Thomas Graves

Bill, On your excellent website I found this sentence: [A]t a Warren Commission executive session whose minutes were declassified in 1974, chief counsel J. Lee Rankin is quoted as saying of Oswald...."We are trying....to find out what he studied at the Monterrey School of the Army in the way of languages." http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2011/09/monterey-language-institute-presidio.html Would you happen to have a reference number or link to that fascinating-sounding document? Anyone? Thank you, --Tommy

Jon, Excellent point about that exam's being a written test. Oswald's poor score might have been due to the fact that Cyrillic is a difficult alphabet to learn, and he seems to have been a bit dyslexic, anyway. He spoke English very well and had a good vocabulary, so he seems to have had a high verbal intelligence in general. I'm sure that learning how to speak Russian is a lot easier than learning how to read or write it... --Tommy

Jon, If it's true that Oswald spoke only English in Russia (except for speaking only Russian with Marina), it's logical to assume that he was eavesdropping on Russians' conversations, possibly for intelligence reasons. It looks like he might have learned Russian at the Monterey School of the Army. http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2011/09/monterey-language-institute-presidio.html http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=7527&pid=235423&st=0entry235423 Ironically, it's been said that Marina spoke much better English than she let on. One of my girlfriends in the Czech Republic was like that... LOL --Tommy PS I seem to remember that Oswald didn't do very well on a Russian language test a couple of years before he went to Russia. Maybe he intentionally did poorly on it?

Good stuff, Larry. Carrying it a step further, I suppose it's possible that after Oswald was "outed" as a putative Marxist / Communist and former "defector" on Stuckey's radio program, Oswald decided to try to make "lemonade out of a lemon" and agreed to let Phillips use him in some kind of an anti-FPCC operation in Mexico City (which was probably piggybacked by Morales). This might explain Oswald's meeting with Phillips in August or September in Dallas, as well as Oswald's misadventures in Mexico City in late September. What I'm trying to figure out now is how Oswald could have damaged the FPCC by going to Mexico City... --Tommy

Larry, Thanks for clarifying that. It's interesting to think that Oswald was working for (or thought he was working for) the FBI, through Banister, not to wittingly discredit the FPCC (because to do so would suggest that he willingly let himself be outed by Stuckey as a Marxist and former "defector"), but as a dangle for many possible purposes. If Oswald was intentionally trying to discredit the FPCC, I can't think of any other way he could do that in New Orleans. Letting himself be outed, that is. I think Oswald suspected Banister's intentions vis a vis Oswald and the FPCC project, and that's why he stamped some of the fliers with the Camp Street address -- to cleverly (so Oswald thought) document Banister's involvement with his anti-FPCC activities, so that if need be Oswald could later point to them and say "Look, I'm not a Communist, I was working for Banister!" Thanks, --Tommy PS Not to nitpick, but did you mean to say "New Orleans" instead of "Dallas" in your last paragraph?

Thanks Larry, I'm a bit confused about your final paragraph where you suggest that Oswald was satisfied (or at least not unhappy) that his "propaganda efforts in New Orleans" went well. I doubt that Oswald wanted to discredit the FPCC so much that he was willing to be outed as a putative Marxist / Communist and "defector" to Russia on Stuckey's radio program. It seems to me more likely that Oswald saw himself not as a propagandist, but as a dangle for anti-Castro and pro-Castro contacts in New Orleans and Dallas. I think Oswald might have been monitoring, for the FBI, the people he thought were G2, so he pretended to go along with them but in so doing was manipulated into the patsy role. Either that, or he was monitoring and pretending to go along with Banister and Phillips, et al., for the people he thought were G2, and got manipulated into the patsy role. LOL --Tommy

Chris, It sure would be nice to know where Altgens was standing when he took "Altgens 6" because I think "Doorman" was standing on a top step right next to and just to the left of the hand railing that goes up the middle of the steps, but the angle that Altgens took the photograph from, and the focal length of the lens that he used, made it look like "Doorman" was standing in the upper left corner. Thanks, --Tommy

Brad, I have a hard time understanding what the conclusions are of many researchers, including Pat Speer, Chris Davidson, and Robert Mady. Specifically, what their conclusions are regarding the number of shots fired, where they were fired from, the kinds of guns and ammunition used, and the sequence of shots, and in which altered (or unaltered) Z-film frames said shots were fired. Perhaps you could simplify it for me. Sometimes it seems to me that they don't want to state their conclusions in an easy to understand way. I am interested in other areas of the JFK assassination, so frankly I'm not willing to do hours of reading on Speer, Davidson, or Mady, but I would like to know what their conclusions are on the above items. That is if they have any conclusions on them. Thanks, --Tommy

Vince. Was Lawton originally supposed to ride along in the Queen Mary or was he supposed to stay at Love Field? If his assignment was to stay at Love Field, why do you think he threw his arms up in the air three times in the famous film clip? To dramatize, "Awwww, I don't wanna stay here, I wanna go with you guys and protect the President!" ? --Tommy

Paul, I couldn't remember where I'd "read" it, so I just now googled "Don Lawton" and "Love Field" together for you (which yielded "about 1780 results") and came up with this video by Vince Palmara. The "joking" is mentioned a few times in it. The first time it's mentioned is at 03:00. In it Palmara admits that he confused Lawton for Rybka. Enjoy! --Tommy

Mr. SPECTER. I ask you to state what that album depicts. Mr. SHANEYFELT. This is an album that I prepared of black and white photographs made of the majority of the frames in the Zapruder film---- Mr. SPECTER. Starting with what frame number? Mr. SHANEYFELT. Starting with frame 171, going through frame 334. Mr. SPECTER. And why did you start with frame 171? Mr. SHANEYFELT. This is the frame that the slides start from. This was an arbitrary frame number that was decided on as being far enough back to include the area that we wanted to study. Mr. SPECTER. Is that a frame where President Kennedy comes into full view after the motorcade turns left off of Houston onto Elm Street? Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes, yes. Mr. SPECTER. And how was the ending point of that frame sequence, being No. 334, fixed? Mr. SHANEYFELT. It was fixed as several frames past the shot that hit the President in the head. Frame 313 is the frame showing the shot to the President's head, and it ends at 334. I think Shaneyfelt needs a little help with his testimony. Let me translate. Frame 171 was the last frame used having the limo travel at 3.74mph (CE884- Z168-171entry), starting from Position A. Now that makes sense. chris Chris, It's interesting to me that Robert Mady hasn't jumped in on this thread yet to try to show us how it proves his four shot theory. Perhaps if the two of you "debate" the pros and cons of your respective theories and / or try to integrate them with each other, I will eventually be able to understand both of them, and most importantly what their bottom lines are as regards the assassination. Either that or I will just end up being even more confused and frustrated in trying to follow your separate threads. LOL --Tommy

Greg, I think that makes perfect sense. --Tommy PS I might be wrong, but I don't think Phillips was an experienced operator per se. I think he was more of an administrator and propagandist. He might have been meeting publicly with Oswald in some kind of unauthorized-by-CIA action against Castro which Morales got wind of. Regardless, I think Phillips screwed up by allowing himself be seen in the presence of Oswald. He probably wasn't expecting Veciana to show up fifteen minutes early (as Veciana himself has said he did) after flying in from Miami especially for the sit down with Phillips.

Interesting post, Douglas. So it was Lawton, not Rybka, who was apparently "waved off" of the limo at Love Field. I say apparently because, according to this interview of his friend Alvord, Lawton wasn't assigned to ride in the Queen Mary Secret Service car or ride on the back of the limo during the motorcade, but was assigned to Love Field itself. I've read somewhere that "Rybka" (actually Lawton) wasn't protesting being "waived off" the limo in the famous film clip which shows him raising his arms in the air in apparent dismay, but was actually joking with his colleagues in the Queen Mary, which makes sense to me given the fact that he already knew he would be staying at Love Field. --Tommy

Yes, Ron. I must say that I greatly resemble that remark. --Tommy

Actually.... I now think that the suit-wearing guy on the left who resembles Ernesto Lehfeld Miller (or, evidently, Claude Capehart) is holding the hand of a child, not an umbrella. --Tommy

Confusing language. An exit hole from the right rear? or... An exit hole at the right rear? Seems to me he should have said the latter... --Tommy PS Would somebody please tell me where and in what sequence Pat Speer thinks the bullets stuck Kennedy's skull? Thank you!

Confusing language. An exit hole from the right rear? or... An exit hole at the right rear? Seems to me he should have said the latter... --Tommy

There are lots of photos of Nikolai Leonov on the internet. Here's one showing Leonov interpreting for Castro and Khrushchev in Moscow. http://manchiviri.blogspot.com/2013/12/por-que-fracasaran-las-reformas-de-raul.html Same ears. Mystery solved. --Tommy Regarding the other "blond Oswald" in Mexico City who, according to Bill Simpich was probably Ernesto Lehfeld Miller, there is an Ernesto Lehfeld (whose mother was Doris Miller) on ancestry.com, but I'm not a member. Maybe there are some photos of him there... http://records.ancestry.com/ernesto_lehfeld_records.ashx?pid=187823779 The following 11/20/63 CIA document about Claude Barnes Capehart says he was 6'1", 220 lbs and that he was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on October 15, 1924, making him 40 years of age at the time of the assassination. So evidently Capehart wasn't the short, thin, Mexico City "blond Oswald". https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=14179&relPageId=2 In case you missed it..... Nikolai Leonov interpreting for Castro and Khrushchev in Moscow. He was usually in Mexico City. http://manchiviri.blogspot.com/2013/12/por-que-fracasaran-las-reformas-de-raul.html Here's the short, blond, thin-faced guy who was secretly photographed by the CIA in Mexico City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Leonov Bill Simpich was right. --Tommy

Pat, I understand you believe Kennedy was shot twice in the head. Do you have an opinion as to where those two shots came from? Thanks, --Tommy Bump

Robert, If you view the clip, I think you'll see the the white head I think you're asking about directly in front of Prayer Man (in other words at the far left side of the entrance) belongs to a woman who is wearing a light-colored scarf on her head and who is slowly climbing the stairs towards Prayer Man. --Tommy

Thanks, James! (Wherever you are.) Here's a 11/20/63 CIA document about Claude Barnes Capehart that says he was 6'1", 220 lbs and was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on October 15, 1924 (making him 40 years of age at the time of the assassination). https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=14179&relPageId=2 Another "confidential" CIA document from 1973 which suggests that Capehart was applying for the position of crane operator or driller. https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=14172&relPageId=2 I'm thinking: Oklahoma ancestry + 6'1", 220 lbs + experienced crane operator / driller = Oil Fields Worker / Heavy Equipment Operator or Mechanic = "Dirty Fingernails and Hands of a Mechanic" . Police officer Joe M. Smith said he encountered a (probably phony) Secret Service agent on the Grassy Knoll who, according to Anthony Summer's 1989 book Conspiracy page 50, had dirty fingernails and the hands of a mechanic. If true, I think Officer Smith may have encountered Claude Barnes Capehart, posing as a Secret Service officer. Assassination witness Malcolm Summers may have encountered the same person (although he gives a different clothing description). The portrait of the man that Houston Police Department forensic artist Lois Gibson drew, based on Malcolm Summer's description, is said by some to resemble Claude Barnes Capehart. I haven't been able to find a photograph of Claude Barnes Capehart on the Internet. Has anyone seen a verified photo of the mysterious and elusive Capehart ? The portrait by Lois Gibson, in turn, evidently somewhat resembles one of the two potential "blond Oswalds" captured photographically by the CIA in Mexico City. This particular "blond Oswald" was captured on film on 9/26/63, one day before Oswald is said to have arrived in Mexico City. Based on what Bill Simpich has posted on the subject, I tend to believe that this "blond Oswald" was not Capehart but a friend of Silvia Duran's by the name of Ernesto Lehfeld Miller. It's said that Miller was a well-known Mexico City architect or designer who used to visit Duran at the Consulate to borrow Duran's car. Interestingly, on ancestry.com there is an Ernesto Lehfeld whose mother's maiden name was Miller. I don't belong to ancestry.com, so all I know that an "Ernesto Lehfeld" died in Texas sometime before 1958, and that an "Ernesto Lehfeld Miller" appears in New York Passanger Lists sometime before 2001. Maybe a forum member who belongs to ancestry.com can check this Ernesto Lehfeld out? I'm thinking there might be some photographs of him there... http://records.ancestry.com/ernesto_lehfeld_records.ashx?pid=187823779 Thanks, --Tommy edited and bumped

Pat, I understand you believe Kennedy was shot twice in the head. Do you have an opinion as to where those two shots came from? Thanks, --Tommy

Here is a 11/20/63 CIA document about Claude Barnes Capehart that says he was 6'1", 220 lbs and was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on October 15, 1924 (making him 40 years of age at the time of the assassination). https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=14179&relPageId=2 Another "confidential" CIA document from 1973 which suggests that Capehart was applying for the position of crane operator or driller. https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=14172&relPageId=2 I'm thinking: Oklahoma ancestry + 6'1", 220 lbs + experienced crane operator / driller = Oil Fields Worker / Heavy Equipment Operator or Mechanic = "Dirty Fingernails and Hands of a Mechanic" . Police officer Joe M. Smith said he encountered a (probably phony) Secret Service agent on the Grassy Knoll who had dirty fingernails and the hands of a mechanic. I think Officer Smith may have encountered Claude Barnes Capehart, posing as a Secret Service officer. Malcolm Summers may have encountered the same person (although he gives a different clothing description). The portrait of the man that Houston Police Department forensic artist Lois Gibson drew, based on Summer's description, is said by some to resemble Claude Barnes Capehart. I've never seen a verified photograph of Capehart, so I'll just have to take their word for it. (The portrait by Gibson, in turn, somewhat resembles one of the two potential "blond Oswalds" captured photographically by the CIA in Mexico City. This particular "blond Oswald" was captured on film on 9/26/63, one day before Oswald is said to have arrived in Mexico City. But I tend to believe that this "blond Oswald" was a friend of Silvia Duran's by the name of Ernesto Lehfeld Miller. It is said that he was a well-known Mexico City architect or designer and that he used to borrow Duran's car.) Interestingly, on ancestry.com there is an Ernesto Lehfeld whose mother's maiden name was Miller. I don't belong to ancestry.com, so all I know that an "Ernesto Lehfeld" died in Texas sometime before 1958, and that an "Ernesto Lehfeld Miller" appears in New York Passanger Lists sometime before 2001. Maybe a forum member who belongs to ancestry.com can check this Ernesto Lehfeld out? I'm thinking there might be some photographs of him there... http://records.ancestry.com/ernesto_lehfeld_records.ashx?pid=187823779 ____________________________________________________________________ Also, I haven't been able to find a photograph of Claude Barnes Capehart on the Internet. Has anyone seen a verified photo of the interesting and mysterious Capehart ? Thanks, --Tommy

There are lots of photos of Nikolai Leonov on the internet. Here's one showing him interpreting for Castro and Khrushchev in Moscow. http://manchiviri.blogspot.com/2013/12/por-que-fracasaran-las-reformas-de-raul.html Same ears. Mystery solved. --Tommy Regarding the other "blond Oswald" in Mexico City who, according to Bill Simpich was probably Ernesto Lehfeld Miller, there is an Ernesto Lehfeld (whose mother was Doris Miller) on ancestry.com, but I'm not a member. Maybe there are some photos of him there... http://records.ancestry.com/ernesto_lehfeld_records.ashx?pid=187823779 The following 11/20/63 CIA document about Claude Barnes Capehart says he was 6'1", 220 lbs and that he was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, on October 15, 1924, making him 40 years of age at the time of the assassination. So evidently Capehart wasn't the short, thin, Mexico City "blond Oswald". https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=14179&relPageId=2

There are lots of photos of Nikolai Leonov on the internet. Here's one showing him interpreting for Castro and Khrushchev in Moscow. http://manchiviri.blogspot.com/2013/12/por-que-fracasaran-las-reformas-de-raul.html Mystery solved. --Tommy