Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

End of the Trip

End of the Trip This section marks the conclusion of events in Dallas and the transition to the return journey to Washington, D.C., including the swearing in of the new President aboard Air Force One and the subsequent return flight with arrival at Andrews Air Force Base.

Swearing in of the New President

Swearing in of the New President From Air Force One, Vice President Johnson telephoned Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who advised that he take the Presidential oath of office before the plane left Dallas. Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes rushed to the plane to administer the oath, which was witnessed by members of both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential parties in the central compartment. At 2:38 p.m. CST, Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of office as the 36th President of the United States, with Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Johnson standing at his side. The Presidential airplane departed for Washington, D.C. nine minutes later.

Return to Washington, D.C.

Return to Washington, D.C. During the return flight, Mrs. Kennedy sat with David Powers, Kenneth O’Donnell, and Lawrence O’Brien. At 5:58 p.m. EST, Air Force One landed at Andrews Air Force Base, where President Kennedy had begun his final trip only 31 hours earlier. Detailed security arrangements had been made by radio from the plane, the public was excluded from the base, and only Government officials and the press were permitted near the landing area. President Johnson made a brief television and radio statement. President and Mrs. Johnson were flown by helicopter to the White House; Mrs. Johnson was then driven to her residence under Secret Service escort, while the President walked to the Executive Office Building, where he worked until 9 p.m.

The Autopsy

The Autopsy Mrs. Kennedy chose the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, for the autopsy because the President had served in the Navy. She and the Attorney General, with three Secret Service agents, accompanied the body on the 45-minute drive from Andrews AFB. On the 17th floor, they joined other Kennedy family members to await completion of the autopsy; Mrs. Kennedy was guarded by agents in assigned quarters, and the Secret Service established a communication system with the White House, screening all calls and visitors. The hospital received the body at approximately 7:35 p.m., with X-rays and photographs taken before the pathological examination began at about 8 p.m. The autopsy report recorded the President as 46 years old, 72½ inches tall, 170 pounds, with blue eyes and reddish-brown hair, and set the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head. The examination revealed two head wounds: a smaller one to the right of the external occipital protuberance, and a larger one approximately 5 inches in greatest diameter with multiple crisscross fractures. Federal agents brought surgeons three bone fragments recovered from Elm Street and the Presidential automobile, accounting for about three-quarters of the missing skull. X-ray analysis showed 30 to 40 tiny metal fragments running from the rear head wound toward the front, with a sizable metal fragment above the right eye; two small metal fragments were recovered and given to the FBI. The autopsy also disclosed a wound near the base of the back of the neck slightly to the right of the spine, with the bullet traced through the body and, with Parkland Hospital information, concluded to have emerged from the front of the neck at the tracheotomy site. The autopsy concluded at approximately 11 p.m., body preparation for burial finished around 4 a.m., and the President’s body was taken to the East Room of the White House, where it was placed under ceremonial military guard.

CAPÍTULO III.

Chapter III of the Warren Commission Report analyzes the evidence and presents its conclusions regarding the source, number, effect, and timing of the shots that killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally. The Commission evaluated seven categories of evidence: (1) eyewitness testimony at the scene; (2) damage to the Presidential limousine; (3) expert examination of the rifle, cartridge cases, and bullet fragments; (4) the wounds suffered by both men; (5) wound ballistics tests; (6) examination of the clothing worn by the President and Governor; and (7) motion-picture films and still photographs taken during the assassination. The chapter presents testimony from multiple eyewitnesses and Depository employees who identified the sixth-floor southeast corner window of the Texas School Book Depository as the source of the shots. This is Chapter III of the Warren Commission report, covering investigation findings related to assassination evidence, including eyewitness accounts from the Triple Underpass area, examination of the Presidential limousine, discovery of key physical evidence (cartridge cases, the assassination rifle, and a bullet recovered from Parkland Hospital), a full description of the recovered rifle, and expert firearms identification testimony linking the evidence to the rifle. This chapter covers the Commission’s analysis of ballistic evidence tied to the assassination of President Kennedy, including identification of bullet fragments and cartridge cases linked to the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, as well as evaluation of the President’s head and neck bullet wounds via autopsy findings, expert medical testimony, and wound ballistics testing. This is Chapter III of the Warren Commission report, covering corroboration of medical witness testimony, wound ballistics testing related to the assassination, examination of the clothing and injuries sustained by President John F. Kennedy and Governor John Connally, and analysis of the bullet trajectory that struck Governor Connally. This is Chapter III of the Warren Commission report, focused on verifying the trajectory of the shots fired at President John F. Kennedy and Governor John Connally during the 1963 assassination. Initial cumulative evidence from eyewitnesses, ballistics experts, and medical authorities indicated the shots originated from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building; the Commission launched supplementary investigation including analysis of motion picture footage of the event and onsite reenactment tests to confirm all findings aligned with this conclusion and to establish precise details of the limousine’s position, shot timing, and bullet paths. Opening material for Chapter III includes referenced photographs from re-enactments, the Zapruder film (frame 313), the Muchmore film, and rifle scope perspective imagery, alongside associated exhibit documentation. CHAPTER III This chapter addresses final questions about the assassination: determining which shot missed, the time span over which the shots were fired, and summarizing the Commission’s conclusions.