Thank you - that clinches it for me. Oswald acted alone. The laws of physics - particularly that of terminal ballistics - dictate that such a strike on such a target may very well move the target toward the shooter.
I've never looked deeply into the event, and misunderstood where the "grassy knoll" was. Your post prompted me to finally dig up a map:
Having studied the subject a bit, looking at this picture, having seen the Zapruder film (and having attended a lecture on the subject by the guy Kodak sent to the Warren Commission to analyze the film), and knowing a bit about terminal ballistics, it is plainly obvious that:
- Oswald chose an excellent position
- the shots are easily made in that configuration
- the wounds & reactions are consistent with what Oswald presumably did
- there is no need for a conspiratorial second (or more) shooter.
The simplicity is plain, especially with Oswald being a former Marine and left-handed.
If one insists on a conspiracy, I am reminded of the Penn & Teller trick/illusion "Smoking":
With Penn describing the situation, Teller walks on stage smoking a cigarette, stomps it out, and lights another - simple enough. But wait - it's a conspiracy! it's a trick! Everything Teller does is faked: the cig, the smoke, the drop, the crush, the draw, the light, the puff - everything is not what it seems, as the cig is a tube, the smoke is dust, the drop is a feignt and palm, the crush is acted, the draw is de-palming the tube, the light is a flashlight, and the puff is more dust. Sure, a man smoking could be a conspiracy, and is in this case ... but that doesn't mean I suspect a smoker on the street of faking a puff.
3 shots, one shooter, everything lines up. I'll go with Occam's Razor.