positively identified Lee Harvey Oswald as the man they saw.
(b) The cartridge cases found at the scene of the shooting were fired from the
revolver in the possession of Oswald at the time of his arrest to the exclusion of
all other weapons.
(c) The revolver in Oswald's possession at the time of his arrest was purchased
by and belonged to Oswald.
(d) Oswald's jacket was found along the path of flight taken by the gunman as he
fled from the scene of the killing.
6 Within 80 minutes of the assassination and 35 minutes of the Tippit killing Oswald
resisted arrest at the theatre by attempting to shoot another Dallas police officer.
Excerpt from Pages 18-20 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-29

 Lyndon B. Johnson Behind the Assassination Theory
Instructions
Another theory that has gained considerable public attention is that Lyndon B. Johnson,
President Kennedys Vice President and subsequently the President following Kennedys death,
orchestrated the entire assassination of President Kennedy. Begin this portion of your
investigation by reading the article title Did LBJ Kill JFK, which presents arguments that
support this theory. After concluding the article, carefully examine the additional evidence
provided to you and compare it with the conclusions of the article. As you compare evidence,
consider the following questions:

1. What evidence that you have collected confirms the findings presented in the article that
Lyndon B. Johnson was behind the assassination of President Kennedy?

2. What evidence that you have collected contradicts the articles findings?

3. Can any of this contradictory evidence be explained in a way that still allows the theory to be
plausible?

After you have finished reviewing the article and comparing it with the evidence, organize your
thoughts related to the plausibility of this theory. Is this a likely explanation for what happened
during the JFK assassination? Write a short response in your journal.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-36

 Lyndon B. Johnson Behind the Assassination Theory
Additional Evidence

Its a hell of a thing. I actually knew this Jack Ruby fella. Murray Chotiner brought him in back in
47. Went by the name Rubinstein. An informant. Murray said he was one of Lyndon Johnsons
boys we put him on the payroll. ~ President Richard Nixon recognizing a connection
between Lyndon Johnson and Jack Ruby, Oswalds killer.
Stone, Roger, and Mike Colapietro. The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ. New York: Sky
horse Publishing, 2013, 18

Testimony From Victoria Adams, an employee at the Texas School Book Depository
Mr. BELIN - What is your occupation?
Miss ADAMS - I am employed as an office survey representative.
Mr. BELIN - By whom?
Miss ADAMS - Scott Foresman Co.
Mr. BELIN - Where do you work?
Miss ADAMS - On the fourth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
Mr. BELIN - Where?
Miss ADAMS - 411 Elm.
Mr. BELIN - That is at the corner of Elm and Houston?
Miss ADAMS - That is correct.
Mr. BELIN - I might ask how old are you?
Miss ADAMS - Twenty-three.

Mr. BELIN - Where were you when the motorcade passed?

Miss ADAMS - I was at the----
Mr. BELIN - Were you inside or outside the building?
Miss ADAMS - I was inside the building.
Mr. BELIN - What floor?
Miss ADAMS - Fourth floor.
Mr. BELIN - Did you watch the motorcade through a window?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir.

Miss ADAMS - And from our vantage point we were able to see what the President's wife was
wearing, the roses in the car, and things that would attract men's attention. Then we heard---
then we were obstructed from the view.
Mr. BELIN - By what?
Miss ADAMS - A tree. and we heard a shot, and it was a pause, and then a second shot, and
then a third shot.
It sounded like a firecracker or a cannon at a football game, it seemed as if it came from the
right below rather than from the left above. Possibly because of the report. And after the third
shot, following that, the third shot, I went to the back of the building down the back stairs, and
encountered Bill Shelley and Bill Lovelady on the first floor on the way out to the Houston Street
dock.
Mr. BELIN - When you say on the way out to the Houston Street dock, you mean now you were
on the way out?

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-40

Miss ADAMS - While I was on the way out.
Mr. BELIN - Was anyone going along with you?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir; Sandra Styles.

Mr. BELIN - When you got into the stockroom, where did you go?
Miss ADAMS - I went to the back stairs.
Mr. BELIN - Are there any other stairs that lead down from the fourth floor other than those back
stairs in the rear of the stockroom?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Those stairs would be in the northwest comer of the building, is that correct?
Miss ADAMS - That's correct.
Mr. BELIN - You took those stairs. Were you walking or running as you went down the stairs?
Miss ADAMS - I was running. We were running.
Mr. BELIN - What kind of shoes did you have on?
Miss ADAMS - Three-inch heels.
Mr. BELIN - You had heels. Now, as you were running down the stairs, did you encounter
anyone?
Miss ADAMS - Not during the actual running down the stairs; no, sir.
Mr. BELIN - After you left the Scott Foresman office and went into the stock-room, did you see
anyone until you got to the stairs on the fourth floor other than the person you were with?
Miss ADAMS - Outside of our office employees; no.
Mr. BELIN - Would these office employees that you might have seen, all be women?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir.

JFK Assassination Information Center. "Testimony of Miss Victoria Elizabeth Adams." http://
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/adams_v.htm.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-41

THE REPORT FROM WASHINGTON

DID LBJ KILL JFK?

Exclusive: Ellis Washington examines claim that Kennedy VP had president
slain
Published: 11/22/2013 at 4:45 PM

! ELLIS WASHINGTON
Aftertomorrowthose goddn Kennedys will never embarrass me again. Thats not a threat.
Thats a promise. LBJ to his mistress Madeleine Brown on the eve of JFK assassination
Did LBJ have JFK killed?
This question has endured ever since that fateful day of 50 years ago Nov. 22, 1963.Former
Nixon White House adviser and self-proclaimed GOP hit man Roger Stone makes this central
argument in his new book, The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ.Stones very
interesting narrative isnt another conspiracy theory book to add to the already voluminous
number of fantastical JFK assassination claims. Roger tells Reason Magazine Editor, Nick
Gillespie, The whole term conspiracy theorists is a pejorative that the mainstream media uses
to denigrate anyone who questions the governments version on virtually anything. Im not
talking conspiracy, Im talking facts.
In an interview with Abby Martin, who asks Stone, Whats the strongest piece of evidence that
implicates LBJ in Kennedys murder?, Stone replies, Probably the fingerprint of LBJs personal
hit man named, Malcom Mac Wallace that is found on a cardboard box on the sixth floor of the
Texas School Book Depository. Its the only print other than the prints of Lee Harvey Oswald that
I believe were planted there, so that is probably your strongest piece of evidence.
Secondarily, Johnsons mistress of 21 years, Madeleine Duncan Brown, who bore him an
illegitimate child, said Lyndon Johnson told her on the eve of the assassination,
Aftertomorrowthose godd-mn Kennedys will never embarrass me again. Thats not a threat.
Thats a promise.
And then lastly I think when the presidential motorcade pulled into Dealey Plaza in Dallas when
Vice President Johnsons car made the 120 degree turn on Elm St. into Dealey Plaza, Lyndon
Johnson, before the first shot was fired was on the floor of his car; he hits the deck. Theres
photographic evidence that proves this. So I would say that before, during and after the
assassination Lyndon Johnsons actions betray the fact that he is in fact the man yoking the
conspiracy, or in this case the plot that includes the CIA, organized crime and Big Texas Oil,
Stone contends.
When asked about how his book is different from all of the other books claiming various JFK
assassination conspiracy theories? Stones answer recounted his professional relationship over
many years as a trusted adviser to President Richard Nixon, who confessed to Stone that the
Warren Commission was the greatest hoax ever perpetrated. Stone again: Nixon never flatly
said who was responsible for Kennedys death, but he would say both he and Johnson wanted
to be president; the only difference, Nixon said he refused to kill for the job.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-37

Stone admits to additional firsthand confirmations that indeed LBJ killed JFK from such colorful
characters as: Ambassador John Davis Lodge, who was the brother of Henry Cabot Lodge,
JFKs ambassador to Vietnam; Attorney General John Mitchell; Tony Salerno, head of the
Genovese crime family in New York; New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello, who all plotted
together with the CIA and LBJ to assassinate JFK.
Stone, in his book on LBJ, chronicles voluminous amounts of damning evidence that points to
LBJ as behind the JFK assassination, including Dallas being LBJs territory, the Dallas Police
Department and the Dallas media were under his control, LBJs close friend (D.H. Byrd) owned
the book Texas book depository building, LBJs personal assassin on many other hits (Malcolm
Wallace) was seen on the sixth floor of the book depository building that day while 75-90
seconds after the assassination, Oswald was seen by several eyewitnesses including the
building superintendent and a Dallas police officer not on the sixth floor, but sitting alone in the
second-floor cafeteria drinking a Coke and apparently oblivious to the fact that JFKs
assassination had just occurred less than two minutes earlier.
Stone further argues that Texas Gov. John Connally insisted that LBJs cronies dictated the
route of the presidential motorcade instead of JFKs advance team. This conflict caused a huge
argument between JFK and LBJ, as witnessed by Jackie Kennedy, because JFK insisted on
having Gov. John Connally, a loyal LBJ crony, ride in his limousine while LBJ wanted his
political foe, Sen. Ralph Yarborough, to ride with JFK (thereby killing two birds with one stone).
The trap was completely set when the presidential motorcade route was published in all the
Dallas newspapers. As history dictated, JFK convinced LBJ to allow John Connally to ride in his
limo, and Connally was shot along with JFK, although he survived. Yarborough, riding with a
frustrated LBJ, was never harmed.
There is no physical evidence of Oswald being on the sixth floor of the Texas book depository
building that day. The palm print the FBI found on the murder weapon was taken from Oswald
and planted on the rifle while Oswalds body lay in the morgue after he was killed by Jack Ruby.
The Dallas coroner recalled, after the FBI left, finding black fingerprint ink on the hands
Oswalds corpse, which obviously wasnt there before the FBI arrived.
Immediately after the assassination of JFK, according to Stone, LBJ spread the knowingly
false story that the Russian government had killed Kennedy. He told Earl Warren, the chief
justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, who was reluctant to chair the Warren Commission. He was
only persuaded because Johnson convinced him that the Russians had killed Kennedy and, if
the truth got out, then it would precipitate World War III. This was a lie that Johnson told over
and over. Theres no truth to it. We now know that when Kennedy was killed, Soviet Premiere
Nikita Khrushchev wept. Also, Fidel Castro who was with an American when he got the news,
kept repeating Oh no! and This is very bad news. I do not think that the Russian state was in
any way involved in the assassination, says Stone. I think Johnson lied about this.
Finally, Stone mentions Landslide Lyndon ascension in politics where his infamous 1948
election launching his career as a senator was obviously a stolen election in which LBJ won by
only 87 votes, all in alphabetical order, in the same handwriting and they all signed in the same
ink (Box 13). Through a magnificent presentation of original sources, Stone ties LBJ to eight
murders prior to the JFK assassination, not including his own sister, whom Stones contends he
may have killed and is buried without an autopsy. LBJs sister, Josefa Johnson, was murdered
Christmas Day 1961 after leaving a party hosted by LBJ. I think hes an amoral psychopath,
says Roger Stone of LBJ. I think hes crude, evil, vicious, vindictive, [a] drunk.I think that
Lyndon Johnson had unique motive, means and opportunity to kill John Kennedy and I think
that he participated in a plot to do so.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-38

How did this happen? Who is responsible? and the most important question: Who had the
most to gain? Doubtlessly, the answer to all three questions points directly to Vice President
Lyndon Johnson, who had motive, means and opportunity to kill JFK:
LBJ had motive (personal, political, economic). He had political motive because of LBJs
legendary hatred of JFK, RFK and the Kennedy family, which extended back to 1937
when LBJ was a freshman Texas congressman and fanatical acolyte of FDRs New Deal
programs. JFK and RFK didnt want LBJ on the first ticket and was working to get him
kicked off the 1964 ticket. LBJ knew this and had to act fast;
LBJ had means (LBJ used Texas Gov. John Connally to entice JFK to their Texas
territory along with his strong connections with the Dallas Police, Dallas news media and
Big Texas Oil);
LBJ had opportunity. (LBJ controlled all aspects of the JFK assassination, before during
and afterward.) The CIA hated Kennedy over the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
FBI head J. Edgar Hoover also hated the Kennedys and used his vast forces to cover up
the JFK murder.
With JFK out of the way, LBJ would become president of the United States a coveted position
that those who knew LBJ realized he would kill to obtain by any means necessary.
Was LBJ thinking of the JFK assassination when he made this cryptic admission? It is the
melancholy law of human societies to be compelled sometimes to choose a great evil in order to
ward off a greater evil. Or how about during his interview with Walter Cronkite when LBJ says,
Oswald, and he pauses, realizing that he did not want to speak that name publically to
Cronkite and closes his eyes in despair, before continuing to the ultimate incriminating
statement, others that could have been involved.
Apparently, not even LBJ believed the findings of his phony, handpicked Warren Commission
that Oswald acted alone.
Again, it was impossible for Oswald to kill the president when at the time of the shots were fired
(12:30 p.m.) Oswald was seen by eyewitnesses on the second floor cafeteria of the Texas book
depository (not the sixth floor where the FBI discovered the so-called snipers nest). What was
Oswald doing? He was found drinking a coke alone in the cafeteria and totally oblivious to the
fact JFK had just be assassinated two minutes before.
LBJ, the FBI, the CIA and the Warren Commission knew this, which is why they all had to lie
and claim that Oswald was the lone assassin at all costs and immediately have their dupe Jack
Ruby kill the patsy Oswald to silence him, lest 50 years later on this day the light of truth should
be shone on the real murderer Lyndon Baines Johnson!

Washington, Ellis. "Did LBJ Kill JFK?." WND. http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/did-lbj-kill-jfk/

#2pECYiObPBw0gILA.99

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-39

 Lee Harvey Oswald as a Soviet Agent Theory
Instructions
Significant volumes of evidence points towards Lee Harvey Oswald acting as a Soviet Agent in
the assassination of President Kennedy. Begin this portion of your investigation by reading the
article title Moscow Programed Oswald to Kill JFK, which presents arguments that support this
theory. After concluding the article, carefully examine the additional evidence provided to you
and compare it with the conclusions of the article. As you compare evidence, consider the
following questions:

1. What evidence that you have collected confirms the findings presented in the article that Lee
Harvey Oswald was a Soviet agent?

2. What evidence that you have collected contradicts the articles findings?

3. Can any of this contradictory evidence be explained in a way that still allows the theory to be
plausible?

After you have finished reviewing the article and comparing it with the evidence, organize your
thoughts related to the plausibility of this theory. Is this a likely explanation for what happened
during the JFK assassination? Write a short response in your journal.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-30

 Oswald Working as a Soviet Agent Theory
Additional Evidence

After returning to the United States from Russia, Oswald used the alias Alek J. Hidell and
rented a Post Office Box, under both Oswald and Hidell, that received subscriptions from The
Worker, an American Communist Party newspaper, and The Militant, a Socialist Workers Party
paper. Following the assassination, the FBI traced the rifle found in the Texas School Book
Depository to an A. Hidell. Oswald denied ever using this alias.
Breslow, Jason M. "8 Things You May Not Know About Lee Harvey Oswald." PBS Frontline. http://
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-lee-harvey-oswald/.

On October 16, 1959, Oswald arrived in Moscow by train after crossing the border from Finland,
where he had secured a visa for a 6-day stay in the Soviet Union. He immediately applied for
Soviet citizenship. On the afternoon of October 21, 1959, Oswald was ordered to leave the
Soviet Union by 8 p.m. that evening. That same afternoon in his hotel room Oswald, in an
apparent suicide attempt, slashed his left wrist. He was hospitalized immediately. On October
31, 3 days after his release from the hospital, Oswald appeared at the American Embassy,
announced that he wished to renounce his U.S. citizenship and become a Russian citizen, and
handed the Embassy officer a written statement he had prepared for the occasion. When asked
his reasons, Oswald replied, "I am a Marxist." Oswald never formally complied with the legal
steps necessary to renounce his American citizenship. The Soviet Government did not grant his
request for citizenship, but in January 1960 he was given permission to remain in the Soviet
Union on a year-to-year basis. At the same time Oswald was sent to Minsk where he worked in
radio factory as an unskilled laborer. In January 1961 his permission to remain in the Soviet
Union was extended for another year. A few weeks later, in February 1961, he wrote to the
American Embassy in Moscow expressing a desire to return to the United States.
Excerpt from Page 12 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

The following month Oswald met a 19-year-old Russian girl, Marina Nikolaevna
Prusakova, a pharmacist, who had been brought up in Leningrad but was then living with an
aunt and uncle in Minsk. They were married on April 30, 1961.
Excerpt from Page 12 of the Warran Commission Report: Summary.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-35

WND EXCLUSIVE

MOSCOW 'PROGRAMMED
OSWALD TO KILL JFK'
Former spy chief points to evidence in plain sight
Published: 11/17/2013 at 5:32 PM

Among the host of conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy are variations that point the finger at agencies of the U.S. government, all the way up
to the vice president.
Others connect the dots and find the Soviet Union at the center of the plot, highlighting Lee
Harvey Oswalds mysterious defection to the communist nation and return to the U.S. with a
Russian wife.
But a former Soviet-bloc spy chief who was active at the time of the Nov. 22, 1963,
assassination says Moscows fingerprints are on both scenarios.
Lt. Gen. Mihai Pacepa, in his book Disinformation, presents evidence that Oswald was
recruited by the KGB to kill Kennedy when he was a U.S. Marine stationed at the Atsugi Air
Station in Japan, the home of the U-2 spy plane.
The widely circulated idea that the U.S. government was behind the assassination was planted
in the minds of American citizens through a Soviet disinformation campaign, Pacepa contends.
Pacepa previously presented his theory in his 2007 book Programmed to Kill: Lee Harvey
Oswald, the Soviet KGB, and the Kennedy Assassination. But he writes in Disinformation that
since then, a good deal of unimpeachable information has become available, providing
fascinating insights into the KGBs disinformation operation aimed at framing the CIA as the
behind-the-scenes perpetrator of President Kennedys assassination.
Pacepas new book, co-authored with historian and law professor Ronald Rychlak, was
published earlier this year with a companion feature-length film documentary of the same name

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-31

Programmed to kill
After defecting to the Soviet Union, Oswald returned to the U.S. three years later programmed
by the Kremlin to assassinate Kennedy, Pacepa believes. Moscow later tried to stop the plot
and turn Oswald off, but he went ahead with the plan.
Pacepa believes the Warren Commission and a special House of Representatives committee in
the late 1970s whitewashed the communist connection to the assassination because the
members lacked the inside knowledge of Soviet intelligence.
Despite its conclusion that if found no evidence of foreign involvement, the Warren Commission
s 26 published volumes contained essentially raw information that showed the Soviet hand to
an informed analyst with inside knowledge of Soviet intelligence operations and methods, write
Pacepa and Rychlak in Disinformation.
The 1979 report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which concluded there was
no Soviet connection, also, nevertheless, presented material that pointed even more
suggestively toward Moscow, according to Pacepa.
Shifting blame
Pacepa and Rychlak write that the Soviet Unions Dragon Operation was designed to shift
blame for Kennedys murder away from the Kremlin, calling it one of the most successful
disinformation operations in
contemporary history.
They point out that post-communist
Russian leader Boris Yeltsin revealed in
his memoir, The Struggle for Russia, a
letter to the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
dated Nov. 23, 1963 the day after
Kennedys assassination.
The letter, signed by KGB chairman
Vladimir Semichastny, recommended
publishing in a progressive paper in
one of the Western countries an article
exposing the attempt by reactionary
circles in the USA to remove the
responsibility for the murder of Kennedy
from the real criminals, [i.e.,] the racists
and ultra-right elements guilty of the
spread and growth of violence and
terror in the United States.
Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa
Semichastnys request was approved. Two months later, R. Palme Dutt, the editor of the
communist-controlled British journal Labour Monthly, published an article that raised the specter
of CIA involvement.
The authors also write that the No. 2 man in the Communist Party USA at the time of the
assassination, Morris Childs, played a crucial role in persuading President Lyndon Johnson, the
FBI and the CIA that the Soviet Union was not involved in the JFK assassination.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-32

Childs happened to be on his annual trip to Moscow to receive funding and policy instructions
when news of the Kennedy assassination broke. Pacepa believes that the KGB knew that
Childs and his brother Jack Childs were passing on information to the FBI and decided to use
them as unwitting conduits for disinformation.
Later, Pacepa and Rychlak note, the House Select Committee on Assassinations excluded the
possibility of a Soviet hand in the assassination by simply stating:
In fact the reaction of the Soviet Government as well as the Soviet people seemed to be one of
genuine shock and sincere grief. The committee believed, therefore, on the basis of the
evidence available to it, that the Soviet Government was not involved in the assassination.
Pacepa and Rychlak write: Such credulity showed that the House committee, like the Warren
Commission, understood nothing about the degree to which the Soviet government had always
relied on disinformation and deception, to the point of even falsifying the Moscow street maps
and telephone books.
Evidently no one remembered that Khrushchev had boldly lied to President Kennedy in denying
that the Soviets were putting nuclear missiles on Cuba.
The authors also highlight significant new information provided by the Mitrokhin Archive, a
collection of intelligence material from a KGB officer who defected to the U.K. in 1992. Mitrokhin
presented a handwritten note purporting to be from Oswald to Texas oil tycoon H.L. Hunt. The
former KGB major says it was a fabrication by the KGB using words and expressions taken from
actual letters handwritten by Oswald during his stay in the Soviet Union.
The new revelations bolster Pacepas presumption that the letter, authenticated by the New York
Times as being handwritten by Oswald, was in fact produced by the KGB.
The KGBs intent was to implicate wealthy Texans in the assassination.
Pacepa also documents new revelations that indicate Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro, a
close ally of Moscow, knew in advance that JFK would be killed during his Nov. 22, 1963, visit to
Dallas.
Crown jewel of disinformation
Pacepa and Rychlak write that
the jewel in the crown of Soviet
disinformation connected with
Oswalds story is the recently
published revelation about the
U-2 spy plane flown by Francis
Gary Powers over the Soviet
Union.
It was not shot down by Soviet
rockets, as the Russians have
always claimed, but was
brought down by a Sukhoi Su-9
plane that had been specially
modified to achieve higher
altitudes.
They say it appears that
Oswald provided the KGB with
the highly secret flight altitude
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev examines items retrieved
from the downed U-2 spy plane
Unit Plan - Stage III 3-33
of the U-2 plane, enabling the Soviets to prepare the specially modified plane and have it ready
to intercept the U.S. spy plane.
The unarmed Su-9 caught the U-2 in its slipstream, causing it to flip over and break its wings.
The measure allowed Powers to be captured alive and paraded by Kruschev as a propaganda
prize.

WND. "Moscow 'programed Oswald to kill JKF'." http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/moscow-

programmed-oswald-to-kill-jfk/.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-34

 The Umbrella Man Theory
Instructions
Another theory about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is that the Umbrella Man
used an umbrella that had been modified as an assassination weapon to assassinate the
President. Begin this portion of your investigation by carefully examining the article titled The
Umbrella Weapon and the additional evidence provided to you and compare it with the other
evidence you have collected. As you compare evidence, consider the following questions:

1. What evidence that you have collected confirms the Umbrella Man theory?

2. What evidence that you have collected contradicts this theory?

3. Can any of this contradictory evidence be explained in a way that still allows the theory to be
plausible?

After you have finished reviewing the article and comparing it with the evidence, organize your
thoughts related to the plausibility of this theory. Is this a likely explanation for what happened
during the JFK assassination? Write a short response in your journal.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-44

 The Umbrella Man Theory
Additional Evidence

Diagram of the Umbrella Weapon

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-46

The Umbrella System
Excerpt from an article in the June 1978 issue of Gallery Magazine by Fletcher Prouty.
It was in my own office, in a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in the Pentagon in
1960 that I first saw an early version of the weapon fired. On July 29, 1960 I flew to Fort Detrick,
Maryland by helicopter from the Pentagon to see developments of this and other new weapons
at that top secret installation. I am able *from personal and official experience* to support the
Sprague- Cutler thesis that an umbrella weapon was used as part of the JFK murder plot.
The inventor of the flechette rocket was shown into my office by a fellow staff member, and I
was told that he had something he wanted to demonstrate to the military to see if it could be
developed into some useful tactical weapon system. In his hand he held several small plastic
tubes which looked to me like soda straws, about "thick malt shake" size. Then he showed me a
small plastic, nylon perhaps, rocket. It was a perfectly shaped, miniature rocket, complete with
tail fins. Inside was a tiny charge of propellant.
Then, without further introduction, the inventor touched a button, and two tiny flechettes zipped
out of the "straws" and slammed into the thick soundproofing of the wall across the office. Only
their tail fins stuck out from the wall, and the inventor said that it was a good thing he had only a
partial charge in them, because they could easily have gone right through a normal wall panel
and acoustic board.
This early, unengineered weapon was shaped something like a pistol with a flashlight-size
chamber above the grip. The inventor contemplated using about twenty-five or thirty "straws"
mounted together and fired all at once or in clusters. This would give a buckshot impact and
more effective target coverage. I was impressed.
I called my boss' office and introduced the inventor. Again we went through the demonstration. It
was not long before the weapon system was under top secret control and was being worked on
by some of the military specialists at Fort Detrick. I heard about the development of the weapon
many times later, but I did not see it again until it was exhibited at the Church Committee
hearings. Shortly after that, when I saw Cutler's first "Umbrella Man" book (The Umbrella Man:
Evidence of Conspiracy), published in October 1975 and describing an "air-rifle" type umbrella
weapon, I wrote to him to explain that I thought it much more likely that The Umbrella Man had
used the rocket flechette I had seen demonstrated.
It remained for Senseney's Church Committee testimony to close the circle when he stated that
he had developed just such an umbrella weapon at the same place I had gone with the earlier
weapon---Fort Detrick. The rest of this remarkable story is developed by Sprague and Cutler.
As you read this article, consider this: It is against Secret Service directives for anyone to be
permitted along the route of the President carrying something as conspicuous a weapon
concealer as an umbrella. Furthermore, it is abnormal for anyone standing close to the
President to open an umbrella in sunlight, raise it, lower it, and maneuver it as this man did.
Why was this permitted by the Secret Service? Who had the power to arrange that TUM not be
apprehended with the umbrella weapon that day?
Consider also that until the day of the JFK assassination in 1963, there was no place that
anybody outside of the very small CIA and Special Forces group (perhaps as many as twenty
people) could get access to that flechette-launching weapon system or anything like it.
Someone had the power to ensure TUM's non-apprehension and access to the weapon. That
person was the murderer.
Prouty, Fletcher. "The Umbrella System." Gallery Magazine, June 1978 http://
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/prouty_tum.htm.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-45

 Second Shooter Theory
Instructions
Another theory about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is that Lee Harvey
Oswald was not working alone and that a second shooter participated in the assassination.
Begin this portion of your investigation by carefully examining the additional evidence provided
to you and compare it with the Warren Commissions conclusion that Oswald worked alone. As
you compare evidence, consider the following questions:

1. What evidence that you have collected confirms the presence of a second shooter in the
JFK assassination?

2. What evidence that you have collected contradicts this theory and further confirms the
Warren Commissions findings?

3. Can any of this contradictory evidence be explained in a way that still allows the theory to be
plausible?

After you have finished reviewing the article and comparing it with the evidence, organize your
thoughts related to the plausibility of this theory. Is this a likely explanation for what happened
during the JFK assassination? Write a short response in your journal.

Second Shooter Theory 3-42

 Second Shooter Theory
Additional Evidence

The autopsy disclosed the large head wound observed at Parkland and the wound in the front of
the neck which had been enlarged by the Parkland doctors when they performed the
tracheotomy. Both of these wounds were described in the autopsy report as being "presumably
of exit." In addition the autopsy revealed a small wound of entry in the rear of the President's
skull and another wound of entry near the base of the back of the neck. The autopsy report
stated the cause of death as "Gunshot wound, head" and the bullets which struck the President
were described as having been fired "from a point behind and somewhat above the level of the
deceased."
Excerpt from page 4 of the Warren Commission Report Summary
Oswald again fired the M-1 rifle for record on May 6, 1959, and this time he shot a score of 191
on a shorter course than before, only 1 point over the minimum required to be a "marksman."
According to one of his fellow marines, Oswald was not particularly interested in his rifle
performance, and his unit was not expected to exhibit the usual rifle proficiency.
Excerpt from page 11 of the Warren Commission Report Summary

The third obvious wound at the time of the examination was a huge defect over the right side of
the skull. This defect involved both the scalp and the underlying skull and the brain substance
protrudingI will refer back to the x-rays we had previously prepared. These disclosed multiple
minute fragmentsthese tiny fragments were seen dispersed through the substance of the
brainI would say between thirty or forty fragments. ~ James Humes testimony regarding the
autopsy results
McDonald, Malcom. JFK: The Smoking Gun. Film. Directed by Steve Lucas. Montreal, Canada:
Muse Entertainment Enterprises, 2013.

The two wounds on President Kennedy come from two different types of ammunition. The first
wound, which passed through Kennedy and into Governor Connally, was likely a full metal
jacket bullet, which is designed to travel straight through a target. This is what Oswald fired from
his rifle, a 6.5mm full metal jacket bullet. The second wound is characteristic of a frangible
bullet, designed to explode on impact. Additionally, the autopsy report states that the entry
would found in the back of Kennedys head had a diameter of 6mm, indicating this wound was
from a second type of ammo.
McDonald, Malcom. JFK: The Smoking Gun. Film. Directed by Steve Lucas. Montreal, Canada:
Muse Entertainment Enterprises, 2013.

The third cartridge found at the Texas School Book Depository had a dent in it, indicating it was
likely used as a chamber plug to keep moisture and grit out, which Oswald might have ejected
this before taking aim from his sniper position. This indicates he fired only two shots: one that
missed and the second that wounded Kennedy in the throat.
McDonald, Malcom. JFK: The Smoking Gun. Film. Directed by Steve Lucas. Montreal, Canada:
Muse Entertainment Enterprises, 2013.

Unit Plan - Stage III 3-43