Mr. SPECTER. Any other doctors present?
Dr. PETERS. And Dr. Jenkins was present.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you now covered all of those who were present at that
time?
Dr. PETERS. And Dr. Shaw walked into the room and left--for a
moment--but he didn't stay. He just sort of glanced at the President
and went across the hall. Mrs. Kennedy was in the corner with someone
who identified himself as the personal physician of the President--I
don't remember his name.
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.
Mr. SPECTER. Were there any nurses present at that time?
Dr. PETERS. I don't remember a nurse being in the room all the time,
but they were coming in and out.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you identified all the people who were present to the
best of your recollection?
Dr. PETERS. Did I mention Dr. Robert McClelland, he was also there.
Mr. SPECTER. Was Dr. Dulany there?
Dr. PETERS. I don't remember him, he may have been.
Mr. SPECTER. Who else was there, if anyone, that you can recall, or
have you now given me everyone you can recall?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I am giving you my impression of the situation as I
walked in and those are the ones I remember right now. Dr. Kemp Clark
also came in during the maneuvering.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, who else came in during the course of the operative
procedures?
Dr. PETERS. The anesthesiologists, Drs. Jenkins and Gene Akin, I
believe, came in.
Mr. SPECTER. Did anyone else come in?
Dr. PETERS. I am not certain of anyone else.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, tell us what aid was rendered to President Kennedy.
Dr. PETERS. Dr. Perry and Dr. Baxter were doing the tracheotomy and
a set of tracheotomy tubes was obtained and the appropriate size was
determined and I gave it to Baxter, who helped Perry put it into the
wound, and Perry noted also that there appeared to be a bubbling
sensation in the chest and recommended that chest tubes be put in. Dr.
Ron Jones put a chest tube in on the left side and Dr. Baxter and I put
it in on the right side--I made the incision in the President's chest,
and I noted that there was no bleeding from the wound.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you put that chest tube all the way in on the right
side?
Dr. PETERS. That's our presumption--yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And what else was done for the President?
Dr. PETERS. About the same time--there was a question of whether he
really had an adequate pulse, and so Dr. Ronald Jones and I pulled his
pants down and noticed that he was wearing his brace which had received
a lot of publicity in the lay press, and also that he had an elastic
bandage wrapped around his pelvis at--in a sort of a figure eight
fashion, so as to encompass both thighs and the lower trunk.
Mr. SPECTER. What was the purpose of that bandage?
Dr. PETERS. I presume that it was--my thoughts at the time were that
he probably had been having pelvic pain and had put this on as an
additional support to stabilize his lower pelvis. It seemed quite
interesting to me that the President of the United States had on an
ordinary $3 Ace bandage probably in an effort to stabilize his pelvis.
I suppose he had been having some back pain and that was my thought at
the time, but we removed this bandage in an effort to feel a femoral
pulse. We were never certain that we got a good pulse.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you describe in as much detail as you can the type
of brace he was wearing?
Dr. PETERS. Well, it appeared similar to a corset.
Mr. SPECTER. How thick was it?
Dr. PETERS. I would estimate it was one-eighth of an inch.
Mr. SPECTER. An eighth of an inch thick?
Dr. PETERS. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And how high was it?
Dr. PETERS. Well, it completely encompassed his midsection.
Mr. SPECTER. It encompassed his midsection?
Dr. PETERS. His circumference--yes--and it was probably, I would guess
about 8 to 11 inches.
Mr. SPECTER. In width?
Dr. PETERS. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Running in his waist area at the top of his hips up to the
lower part of his chest?
Dr. PETERS. I would estimate that it went from the lower part of his
chest to the pelvic girdle. About this time it was noted also that he
had no effective heart action, and Dr. Perry asked whether he should
open the chest and massage the heart. In the meantime, of course, the
tracheotomy had been done and completed and had been hooked on to
apparatus for assisting his respiration.
Mr. SPECTER. And what action, if any, was taken on the open-heart
massage?
Dr. PETERS. It was pointed out that an examination of the brain had
been done. Dr. Jenkins had observed the brain and Dr. Clark had
observed the brain and it was pointed out to Dr. Perry that it appeared
to be a mortal wound, and involving the brain, and that open-heart
massage would probably not add anything to what had already been done,
and that external cardiac massage is known to be as efficient as direct
massage of the heart itself.
Mr. SPECTER. Was there any further treatment rendered to the President?
Dr. PETERS. Yes, Dr. Perry began immediate external compression of
the chest in an effort to massage the heart, even before he asked the
question as to whether the thoracotomy should be done. As soon as there
was a question as to whether there was a pulse or not, he immediately
began external chest compression.
Mr. SPECTER. What other action was taken to aid the President, if any?
Dr. PETERS. Well, cut downs were done on the extremities, and tubes
were inserted in the veins, and I know on the right ankle anteriorly,
and I believe in the left arm and also in the left leg, in order to
administer fluid and blood which he did receive.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you now described all of the medical attention given
the President?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I believe I have.
Mr. SPECTER. And was the President subsequently pronounced dead?
Dr. PETERS. That's correct.
Mr. SPECTER. And about what time was that pronouncement made?
Dr. PETERS. I could not give you the time within 5 or 10 minutes--I can
tell you this much, though, I know what actually did happen.
Mr. SPECTER. Tell me that.
Dr. PETERS. I was--we pronounced him dead and I was in the room,
present while the priest gave him the last rites, during which time
there was Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Baxter and Dr. McClelland, Mrs. Kennedy,
the priest, and myself. Dr. Perry had left, as had most of the others
by that time.
Mr. SPECTER. Why did you remain?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I just hadn't gotten out of the door when the priest
first came in and Dr. Jenkins asked everyone to leave except those
people I have just named.
Mr. SPECTER. Why did he exclude those from the group which were to
leave?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I think they were nurses, and several other people he
thought just best not remain and I'm sure that there was no intention
to personally exclude anyone behind his request. He just sort of looked
around and saw who appeared to be there and asked the others to leave.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you observe as to the nature of the President's
wound?
Dr. PETERS. Well, as I mentioned, the neck wound had already been
interfered with by the tracheotomy at the time I got there, but I
noticed the head wound, and as I remember--I noticed that there was a
large defect in the occiput.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you notice in the occiput?
Dr. PETERS. It seemed to me that in the right occipitalparietal area
that there was a large defect. There appeared to be bone loss and brain
loss in the area.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you notice any holes below the occiput, say, in this
area below here?
Dr. PETERS. No, I did not and at the time and the moments immediately
following the injury, we speculated as to whether he had been shot once
or twice because we saw the wound of entry in the throat and noted
the large occipital wound, and it is a known fact that high velocity
missiles often have a small wound of entrance and a large wound of
exit, and I'm just giving you my honest impressions at the time.
Mr. SPECTER. What were they?
Dr. PETERS. Well, I wondered whether or not he had been shot once or
twice--that was my question at the time.
Mr. SPECTER. When you say "we speculate," whom do you mean by that?
Dr. PETERS. Well, the doctors in attendance there.
Mr. SPECTER. Any doctor specifically?
Dr. PETERS. I wouldn't mention anyone specifically, we all discussed
it. I did not know whether or not he had been shot once or twice.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you have an opportunity to observe the wound on his
neck prior to the time the tracheotomy was performed?
Dr. PETERS. No, I did not. The tracheotomy was already being done by
Dr. Baxter and Dr. Perry when I got in the room. I did not see the
wound on his neck.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you make any written reports on the treatment of
President Kennedy?
Dr. PETERS. No, I did not; no one asked me to.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you prepare any notes of any sort, or do you have any
notes of any sort?
Dr. PETERS. No; I do not.
Mr. SPECTER. What was the cause of death in your opinion?
Dr. PETERS. I would assume that it was irreversible damage to the
centers in the brain which control the heart and respiration.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you talked to any representatives of the Federal
Government about this matter prior to today?
Dr. PETERS. No; I have not.
Mr. SPECTER. And prior to the time the court reporter came in, did you
and I have a brief discussion as to the nature of this deposition and
the questions that I would ask you?
Dr. PETERS. No; I was not informed as to any specific questions. I knew
the general nature of the testimony which I would give.
Mr. SPECTER. From the discussion?
Dr. PETERS. From the letter I had received from the counsel signed by
Mr. Rankin.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you and I have a brief conversation here in this
room today before the court reporter came in?
Dr. PETERS. Yes; we did.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have anything to add which you think might be of
assistance to the President's Commission in its investigation?
Dr. PETERS. I do not--regarding the immediate condition of the
President.
Mr. SPECTER. Thank you very much for coming, Dr. Peters, we are very
much obliged to you.
Dr. PETERS. Thank you.