Larry Hancock

Pictures of the Pain, page 101, windows closed, you can see the cross pieces in the lower window so they are not raised...

That's a good point Chuck, while Ruby had been very much in touch with Cuban affairs as early as the revolutionary period of 1959, that's the sort of distinction that would have escaped most people in Dallas where there had been no real media coverage of the FPCC as their had been courtesy of Oswald in New Orleans. However its very possible that when Ruby was brought into his role some scenario related to Cuba was brought up, given Roselli's own history with Cuba and working with the CIA that would have been an easy sell. Its easy to see Jack being played that way, he would have loved being recruited into something secret - much as he apparently had enjoyed being an FBI source for a time back in 59 or being a courier into CUBA. Its easy to speculate that he was told there was going to be a protest, a demonstration, perhaps even a provocation that would be targeting the FPCC. That would map well to his remark about going to watch the fireworks, typical Ruby, bragging about being an insider - but certainly not implicating himself in an assassination. Having a bit of knowledge and having played a minor role would explain why his behavior changed so dramatically that afternoon, as he realized just what he had done and how he had been played.

Jim's right, look how much Sylvia M. managed to do with it alone ...

As far as I know there is no "evidence" other than the personal remarks by Tosh Plumlee - who I don't consider a credible source for many reasons including how much his story has changed over the years. As David says its a scenario that has been talked about for decades. As I recall Vince P wrote about it very early on a Secret Service "test" of a sort, don't know if he still supports that idea or not.

His remarks on the rifle were quite "standard" he filmed its handling by day and offered nothing conflicting with the official story. He did not film or witnesses the sack being found or removed or apparently even mentioned at the time the hulls were being recovered - that was what struck him most, that Fritz would just pick them up and throw them down afterwards. He also felt there was a good bit of confusion about what was found where, as with the bag of chicken bones and pop bottle, both of which he thought had been found on the fifth floor and carried upstairs as I recall...might have even been two lunch bags involved. That part was confused as everyone was rushing around so madly. He did definitely get to the "snipers next" quickly though, just after the hulls were found apparently. Most of his commentary, which he actually put into three newsletters was about Studebaker moving the boxes to take pictures and then reconstructing the snipers nest to be something different than what Alyea had originally seen. But its also fair to say that although he clearly cast doubt on the DPD's crime scene practices and capabilities, especially Studebakers, he never varied at all from accepting the overall story of Oswald as the single shooter and a lone nuts- Tom was quite harsh about researchers and "conspiracy nuts" in general. On the other hand we did eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Tulsa so that was good, Connie Kritzberg (my reporter friend from Dallas) introduced us as she had known him when she worked there.

It sort of reminds me of talking with Tom Alyea, he said that Studebaker was so incompetent that a lot of the photos taken in the TSBD, especially in the snipers nest had to be done on Saturday but they still labeled them with a Friday date...makes you think. Tom was pretty convincing.

What we do have is report from an FBI agent who was working the case real time with DPD He relates that he was briefed on the polygraph and on the non identification of the bag...adamant non identification....amazingly the DPD polygraph disappeared and most officers were hesitant to talk about it at all given how it would have affected the case against Oswald. And of course his report was not cited in the FBI report on the assassination. I have written and blogged about the FBI report a number of times but I don't know if it is on line; I had a hard copy from NARA.

Objectively it would be hard to find a responsible researcher in the field of UFO's who would credit the MJ12 documents at this point in time...although they are still passionately supported by those who take them as an article of faith. Critical research in the field of UFO's is as much or more of a challenge than it is in regard to JFK. It is however something that can consume your life if you choose...

While a few of the serious researches in the UFO community felt the first year's series provided some entertainment - with more and more frequent forays from actual facts we have about Blue Book and the historical figures of that era - they all agree that it has gone totally off the rails in the second season and become entirely fictional. Calling it "semi-historical" is no longer accurate, its become a very bad version of a much better fictional series (Dark Skies) of a few years ago - that was at least entertaining.

Rob, you are welcome to go with logic but for myself a fully assembled rifle with scope is going to look like a rifle in a sack. Even the way you would hold it would be a clue. Of course it goes back to Frazier, a dissembled rifle might just possibly pass as curtain rods...but I really doubt if anyone around where I live who had any familiarity with rifles (and Frazier did) would mistake a rifle in a sack for curtain rods when it got pitched into the backseat...or for a sandwich lunch. Purely subjective of course... My personal view is that either Oswald took a rifle into the building and Frazier knew it....or he didn't take one at all. And per Joe's point, you really have to understand this area....on any given day you could have found several hundred pick ups with rifles in gun racks in and around Dallas in 1963, we routinely drove one with one or two rifles in the pick up in towns where I Iive. People carried them in town to gun stores, to pawn shops, during hunting season folks routinely drove to work with them to have them for shooting after work. Taking them to work to show them off, trade or sell them was quite routine. Even today, were I live students have to be cautioned not to take hunting rifles to school and leave them in the trunk or behind the seat...why...not because of the rifle (Okla has open carry, any weapon, no license for those over 21 or in the military) but because random drug checks on vehicles could get the kids a lot of hassle - taking guns to school is one of the few things that is out of bounds.

It would be good for anyone discussing this subject to break down a MC, put it in a sack and simulate carrying it....and have random observers see what they think is in it. I suspect many don't realize the weight and clumsiness of a broken down rifle of this age and class (not like today's weapons with composite stocks). And of course there is the fundamental problem of reassembly (not to meeting sighting in the scope if you wanted to actually hit anything) - even to some extent with the iron sights of that era. But lets say the rifle is just there to be there, not to shoot or hit anything. As Ian Griggs demonstrated long ago there is a small set screw that is required to put the rifle together and you would need a rather small screwdriver (not recovered at the TSBD or from Oswald) - the WC got around that by stating Oswald used a dime...but as Ian showed, if you do that you put scratches on the recessed screw slot....and the MC in evidence has no such scratches. Its a bit more complicated than just working the issue of the sack size.

That's too bad, I suspect he is no longer doing tours then....you might try his insurance agency, if they are still open you could probably find out for sure there: https://www.whitepages.com/business/TX/Carrollton/Farmers-Insurance-Jerry-Dealey/b-1imsiq4 http://www.dealeyinsurance.com/quote.htm

And just as a reminder - since this always gets convoluted - Jones and the 112th had files which contained the name because it had been forwarded from New Orleans as part of the FBI investigation of the FPCC and Oswald's leafleting - a 112th agent there had picked up and reported a leaflet from one of Oswald's first leafleting forays down by the docks where a Navy ship was berthed.

We've made a lot of progress on this in recent years, we now know the names of several individuals who went through Belle Chase - there were actually several groups destined for different missions. UDT training for the actual landing was done there, but so was explosives and other training for the maritime infiltration personnel who were taken from there to safe houses in Miami and then on to missions out of the keys, also Nino Diaz group was brought in there virtually last minute and given minimal training before being shipped out to their mission. The camp itself had to be cleared and put into at least minimal shape for training, that was done by Grayston Lynch before he went on to Florida to pick up the landing ship he would command into the Bay of Pigs - Robertson was already there with the second ship. Some of this detail is already on line in the early version of David and my Wheaton Names paper....the rest will be coming soon.

Jerry generally describes himself on the fence, open to conspiracy and knowing many things point to it but also being skeptical about several things he often gets asked about....generally by folks who don't really have much information other than what they picked up from a single book or more likely a TV series. As you can imagine he gets a lot of "less informed" questions during tours. Actually he and I did a few joint presentations at Lancer conferences, sort of a point counterpoint. He would do a detailed floor by floor physical introduction to the TSBD pointing out areas related to issues of evidence, put everybody in the places the WC showed and then I would follow up by poking holes in parts of the WC story line. I do seem to recall one in which he also made a conspiracy pointed presentation identifying issues. A joint tour would be fun if he still does them at all, at the conferences he would generally offer either extended driving tours or specialty tours like the DPD building while I did the detailed walking tours around the plaza itself....always enjoyed that, well other than the days it was sleeting.

Yes, I have known Jerry for a great many years - he knows Dallas history inside and out and has been doing several types of historical tours (not just JFK) for years. He is also an expert on the history of the structures in and around the plaza down to the level of the construction plans and changes in everything from structures to sewer lines. I suspect it started as a family interest. He has always been very straight forward about his family connections, which of course explains his interest in Dallas and in particular the Plaza. As a Dallas native he also knows what has changed and what has not over the years, he used to be key in getting us into the old police station and arranging for tours of the holding cells as well as the basement, the ramp were Ruby was taken etc... I can't think of a better tour guide than he or his partner. As to conspiracy, as a guide he pretty much sits on the fence, pros and cons - so its not a conspiracy tour per se, its a sightseeing tour of locations. I've never heard him try to pitch a particular conspiracy no the lone nut scenario. Its been about four years now since I last saw him in Dallas, not sure if he is still doing tours or not. The tours were not really his main business, he ran insurance agencies in a couple of towns in the Dallas area.

Not sure John but if he is you should get a response here: http://www.dealey.org/ or here: https://www.facebook.com/JerryDFW/posts/maintained-by-jerry-dealey-owner-of-dealey-tours-facebook-or-dealeytourscomi-do-/1707080832677389/

David, I take your point and am not well informed on this to offer anything solid as a reply....so was it that he was paying for a room with a lock but just didn't have a key or lock the room? Lack of info on my part. As to the other, I think my picture of Oswald in Dallas is just that he was very "mobile", he may well have stayed other places but I have a problem with him never being at Beckley at all. Your point on what was there and elsewhere is a good one though, over the years I've increasingly come to feel that his behavior that day was "normal" (which was for Oswald a bit quirky any way, his being something of a wise guy by nature) then shading to "concerned" as he got more information. My concern is that we take all the pieces of information including the various letters and try fit them together to understand his plans - but that is a mistake because in some cases they are strictly independent. One of the reasons I posted his "last words" synopsis is that my gut tells me that tells more about him than all the evidence put together. As far as his movements that afternoon, for all I know he had made an arrangement to meet somebody at the Texas Theater after work and just went early because it was clear work would not resume. I don't claim to be able to reconstruct the plan for him based on what we know because I think it is a) screwed up and b) after about twelve thirty the overall, extended plan began to unravel.

Nope, Milly's doesn't ring a bell but I have to admit not being out that much in Stillwater at that point in time. It was probably fair to say OSU was pretty hard up in football. When I got there in 1965 if anybody asked about football the standard response was just to shake your head and start talking about either wrestling or basketball. That GTO would sure have helped my social life though...

I do agree on your point David, but two things may be in play....first Oswald was notoriously cheap, he really didn't have much money and he really did care for his kids (my beliefs). Back in 1963 eight bucks was a lot of money, only five years later my wife was trying to run our entire weeks groceries for under $20 and doing it most weeks. That was not a choice, I was in the Air Force with one stripe at the time. And Oswald had more than a little attitude...who needs a lock, I don't have anything worth stealing. I don't really claim to be able to get inside his head but DeMohrenschildt (sp) described him as a proto-hippy (they didn't lock their doors either...grin).

David, if you had ever lived in a barracks in the fifties or sixties you might describe this as light, cherry and private (in other words there was a door)...grin. I'm not taking any position on the pistol but I also have to say things were quite casual in those days, I have been in many homes and apartments with loaded weapons in drawers, on shelves and tables etc. with kids all over the place. I'm not saying its not stupid, we just didn't think much about it, at least down here where I live.

Walt was playing football when I was at OSU, a great athlete and a very solid guy. No showboating but you knew he made a real difference....and we beat OU twice in a row, doesn't get better than that!

Actually I think just the opposite, they did not want a cover up at all. They wanted conspiracy to be really obvious and to point via Oswald to Castro and Cuba. It was the rush to damage control, obfuscation and cover up that defeated the second element of the conspiracy - even in the face of several media efforts by those involved to point matters towards Castro in the days following the assassination. Media efforts coming out of New Orleans and Miami.

Paul, your idea is sound....regardless of whether it involved the TSBD or not (its pretty clear not much was drawing attention there when you look at the crowd reaction). I have found no indication that the tactical team in the Plaza was at all concerned about creating an image of a single shooter, of it being an act of a lone nut. They appear to have been quite happy - and even eager - to leave indications of multiple shooters and of individuals performing security duties in surveillance and overwatch, including intercepting police officers at various points. The efforts to obfuscate and cover up what was obvious in the very beginning - a conspiracy with multiple shooters and even support personnel - left loose ends all over the place.

Well I went to college at both Okla State and the University of New Mexico...so that's Cowboys and Lobos. There will be a print copy but for some strange reason Amazon has only allowed the publisher to list the Kindle for pre-order. However both print and eBook formats should be available on April 17. The ways of Amazon are mysterious, nothing every seems to work quite the same way twice.