palmer mcbride

[Greg Parker]

An excerpt from Armstrong's book outlining his investigations into Palmer McBride's FBI statement that Oswald worked at the dental lab in 1957/58,

http://www.jfkresearch.com/jfk_101.html

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...mp;relPageId=42

The problem is that Armstrong ignored, or was unaware of other employees who recall Oswald and McBride becoming friends there in 1956.

"Mr Firorello recalled Oswald was employed for approximately two months in the first part of 1956, and when he quit, he stated he was going to Texas to sell shoes... Mr Fiorello said that he [Oswald] associated mainly with another messenger Palmer McBride..."

"Another employee at the dental lab, Lionel Slater, was interviewed and stated that he too was employed as a messenger during Oswald's period of employment... and associated mainly with Palmer McBride..."

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...mp;relPageId=42

You cannot dismiss them as being wrong without speaking to them and investigating there claims.

That was the benchmark Armstrong placed on McBride's evidence when it was suggested he was mistaken about the dates...

At the end of each class most of the students gathered at a nearby restaurant, separated into small groups, and discussed the assassination. Following my presentation I joined other students at the restaurant and sat at one of the tables with one of the two obnoxious, self-proclaimed, JFK "experts." I asked one of the men, "What do you think about McBride working with Oswald in New Orleans in 1957 and 1958 when Marine Corps records show that he was in Japan." The "expert" said, "He (McBride) is obviously wrong."

I stared at this man for a moment and wondered how anyone, let alone a "self-proclaimed JFK expert," could make such a statement without further study and research. How could anyone dismiss the statement of a man who insisted that he had worked with Oswald daily and befriended him for 7 months? What kind of person passes judgment without even questioning McBride or taking the time to investigate his story? I concluded that this man was not a JFK "expert," but rather a cynical and narrow-minded individual who thought he had all the answers.

Nor can it be claimed that they remember "Harvey" and not "Lee" without implicating McBride in a massive coverup.

[Greg Parker]

In the JVB thread I threw into the mix the question as to whether LHO worked at the Pfisterer Dental lab. I asked Judyth whether Lee worked at Pfisterer in 1957/58.

When reading back over my notes I re-read that McBride suggested that Lee, on the night of the William Wulf Astronomy Club incident, claimed that Dwight Eisenhower should be shot. I don't know why but this passage hadn't really jumped out at me before even though it should have.

And I am now beginning to look at all the other PMcB statements in a different light...

Sorry Lee, I haven't been following that thread very closely. Can you clarify what you mean here?

[Greg Parker]

In the JVB thread I threw into the mix the question as to whether LHO worked at the Pfisterer Dental lab. I asked Judyth whether Lee worked at Pfisterer in 1957/58.

When reading back over my notes I re-read that McBride suggested that Lee, on the night of the William Wulf Astronomy Club incident, claimed that Dwight Eisenhower should be shot. I don't know why but this passage hadn't really jumped out at me before even though it should have.

And I am now beginning to look at all the other PMcB statements in a different light...

Sorry Lee, I haven't been following that thread very closely. Can you clarify what you mean here?

Hi Greg

I've pasted the relevant pieces of the discussion below:

The initial question I asked was this...

b. who did Palmer McBride work with in Pfisterer in New Orleans?

JVB: Because I am very familiar with Lee's past in New Orleans: he talked of it. Lee did like

astronomy and I believe that part. He is alive and is aware of his vulnerabilities as to his

testimony. More on this later.

Lee Farley: b. Whether Lee worked at Pfisterer is not the issue. I think we can all take it as read that Lee worked there. It is the year that he worked there that is of significance. McBride claims he knew Lee at Pfisterer between December 1957 and May 1958. If this is correct then we have a second Oswald in the Marines during this time period. The Warren Commission dealt with this by pushing back the date of Oswald’s employment to 1956.On the subject of Lee’s interest in astrology, McBride claims that Oswald knew very little about the subject. When he was introduced to William Wulf (President of the New Orleans Astronomy Club), Wulf claims that Oswald knew so little about it that he wondered why he wanted to join. Oswald seemed to use the meeting he attended at Wulf’s house to look through the political books and argue with the other members about communism. The exchanges becoming so heated that Wulf’s father threw him out the house. Wulf also claimed to know Oswald in 1958, not 1956 as per the Warren Commission.

JVB: TO ME, IT MAY WELL BE AN ISSUE.

Lee Farley: I think we can all take it as read that Lee worked there.

JVB: I DO NOT TRUST ASPECTS OF McBRIDE'S TESTIMONY. I MAY STAND ALONE ABOUT THAT, BUT THERE

ARE ASPECTS THAT DO NOT FIT LEE AT THAT AGE. FIRST OF ALL, ED VOEBEL STATED LEE DID NOT TALK

ABOUT COMMUNISM, THAT HE WAS A NORMAL KID READING COMIC BOOKS, PLAYING POOL, ETC., THOUGH

HE DID LIKE CLASSICAL MUSIC AND READING A LOT....

I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH McBRIDE ON OTHER THINGS HE SAYS, AS WELL. I DO NOT CONSIDER HIM SUCH

A GREAT WITNESS EVEN THOUGH HE IS ALIVE. IT REMINDS ME OF THE PSYCHLOGIST WHO ASSESSED

LEE AS BRIGHT NORMAL BUT LONELY, WHO LATER, WHEN THE WC WANTED A SATEMENT, WENT AGAINST

WHAT HE'D WRITTEN BACK THEN AND SAID LEE WAS BASICALLY A KILLER READY TO ACT ON IMPULSE.

I SEE EVIDENCE IN McBRIDE'S STATEMENTS THAT ARE SIMILARLY TROUBLESOME. I'D LIKE TO CONFRONT

HIM FACE TO FACE (AND ALSO CONFRONT RUTH PAINE FACE TO FACE, THAT I'D LOVE TO DO!).

Lee Farley: It is the year that he worked there that is of significance. McBride claims he knew Lee at Pfisterer between

December 1957 and May 1958. If this is correct

JVB: IT'S NOT. HE SAYS OTHER THINGS THAT SHOW HE DID NOT KNOW THE 'REAL' LHO.

Lee Farley: then we have a second Oswald in the Marines during this time period. The Warren Commission dealt

with this by pushing back the date of Oswald’s employment to 1956. On the subject of Lee’s interest in

astrology,

JVB: NO, THAT IS ASTRONOMY. YES, LEE LIKED ASTRONOMY. YOU MIGHT NOTE IN PHOTOS OF ME, A BIG

TELESCOPE IS IN THE BACKGROUND IN ONE PHOTO. MY BOYFRIEND, AL FEEMAN, A REAL CUTE GUY,

MADE ME A BIG NEWTONIAN REFLECTOR TELESCOPE. LEE AND I BOTH LIKED ASTRONOMY, SO I KNOW

YOUR 'ASTROLOGY' THERE IS WRONG.

Lee Farley: McBride claims that Oswald knew very little about the subject.

JVB: THAT IS INCORRECT. HE KNEW THE CONSTELLATIONS, MAJOR GALAXIES AND SO ON BY NAME AND SIGHT.

Lee Farley: When he was introduced to William Wulf (President of the New Orleans Astronomy Club), Wulf claims that

Oswald knew so little about it that he wondered why he wanted to join.

JVB: PROBABLY BECAUSE HE WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT ASTRONOMY. HOW STRANGE IS THAT? HE HAD NO

CHANCE TO SEE STARS IN NEW YORK CITY. HE LISTED ASTRONOMY AS ONE OF HIS INTERESTS IN HIGH

SCHOOL, I BELIEVE, JUST AS I DID....JOINING A CLUB IS A VERY GOOD WAY TO LEARN ABOUT THE SUBJECT

OF THAT CLUB.

Lee Farley: Oswald seemed to use the meeting he attended at Wulf’s house to look through the political books and argue

with the other members about communism. The exchanges becoming so heated that Wulf’s father threw him

out the house. Wulf also claimed to know Oswald in 1958, not 1956 as per the Warren Commission.

JVB: NONSENSE. LEE SAID HE HAD READ MARX, LENIN, ETC. BUT ALSO THE OHER SIDE OF THE COIN AS WELL --

JEFFERSON AND SO ON -- BUT HE KNEW BETTER THAN TO OPEN HIS MOUTH. QUESTIONED, ED VOEBEL,

WHO KNEW LEE WELL, STATED FIRMLY THAT LEE NEVER TALKED OF COMMUNISM AND THAT LEE DIDN'T PICK

FIGHTS, HE AVOIDED THEM UNLESS CONFRONTED. VOEBEL SAID HE WAS JUST A KID, NO AGENDA. BUT WE

HAVE THIS PSYCHOLOGIST CARRYING ON ABOUT A BELLIGERENT LEE, ETC.

Jim Fetzer: [NOTE: I believe that Judyth is indicating that she believes the Oswald Ed Voebel knew by the name of "Lee"

is the same man she knew by the name of "Lee" in New Orleans, which appears to be consistent with the

fact that Voeble never called him "Harvey" and that Aunt Lilllian paid for his dental bill, where Armstrong, in

her view (as I understand it), was mistakenly insisting that the man who lost a tooth (which may have been

restored) was the one he calls "LEE" rather than the man she knew in New Orleans, whom he calls "Harvey").]

AND WE HAVE McBRIDE'S PAL CHIMING IN. I FIND IT SUSPICIOUSLY 'MADE TO ORDER' TESTIMONY -- ONLY

THEY DIDN'T DO THEIR HOMEWORK VERY WELL ABOUT THE DATES. I GO ON THE HISTORY LEE GAVE ME AND

WHAT VOEBEL HAD TO SAY. NEW ORLEANS WAS SO CORRUPT AT THAT TIME, FBI INFORMANTS ON EVERY

CORNER, STOOL PIGEONS EVERYWHERE, MONEY AND BRIBES FLOWING SO FREELY...

AND ONCE YOU ARE ON THE RECORD AND YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, YOU HAVE TO STICK TO YOUR TESTIMONY

THAT SOMEBODY PAID YOU $100 TO SAY...HE DESCRIBES A LEE OSWALD THAT DIDN'T EXIST AND SHOWS

MOTIVES THAT DO NOT MAKE SENSE FOR THE YOUNG LAD -- JOINING AN ASTRONOMY CLUB -- BUT NOT

KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT ASTRONOMY --THEY CLAIM THE KID JOINED JUST TO CAUSE TROUBLE AND

FIGHT ABOUT POLITICS AND COMMUNISM?

AND LEE IS NOT THERE TO DEFEND HIMSELF, SO I WILL, FOR HIM. THIS IS THE SAME YOUNG MAN WHO

TOOK ON A PAPER ROUTE TO BUY HIMSELF A CAP UNIFORM SO HE COULD ATTEND CIVIL AIR PATROL

MEETINGS -- SAME TIME, SAME PLACE -- A PATRIOTIC ORGANIZATION OF THE HIGHEST ORDER -- AND

HE'S PICKING FIGHTS DEFENDING COMMUNISM? USE YOUR HEAD. IT'S NOT TRUE

So this was the exchange between JVB and myself Greg. I went back and reread the testimony of McBride. The whole situation upon the reread just smacked of a disinfo "let's murky the waters" campaign. Within the context of "Harvey & Lee" it is easy, if you buy into the theory, to add McBride to your list of witnesses supporting the existence of two separate LHO's but I believe the Warren Commission had everyone by the short and curlies on this issue. If you buy into McBride's testimony that Oswald worked with him in 1957/58 then you have to buy into Oswald's psychopathic tendencies because according to McBride, Oswald stated at the Astronomy Club meeting (sorry for putting astrology in my argument above but I think I'd been reading my horoscope before writing it) that Eisenhower should be "shot" for exploiting the workers and that he would like to kill the president himself.

If one of the central tenet's of a successful conspiracy is to send everyone off chasing their tails (number of shots, autopsy reports, throat wound, back wound, front of the head, back of the head, x-rays, badgemen, grassy knoll men, faked films, faked pictures, crimped bullets, slings, scopes and backyard photos) then surely the documented existence of two oswald's would be the the pièce de résistance in murkying the water beyond anything else? Because when you start to delve into it as a theory you GO mad, and the minute you raise it as a talking point in good company you LOOK mad.

These type of issues that have been (maybe purposely) thrown into the mix only serve the people covering-up the assassination, regardless of how true or false they may be, IMO...

Thanks for the detailed reply Lee.

I am gobsmacked that it was McBride's words that started this whole mess.

McBride heard Oswald's name as the assassin and contacted the authorities, The FBI dispatched an agent to interview McBride and in that interview, he misremembered the time-frame he worked with Oswald - or deliberately lied about it. I don't know which, and I'm not sure I care.

The reason for my lack of concern is simply because his timeframe is easily discredited.

I've already linked to two co-workers who gave the timeframe as early 1956.

Here is another:

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...mp;relPageId=29

Then you have Wulf who testified that he originally thought he had met Oswald through McBride in 1953. Holy Dopplegangers Batman -- that can only mean a THIRD Oswald!

But no, unfortunately, on reflection, he thought it was more likely around August or September, 1955. Still not quite right, but closer to early '56 than it is to McBride's claims.

Don't worry about the astrology thing. That was what Fiorello and Slater had mistakenly referred to instead of "astronomy". I don't think anything can be read into that except, like some people I've met, they confused the two words.

[Michael Hogan]

I think this is the same Palmer McBride: http://www.airportjournals.com/Photos/0611/X/0611034_6.jpg

Apparently he was part of the Traveling Space Museum: http://www.airportjournals.com/Display.cfm?varID=0611034

AJ Weberman writes:

PALMER McBRIDE

Marguerite Oswald believed her son was reading about communism for counter-intelligence purposes. To disprove her contention, the Warren Commission cited the testimony of Palmer C. McBride, who worked with OSWALD in 1955 as a messenger for Pfisterer Dental Labs. Palmer McBride made his report to Air Force Intelligence on November 22, 1963. The report was transmitted to the FBI on November 23, 1963. On November 26, 1963, Palmer McBride told the FBI that OSWALD first visited his home in late 1957 or early 1958. Palmer McBride stated that the subject of President Eisenhower was discussed: "OSWALD was very anti-Eisenhower and stated that President Eisenhower was exploiting the working people. He then made a statement to the effect that he would like to kill President Eisenhower because he was exploiting the working class. This statement was not made in jest, and OSWALD was in a serious state of mind when this statement was made. LEE was very serious about the virtues of Communism...He would say that the capitalists were exploiting the working class and his central theme seemed to be that the workers in the world would one day rise up and throw off their chains. He praised Khrushchev's sincerity in improving the worker's lot...In another conversation OSWALD stated to me he was not a Communist Party member, but he suggested that both of us join to take advantage of their social functions. I did not join the Communist Party, but I do not know whether he did or not. During the period I knew OSWALD he resided with his mother in the Senator Hotel or a rooming house next door to the Senator Hotel in the 200 block of Dauphine Street. I went with him to his room on one occasion and he showed me copies of Das Capital and The Communist Manifesto. In April or May 1958 OSWALD stated he was moving to Fort Worth, Texas, with his mother. In about August 1958, I received a letter from him saying he was employed as a shoe salesman in Ft. Worth. In this letter he stated he had gotten mixed-up in an anti-Negro or an anti-Communist riot in a high school grounds in Ft. Worth, Texas. On the evening of November 22, 1963, I heard a radio commentator state that OSWALD had been arrested...upon seeing a full face photograph of OSWALD in the November 23, 1963 issue of The Miami Herald I am now quite certain that they are one in the same individual. I particularly recall the large ears, the mustache, and the receding hairline. I also recall that OSWALD made statements favoring Russia and Communism to other employees at the Pfisterer Dental Labs."

ANALYSIS

Palmer McBride told the FBI that OSWALD first visited his home in late 1957 or early 1958, rather than 1955 when OSWALD lived in New Orleans. OSWALD was already in the Marines in late 1957 or early 1958.

McBride said OSWALD resided with his mother in the Senator Hotel or a rooming house next door to the Senator Hotel in the 200 block of Dauphine Street. OSWALD and his mother never lived at this address.

McBride said that in April or May 1958 OSWALD stated he was moving to Fort Worth, Texas, with his mother. In about August 1958, I received a letter from him saying he was employed as a shoe salesman in Ft. Worth. In this letter he stated he had gotten mixed-up in an anti-Negro or an anti-Communist riot in a high school grounds in Ft. Worth, Texas. This was fiction.

McBride said OSWALD had large ears and a mustache. This did not fit OSWALD'S description.

THE OTHER EMPLOYEES OF PFISTERER DENTAL LABS

Palmer McBride gave the FBI the names of these "other"employees who had allegedly witnessed OSWALD make pro-Communist statements. One of the names Palmer McBride supplied to the FBI was George Bischoff. In June 1993 Bischoff was contacted and asked if OSWALD had arguments with other employees about the merits of communism. He responded, "No, no. He was a perfect gentleman when he worked here - as far as I can remember. He was real young. As far as I knew the boy, I can't say a thing about him." Bischoff was asked if OSWALD ever mentioned the USSR or Khrushchev. He responded: "No, no, that wasn't in his mind." Lionel Slater, another former Pfisterer Dental employee, was asked, "Did OSWALD make any communistic remarks back then?" He stated: "Not that I know of." Mr. Slater could not remember the specific dates of OSWALD'S employment. Linda Faircloth of Pfisterer Dental contacted in June 1993. She said she spoke to everyone at Pfisterer who knew OSWALD and that none of the former Pfisterer employees remembered OSWALD making any pro-Communist statements - except for Palmer McBride, OSWALD'S "bosom buddy." The FBI reported: "SAC Maynor advised the New Orleans Office has interviewed three employees of Pfisterer Dental Laboratory and was attempting to locate one other employee who might have recalled OSWALD or McBride. SAC Maynor stated none of the employees interviewed to date could recall either McBride or OSWALD. No record could be located on employment of McBride or OSWALD and the bookkeeper who handled the records for that period is deceased." [FBI 62-109060-646; McBride, Palmer telephone 818-768-2863]

JAMES HARRISON VANCE

On January 20, 1966, Mrs. Lorraine Blackwell advised the FBI that she was listening to the radio and heard a program which set forth twelve guidelines for spotting a Communist, and it was her opinion that James Harrison Vance qualified as a Communist. James Harrison Vance had told her that he was "an atheist and that he had no use for religion at this time. He indicated that he might, at some later date, have use for a god, but at the present time he was only interested in being a physicist...He also stated he did not believe in going to war. He wondered how long it would be until he was exposed to classified information in his job with Boeing. They also got into a discussion concerning the assassination of President Kennedy and Vance said that his mother and OSWALD'S mother were personal friends and that he, Vance, had slept and eaten with OSWALD, and attended Scout meetings with him. During these meetings Vance said OSWALD attempted to turn them into 'cell blocks.' Mrs. Blackwell did not know where these meetings had taken place, but she assumed in New Orleans." In May 1966 James Harrison Vance, an associate engineer with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, called the FBI and asked to be interviewed. He told the Agents that Palmer McBride told him that he, Vance, had known OSWALD in 1958. James Harrison Vance told the FBI that "he has never to his knowledge either seen, or associated with, OSWALD..he has never heard anything about OSWALD being a member of the Boy Scouts." M. Paul Hartman of Counter-Intelligence Research & Analysis received this document. [NARA 1993.06.17.15:18: 54:090000; J.H. Vance Protection of the President 4.18.66 New Orleans]

PALMER MCBRIDE 1993

Palmer McBride was contacted in June 1993. He persisted in his errors: "I knew OSWALD in 1958. I never knew OSWALD in 1955. I knew him in the Summer of 1958 for about two weeks; he worked at the dental lab. I quit Pfisterer Dental Lab in August 1958 when I went off to the summer camp with the Air Force Reserve. And that's when I knew him, just before I left the lab." It was pointed out to Palmer McBride that OSWALD was overseas at this time. He responded: "Why'd I think it was 1958 all these years? Well, whatever. I knew him for about two weeks and he came and visited my house once and expounded on the glories of communism and said he wanted to kill President Eisenhower 'cause of exploiting the people. Okay, that was it. Communist crap." Palmer McBride was asked about OSWALD'S statement regarding Communist social functions. He recalled, "Hell, he talked about dances and stuff; I never went. I told him I was in the United States Air Force Reserve and I sure in hell wasn't going to a meeting of any kind."

The testimony of Palmer McBride regarding his alleged contact with OSWALD in 1958 was read to him. He stated: "That's when I knew him, in April 1958 and May 1958 - that's when I knew him." He was asked about the letter OSWALD had mailed to him and where it was today. "Hell, I don't know. I didn't get it." If Palmer McBride didn't receive it, who did? He finally commented, "I don't remember receiving a letter." It was pointed out to Palmer McBride that OSWALD never worked as a shoe salesman. He stated: "Hell, I don't know." Palmer McBride was asked about OSWALD'S alleged threats on President Eisenhower: "Hell, people are thinking the same thing about the President today. They are already talking about Clinton. Look what happened the other day at the ceremony at Arlington. Bunch of veterans turned their back on him. All he did was alienate Congress with this gay military thing, and then what happens is they won't pass the jobs bill. But I'm not about to go out and shoot the son of a bitch because of it."

In 1964 the FBI asked Palmer McBride why he made no report of OSWALD'S threat concerning President Eisenhower to any law enforcement agency: "McBride now assumes that at the time he felt the statement was made by OSWALD to emphasize his anti-Eisenhower feelings and not made in the nature of an actual threat on the life of the President."

Palmer McBride was asked if he made up the story to discredit communism by linking it to OSWALD: "Hell no, OSWALD and I were friends. He argued about the merits of communism with the other employees of Pfisterer Dental Lab...I never said anything about him having a mustache. I recognized his picture on TV and I went over and I talked to a colonel from Air Force Intelligence. I just told him all I knew. And he said, 'We'll get in touch with you in case anything comes up' and then he [OSWALD] was assassinated and he never said anything more to me. Where did they get that at? It's been so long ago - maybe I did receive a letter that said he was working as a shoe salesman in Fort Worth - but look at the dates. You said it was April 1958. That's when I remember him leaving the dental lab. I left the dental lab about August 13, 1958. We were friends for a couple of weeks - sort of an intellectual thing. It couldn't have been 1955 or 1956. I did visit briefly - we were going to a New Orleans Amateur Astronomers Association meeting - which a bunch of us from New Orleans belonged to, including Bill Wulf, who was President. That was the night he got into a fight with Bill Wulf's father over communism when he went to pick Bill Wulf up at his house. Briefly, we went to a rooming house across the street from the dental lab to get some clothes or something and he showed me his copy of The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital from the public library. So it must be all right then, if the public library lends it out. I asked him if he was a card-carrying Communist Party member and he said, no, he just was a sympathizer to their cause. His mother was there and he introduced me. I said, 'Hello Mrs. Oswald, how are you?' and that was it. And that was the last time I ever saw her - across the street, next to the hotel. Like you say, there was a hotel - the Senator? After I left Pfisterer I never heard from OSWALD - I kept in touch with Wulf - he was my best friend - all the time we used to send audio tapes to each other. We never even talked about OSWALD."

Palmer McBride was queried about his politics. "I am 100% American, who has always backed this country and its leaders - even when they are xxxx ups - like George Bush was, not doing anything for this country, taking care of foreigners." On the subject of Klansman David Duke, he observed: "Well, I never knew the man and of course I was in Louisiana when he was running for Governor, and never even heard of him until then. I didn't know anything about the Ku Klux Klan except what I saw in the movies. I had no compunctions about what communism was. I knew OSWALD was a raving nut. I told him so on several occasions. And wasn't he instrumental in having Gary Powers' U-2 shot down? Wrecked the Summit. I build airplanes since 1952. I worked at Cape Canaveral for Boeing. I been with Northrup for 20 years."

This researcher pointed out to Palmer McBride that George Bischoff and Lionel Slater did not remember OSWALD making communist statements at Pfisterer Dental. He replied, "I remember George very well. Well, OSWALD didn't work in the laboratory with those people. He was out in the office. Lionel was one of the delivery boys along with me and OSWALD. Yeah, well, he didn't know him too much. They didn't stay together much. He was out delivering to different dentists all over town. He made the remarks just to me, at the lab - it was so long ago - I don't remember that much about it."

WILLIAM WULF

The Warren Commission cited the testimony William Eugene Wulf (born September 22, 1939), who was a friend of Palmer McBride.

Liebler: Did the agent who interviewed you indicate in any way as to how they had been led to you?

Wulf: In no way whatsoever. As far as I know the only person who knew that I had met OSWALD...was Palmer McBride, so I concluded that he probably got in touch with the FBI on the subject...

Liebler: Have you talked to McBride about this thing since the assassination?

Wulf: No; I have not. I have only corresponded with McBride once, and that was about a month ago [May 1964]. I sent him an amateur radiogram requesting the address of a mutual friend in New York, but I got no answer, and we were wondering where he is.

William Wulf, contacted in June 1993, stated: "I don't even remember exchanging tapes with Palmer McBride, he was in the service at the time, as far as I know. He was out at Patrick Air Force base. We very very seldom communicated, in fact, I didn't see Palmer until after the assassination. I didn't hear or talk to Palmer until several years later. We did not keep in contact. I spoke with Palmer for the first time about five weeks ago, after I got his number from a reporter. That was the first time I talked to Palmer. I saw him twice since the assassination, we only had two conversations. The two times I met Palmer he didn't appear to want to talk about the assassination and OSWALD at all. Period. We didn't."

ANALYSIS

Palmer McBride and William Wulf concocted their tale. Both men had each others' addresses and telephone numbers and communicated through audio tapes and amateur radio. It was highly improbable that Palmer McBride and his best friend had not discussed OSWALD'S role in the assassination shortly after it happened. Palmer McBride was, and still is, outspoken. He would have been anxious to discuss the effects of Das Kapital on OSWALD. Yet William Wulf said he had little contact with Palmer McBride and never discussed OSWALD. William Wulf denied that he spoke with Palmer McBride even after the FBI questioned him. This was even less likely. William Wulf told Liebler about OSWALD: "I, being a history major... we got around to Communism. I think OSWALD brought it up, and he started expounding on Communist doctrine and saying that he was highly interested in Communism, that Communism was the only way of life for the worker, et cetera, and then came out with a statement that he was looking for a Communist cell in town to join, but he couldn't find any. He was a little dismayed at this, and said he couldn't find any that would show any interest in him as a Communist..." In 1993 he stated: "After the assassination I didn't recognize the face; what I recognized was the incident with my father and that he was a very mixed-up kid. The whole business of his looking to join the Communist Party cell. He couldn't find one. He tried to make contact with the Communists. He appeared to make the impression that he had actually talked to somebody and said nobody took him seriously. He was very hip on Marxist-Leninist theory on the Soviet Union as the epitome of communism. He came to me as a guy who wanted to belong to something. He had an identity crisis. He was a kid looking for someone; whether he found it or not, he was a gullible kid. Now, whether he was used by an intelligence service or the Russians or the Cubans or the mafia, I don't know. He could have been used by anybody. I felt that he was looking to play spy. I felt that was why he joined the Astronomy Club, quite frankly - to play infiltrator. I mean, I got the impression he didn't know what the hell he was. He was looking for an identity. He didn't have an identity. He could have gone either way, he was a mixed-up kid."

Why had OSWALD been turned down by the Communists, who were anxious to recruit American youth? Why wasn't young OSWALD'S alleged contact with Communist groups detected by FBI sources? William Wulf testified that his father overheard the alleged conversation about communism and asked OSWALD to leave his home. There was no record of William Wulf or his father having contacted the FBI about OSWALD. [WR p384] The father of William Wulf was an ex-Communist: "My father had gone through Communist affairs in Germany in the 1920's and did not agree with OSWALD violently...He came back from Germany following the war, 1919 to 1920, when it was all upheaval. The Socialist Democratic Party was fighting the Communist wing and all. He remembered that and he just - well, as most Germans, a lot of Germans do, they just don't like Communists."

William Wulf was asked if OSWALD thought he could have put him in touch with Communists. He responded: "In fact, my father would have killed me if I had anything to do with Communists, he hated them. He had good reason because, as a Socialist Democrat, my father had been duped by them real bad as a World War I veteran in his 20's. My father was a Spartacist. He hated what he called black, authoritarian socialists. My grandfather was a SPD organizer. My father was trying to tell OSWALD, 'Look kid, don't fall for all this crap. They're a bunch of authoritarians, they're not democratic, they don't give a damn about the people.' And he wouldn't hear anything of it. My impression at the time was he was headed for trouble."

Both Palmer McBride and William Wulf had their own reasons for hating Communism. They had a motive in concocting this story.

William Wulf was queried about Palmer McBride's stated acquaintance with OSWALD in 1958. William Wulf reflected, "The time frame is all screwed up. When I met him he was working at Pfisterer Laboratory. I have no idea if McBride met him or saw him after that period. Now that had to be late 1955, early 1956." In regard to the anti-Negro and anticommunist demonstration at OSWALD'S high school, William Wulf related that another researcher informed him such an incident occurred at a Fort Worth high school, but earlier than 1958. William Wulf denied that Palmer McBride brought OSWALD to the Astronomy Club, although Palmer McBride said he had. As far as the rest of Palmer's statements, William Wulf admitted: "I don't know where Palmer's coming from with all this."

http://www.ajweberman.com/nodules2/nodulec2.htm