Now, people are claiming that the reason LIFE magazine distorted what the Zapruder film showed, hiding the fatal head shot, in effect lying to the American people about what happened, was because Zapruder wanted it that way.
If it were true that Zapruder tried to tell them not to publish Z-313, and I don't believe it, they would have told him, in a gentle, kind way:
"We understand how you feel, Mr. Zapruder. But you see, we have a responsibility to tell the truth to the American people about what happened. And they are entitled to know it because all of them are affected. And sooner or later, the whole film is likely to be released, and they'll see it anyway. So because of the grave importance that this has to the history and the future of this country, we simply have to use our own judgment about it. I'm sorry to disappoint you, and I hope you understand."
And Zapruder would have nodded, and that would have been the end of it.
The claim that pleasing Zapruder was the reason LIFE magazine lied to 190 million Americans is complete bull shit.
And consider also that even if that ridiculous claim were true, couldn't they have at least described what was there?
"The film contains a frame which shows the President taking the fatal head shot, but we're not publishing it at the insistence of Mr. Zapruder. However, in it, you can see the explosive effect with a large cloud of misty red blood. It is very graphic."
Wouldn't they have at least done that? Or did Zapruder also forbid them from describing it?
I'm attaching what they published, and it is all a lie. It is all they said about the fatal head shot, which is to say: nothing.
Everything you are going to read in their statement is a lie. Jackie was aware that something was terribly wrong long before frame 262, which is what they're claiming. She started ignoring the spectators and became focused on her husband before they even reached the bogus freeway sign in the film. And when she reached over to help, what she did was try to get him to put his spastic arm down. She took his arm above and below the elbow. You can see that. And she tried to get him to relax, to put his arm down. She was coaxing it down. But, it didn't help because he was in spasm. And it wasn't from trauma; it was from the nerve agent. And as she pressed, the effect was to get him to lean a little- to tilt his whole body towards her. But, his spasms just continued and got worse.
And he may have died from it, had he not received the fatal head shot and died from that, because it's obvious that his spasticity was worsening, and it may have spread to his respiratory muscles. And if you can't breathe, you can't live.
When it says, "the President collapses on his wife's shoulder" it is referring to Z-322. So nothing was said about him having been shot at 313. If they couldn't publish it because Zapruder said no, couldn't they have at least described it? It should be obvious to you that what they did had nothing to do with Zapruder. For some reason, they did not want to disclose the fatal head shot. And it had nothing to do with Zapruder.
So, the next time someone tries to tell you that they lied in order to please Zapruder, you'll know that they are lying again.
