Oswald article

[John Geraghty]

Hi I wrote this originally to go on wikipedia but I am now posting on the website which i am currently constructing. It has images on it, but when I copy and paste the images do not appear on my site.

Any suggestions.

Anyhow if anybody has anything to add or feels that this is not very accurate or impartial, please feel free to comment.

Cheers

John

EARLY LIFE

Lee Harvey Oswald was born on 18th October 1939 in New Orleans. Lees father , Robert died shortly after Lee was born, his mother marguerite had two other children, John Pic junior (from a previous marriage) and Robert junior. Lees brothers were placed in an orphanage by his mother when he was born so that she could raise him properly, lee soon joined them when Marguerites shop business failed. Marguerite married again to Edwin Ekdahl but, the marriage did not last and they divorced in 1948. Lee attended 6 schools before he was even 10, he was found to be a bright normal boy with an IQ of 118. After Lees 17th birthday he joined the marines, he did ten weeks of basic training at San Diego, California and after this was posted to camp Pendleton. He went on to Keesler air force base at Biloxi where he began training in radar. Lee spent his weekend off in New Orleans and not visiting his mother. He was then posted overseas to Atsugi airbase in Japan where top secret U2 flights originated from. Most airmen at the base were unaware of its mission and only got occasional glimpses at it, Oswald was given ‘crypto’ level of clearance which is the highest obtainable. It has emerged that the airbase was a CIA station using the Joint Technical Advisory Group buildings as a front. Oswald’s friends were surprised to see him learning Russian, they must have been even more surprised to see his superiors turning a blind eye to this. He was then posted at Santa Anna back in the United States where he resumed learning Russian and spent his thirty days of leave with his family in Fort Worth, he was nicknamed ‘Oswaldkovich’ by his friends , his superiors continued to turn a blind eye. Oswald made it known that he intended to study at the Albert Schweitzer College in Switzerland, just six months before he was due to be released from duty. He made an application for special discharge on the grounds that his sick mother needed him at home, this request was granted quickly and he was once again a civilian.

Oswald made a stopover at home and made preparations for a trip to Russia. He embarked on his journey to London, then to Helsinki and on to Moscow. One irregularity is that there was no registered flight to Helsinki from London on the day he was said to have gone, if this is the case, how did Oswald get there? He went to the American embassy in Moscow and claimed that he wanted to renounce his American citizenship. At this time Russia was seeing a wave of young Americans entering the country ( most likely hired by the CIA in the guise of being disgruntled with capitalism). It was claimed that Oswald tried to commit suicide when he was rejected for citizenship, and was then allowed to stay, was given a job in Minsk along with an apartment. He met a young girl, Marina Prusakova who when she heard him speak assumed that he was Russian because of the quality of his accent



He married marina and by February 1959 he seemingly became tired of Communist life and wanted to return home. Marina’s Uncle was a colonel in the Russian army, this however did not phase the US authorities when Lee applied to bring Marina and his daughter home with him. When the family arrived back home they were not so much as glanced at by the FBI, it would have been common practise to interview returning defectors.

New Orleans

Most of our information about Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans comes from the warren Commission and also from the Garrison investigation. The garrison investigation started in 1979 when district attorney Jim garrison began to re-investigate Lee Harvey Oswald’s visits to New Orleans during the year of the assassination. He discovered that Oswald was working out of an office on 544 camp street where he ran the local chapter of the fair play for Cuba committee, Oswald was its only member. Coincidentally that same office block was shared by Oswald with Private investigator Guy Bannister. Bannister was formerly in the Office of Naval Intelligence and the FBI. The office block was situated in the heart of the local intelligence community, being near the ONI (office of naval intelligence) , the FBI and the CIA. This was a rather strange atmosphere to distribute pro-Castro propaganda.



While handing out leaflets one day Oswald was attacked by Carlos Bringuer, a vehement anti-Castro advocate. Oswald had previously approached Bringuer in the guise of a former military man looking to help to overthrow Castro. The police were called and Oswald was arrested for disturbing the peace, Oswald’s interview notes were destroyed and the arresting officer later said that he felt the incident had been staged.

Two other individuals surfaced in the Garrison investigation, David Ferrie and Clay Shaw. David Ferrie was an expert pilot and a former priest trainee who was expelled because of his homosexuality. Ferrie was the leader of Oswald’s civil air patrol unit, there are photographs to document this. Ferrie was in Dallas the day of the assassination and it is rumoured that he may have flown assassins or conspirators out on the day in question. Ferrie was involved in a number of bombing raids in Cuba and was heavily involved in anti-Castro activity, including plots to assassinate the bearded leader. Ferrie is also said to have flown Carlos Marcello back into the United States after he was deported by Attorney general Robert Kennedy.

Clay Shaw was a respected member of the business community and was a founding member of the New Orleans trade Centre. Shaw was believed to have been running a company named Permidex that was expelled from Italy because of subversive activities and it was believed that this company was a conduit for CIA funding of fascist activity. Shaw went by the alias Clay Bertrand as was confirmed by Shaw himself when he stated so upon his arrest sheet taken by officer Habighorst.

Oswald, Shaw and Ferrie were all sighted together in a town named Clinton in Louisiana during a black voter drive. Oswald queued in line to register to vote and also had his hair cut while he was there. It was hard for them not to be seen in a predominantly black community driving quite an expensive car.

This information would lead to suggest that Oswald was in New Orleans carrying out intelligence work or simply being set up as the patsy, creating a background of a Marxist for this young man.

Mexico

The warren Commission has documented that Lee Harvey Oswald visited Mexico city in September 1963 where he applied to the Cuban Embassy for a visa and also visited the Russian embassy possibly to facilitate a return to Russia. The CIA had an observation station outside the Cuban Embassy where they supposedly took photos of Oswald, but, the photos released by the CIA looked nothing like Oswald and recently the man has been identified by Gerry Hemming, a former anti-Castroite and mercenary who claims knowledge of a conspiracy in the assassination as a man named Saul Sague who hemming also states was involved in the martin Luther King assassination.



On Tuesday 27th of September consulate assistant Silvia Duran was approached by an American man who said that he was Lee Harvey Oswald and produced proof of his trip to Russia and his membership of the fair Play for Cuba Committee. Silvia Duran sent Oswald off to have photos taken and to fill out forms, yet no photographers remember taking Oswald’s picture, when he returned he was told to come back in a weeks time to check in. When he heard this, he went wild and caused such a fuss that The Consul came out to see what the noise was all about. Consul Azcue was later shown a photo of Oswald and was adamant that he was not the man that had been in the consulate previously . Silvia Duran was arrested the day after the assassination and was only released after she identified Oswald as the man in the consulate. These conflicting accounts of whether Oswald was present raises more questions than it answers. It could have been possible that while Oswald was being set-up he was told to get a Cuban visa and would be told he was to go on a mission to Cuba as an intelligence asset, while this would prove Oswald to be a communist and possibly even to lay the blame at Castro’s door and set the stage for another invasion of Cuba.

Dallas-De Mohrenschildt

After Lee and Marina returned to the United States they set themselves up in Dallas, Texas. They befriended a few members of the local anti-communist Russian community, these included Ruth and Michael Paine and the wealthy oil baron George De Mohrenschildt and his wife Jeanne. Ten days after arriving in Dallas Ruth Paine arranged for Lee to get a job in the Texas School book Depository where he was to become an order filler.



Marina began to live with the Paines and Lee stayed in a rooming house in 1026 North Beckley where he registered under the name O.H. Lee, the first time that he gave an assumed name when renting accomodation. He spent weekends with his wife and the Paines where he played with his own children and also the neighbours children. Marina received a visit from FBI officer James Hosty, Oswald heard about this and went to the local FBI office and left a note for Hosty, this note was destroyed after the assassination, the exact time that it would be relevant. Agent Hosty recalls the note as saying ‘If you have anything you want to learn about me, come talk to me directly. If you don’t cease bothering my wife, I will take appropriate action and report this to the proper authorities’.



Oswald came into contact with George De Mohrenschildt after seeking a reference from Peter Gregory to state that Oswald was proficient in the Russian language. De Mohrenschildt apparently became fascinated with Oswald and enjoyed his company. De Mohrenschildts lawyer and personal friend was later to say “I personally have always felt that George was a CIA agent….He did have among his acquaintances people belonging to foreign governments as well as to the american government who were members of the military or in political or quasi political positions”. The De Mohrenschildts have always maintained that they met Oswald by chance but it has later emerged they were taken to see him by Russina businessman Colonel Lawrence Orlov. De Mohrenschildt later said about Oswald and Marina “He needed a job and she needed help with the child. So we decided to take them under our wing”. Oswald an apparent Communist loaner appears to have made some very powerful allies during his short relocation to Dallas.

[Jim Root]

John

One suggestion where you state:

"One irregularity is that there was no registered flight to Helsinki from London on the day he was said to have gone, if this is the case, how did Oswald get there?"

There were three Finnair (former Aero) flights that Oswald could have traveled. Chris Mill, I believe in 1993, discovered that two of these would have arrived in Helsinki in time to allow Oswald to check into his hotel.

I know that Antti Hynonen has been collecting some historical information on the flights into Helsinki. He has shared copies of the flight schedules from 1959 with me and he has discovered one additonal strange fact.....the direct flight to Helsinki that the Warren Commission sites was not, apparently, a direct flight. It seems it made a stop in Berlin along the way (which sparks my interest because of General Walker's travels to Germany at this same time).

Amazing what new information can be uncovered 46 years later.

Jim Root

[John Geraghty]

Thanks Jim,

I guess the flights story is another assassination myth. Interesting about the Berlin stopover, you seem to have good info on Walker.

Interesting

John

[Jim Root]

John

I sincerely believe that if one studies the life of Edwin Anderson Walker you will be drawn into a web that contains some of the most significant events of the 20th Century (not the least of which is the Kennedy assassination). His connection to the assassination, I beleive, was not a coincidence (anyway you wish to view the events that occured on that November day in Dallas).

The Warren Commission did a great job of avoiding Walker's military record and intelligence involvement as well as his close connection to Maxwell Taylor while being forced into explaining away the events surrounding the shot at him. A coincidental letter from John J. McCloy five months before the assassination only adds to this mystery.

This direct flight that was not in fact a direct flight now adds another avenue of research.......if only I had more time and money!

Jim Root

[Greg Parker]

John, nice work. A couple of relatively minor corrections, and a piece of advice, though:

They befriended a few members of the local anti-communist Russian community, these included Ruth and Michael Paine

I'm sure you didn't mean to suggest that Ruth and Michael were of Russian origin, but that's how it reads.

"The De Mohrenschildts have always maintained that they met Oswald by chance but it has later emerged they were taken to see him by Russina businessman Colonel Lawrence Orlov..."

Not sure where you got this, but DeM testified that he took Orlov - not the other way around. I'd have to check, but I'm reasonably certain that Jeanne was not at that initial meeting.

Also... according to DeM's testimony, Orlov was not a Russian businessman, but a 2nd or 3rd generation American.

Interestingly, Col. Lawrence Orlov (to give the full title and name of this person as testified to by DeM) was about the only person of the DeM milieu who met Oswald not interviewed by the FBI, WC or HSCA. They all simply took DeM's word on who he was etc.

There was a suggestion that Epstein interviewed him, but I don't believe that was the case.

What I am suggesting is that "Col Lawrence Orlov" was in fact someone else. There were two Orlovs in the US who had been Colonels in the USSR, and who were agents - probably even double agents. One was Alexander Orlov, the other Igor Orlov.

Marina did an 8 week English Language course at the University of Michigan in 1964 (their website says 1965, but it's wrong). Working on a book entitled "The Handbook of Intelligence and Guerrilla Warfare at that university, at that time, was... Alexander Orlov.

Igor Orlov had been recruited by the Ghelan organisation prior to going to the US.

Advice for what it's worth... if you're going to put this on the web (or indeed, publish it in any form), you will come under heavy fire unless you use citations.

Good luck, and keep us posted on when the website is ready.

[JL Allen]

"The garrison investigation started in 1979..."

John - Garrison started fairly soon after the assassination - arrested Clay Shaw March 1, 1967 - after much investigation.

Edited May 21, 2005 by JL Allen

[John Geraghty]

"The garrison investigation started in 1979..."

John - Garrison started fairly soon after the assassination - arrested Clay Shaw March 1, 1967 - after much investigation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi JL,

Sorry about that, I adapted the article from another article on wikipedia.org, I obviously left in a few details. I have since updated my Oswald profile including LN facts that present problems etc.I was having a sort of editing war with a guy who posted the warren commission view of events, he changed my article because he said it was biased, and I did the same. I am now currently getting sources together for a comprehensive article, editing any LN speculation such as "oswald was by now an out and out communist" and words to that effect and correcting any innaccuracies.

Greg,

Havent seen you in a while ,good to hear from you again. I got my Orlov info from Matthew smiths book, JFK say goodbye to America, he doesnt go into detail about him and I took him at his word, just shows you have to check everything as myths grow easily in this line of research.

John