Thomas Graves

Hi Lee, Thanks for posting that part of Bowley's account. Not that it particularly matters, but he says that someone (evidently not Bowley himself) "picked up the pistol and put it on the hood of the squad car." Given what we know about Tippit before 11/22/63, the context of the situation right before Tippit is killed (the president has just been assassinated, Tippit is looking frantically for someone, etc), it seems to me that the fact that Tippit's gun was found out of its holster, tends to suggest that whoever killed Tippit did so in self defense. Actually, I just remembered something which totally destroys this theory, and just to show just how "openminded" I am, I will play the role of Devil's Advocate here: Didn't one of the witnesses testify that he/she had seen (the/one of the) killer(s) start walking away from the scene and then actually walk back to Tippit's body and administer a "coup de grace" pistol shot to Tippit's head? If so, this would argue against the killer(s) having shot Tippit out of self defense in the first place..... ???! FWIW, Thomas

Hi Nic, You make some excellent points. I think, however, that whoever shot Tippit just might have done so out of self defense. I say this because a witnesses (the car salesman?) said that when they turned Tippit's body over, they found Tippit's gun out of its holster and under Tippit's body (which leads me to believe that Tippit was going to shoot the man/men who ended up "getting the jump" on Officer Tippit, instead). FWIW, Thomas

Question for Marina Oswald: Could Lee whistle? FWIW, Thomas

Ron, Whew!! Thanks for saying that. I can't whistle like that either!!! (Please don't tell anyone.) But I CAN skip a stone pretty darn far across a lake! FWIW, Thomas

It seems to me that Oswald's escape would have involved better planning than that. How would the conspirators know that after shooting JFK on Elm Street, the street would promptly be reopened to traffic, so Oswald could come out and be picked up on Elm? I believe Craig also said he heard the man whistle for the Rambler, as if saying, "Hey, don't forget me!" It just strikes me as a haphazard way of getting away, unless, of course, Oswald wasn't supposed to get away but to be shot in the building. Hi Mark and Ron, I know that this is probably a silly question, but I wonder if anyone knows whether or not the real LHO could even whistle like that........ FWIW, Thomas

The movie, Seven Days In May, has a great scene in which the President makes the point to the coup general that if the Soviets understood America to have been militarily overthrown, a nuclear conflict would be imminent. Game Theory. Tim Hi Tim, Yeah, kinda like table stakes "Texas Hold 'Em." I haven't seen that film yet but I've heard about it and I know it's a classic. I'll try to rent the DVD today to find out: 1) whether or not the coup general backs down (my guess is that he does simply because you say that the President "MAKES THE POINT..."), and if he doesn't back down, then 2) whether or not the President's warning turns out to be correct. I suppose a good reason for the coup general to back down is that even the thought of an imminent nuclear war can ruin anyone's day....... Another thought: maybe the U.S. WAS overthrown militarily (as in the sense of a coup organized by Major General EDWARD Lansdale (ret.)) on 11/22/63........... Thanks and FWIW, Thomas

Hi Tim, If the GRU or the KGB or whatever did have pre-knowledge of the assassination, it might simply indicate that Russian Intellegence had already penetrated the "circles" or "cells" or "communication channels" in/through which the rogue(?) U.S. intelligence agencies/officers/agents were conspiring to assassinate JFK. It doesn't necessarilly indicate that the Ruskies or Castro offed Kennedy themselves........ FWIW, Thomas

Hi Ron, Sorry I totally deleted your post. (I'm trying to make amends by including it in this post.) I wish everyone could see that the Russians would'nt have risked starting WW3 simply for our invading Cuba especially if/since they knew that Castro hadn't assassinated Kennedy. Maybe it's too obvious. FWIW, Thomas

Hi Ron, I agree. Your argument has excellent logic to it. IMHO, Thomas

I have appended the sketch of "Bishop"/photo of Phillips/and photo of Esterline for comparative purposes. Hi Robert and Tim, Here's my rhetorical question for the day: Did Jake Esterline (or Jack Hawkins, for that matter) have lots of WARTS, MOLES, or "SPOTS" on his face such as David A. Phillips had on his and which, significantly(?), can be seen in the police artist's sketch of Veciana's handler [whose sketched face just happens to (very) strongly resemble Phillips]? And what 'bout dem baggy eyes? To get a better idea of what I'm talkin' 'bout, see the same police artist's sketch of Phillips on the bottom of page 1 on the thread titled "David Atlee Phillips--The mastermind?" FWIW, Thomas

Hi John, When I compare the sketch with the photograph, I too am immediately struck by the many similarities between Phillips' photo and the man depicted in the sketch (similar hairline, shape of face, proportional distances between and different shapes of facial components, the shape of ears, the fact that both have a heavily-wrinkled brow, etc). What REALLY "clinches" it for me, though, are all of the warts(?) on Phillips' photographed face and the fact that Veciana evidently remembered that "Maurice Bishop" had lots of marks on his face and therefore told the police artist to include several blotches(?)/warts(?) in the sketch. IMHO, the sketch IS of D.A.P. FWIW, Thomas

Hi Lee, Maybe it's Tim Gratz wearing his brand new "Young Americans for Freedom" jacket. FWIW, Thomas

Hi JL, Thanks for posting some of LHO's photographs. First impression--they are quite good, but where are all of the people??? They remind me of the drawings that Hitler made while he was living in Vienna. Lots of architecture but no people. Maybe this is an indication that LHO could relate with people only on a superficial level. It's my belief that intelligence agents tend to have this sort of superficial, devious (?) 'makeup,' be they the 'real deal' or simply a low-level 'asset' or 'agent' (like Oswald who can be manipulated into believing that he's working as a double or triple agent, and thereby become the perfect 'patsy'.....?) FWIW, Thomas

...or should I have said "still sitting down..."? FWIW, Thomas

This is off the subject, but it's interesting to me that our "friends" TUM and DCM are already sitting down next to each other in this frame......... FWIW, Thomas

Hi Jack, You gotta be kiddin'! IMHO, Thomas

________________________________________ Hi Ron, It's reasonable to assume that Jack Lawrence had "acceptably" good vision in both eyes when he went into the Air Force, otherwise they would have rejected him, wouldn't they? IMHO, therefore, it's possible that he did qualify as a "marksman" in the AF.... --Thomas P.S. In Crossfire page 339, Jim Marrs writes that Lawrence borrowed "...one of the "firm's cars, after telling his boss he had a 'heavy date'." Small point, but I wonder if he borrowed a car that was owned and used by "the firm" (the dealership), or just one of the cars that was for sale? Does anyone know what year, make and model car he borrowed for his "heavy date?" (UH oh, I can feel a Ron Ecker joke coming: "If she was a really heavy date, he probably borrowed a pickup truck.") I realize that most dealerships sell used cars as well as new, so maybe he borrowed a used non-Lincoln-Mercury? Maybe the car shows up in some of the photos/film taken in the parking lot/railroad yards after the assassination. Is it possible that the car he borrowed was one of the cars parked close to the fence with lots of "pacing" footprints and cigarette butts between the cars and the fence? Or maybe the mysterious black '57 Ford with Texas plates that Lee Bowers saw driving around the sealed-off railroad yards a few minutes before the assassination? Just thinking out loud.... --T ________________________________________

Hi Jack, I agree. FWIW, Thomas

Hi JL, My question has nothing to so with the assassination per se, but since I do appreciate good composition in b&w photography (let's face it: composition is probably more critical in b&w than in color), I was wondering how one can go about finding/seeing some of LHO's artistic work? In other words, where did you see it? Is it viewable on the Net? He was obviously dyslexic and I've read somewhere that lots of dyslexics are artistic-- very good with spacial relationships. (Hmm-- I just realized that I may have opened up a can of worms-- If he was good with spacial relatioships, then I wonder why he couldn't drive a vehicle or shoot a rifle straight??) Thanks, Thomas

Hi Tim, Great idea! They could have called it "The Braden Bunch." (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Thomas

Hello Wim and Gary, I think the fact that one of the bullets shot at Tippit hit a (brass) uniform button doesn't prove that Tippit was (or wasn't) wearing his uniform JACKET when he was shot. I base my opinion on the fact that the two cops who were photographed escorting the three "tramps" after the assassination seem to have some brass buttons on their uniform BLOUSES. FWIW, Thomas

Hi John, I suppose he could be carrying something but I seriously doubt that he would be running if he was a conspiritor simply because he wouldn't want to attract attention to himself. If he was doing something "strange," i.e. "unusual," like going over to the Rambler to make sure that whoever was hiding inside it was o.k., and/or giving that person some information/instructions, or making sure the key was in the ignition, etc., I'm sure that he would do it in a professional "cool, calm, and collected" way so as to not attract attention. FWIW, Thomas

Hi James, Interestingly and tellingly, Mr. O'Hare, unlike E. H. Hunt, admitted to at least being in Dallas (and in connection to JFK's visit!) at the time of the assassination......... Cheers, Thomas Hi Thomas, Yes, O'Hare/Col. Bishop claimed he was at the Trade Mart when news came through of the shooting and from there he went to Parkland hospital. It does make one wonder if Dealey Plaza was aborted for any reason, that assassins may have been positioned at the Trade Mart. The Oswald/Castro frame may well have been discarded in favor of getting the job done swiftly and cleanly. Also interesting to note in the Roy Hargraves interview printed in Larry Hancock's wonderful book, Hargraves has several individuals being moved around at the time of the assassination. He also claims that handlers like Bishop would always be on the ground with his people. There would be risk and exposure so the hands on people would know they were not being duped. This aspect I find most curious. James Hello again, James Yes, absolutely. O'Hare could have been at the Trade Mart in case plan "B" had to be activated, or..... maybe, just maybe, he WAS with good ole' Rip Robertson in Dealy Plaza the whole time, instead. He DOES kind of look like the guy standing next to the Robertson lookalike at Houston and Main.... And the man walking across the grass with the Robertson lookalike and the very dark-complected man (Izquierdo?) does kind of look like O'Hare as shown in the only confirmed picture of him that I've seen so far (the one that shows him wearing military-like clothes (I think), a cap, and glasses, and he's looking almost straight up into the sky). Although I've been on this Forum for a short time, I've already come to hold your opinions, theories, and work in very high regard. So, when you say you have a friend who has a photo showing O'Hare from the front and that you've seen this photo and that the man standing next to the Rip Robertson lookalike at Houston and Main very strongly resembles the John Adrian O'Hare in your friend's photograph, that's good enough for me (although I must confess that I'd love to see your friend's photo-- is there a possibility you could borrow it for him and scan it and post it to this Forum?). I just had a humorous thought-- all of the people who who are still alive and who were involved in assassinating JFK must have really started sweating bullets (pardon the pun) when online research and Internet forums like this one came into existence. I guess the ones who are already dead are turning over in their grave..... Cheers, Thomas

Hi Robin, Looks to me as if nobody's being arrested in this picture, actually. I think the man in the suit who's standing in front of the policeman is holding a rifle (or shotgun?) pointed up towards the sky. If so, maybe it's the MC or one of the several other firearms which were reportedly found right after the assassination.... FWIW, Thomas Hello again, Robin I decided to take another "look" at the photo you posted, and now I see what I think you're referring to. I think the flesh-colored area inside the red box is profile of a person's face who is looking to our left. My intuition tells me that it's a child.......... FWIW, Thomas

Hi Robin, Looks to me as if nobody's being arrested in this picture, actually. I think the man in the suit who's standing in front of the policeman is holding a rifle (or shotgun?) pointed up towards the sky. If so, maybe it's the MC or one of the several other firearms which were reportedly found right after the assassination.... FWIW, Thomas