Leslie Sharp

Returning to Raymond Gallagher’s exceptional research and subsequent astute insight into Bard Odum’s role, combined with that of author Bill Simpich the following is a truncated version of just how enmeshed the FBI agent was in guaranteeing that Oswald alone would be charged with Kennedy’s death: there was no conspiracy, there was no “coup” other than a blow to the president’s head. After transferring the rifle from the “scene of the crime” to DPD headquarters, after witnessing the arrest of Oswald at the Texas Theatre, and following a stop off to interview a witness in the Tippit shooting, Odum either cooled his heels the rest of the afternoon, or pursued leads that were not documented or have not been released. We do know from records that he ended up with shells and slugs from the Tippit scene in his pocket. We also know with certainty that within twenty-four hours of the assassination, Odum was pulled into yet another attempt to cement Oswald’s guilt. Again, author Bill Simpich: “[Wallace] Heitman had a close colleague—Bardwell Odum . . . while Heitman specialized in working with the Russians and the Cubans as a valued CIA liaison for the Dallas office, Odum was a senior criminal specialist and a favorite of Dallas FBI chief Gordon Shanklin. Heitman was the man who met Eldon Rudd on the tarmac the night of the assassination. Rudd was delivering documents provided to him by CIA Mexico City chief Win Scott—a photo of the Mystery Man that Scott allegedly believed was Oswald. . . .” Simpich reminds us that J. Walton Moore, agent in charge of the CIA’s Dallas office, was a college roommate of Wallace Heitman. It was Moore that introduced George de Mohrenschildt to the returned “defector,” Oswald, and Moore and de Mohrenschildt shared a friendship with Texas oilman and former WWI Col. Lawrence Orlov who is named in the Lafitte datebook. CIA agent Heitman’s buddy, SA Odum was teamed up that evening with James Hosty, the agent assigned to Oswald since his return from the Soviet Union and infamous for having destroyed an alleged note from Oswald. Odum was the only agent to later claim that Hosty’s story about the Oswald note was erroneous. Ruth Paine soon changed her assessment of the note to align with Bard’s by insisting that the note was yet “another lie” told by Lee. When the photos arrived from Mexico City, after cropping any vestiges of the embassy building behind the image of a man in the photo that they intended to present to Marina for identification, the Hosty/Odum team proceeded to the motel in Garland, north of downtown, to confront her. Enter Marguerite Oswald who ran interference that night, and refused to allow Odum to interrogate either of them. Despite those seeming early unpleasantries, a photo of the Bard facing Marina who is cradling her newborn (seen in the photograph section of this book) attests to the FBI agent’s persistence. It also reveals that Ilya Mamantov was no longer her translator. The woman in the middle of the photo has been identified as a skilled Russian translator. Apparently Ilya had served his purpose. Over the ensuing months, while CIA’s Heitman relentlessly pursued a very vulnerable Marina, pressuring her to confirm the latest official version of the investigation, whatever version that was, Bardwell would have cordial visits with Ruth Paine and Michael at least ten more times. In fact, Ruth referred to Bardwell as her “primary contact”; Freudian slip perhaps, or, it is also possible that both she and Michael were always kept in the dark. Researcher Gallagher additionally draws attention to Ruth’s testimony which indicates that Agent Odum was involved in the seizure of Lee’s wedding ring—a ring that in the following decades would serve as centerpiece of the Sixth Floor Museum, ensconced in a plexiglass case positioned dead center in the passageway through the main floor. The ring has been a nuanced symbol advancing the myth of the lone gun assassin in the minds of millions upon millions of visitors to the Dealey Plaza over decades. Odum also pursued employees at the Texas Employment Commission responsible for placing Oswald in several jobs. One of those TEC employees made a permanent move from the area she had lived in for decades within months of Odum’s interviews. Some suggest she was terrified. Also, it was Odum who ordered construction of a replica of the alleged bag that concealed the alleged weapon, from materials found in the depository shipping room, to show to Wesley Buel Frazier, the Paine's neighbor and Lee's ride to work the morning of November 22. There can be little doubt that Bard was hell bent on perpetuating the case against the patsy, Lee Oswald. Researcher/author Simpich also references records that indicate the confusion facilitated by Odum around the identification of a Minox camera discovered in the Paine’s garage, discrepancies that were fueled by Michael Paine’s sudden realization that the camera was his. Simpich then reminds us of perhaps the most intriguing fact relevant to the pursuit of the real caretaker: SA Odum and Oswald had shared the same Irving barber, Cliff Shasteen. Absent the official records of Odum’s work schedule throughout 1963 to determine who he may or may not have been assigned, Shasteen provides perhaps the single most solid clue in support of the hypothesis that he was the Oswald caretaker named by Lafitte beginning in March 1963. Two final aspects of Odum’s approach to the investigation convince us of his crucial contribution to the diversion created by the arrest and indictment of the patsy. In 2002, researchers Tink Thompson and Gary Aguilar tracked down Odum to ask about a FBI summary memo of interviews of those who witnessed the “magic bullet,” the projectile that was alleged to have penetrated both John Kennedy and the man sitting in the jump seat of the limousine in front of the president, Texas Governor John Connally. The memo includes a statement by O. P. Wright, a former policeman working at Parkland Hospital when the bullet (known as Warren Commission Exhibit #399) was discovered. Wright insisted that the bullet in question was pointed tip and not rounded as is the bullet housed in the National Archives. During the 2002 interview, Odum disavowed the memo, insisting that he was never in possession of the “magic” bullet, despite FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s memo indicating unequivocally that his agent in Dallas, Bardwell Odum was included in the provenance of what was the most phenomenal piece of evidence in support of the lone gunman theory central to the function of “the patsy.” The ease with which Odum challenged his ultimate superior, FBI Director Hoover who he had served for over two decades, is telling.

Warren Commissioner John J. McCloy asked Day: "There was never any doubt in your mind what the rifle was from the minute you saw it?" Day replied, "No, sir; It was stamped right on there, 6.5, and when en route to the office with Mr. Odum, the FBI agent who drove me in, he radioed it in, he radioed in what it was to the FBI over the air."61 The HSCA added that "Later that day, the rifle's six-round cartridge clip was removed by Lieutenant Day in the Dallas Police Crime Laboratory."62 Evica further points out that Day waited until he got to his office to dictate a detailed description of the rifle, which remained in his possession from the moment it was found. That description and four others are missing from the Commission's public record: 1) Weitzman's FBI description, 2) Day's dictated memo, 3) Day's description to FBI Special Agent Bardwell D. Odum, 4) Odum's broadcast, and 5) Dallas police Detective C.N. Dhority's description.63 Five descriptions that would have prevented the "folklore" of a planted rifle were not made public. https://www.assassinationresearch.com/v1n2/gtds.html

AIR FORCE COL. HERSCHEL V. WILLIAMS "In addition to his legitimate reason for dealing closely with Ilse Skorzeny at Previews, Col. Williams was apparently in frequent communication with Otto." In what has been reported as a vicious competition for status and financing, Donovan’s OSS won out over Frenchy Grombach’s The Pond. Ironically, later Donovan’s World Commerce Corp. would assume a structure and profile similar to that of Grombach’s organization, serving as cover for what was tantamount to a semi-private/government front for espionage and global intel operations. The minor thread in the tapestry, from Grombach to our investigation, can best be condensed in a vignette of his history in New Orleans. “Frenchy” was the son of the French Consul in New Orleans, and as a young man, he was infamous for his boxing skills, shared with the son of an executive of Southern Cotton Oil Co. in New Orleans, Herschel V. Williams. Years later, former OSS agent and Air Force Col. Williams was hired as a senior executive of NYC Previews Inc., the international real estate firm that provided Otto Skorzeny’s wife Ilse a cover as she maneuvered the globe in the decade leading to the assassination in Dallas.The Hawley’s banking operation in Connecticut attracted to the board founded by their common ancestor in the mid-1800s, the famed aviation pioneer, Igor Sikorsky, a native of Kiev [now the capital of Ukraine]. Of significance to our inquiry into Tom and Carolyn Hawley Davis, in 1963, Igor was the honorary chairman of the Tolstoy Foundation, an aid organization that he helped found in 1939. On the board of the foundation in ’63 was Herschel V. Williams, a Sr. VP of Previews, Inc. where Ilse Skorzeny enjoyed cover, as well as Paul Raigorodsky, the Russian born oil geologist based in Dallas, known as the known as the "Czar of the White Russian community.” Raigorodsky had served as head of the Office of Petroleum Coordination for War during the war, reporting to Donald Nelson (a corporate alumni of Sears & Roebuck) who was chief of the WPB; Nelson in turn, reported to Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes who was succeeded by Thomas Proctor’s good friend and future law partner, Paul McNutt, as High Commissioner of the Philippines. At the time, Raigorodsky’s father-in-law was the vice chairman of the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve Board in the 1920s. Raigorodsky and H. V. Williams have already been mentioned, but for the purpose of understanding the significance of the petroleum geologist as a pivotal character in Dallas in the lead up to the assassination as well as William’s role in real estate venture Previews, Inc., it is important to first absorb the context of these Connecticut connections, including those with the Hawley’s bank. It was Raigorodsky who testified before the Warren Commission that Jean de Menil of Schlumberger, Ltd. was in direct discussions with George de Mohrenschildt related to operations in Haiti the summer of 1963—around the time that the Hawley’s daughter Carolyn was living with her husband, Tom Davis, in Southern California as he staged a recruitment for the invasion of the island. When interviewed by authorities, Carolyn explained that she and Tom were traveling on her credit card; she also stated that she was employed by a “typewriter firm.” Bridgeport-based Underwood Typewriter (a military contractor during WWII) had a plant in Van Nuys, CA, just thirty minutes from Ventura where the Davis’s said they resided when questioned by authorities at the Tahiti Village motel in Downey, CA. Carolyn’s family bank board in Bridgeport included Dennis. S. Sammis, senior vice president of Underwood Corp. (see additional implications of the aforementioned detail in Endnotes to this chapter.) Thus exemplifies the milieu and events surrounding the twenty-six-year-old bride, Carolyn Hawley Davis—steeped in three centuries of New England banking and social standing—as she stepped off that plane in Madrid with her new husband, twenty-seven-year-old jack of all trades, a convicted felon and soldier-of-fortune from Texas, Thomas Eli Davis. *** While Tom and Carolyn Davis were preparing for their September 1963 jaunt to Mexico City where they had lived periodically, Lee Harvey Oswald was standing in line with William Gaudet. Both men were there to secure a visitor’s visa allowing them into Mexico. Many familiar with assassination research will be familiar with the name Gaudet as the man who boarded the same bus in the Crescent City as Oswald on September 26 en route to Mexico City. As we learned, Lafitte entered the name Gaudet in his datebook following the words, “Oswald – Mex City”. A 1951 State Department Policy Planning memo, directed from PP staffer Robert Joyce to Nitze, expressed horror at the virulence of the “first strike” advocates in Washington at that time. Joyce honed in on a prominent advocate of war: “A Lt. Col. Herschel Williams I have long thought has played an important role in what might be called Air Force thinking in the ‘drop it now’ school.” Williams “now considers himself somewhat of a geopolitician. He has a new and rich wife, [the daughter of a prominent Missouri Senator], and I understand entertains lavishly in Washington along the lines which he and his wife regard as a political salon. He does not disguise his extreme hostility to the Department of State and what he regards to be the Department’s soft policy with regard to the Soviet Union. I have been advised he is listened to with attention and respect by some of his superiors in A-2. I am also advised that he is a close personal friend of Mr. Stuart Symington, who apparently has a high regard for Williams’ views on the world situation. From my short meetings with Williams, I consider him to be an ignorant, conceited, and wrong-headed man.” Joyce continued: “I know for a fact that Herschel Williams is a close friend and more or less constant companion of Mr. James Burnham, the author of The Struggle for the World, The Coming Defeat of Communism, and other books. I am also advised that Mr. Burnham sees quite frequently Isaac Don Levine. [sic] As you know, Messrs. Burnham and Levine are former Marxists who are now among the leading and more extreme of the hate-Stalin-and-do-something-about-it-at-once school. In short, I believe there is a great deal of evidence that there is a James Burnham-Herschel Williams-Air Force-Symington nexus…” The following day, Nitze sent an internal State Department memo in which he quoted a contact of his, Professor George Taylor, who had recently attended a dinner party held at the home of Freda Utley, a right-wing writer who was also a business associate of Otto Skorzeny. Taylor described the guests at the party as being a group of militant ex-communists who were “united by a sense of righteous urgency for immediate war with the Soviet Union.” Another guest at the Utley party was identified by Taylor as “an Air Force Lt. Col. named Williams.” Taylor told Nitze that “great adulation was paid to Williams by the ex-communists present. They listened to his words as authoritative. They praised him as the one man within the circles of government who understood the situation.” Professor Taylor described Williams as “a very articulate man of about 40, endowed with a college sophomore comprehension of communism and a set of blood-curdling clichés.” Williams was also appointed to the board of the Tolstoy Foundation, alongside numerous intelligence-connected ultraconservatives including the kingpin of the Dallas White Russian community, oil industry expert Paul Raigorodsky, Jean de Menil of Schlumberger, and Igor Sikorsky, all of whom are pursued in Chapters 9 and 10. The Tolstoy Foundation was known as one of the most far-right post-war refugee organizations devoted to cultivating a particular kind of Russian émigré. Tolstoy board member Vadim Makaroff had even led a campaign of vilification in 1951 against the extremely conservative David Martin of IRC who we met previously, accusing him of being a “hidden Communist” due to Martin’s policy of reaching out to certain left-wing assets. In addition to his legitimate reason for dealing closely with Ilse Skorzeny at Previews, Col. Williams was apparently in frequent communication with Otto. — Coup in Dallas . . . by H. P. Albarelli Jr, with Leslie Sharp and Alan Kent

My response to Aaron Good: Thanks for this, and I didn’t realize you were supportive of the laudable FourDiedTrying project. I wasn’t aware of the 1962 document so thanks for drawing my attention to it. I believe Skorzeny was under indictment for a fraudulent nickel deal in either Belgium or his home country by then so it’s possible VÖST wanted to distance themselves? Or perhaps they were victim of the Skorzeny scheme? Have you or Prof. Scott ventured to speculate the identify of the officer referred to in the doc? Have you cross-referenced with Willoughby’s files? I’ll forward this to a researcher knowledgable. Is it apparent to you from this document that the officer was active duty in 1962? I read a hint of Gen. Walker in the reference to “n***r states”. You may be aware that according to a Walker-related document buried in bureau files, in January 1963 he had sent circulars to various European fascists calling for worldwide action. At the same time, he had written personal letters to OAS in France as well as ideologically aligned friends in Madrid and in Lausanne. We know from Willoughby’s itinerary that he planned a trip to the latter in the fall of ’63 where he would meet Yaroslav Stetsko of the OUN. Is it reasonable to consider that the officer in the September 1962 document was from either or both the Willoughby and Walker camps. In spite of ‘retirement’ they both appear to have extracted loyalty among active duty as well as retired. For instance, among the army attachés assigned to track Skorzeny’s arms deals in the early 1950s was Col. Charles Askins, the renowned marksman who served in the Texas Border Patrol before and following WWII. Askins is identified in the Lafitte datebook as having been given the “ok” by Gen. Willoughby for Lancelot Project. And of course there is Wittington, or perhaps Alderson . . . for another discussion. In context of Skorzeny’s having purportedly cut a deal with Mossad in exchange for assassinating Krug, Rexist leader Leon Degrelle — who was residing in exile in Madrid — was under threat of extradition by the Israelis around this time. There has been speculation that he was convinced Pres. Kennedy would cave and turn a blind eye. (For related text, see reply **) Are you familiar with Amit Meir’s remarks that he considered Skorzeny for a back door entreé to Nasser? The ‘operation’ never came to fruition and Meir indicates he never used Skorzeny again. Photos of Meir in Tucson with Angleton are provocative to say the least. If I could clarify, the “disputed” authenticity of the Pierre Lafitte datebook which Hank serendipitously became aware of and eventually gained access to, seems to originate with individuals who have never laid eyes on the physical instrument. The question, and even skepticism, of authentication is reasonable and was anticipated, but to “dispute” authentication without cause is unprofessional — and in our view, rife with potential interference with the progression of the cold case murder investigation.

Nov 14, 2023 By: Aaron Good A recently discovered document found in West German archives reveals that during or just before the month of September 1962, a US military officer met with notorious Nazi assassin and terrorist Otto Skorzeny. The US officer spoke with Skorzeny in Madrid, Spain to complain about the foreign policy of US President John F. Kennedy. The document was discovered within the Otto Skorzeny file of Germany's BND archives. German researcher and filmmaker Dirk Pohlmann found the report and shared it with his friend, the great Swedish academic Ola Tunander---who then forwarded it to Peter Dale Scott and me. It raises very interesting questions about Skorzeny, a man who was already a suspect in the eyes of some JFK assassination researchers. This is a scan of the document: Here is a working English translation: Subject: Skorzeny, Madrid With respect to the documents in Madrid, an excerpt from a report from an [outsider] whose sources have significant business in Spain via the Trading Company of Otto Skorzeny. The report is dated Sept. 21, 1962. Until recently, Skorzeny was the general representative of the VÖST [Note: this appears to refer to a Nazi manufacturing company, Voestalpine]. This position was terminated without justification. It’s assumed, that either the Socialist Party of Austria or even the [Socialist Union] was behind this. Materially, Skorzeny should be fine without the position with the VÖST. Recently he’s supposed to have purchased property in Ireland and has had his villa in Mallorca for a while, although he lives in his [flat] in Madrid. According to the source, Skorzeny has continued contact with American military, particularly contact with flight officers [probably closer to say air force officers] of the US Army. In these circles [i.e., among US military officers], one is distraught over the politics of the current president and his close advisors. The advisors are “wusses” who do not believe in the supremacy of the west over the east. The election of Kennedy was a catastrophe, which was achieved by bribery and corruption which cannot be undone in one legislative session, etc Similarly, the officers are critical of the millions spent on Poland solely for elections or given to “n****r states” [i.e., African nation-states] whose diaspora in the US could be courted as voters. According to Skorzeny, American foreign policy is a chain reaction of stupid decisions that isn’t a real foreign policy – rather, it’s foreign policy based on domestic politics (as is common for America). The September 21, 1962 date is notable. It is likely that the meeting took place in that month, an eventful month for Skorzeny. On September 11, 1962, a German scientist named Heinz Krug vanished after a day spent at his office. Krug was one of many former Nazi rocket scientists who were working for Nasser's Egypt. In 2016, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported "that Krug was murdered as part of an Israeli espionage plot to intimidate the German scientists working for Egypt." According to Dan Raviv and Yossi Melmanm, the authors of the article, [T]he most astounding revelation is the Mossad agent who fired the fatal gunshots: Otto Skorzeny, one of the Israeli spy agency’s most valuable assets, was a former lieutenant colonel in Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS and one of Adolf Hitler’s personal favorites among the party’s commando leaders. The Führer, in fact, awarded Skorzeny the army’s most prestigious medal, the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, for leading the rescue operation that plucked his friend Benito Mussolini out from the hands of his captors. But that was then. By 1962, according to our sources—who spoke only on the promise that they not be identified—Skorzeny had a different employer. The story of how that came to be is one of the most important untold tales in the archives of the Mossad. As detailed by Professor Chris Simpson in Blowback: America’s Recruitment Of Nazis And Its Effects On The Cold War, Skorzeny was assisted in a mysterious jailbreak before he could be tried for war crimes. He was then used by the CIA to get close to the Egyptian insurgent officers led by Gamal Nasser. Allen Dulles tasked the Nazi spymaster Reinhard Gehlen with helping the Egyptian officers on intelligence and security matters. Gehlen then deployed Otto Skorzeny to assist Nasser and company. According to Raviv and Melmanm it was years later---in early 1962---that Mossad recruited Skorzeny. During the strange evening when he was recruited, Skorzeny became suspicious about two new friends that he and his wife (the niece of Hjalmar Schacht, aka "Hitler's banker") had met in a bar in Madrid. Surmising that they were not who they claimed to be, Skorzeny pulled a gun on them and said, “I know who you are, and I know why you’re here. You are Mossad, and you’ve come to kill me.” The Israeli spies explained that they were not there to kill him, but that if he killed them, Mossad would send spies who would indeed kill him. However, they merely needed Skorzeny to do some jobs for Mossad. In exchange, they agreed to have Skorzeny's name removed from an Israeli list of Nazi war criminals. This was how a Nazi assassin went from being a war criminal awaiting trial, to being a CIA asset, to being a Mossad agent, to killing a German scientist at the behest of Israel, to finally having a friendly chat with a high-ranking, right-wing US Air Force officer about how President Kennedy was a disaster for giving too much away to black people and for not recognizing the supremacy of the West over the East. For those who have been following the release of the Four Died Trying film series, it is also worth noting how the treason-minded US military officer in question here also had complaints about "millions...given to 'n****r states' [i.e., African nation-states] whose diaspora in the US could be courted as voters." When Four Died Trying moves to the next major assassination after President Kennedy---the murder of Malcolm X in 1965---viewers will learn about how US foreign policy elites were alarmed at Malcolm X and his campaign to tie African liberation to the struggle of black Americans. As mentioned above, some respected JFK researchers believe that Skorzeny was a key figure in the Dallas assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While the book Coup in Dallas relies on some source material of disputed authenticity, it contains much interesting material on Otto Skorzeny. Regardless of the extent of Skorzeny's actual involvement in the Dallas plot, this newly discovered 1962 memo shows how deadly serious the Cold War national security state was in terms of opposing the foreign policy of President Kennedy https://www.fourdiedtrying.com/post/why-did-a-high-ranking-us-military-officer-meet-with-a-nazi-assassin-in-1962-to-complain-about-jfk

RUTH and BARD . . . A Review Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate ...Ruth sat on the November 9 Kostin letter until after the assassination. Why? Had she phoned the number Hosty left with her on November 1 and shared that a former defector was attempting to redefect with wife and child, would Hosty have moved post-haste to interview Oswald? Did she prompt Od...

Dallas… Dallas, ah goodness, I’m not sure what to say… I wasn’t there anywhere near as often as Pierre… not at all. But Pierre would say it was… Dallas was like the arms and legs of the American secret service, your CIA…. —Rene Lafitte Rene says oil smooths the way to silent, and sometimes deadly, change. —Lafitte notes The lay of the land… lay of the land, Dallas —Lafitte datebook, November 19, 1963 A thorough exposé of world class American Fascist and renowned modernist architect Philip Johnson — designer of the Kennedy Memorial in Dallas, the Hunt oil dynasty's Thanksgiving Tower and Carolyn Rose Hunt's Crescent Court — juxtaposed with Carlson's interview of Putin who insists without challenge that Poland started WWII. Philip Johnson had been a bit more coarse when writing about Hitler's invasion, arguing that Poland was asking for it. begin min. 6:45

Mr. LIEBELER. Did you say that you also started working at a new job that same day? Mrs. ODIO. No, sir. Mr. LIEBELER. But you had been working on the day that you did move? Mrs. ODIO. I started working initially the 15th of September, because it was too far away where I lived in Irving. I started the 15th of September, I am almost sure of the 15th or the 9th. Let me see what day was the 9th. It was a Monday. It was the 9th, sir, that I started working at National Chemsearch. (Special Agent Bardwell O. Odum of the Federal Bureau of Investigation entered the hearing room.) Mr. LIEBELER. This is Mr. Odum from the FBI. As a matter of fact, Mr. Odum was the man that interviewed you. Mrs. ODIO. I remember. He looked very familiar. Mr. [LIEBELER]. What is the name? Mr. [sic] ODIO. I interview so many people, it slips my mind at the moment. Agent Odum left the hearing room…

@David McLean Scott McLeod is intriguing, particularly his personal friendship with Sheffield Edwards.* If I haven't already shared, McLeod (a former FBI agent) was posted in Ireland at the time the Skorzenys were lobbying for permanent residence visas. His ambassadorship proposed by Pres. Eisenhower was challenged by only one Senator, John F. Kennedy. What did Kennedy know? I wasn't aware of Schacht's role with Onassis, but it 'makes sense.' Is it any accident Jackie fell under Onassis' spell. We've latterly learned that Lafitte was a private chef on one of Niarchos' private yachts sometime in the '50s; it would make sense if it was late in the decade following Lafitte's sting op in Las Vegas. Does this suggest Lafitte met Al Ulmer at some point? Ulmer was posted in Madrid when Otto began operations under cover of World Commerce; Otto's 'handler', AF attaché Wittington reported to Ulmer; of huge significance yet to be exposed sufficiently was Win Scott's role as Chief of Western Division special operations - covering Europe - at the same time his future business partner Ulmer was keeping tabs on Skorzeny in Madrid. We have at least one document regarding Otto's Madrid activities with Win Scott's signature. At the same time, Col. Charles Askins - expert marksman and former Texas Border Patrol - was posted as army attaché in Madrid and assigned hands-on surveillance of Otto's arms deals. Col. Askins had served with Harlon B. Carter who became head of the Border Patrol and advanced to SW region chief of Immigration and Naturalization Services in 1963, placing him in command of tracking potential assassins traveling in and out of Dallas the week of the assassination. Askins appears in the 1963 datebook maintained by Pierre Lafitte on September 12, October 2, and October 8. Harlon Carter left INS in 1967 for an active role in the National Rifle Association and in 1977 led what is now referred to as the Revolt at Cincinnati when the once benign sportsmen's association morphed into the most powerful lobbying effort on behalf of the arms and munitions industry — under the guise of Second Amendment rights. *Sheffield Edwards and wife were close personal friends of Pierre and Rene Lafitte; his name and ref. to his wife appear in Pierre's 1963 datebook.

Ruth's own testimony is evidence she and Michael were on first name basis with SA Bard Odum. Following leads is hardly inappropriate given the implications. Ruth sat on the November 9 Kostin letter until after the assassination. Why? Had she phoned the number Hosty left with her on November 1 and shared that a former defector was attempting to redefect with wife and child, would Hosty have moved post-haste to interview Oswald? Did she prompt Odum to pursue the Walker incident? Had the Paines ever mentioned to Bard that the Russian wife of an American defector was living with Ruth? Why was Odum teamed with Hosty the evening of the 22nd? Why is Odum in virtually every critical scene in the early weeks of the investigation and in particular the first forty-eight hours, yet he is never called to testify before the WC: TSBD bldg. rifle Texas Theatre arrest Tippit shooting scene Search of Paine home Mexico City photograph Marguerite and Marina #399 Sylvia Odio Walker fragment etc.

A similar discussion transpired recently on the 'Reiner talks about two Oswalds' thread. I think it's important to retrace Gallagher's steps to confirm that records indicate two Odums. I read a subtle nuance or irony in the phrase as if he's a bit incredulous. The reason for this thread is to prompt a review of Bard Odum's role in the Paine's life pre-assassination (if any), and how that might have affected the investigation.

SA Bardwell Odum provides fascinating bookends to the November 23, 1963 DMN article first to report a possible link between the Walker shooting and the assassination of President Kennedy: Gallagher writes that Ruth also had a conversation with “Bard” about the General Walker shooting before there was reason to believe that Lee was involved. From testimony: Ruth Paine. I don’t know whether your accounts of what the FBI has it down of their conversation with me include one meeting with Bardwell Odum, right after the newspapers had indicated something of a shot at Walker, before there was any corroborative details such as the contents of a note. (9H387) Dallas Morning News November 23, 1963 "Officials Recall Sniper Shooting At Walker Home" Police Friday were not overlooking a possibility that President Kennedy's assassin may have been the mystery sniper who shot at Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker last April 10. A rifle bullet was fired into the study of Walker's North Dallas [??] home at 4011 Turtle Creek by a sniper who used a backyard fence to stead his aim. The bullet slammed into a wall barely an inch from the former general's head. Police determined that the bullet was fired from a 30.06 rifle. The sniper attack occurred two nights after th Walker had returned from a coast to coast anti-Communist crusade which he called "Midnight Alert." From HSCA files some sixteen years later: . . . Lieutenant Day also advised that he retrieved the Walker bullet from the CCCIL on December 2, 1963, and gave it to FBI Special Agent Bardwell D. Odum on the same date. Special Agent Odum forwarded the Walker bullet to FBI Laboratory where it arrived for examination on December 4, 1963.

@Joe Bauer Yes, we know the Warren Commission failed miserably when they didn't call Odum to testify; and why would their investigators fail to recognize his 'ubiquitous' role, or did they? But, beyond that, why have researchers who rail against the WC Report ignored the one FBI Agent whose finger was in virtually every pie of the Dallas investigation? Raymond Gallagher realized Odum's significance and published in Fourth Decade decades ago; Bill Simpich picked up the gauntlet, as have we in Coup in Dallas. It appears the requisite innate curiosity of those who interviewed Ruth and Michael over the years was lacking. I've searched recent Ed Forum threads focused on the Paine couple for any mention of the apparent personal relationship they shared with SA Bard Odum prior to the assassination and find nothing. Those who vigorously defend Ruth in particular seem to either be disinterested or to have deliberately avoided the history. With that, I would ask @Greg Doudna whether he pursued specifics from Ruth's testimony presented in this thread? @Ron Bulman I haven't located the full document referenced here (HSCA #01431). Have you? Simpich may have a link to it in his essay available on MFF. At the very same time, according to Hosty, Bardwell was at the Texas Theater witnessing the arrest of LHO. Odum, himself made a statement (HSCA document #01431) describing his observing the arrest. His statement begins: "At approximately 2 p.m., November 22, 1963, I was informed by an unidentified policeman of the DPD that a suspect had been seen entering the back door of the Texas Theater. I immediately proceeded to the Texas Theater...."

' . . . [Ruth Paine] felt comfortable enough with “Bob” to visit Marina Oswald’s bedroom alone with SA Odum, who was at the Irving home to pick up Lee’s wedding ring for Marina. From Ruth’s testimony: Ruth Paine. “I gave it (the ring) to Mr. Odum who was in the room with me—Mr. Odum went with me to the bedroom.” (3H111-112) On another occasion, Ruth and Bardwell examined the content of Marina’s [dresser] drawers. From testimony: Ruth Paine. . . . I think she must have known that Lee had been to Mexico, judging from the materials I have already described were picked up by Mr. Odum and myself from the dresser drawer. (9H385) Ruth also had a conversation with “Bard” about the General Walker shooting before there was reason to believe that Lee was involved. From testimony: Ruth Paine. I don’t know whether your accounts of what the FBI has it down of their conversation with me include one meeting with Bardwell Odum, right after the newspapers had indicated something of a shot at Walker, before there was any corroborative details such as the contents of a note. (9H387) Ruth Paine. Agent Odum has been out a great deal. (9H106) Ruth Paine. I would guess that I report to Mr. Odum other things about— ... I talked with him a great deal. (3H10-7) — Raymond Gallagher, The Fourth Decade 'Since Ruth mentioned the Walker shooting: whatever happened to the recovered slub from General's house? From testimony:' Mr. Belin. Do you know whether or not any balistic identification was made of this slug with regard to any rifle it may have been fired from" Lt. Day. No sir, I released it to the FBI Agent B.D. Odum on December 2, 1963, at 4:10 pm. Mr. Belin. Has that ever been back in your possession since that time? Lt. Day. Not since that time. (10H271) — Raymond Gallagher, The Fourth Decade https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=48706#relPageId=20&search=9H387 see also: ' . . . Also, on May 28, 1964, Dallas Police Lieutenant J. C. Day advised an FBI Agent that on April 25, 1963, ". . . he took the bullet from the CSSS, marked it for identification . . . " and then personally took it to the City-County Criminal Investigation Laboratory (CCCIL), Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Texas, where he gave it to F. T. Alexander and Louie L. Anderson. Lieutenant Day also advised that he retrieved the Walker bullet from the CCCIL on December 2, 1963, and gave it to FBI Special Agent Bardwell D. Odum on the same date. Special Agent Odum forwarded the Walker bullet to FBI Laboratory where it arrived for examination on December 4, 1963.' ADMIN FOLDER-O1: HSCA ADMINISTRATIVE FOLDER, HSC-A TICKLER VOLUME VI, pg 9 RIF#: 124-10371-10117 (07/10/79) FBI#: 62-117290-ADMIN FOLDER-O1 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10040#relPageId=7&search=cccil Oswald Tied to Shot at Walker NYTimes, March 20, 1964 https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/20/archives/oswald-is-linked-to-shot-at-walker.html

' . . . [Ruth Paine] felt comfortable enough with “Bob” to visit Marina Oswald’s bedroom alone with SA Odum, who was at the Irving home to pick up Lee’s wedding ring for Marina. From Ruth’s testimony: Ruth Paine. “I gave it (the ring) to Mr. Odum who was in the room with me—Mr. Odum went with me to the bedroom.” (3H111-112) On another occasion, Ruth and Bardwell examined the content of Marina’s [dresser] drawers. From testimony: Ruth Paine. . . . I think she must have known that Lee had been to Mexico, judging from the materials I have already described were picked up by Mr. Odum and myself from the dresser drawer. (9H385) Ruth also had a conversation with “Bard” about the General Walker shooting before there was reason to believe that Lee was involved. From testimony: Ruth Paine. I don’t know whether your accounts of what the FBI has it down of their conversation with me include one meeting with Bardwell Odum, right after the newspapers had indicated something of a shot at Walker, before there was any corroborative details such as the contents of a note. (9H387) Ruth Paine. Agent Odum has been out a great deal. (9H106) Ruth Paine. I would guess that I report to Mr. Odum other things about— ... I talked with him a great deal. (3H10-7) — Raymond Gallagher, The Fourth Decade https://www.maryferrell.org/archive/docs/048/48706/images/img_48706_20_200.png 'Since Ruth mentioned the Walker shooting: whatever happened to the recovered slub from General's house? From testimony:' Mr. Belin. Do you know whether or not any balistic identification was made of this slug with regard to any rifle it may have been fired from" Lt. Day. No sir, I released it to the FBI Agent B.D. Odum on December 2, 1963, at 4:10 pm. Mr. Belin. Has that ever been back in your possession since that time? Lt. Day. Not since that time. (10H271) — Raymond Gallagher, The Fourth Decade https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1138#relPageId=766&search=Odum see also: ' . . . Also, on May 28, 1964, Dallas Police Lieutenant J. C. Day advised an FBI Agent that on April 25, 1963, ". . . he took the bullet from the CSSS, marked it for identification . . . " and then personally took it to the City-County Criminal Investigation Laboratory (CCCIL), Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Texas, where he gave it to F. T. Alexander and Louie L. Anderson. Lieutenant Day also advised that he retrieved the Walker bullet from the CCCIL on December 2, 1963, and gave it to FBI Special Agent Bardwell D. Odu7m on the same date. Special Agent Odum forwarded the Walker bullet to FBI Laboratory where it arrived for examination on December 4, 1963.' ADMIN FOLDER-O1: HSCA ADMINISTRATIVE FOLDER, HSC-A TICKLER VOLUME VI, pg 9 RIF#: 124-10371-10117 (07/10/79) FBI#: 62-117290-ADMIN FOLDER-O1 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10040#relPageId=7&search=cccil Oswald Tied to Shot at Walker NYTimes March 20, 1964 https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/20/archives/oswald-is-linked-to-shot-at-walker.html

The issue is whether the terms of the loan might affect the disposition of a manuscript. It appears the Curme/MFF loan may have been forgiven some years ago; if not, presumably Curme and/or the foundation board would be as anxious as any to see Final Charade in print.

A loan of $165,000 to David Lipton appears in early tax filings of Oliver Curme's newly formed Mary Ferrell Foundation.

Oswald-related entries found in the 1963 datebook maintained by Pierre Lafitte. Note: September 16, set-up complete; October 25, Oswald set in place March 26 McWillie — guns with Davis - Oswald April 7 Walker — Lee and pictures Planned soon — Can he do it? Wait [Won’t] May 10 T says tail LO - no direct contacts - calls? No report to Angleton + not here (wife) Rene says A looks like cadaver - Mexico City? May 23 Ask T about Oswald Magazine? Kane and Zale NY. May 28 Oswald July 23 Oswald — wife M — Where August 26 Oswald — bank? M — meet T. September 16 T. says L.O. is ‘idiot’ but w be used regardless Set-up complete September 22 Oswald — Mex City Gaudet? September 24 Oswald. D/T. (Labadie / Florida) W.J. September 26 O. traveling (Let T. know) Madrid September 27 Oswald — Commercio Hotel to meet with Tom D at Luma — T. Says yes October 6 Oswald — issue (!) check with Caretaker . . . October 9 ……… T says called Oswald to purpose — weapons— ………… October 17 JA call yest. Says high - level gathering in D.C. Lancelot - go - ok Oswald - others October 25 O says done Oswald set in place call Walker + others November 9 On the wings of murder the pigeon way for unsuspecting Lee. Clip clip his wings November 22 Merde merde xxxx xxxx —O Tippett why? Run sparrow run fly! —ask JA who is Tippett! ? (possible references to Lee Oswald) May 26 —L.O. — Wisner Vosjoli D.C. JA October 27 Gali Sherbatov — L.O. (Orlov) (Itkin) -Harvey-

It's my understanding that Lifton had uncovered extensive additional detail on Oswald. A recent draft of Final Charade is in the hands of one of his research confidants who hopes to fulfill David's 'final wishes' this year barring legal complications.

On May 9, Lafitte notes, Souetre and David[s] in April here, and then asks, Shaw where? Later, on September 17, Lafitte asks, Willoughby – Shaw? Investigative journalist James Phelan's friendship with Pierre was under discussion today while reviewing an index of files of the office of District Attorney James Garrison. (see relevant entries below) What strikes me as more than curious, according to this, Phelan was in and out of New Orleans as early as May 1967; his friend Lafitte had returned to New Orleans to open the Plimsoll Club in the new ITM building by mid-late autumn of '67. If Phelan was working on Garrison's case, is it reasonable to assume he was aware that his friend Pierre, a.k.a. Jean Martin was back in town? A related question that plagued us: how could Jim Garrison have avoided meeting sous chef Jean Martin [Pierre Lafitte] in the early 1960s? In 1963, Garrison was the subject of Phelan's coverage of the feisty new DA who planned to clean up the seedier side of the French Quarter. Is it reasonable Phelan didn't catch up with Pierre, his friend and writing partner since the Greenspun / Las Vegas caper while working on that story or that Garrison would have been intrigued by Phelan's inside scoop on that sting and want to meet "Louis Tabet"? Fast forward to 1967, in spite of the controversy over the [alleged] Phelan-Lafitte break-in of Garrison's office — a claim that is still vigorously challenged by at least one Phelan family member — it is reasonable to ask whether Lafitte was brought back to New Orleans in concert with the launch of Garrison's investigation to serve some purpose other than his culinary skills. Is it possible Garrison and those with more discretionary income during their intense investigation even dined at the newly opened Plimsoll? The coincidence of Pierre's arrival back in New Orleans as the Shaw case took shape bookends with the coincidence he was spirited out of town by Federal authorities at the end of 1969 only to disappear into the ethers; the timing is more than curious to many of us familiar with Lafitte's role in the assassination. INDEX OF FILES ‑‑ OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NEW ORLEANS FILE DRAWER 11 3. __ 5/25/67 Phelan. Contents Contains envelopes ‑ bulky materials, primarily tape recordings 5/28/67 4th interview between Perry Russo and James Phelan James Phelan and Mark Lane Contents: 1. l tape marked "Phelan Original" 2. Transcript of 4th interview between Russo and Phelan 6 pages. Reviewed ‑ General Conversation Tape in box ‑ "4th interview between Perry and Phelan" 2nd interview between P. Russo and J. 2. 5/24/67 Tape in box ‑ "2nd interview between Perry and Phelan" Transcript Russo expressing concern about job at Equitable; doesn't want to hurt anybody. Phelan recommending Russo retain a lawyer. 1st interview between Perry Russon and James Phelan Tape and transcript (approximately 30 pages) Transcript re: Shaw, Moffett, Ferrie 5/27/67 3rd interview between Perry Russo and James Phelan Tape and transcript Transcript ‑ 7 pages, RE: parafin test, Warren report, misc. Tape ‑"Nothing of importance" noted on box containing tape Perry Russo and Washington Post #5 (Person conducting interview not identified) Tape and transcript 11 pages , RE: Ferrie &associates; Shaw

Those familiar with Armstrong's body of research may be able to identify convergence, overlap, or discrepancies with the timeline of Oswald found in the private datebook maintained by Pierre Lafitte then living in New Orleans. March 26 McWillie — guns with Davis - Oswald April 7 Walker — Lee and pictures Planned soon — Can he do it? Wait [Won’t] May 10 T says tail LO - no direct contacts - calls? No report to Angleton + not here (wife) Rene says A looks like cadaver - Mexico City? May 23 Ask T about Oswald Magazine? Kane and Zale NY. May 28 Oswald July 23 Oswald — wife M — Where August 26 Oswald — bank? M — meet T. September 16 T. says L.O. is ‘idiot’ but w be used regardless Set-up complete September 22 Oswald — Mex City Gaudet? September 24 Oswald. D/T. (Labadie / Florida) W.J. September 26 O. traveling (Let T. know) Madrid September 27 Oswald — Commercio Hotel to meet with Tom D at Luma — T. Says yes October 6 Oswald — issue (!) check with Caretaker . . . October 9 ……… T says called Oswald to purpose — weapons— ………… October 17 JA call yest. Says high - level gathering in D.C. Lancelot - go - ok Oswald - others October 25 O says done Oswald set in place call Walker + others November 9 On the wings of murder the pigeon way for unsuspecting Lee. Clip clip his wings November 22 Merde merde xxxx xxxx —O Tippett why? Run sparrow run fly! —ask JA who is Tippett! ? (possible references to Lee Oswald) May 26 —L.O. — Wisner Vosjoli D.C. JA October 27 Gali Sherbatov — L.O. (Orlov) (Itkin) -Harvey-

On May 9, Lafitte notes, Souetre and David[s] in April here, and then asks, Shaw where? Later, on September 17, Lafitte asks, Willoughby – Shaw? Investigative journalist James Phelan's friendship with Pierre was under discussion today while reviewing an index of files of the office of District Attorney James Garrison. (see relevant entries below) What strikes me as more than curious, according to this Phelan was in and out of New Orleans as early as May 1967; his friend Lafitte had returned to New Orleans to open the Plimsoll Club in the new ITM building by mid-late autumn of '67. If Phelan was working on Garrison's case, is it reasonable to assume he was aware that his friend Pierre, a.k.a. Jean Martin was back in town? A related question that plagued us: how could Jim Garrison have avoided meeting sous chef Jean Martin [Pierre Lafitte] in the early 1960s? In 1963, Garrison was the subject of Phelan's coverage of the feisty new DA who planned to clean up the seedier side of the French Quarter. Is it reasonable Phelan didn't catch up with Pierre, his friend and writing partner since the Greenspun / Las Vegas caper while working on that story or that Garrison would have been intrigued by Phelan's inside scoop on that sting and want to meet "Louis Tabet"? Fast forward to 1967, in spite of the controversy over the [alleged] Phelan-Lafitte break-in of Garrison's office — a claim that is still vigorously challenged by at least one Phelan family member — it is reasonable to ask whether Lafitte was brought back to New Orleans in concert with the launch of Garrison's investigation to serve some purpose other than his culinary skills. Is it possible Garrison and those with more discretionary income during their intense investigation even dined at the newly opened Plimsoll? The coincidence of Pierre's arrival back in New Orleans as the Shaw case took shape bookends with the coincidence he was spirited out of town by Federal authorities at the end of 1969 only to disappear into the ethers; the timing is more than curious to many of us familiar with Lafitte's role in the assassination. INDEX OF FILES ‑‑ OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NEW ORLEANS FILE DRAWER 11 3. __ 5/25/67 Phelan. Contents Contains envelopes ‑ bulky materials, primarily tape recordings 5/28/67 4th interview between Perry Russo and James Phelan James Phelan and Mark Lane Contents: 1. l tape marked "Phelan Original" 2. Transcript of 4th interview between Russo and Phelan 6 pages. Reviewed ‑ General Conversation Tape in box ‑ "4th interview between Perry and Phelan" 2nd interview between P. Russo and J. 2. 5/24/67 Tape in box ‑ "2nd interview between Perry and Phelan" Transcript Russo expressing concern about job at Equitable; doesn't want to hurt anybody. Phelan recommending Russo retain a lawyer. 1st interview between Perry Russon and James Phelan Tape and transcript (approximately 30 pages) Transcript re: Shaw, Moffett, Ferrie 5/27/67 3rd interview between Perry Russo and James Phelan Tape and transcript Transcript ‑ 7 pages, RE: parafin test, Warren report, misc. Tape ‑"Nothing of importance" noted on box containing tape Perry Russo and Washington Post #5 (Person conducting interview not identified) Tape and transcript 11 pages , RE: Ferrie &associates; Shaw

And, in fairness, the Kennedy bros.

Credit to Bill Simpich in addition to Gallagher. Have you read Bill's lengthy piece on Bard? That said, Linnie Randle is the suspect related to Oswald's job at the depository — if you believe his hiring was part of the plot. Certainly Lafitte indicates it was essential. There were other reasons to doubt that Ruth was an actual "handler" which we lay out in that chapter. And you're right. Odum disappears through the summer because Oswald is in New Orleans, indicating Lafitte himself was tracking him or responsible for hiring someone else to. Arthur Odum is a key, in my fairly educated opinion. What were the odds he was posted in Maracaibo in the timeframe the cache of weapons was "discovered." What were the odds he was suddenly recalled for "a top level secret operation" on behalf of the "president." Which president? There were two other Odum brothers, one a Presbyterian minister in San Angelo who appears to have made annual trips to Russia. Arthur had served under the US Ambassador to Russia, twice. The other brother was a well known Dallas architect. Brothers tend to stick together, and keep secrets.

I think his handler may have been someone like David Altee Phillips, likely through a lower level CIA agent used as a cutout. Ron, "Caretaker" identified in Lafitte's datebook was on the scene in Dallas in the spring of 1963 within a few weeks of the de Mohrenschildts' departure for Haiti. He goes dark in the datebook through the summer, resurfaces briefly in September when his name appears with Walker, and then he's active in Dallas in October, a critical month during which Oswald is "set in place." The last mention of caretaker is November 14 when he meets with "Crichton" — Jack Crichton of Empire Trust, Continuity of Gov't, the 488th, and the Skorzeny-Meadows scheme in Madrid. It was anticipated that researchers would tend to cherry pick the datebook entries to fit any number of long-standing hypotheses. However, once we had access to the full datebook, we pursued an invaluable exercise; use Lafitte's record as the standard to compare 'sacred cow' theories. Would those theories that are backed by the most credible evidence hold up against the datebook entries. Cases in point: LBJ was the mastermind. Marcello was the mastermind. Army Intelligence orchestrated the assassination soup to nuts. ONI similar. The Cubans were behind all of the alleged attempts to assassinate Kennedy including Dealey. Dulles called for the head of John Kennedy. The Pentagon planned and executed the plot and the WC covered it up. Etc. Etc. The recent re-focus on Shelley prompted consideration of a possible conduit from Caretaker to Oswald's day-to-day movements while at work. I angry with you that "handler" by definition doesn't apply to Shelley. If Shelley was an employee of CIA, then an FBI SA in the role of Oswald's handler might not be comfortable relying on Shelley. (I should pause with the caveat: it is apparent from Lafitte's records that those involved in Lancelot Project were not "rogue," nor were they acting in official capacities. They used their official status as cover.) The Lancelot Project was tightly contained, and tightly knit, and if it can be established that Shelley had developed a rapport inside the bureau in Dallas over the years, either with Shanklin or one of his prized SAs like Bard Odum, that personal/professional relationship might have been sufficient bond for Caretaker to assign Shelley the responsibility of keeping Oswald "on point," and if not inside the building on Friday, then at least Shelley was in a position to confuse and distort the patsy's whereabouts. This is a working hypothesis out of respect for the thousands of hours (collectively) expended by presumably well-meaning researchers who continue to argue that Oswald was photographed standing on the top level of the steps leading to the entrance of the depository building as Kennedy was gunned down. I would be the last to dismisss Malcolm Blunt out of hand, btw.