Did Secret Service Agent George Hickey Accidentally Kill JFK?
David Von Pein
AGAINST THE EVIDENCE THAT'S TELLING THE WORLD IT NEVER COULD HAVE
HAPPENED
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The kooky-as-all-get-out theory that has Secret Service Agent George
W. Hickey Jr. accidentally firing the fatal gunshot into President
John F. Kennedy's head in the midst of an assassination attempt being
carried out by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas' Dealey Plaza on November
22, 1963 is a preposterous and completely-untenable hunk of pure
speculation....and there are several reasons why.
To begin with, the very idea that Agent Hickey, via this crazy theory,
would have actually had the extreme misfortune of being able to "find"
John Kennedy's head just perfectly via his one "accidental shot" that
was discharged from his AR-15 rifle (and miraculously miss everything
else and everybody else in between himself and JFK) is just way too
far-fetched a notion for anyone to seriously consider as fact.
Giving credence to such a loony theory would mean literally ignoring
so many common-sense things (and ignoring so much evidence and
witnesses), it's pathetic. Such as.....
You'd have to believe that Agent Hickey just kept his mouth shut about
the "accident" with his AR-15 rifle. And you'd have to believe that
David Powers, a friend and personal aide of JFK's, who was sitting in
the very same car as Hickey, had somehow not even noticed this rifle
blast going off just inches behind where he was seated (or you'll have
to believe that Powers was "in" on the "cover-up" which would have
followed, which is nonsense of the first order; Powers would be the
very last person I'd suspect of covering up anything with respect to
JFK's death).
If Hickey had truly fired that fatal shot, you'd also have to swallow
that every one of the many other Secret Service agents in that follow-
up car in the motorcade (a total of seven additional agents) either
ALL didn't hear the loud rifle shot from right inside their own
vehicle...or that every single one of these men lied later on when
none of them corroborated such a shot from Hickey's weapon. Logical?
Hardly.
Kennedy aide Kenny O'Donnell was also one of the ten men riding in
that SS vehicle on November 22nd; and Mr. O'Donnell also failed to
back up such "Hickey Did It" nonsense.
Plus -- No witness that I am aware of claimed to have heard a shot
being fired from around the area of "Queen Mary" (the code name for
the Secret Service follow-up car), which is yet another annoying fly
in this theory's ointment.
And the biggie -- If a Hickey shot killed the President, then a
logical and reasonable explanation needs to be put forth to explain
away the two large bullet fragments that were conclusively proven to
have been fired from Lee Harvey Oswald's very own Mannlicher-Carcano
rifle that were found in the front-seat area of the Presidential
limousine.
And I've never seen such a logical or reasonable evidence-based answer
to that critical flaw within the "Hickey Shot Kennedy" theory.
Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots from the southeast corner window
of the sixth floor of his workplace (the Texas School Book Depository
on Elm Street). The evidence supporting this fact is overwhelming.
And it's obvious that Oswald's second shot (aka the "Single-Bullet
Theory" shot) did NOT produce the badly-damaged bullet fragments that
were discovered in the limousine's front seat. And, IMO, Oswald's
first (missed) shot could obviously not have caused the limo fragments
either.
If a missed shot, moving at approx. 2,000 fps had struck the limo's
windshield and/or chrome strip (which were items within the car that
were slightly damaged during the shooting), that bullet would almost
certainly have penetrated the glass and/or chrome area of the car.
Such a full-velocity shot would not have simply dented the chrome,
broken up badly, and then scraped the windshield. The FBI's Robert
Frazier (who did extensive work for the Warren Commission after the
assassination) testified to this, in fact.
That leaves only the JFK head shot to account for the front-seat
bullet fragments. Oswald's third and fatal shot struck President
Kennedy in the back of the head, causing the now-severely-slowed-down
bullet fragments coming from JFK's skull to continue to move forward,
where the two fragments each struck one of the ultimately-damaged
areas at the front of the car (the windshield and the chrome strip/
frame).
A look at the front-seat bullet fragments (CE567 and CE569), linked
conclusively to CE139 (Oswald's bolt-action Carcano rifle):
http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0141b.htm
http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0142a.htm
Another thing that tends to debunk the Hickey theory is the fact that
out of the many still photographs and films taken in Dealey Plaza that
Friday in November of '63, not one of them can corroborate the theory
of Hickey shooting the President. There's not a photo in existence
that shows Agent Hickey with a rifle in his hands while riding through
Dealey Plaza.
There is also the official statement that was made by (and signed by)
Secret Service Agent George Hickey on 11/22/63, which includes the
following words:
"At the end of the last report {gunshot} I reached to the bottom of
the car and picked up the AR-15 rifle, cocked and loaded it, and
turned to the rear. At this point the cars were passing under the
overpass and as a result we had left the scene of the shooting. I kept
the AR-15 rifle ready as we proceeded at a high rate of speed to the
hospital." -- George W. Hickey, Jr.
So, Hickey says in that original signed report/statement that he
didn't even TOUCH the AR-15 rifle until AFTER the last gunshot had
already been fired in Dealey Plaza.
Agent Hickey's complete "Original Report" can be found here:
http://jfkassassination.net/russ/m_j_russ/Sa-hicke.htm
Therefore, in order to believe that President Kennedy was killed by an
accidental gunshot fired from the Secret Service follow-up car, it
becomes necessary to also believe that the above-referenced report
signed by George Hickey of the United States Secret Service is nothing
but a pack of lies.
Another of the errors associated with this Hickey theory (as put forth
in Bonar Menninger's 1992 book "MORTAL ERROR: THE SHOT THAT KILLED
JFK") is the notion that President Kennedy uttered the words "I am
hit" prior to being struck in the head by the fatal gunshot.
To be perfectly fair to author Menninger, that information about the
President allegedly saying "I am hit" isn't a fabricated piece of info
at all. It's in the official Warren Commission record, appearing
within the testimony of Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman (who was
riding next to driver Bill Greer in the front seat of the Presidential
limousine during the Dallas motorcade on November 22, 1963).
So Mr. Menninger does have one witness who claimed the President made
such a statement after the gunfire began in Dealey Plaza. Absolutely
no witnesses, however, have been unearthed who can support and/or
verify the main thesis put forth in "Mortal Error", i.e., the idea
that George Hickey accidentally ended the life of America's 35th
President.
Here's the relevant testimony given Mr. Kellerman:
ROY KELLERMAN -- "I turned my head to the right because whatever this
noise was I was sure that it came from the right and perhaps into the
rear; and as I turned my head to the right to view whatever it was or
see whatever it was, I heard a voice from the back seat and I firmly
believe it was the President's, 'My God, I am hit', and I turned
around and he has got his hands up here like this."
ARLEN SPECTER -- "With relationship to that first noise that you have
described, when did you hear the voice?"
MR. KELLERMAN -- "Okay. From the noise of which I was in the process
of turning to determine where it was or what it was, it carried on
right then. Why I am so positive, gentlemen, that it was his {JFK's}
voice, there is only one man in that back seat that was from Boston,
and the accents carried very clearly."
MR. SPECTER -- "Well, had you become familiar with the President's
voice prior to that day?"
MR. KELLERMAN -- "Yes; very much so."
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/kellerma.htm
Now, prior to accepting as fact the above scenario which has John F.
Kennedy actually speaking before the fatal shot hit him, I'd advise
reading some additional Warren Commission testimony, that being the
testimony given by the two women (Jacqueline Kennedy and Nellie
Connally) who were also riding in that limousine with the President
and Roy Kellerman.
The testimony of both Jackie and Nellie, who were each sitting closer
to President Kennedy in the car than was Mr. Kellerman, should leave
very little doubt about whether any audible words came out of JFK's
mouth throughout the entire shooting timeline. Let's have a look:
ARLEN SPECTER -- "Did President Kennedy say anything at all after the
shooting?"
NELLIE CONNALLY -- "He did not say anything."
=================================
JACQUELINE KENNEDY -- "And my husband never made any sound."
=================================
J. LEE RANKIN -- "Do you recall anyone saying anything else during the
time of the shooting?"
MRS. KENNEDY -- "No; there weren't any words. There was just Governor
Connally's."
=================================
"Mortal Error" is just one more publication in the ever-expanding and
bulging library of JFK assassination books. And it's also one more
book, among many others, that can be filed in the category reserved
for "Groundless And Baseless Theories Regarding The Kennedy
Assassination".
In short, the 361-page book "Mortal Error" and the "Hickey Fired The
Fatal Shot" theory are nothing but "Monumental Errors" themselves.
David Von Pein
January 2006
===================================================
SOME "HICKEY"-RELATED DISCUSSIONS AND OTHER WEBLINKS:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/561b01e4cb153284
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/9de16e9fe84813be
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/5fe6fea277069438
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/843ccb83cbe285ef
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/9d1cc867b0b9646a
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/b27f53eace64593f
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/f717207e153620f4
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/138855c20a6d5ba0
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312080743/ref=cm_rdp_product/002-2065385-6525668
===================================================
Peter Fokes
wrote:
>THE "HICKEY SHOT KENNEDY" THEORY DOESN'T HOLD ANY WATER WHEN WEIGHED
>AGAINST THE EVIDENCE THAT'S TELLING THE WORLD IT NEVER COULD HAVE
>HAPPENED
I agree.
Hardly worth an effort to debunk such nonsense.
PF
JLeyd...@aol.com
> THE "HICKEY SHOT KENNEDY" THEORY DOESN'T HOLD ANY WATER WHEN WEIGHED
> AGAINST THE EVIDENCE THAT'S TELLING THE WORLD IT NEVER COULD HAVE
> HAPPENED
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agent Hickey received a handsome settlement from St. Martin's Press, the
publisher of Mortal Error, for the nonsense portrayed in the book. Altho
the exact amount was not disclosed, Hickey's lawyer said his client was
quite satisfied. Too bad we can't hang more of these conspiracy mongers
but most are smart enough not to name specific individuals, at least not
ones that are still alive.
JGL
Anthony Marsh
> THE "HICKEY SHOT KENNEDY" THEORY DOESN'T HOLD ANY WATER WHEN WEIGHED
> AGAINST THE EVIDENCE THAT'S TELLING THE WORLD IT NEVER COULD HAVE
> HAPPENED
>
Sure, but you need to debunk it with actual evidence, not just your
version of what makes sense.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The kooky-as-all-get-out theory that has Secret Service Agent George
> W. Hickey Jr. accidentally firing the fatal gunshot into President
> John F. Kennedy's head in the midst of an assassination attempt being
> carried out by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas' Dealey Plaza on November
> 22, 1963 is a preposterous and completely-untenable hunk of pure
> speculation....and there are several reasons why.
>
> To begin with, the very idea that Agent Hickey, via this crazy theory,
> would have actually had the extreme misfortune of being able to "find"
> John Kennedy's head just perfectly via his one "accidental shot" that
> was discharged from his AR-15 rifle (and miraculously miss everything
> else and everybody else in between himself and JFK) is just way too
> far-fetched a notion for anyone to seriously consider as fact.
>
The very concept of an accidental shot is not outrageous.
> Giving credence to such a loony theory would mean literally ignoring
> so many common-sense things (and ignoring so much evidence and
> witnesses), it's pathetic. Such as.....
>
> You'd have to believe that Agent Hickey just kept his mouth shut about
> the "accident" with his AR-15 rifle. And you'd have to believe that
> David Powers, a friend and personal aide of JFK's, who was sitting in
> the very same car as Hickey, had somehow not even noticed this rifle
> blast going off just inches behind where he was seated (or you'll have
> to believe that Powers was "in" on the "cover-up" which would have
> followed, which is nonsense of the first order; Powers would be the
> very last person I'd suspect of covering up anything with respect to
> JFK's death).
>
Well, in fact we know that Powers was "in" on the "cover-up" as he told
Tip O'Neil that he had reported shots coming from the grassy knoll, but
was told by the FBI to keep quiet about that. So just the will to
participate in a cover-up has been demonstrated.
> If Hickey had truly fired that fatal shot, you'd also have to swallow
> that every one of the many other Secret Service agents in that follow-
> up car in the motorcade (a total of seven additional agents) either
> ALL didn't hear the loud rifle shot from right inside their own
> vehicle...or that every single one of these men lied later on when
> none of them corroborated such a shot from Hickey's weapon. Logical?
> Hardly.
>
You can't base your objection on logic.
Many SS, CIA and FBI agents have routinely lied en masse about
classified matters. It is a requirement of their jobs. Maybe the true
story comes out 40 years later and they admit that they knew about it at
the time.
> Kennedy aide Kenny O'Donnell was also one of the ten men riding in
> that SS vehicle on November 22nd; and Mr. O'Donnell also failed to
> back up such "Hickey Did It" nonsense.
>
Kenny O'Donnell also conspired in the cover-up to keep quiet about the
shots from the grassy knoll.
> Plus -- No witness that I am aware of claimed to have heard a shot
> being fired from around the area of "Queen Mary" (the code name for
> the Secret Service follow-up car), which is yet another annoying fly
> in this theory's ointment.
>
True, but you should already expect that whoever dreams up such a theory
can selectively cite hand-picked eyewitnesses to support ANY silly
notion. Even that Jackie did it, or the driver did it.
> And the biggie -- If a Hickey shot killed the President, then a
> logical and reasonable explanation needs to be put forth to explain
> away the two large bullet fragments that were conclusively proven to
> have been fired from Lee Harvey Oswald's very own Mannlicher-Carcano
> rifle that were found in the front-seat area of the Presidential
> limousine.
>
I have. Those two large fragments did not have to come from the head
shot. The real problem which can not be gotten around is the
incompatibility of the bullet lead fragments removed from the head. They
can not be from an AR-15. They can be from a M-C.
> And I've never seen such a logical or reasonable evidence-based answer
> to that critical flaw within the "Hickey Shot Kennedy" theory.
>
I refute it every day.
> Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots from the southeast corner window
> of the sixth floor of his workplace (the Texas School Book Depository
> on Elm Street). The evidence supporting this fact is overwhelming.
>
No.
> And it's obvious that Oswald's second shot (aka the "Single-Bullet
> Theory" shot) did NOT produce the badly-damaged bullet fragments that
> were discovered in the limousine's front seat. And, IMO, Oswald's
> first (missed) shot could obviously not have caused the limo fragments
> either.
>
> If a missed shot, moving at approx. 2,000 fps had struck the limo's
> windshield and/or chrome strip (which were items within the car that
> were slightly damaged during the shooting), that bullet would almost
> certainly have penetrated the glass and/or chrome area of the car.
Nice guess, but untested and unknown.
The WC wouldn't even admit that the chrome topping was dented during the
shooting.
> Such a full-velocity shot would not have simply dented the chrome,
> broken up badly, and then scraped the windshield. The FBI's Robert
> Frazier (who did extensive work for the Warren Commission after the
> assassination) testified to this, in fact.
>
It is not a matter of THEN scraping the windshield. Different fragments
at the same time.
> That leaves only the JFK head shot to account for the front-seat
> bullet fragments. Oswald's third and fatal shot struck President
> Kennedy in the back of the head, causing the now-severely-slowed-down
> bullet fragments coming from JFK's skull to continue to move forward,
> where the two fragments each struck one of the ultimately-damaged
> areas at the front of the car (the windshield and the chrome strip/
> frame).
>
Your logic is flawed by many false assumptions.
> A look at the front-seat bullet fragments (CE567 and CE569), linked
> conclusively to CE139 (Oswald's bolt-action Carcano rifle):
>
> http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0141b.htm
>
> http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0142a.htm
>
> Another thing that tends to debunk the Hickey theory is the fact that
> out of the many still photographs and films taken in Dealey Plaza that
> Friday in November of '63, not one of them can corroborate the theory
> of Hickey shooting the President. There's not a photo in existence
> that shows Agent Hickey with a rifle in his hands while riding through
> Dealey Plaza.
>
Not conclusive. There may be something which is missed by all the
photos. The Bronson film shows that it was physically impossible.
> There is also the official statement that was made by (and signed by)
> Secret Service Agent George Hickey on 11/22/63, which includes the
> following words:
>
> "At the end of the last report {gunshot} I reached to the bottom of
> the car and picked up the AR-15 rifle, cocked and loaded it, and
> turned to the rear. At this point the cars were passing under the
> overpass and as a result we had left the scene of the shooting. I kept
> the AR-15 rifle ready as we proceeded at a high rate of speed to the
> hospital." -- George W. Hickey, Jr.
>
> So, Hickey says in that original signed report/statement that he
> didn't even TOUCH the AR-15 rifle until AFTER the last gunshot had
> already been fired in Dealey Plaza.
>
Sure, but do not rely on eyewitness statements. They are the most
unreliable form of evidence.
> Agent Hickey's complete "Original Report" can be found here:
>
> http://jfkassassination.net/russ/m_j_russ/Sa-hicke.htm
>
> Therefore, in order to believe that President Kennedy was killed by an
> accidental gunshot fired from the Secret Service follow-up car, it
> becomes necessary to also believe that the above-referenced report
> signed by George Hickey of the United States Secret Service is nothing
> but a pack of lies.
>
Yes, and so what if it is?
> Another of the errors associated with this Hickey theory (as put forth
> in Bonar Menninger's 1992 book "MORTAL ERROR: THE SHOT THAT KILLED
> JFK") is the notion that President Kennedy uttered the words "I am
> hit" prior to being struck in the head by the fatal gunshot.
>
> To be perfectly fair to author Menninger, that information about the
> President allegedly saying "I am hit" isn't a fabricated piece of info
> at all. It's in the official Warren Commission record, appearing
> within the testimony of Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman (who was
> riding next to driver Bill Greer in the front seat of the Presidential
> limousine during the Dallas motorcade on November 22, 1963).
>
There is a lot of misinformation in the official records.
> So Mr. Menninger does have one witness who claimed the President made
> such a statement after the gunfire began in Dealey Plaza. Absolutely
No, he doesn't. Kennedy said nothing. A bullet had torn through his
trachea.
So, 2 versus 1 wins?
> "Mortal Error" is just one more publication in the ever-expanding and
> bulging library of JFK assassination books. And it's also one more
> book, among many others, that can be filed in the category reserved
> for "Groundless And Baseless Theories Regarding The Kennedy
> Assassination".
>
> In short, the 361-page book "Mortal Error" and the "Hickey Fired The
> Fatal Shot" theory are nothing but "Monumental Errors" themselves.
>
This is not news. Several years ago I pointed out the flaws in the basic
theory. But I also recommended the book for the excellent photos and
drawings and especially the pointed criticism of the HSCA's wound analysis.
tima...@hotmail.com
bullet, and keep it in his top pocket?...
---voice
> http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0...
>
> http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0...
> SOME "HICKEY"-RELATED DISCUSSIONS AND OTHER ...
>
> read more »
David Von Pein
theory." <<<
Whoopee for you.
Of course, in actuality, a retarded 6-year-old could easily debunk the
Hickey theory.
Oh, BTW, Tony, do you still think Vince B.'s book is never going to come
out? (Just wondering?)
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/79aad61f970de446
http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring07/004525.htm
David Von Pein
Oh my Bar-ney...
Oh my Bar-ney...
Had a jail, and couldn't lock it...
Had one bull-et for his pis-tol..
Had to keep it in his pock-et.
Texextra
> Then why did they, after that day, allow Hickey to have only a single
> bullet, and keep it in his top pocket?...
>
He was answering a casting call for the role of Barney Fife?
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Anthony Marsh
I doubt that his book will come out. It's already March and not a peep
yet. Do you even know when the release date is?
Anthony Marsh
Time check: Mar 9 2007.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to name conspirators who are still
alive.