Oswald and the General by Dave Reitzes
In April 1961, Major Gen. Walker was commanding the Twenty-fourth
Infantry Division in West Germany when he came to the attention of his
superiors for attempting to indoctrinate his troops in the ultra right
wing, some would say neo-fascist beliefs to which he subscribed. A proud
member of the newly formed John Birch Society, Walker was both an avowed
bitter enemy of all things Communist, and an ultra-reactionary watchdog
eager to label all things not to his liking as Communist plots. By June
he'd been relieved of his command, and by October he'd resigned from the
Army. To those who shared his views, he was a courageous truth-teller
who'd been muzzled and harassed by leaders who had gone soft on
Communism; to those of other political persuasions he was just another
radical right wing nut. But his departure from the Army had elevated him
to national prominence, and those of the ultra left wing saw Walker as a
clear and present danger; the November 21, 1961, issue of *The Worker,*
the Communist newspaper which Oswald read in Russia and the US, was
emblazoned with the headline, "GEN. WALKER BIDS FOR FUERHER ROLE," and
sported a cartoon portraying Walker in the role of Hitler, rising from
his swastika-covered coffin: "Major Gen. Edwin A. Walker . . . made a bid
on Oct. 26 to become the fuerher of the ultra-reactionary forces for a
possible fascist march to power. . . . Using the excuse of a so-called
resignation from the army, Walker issued a long manifesto calling on the
ultra-reactionaries, the white supremacists, and hate groups to unite
with him in the crusade. . . . Walker's aim of pushing the nation into
war is indicated in such sentences and phrases as: 'We are at war. We are
being infiltrated. We are losing that war every day.' . . . 'It will be
my purpose now, as a civilian, to attempt to do what I have no longer
found it possible to do in uniform'" (1).
This included such deeds as showing up in Oxford, Mississippi, on
September 30, 1962, to lead the charge to keep James Meredith -- and 400
federal troops -- off the University of Mississippi campus. Rioting at
the university that night left two dead and 70 injured. Walker was
arrested on four counts, including insurrection, and was ordered into a
Springfield, Missouri, institution for psychiatric evaluation (2).
Walker's lawyer, Gen. Clyde Watts, visited his client at Springfield, and
reported him "clear, lucid, undisturbed, and in complete possessions of
all mental faculties. . . . At no time did Walker make any threats to
federal officers. At no time did he go within 30 feet of an officer. He
told them the real war was in Cuba and not in Mississippi" (3).
Though Walker's political orientation is difficult to misjudge -- he
wasn't merely a member of the John Birch Society and a supporter of the
Minutemen, but he publicly defended George Lincoln Rockwell's American
Nazi Party as well -- the breadth of the threat he posed to democracy may
have been slightly exaggerated. In 1962 he intended to run for Governor
of Texas as a Democrat -- and use the office as a stepping stone to
challenge Kennedy's presidential nomination in 1964 -- and finished dead
last in the six-man Democratic primary; this in one of the most
conservative states in the union.
On January 7, 1963, Russia instituted the first regular nonstop jet
service between the USSR and Cuba (4). On January 22, all federal charges
against Walker were dropped (5). It is around this time that Harvey
Oswald began urging his wife to return to Russia. On February 17, Oswald
physically forced Marina to write the Soviet Embassy and inquire about
the possibility of returning to Russia. Neighbors had been complaining
for some weeks to landlord Mahlon F. Tobias; finally he asked the Oswalds
to leave. They moved to nearby Neely Street on March 3rd. General Walker
had just left Dallas on a much-publicized nationwide speaking tour with
the ultra right wing evangelist Billy James Hargis, billing themselves as
"Operation Midnight Ride." The topic of their lectures was, "The Military
Aspects of Mississippi, Cuba, Katanga, and the United Nations." The tour
began in Miami on February 27 and finished in Los Angeles on April 3rd
(6).
"In January, Oswald began the New Year with a flurry of requests for
political literature. From Pioneer Publishers, a publisher connected with
the Militant (to which he was a subscriber), he ordered three political
tracts: The Coming American Revolution, The End of the Comintern, and the
Manifesto of the Fourth International. He also asked Pioneer Publishers
to supply him with the English words to the song 'The Internationale.
From the Washington Book Store in Washington, DC, he asked for
subscriptions to a number of Soviet periodicals, including Ogonek,
Sovietskaya Byelorussia, Krokodil and Agitator. From the Dallas library .
. . he took out books about Marxism, Trotskyism and American imperialism
in Latin America, particularly Cuba (7).
"As part of his renewed political activism, he had already written both
the Socialist Workers Party and the Communist Party in New York City and
offered to do work for their publications . . . He also enrolled himself
in a typing course given at Crozier Technical High School on Monday,
Tuesday and Thursday evenings. He explained to Marina that the course was
necessary to qualify him for a better job when he eventually left
Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall" (8). Oswald's attendance was erratic, and by
April he'd stopped going. Marina didn't know this, however, as he stayed
out until 9 pm on those evenings as if he were at class. Meanwhile, he
seemed to be taking an unusual interest in Dallas' most controversial
political figure, Major General Edwin A. Walker, resigned.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald's marriage was taking a serious turn
for the worse.
Mrs. OSWALD. Lee wanted me to go to Russia, and I told him that if he
wanted me to go then that meant that he didn't love me, and that in that
case what was the idea of coming to the United States in the first place.
Lee would say that it would be better for me if I went to Russia. I did
not know why. I did not know what he had in mind. He said he loved me but
that it would be better for me if I went to Russia, and what he had in
mind I don't know.
Mr. RANKIN. . . . Do you remember any occasion which you thought caused
him to start to talk that way?
Mrs. OSWALD. No; I don't.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know why he started to hit you about that?
Mrs. OSWALD. Now, I think that I know, although at that time I didn't. I
think that he was very nervous and just this somehow relieved his
tension.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you observe sometime when you thought he changed?
Mrs. OSWALD. I would say that immediately after coming to the United
States Lee changed. I did not know him as such a man in Russia. . . . He
was very irritable, sometimes for a trifle, for a trifling reason (9).
After one bitter quarrel, Marina -- who spoke virtually no English, and
with no means of support but her husband -- walked out with her daughter
and left for a week, staying with friends in Dallas' Russian exile
community.
Mrs. OSWALD. I took June and I went to Anna Meller, took a cab and went
there. I spent several days with her. . . . he asked me to return home.
I, of course, did not want a divorce but I told him it would be better to
get a divorce rather than to continue living and quarreling this way. . .
. I told him if he did not change his character, then it would become
impossible to continue living with him. . . . Then he said that it would
be -- it was very hard for him. That he could not change. That I must
accept him, such as he was. And he asked me to come back home with him
right on that day but he left feeling bad because I did not go and
remained with my friend.
Mr. RANKIN. What did you say about accepting him as he was?
Mrs. OSWALD. I told him I was not going to. Of course, such as he was for
me he was good, but I wanted simply for the sake of the family that he
would correct his character. It isn't that I didn't mean to say he was
good for me. I meant to say that I could stand him, but for the sake of
the children I wanted him to improve his character. . . . Lee called me
and said he wanted to see me, that he had come by bus and he wanted to
see me and he came that evening and he cried and said that he wanted me
to return home because if I did not return he did not want to continue
living. He said he didn't know how to love me in any other way and that
he will try to change.
Mr. RANKIN. . . . Do you recall the manner in which Lee brought up the
idea of your going to Russia alone?
Mrs. OSWALD. Quite simply he said it was very hard for him here. That he
could not have a steady job. It would be better for me because I could
work in Russia. That was all. . . . Now I think I know why he had in mind
to start his foolish activity which could harm me but, of course, at that
time he didn't tell me the reason. It is only now that I understand it.
Mr. RANKIN. . . . Is there something that you have learned since that
caused you to believe that this suggestion was related to trying to
provide for you or to be sure that you wouldn't be hurt by what he was
going to do?
Mrs. OSWALD. At that time I didn't know this. I only saw that he was in
such a state that he was struggling and perhaps did not understand
himself. I thought that I was the reason for that.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he have a job then?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you feel that you were getting along on what he was
earning?
Mrs. OSWALD. Of course.
Mr. RANKIN. . . . Did you understand when he suggested you return to
Russia that he was proposing to break up your marriage?
Mrs. OSWALD. I told him that I would go to Russia if he would give me a
divorce, but he did not want to give me a divorce. . . . He said that if
he were to give me a divorce that that would break everything between us,
which he didn't want. That he wanted to keep me as his wife, but I told
him that if he wants to remain in the United States, I want to be free in
Russia.
Mr. RANKIN. During this period [on Elsbeth Street in early 1963] did he
appear to be more excited and nervous?
Mrs. OSWALD. . . . the later time he was more excited and more nervous .
. .
Mr. RANKIN. . . . Can you give us some approximate date?
Mrs. OSWALD. When we went to Neely Street (10).
In early February 1963, George De Mohrenschildt introduced Oswald to a
German friend named Volkmar Schmidt at a party. Schmidt and Oswald talked
for several hours. Schmidt was initially impressed with Oswald's
intelligence and grasp of international politics, but when the
conversation turned to Cuba -- and Oswald began violently denouncing US
policy towards Castro, Schmidt tried to change the subject. He decided to
try to mollify Oswald by "one-upping" him on his extremism, and brought
up the subject of Major General Edwin A. Walker. He suggested that
Walker's actions at the University of Mississippi had been responsible
for the rioting and bloodshed there. He compared the General to Hitler,
and said that Walker should be treated as a murderer at large (11).
"Oswald instantly seized on the analogy between Hitler and Walker to
argue that America was moving toward fascism. As he spoke, he seemed to
grow more and more excited about the subject" (12). Although it can never
be known for certain, Schmidt may have made more of an impression upon
Oswald than he'd ever imagined.
On March 10, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald stood behind General Walker's house
with his Imperial Reflex camera and snapped several photographs of the
house and the surrounding area. Coincidentally or otherwise, he'd
apparently ordered a .38 caliber revolver at the end of January from Sea
Port Traders in California, under the name "Alek Hidell," and now, on
March 12, he apparently ordered a rifle from Klein's Sporting Goods in
Chicago, under the name "A. Hidell." In another apparent coincidence,
both weapons were shipped to "Hidell's" post office box on March 20.
Oswald apparently had them both in his possession about a week later
(13).
On Sunday, March 31st, according to Marina Oswald, she was in her
backyard at 214 Neely Street when her husband approached her with his
Imperial Reflex camera and asked her to take a few pictures of him. He
posed with his rifle in one hand, copies of the Militant and the Worker
in the other, and his revolver in a holster on his belt. After some brief
instruction from her husband, she took several exposures. These may or
may not be the three "backyard" photographs that are in evidence, two of
which were allegedly found in the garage of the Paines' house during the
second police search of that area, and a third of which was in the
possession of the Dallas Police Department, but whose existence was for
some reason kept secret until it leaked out in 1976. These photographs
are among the most controversial snapshots in photographic history.
Numerous critics of the official story had charged that the photos were
forgeries even before the Warren Report was issued and reported for the
first time that Oswald himself had told Captain Will Fritz of the DPD
that the photos were fakes -- composites, with his head superimposed on
someone else's body -- and that he, in time, would prove it (14).
These photographs, to put it in layman's terms, look like fakes.
Unfortunately, in 35 years of assassination research, not a single one of
the research community's resident photographic experts has advanced the
argument farther than that point, even as such official bodies as the
House Select Committee on Assassinations have presented numerous credible
demonstrations of the photos' authenticity. Researchers have always
pointed out not only internal problems with the photos themselves and the
dubious circumstances of their discovery, but also inconsistencies in
Marina Oswald's story of having taken them.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Oswald, now Marina Oswald Porter, maintains that her
husband asked her take the photos, she did so, and as far as she can
tell, the ones that were made public are these same items. Because of
statements Marina has made implying that she took pictures that may not
be the ones we've been shown, researcher Walt Brown took advantage of a
meeting with Mrs. Porter at an assassination conference to show her once
again the famous photographs and ask her, very simply, if she had taken
these pictures. She affirmed that she had (15). Like many researchers,
including Walt Brown, this author doubts the authenticity of the backyard
photographs primarily because of their numerous inherent internal
problems. Until the research community puts forward some genuine experts
to counter the arguments of the HSCA's expert photographic panel,
however, the issue is all but conceded.
Why did Oswald have Marina take these incriminating photos? "I asked him
why he was taking this silly picture," Marina told the Warren Commission,
"and he answered that he simply wanted to send it to the newspaper. . . .
The Militant. I didn't attach any significance to what he said at the
time, but he added, 'That maybe someday June will remember me.' He must
have had something in his mind -- some grandiose plans" (16).
Apparently, he did.
According to Marina, around the time of the move to Neely Street she
first saw a rifle in the house; she did not recall it having a telescopic
sight. Assuming Oswald himself possessed the Mannlicher-Carcano
attributed to him, he didn't receive it until close to a month after the
move, and its scope came mounted from Klein's. This suggests a
possibility -- not necessarily a likelihood, but a possibility -- that
Marina initially saw a different rifle. She believed that her husband was
traveling by bus somewhere for target practice, although she couldn't say
this with certainty, as she never actually saw him leave or return with
the rifle. She noticed him cleaning it on approximately three occasions;
Oswald did not possess any rifle cleaning equipment at the time of his
arrest; she said he used pipe cleaners (17).
Oswald had been attending typing classes at Crozier Technical High School
on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, but his attendance was
erratic, and he stopped going altogether after Monday, April 8th (18).
On the night of April 8, Walker's aide Robert Surrey observed two men
suspiciously lurking about the house of General Walker, "peeking in
windows," and when called out by a neighbor, the men jumped into a car
with no license plate and fled. This was reported to the police almost
immediately. Walker had just returned from his coast-to-coast speaking
engagement (19).
On Tuesday, April 9, Walker aide Max Claunch observed a
suspicious-looking "Cuban or dark-complected man in a 1957 Chevy" drive
slowly around Walker's house several times (20).
On the night of Wednesday, April 10, 15-year-old Scott Hansen was
attending a Scout meeting at a church near the Walker house. He observed
a 1958 black-over-white Chevrolet parked along the fence next to Walker's
property. He had seen this car parked in the same place on a previous
Wednesday, and never saw it after April 10th (21).
At about 9 pm on April 10th, General Edwin A. Walker was sitting in his
study when someone fired a bullet through his window. The bullet glanced
off the wooden window frame and embedded itself in the wall above General
Walker's head. A 14-year-old neighbor, Kirk Coleman, saw two men flee in
separate cars from a church parking lot adjacent to Walker's house; one
man -- of medium build with long black hair -- he got a quick look at,
while the other was hidden from his view by a fence (22).
"The Dallas *Morning News* of April 11, 1963, carried a page-one story by
Eddie Hughes stating that the bullet that crashed through the rear window
and into the wall of the Walker house was 'identified as a 30.06,' and
citing other police findings on the authority of Detective Ira Van
Cleave" (23). An Associated Press story on the shooting was reported in
the *New York Times* of April 12, 1963, page 12; the police had no
suspects in custody; the bullet was identified as a steel jacketed 30.06
(24).
The following day, "Toby," a dog belonging to a neighbor of Walker's,
Mrs. Ross Bouve, became terribly sick. Mrs. Bouve told the FBI later that
"she was of the opinion someone had given him something to quiet him or
drug him or poison him, because he did become sick and vomited
extensively on April 11 and 12, 1963. . . . She based her belief that the
dog had been given something because of the shooting incident and the
dog's habit of barking at anyone or anything in the alley area [behind
Walker's house]" (25).
In a scintillating bit of discourse, Gen. Walker's aide Robert Surrey was
questioned about "Toby" by the Warren Commission.
Mr. JENNER. Does she have a dog that is sometimes obstreperous, does a
lot of barking?
Mr. SURREY. Yes; she does. . . . Anyone approaching the house, generally
her house or General Walker's house, would be barked at . . . in the
middle of the night . . .
Mr. JENNER. And you have approached General Walker's house, I assume, at
night, have you?
Mr. SURREY. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. If the dog is out . . . the dog is alerted and barks?
Mr. SURREY. Not so much anymore. Evidently he knows who I am now.
Mr. JENNER. I see. But before the dog became familiar with you, he did
bark?
Mr. SURREY. Yes, sir. . . . (26)
Walker hired a private investigator to look into the assassination
attempt when he grew frustrated with the efforts of the Dallas Police
force; he also had a suspicion that a former employee might have been
involved. The crime was still listed as unsolved on November 22, 1963.
Back at the Oswald household, though, the gunman had reportedly
confessed.
Mrs. OSWALD. That evening he went out, I thought that he had gone to his
classes or perhaps that he just walked out or went out on his own
business. It got to be about 10 or 10:30, he wasn't home yet, and I began
to be worried. . . . Then I went into his room. Somehow I was drawn into
it -- you know -- I was pacing around. Then I saw a note there (27).
The undated note read, in Russian:
1. This is the key to the mailbox which is located in the main post
office in the city on Ervay Street. This is the same street where the
drugstore, in which you always waited is located. You will find the
mailbox in the post office which is located 4 blocks from the drugstore
on that street. I paid for the box last month so don't worry about it.
2. Send the information as to what has happened to me to the Embassy and
include newspaper clippings (should there be anything about me in the
newspapers). I believe that the Embassy will come quickly to your
assistance on learning everything.
3. I paid the house rent on the 2d so don't worry about it.
4. Recently I also paid for water and gas.
5. The money from work will possibly be coming. The money will be sent to
our post office box. Go to the bank and cash the check.
6. You can either throw out or give my clothing, etc. away. Do not keep
these. However, I prefer that you hold on to my personal papers
(military, civil, etc.).
7. Certain of my documents are in the small blue valise.
8. The address book can be found on my table in the study should [you]
need same.
9. We have friends here. The Red Cross also will help you.
10. I left you as much money as I could, $60 on the second of the month.
You and the baby can live for another 2 months using $10 per week.
11. If I am alive and taken prisoner, the city jail is located at the end
of the bridge through which we always passed on going to the city (right
in the beginning of the city after crossing the bridge). (28).
Mrs. OSWALD. When he came back I asked him what had happened. He was very
pale. I don't remember the exact time, but it was very late. And he told
me not to ask him any questions. He only told me that he had shot at
General Walker. Of course I didn't sleep all night. I thought that any
minute now the police will come. Of course I wanted to ask him a great
deal. But in his state I decided I had best leave him alone -- it would
be purposeless to question him. . . . Of course in the morning I told him
that I was worried, and that we can have a lot of trouble, and I asked
him, 'Where is the rifle? What did you do with it?' He said that he had
left it somewhere, that he had buried it, it seems to me, somewhere far
from that place, because he said dogs could find it by smell. I don't
know -- I am not a criminologist. . . . I told him he had no right to
kill people in peacetime, he had no right to take their life because not
everybody has the same ideas as he has. People cannot be all alike. He
said that this was a very bad man, that he was a fascist, that he was the
leader of a fascist organization, and when I said that even though all of
that might be true, just the same he had no right to take his life, he
said if someone had killed Hitler in time it would have saved many lives.
I told him that this is no method to prove your ideas, by means of a
rifle.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ask him how long he had been planning to do this?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. He said he had been planning for two months. . . . (29)
This would seem to coincide with his conversation about the General with
Volkmar Schmidt.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he show you a picture of the Walker house then?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. . . . He had a book -- he had a notebook in which he
jotted down quite a few details. It was all in English, I didn't read it.
But I noticed the photograph. Sometimes he would lock himself in and
write in the book. . . . I think there was a map in there. . . . Perhaps
he was calculating something, but I don't know. He had a bus schedule and
computed something. . . . He told me that even before that time he had
gone also to shoot, but he had returned. I don't know why. Because on the
day he did fire, there was a church across the street and there were many
people there, and it was easier to merge in the crowd and not be noticed
(30).
Merge with the crowd? Not be noticed? With a forty-inch rifle? According
to Marina, Oswald burned the notebook at her urging, though several of
the photographs somehow survived to surface following the assassination.
The photograph of Walker's house has been dated at precisely March 9th or
10th, 1963, due to details visible in construction work in the picture.
Markings at the edge of the negative indicated that the photograph was
taken with Oswald's Imperial Reflex camera to the exclusion of all other
cameras. Other photographs, such as of the railroad tracks by Walker's
house, also were taken with Oswald's camera. Several of Oswald's
acquaintances recall that Oswald was outspoken in his contempt for
General Walker. Thus Marina's tale has a good deal of corroborative
evidence. And yet the evidence at the scene of the crime indicates that
at least two men were involved, with at least two cars. Harvey Oswald did
not drive. And yet . . . and yet . . .
There are three possibilities. With minor variations, one of these must
be true. Either:
1) Marina made up the entire story, and the undated note and the
photographs of Walker's house and surroundings are either entirely
coincidental or entirely fabricated, or
2) Oswald somehow heard of the shooting only moments after it occurred,
and was playing the role of the (attempted) assassin for Marina's
benefit, for reasons unknown. Again, the undated note which Marina
happened to find and the notebook (since destroyed) and photographs are
entirely coincidental. Having acknowledged that the possibility of this
scenario exists, I think we can safely discard it. This leaves one
possibility . . .
3) Oswald was involved, either by himself or with confederates, of an
attempt on General Walker's life: He had foreknowledge it would occur, he
had writings and photographs that linked him with the plot, and he
arrived home that evening in an extremely nervous state.
I'm going to repeat that. Essentially, taking into account minor
variations and the possibility of an unlikely third scenario, either
Marina made the entire story up or Oswald took part in an attempt on
General Walker's life. We who believe Oswald was framed for the
assassination of President Kennedy have spent a long time trying to brush
the Walker incident under the carpet as just another frame-up. It's time
we considered the alternative: that Oswald -- Harvey Oswald in this
narrative, Lee Harvey Oswald as the world knows him -- did indeed possess
the capacity to commit a murder in cold blood, given the right
circumstances and a certain sort of target. Major General Edwin A. Walker
was precisely the sort of target to attract Oswald's attention.
Did Oswald do it? A good defense attorney could get him off, but that
doesn't answer the question. In fact, had Oswald lived, he would have
been protected from the testimony of his wife, which is easily the most
incriminating evidence against him. But that doesn't answer the question.
In fairness, however, let us examine the case for the defense.
The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald was the 'lone attempted
assassin' based on four types of evidence: 1) the undated to Marina; 2)
the photographs found among Oswald's possessions, taken with his Imperial
Reflex camera, depicting General Walker's house, yard, and surrounding
area, one of which the FBI was able to positively date to March 9 or 10,
1963, based on details evident regarding a building under construction;
3) Marina's detailed account of Oswald's confession to her that he'd
taken a shot at Walker that night, and 4) the FBI's identification of the
Walker bullet as a copper jacketed 6.5 mm of the type fired by the
Mannlicher-Carcano rifle allegedly belonging to Oswald (31).
The case for the defense might be this:
1) The note of Oswald's, being undated and wholly unindicative of the
activity the consequence of which it anticipates, is not by itself
incriminating; see also item #2.
2) The photographs, while strong circumstantial evidence, are only as
worthy of evidentiary value as their provenance -- and Oswald's attorney
would be derelict in not pointing out that a great deal of the
incriminating evidence originated with Marina Oswald and Ruth Paine --
some, like the undated note, introduced weeks or months after the
assassination. Putting aside the question of whether Marina's testimony
regarding her husband would be legally valid, any competent prosecutor
could have discredited her testimony in numerous respects and very
possibly could convict her for perjury (see item #3); Ruth and Michael
Paine would have also had reason to be concerned about such charges
arising from their own testimony. (This is not to say that either Marina
Oswald or Ruth or Michael Paine conspired to frame Oswald or obstruct
justice; however, their testimony raises many troubling questions that
have never been satisfactorily resolved.)
The photographic evidence by itself, of course, does not implicate Oswald
in an attempt to murder someone. On the other hand, a jury would most
likely require Mr. Oswald to take the stand and explain to them -- in an
extremely convincing manner -- that he had a perfectly innocent reason to
be collecting photographs and such of General Walker's home and
neighborhood in March 1963 -- or at least a reason that was unrelated to
a murder attempt (32).
3) Regarding Marina's credibility, we have written memoranda from members
of the Warren Commission staff bluntly calling Marina Oswald a liar (33).
The Warren Report stops just short of saying so when it deals with
Marina's claim that her husband had once intended to shoot former
Vice-President Richard M. Nixon. First she said that in order to stop
him, she locked him in the bathroom. When it was pointed out to her that
her bathroom door, like most, locks from the inside, she explained that,
no, of course she didn't actually lock him in as such, but that she
simply held the door shut so he couldn't get out. When her physical
capability to do so, even with a pasty little weakling like her husband,
she clarified that, no, of course she didn't actually hold the door shut
as such, but that she struggled with him in the bathroom and tried to
take his gun. Finally, the Commission determined that Richard Nixon --
irrespective of why Lee Harvey Oswald would feel an urge to assassinate a
lawyer for the Pepsi Cola corporation -- had not been in Dallas, nor was
such a visit ever planned, at the time this alleged incident occurred.
(Marina insists to this day that the incident occurred.)
And finally . . .
4) Another magic bullet! It is the burden of the prosecutor to prove that
an unimpeachable chain of possession is attributable to each and every
piece of evidence; and if it can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,
to coin a phrase, that the evidence the jury is to see is both authentic
and accurately represented, then the defense attorney gets to make it go
bye-bye (34).
General Walker himself bluntly informed Robert Blakey of the HSCA that
the "bullet before your Select Committee called the Walker bullet is not
the Walker bullet. It is not the bullet that was fired at me and taken
out of my house by the Dallas City Police on April 10, 1963." Walker was,
it turns out, mistaken, as indeed were many of us.
The FBI meticulously investigated the chain of possession of the bullet,
designated in evidence as Q188. They reported that Officer Billy Gene
Norvell was the person who found the bullet originally; as per routine
procedure, he scratched his initials -- either "BN" or just "N" -- onto
the bullet's surface. Norvell handed the bullet over to B. G. Brown of
the DPD's Crime Scene Search Section; Brown marked the bullet -- either
"B" or "BB." On April 25, 1963, Lt. J. C. Day, the head of the
Identifications Bureau, marked the bullet either "JD" or "D," and
transported it to the City/County Investigation Laboratory and turned it
over to F. T Alexander ("FA" or "A") and Louie L. Anderson ("LA" or
"A"). On December 2, 1963 (when rumors arose that it was relevant to the
assassination), Day retrieved the bullet and gave it to FBI Special Agent
Bardwell Odum ("BO" or "O"), who forwarded it to the FBI Laboratory,
where it was initialed "RF" by FBI weapons expert Robert Frazier and an
unidentified "HJ" (35).
In June 1979, the FBI examined the bullet to confirm that the chain of
possession was authentic: "Identifiable marks were found inscribed on
varying portions of the bullet itself. It must be understood that certain
markings are clearly discernable, others admit of more than one
interpretation, while others may be obscured by oxidation or otherwise."
And in fairness, sixteen years is much, much longer than the standard
procedures regarding the handling of evidence are expected to encompass.
That said, the markings found were "Q 188," "HJ," "RF," "N," "B," "J,"
"A," and a character that is either "D" or "O." The bullet was contained
in an original DPD evidence box, dated 4-10-63 and marked by "BGB,"
"Day," "HJ" and "RF" (36).
It's the Walker bullet. It's a copper-jacketed, lead-core bullet fired
from a 6.5 caliber Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, though too mutilated to be
traced to the alleged "Oswald" rifle or any other. The initial press
reports were based on hearsay and were wrong (37).
The evidence we have is unequivocal in every respect but for Kirk
Coleman's account of two men fleeing the scene, and possible
corroboration from the accounts of Scott Hansen, Robert Surrey, and Max
Claunch. If Marina Oswald can be trusted, then Oswald heard radio reports
about the Dallas police seeking a suspect who fled by car, and mocked
them for being so far off track (38).
One strange epilogue comes from researcher Dick Russell, who was
researching General Walker's ties to the family of Texas oil billionaire,
over-the-top radical right winger and assassination suspect H. L. Hunt.
In a 1992 interview, Hunt's longtime chief staff assistant, John
Curington, admitted to having "run across Oswald before the
assassination. He was sort of known in certain circles as being an
extremist, very vocal about certain issues, and his name had just come up
in conversation or some of our reviews." Pressed for specifics, Curington
said, "Well, General Walker was a pretty good friend of Mr. Hunt's and we
visited in his home. Walker told us one night that Oswald's name had come
up in an investigation of the sniping there against him. I don't remember
just when, but this was before the assassination" (39). This flatly
contradicts Walker's sworn testimony that he never so much as heard
Oswald's name until the day of the assassination (40).
Dick Russell reports an unsubstantiated claim that Oswald was accompanied
by Dallas ultra right-wingers Larrie and Bob Schmidt; that the three got
drunk and took a shot at Walker on the spur of the moment (41). We know
the shooting was premeditated, however, and there is no evidence to
support the story.
The last time the De Mohrenschildts and the Oswalds saw each other was
around Easter 1963, though the exact date is in question (42). It was the
De Mohrenschildts' only visit to the Oswalds' Neely Street address, and
while Marina showed Jeanne De Mohrenschildt around, Jeanne saw a rifle in
their bedroom closet. "Lee bought it," Marina told her in Russian as
their husbands joined them. "We need all the money we have for food and
lodging and he buys those damn rifle [sic]. . . . He shoots at leaves in
the park whenever we go there" (43).
De Mohrenschildt turned to Oswald and said, "Did you take a potshot at
General Walker, Lee?" Then he let out a hearty belly laugh. Oswald turned
pale and mumbled an unintelligible response. The Baron writes, "Only
later we realized how stunning and unexpected this joke was to them. It
hit the nail on the head" (44).
NOTES:
1. cf. Albert H. Newman, *The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: The
Reasons Why."
2. Newman, 55.
3. *Dallas Morning News,* October 3, 1962; Newman, 55.
4. Newman, 62.
5. Ibid.
6. Newman, 63.
7. Edward J. Epstein, *The Assassination Chronicles,* 482.
8. Ibid.
9. 1 H 10. Unless otherwise noted, Marina Oswald's testimony was given in
Russian and delivered via an interpreter.
10. 1 H 10-2.
11. Epstein, 484.
12. Ibid.
13. WR 404-6; CE 133; CE 134; CE 1351.7-8; CE 1406; 1 H 15-7, 22-3, 37-9,
117-8; 11 H 292-6.
14. WR 125-8, 608; CE 133-A; CE 133-B; Report of the HSCA
photographic panel. For a discussion of the problems with the
photographs, cf. Robert Groden, *The Search for Lee Harvey Oswald,* 90-5.
15. *JFK/Deep Politics Quarterly,* July 1998.
16. 11 H 292.
17. See citation #13.
18. FBI #62-109090-1859.
19. 5 H 448.
20. Summers, *Conspiracy,* paperback ed., 214. 21. FBI Report of June 4,
1964, FBI #100-10461.
22. DPD Supplementary Offense Report, April 11, 1963, Officer
W. E. Chambers.
23. Sylvia Meagher, *Accessories after the Fact,* 288.
24. Ibid.
25. CE 1953.22; Meagher, 290.
26. 5 H 433; Meagher, 290.
27. 1 H 16.
28. CE 1.
29. 1 H 16.
30. 1 H 16.
31. See citation #13.
32. Furthermore, for reasons unknown, the most incriminating photograph --
the view of Walker's house -- may have been deliberately mutilated while
in the possession of the authorities. (Whether the DPD or the FBI is not
known; either is possible.) The image of the license plate of the car in
Walker's driveway was torn out -- again, for reasons about which we can
only speculate -- by either a member of the DPD or the FBI. For years the
authorities maintained that the photograph is in the condition in which
it was found. Significantly, the Paines, at whose home the photograph was
found, testified that the photo indeed had the large hole before the
police received it.
Then in 1969, retired Chief of Police Jesse Curry published a book, *JFK
Assassination File,* sharing his doubts about the alleged assassin's
guilt, and publishing a number of rare and previously unseen photographs.
One of these photos showed a number of items of Oswald's found at the
Paine house. Clearly visible in this photo is the photograph of the
Walker house -- unmistakably the very same one. Unfortunately it is far
too small in this photo for a definitive statement to be made about
whether the license plate is torn out or not.
33. See the HSCA's study of the Warren Commission. 34. The defense would
also likely dwell on the unusual circumstances regarding the origin of
the Walker charge against Oswald. Rumors arose instantly connecting Lee
Harvey Oswald to the Walker shooting. The evening following the
assassination a reporter asked Police Chief Jesse Curry if Oswald was
implicated in the Walker incident. Curry replied he did not know (CE
2146; Meagher, 283-4). The next morning Walker spoke long-distance to a
reporter of an ultra right-wing German newspaper. The November 29 issue
of that paper contained a story alleging that Oswald and Ruby had plotted
Walker's assassination; furthermore, it was alleged that the Dallas
Police knew it, but dropped the case at the request of an official high
in the Justice Department (11 H 425; Meagher, 284.). Incredibly, the
rumor mill would soon allege that the order to leave Oswald and Ruby
alone came straight from John and Robert Kennedy; the Warren Commission
would validate about twenty-five percent of the rumor: No, no official
ordered a cover-up; no, the DPD's failure to locate a suspect had no
sinister implications; no, Ruby had nothing to do with it; yes, Oswald
did it (x). In fairness to the Warren Commission, had they not scotched
that one, a Kennedy plot to assassinate General Walker might have entered
the lexicon of American folklore, right next to the chapter about the
brothers offing Marilyn Monroe. 35. Memo from FBI Director, July 3, 1979,
#621-17290-144; Weberman Web site (www.weberman.com). 36. Ibid. 37. While
there is no way of proving that the bullet in evidence wasn't fabricated,
identifying marks and all, each one of must draw the line somewhere
against unwarranted speculation; this is where I presently draw mine. For
thirty-five years, assassination researchers have been content to repeat
the press reports of the "30.06" bullet without bothering to inquire
about the actual police record of the evidence. It should also be borne
in mind that the police routinely plant disinformation in the press
regarding high profile crimes as ammunition against attention-seeking
"confessors." As Walker's own lawyer reported to the Warren Commission,
he knew of one man, a former Walker employee, who had reportedly claimed
credit for the shooting, though not to the DPD. 38. Patricia Johnson
McMillan, *Marina and Lee,* 287.
39. Russell, *The Man Who Knew Too Much,* 317.
40. 11 H 413, 416.
41. Russell, 325.
42. The consensus is that the visit occurred on the last Sunday before
Easter, however Marina maintained that on this date, Oswald's rifle
was not in the house, but was still hidden wherever Oswald left it after
shooting at Walker. While some Warren Commission critics such as
Sylvia Meagher argue this is reason to be suspicious of the entire
incident -- in addition to the fact that Marina was unlikely to let
anyone see the rifle AFTER Oswald shot at Walker and terrified her
so. Meagher's suspicion is valid, but this is not reason enough to
support the theory that Marina Oswald and the De Mohrenschildts
colluded on their testimonies in regarding to the rifle in
the closet. Another possibility is the theory that Marina later invented
the whole Walker story, a theory discredited by such evidence as the
March 10, 1963, photograph taken near Walker's house with Oswald's camera
and the undated note that he left. The fact may simply be that -- as is
common in criminal cases as well as in daily life -- some details cannot
be satisfactorily resolved, for reasons wholly lacking in conspiratorial
undertones. 43. George De Mohrenschildt, *I Am a Patsy! I Am a Patsy!*
(unpublished manuscript), 199; HSCA Vol. XII.See:
A version of this manuscript has been copyedited by this author. It is
available on-line here:
44. Ibid., 200-1.