H. B. McLain Oral History
As the one who first theorized in 1976 that an open microphone may have picked up the sounds of the assassination, I've followed the developments closely over the years.
Intrigued with the theory, as explained to the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) by Dallas researcher Mary Ferrell in 1977, investigators arranged for test shots to be fired and recorded in Dealey Plaza for comparison with the Dallas Police recording. Using the same principles as radar, acoustic scientists concluded there were shots on the recording - four of them, not three as determined by the Warren Commission. Of the four, shots one, two and four came from the Texas School Book Depository and shot number three came from the grassy knoll to the right side of President Kennedy.
Based primarily on that evidence, the HSCA concluded there was a conspiracy of at least two gunmen that day in Dallas. The Justice Department examined the acoustic evidence but could not determine whether it was accurate or not.
Later, a rock music drummer with an interest in the assassination, Steve Barber, heard Dallas Sheriff Bill Decker's voice in the recording as the last shot was fired. Because Decker's command was known to have been made a minute or so after the gunfire ended, Barber concluded the noises could not possibly be the sounds of the assassination.
His conclusion, seemingly supported by later private studies, may not be the end of the controversy. Some researchers, including myself, continue to believe that the sounds really are the shots and that newer studies of what is thought to be the original recording will confirm that the original findings were correct. - Gary Mack, Curator
