Jim Hargrove

Those are pretty much my thoughts, John. How are we to expect a normal person, even with a modest interest in the Kennedy assassination, to read a 1,000+ page book (not counting the graphics on the CD)? I’ve spent years hoping someone could make a shorter, easier-to-grasp but still reasonably complete treatment of H&L. As you say, no one is going to agree on all the details about such a complex subject, but I still have hopes that I can recommend Doppelganger to people interested in the two Oswalds.

I didn’t know you had read Mistaken Identity. The author sent it to me last year and I read much of it as well. What drove me crazy was that the author said he had evidence from U.S. Census data that the two Oswalds were actually second cousins. For the life of me, I didn’t see, or to say it more charitably, didn't understand what he said was his evidence. I sent the book to a well-known journalist very interested in the Kennedy case in the hopes that he would take a look at it and publish his opinion. So far, I haven’t seen anything at his website.

You make a good point about the brother-in-law, John. If we've got the likely years for the encounter right, that does indeed point to Emil Gardos rather than Emil Kardos. But it sure looks like there is something weird going on here. As a first generation eastern European worker, the elder Emil Kardos could certainly fit the bill as a potential communist or communist sympathizer. And both Gardos and Kardos had Hungarian roots, and both lived so close together in Yorkville. This really smells weird. As for Doppelganger, I've read about 50 pages so far and have found a number of minor as well fairly major mistakes, or at least what I believe to be mistakes, but I still like the easy-to-read approach and the fact that it is in its fourth edition! Despite the efforts of a handful of people to slam it, the Harvey and Lee Menace® continues to grow. Take a couple of YouTube videos based on Len Osanic interviews with John A. Captain Westbrook, officer Tippit and Oswald's double. From the description by “MrChrillemannen:” “This video is based on combined segments from an interview with JFK researcher and author John Armstrong conducted by Len Osanic on Black Op Radio. John Armstrong presents facts and evidence which supports the likelihood of a Lee Harvey Oswald double used in the JFK assassination. This version of the interview is shortened and edited.” According to Google, as of yesterday this video had been viewed 332,715 times. Who impersonated Lee Harvey Oswald? “MrChrillemannen” described this as “An interview with author John Armstrong conducted by Len Osanic on Black Op Radio concerning the likelihood of a "Lee Harvey Oswald double" used in the JFK assassination. This version of the original interview has been shortened and somewhat edited.” I’d add that graphics were added and the videos were placed on YouTube by “MrChrillemannen,” who has more than 32,000 YouTube subscribers. Google yesterday indicated that this video had 275,968 views. Those are big numbers for JFK research! Although usage stats became more difficult to determine after I set up both SSL and heirloom versions of HarveyandLee.net (http:// and https://), I’d estimate that the total number of visits to my website over the last few years is even higher. Thanks to everyone for your continuing interest, despite the naysayers.

John, Thanks again for all your help on this. I’ve downloaded the fourth edition(!) of Doppelganger to my Kindle gizmos and will start reading it right away. First impression is that it doesn’t stray far from the conclusions of Harvey and Lee, but it looks like a much easier read. I love the technique of telling the story from Harvey Oswald’s perspective, and it is great to see those links to my website! I’m curious, though. What makes you so certain the anonymous caller wasn’t referring to Emil Kardos and was, instead, talking about Emil Gardos? As we have both noted, having “3 Emil Kardos/Gardos living within a 5 minute walk of each other” is just a stunning coincidence! Speaking of coincidences…. New York City was a perfect place to start putting both Oswalds into history. It is quite possible that one boy attended Public School 44 in the Bronx and the other went to Public School 44 in Manhattan. What an utterly perfect historic fog to introduce Lee Harvey Oswald and his doppelganger into the record. From John A’s write-up on my website: There is, however, another clue as to the identity of a school that Oswald may have attended. On page 63 of LEE, a book by Robert Oswald, the author states, "Lee entered the 8th grade at P.S. 44 on Columbus Avenue at 76th St." This school is William J. O'Shea Junior High School, PS 44 in Manhattan, and is 2 1/2 miles from the Pic's apartment. There are no WC or FBI records nor any information about Oswald's seventh or eighth grade attendance at a school in Manhattan at the National Archives. It is interesting to note that both John Pic and Robert Oswald said LEE attended a junior high school in Manhattan, but the FBI gave the WC records for Oswald's attendance at PS 44 in the Bronx, 8 miles from the Pics' apartment. If LEE Oswald did attend PS 44 in Manhattan, or any other school in NYC, those records disappeared long ago. It well worth remembering that Judge Florence Kelley gave Oswald's original school records to the FBI, but weeks later the FBI provided the WC with only photographs (not original records) of Oswald's attendance at PS 44 in the Bronx. (It is also worth noting that there are five PS 44 schools in New York City: PS 44 Manhattan; PS 44 Bronx; PS 44 Staten Island; PS 44 Brooklyn; PS 44 Queens.) Multiple junior high schools identified as "PS 44" in New York City… how convenient to place LEE Oswald at one PS 44 in Manhattan, while at the same time HARVEY Oswald was briefly attending a different PS 44 in the Bronx... and how utterly confusing for researchers and historians who might try to untangle and understand "PS 44" in New York City.

John K, The Baylor re-design is a travesty, at least for productive searches in the John Armstrong Collection. I’m going to bring this up with John A. Perhaps if he complains something will happen. John B, Thank so much for taking a look at Doppelganger. Either I’m getting completely old and totally forgetful, or it is real news to find two generations of Emil Kardoses living in Yorkville. The fact that one Kardos indicated he was born in Hungary and came to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia is fascinating, no? And their close proximity to the one-time residence of noted commie Emil Gardos is really quite a coincidence! Any evidence that Emil Kardos, either Emile Kardos, was a communist? I haven’t read Doppelganger. Have you found anything else of interest? This is fascinating. Of the three books I posted about, I've only examined Mistaken Identity. I’ve GOT to look at the others! Thanks again.

Three other books based on “Harvey and Lee:” The JFK Assassination and the Uncensored Story of the Two Oswalds From an Amazon review: “I'd read a good chunk of Armstrong's Harvey and Lee, but Shannan provided clarity for me on the matter of Marguerite Oswald in particular and the whole thesis in general. So much easier to read this digest than the master's unedited tome.” DOPPELGANGER: The Legend of Lee Harvey Oswald From the publisher’s blurb: “More than 300 sources, including many sworn testimonies & affidavits, were consulted, as well as John Armstrong’s massive research project HARVEY AND LEE. One fact led to another, until a coherent picture began to emerge from the immense pile of puzzle pieces…. That picture includes the background of Harvey as a juvenile immigrant fluent in Russian, and the creation of the second ‘Lee Harvey Oswald’ and the second ‘Marguerite Oswald.’ The picture continues with the recruitment of both Lee Oswald and Harvey Oswald by the ONI and the CIA, followed by Harvey’s assumption of Lee’s identity, his ‘defection’ to Russia, and Lee’s involvement with the Cuban revolution and the CIA..…” Mistaken Identity Publisher’s abstract: "Mistaken Identity is not just another “conspiracy” book. It is a critique of the Warren Commission. New forensic and evidentiary material not published, proves that two individuals known as “Lee Harvey Oswald” enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 1956 using the same birth certificate. Recent genealogical research identifies them as second cousins through intermarriage of second-generation French families in New Orleans. It created a nightmare of identity for the FBI. Diligent FBI field agents solved the Kennedy Assassination, but superiors thwarted their efforts. A 1965 secret report by Robert Kennedy reveals the money conduit that killed his brother." Has anyone here looked at any of these books?

John, I use Linux, not Windows, but my understanding is that Micro$oft’s Edge browser is really just repackaged Chromium, which is the open-source version of Google’s Chrome. If I saw what you described on my monitor, I think I’d first try clearing the browser’s cache. If the problem persisted, you could try a completely different browser, such as Firefox.

I don't like the new front-end either. The only way I can figure to search just the JFK - John Armstrong files is to click the system-wide search icon at the top of the Armstrong Collection home page, then select "Advanced search," and then select the JA collection from the long drop-down list. This is going to be doubly confusing for occasional users because of the group of "Armstrong Browning" collections at the top of the collection list, which have nothing to do with JA's collection. Am I missing something?

John, I can’t answer even one of your questions, but I’d also like to see the page John A. obviously had in his collection. He keeps hard copies of his files in one of his homes where he won’t be for a couple of months, I think. I’ll bet, though, that the page he saw and preserved privately is available online at Baylor University’s JFK – John Armstrong Collection. As well as I know that database, though, I haven’t been able to find the page, at least so far. There are a trainload of document files there.

Malcolm Blunt has just confirmed that page 2 of the link above does appear to be the document he was examining. He noted it was a clearer copy than he had in his files and added that the original Office of Security file search by Mrs. Stevens was not included in the Mary Ferrell group of three pages. He thought it might be "somewhere near this RIF...."

John, I think I found it on MF's JFK database. It's a needle in a haystack, but clicking on the link below will take you to a group of three pages. The actual document, remarkably dark and blurry, appears to be page 2 in this set. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=54631#relPageId=1&tab=page P.S. I'm reasonably sure this is the page Malcolm Blunt is referencing. I'll send it to John A. and see if it matches anything in his memory.

Here is an update on the Office of Security document we were discussing a week or two ago. John A. doesn't have access to his documents right now, but Malcolm Blunt has the page in his collection and recently sent two notes to John A about it. Mr. Blunt just now gave me an OK to post his notes here: From April 5: From April 6:

John, Lol! I'd keep my distance too. EDIT: But getting too close to that tiger would almost certainly mean we wouldn't die from COVID-19. Always look on the bright side, eh?

While he lived as a child in New York City, Russian-speaking HARVEY Oswald clearly liked going to the Bronx Zoo more than going to school. John Pic, half-brother of American-born LEE Oswald, told the Warren Commission he did not recognize the person in this famous Bronx Zoo photo, supposedly of the one and only “Lee Harvey Oswald.” Some 67 years later, in April 2020, a tiger in the same Bronx Zoo that HARVEY Oswald loved became the first animal in the United States to test positive for COVID-19. CLICK HERE for full New York Daily News article.

The FBI Lied, and Lied, and Lied... For more than half a century, it has been demonstrated that the FBI fabricated, altered, and destroyed evidence in this case. In the 3 minute YouTube video linked below, Gil Jesus and Mark Lane demonstrate quite clearly how the FBI altered the observations of three critical Dealey Plaza witnesses who believed shots may have been taken at JFK from outside of the Texas School Book Depository, thus contradicting the official story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODXoISgU-0M The FBI went to extraordinary lengths to suppress evidence of what CIA accountant James Wilcott called the “Oswald Project,” including sending out agents within hours of the assassination to confiscate original school and teen-aged employment records of “Lee Harvey Oswald.” In the wee hours of the night of Nov 22-23, 1963, the FBI quietly took Oswald's possessions from the Dallas Police Department, transported them to Washington, D.C., altered them, and then secretly returned them to Dallas, only to publicly send them to Washington. D.C. a few days later. Among a great many other alterations, a Minox “spy camera” became a Minox “light meter.” Tax records, not found by Dallas police who said they initialed each scrap of paper, magically appeared without DPD initials. FBI agent James Cadigan inadvertently spilled the beans about the secret transfer during his sworn WC testimony, which was altered by the FBI and WC. The FBI falsified so much testimony that it even had a process in place for routinely doing so, including over the objections of Warren Commission attorneys. This is just the tip of the iceberg. For example, to see how the FBI fabricated the "evidence" for the rifle that allegedly killed JFK, see this link: Oswald Did NOT Purchase a Rifle from Kleins

David, I don’t think it’s a legend at all. Citing a 4/11/78 HSCA interview with Hurt, John A. wrote (emphasis added by me): In 1978 the HSCA contacted John David Hurt at 201 Hillsborough St. Apt 4 in Raleigh, NC (phone# 919-834-7430). Hurt received a law degree from the University of Georgia, but never practiced. He was formerly with the Army Counterintelligence corps in Europe and Japan (1942-1946) and was recently in the insurance business. Hurt was a short, middle-aged man who, as a result of severe arthritis, was missing most of his fingers from both hands. He was disabled in 1955 and received full government disability. John Hurt told HSCA investigators that he had phone number 919-834-7430 for the last 20 years. 249 [H&L, p. 931]

These are the million dollar questions that I’ve wondered about for years. Captain Fritz, George Butler, Chief Curry, and ADA William Alexander ALL said it was obvious that Oswald had been trained to resist interrogation. They, and probably many others, surely knew there was far more to this suspect than met the eye. By the time he publicly declared himself a patsy, Oswald apparently recognized he was being framed, and, at some point, he was surely going to sing like a canary. My guess is he would have wanted a private meeting, and an attorney representing him would be perhaps his best opportunity, to tell his story and determine the best course of action. Allowing him to live long enough to do this was unthinkable for some. I've also wondered if he didn't confide in someone before his death. If he did, my guess is he would have chosen the highest-level official he was able to speak with privately, but I don't know if such a circumstance existed.

Sure... But Thomas Kelley, Captain Fritz, Chief Curry, “Marguerite Oswald,” and Ruth Paine, in addition to Dallas Atty. H. Louis Nichols, all said Oswald asked for Abt. Of all the usual suspects, I’m inclined to believe the WC reports about H. Louis Nichols. We're all guessing here, but my guess is that noted commie Harvey Oswald asked for noted commie defender John Abt. Why not?

H. Louis Nichols, who at the time of the assassination was the President of the Dallas Bar Association, testified to the WC that Oswald told him when he visited him in jail that he (Oswald) wanted to contact Abt. Mr. NICHOLS [....] I informed him that I was there to see whether or not he had a lawyer, or wanted a lawyer, and he said--he asked me first did I know a lawyer in New York named John Abt, and I don't know if it is A-b-t, or A-p-t. Mr. STERN. I believe it is A-b-t. Mr. NICHOLS. I believe it is. In New York City, I said I didn't know him, and he said, "Well, I would like to have him to represent me," and at some period I believe prior to that, either in talking to the police, or talking to--must have been talking to either Captain King or the chief---I had been told that some effort had been made to get hold of Mr. Abt, and that he was in Connecticut at his home, and maybe, and I have forgotten who said who was trying to get ahold of him. At least, I did vaguely know that someone was trying to get ahold of him, but I told Mr. Oswald I didn't know him. He said, "Well, that is the man he would like to have represent him." Then he asked me if I knew any lawyers who were members of the American Civil Liberties Union, and he said, "Well, I am a member of that organization, and I would like to have somebody who is a member of that organization represent me." And I said, "I'm sorry, I don't know anybody who is a member of that organization." Although, as it turned out later, a number of lawyers I know are members. Two or three of them called me later. He said, "Well, if I can't get either one of those, and if I can----" Mr. STERN. That is either---- Mr. NICHOLS. "Either Mr. Abt or someone who is a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and if I can find a lawyer here who believes in anything I believe in, and believes as I believe, and believes in my innocence"-then paused a little bit, and went on a little bit and said, "as much as he can, I might let him represent me." John K -- John A. didn't mention anything about researching Eckdahl on his recent trip to Asia.

John, It would be funnier if it wasn’t so creepy, especially since you went out of your way in several of your posts here to say how much you disliked communist politics. What fine journalism outfit put that list together but managed to exclude people like Stalin, Lenin, Marx, Khrushchev, etc.? Did this originate from i.postimg.cc, or did you just use that server to post here?

It’s hard to cope with Google’s “fair use” page deletions, but it looks as if Mr. Scott found anomalies in just about all of “Oswald’s” paychecks, at least the post-Marine Corps checks. Was Harvey paid more for his services than Hoover wanted to admit, requiring falsification of the employment records? That’s just a guess, of course, but Mr. Scott goes into some detail about problems with the JCS checks in note 11 below.

John, Page 95 of that PDS book says, “at least some of Oswald’s alleged paychecks from the Reily company are apparently not genuine as transmitted to the Warren Commission; the FBI was aware they had a problem in this area; and they went out of their way to conceal the problem.8” SEE HERE. I haven’t found endnote 8 yet. ALSO SEE HERE. EDIT: The endnote from page 95 appears to be on page 332, but when I got to page 331, Google decided I had abused my PDS privileges for a while and shut me down.

John, That doesn’t ring a bell for me; maybe DJ remembers something. But it does point to how weird the Official Story® of these three employers is. For one thing, both Reily Coffee and JCS seemed to have clear intel connections. What was a so-called commie defector, who told a U.S. official in Moscow he would tell the enemy everything he knew about his time in the Marine Corps, doing working for these companies? According to John A., JCS particularly did sensitive work for the Navy and the Army Mapping Service. “Oswald” started working there during the Cuban Missile Crisis! Second, why did the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) on two different occasions include only “Oswald’s” work at these three companies, plus the Book Depository, in his lifetime earnings report; first in it’s report to Marina after Harvey’s death, and second in answer to a direct request from the HSCA? ------------------- ----------------- “Copies of three pages of the Warren Commission Report” offered as SSA employment evidence? Hah-hah! Someone at the SSA knew that the Official Story of “Oswald’s” pre-Marine Corps employment was bogus, as was “Oswald’s” alleged 1956 IRS tax return: It’s easy to prove the above “document” is phony. For one thing, “Oswald” was employed by the Marine Corps during part of 1956 and, therefore, his Marine income should have been included, but it wasn’t. Why? Probably because whoever fabricated the document and supporting documents didn’t know how much “Oswald” earned in the military at the time. His Marine income wasn’t certified until September 15, 1964, long after the 1956 Form 1040 was fabricated.

The surviving school records only make sense when you understand the two Oswalds and their differences. After hiding out in North Dakota from the New York City courts, HARVEY Oswald and Mysterious Marge moved to New Orleans, where Harvey attended Beauregard School in the fall semester of 1953. During the very same term, LEE Oswald attended PS 44 in the Bronx. This is very clear from documents published by the Warren Commission. But many people have wondered why Harvey only had two courses—General Science and Phys Ed—in his first semester at Beauregard. The answer that finally occurred to me is really quite simple. Just a short time earlier in New York City, Harvey had nearly endangered the entire H&L project because of his truancy and his increasing involvement with the NYC legal system. After the escape to North Dakota, Harvey had to be eased gently back into school, and so in New Orleans he was apparently given just the two classes to make the transition to regular school attendance more tolerable. The gradual re-introduction to school apparently worked, because HARVEY Oswald attended Beauregard throughout the fall semester of 1953 with nearly perfect attendance of 89 days present and just one day absent. During the very same semester in NYC, LEE Oswald attended PS 44 for 62 full days and 8 half days, absent for 3 full days and 8 half days. The schooling of the two Oswalds can be easily traced at least through two more consecutive school terms. For a pretty good but unfinished look at these terms, see: Lee and Harvey in Three Consecutive School Semesters

John, We could debate whether to trust Hartogs’ description of (Harvey) Oswald in The Two Assassins, but don’t forget that another psychiatrist at Youth House, Dr. Milton Kurian, said he was surprised to learn Harvey was 13 years and that “he appeared quite small for his age....” Probation officer John Carro also described “LHO” as small. On a Public School 44 health card dated May, 1953, (LEE) Oswald’s height was listed at 5’ 4-1/2”, more than seven inches taller than the 4’ 8” (Harvey) Oswald measured at Youth House the previous month. These appear to be two different kids. The whole school truancy business that landed Harvey in Youth House is another clear example of the distinctions between the pair. In 1953, real Marguerite and LEE were living in a basement apartment at 1455 Sheridan in the Bronx while LEE was attending PS 44. Starting in late 1952, HARVEY and “Mysterious Marge” (nice phrase!) were on 179th St.--just three blocks from the Bronx Zoo--while Harvey was supposed to be attending PS 117. But was mostly truant. Records for PS 117 show that (Harvey) Oswald attended only 15 of 62 days in school during late 1952 through March 23, 1953. This is clearly serious truancy. None other than NYC FBI SAC John Malone reviewed in court “LHO’s” original school records that Judge Florence Kelley refused, until ordered otherwise, to allow the FBI to confiscate. In his report to Hoover, SAC Malone wrote, “"Oswald's attendance record at PS #44 from 3/23/53 to 1/12/54 was 171 and 11 half-days present and 18 and 11 half days absent.” This is clearly NOT serious truancy, and is indicative of the school history of the two Oswalds. Harvey was often truant, Lee was not. The fact that the NYC court system was demanding the presence of (Harvey) Oswald and his “mother” in court was surely an absolute disaster for the nascent H&L program. Can you imagine LEE Oswald somehow getting tangled up in this and accused of truancy? He had pretty good attendance nearly everywhere in school. What would he have said in court? Mysterious Marge and Harvey apparently fled NYC to hide out, in of all places, Stanley, North Dakota. Have you ever been to North Dakota? It’s about as empty and rural as a Great Plains state can get, remarkably different from NYC. Sorry to talk so long. I must have too much time on my hands.