A Dallas physician who tried to save President John F. Kennedy 30 years ago says he believes the Warren Commission's conclusions about the assassination are correct: that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in shooting the president and that no conspiracy was involved.
Dr. M.T. "Pepper" Jenkins said the most haunting memory of Nov. 22, 1963, was when then First Lady Jackie Kennedy walked up to him, held out her hand and showed the doctor she was holding a piece of the president's brain."She (Mrs. Kennedy) had been cradling his (the president's) brain in her hand," said Jenkins to an audience Wednesday at Weber State University.
Kennedy was shot while riding in a motorcade along the streets of downtown Dallas. Oswald was taken into custody but he was never charged with the murder. Two days later, Jack Ruby gunned down Oswald in the basement of the local sheriff's department building.
And the horror of the assassination came spitting back at Jenkins when Oswald was brought into his hospital's emergency room and the doctor attempted to resuscitate the suspect.
Jenkins worked at Parkland Memorial Hospital when both Kennedy and Oswald were brought in. He said both men were still alive when he first saw them, but that Kennedy was dying and medical treatment could not have saved the president.
However, the doctor said he believes that Oswald may have survived his gunshot wound if medical personnel could have gotten the patient to the hospital sooner.
Jenkins said he remembers that day when he and two other doctors tried to save the life of Kennedy. He said he was eating lunch when the call came in that Kennedy had been shot, and he then rushed to the emergency room to help.
"He was dying," remembered Jenkins who was then 46 years old. "A priest came in the room and I said, `Look at this head injury. We don't have any chance to save him.' "
After Kennedy died, Jenkins said the Catholic priest administered the last rights and Mrs. Kennedy kissed her husband. The secret service then came in and took the body away.
Some 28 years later, Jenkins said he helped work on Oliver Stone's movie JFK, and he even played a bit part in the film.
"There were only two things right in the movie," said Jenkins. "The date, and who was assassinated."