The Parkland Doctors, Part Five
- Fred Litwin
- Apr 3
- 4 min read
Jacob Carter interviewed Dr. Robert McClelland for his 2015 book Before History Dies, and what he had to say was quite illuminating: (page 50 in the Kindle edition)
Jacob Carter: So, you have no doubt in your mind that there was a wound in the right rear portion of President Kennedy’s head?
Dr. McClelland: Oh gosh, no more so than the sun comes up every morning. I saw that directly as I said from a distance of maybe 18 inches above it, and stared at that wound for five or six minutes before he was pronounced dead.
Jacob Carter: Did the other doctors see the same thing?
Dr. McClelland: No. They weren’t in the position I was in. Dr. Perry and Dr. Baxter were working on the president’s neck, doing the tracheotomy. So, they turned all their attention towards that, not the wound at his head. And, people who were walking around the trauma room didn’t get anything but indirect glances at the head. I had the best and most direct view for the longest period.
So, only Dr. McClelland got a good view of Kennedy's wounds. All the other doctors only had "indirect glances" of the head wound.
He says that he stared at that wound for five or six minutes. It's interesting that his initial written report says that he was only in the Emergency room for ten minutes.
And then there was this question: (page 51 in the Kindle edition)
Jacob Carter: Do you think you couldn’t see the entry wound because of the damage on his head?
Dr. McClelland: It was bloody and there was a lot of hair, and also we didn’t get a chance to examine him closely. All we saw him was five minutes, and all I could see was the back of his head.
Yes, exactly. There was a lot of blood and hair and that obscured everybody's view of Kennedy's head wounds.
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on the Medical Evidence
A 1992 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association has some interesting comments from a few of the Parkland doctors.
The Boston Globe interviewed some of the Parkland doctors in 1981.
A look at what the Parkland doctors wrote and what they said.
Attending physicians often make mistakes in determining the nature of gunshot wounds. Should we care what the Parkland doctors think?
The attending physician in the John Lennon murder was proved wrong 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) זיכרונו 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.
