John Stringer on JFK's Wounds and his Autopsy Photographs
- Fred Litwin
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed. tried to make the case that John Stringer photographed a brain that was not JFK's.
This is also covered in my book, Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza.
On page 76 he writes about JFK's body being received in to Bethesda:
All parts of the body were intact and you could readily identify the facial features of JFK. There was a wound on the right side of the head over the ear and towards the rear. His appearance was normal except for the wound over the ear and the defects in the neck and throat area.
On page 78 he writes:
The brain that was examined and photographed was the same specimen that was removed from the President during the autopsy.
Stringer was quoted in the Vero Beach Press Journal on August 8, 1974:
Stringer was also interviewed by the AP in 1998:
He didn't say anything about not taking the photographs of the brain, although he was unsure of taking the black and white pictures:
Stringer says that "he only took color photographs," but yet the autopsy inventory lists many black and white pictures. It sounds like his memory is starting to falter.
And there were both black & white and color transparencies of the brain. Stringer indicates that the color transparencies of the brain (basilar and superior) were definitely taken by him. And while he might have been unsure about the black and white transparencies, he did not mention any discrepancy between them and the color transparencies. And no one has ever raised an issue of a discrepancy between the two sets of photographs of JFK's brain, surely an indicator that it's the same brain.
Stringer was also asked about his review of the autopsy x-rays and photographs in 1967:
The reason why conspiracy theorists are insistent that Stringer took photographs of a different brain is that the left hemisphere of JFK's brain is intact, which would rule out a shot from the front or right-front. Therefore if you believe that JFK was shot from the front, you cannot accept the legitimacy of the photographs of his brain.
By the way, if you read Stringer's testimony before the ARRB (as I pointed out in my previous blog post) there were serious issues of memory. He often couldn't remember details and he even got mixed up about what types of film he used. John Stringer died in 2011 and his family asked that donations go to the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Association:
Memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Association, 2300 5th Avenue Suite 150, Vero Beach, FL 32960 or to the Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice Foundation, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960 in memory of Mr. Stringer.
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on the Medical Evidence
Attending physicians often make mistakes in determining the nature of gunshot wounds. Should we care what the Parkland doctors think?
A look at what the Parkland doctors wrote and what they said.
The Boston Globe interviewed some of the Parkland doctors in 1981.
A 1992 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association has some interesting comments from a few of the Parkland doctors.
An interesting interview with Dr. Robert McClelland.
The doctor treating John Lennon was mistaken about his wounds.
Wecht complains about the HSCA's forensic pathology panel.
Wecht has a suggestion for Dr. Baden.
Wecht's memoir mentions his examination of the autopsy materials in 1972 but neglects to talk about his conclusion that the fatal head shot came from behind.
James DiEugenio's obituary of Dr. Wecht leaves out his conclusion that the fatal head shot came from behind.
Dr. Cyril Wecht (1931 - 2024) ×–×™×›×¨×•× ×• לברכה
My obituary for Dr. Cyril Wecht.
A letter from Dr. Wecht to Thomas Stamm on the head shot.
A letter from Dr. Wecht to Sylvia Meagher on the head shot.
Dr. Wecht believes that JFK's throat wound was one of exit.
Dr. Robert Kirschner's consultation with the ARRB explains a mystery in the documentary.
JFK Revisited makes a big deal about the weight of JFK's brain and ignores a non-conspiratorial explanation.
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary makes it sound like the autopsy photographer said that he did not take the photos of JFK's brain that are in the current inventory,
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, features Dr. Charles Crenshaw to bolster its claim that President Kennedy was shot from the front. Viewers are not informed of Dr. Crenshaw's credibility problems.
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers on the opinions of Parkland Hospital doctors and Bethesda witnesses regarding JFK's head wound.
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers into thinking the Harper fragment was occipital bone that came from the back of Kennedy's head.
Have a look at Dr. Joseph Dolce's bad judgment
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series JFK: Destiny Betrayed uses a variety of supposed witnesses to allege that the wound in the back of Kennedy's head was one of exit. Audrey Bell is one such witness and she doesn't have much credibility.
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, tries to make the case that because Parkland Hospital doctors saw cerebellum extruding from Kennedy's head wound, that it indicated an exit wound.
While Gerald Ford edited some language in the Warren Report, he did not change the location of the back wound. Autopsy photographs show exactly the location of the back wound.
Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, alleges that autopsy pathologists were told to fit the wounds to a presupposed conclusion.
A podcast with Robert Wagner who has written an important book on the medical evidence.