Revisiting the JFK assassination, Part 2: G. Paul Chambers discusses 'Head Shot'

This week, Hartford Books Examiner commemorates the 47th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Nearly five decades later, that polarizing event remains shrouded in mystery. By providing a look at some of the recent literature in this controversial case, it is our sincere hope to inspire thought and dialogue. After all, it is when we forget the past that we become vulnerable to repeating it…

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Today, Hartford Books Examiner welcomes Dr. G. Paul Chambers, author of Head Shot: The Science behind the JFK Assassination (Prometheus Books, $25).

Chambers is a contractor with the NASA Goddard Optics Branch and with Bellatrix Inc., where he is currently working on the development of renewable energy sources. Formerly, he worked as the supervisory research physicist for the Energetic Materials and Detonation Science Department of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland and as a research physicist with the Condensed Matter and Radiation Sciences Division of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.

Head Shot synopsis:

After more than four decades and scores of books, documentaries, and films on the subject, what more can be said about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? A great deal, according to physicist and ballistics expert Dr. G. Paul Chambers.

In this provocative, rigorously researched book, Chambers presents evidence and compelling arguments that will make you rethink the entire sequence of terrible events on that traumatic day in Dallas.

Drawing on his fifteen years experience as an experimental physicist for the US Navy, Chambers demonstrates that the commonly accepted view of the assassination is fundamentally flawed from a scientific perspective. The physics behind lone-gunmen theories is not only wrong, says Chambers, but frankly impossible.

Chambers devotes separate chapters to the Warren Commission, challenges to the single-bullet theory, the witnesses, how science arrives at the truth, the medical and acoustic evidence, the Zapruder film, and convincing evidence for at least a second rifleman in Dealey Plaza.

Headshot is the first book to:

>> identify the second murder weapon;
>> prove the locations of the assassins;
>> demonstrate multiple shooters with scientific certainty.

Chambers concludes with a persuasive chapter on why this horrible event, now almost half a century old, should still matter to us today.

For anyone seeking a fresh understanding of the JFK assassination, Headshot is an indispensable book.

Now, Dr. Chambers takes us behind the science of the Kennedy assassination...

1) HEAD SHOT subjects President Kennedy’s assassination to the scientific method. What are the benefits of such an examination in comparison to others? Also, what do you consider to be the “best evidence” in this case and what does it prove?

A scientific approach always has the best chance of success in any inquiry because the scientific method gets at the truth better than any technique yet invented. All our technology is based on science. Because our technologies work spectacularly well, we can have confidence in the scientific method employed to develop them. This was realized by the House Select Committee on Assassinations and was essentially the approach utilized by them to reach their conclusions. By contrast, eyewitness testimony alone is often unreliable and subjective, and can easily lead an investigation astray unless it remains grounded and supported by solid and substantial physical evidence. Unfortunately, there is also a problem of evidence distortion in this case that has led two official inquiries down the wrong path.

Scientifically, there are two pieces of equally valuable and reliable evidence. The first is the Zapruder film. The second is the acoustic evidence compiled by the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978. In the high-speed science world, the film record is the most important and telling record you have of an experiment. Then you expect other measurements, such as pressure gages, strain gages, laser interferometers, etc, to be consistent with the film record. When you have this consistency, the work is publishable. The experimental results support and buttress each other. Because the film record and acoustic records in this case, both recorded at the time of the assassination, agree so well, we can have an enormous degree of confidence in the conclusions that stem from them, in this case the presence of a second gunman firing from behind the west side picket fence on the grassy knoll. The only pieces of medical evidence I consider reliable are the photographic appearance of an entry wound from a shot incident on the right front side of Kennedy’s head, the Harper fragment, which appears to be of parietal bone sheared from this area, and the autopsy determination of copious lead fragments in the right side of Kennedy’s brain, while the left side of his brain remained undamaged. This evidence is consistent with a frangible round impacting from the right front side of Kennedy’s head.

2) Rather than postulating who’s to blame, your book provides the framework for future investigation. How would you suggest your findings be utilized in subjecting the case to further inquiry? What areas would you say are particularly worthy of attention?

I think Head Shot gives you a starting point for the next level of inquiry. It proves that multiple shooters were involved in Kennedy’s death. It proves that at least one shot was fired from behind the west side picket fence on the grassy knoll. This provides the framework. There was a conspiracy, Oswald was the patsy. The rifle used on the grassy knoll was specified in advance and this suggests a mastermind. The professional skill of the assassin on the grassy knoll; perfect shot, no collateral damage, left the scene without a trace, suggests a level of competency and expertise that would not have come cheaply. There was significant money behind this plot. With a proficient mastermind and substantial funding, there was a serious effort involved to kill Kennedy, led by serious people. If the next officially sanctioned investigation starts from this point, it has a much greater chance of success than previous inquiries.

3) What do you hope that your book contributes to the historical record? What lessons can be learned for future generations?

I believe that the major contribution of my book is to show every American, every citizen, every news paper reporter and editor, and every politician that there are simple experiments they can do in their basement that prove the official version of the assassination is WRONG. Any theory that violates the laws of physics and nature is wrong. The single bullet theory is wrong. The final-fatal-head-shot-from -behind theory is wrong. Anyone can test the law of conservation of momentum using a pool or air hockey table or Newton’s cradle (a simple swinging and colliding metal ball pendulum) and human reaction times using the finger pinch test at home. These simple experiments prove the official version of the assassination is wrong, much in the same way that Galileo’s telescopic observation of the moons of Jupiter proved the earth-centered model of the universe wrong and shook the foundations of the Catholic Church. The Church had to silence Galileo. Americans cannot be silenced. Everyone, including the editors of newspapers and television newscasters has a responsibility to the truth, the public, and to the historical record. With a few simple experiments in hand, if a few good men and women will exhibit some initiative, integrity, and courage, the truth of Kennedy’s death will come out and the historical record will be corrected for future generations.

4) There is a true literary lexicon devoted to this case. What books would you recommend as essential reading for serious students of the assassination?

I would recommend Jim Marrs’ book Crossfire, David Lifton’s Best Evidence, and a recent book, JFK and the Unspeakable by Jim Douglass. Lemar Waldron also has written two very informative and extensively researched works, Ultimate Sacrifice and Legacy of Secrecy.

5) How do you think the course of history would have been altered had JFK lived to serve out his presidency?

Kennedy’s death produced a monumental shift in power and direction of this nation. Had Kennedy lived, it’s very unlikely that our country would have suffered through the horror and agony of the Vietnam War. That war ruined our economy and led to economic suffering through the rest of the Century. Also, I am convinced that Kennedy would have ended the Cold War a quarter century earlier than it did end. I think NASA would have pushed even further, possibly building a base on the moon or even on to Mars as Werner Von Braun had wanted, especially if JFK’s brother Bobby was elected after him. This would also have spared the nation the turmoil, embarrassment, and anguish of Watergate. Today, Americans would be much more confident in our government. This would translate into a better national image, better economy, better spirit, and a healthier, wealthier, and potentially happier nation. In a recent poll, when respondents were asked which of all past Presidents they would choose to run the country today, Kennedy was selected over every else by a two-to-one margin. I think the hope and optimism of Kennedy’s era would have translated far better into a similar hope and optimism as well as trust and confidence in our government today had Kennedy lived to fulfill his unparalleled promise.

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With thanks to G. Paul Chambers for generously sharing his time and thoughts, and to Jennifer Kovach for facilitating this interview.

Coming tomorrow: Phillip F. Nelson discusses LBJ: The Mastermind of JFK’s Assassination.

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A related article from Hartford Books Examiner:

Revisiting the JFK assassination, Part 1: Gerald Blaine & Clint Hill discuss 'The Kennedy Detail'