CHAPTER EIGHT
ASSASSINATION IN THE FOURTH DIMENSION
(Wherein Lifton suddenly recovers from his selective amnesia to revise an alleged self-revelation in Best Evidence ["And then I thought, and then I knew, and then I had an insight, and then it hit me, but I couldn't be sure, so I thought about it some more, but my head began to hurt, and then I couldn't remember when I thought about it the first time, et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum."])
A subtle thread that runs throughout Best Evidence
is its author's consideration of theories which he ultimately rejects. Usually,
these theories are presented as Mr. Lifton's original thoughts. In any event, it
is generally not made clear to his readers whether he is jettisoning his own
ideas, or ideas that he picked up from other researchers. I have devoted this
chapter to a specific case study of Mr. Lifton's method.
One of the very few correct statements that Mr. Lifton
makes in his Compuserve essays pertains to our discussions in the late
Seventies: "Feinman's focus was on Dr. Burkley, and his posture at the
autopsy." Lifton says about him:
"[B]oth at the autopsy and in the report he wrote the next day, Burkley apparently treated that hole on the body (i.e., the wound at the front of the throat) as nothing more than a tracheotomy [sic]. (Note: In Best Evidence, I explain this in terms of Burkley's honestly not knowing about the throat wound, because he arrived several minutes late in the Emergency room and the wound was hidden by the trach tube. See Chapter 14, "The 'Low' Back wound question...", p. 375 in hardcover. [Sic])
"Because Dr. Burkley supposedly possessed this knowledge, yet hid it from the autopsy doctors, in my conversations with Feinman, I (or he, I don't remember who) dubbed this the "I've-got-a-secret" hypothesis."
It was Feinman, and it was then a working hypothesis. For
reasons that I explained at the Midwest Symposium, I now regard it as a virtual
certainty. Mr. Lifton discussed his understanding of the "I've Got A
Secret" hypothesis in Best Evidence as though it were another idea
that had simply popped into his head—an original conception—without ever
mentioning my name. In the process, he exaggerated the hypothesis far beyond
what I was prepared at the time to state publicly. I raise that point so readers
may judge his protestations that he wanted to credit me for the Perry
transcript, and that he would have credited me with any other research that I
might agree to give him.
Here is how Mr. Lifton's book dealt with the hypothesis:
"If to avoid altering the body, the doctors were
recruited into a plot, then, to deceive the bystander witnesses, the doctors
would also have to sham the autopsy—for example, bend over a body which showed
frontal entry and pretend not to see what was really there. Indeed, they would
have to make false oral statements, at least for the benefit of the FBI, as they
performed the examination.”
"If the body was unaltered, and the autopsy doctors
both shammed the examination and then falsified their report, still another
problem would remain: the X-rays and photographs.”
“In any homicide investigation, the autopsy X-rays and
photographs are an integral part of the autopsy protocol. In this case, Chief
Justice Earl Warren declined to make them a part of the Warren Commission's
evidence, but that was purely his option. He could have decided otherwise.
Indeed, one reason the Warren Commission attorneys said they felt confident the
autopsy doctors could not have lied was that they could not have known whether
the Commission would ultimately demand to see that evidence."
"It was easy to say such evidence could be faked, but
in practice the technical problems were anything but trivial. X-rays of the head
might be tested for authenticity through dental identification, and photographs
of the head wounds would have to be convincingly faked from several angles—a
near impossibility.”
"From a technical standpoint alone, it made no sense
to attempt such a feat—in effect, to leave the most important evidence, the
body, unaltered, buried in a cemetery, where an exhumation would readily reveal
the lie—when to avoid these problems it was only necessary to recognize that
the body was evidence and make plans to alter it prior to autopsy." (BE, p.
458)
Maybe not, if they didn't know of the throat wound until later during the autopsy, or believed the wounds were unrelated.
What is even more irritating, however, is Mr. Lifton's invention of facts and post hoc revision of his book. First, there is not a scintilla of evidence to support Mr. Lifton's current assertion that, at the autopsy, "Burkley apparently treated that hole on the body…as nothing more than a tracheotomy," and so far as we know, Dr. Burkley did not write a report the next day. If Lifton is aware of such a report, let him produce it. Second, but far more crucial, Mr. Lifton did not write in Best Evidence that Dr. Burkley arrived "several minutes late in the Emergency room." He asserted that Burkley arrived at 12:53 p.m., some 15–20 minutes after the President's arrival, and too late to observe the throat wound.
Dr. George G. Burkley, the President's official White House
physician and a Navy Admiral, was doubly distinguished as the one medical doctor
who was with John F. Kennedy throughout the day and night of November 22–23,
1963. Burkley was the only physician who was close to both the pre- and
post-mortem treatment of the President, but he was never called to testify
before the Warren Commission. It does not appear that he was ever interviewed by
representatives of the Secret Service or the FBI. Although he was interviewed by
the HSCA, those interviews have been sequestered.
Burkley, formerly portrayed as a passive bystander in the
events immediately following the assassination, was in fact an active
participant. Moreover, Burkley seems to have been an important, busy and
knowledgeable figure in the events immediately following the assassination: Of
prime significance to our discussion of Mr. Lifton's Best Evidence,
Burkley was the link between Parkland and Bethesda that has never been
officially acknowledged; he was present in the emergency room at Parkland
Hospital, where he witnessed and assisted his medical colleagues' efforts to
revive the President; and, he was present during the autopsy at Bethesda Naval
Hospital that evening.
In this chapter, I shall examine the evidence to support
the proposition that Burkley had the opportunity to see, learn or know about the
wound in the President's anterior neck during the emergency treatment at
Parkland hospital. The significance of this issue is cataclysmic: The autopsy
pathologists have claimed ignorance of that wound at the time they performed
their examinations as their excuse for having failed to trace the alleged course
of a missile from the presumed entrance wound in Kennedy's upper back, through
the upper thoracic region, and out the throat. After surveying the evidence, I
shall then discuss the manner in which Mr. Lifton chose to deal with this
subject.
Overview
Burkley rode in the rear of the Dallas motorcade in the
"VIP bus." (CE 1126) The Warren Report tells us that "Admiral
Burkley, the President's physician, arrived at the hospital "between 3 and
5 minutes following the arrival of the President," since the riders in his
car "were not exactly aware what had happened" and the car went on to
the Trade Mart first." (WR 53) Burkley later confirmed this statement
(George G. Burkley, recorded interview by William McHugh, October 17, 1967, page
16, John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program)
In their testimony, several of the Parkland Hospital
doctors recalled Burkley being in the Emergency Room. For example, Dr. Charles
Carrico testified: "Admiral Burkley, I believe was his name, the
President's personal physician, was there as soon as he got to the
hospital." (3H 363) Several nurses also reported seeing Burkley in the
Emergency Room.
Admiral Burkley actually participated in the President's
treatment. He supplied the treating doctors with hydrocortisone because of JFK's
adrenal condition. "Burkley produced three 100-mg vials of Solu-Cortef from
his bag, murmuring, 'Either intravenously or intramuscularly.'"
(Manchester, William. The Death of a President. Harper & Row, New
York: 1967, page 184.)
Admiral Burkley arrived in Trauma Room One before Dr. Perry
arrived. Dr. Perry performed the tracheostomy. Therefore, Admiral Burkley
arrived in time to see the undisturbed throat wound. The analysis breaks down to
two simple questions: What were Burkley's movements immediately following the
shooting? Did Burkley actually arrive at Parkland too late to render any
assistance to the dying President, as Mr. Lifton states as fact?
The Time Factor in Trauma Room One
The presidential limousine arrived at the Emergency Room
loading dock at 12:34 p.m. (Report of Secret Service Agent Emory Roberts (CE
1024 at 18 H735); Rowley's report (CE 1026 at 18H 810))
There was a delay in getting treatment for the President.
The delay in removing JFK from his car probably consumed much of the concomitant
"delay" in Burkley's arrival.
Consider the testimony of Secret Service Agent Forrest V.
Sorrels:
"We went around to the emergency entrance. I jumped out of the car, and I expected to see stretchers there, out waiting, but they were not. And I ran to the entrance door there, and at that time they began to bring stretchers out, and I said, 'Hurry up and get those stretchers out,' and someone else, probably one of the police officers, also said to hurry up and get the stretchers out.
"There was a lot of confusion around at that time." (7H 347)
On November 29, 1963, Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman,
who rode in the front seat of the presidential limousine, filed a report on his
activities, which the Warren Commission reprinted as Exhibit 1024. On page two
of this statement, he reported that Secret Service agents ran into the hospital
to get a stretcher. (Commission Exhibit 1024 at 18H 725)
Here is Roy Kellerman's testimony on this matter:
"Mr. Specter. With respect to the state of readiness of Parkland Hospital at your arrival, how long after you got there were stretcher bearers at the front door?
Mr. Kellerman. To the best of my knowledge, there were no stretcher bearers at the car—none.
Mr. Specter. At your arrival?
Mr. Kellerman. Yes, sir.
Mr. Specter. Did some come shortly after you arrived?
Mr. Kellerman. No, sir.
Mr. Specter. Well, what sequence did follow with respect to the arrival of the stretchers?
Mr. Kellerman. When we arrived at the hospital I had called to the agents to go inside and get two stretchers on wheels. Between those people and police officers who also entered the emergency room, they brought the stretchers out. I did not at any time see a man in a white uniform outside, indicating a medical person.
Mr. Specter. When did you first see the first indication of a doctor?
Mr. Kellerman. When we got in the emergency room itself proper.
Mr. Specter. And do you know which doctor that was?
Mr. Kellerman. Not by name or sight; no, sir.
Mr. Specter. How many doctors did you see at that time?
Mr. Kellerman. The room was full.
Mr. Specter. Who were the individuals who brought the stretchers on wheels, if you know?
Mr. Kellerman. Agents who were in the follow-up car, police officers who were ahead of us on motorcycles." (2H 102)
UPI White House Correspondent Merriman Smith was in the press pool car, the sixth and final vehicle in motorcade. (Manchester, op. cit., p. 167) Smith provided this eyewitness account in a memoir published on the third anniversary of the assassination:
"Not until we pulled up at the Parkland Hospital emergency entrance in a screaming skid and I ran to the side of the Kennedy car did I know for certain that he was badly hurt.
"When I saw Mr. Kennedy pitched over on the rear seat and blood darkening his coat, and Gov. John Connally of Texas slumped face up on the floor with brownish red foam seeping from his chest wound, not one hospital orderly, doctor or nurse had reached the vehicle. Several careless authors would have their readers believe that medical attendants were on the scene at this point. They were not. I was there." (Washington Post, November 20, 1966, pp. E1, E5.)
William Manchester wrote, "There wasn't an attendant
in sight." (Manchester, op. cit., p. 169)
Dave Powers, Clint Hill and Roy Kellerman attempted to
remove Kennedy from the car, but Jackie refused to let him be moved. (O'Donnell,
Kenneth and Powers, David, Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye, Little Brown and
Co., Boston: 1972, p. 31; Manchester, William. The Death of a President,
Harper & Row, New York: 1967, [Hard cover] p. 170) Moreover, they could not
have removed him without first removing Connally from the jump seat. The braking
of the limousine upon arrival at the emergency room loading dock jarred Connally
into consciousness. He was removed from the jump seat of the limousine first.
(CE 1024, id.)
Jackie held on, conversing with Secret Service Agent Clint
Hill. (Manchester, op. cit., p. 171) Hill put his coat over JFK's head and
coaxed Jackie out of the limousine.
Manchester discusses the "second wave" of
arrivals at Parkland
"Parkland was still recoiling from this first invasion when the second, denser wave arrived from the Trade Mart. The interval was bound to be brief because the buildings were so close, and two circumstances virtually eliminated it. The first was the motorcade schedule. Drivers had been told that the procession would pick up speed after leaving Main Street, and in the excitement which followed the shots they accelerated so rapidly that during the twelve seconds of Officer Clyde Haygood's pistol-in-hand ascent of the overpass embankment every vehicle in the caravan, including the Signals car, swept past him. The second factor was communications. Curry's alarm had been intercepted by all Dallas police radios at the Mart. The men there who had heard it were preparing to escort any member of the Presidential party who could establish his credentials." (Manchester, op. cit., page 173.)
The route from Dealey Plaza to the Trade Mart was cleared (Sorrels testimony, 7H 347). Manchester's narrative continues:
"There were some stragglers…
"Among the last to learn that anything had gone awry were the passengers of the hapless VIP bus. They had been instructed to go directly to the rear of the Trade Mart. But there were no Dallas policemen at the rear entrance. The guards were Texas state policemen who weren't tied into the radio network and didn't know what had happened. None of them, moreover, had seen a White House pass. They had been told that Secret Service agents would vouch for bona fide Kennedy people. But most of the agents had left for Parkland after picking up Kellerman's distress signal over the Charlie network. The result was an icy reception for Dr. Burkley…"
"Suddenly Dr. Burkley vanished. Burkley had never deserted Evelyn [Lincoln] before but he sensed that something terrible had happened. The atmosphere was ominous. Strangers were reeling around in circles....With his chief pharmacist's mate in tow, the doctor flagged Agent Andy Berger, who was about to leave in a police cruiser. The physician had just tossed his black bag on the floorboard when Chuck Roberts of Newsweek ran up. "Let me go with you," Chuck begged. Burkley, usually gentle, slammed the door in his face; the cruiser skirred into Harry Hines Boulevard and dropped the doctor outside Parkland's emergency entrance minutes after the President's disappearance within." (Manchester, op. cit, page 174)
In the meantime, Parkland nurse Diana Bowron went out to the Emergency Room loading dock to meet the presidential limousine. She helped take the stretcher carriage bearing JFK back inside to Trauma Room 1. Carrico was there. Nurse Henchcliffe was already setting up IVs. So, it was just the three of them there at first, when Kennedy was wheeled into the room for treatment:
"Mr. Specter. And who was in the trauma room when you arrived there?
Miss Bowron. Dr. Carrico.
Mr. Specter. Where did Dr. Carrico join you?
Miss Bowron. At the—I couldn't really tell you exactly, but it was inside major surgery. Miss Henchcliffe, the other nurse who is assigned to major surgery, was in the trauma room already setting the I.V.'s—the intravenous bottles up.
Mr. Specter. And were there any other nurses present at that time when the President arrived in the trauma area?
Miss Bowron. I don't think so, sir.
Mr. Specter. Were there any doctors present besides Dr. Carrico?
Miss Bowron. I didn't notice anybody—there may have been.” (6H136)
Dr. Charles Carrico was the first doctor to reach Kennedy.
“Mr. Specter. Who was the first doctor to reach President Kennedy on his arrival at Parkland Hospital?
Dr. Carrico. I was.
Mr. Specter. And who else was with President Kennedy on his arrival, as best you can recollect it?
Dr. Carrico. Mrs. Kennedy was there, and there were some men in the room, who I assumed were Secret Service men; I don't know.” (6H 2)
The Warren Report concluded: "The first physician to
see the President at Parkland Hospital was Dr. Charles J. Carrico, a resident in
general surgery." (WR 53) There were also two nurses in attendance. (ibid.)
This is corroborated by Perry's testimony. (3H 367)
The President was being wheeled into T-1 when Carrico first
saw him. (3H 359). Drs. Don Curtis and Martin White were also present (ibid.)
Because of the President's inadequate respirations and the apparent airway
injury, Carrico inserted a cuffed endotracheal tube into the mouth and down the
trachea past the injury. The cuff was inflated and the tube was connected to a
respirator. This was the Bennett machine—also known as the Bird machine (an
acronym). (6H 3) After this procedure, Carrico listened to the chest:
"Breath sounds were diminished, especially on the right, despite the fact
that the endotracheal tube was in place and the cuff inflated, there continued
to be some leakage around the tracheal wound. For this reason, Dr. Perry elected
to perform a tracheotomy, and instructed some of the other physicians in the
room to insert chest tubes, thoracotomy tubes." (6H 3)
Dr. Perry went to Trauma Room 1 from the dining room
accompanied by Dr. Ronald Jones. (6H 8; 3H 367) When they arrived, Carrico had
just inserted the endotracheal tube. (6H 8) Carrico was attaching the Bird
respirator. (6H 9; 3H 368)
Interim Assessment:
The delay in getting treatment for President Kennedy
obviously consumed several precious minutes. The initial resuscitative attempts
performed by Dr. Carrico before the arrival of Dr. Perry must have consumed
several more minutes. No one was keeping a record of the time that had
transpired, but it is reasonable to conclude that Dr. Burkley's detour to the
Dallas Trade Mart did not prevent him from arriving in the Parkland Emergency
Room at an early point in the President's emergency treatment. Despite the lack
of "a clock," by reconstructing the sequence of the President's
treatment it is nevertheless possible to identify a specific event upon which we
can more precisely peg Burkley's arrival at his patient's side. The key to this
analysis is the hydrocortisone.
The Administration of Hydrocortisone
Initially, Dr. Charles Carrico received credit for the
administration of the drug as "quick thinking" under pressure. Carrico
somewhat ambiguously accepted the credit:
“Mr. Specter. Dr. Carrico, was any action taken with respect to the adrenalin insufficiency of President Kennedy?
Dr. Carrico. Yes, sir; he was given 300 milligrams of hydrocortisone which is an adrenal hormone.
Mr. Specter. And what was the reason for the administration of that drug?
Dr. Carrico. It was recalled that the President had been said to have adrenal insufficiency.” (3H 361)
Perry clearly assumed the Carrico was responsible for the decision. He told the Warren Commission:
"It is to Dr. Carrico's credit, I think he ordered the hydrocortisone for the President having known he suffered from adrenal insufficiency and in this particular instance being quite busy he had the presence of mind to recall this and order what could have been a lifesaving measure, I think." (3H 370)
"Mr. McCloy. You said something to the effect that, of knowing the President had an adrenalin insufficiency, is that something you could observe?
Dr. Perry. This is common medical knowledge, sir, that he had in the past necessarily taken adrenalin steroids to support this insufficiency. Dr. Carrico, at this moment of great stress, recalled this, and requested this be given to him at that time, this is extremely important because people who have adrenalin insufficiency are unable to mobilize this hormone at the time of any great stress and it may be fatal without support from exogeneous drugs." (3H 377)
And see Perry's interview with the staff of the HSCA (from the staff summary):
"Dr. Perry stated that Dr. James Carrico, then a first-year resident, recalled that the President may have had Addison's Disease and therefore administered steroids to combat any possible shock that may have occurred....Dr. Perry could not recall if Dr. Burkley, the President's physician, had also given the Parkland doctor steroids to administer to JFK." (7 HSCA 295)
Burkley has disputed this, however, claiming credit for himself in his oral history interview:
"I gave them some hydrocortisone, to put in the intravenous which was being given, and also told them his blood type." (George G. Burkley, recorded interview by William McHugh, October 17, 1967, page 16, John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program.)
"McHugh: Doctor, were the doctors in Dallas familiar with the illnesses that the President had?
"Burkley: The doctors in Dallas would have no reason to have any knowledge of that, and they had no need to have any knowledge of that, because the question was one of assassination by gunshot and his previous history, other than the fact, that I gave them the neo-cortef to put in the solution, which also would be used in anyone, possibly, who had such a wound, to give them additional support. But as far as any knowledge, their need to have any previous knowledge, it was not indicated and therefore, in addition to that the inquiries concerning the medical background of the President by people who were dealing with the Warren Commission and the assassination are absolutely unfounded, because they have nothing to do with the assassination.
"McHugh: I see. They did make an attempt to find out though, did they not?
"Burkley: They had no time to find out. I told them, they didn't—I went in and told them that this I wanted to put in the intravenous that was being given...
"McHugh: Surely.
"Burkley: And they made no questions at all. There's a statement in one of them, that one of them ought to do this, but that is not true, because I was the one who came in and gave it to them, and the doctors in Dallas never even mentioned that I was present. As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter to me, because there was no reason to interject myself in a procedure which at that time was hopeless. In addition, I was not part of their team, and it would have interfered."
Dr. Paul Conrad Peters' testimony corroborated Burkley's version. Dr. Peters was at Parkland preparing a lecture he planned to deliver to a group of medical students and residents when he learned that President Kennedy had been shot. He went to the emergency room to offer assistance. When he entered Trauma Room 1, "Mrs. Kennedy was in the corner with someone who identified himself as the personal physician of the President—I don't remember his name." Assistant Warren Commission counsel Arlen Specter questioned him about this recollection:
"Mr. Specter. Dr. Burkley?
Dr. Peters. I don't know his name. That's just who he said he was, because he was asking that the President be given some steroids, which was done.
Mr. Specter. He requested that.
Dr. Peters. That's right, he said he should have some steroids because he was an Addisonian.
Mr. Specter. What do you mean by that in lay language?
Dr. Peters. Well, Addison's disease is a disease of the adrenal cortex which is characterized by a deficiency in the elaboration of certain hormones that allow an individual to respond to stress and these hormones are necessary for life, and if they cannot be replaced, the individual may succumb.
Mr. Specter. And Dr. Burkley, or whoever was the President's personal physician, made a request that you treat him as an Addisonian?
Dr. Peters. That's right—he recommended that he be given steroids because he was an Addisonian—that's what he said." (6H 69)
[Note: The testimony of Dr. Peters implied that, when he
arrived in TR-1 the tracheostomy was in progress, suggesting perhaps that
Burkley arrived after Perry made the incision. This was the only such reference
I found in a search of both the official and unofficial record. In his 1992
reconstruction of the clinical details of the President's treatment, however,
Dr. Charles Crenshaw indicated that Peters arrived before the tracheostomy
(Crenshaw, Charles, et. al., Conspiracy of Silence, Signet. New York:
1992, p. 79) Dr. Crenshaw saw Burkley's open kit bag containing the steroid
vials, and saw him give three 100 mm. vials of Solu-Cortef to Carrico. (Ibid.,
p. 82; Remarks of Dr. Crenshaw at ASK Symposium, Dallas, October 1992) "He
gave the cortisone to Jim Carrico to give to him in the emergency ward."
(Livingstone, Harrison E., High Treason 2. Carroll & Graf, New York:
1991, p. 111) Crenshaw was not called to testify during the Warren Commission
investigation. In view of the weight of the other evidence presented here, I
have concluded that Peters' was mistaken in his testimony on this point.]
Manchester also agrees that it was Burkley who provided the
hydrocortisone:
"Burkley, because he was acquainted with the patient's medical history, carried his special drugs in his black bag, and knew the proper dosage levels." (Manchester, William. The Death of a President. Harper & Row, New York: 1967, page 183.)
Carrico told the HSCA staff that Burkley gave him steroids.
"Purdy/Flanagan: Why was President Kennedy given steroids?
"Dr. Carrico: Because we had, there had been an argument in the local papers a few weeks previously that raised the question of whether or not he had adrenal insufficiency. If one does have adrenal insufficiency and is injured, then you need extra steroids.
"Purdy/Flanagan: Is there any risk to giving the person extra steroids if they don't need it?
"Dr. Carrico: Very little. Virtually none. Matter of fact, the amount he was given is the amount that your or my adrenals would excrete in time of maximum stress.
"Purdy/Flanagan: How harmful would it be for a person with adrenal insufficiency not to get steroids at a time like this?
"Dr. Carrico: No one really knows. The current medical opinion is that you need that adrenal support to respond to the stress. And without that kind of support, one could go into shock. If one really wants to get esoteric, you can argue about whether that's really true or not. But in general, the current medical practice would be to give them. And if one were going to do an operation on someone with adrenal insufficiency, you would give steroids prior to enduring the operation.
"Purdy/Flanagan: Did Dr. Berkeley [sic] give you any advice as to whether or not steroids should be given?
"Dr. Carrico: Sometime during the course of resuscitation, and I've honestly forgotten how far along, he came in, asked if the President had steroids or not, I answered something like—I've forgotten what. He handed me some vials and said, "give him these."
"Purdy/Flanagan: Did you give him those?
"Dr. Carrico: I handed those to the nurse, and said "go ahead and give them."
Purdy/Flanagan: Did Dr. Berkeley say that President Kennedy was an Addisonian?
"Dr. Carrico: I don't recall him saying that. He just asked if he'd had them or not and I answered in the affirmative." (7 HSCA 274-276)
Conceivably, both physicians directed the administration of
hydrocortisone, but the more reasonable answer is that Burkley directed it be
done. If the available testimony and secondary sources did not force this
conclusion, common sense might nevertheless impose it. It is doubtful that a
second-year resident physician such as Carrico would have taken the
responsibility for the administration of this drug in its specific dosage on the
basis of some vague recollection of hearing or reading about the President's
adrenal insufficiency, which had been a secret generally well-kept from the
public. Three hundred milligrams of Solu-Cortef (Hydrocortisone sodium
succinate) was a massive dosage. A total dose of 300 mg of hydrocortisone over
24 hours is regarded as adequate to treat any type of stressful situation that
precipitated the acute adrenal insufficiency crisis. (Himathongkam, et. al.,
"Acute Adrenal Insufficiency", Journal of the American Medical
Association, December 2, 1974, Vol. 230, No. 9, page 1317) Consider the
contemporary wisdom of the medical profession in this regard: In an adrenal
crisis 200 mg. in 5% glucose solution intravenously. If intramuscularly, a total
initial dose of 200 mg. (Beison & McDermott, eds., Textbook of Medicine,
W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia: 1963, page 1393)
The public record sheds only a dim light on Burkley's
activities. In 1975, Harold Weisberg published copies of the Secret Service's
original versions of Warren Commission exhibits related to the autopsy. Burkley
verified those originals with handwritten notations. (Weisberg, Harold. Post
Mortem. Privately published. Frederick, MD.: 1975) Burkley's notations were
redacted from the exhibits admitted and published by the Commission. Upon what
or whose authority, and on what basis did he certify the original records, and
why were his verifications redacted from the printed exhibits? Lifton does not
bother to ask. On the theory that someone was interested in suppressing
Burkley's role in the events of that day, it would be interesting to know
whether Carrico was requested by officials to assume public responsibility for
the administration of hydrocortisone to the President. This is only, however, a
theory.
Regardless of whether Burkley or Carrico was responsible,
however, the hydrocortisone was administered at the beginning of the emergency
treatment, before Perry arrived. Carrico's testimony:
"At the beginning of the resuscitation attempt intravenous infusions had been started using polyethylene catheters by venesection, lactated ringer solution, and uncross-matched type O RH negative bloods were administered and 300 mg. of hydrocortisone were administered." (6H 4)
"At the same time we had been getting the airway inserted Dr. Curtis and Dr. White were doing a cutdown, venous section using polyethylene catheters through which fluid, medicine and blood could be administered.
Mr. Specter. Will you describe in lay language what you mean by a cutdown in relationship to what they did in this case?
Dr. Carrico. This was a small incision over his ankle and a tube was inserted into one of his veins through which blood could be given, fluid." (3H 360)
Perry asserted this shortly after the weekend of the assassination. In his interview with United Press International at his home in McAllen, Texas on November 27, 1963, he confirmed his belief that Carrico had given hydrocortisone before he arrived. (New York Times, November 28, 1963). He implied as much to the Warren Commission. Describing the scene he confronted upon his arrival in TR 1, Perry testified:
"Blood transfusions and fluid transfusions were being given at this time, and through the previous venesections that had been done by Dr. Jones and Dr. Carrico.
"Also, the President had received 300 mg of Solucortef [sic] in order to support his adrenal glands, since it was common medical knowledge that he suffered from adrenal insufficiency." (6H 10- 11)
[In fact, it was not common medical knowledge, and Perry's
Warren Commission testimony reveals no personal knowledge.]
He confirmed this three years later in an interview with
CBS News:
"He had been previously started on intravenous fluids and blood, and given hydrocortisone by Dr. Carrico; and assisted respiration was in progress." (CBS News, Eddie Barker Interview with Dr. Malcolm Perry, 1967, page 2.)
In a written report on the resuscitative efforts for President Kennedy written on the day of the assassination, one of the treating physicians, Dr. Marion T. Jenkins, wrote: "the patient received 300 mg. hydrocortisone intravenously in the first few minutes." (20H 252; Exhibit No. 36)
Appraisal of the Facts:
Burkley arrived at the President's side earlier than is
commonly understood. He arrived before Dr. Perry entered TR 1. It was Dr. Perry
who performed the tracheotomy incision across the wound. Therefore, the wound
was undisturbed when Burkley arrived. He had an opportunity to personally
observe the wound.
Further Thoughts on Burkley at Parkland
Burkley also had the opportunity to observe the wound in
the President's back. Manchester tells us that Burkley supervised the transfer
of the body from carriage stretcher to casket. He was in the room with only the
nurses and an orderly at the time. Furthermore, there are tantalizing hints in
the record that Dr. Burkley, complying with Assistant Press Secretary Malcolm
Kilduff's suggestion that a treating physician brief the news media, personally
conferred with Malcolm Perry after the President's death, and also reconnoitered
Governor John Connally's situation, perhaps even visiting the second-floor
operating room where the Governor was treated. Burkley later spoke to Kellerman
as though he had knowledge of Connally's medical condition, telling Kellerman
that Connally still had a bullet in his body. Kellerman, in his Warren
Commission testimony, said Burkley referred to "the missile that hasn't
been removed from Governor Connally." (2H 90)
"Mr. Specter. You mentioned a missile which was not removed from Governor Connally. Specifically, what did you refer to there?
Mr. Kellerman. There was in the early—this was on the day in Parkland Memorial Hospital, and this information comes from Dr. George Burkley, the President's physician, when, I believe, I asked him the condition of Governor Connally, and have they removed the bullet from him.
Mr. Specter. What did Dr. Burkley say? Mr. Kellerman. Dr. Burkley said that to his knowledge he still has the bullet in him.
Mr. Specter. And what time on November 22 was that?
Mr. Kellerman. This was after we got into the hospital after the shooting, sir, between then and 2 o'clock.
Mr. Specter. So that the operation on Governor Connally had not been completed at that point?
Mr. Kellerman. That is correct, sir.” (2H 91)
In the immediate aftermath of Kennedy death, Dr. Perry's
movements appear murky. He has said that he sat down in the emergency room for
about ten or fifteen minutes, then went to the second-floor operating suite to
assist briefly with Governor Connally. (6H 10) Presumably that was around 1:15
or 1:20 p.m. Burkley remained busy in the emergency room, making arrangements
for the removal of the President's body to Washington. Dr. Kemp Clark completed
and signed a death certificate for Kennedy in Dr. Burkley's presence. (6H 20,25)
Perry testified that he arrived in the second-floor
operating suite just before Dr. Thomas Shires began operating on the Governor's
left leg. He indicated that while he was in the Connally operating suite, he was
called and asked to participate in a press conference. He testified this request
came at "around 2 o'clock" (3H 374), and that he left the operating
suite shortly after Shires incised Connally's thigh wound. (3H 390).
Perry's testimony did not, however, jibe with the facts.
According to the operative record of Governor Connally (CE 392), Dr. Robert Shaw
presided over the thoracic surgery to repair Connally's chest. Anesthesia began
at 1:00 p.m. and the actual surgery started at 1:35 p.m. While the 1:00 p.m.
operative record lists three assisting physicians, Perry is not among those
named. Later in the day, beginning at 3:20 p.m., Dr. Shires and Dr. Charles
Gregory operated on the Governor's left leg and right wrist. In questioning Dr.
Perry, Arlen Specter caught this error in his testimony, but failed to pursue
it. (3H 383) The questions that remain are, where was Dr. Perry and with whom
did he speak between the time of Kennedy's death and the time he began his news
conference?
How Lifton Murdered the Truth
Except for the oral history interview of Burkley, the CBS
interview with Perry, and Crenshaw's book (all of which are merely corroborative
of what was long ago in the public record), each resource that I have cited in
this analysis was readily available to David Lifton during the 15 years that he
says he researched and wrote his book, and he also worked with each of those
resources. He acknowledges that I tipped him off during our discussions in the
late-Seventies. Nevertheless, he discusses none of the above primary or
secondary source material in his book.
Other than by vacuous ridicule, how does he refute this
reconstruction? By throwing dust in his reader's eyes.
Lifton and Burkley - The UPI copy
Lifton absolves Burkley of knowledge of the throat wound on
the specious basis that his death certificate does not mention it. This is
evidence for nothing more than Burkley's failure, for whatever reason, to record
the throat wound on the certificate. The death certificate's purpose, however,
is not to detail the wounds but to state the cause of death. (See, Best
Evidence, Chap 14, p. 478)
[Note: There are undoubtedly more substantial issues
relating to Burkley's death certificate for Kennedy that Lifton never addressed.
E.g., Why did Burkley prepare his own death certificate for the President when
he already had received a death certificate from Dr. Kemp Clark of Parkland
Hospital? Why was Burkley's death certificate never filed with any probate court
or health agency? Why did Burkley include in his death certificate material that
reached beyond the mere cause of death? What was the source for the statement in
the Burkley death certificate that there was a wound in the President's back at
about the level of the third thoracic vertebra?]
Lifton also cites a teletype dispatch by UPI's Merriman
Smith. "Since each UPI transmission had a time stamp, the UPI ticker tape
is an accurate source of chronological data." (Best Evidence, p.
479) Under Lifton's interpretation, a UPI dispatch timed at 12:53 PM reporting
Burkley's arrival at Parkland means that Burkley arrived at the door of the
emergency room about fifteen minutes after Kennedy's logged-in arrival at 12:38
PM. Lifton states:
"At 12:53 pm, UPI reported: 'A few minutes later [referring to '12:50' mentioned in the previous sentence] Rear Admiral George Burkley, USN, the White House Physician, rushed into the hospital. He headed for the emergency room…"
A single piece of UPI wire copy, dictated by a man whom
Lifton did not even interview (Merriman Smith is now dead), a piece of evidence
that Lifton either doesn't understand or has deliberately thrown up as a smoke
screen to protect his precious theory and murder the truth—this is what he
proclaims as scholarly precision in his work. The facts, however, reveal the
shoddiness of this device.
First, Manchester tells us that, when Smith entered the
Parkland Emergency Room, he commandeered a telephone in the cashier's cage.
(Manchester, William. The Death of a President, Harper & Row, New
York: 1967, p. 168) This stakeout was 25 yards removed from the entrance to the
Emergency Room. In the crush of officials, newsmen and others, Smith could not
abandon his line for fear of being unable to find another. Therefore, while
keeping his phone connection, he had to rely upon the advices he received from
random passersby for the news that he dictated to the teletype operator at the
other end of the line. In other words, he was relying on hearsay rather than
personal observation. (Manchester, op. cit., p. 191)
Second, contrary to Mr. Lifton's assertions, the time stamp
on a wire service story does not indicate the time that an event occurred.
Rather, it represents the time that the teletype operator transmits the story to
subscribers of the service (e.g., newspapers, radio and television stations).
Moreover, wire services do not transmit stories in the order that they occurred.
Therefore, the tape is not an accurate source of chronological data.
Finally, I have examined a complete set of the wire copy to
which Mr. Lifton refers. His statement, "'A few minutes later [referring to
'12:50' mentioned in the previous sentence]...'" is one of the most artful
fabrications in the entire book. There is no "previous sentence" in
the transmission that he cites. That transmission is a single sentence. The wire
copy consists of a number of separate, short transmissions containing fragments
of information that would later be combined and edited by a rewrite man into a
coherent story, and there is no clear reference in the sentence Mr. Lifton
quotes to what comes before or after on the tape.
Impeaching His Own Witness
Some might wish to excuse Lifton's UPI gaffe as merely
sloppy research were it not for his treatment of George A. Barnum. Barnum was a
Coast Guard Yeoman and a member of the casket honor guard at Bethesda on the
night of the assassination. After his participation in the events of the
weekend, his superior at Coast Guard Headquarters directed him to write a report
for the historical record of his unit. Barnum saved a copy of his November 29,
1963 personal file memorandum—report for his children.
Because Lifton tries to use Barnum in support of his
"ambulance chase" scenario, he cannot comfortably ignore a much more
significant aspect of Barnum's memo. In Chapter 30 of Best Evidence,
Lifton reports that, sometime after midnight, Barnum had an encounter with Dr.
Burkley in the hospital cafeteria. During their conversation, Burkley spoke
about the President's wounds and evidenced a knowledge of the throat wound that,
if Dr. Humes' repeated statements are to be believed, Burkley should not have
had. Lifton attempts to discredit Barnum on the ground that he reported Burkley
as describing a shot "striking him above and to the rear of the right ear,
this shot not coming out…," a statement in conflict with the official
autopsy report, wherein the head shot exited the skull.
Once more, however, Lifton misleads his readers, a feat
made possible only by his omission to print the entire Sibert and O'Neill
report. The head shot conclusion the Burkley imparted to Barnum was the same
conclusion reported by Sibert & O'Neill in their "real-time"
narrative of the autopsy. Barnum's report of Burkley's remarks on the head wound
accurately mirrored the autopsy pathologists' tentative conclusion regarding the
head wound, as reported by Sibert and O'Neill, before a skull fragment was
delivered to the morgue late in the evening.
As we have seen, and others have noted, Mr. Lifton is
highly selective in his use of evidence, emphasizing what supports his case and
discounting conflicting facts and possibilities. ("Television"
(column), San Francisco Chronicle, November 18, 1988, p. E1) Whereas a
genuine scholar accepts his obligation to deal as honestly with the facts as he
knows how, Mr. Lifton displays the same ability to disregard facts without
feeling any sense of inconsistency that allows a devout religious mind to
believe in miracles or a child to believe in fairy tales. Mr. Lifton, however is
no monk, and he is no child.
Ahead to Chapter Nine
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