Lee Harvey Oswald, Lyndon Johnson and the JFK Assassination

                                                LHO, LBJ, AND THE JFK ASSASSINATION

                                                              John Delane Williams

Overview

Lee Harvey Oswald’s life is traced from his early years to his ultimate death at the young age of 24. Oswald was more complex than is often presented. Information that comes to us from traditional sources often show little awareness by assassination authors of several persons playing an important role early on and continuing to be important to the end of Oswald’s life. Some of these important persons were Jack Ruby, David Ferrie and Lillian Murret. Those that came along later included Arthur Young, Richard Case Nagell, Ernst Titovets and Judyth Vary Baker. The short part of his life that would normally be called his adulthood, is still not widely known, except perhaps as misinformation. This particularly applies to events around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

 

Oswald’s Childhood

Oswald’s mother was Marguerite Clavier Pic Oswald, a divorcee with two other children, Jon Pic and Robert Oswald. His father was Robert E. Lee Oswald, who died three months before Lee was born. [1] Oswald’s father had previously been married to Margarette Keating Oswald. Marguerite Clavier’s sister, Lilian, was married to Dutz Murret, who was closely tied to Carlos Marcello, a Mafia godfather in New Orleans—Dallas was in Marcello’s realm.

The family of three boys and their mother was unstable. When Oswald was two years old, his two older brothers were placed in an orphanage. Lee’s mother attempted to place Lee in the orphanage also, but they wouldn’t take children under 3. Lee was placed with Lillian Clavier Murret, Marguerite’s sister.  Less than a year later (December 26, 1942) Lee was tearfully taken from his aunt and placed in the orphanage. [2] At that time, Marguerite began working at Pittsburg Paint & Glass, where she met another employee, Edwin Ekdahl; they had an off and on relationship. She took Lee out of the orphanage in January 1944, and the other two boys in June 1944, when they moved to Dallas to be with Ekdahl. Marguerite and Edwin were married May 7, 1945. The two older boys were enrolled in Chamberlain Hunt Military Academy in August 1945. [3] During the time they were in Dallas, Dutz Murret asked a fellow Mafia member, Jack Ruby, to keep tabs on little Lee Oswald; Ruby became an acquaintance to the Oswald-Ekdahl family [4]. A year later the Ekdahl’s separated, and would eventually divorce. Marguerite moved to Covington, LA where Lee would repeat first grade and the two brothers returned to military school. Eventually, John would complete High School and join the service and was married to a 17-year old girl. Robert eventually dropped out of high school and joined the military as well. [5]

In August 1952, Lee and his mother moved to New York City; John Pic and his young bride lived there at the time. Oswald was often truant from school. Oswald took a trip by hitchhiking to Niagara Falls in February or March of 1953. At the border, he asked a border agent to be allowed to go across the border and return in a few hours. The agent, Arthur Young, explained that Oswald must return by dusk. On his return, Oswald told Young that he wished to become a spy. Young gave him some names of people to contact in New York. Sometime later, Young contacted Oswald in New York, and they went to lunch. Shortly thereafter, Young was reassigned to Florida. [6] Young would many years later play a role in having Oswald getting an expedited passport to Mexico. After Oswald returned from New York to New Orleans, where he attended school more often than he did in New York; he also joined the Civil Air Patrol, where he met Captain David Ferrie. Their relationship was somewhat contentious. [7] Oswald and his mother then moved back to the Dallas area. He joined the Marines shortly after his seventeenth birthday. [8]

The Marines

Oswald’s time in the Marines was actually a high point in his life. Though a poor marksman, he did much better in radar. His second radar course was in Aircraft Control and Warning Operation. In this course he finished 7^th out of 30 trainees. He was assigned to the Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS 1) in Atsugi, Japan. This installation was under the influence of the CIA; among their many duties was keeping a close watch on the U-2 flights. It was in Atsugi that Oswald met a beautiful Eurasian woman at the Queen Bee Bar. She pumped him for information; he reported this to officers at his base. They encouraged him to continue seeing her, feeding her inaccurate information. They apparently supplied him with sufficient funds to date her; these dates would run $60-$100, far out of the range of his $85 monthly salary. She would also become his first love. Oswald also met Richard Case Nagell at the Queen Bee. Nagell also worked out of MACS1, probably with the CIA. Apparently it was Nagell who was influential in getting Oswald to go to the Soviet Union. Oswald would return to the United States and seek a hardship discharge to help his mother. When returning to Texas, Oswald began the process of going to the Soviet Union. [9]

The Russian Experience 

The best source of Oswald’s experiences in Russia is likely the writing of his best friend in the Soviet Union, Ernst Titovets. Titovets met Oswald in 1960, and they became the best of friends. Titovets was 

going to medical school at the time. They spent a considerable amount of time going to opera, plays,

and yes, visiting college aged girls. They were often accompanied by other acquaintances.

 

John Armstrong proposed the two Oswald hypothesis (Harvey and Lee), where Harvey

was from a Russian speaking area in the Soviet Union, and Lee was from Louisiana. Armstrong stated

that Oswald never spoke Russian from 1959-1962 while in the Soviet Union, except perhaps to Marina.

Titovets had written that Oswald was given Russian speakers to help learn Russian. While Oswald had

began learning Russian in the US, he had nowhere near the competence of a native Russian speaker. In

Russia, were the two of them alone, they would speak English because Titovets wanted to improve his

 English speech. When a person who only spoke Russian was with them, then everyone would

speak Russian. This would seem to show Armstrong’s hypothesis about Oswald not speaking Russian in

the Soviet Union was false.

 

During this time in the Soviet Union, Oswald met a girl a year older than him with whom he began a

deliberately slow relationship. Oswald had met his second love. Oswald had also began thinking about

returning to the United States. It appears that Ella German was the key to him remaining in Russia. He

 asked her to marry him. Because of the problems she saw with marrying an American, she turned him

down. A few days later, he made the decision not to seek Soviet citizenship, thereby the die was cast for

returning to the United States.

 

Just over two months later (March 17, 1961), Oswald met Marina Prussakova at a dance. She was

gathering a crowd of males around her (many of whom she had had relations with). Oswald gathered

her attention. Oswald’s reasons were to make Ella German jealous. Perhaps Marina’s interest was to get

 a ticket to the USA.  A month later, they were married. Presumably, Marina was his third love.

They would remain in the Soviet Union until June 1962. During this time, a daughter, June was born. [10]

 

Oswald’s Return to the USA

 

Oswald, Marina and June arrived by ship to Hoboken New Jersey on June 13, 1962. They flew to Dallas

Love Field and were met by his brother Robert and Robert’s family. The newly arrived Oswald Family

 stayed at his brother’s house for a month. The moved to an apartment when Oswald found work as a

 sheet metal worker. The Texas Employment Commission found him two other jobs. The more

interesting job to Oswald was Jaggers-Stiles-Stovall, who included in their work constructing maps of

Cuba; The Cuban Missile Crisis began October 16, 1962. [11]

 

In September 1962, Oswald met George deMohrenschildt. The deMohrenschildts introduced Lee and

Marina to the Dallas Russian Emigree community. The two families spent considerable time together.

The marital difficulties in the Oswald marriage became obvious to the deMohrenscildts. They tried a

 separation intervention with the Oswalds. The Oswalds would reunite. deMohrenschildt would later

 write a biography of Oswald, I’m a Patsy! I’m a Patsy! The deMohrenschildts would leave for Haiti on

April 14, 1963. Oswald would soon leave for New Orleans. Marina and June stayed with Ruth Paine.

 

Return to New Orleans

Oswald took a bus to New Orleans on April 24. He stayed at the YMCA. On April 26. Oswald went to the

 Post Office. There, he got in line behind a young brunette woman. She dropped her newspaper, and

Oswald picked it up for her. She thanked him in Russian. In Russian, he told her. “Your welcome. It’s

dangerous to speak Russian in New Orleans.” She told him, sitting on a nearby park bench, that her name was Judyth Vary, and soon to be Judyth Vary Baker.

 

She also told him things about herself, being 19, and in New Orleans to work with the well-known cancer

 doctor, Dr. Mary Sherman. Oswald jumped to the conclusion that she too was there to work on the

“project”, in which Oswald would also have a role. Actually, Judyth was recruited to have a research

experience in Dr. Sherman’s work. Judyth had been a stellar young scientist, working on fast acting

cancers since her high school days. [12] As it turned out, Judyth had arrived at the end of her trimester

 at the University of Florida. She was not expected until early June, when semesters typically were

over. Oswald tried to help Judyth (his presumably fellow workmate) during the interim period. Because

Oswald had misconstrued Judyth as being the cancer researcher to help with the secrect project, he

introduced Judyth to several other persons involved with the project. First was David Ferrie who had

colonies of mice that were used in experimentation. Dr. Mary Sherman was also involved with the

project, as well as a faculty member at Tulane University. [13] She would take specimens from the mice,

who had been injected with cancer cells and would be involved with inoculating the harvested tumors

into a new group of mice. The objective of the research was to produce a fast-acting cancer to inject into

Fidel Castro.  Oswald would be a courier, taking the specimens to the various persons working in the

project. His most important role was to take the final biological product and give it to a Cuban scientist

in Mexico. [14]

 

Other persons involved with Oswald that Judyth would meet were Dr. Alton Oschner, director of the

Oschner Clinic, and also director of the research project, presumably under the funding of the CIA.  One of the earliest  people Judyth met through Oswald was Jack Ruby, at a get-together at David Ferrie’s home on May 6, 1963. Ruby would travel from Dallas to New Orleans at which time he would see both Oswald and Judyth Baker. Most often Ruby was recruiting new strippers for his Carousel nightclub. [15] Judyth also met Guy Banister. [16]

 

Because Judyth knew too much about the project, she was allowed to choose whether to work on the

 project or do a research internship with Dr. Sherman. The cutting-edge research within the project was

 too enticing to pass up. To keep the secrecy regarding the project, both Oswald and Judyth would have

 cover jobs at Reily’s Coffee Company. Oswald would occasionally work in packing coffee into shipping

 boxes, but he was mainly doing other tasks for an unidentified government employer, most likely, the

CIA; a car would come by the garage next to Reily’s Coffee at a given time, and Oswald would receive an envelope with money. Judyth was to punch the time clock for Oswald into work in the morning and out in the afternoon on days Oswald wasn’t around. [17]

 

Some Other Bits of Information in New Orleans

Oswald had a valid Texas driver’s license. [18]

Ferrie’s missing library card: Judyth had this card, but forgot about it. [19]

Oswald gave a lecture on Communism at Spring Hill College in Mobile Alabama. He was driven there by Dutz Murret, his uncle. His cousin was a student there. [20]

 

 There was an anti-Castro Training Camp for Cubans with interest in invading Cuba. While Oswald was

involved with a film there, he also informed the FBI, who raided the camp. [21]

 

Lee obtained his passport on June 25, 1963. The agent was Arthur Young, brought in for one day to

facilitate Oswald and others applying for passports that day. Arthur Young was the person Oswald met at the Canadian Border in 1953. [22]

 

  Judyth and Robert and Lee

 

On occasion, Judyth’s fiancé, Robert Baker would occasionally visit during the time Judyth was in New

Orleans. He was working in the Gulf with an oil crew. They were married May 2, 1963, when Robert

Baker could get a weekend away from the oil fields in the Gulf. Their visits were on the occasional

weekend. On June 29, 1963, Oswald proposed marriage to Judyth. A curious event given that they were

 both married to other persons; Oswald’s wife was pregnant, and by then also living in New Orleans

 with Lee. [23]

 

Richard Case Nagell  

Oswald supposedly took a trip to get more materials for the project. He flew to Mexico City toward the

end of July, and met with Nagell. Oswald reportedly went to the Cuban Embassy. He and Nagell went to

target practice, shooting at cactuses. Nagell reported, “He couldn’t hit the side of a barn.” [24]

Another meeting took place between Oswald and Nagell and two other persons in “Houston” ( Nagell

claimed the location was someplace else). The discussion was about the assassination of President

Kennedy. [25]

 

Jackson

Early on, the episode in Jackson, Louisiana seemed to make little sense. The group of Oswald, Ferrie and

Clay Shaw were sitting and waiting by a pay phone (Oswald attempted to register to vote while waiting).

The men were waiting to hear from a caller to inform them that the “volunteer(s)” from the state prison

were finally transported to the hospital. It was time to put the cancer cells into their arms—the cells were ready to be tried for effectiveness.

 

When Judyth found out that there were multiple volunteers who were in good health, she wrote a note

To Dr. Ochsner: Injecting disease causing-materials into an unwitting subject who does not have the

disease is unethical. J.A.

 

That note changed everything for Judyth. She was no longer going to medical school. She was fired from

the project, except she had to go to Jackson State Hospital and see if the injection was successful. In the

 meantime, she was preparing to leave to go back to the University of Florida with Robert Baker. Lee had

given her $400 to be ready to join Lee in Mexico. [26]

 

Three Weeks in September

For much of the time in September, Oswald was waiting for the outcome of the injections to the

prisoner “volunteers”. Oswald did meet with David Atlee Phillips together with Antonio Veciana,

in Dallas, somewhere around September 10. They ignored Oswald, who went back to Dallas without

 even having lunch. [27]

 

Nagel in New Orleans and El Paso

Probably between September 15-17, 1963, Nagell came to New Orleans. Presumably, this trip was to

ascertain what Nagell would do about the order to kill Oswald, ordered by the KGB. The killing would

 not occur on U.S. soil. The CIA had “loaned” Nagell to the Soviets. The Soviets wanted Oswald dead

before the assassination so Russia would not be blamed for the assassination. Nagell likely learned of

Oswald’s involvement in the “get Castro” project. [28] Possibly, Nagell mulled it over a few days and

came up with a plan. Nagell went to El Paso, writing 3 letters, one to Desmond Morris, who had been

 head of the CIA Far East Division, a second letter to another CIA official, and a letter to Oswald. In Oswald’s letter were included $500 and a plane ticket to Mexico City. Oswald did not receive the letter; it likely was intercepted by the government. Completing his plan on September 20, he held up a bank in El Paso. In fact, he walked into a bank, took two shots into the ceiling, and walked out, waiting to be arrested. He wanted to be in jail when an attempt was made on President Kennedy’s life. [29]

 

Mexico Late September and Early October

 

On September 23, the go ahead for the delivery of the bio-weapon was disclosed to Oswald.  [30]

The trip to Mexico took place.  The trip to Mexico did not succeed in the delivery of the bio-weapon. Hurricane issues in Cuba precluded medical personnel from a rendezvous in Mexico City. [31]

 

October 1963

 

Alex Rorke, the pilot who was scheduled to fly Judyth Baker to Mexico to be joined with Oswald, was

shot down over Cuba. [32] Judyth and Lee kept in contact by telephone; they still planned to meet in Mexico, but the future was starting to blur.

 

 

NSAM-263

President Kennedy chose to begin withdrawal from Vietnam, beginning at the end of 1963, with the

 likelihood that all troops could be brought home by the end of 1965, though these statements were

 referenced to the Taylor McNamara Report. NAM-263 was classified as Top Secret. [33]

 

Assassination Attempts Prior to Dallas

 

There were at least two planned assassination attempts prior to Dallas. One was set in Chicago, November 2, 1963, with Arthur Vallee as the patsy; and Tampa, Florida on November 18, 1963 with Gilberto Lopez and/or Miguel Casus Saez as possible patsys. The Chicago attempt was averted thru the efforts of Abraham Bolden. Two other possible attempts may have been scheduled. Inferring from Richard Case Nagell’s actions in El Paso on September 20, 1963, he seemed to anticipate an attempt might occur shortly thereafter perhaps on the Conservation Tour of the Western States, between September 23-27.[34] If an assassination attempt was planned for Miami, prior to going to Tampa, it was averted by President Kennedy taking a helicopter instead of arriving in Miami by a planned motorcade.

 

Early November to November 21

 

The time preceding the assassination was rife with important events. It began with the assassinations of

Ngo Diem and Ngo Nhu in Vietnam, changing radically the American involvement in Vietnam. The

 prescience of Joseph Adams Milteer, a southern right-winger who was also a founder of the States

Rights Party, spoke of the likely assassination of President Kennedy. Milteer told a informant to the FBI that the shots would be taken from a multi-story building; Milteer was in Dallas November 22, 1963 at the site of the assassination. [35]

 

Oswald talked to an FBI agent in Dallas about the impending assassination. From the information given

 the agent, a telegram was sent to the FBI office in Washington, who then sent the message to

 particular FBI offices, including New Orleans. The message was received in New Orleans November 17,

1963 (Sunday morning) by William Walter and his wife Jossey. Walter had his wife type a copy of the

telegram. [36]

 

Three Near Simultaneous Sightings of Oswald at 10 AM November 20

First, Oswald was at work. Second, a person described as being Oswald two blocks from

Oswald’s boarding house was eating at a restaurant, cursing at the waitress and causing a commotion.

Present at this occurrence was J.D. Tippett. At 10:30, Ralph Leon Yates was driving on R.L. Thornton

Freeway, and picked up a hitchhiker, who had a package 4’-4.5’ long, described to Yates as curtain rods.

The hitchhiker asked if President Kennedy might be assassinated by a person in a tall building with a

high powered rifle. The hitchhiker was let off at Houston and Elm Street, near the TSBD. When Oswald

appeared on television after the assassination, Yates identified Oswald as his hitchhiker. [37]

 

The Rose Cherami Episode

Rose Cherami was thrown from a car (or left at a bar) near Eunice, Louisiana. She told Lt. Fruge of

The Louisiana State Police who picked her up, that she had been on her way to Dallas, where President

 Kennedy would be assassinated. For her incredible story, she was taken to Jackson State Hospital. Shortly after the assassination, records regarding Cherami were seized by government officials. [38]

 

November 22, 1963

In the early morning, Lyndon Johnson arrived at a party honoring J. Edgar Hoover at the Clint Murchison

 residence. After leaving the party, Johnson stopped to talk briefly with Madeleine Brown, a former

longtime paramour. Johnson said, “After tomorrow, those goddamed Kennedy’s will never embarrass me

again-that’s no threat, that’s a promise.” [39]

 

As the motorcade passed by the Texas Schoolbook Depository, Johnson was ducking before any shots

 had rung out. Secret Service Agent Rufus Youngblood quickly covered Johnson’s body with his own. [40]

Johnson may also have had concerns about a hearing going on in the U.S. Senate. A committee was

investigating Bobby Baker, Johnson’s primary aide when Johnson was a senator. Some reasoned that

these hearings might move Johnson out the Vice-Presidency, allowing the choice of another

Vice-President.[41]

 

 Oswald’s Whereabouts Prior to the Assassination

At 11:45 AM, Oswald was at his work assignment on the Sixth Floor. When fellow employee Charles

 Gibbons was asked by police, he responded that Oswald was in the Domino Room at 11:50 AM on the

first floor reading a newspaper. Bill Shelly saw Oswald shortly before noon. Another employee, Eddie

Piper talked to Oswald at 12 Noon on the first floor. Oswald apparently went to the second floor and

purchased a soda, returned to the first floor and began eating his lunch; another employee, Harold Newman was eating his lunch at the same time. Carolyn Arnold, a secretary at the Texas School Book Depository, observed Oswald in the Domino Room at 12:15. Carolyn Arnold stayed in the Domino Room till 12:25; Oswald was there for this time period. [42] As the shots rang out during the assassination, Oswald was getting change in the office of a secretary, Jeraldean Reid. [43]

 

Oswald’s Whereabouts Directly After the Assassination

 

Shortly after the 12:30 assassination (90 seconds later), motorcycle Officer Marion Baker and Building

Superintendent Roy Truly encountered Oswald on the second Floor. There is some evidence that places

Oswald in the doorway at the entrance of the TSBD at the time of the assassination. [44] Shortly after

 the encounter with Officer Baker and Superintendent Truly, Oswald left the building. Oswald would

board a bus, which became caught in traffic, then took a cab to his boarding house. Upon leaving the

 boarding house, we know that Oswald went to the Texas Theater, where he was apprehended by the

 Dallas police. Oswald would later be charged with the murder of J.D. Tippit. One curious point is

that there were three wallets involved for Oswald on that day. He left a wallet for Marina in their room

 at Ruth Paine’s home. A second wallet with contents that appeared to belong to Oswald (Though it

 may have been a deliberate drop) was found at the scene of the killing of J.D. Tippit. [45]

A third wallet was in Oswald’s possession at the time of his arrest. It would seem strange that 1)

 Oswald would have three wallets; 2) he would be carrying two wallets that day.

 

From Parkland to Bethesda

 

The apparently moribund President was attended to at Parkland Hospital. Upon President Kennedy

being declared dead, a heated disagreement occurred between the Secret Service and the doctors at

 Parkland. Though legally, an autopsy was required to be performed in Texas, the Secret Service was

adamant that they were taking President Kennedy back to Washington. [46]

In Washington, the autopsy was performed by military pathologists, inexperienced in doing autopsies

 with shooting deaths. The autopsy was hopelessly flawed, with military brass shouting out instructions.

Douglas Horne [47] has written a five-volume tome addressing the failures regarding the medical and

other evidence in relation to the JFK assassination, and the alteration of that evidence, including the

 Zapruder film.

 

 November 23-25 in Dallas

In November 2001, Gary Severson and I were interviewing Madeleine Brown. In the interview, she

 volunteered a statement that was mindboggling.

               MB: See, through the years, I’ve met with Marina. Tell me what you want to know. You, Marina, couldn’t speak English in those years. And she told that the police came out and picked up the rifle the next day after the shooting. I [MB] said, “Are you sure?” She said, “Yeah.”  [48]

It was shocking to hear that in 2001. Time has rendered Marina’s revelation to be credible.

 

On the evening after the assassination, another telling utterance occurred at Henry Wade’s press

conference. Wade said that Oswald was a member of the “Free Cuba Committee”. Jack Ruby blurted

out, “Henry, that’s the Fair Play for Cuba Committee.”  [49] The possible complicities of the police were not to be considered, nor was the likely relationship of Ruby to Oswald.

 

Why did Ruby kill Oswald?

 In Ruby’s interview with Earl Warren:

 MR. Ruby: I tell you gentlemen, my whole life is in jeopardy. My sisters as to their lives.

 MR. Warren: Yes?     

 MR. Ruby: Naturally, I’m a forgone conclusion. My sister, Eva, Eileen and Mary. I love my sisters.

 My brothers, Sam, Earl, Hyman and myself, naturally, my in-laws, Harold Kaminsky, Marge Ruby,                the wife of Earl, and Phyllis, the wife of Sam Ruby, they are in jeopardy of the loss of their lives. Yes, they have, just because they are blood related to myself- does that sound serious enough to you, Chief Justice Warren? [50]

In other words, Jack Ruby was made an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Washington: November 23 to January 23, 1964

Much was on the plate as Johnston started his presidency. One of the important things done

 was the issuance of NSAM 273. NSAM 273 was authored in Honolulu on November 21 as a

replacement for NSAM 263, which was unknown by the public. Johnson’s role was to release the

new memorandum. [51]

 

Johnson made a spirited and memorable address to Congress on November 27, 1963. This

masterful presentation had as its major author Ted Sorensen, JFK’s speechwriter. Johnson

contacted Whitney Young, asking about new proposals on civil rights. Johnson began the

 process of initiating what would become the Warren Commission. Johnson also needed to

 address the Bobby Baker scandal. Johnson wished to have this issue removed from further consideration. [52]

 

1964: The Best of Times and the Beginning of the Worst of Times

The surprise of the early Johnson administration was his embracing JFK’s civil rights program.

While it might be seen as a tribute to JFK; more likely Johnson was subsuming the civil

rights program as step 1 in the building of his “Great Society”. The civil rights agenda

would cost the loss of the “solid South” from the Democratic column. The South had been in

Democratic column after the civil war until the Johnson administration. They have switched to

 the Republican column, even to the present. Johnson won a landslide victory in 1964, with the

 South already removed from the Democrats.

 

One giant mistake in 1964 was the Bay of Tonkin Resolution, the “American Waterloo”. Basically,

 the US took over the War in Vietnam, which became an unwinnable war. The Bay of Tonkin

resolution appears to have been a result of a misinterpretation of an attack on an American

ship in the Gulf. The supposed attack was likely an attack from friendly fire.

 

Johnson’s Full Term

The main themes of Johnson’s full term include an unceasing attempt to provide a better society

 in the US, particularly for those at the lower levels, including the disadvantaged, and lower

 income persons. An emphasis on youth can be seen. Project Head Start, for example, was

supposed to be for disadvantaged and children from lower income homes. One issue that

plagued the program was that higher income parents sought getting their children into these

 enriched programs. Many of them were successful in that endeavor. In a sense this project could be

described as a program that worked fairly well, but sometimes for the advantaged rather than the

disadvantaged. Medicare and Medicaid were introduced. Several programs were introduced to

 improve the physical environment. A high-speed train was established between New York and

Washington, D.C. New Programs were established even to the end of Johnson’s term. [53]

 

A second theme was the war in Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, in effect, put the US in

Vietnam for the duration—and the duration seemingly had no endpoint. Major disappointments kept

occurring, including the My Lai Affair and the Tet Offensive. Even outside Vietnam, embarrassments

 popped up, such as the Pueblo Affair, concurring with the Tet Offensive. The capture of an

American ship by North Vietnam (the Pueblo) just added to Johnson’s problems. In the previous year, riots were occurring several times a month. The Detroit riot was simply the worst example of these. The following year, the riots in Chicago was but another example of the control lost by Johnson. The Chicago riot, coinciding with the Democratic Convention, followed the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. [54]

 

But the most egregious event of 1967 occurred during the six-day war. The USS Liberty was given orders to head to the Mediterranean between Israel and Egypt. They arrived at this area on the fourth day of the six-day war. While in these waters the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli war planes and Israeli ships firing torpedoes at the American naval ship. Apparently, this attack was on the orders of President Johnson, who reportedly, wished to blame the attack on Egypt, and allow the US to enter the war. If Russia came to Egypt’s defense, the US would have an excuse to attack Soviet Russia, again reportedly, with nuclear warheads. Eventually, the torpedoes caused significant damage, with 34 fatalities on board. Attempts by the military to either retaliate or provide help to the badly damaged ship were called off,

again reportedly, by the President.

 

The ship made it to Crete, where they were told to continue on to Malta, where they arrived on July 14, 1967. There, the crew members were warned, “You are never, repeat never, to discuss this with anyone, not even your wives. If you do you will be court-martialed and end your lives in prison, or worse.” [55].

This warning didn’t work over time. A recent (in 2020) google search of “The USS Liberty” returned over 200 sites on the subject. Several books have been published as well.

 

Many things can be said about the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, but one irrefutable statement can be made: Lyndon Baines Johnson was no John Kennedy.

 

The Continuing Cover-up

A law (Public Law 89-318) was passed November 2, 1965 in Johnson’s administration that would require all materials in a presidential assassination be turned over to the Federal Government. I am aware of only one time this law was used, and that involved Christopher Fulton, who had purchased the wrist watch worn by President Kennedy that fateful day in Dallas. He purchased the watch from Robert White who in turn received the watch from the will of Evelyn Lincoln. The watch was sold at auction to John F. Kennedy, Jr. [56]

White intended to start a museum in honor of President Kennedy. The sale of the watch was an effort to get seed money to get the museum going. At the time, Fulton was an American citizen living in Canada, where he was a builder, building malls and other fairly large endeavors. Fulton was taken into custody on August 9, 1998 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; he was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List and was considered armed and dangerous. He was taken from his home; just recently married, he and his young wife would never see one another again. Fulton would enter a labyrinth that was filled with mysterious aspects. He was unaware of why he was seemingly in so much trouble, nor, whether his wife had any idea of his whereabouts. [57]

Eventually, he would learn that the specific law he was accused of breaking was Public Law 89-318, a law enacted during Johnson’s regime, apparently to protect persons actually involved in the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Fulton finally faced the judge on March 31, 1999. Prior to the trial, FBI Special Agent Joe Callahan had given Fulton a folded piece of paper to hand to the judge prior to passing judgment, without reading it himself. Fulton followed these directions. The judge read the note. The judge asked Fulton “Was this note true?” Fulton responded “Yes”. What the note said was, ”Working under executive order of Ronald Reagan, President of the United States”. Fulton was looking at  a 25-year sentence; the judge sentenced  Fulton to 103 months, including time served. [58]

During his incarceration, many jolts were waiting for Fulton: his grandparents died, his wife was said to have left him (Only after his release did Fulton find out she was killed in a suspicious car accident) and John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife died in an airplane crash on July 16, 1999. [59]

To what avail? Why have a law, now used only once in 55 years, apparently to protect Lyndon Johnson and his cronies not only in their lifetimes, but in perpetuity?

Notes:

1. Armstrong, J. (2003). Harvey and Lee: How the CIA Framed Oswald. Arlington TX, Quasar, pp.

13-17.

2. Baker, J.V. (2010). How I Came to Know, Love and Lose Lee Harvey Oswald. Walterville, OR: Trine Day, pp. 150-151.

3. Baker, pp. 233-236.

4. Armstrong, pp. 18-21.

5. ibid., pp. 38-41.

6. Baker, pp. 352-353, p. 366.

7. ibid., pp. 142-145.

8. Grodin, R.J. (1995). The Search for Lee Harvey Oswald. New York: Penguin Books, pp. 18-21.

9. Williams, J.D. (2020) Richard Case Nagell and Lee Harvey Oswald. Dealey Plaza Echo (in press).

10. Titovets, E. (2010). Oswald Russian Episode. Minsk, Belarus: Litera.

11. Sorensen, T. (2008). Counselor: A Life on the Edge of History. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers. pp. 285-309.

12. Baker, pp. 113-116.

13. ibid., p. 280.

14. ibid., p. 291.

15. ibid., pp. 233-236.

16. ibid., pp. 272-275

17. ibid., pp. 303-321.

18. ibid., p. 149.

19. ibid., p. 330.

20. ibid., pp. 415-416.

21. ibid., pp. 433-435.

22. ibid., p. 366.

23. ibid., pp. 360-364.

24. Russell, D. (2003). The Man Who Knew Too Much. New York: Caroll & Graf, pp. 237-241.

25. ibid., p. 275.

26. Baker, pp. 470-473.

27. Russell, p. 312.

28. Williams, J.D. (2019). Lee Harvey Oswald, Lyndon Johnson and the JFK Assassination. Walterville OR: Trine Day, pp. 128-129.

29. Russell, pp. 291-292.

30. Baker, p. 492.

31. ibid., p. 501.

32. ibid., p. 503.

33. Douglass, J.W. (2008). JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why it Matters. Maryknoll NY: Orbis, pp. 187-190.

34. Gary Severson has long held that the Conservation Tour of JFK, September 23-27, 1963, was the likely reference point for Nagell when he deliberately shot up the bank. Sixteen at the time, Severson described how easily he entered the facility at a JFK speech, getting a front row seat.

35. Marrs, J. (1989). Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy. New York: Caroll & Graf. pp. 265-267.

36.  Williams, J.D. (2004). Was the FBI Searching for Oswald on the Day Before the Assassination? Dealey Plaza Echo. 9, 2, 46-52. A copy of the telegram is in this article.

37. Brown, W. The Chronology. Hillsdale, NJ: Author. p. 3205.

38. Elliot, T.C. (2013). A Rose by Many Other Names: Rose Cherami and the JFK Assassination. Walterville OR: Trine Day pp. 161-166.

39. Brown, M.D. (1997). Texas in the Morning: The Love Story of Madeleine Brown and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Baltimore: Conservatory Press. pp. 161-166.

40. McBride, J. (2013). Into the Nightmare: My Search for the Killers of President John F. Kennedy and Officer J.D. Tippit. Berkeley CA: Hightower Press. pp. 385-393.

41. Williams, J.D. & Conway, D. (2001). The Don Reynolds Testimony and LBJ. Assassination Chronicles, 7,1, 19-28.  

42. Ernst, B.W. (2013). The Girl on the Stairs. Gretna LA: Pelican, p. 268.

43. Personal communication with Robert Groden, November 22, 2018. This information was in his book, The Absolute Truth. This information was confirmed telephonically November 13, 2020.

44. Rivera, L. (2018). The JFK Horsemen. Crestview FL: Moon Rock Books. pp. 163-196. Rivera claims that Oswald was incorrectly identified as William Lovelady; Dane, S. (2015). Prayer Man. Coppell, TX: Martian Publishing. Dane sees a man further back in the doorway as Oswald.

45. Baker, J.V. & Schwartz, E. (2017). Kennedy & Oswald: The Big Picture. Walterville OR: Trine

 Day, p.50.

46. Crenshaw, C.A., Shaw, J.G., Aguilar, G. & Wecht, C. (2001). Trauma Room One. New York:

Paraview Press, pp. 89-90.

47. Horne, D. (2009). Inside the Assassination Review Board, Vol. I-V. Lexington KY: Amazon.

48. Williams, J.D. & Severson, G. (2001). Interview with Madeleine Brown, November 19-20, Dallas. Available at johndelanewilliams.blogspot.com.

49. Wood, I.D. 22 November, 1963. In Fetzer, J.H. (ed.) (2000). Murder in Dealey Plaza: What

We Know Now We Didn’t Know Back Then About the Death of JFK. Chicago: Catfeet Press, p.116.

50.Testimony of Mr. Jack Ruby. (June 7, 1964). Taken by Earl Warren & Gerald R. Ford at the Dallas County Jail. accessed at macadams.psc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/ruby_j1.htm,8/13/2017.

 51. Williams (2019). pp. 208-209.

 52. Williams & Conway.

53. Williams (2019). pp. 251-269.

 54. Dallek, R. (1998). Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 569-579.

55. Nelson, R.J. (2014). LBJ: From Mastermind to “Colossus”. New York: Skyhorse, p. 390. See

 Allen, R.J. (2012). Beyond Treason. Available through Amazon; Williams, J.D. (2015). LBJ:

Mastermind of the JFK Assassination and Colossus. Dealey Plaza Echo, 18, 2, 18-24.

56. Fulton, C. & Fulton, M. (2018). The Inheritance: Poisoned Fruit of the JFK Assassination. One reason promulgated as to the importance of the JFK watch is that the watch could be tested for the presence of mercury in the blood particles. If mercury were found, this would suggest that the bullet used was likely government issued. Walterville OR: Trine Day, pp. 148-149.

57. ibid., pp. 9-10, pp. 187-197.

58. ibid., pp. 285-287.

59. ibid., pp. 303-305.

 

 

Presented at the Dealey Plaza Echo UK Seminar, London, November 21,2020 (Zoom).