When AF1 lands at Andrews Air Force base reporters are heard talking. In this video from NBC's coverage we hear a male voice comment "A helicopter is standing by near the presidential jet to take the coffin away." This occurs at about 2:50 into this video. How does this reporter know this? Why did he say this? What or who was his source for this information?
Doug Horne researched this helicopter. A helicopter was sent to Andrews to take the casket to Bethesda. But, the pilot of this helicopter saw the bronze casket taken into a grey Naval ambulance. Jackie and RFK went in this ambulance. So, thinking something changed, he cannot now take the coffin anywhere. So, he flies back to Quantico.
But, hold on a minute. If we accept that the bronze ceremonial casket is empty when it arrives with Jackie and RFK at Bethesda, we know this is true because of the stories told by Jerrol Custer and Dennis David. They have already examined JFK's corpse and are caring photographs and X-rays when they see Jackie and RFK arriving, so it cannot also be in the bronze ceremonial casket. So, since Jackie and RFK came straight from Andrews then the casket was empty when it was placed in the ambulance at Andrews.
So, the question is when was JFK's body taken out of the bronze casket? Both Lifton and Horne believe JFK was in the bronze casket when it was placed aboard Air Force One ( AF1) at Love Field airport in Dallas and was taken out of it while onboard AF1.
What if it wasn't? What if JFK was already taken out of the bronze casket before it was placed aboard AF1 at Love Field?
I think it's unlikely that JFK's body was taken out of the bronze casket whilst onboard AF1 before it left Love Field.
I think it's entirely possible it was not in the bronze casket when it was place aboard AF1 at Love Field. There is a great deal of unexplained delays before AF1 leaves Love Field. William Manchester records that passengers were told to close the blinds on the windows. The engines were turned on but not the air conditioning. Luggage from Lyndon's VP jet Air Force 2 was moved over to Lyndon's new plane AF1 to the disbelief and consternation of the Kennedy entourage. Could JFK have been taken out of the bronze casket at some time, some point in the several strange delays before AF1 left Love Field? Could JFK's body have really been placed aboard AF2? AF2 also left Love Field and flew to Andrews. Very little is known about AF2's flight to and arrival at Andrews. Remember, Charles Collingwood stated on CBS "that JFK's body came up on another plane." If so, that "other plane" was AF2.
So, continuing with this train of thought I think the helicopter meant to take JFK's casket to Bethesda given the call sign "Nighthawk One" might have been in a cheap shipping casket aboard AF2. When it lands at Andrews it is supposed to meet up with the Nighthawk One helicopter. But, this pilot doesn't know JFK isn't in the bronze casket. So, when he sees "the casket" ( why would he think there would be two?) go into the Navy ambulance he thinks something got changed, he cannot comply with his orders so he leaves Andrews. If my thesis is correct then someone has to get another helicopter to take a casket to Bethesda. I think they succeeded in doing this. A helicopter is the only way JFK's body could have gotten to Bethesda ahead of the ambulance with the empty bronze casket.
Exactly how this happened is as yet unknown.
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