Oswald in Alabama

[Steve Thomas]

49 minutes ago, Steve Thomas said:

CD 1020 p. 13

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11416#relPageId=15&tab=page

Allegedly, Jerry Buchanan and Oswald get into a fight on a dock when Oswald insists on boarding a boat headed out on anti-Castro (bombing?) mission to Cuba.

 

Steve Thomas

Is this the boat Oswald tried to board, and did he inform on Buchanan?

The News-Herald from Mansfield, Ohio · April 3, 1963 Page 24

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/45297639/

Friday 24--NEWS-HERALD W.J.. April 3. 1963 Raider denies violation of neutrality law. EDITOR'S NOTE~The following exclusive interview with Jerry 'Buchanan was obtained by his brother, James Buchanan, reporter for the Pompano Beach Sun Sentinel, and made available to the Associated Press.

By JAMES BUCHANAN POMPANO BEACH. Fla. (AP) --The American who acted as spokesman for a band of anli-Castro sea raiders in securing their release from British custody told me he did not feel he had broken any neutrality law. Jerry Buchanan, 24. said in an exclusive interview by telephone; from Nassau Monday night, the raiders' boats, Violin III, had not been armed or manned in the country. The 35-foot Violin III was captured at Norman's Cay, a tiny is land in the Bahamas. Buchanan said Magistrate John Baily freed the band of 17 men and releases their boat with a decree that they lad not violated any law in British :territory," Buchanan sad. "_____ went So the boat, where it been there since Saturday morning waiting for us to come in. They knew all about us. "The police came out of the building and said, 'Is your name Buchanan?' They placed both of us under detention." He reported, a platoon of Bahamian police led by a British officer ordered the others to come ashore Buchanan said The Violin II was not captured at sea as reported and that the British frigate credited with the capture steamed into the area Sunday afternoon "The police searched the boa and captured a few of the boys who were well hidden from view. The boat put into the island to refuel, Buchanan said, and he and one of the Cubans aboard under command of Maj. Eveho Duquc went ashore unarmed. "We approached a barracks type building where we encountered a detachment of Bahamian police.

"They also found the arms which we had stored on the boat. "Police told us they had us under surveillance all Sunday evening while we were trying to dock. After finding the arms they immediately announced we were being detained. The police refused to use the term 'arrest.' They said we were merely 'detained. " Buchanan said a high official of the Bahamas government, whom he declined to identify, arrived and said he was acting as a delgate from London, representing the Admiralty. "Prior to the official's arrival, however, the frigate was spotted off the east coast of the key," Buchanan said. The navy came ashore in three landing launches. One of these carried a platoon of men completely equipped with machine guns and ready to fight. The police then turned us over to the navy." "I was flown to Nassau at 7 .m. Sunday. I went to court Monday afternoon and we're now out n bond. We're supposed to be put back aboard the boat and escorted out of British waters with out equipment, guns and any of our 'personal effects."

Kingsport Times from Kingsport, Tennessee · April 2, 1963 Page 1

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/78783432/

U.S. CONFISCATES EXILE BOAT British Halt Cuba-Bound Raiders MIAMI, Ffa. (AP)-U.S. customs agents confiscated a Cuban exile boat, British police captured a band of 17 sea raiders and a companion group of commandos continued toward Cuba in a series of lightning-like developments. The exile boat, captured in Miami, was "outfitted for aggression," supervising customs agent Joseph Fortier announced Monday night. He said the 40-foot yacht Alisan was seized Sunday night at North Miami Beach with two homemade bombs and a 20-millimeter cannon on board. The boat's owner, Dr. Santiago Alvarez, said he did not know who had been using the boat or where it was used. No charges were filed. Fortier said the boat was empty when agents boarded it. A group of commandos was refitted (refitting?) nearing Cuba by boat on a mission to fight any Communist boats encountered and to contact rebels inside Cuba. A companion boat with 17 men aboard was halted at Norman's Key, a tiny island in the Exurna chain 200 miles north of the Cuban coast and 350 miles south of Miami. British police took the men into custody, including an American Ex-Kingsport Resident Leader Of Sea Raiders. EDITOR'S NOTE-The leader of the Cuba-bound "sea raiders" halted by the British yesterday was Jerry Buchanan, who was reared in Kingsport. His family lived at 1853 Buckles Drive until 1956, and he attended Long Island Elementary.

 

(That damned Tennessee connection again smile)

 

Steve Thomas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve Thomas]

Sheldon's Castle Origins -- About Craig Sheldon

http://fairhopecastle.com/Craig_Sheldon.html

 

Before you can really begin the story of Fairhope's Story Book Castles, you need to first meet the Man behind the story. In 1940, Craig Sheldon married Annie "Butch Sheldon, and they moved to Fairhope to raise their family at the close of World War II.

'Three children, Craig Sheldon Jr, Susan Megrez, and Pagan were born to the couple in Fairhope. Daughter Suzan Megrez Rudolf inhabits the Sheldon Castle with her husband John to this day. While Daughter, Pagan Mosher inhabits the adjacent Mosher Castle.”

“The tower was built in the 1950s with the help of his young son, Craig, Jr. (then called Mac).”

 

Steve Thomas

[Steve Thomas]

On 2/8/2018 at 3:24 PM, David Josephs said:

 Laurel. Md.,...  is about a 10 minute drive from the Washington, D.C. suburb of Silver Spring, Md. one of the 13 cities, along with Fairhope, that the F.B.I. report of May 8. 1963 (six weeks before Hawkins' arrest on the causeway) listed as a headquarters for Alpha-66.

Is this the FBI report the Mobile Bay Magazine refers to?

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/belligerence/Alpha-66-12-FBI.pdf

Alpha-66:

FAIRHOPE, ALA: By Apr 63 Alpha-66 office in. [R-759-2- 161]

“SHELDON, Craig of Fairhope, Alabama was recruiting for A-66 on Jan 2, 1963. He says he is a member, an ex-marine. [R-759-1-841851”

 

Steve Thomas

[Steve Thomas]

I think I may have answered the last entry in Stovall's Exhibit A – list of property taken from 2515 W. 5^th St. in Irving.

The last entry reads: letter addressed to Marina Oswald from Fairhope, AL.

 

In the DPD Archives, Box 6, Folder# 6, Item# 7, page 12 there is this entry:

http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box6.htm

 

Letter (3 pages and envelope) Marina Oswald at New Orleans from Loyda Ville in Russian (Bottlees Wharf, Ala,)

Irving

 

 

According to Google Maps, there is no Bottlees Wharf, but there is a Battles Wharf, AL.

Battles Wharf is an unincorporated area in Baldwin Co., AL. Just south of Fairhope.

Fairhope is also located in Baldwin County.

 

I can envision a letter from Battles Wharf being postmarked Fairhope.

 

CD 206 is a Report of Robert Gemberling dated January 7, 1964.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10673#relPageId=1&tab=page

 

 

Beginning on page 373, there is a description of Russian language documents and papers seized from the residence of Ruth Paine at 2515 W. 5^th St. in Irving on November 22, 1963. These papers were translated by SA Anatole Boguslav.

 

On page 382, there is a description of Item# 8. . It says that Item# 8 is “A three page letter from Boris Ivanovich Fitzpatrick (apparently) dated August 7, 1963. The letter is written on the stationary of Loyola Villa, Battles Wharf, Alabama. The writer thanks Marina for the interesting conversation they had the week before.... Also expressed appreciation to Lee Oswald for his lecture delivered at the seminary.” Although the writer did not agree with Lee Oswald's conclusions, the seminarians respected him for his idealism and the truth of his research.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10673&relPageId=387&search=%22Battles_Wharf%22

 

I'm not sure where the name “Boris Ivanovich Fitzpatrick” came from, and why his name would say (apparently) after it, but Robert Fitzpatrick was interviewed by the FBI on November 30, 1963. You can read his recollections of Marina's visit here:

 

Recollections of Robert Fitzpatrick

(25H924) CE 2549 CD 24 pp. 1-17

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1141#relPageId=954

 

Oh well.  At least I learned a bunch of stuff about Fairhope I never knew before.

 

Steve Thomas

 

 

[David Josephs]

Nice sleuthing buddy....  Amazing the body of knowledge we pick up just doing basic research..

   way to go!

Now, are you saying Boris is really Robert Fitzpatrick - as that's what it appears to me.

If Marina was really a spy, she'd need to get her info out at some point... Tom Hume reminds us there is much more to the words and letters in spy-craft than meets the eye...

Has anyone gone back to confirm these "translations" of her letters... then again any letters in Russian... or we just trust the DPD and Dallas white Russian community of 1963?

CE76...  the letter from Robert Fitzpatrick with envelope...

 

 

[Steve Thomas]

1 hour ago, David Josephs said:

Now, are you saying Boris is really Robert Fitzpatrick - as that's what it appears to me.

David,

 

Thanks for posting the letter.

 

Yes, it appears that way, although I have no idea why he would sign his name Boris Ivanovich.

A guy named Zach Jendro said it was a joke.

My grasp of cursive Russian is a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure the signed name is Boris Ivanovich Fitzpatrick.

In his FBI interview, Fitzpatrick doesn't make any mention of receiving gifts ("records of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake") from Marina. I don't know if that is significant or not.

In his Interview (page 925 of 25H), he said that Oswald's Russian was not as "smooth or grammatically correct" as Marina's. I'm not sure how he would know that for someone who is just beginning to study the language. He also said that Oswald was "evasive" when asked how he got Marina out of Russia.

 

Steve Thomas