Oswald's Background on Nov 22, 1963

[Tom Fairlie]

The Prouty/Stone assertion that the Christchurch Star broke the Oswald story sooner than possible always intrigued me. However, the lone nut theorists (DVP, JM) always blew this off and the paper itself discounted this (I cannot find the original citation).

However, when I looked into this recently, the timeline does seem awfully suspicious. Here is a general overview:

[Dallas time (-6 UTC) > New Zealand time (+12 UTC) and neither was observing DST in that year]

• JFK shot @ 12:30pm FRI > 6:30am SAT in NZ
• Oswald arrested @ 1:50am > 7:50am NZ
• Oswald charged for Tippit @ 7:05pm > 1:05pm NZ
• Oswald charged for JFK @ 11:26pm > 5:26pm NZ

The paper's chief reporter allegedly said the paper was published "early to mid-afternoon" but the Saturday edition already has the following scoops:

• Oswald worked at the TSBD and was formerly in the Marines
• Oswald was married to a Russian and had a child
• Oswald defected to the Soviet Union in 1959 and worked in a Minsk factory
• Oswald then became disillusioned, so the Soviet Union gave the Oswalds exit visas
• Oswald worked for the Fair Play for Cuba committee

I find this type of backstory amazingly detailed and doesn't seem possible without some type of FBI/CIA help. My question to the forum is:

When did the newswire carry the story of Oswald's background? I thought this didn't break in the U.S. until late Friday or Saturday, which would make the NZ story somewhat impossible. However, if someone has evidence of a UPI or mainstream source that covered Oswald's Soviet and FPCC work before 9pm CST on Friday, Nov 22, please let me know. Thanks!

Edited September 15, 2020 by Tom Fairlie
Added picture

[James DiEugenio]

Tom:

Was not this chalked up to Hal Hendrix?  Although I agree with you, its pretty fast for New Zealand.

[Stephanie Goldberg]

I don't have anything time-wise to contribute here yet, but your question prompted me to go on a search to see what was said about LHO that Friday in the US papers.  It is fascinating to see what made the late editions here, especially since they couldn't exactly Google his information. 

Just looking through online resources, the first UPI story I ran across seems to focus on Oswald's connection with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and seemed based on information from Captain Pat Gannaway.  (Eugene Guard, Eugene, Oregon) The AP story seems more similar to what is posted in the photo above, although the version I read attributed the confirmation of Oswald's Soviet adventures to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  (News Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan)  And the Benton Harbor  didn't have Tippit murdered in the theater, although it was rather vague on those details.

[Greg Doudna]

Interesting that the NZ wire story reads, "Oswald had been chased into the cinema by two policemen. The officers, J. Tippit and M. McDonald, had received a tip that the President's assassin might have gone into the cinema. Tippit was shot dead as he ran into the cinema."

The first two sentences are contradictory, as if the writer had two different reports--perhaps a first report followed quickly by a correction?--and, in the rush wrote both--both the original version and its correction, as if both were correct. Its as if story A was corrected and a reporter is told by the source, "no, correct that, what happened was not A it was B" and the reporter wrote "it was A and B", treating the correction as if it was additional information to A instead of a replacement of A.

Is "the Secret Service agent had also been shot from the same distance as the President but no details of this shooting were immediately available" a mistaken hearsay report, perhaps from someone at Parkland, re Connally? (Note no mention of Connally yet in this early story.)

[James DiEugenio]

Wasn't there a picture with this story?

[Mark Stevens]

45 minutes ago, Greg Doudna said:

Interesting that the NZ wire story reads, "Oswald had been chased into the cinema by two policemen. The officers, J. Tippit and M. McDonald, had received a tip that the President's assassin might have gone into the cinema. Tippit was shot dead as he ran into the cinema."

The first two sentences are contradictory, as if the writer had two different reports--perhaps a first report followed quickly by a correction?--and, in the rush wrote both--both the original version and its correction, as if both were correct. Its as if story A was corrected and a reporter is told by the source, "no, correct that, what happened was not A it was B" and the reporter wrote "it was A and B", treating the correction as if it was additional information to A instead of a replacement of A.

Is "the Secret Service agent had also been shot from the same distance as the President but no details of this shooting were immediately available" a mistaken hearsay report, perhaps from someone at Parkland, re Connally? (Note no mention of Connally yet in this early story.)

I believe the Secret Service distance is an error. I have articles saying an agent was shot some distance from from the TSBD, I believe it confused that and meant the agent was shot at a distance from where Kennedy was shot. Meaning the agent was not near the TSBD when killed. 

I also have quite a few which state Tippit and McDonald chased him to a theater where Tippit was then shot. 

[Tom Fairlie]

The entire front page can be viewed here: https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Newspapers/Star23Nov1963/PDF/ChristchurchStar23Nov1963-page01.pdf

Jim: I agree that Hal Hendrix was likely the source of much of the early Oswald bio, but I don't get the connection to NZ. Was it that important to cover the English-speaking world with a cover story? I think we all know the answer. Does anyone have any other links to non-U.S. news that was too early?

Stephanie: Thanks for the references. If you can find the timing of those stories or similar ones I would appreciate it. My curiosity pivots on what was available in the U.S. before 9pm CST. If American wires were running full Oswald bios before this time then anything is possible.

Sadly, it seems that the 3:30pm CST broadcast of the Oswald interview on NBC may have provided sufficient detail. I will have to watch or listen to that. A brief review only provide half the details cited above, however.

[Jeff Carter]

Televised network news from the day in question in readily available on YouTube, and the gradual accumulation of information regarding Oswald can be viewed in “real time”. Much of the sourcing is the same wire services relied on for the NZ newspaper report. The Herald’s coverage pretty much matches and summarizes what was available stateside. Prouty had the unique experience of not being subject to the traumatic tenor of the day, and could view the information presentation objectively - noticing for example that the scope of Oswald information was unusual for a man who was not even labelled a “suspect” in the report.

The place to look, in my opinion, is the FBI’s meeting convened by Hoover at approx 2 PM CST which resulted in labelling Oswald the prime suspect, resulting in Hoover contacting RFK and Hosty arriving at DPD hq claiming a “communist” shot the president. The FBI’s conclusion influenced the media’s attentions, probably with private briefings to senior editorial persons to focus on this individual. No evidence tying Oswald to the assassination was in fact developed for a full 24 hours.

[W. Niederhut]

I vaguely recall reading somewhere -- possibly in Prouty's book about JFK and Vietnam-- that the early international press releases about Oswald may have originated with JMWave and George Johannides.

Does this ring a bell with the forum JFKA experts?

[Ron Bulman]

6 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

I vaguely recall reading somewhere -- possibly in Prouty's book about JFK and Vietnam-- that the early international press releases about Oswald may have originated with JMWave and George Johannides.

Does this ring a bell with the forum JFKA experts?

I don' pretend to be an expert.  Thus I ask for help on details, and correcting mistakes.  From memory.  The very first report of Communist/Castro affiliation was in a anti Castro newspaper in New Orleans or maybe Miami, by people funded by the CIA, quite possibly involving Joannaides given his position, the day of the assassination.  The same day the guy in New Orleans who recorded Oswald's debate sent it to Washington.  Further there was Hal Hendrix of the Miami Herald. 

Seth Kantor, a Scripps Howard reporter on assignment with the Presidential entourage.  A former Dallas Times Herald Reporter who knew Jack Ruby and encountered him at Parkland Hospital on 11/22/63.  He called home to Washington and was referred to Hendrix.  Who told him of Ozzie's Russian trip, wife and more.

Speaking of Hendrix.  Was Hal a Voodoo Child?

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jimi+hendrix+voodoo+chile+live&view=detail&mid=A0239DF40A710F29B3BFA0239DF40A710F29B3BF&FORM=VIRE0&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3djimi%2bhendrix%2bvoodoo%2bchile%2blive%26form%3dPRUSEN%26mkt%3den-us%26httpsmsn%3d1%26msnews%3d1%26rec_search%3d1%26refig%3d81aab66ae4f844b59f8f9380bd6cdfc2%26sp%3d4%26qs%3dAS%26pq%3djimi%2bhendrix%2bvoodoo%2bchile%2b%26sk%3dPRES1AS3%26sc%3d8-26%26cvid%3d81aab66ae4f844b59f8f9380bd6cdfc2

[Joseph McBride]

I've always been fascinated by the stories about a supposedly
dead Secret Service agent spirited out of Dallas. I write what
I know about that in my book INTO THE NIGHTMARE.

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Joseph McBride

[Richard Booth]

On 9/14/2020 at 7:15 PM, Tom Fairlie said:

When did the newswire carry the story of Oswald's background?

One thing to consider:

Most major dailies would be able to check their clippings and newswire archive and in there they'd likely find the 1959 newspaper stories about Oswald when he defected. So they would have a few clippings with some background from the previous stories. 

I agree that it is remarkably fast. 

16 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

Is "the Secret Service agent had also been shot from the same distance as the President but no details of this shooting were immediately available" a mistaken hearsay report, perhaps from someone at Parkland, re Connally? (Note no mention of Connally yet in this early story.)

There is something to this actually. It's remarkably odd and interesting. Look into reports of pools of blood found in Dealy Plaza. Bottom line is there was a large pool of blood near the grassy knoll area and rumors and reports that a man in that area with secret service credentials was stabbed or shot and it was entirely covered up. Yet other reports suggest the man who was stabbed or shot was French. 

I have no idea what the veracity and origin of the above story is, but I know the material is out there because I read it. I also believe the journalist who talked about the pool of blood (Coley) he saw it, his photographer friend took a photo of the pool of blood, which was seized by the FBI and then later we have asset Hugh Aynesworth telling fibs about it saying that the pool of blood was actually soda pop. Note: Hugh is lying, as he always does, and this should tell us there is more to this pool of blood than we know.  

There were also erroneous reports of a Secret Service agent wounded in the area which appeared in the newspaper. Also note that this report erroneously says that Oswald brandished a pistol (as long claimed by Officer McDonald) -- however Oswald was never charged with attempted murder and his so-called attempted murder of McDonald was never brought up in interrogation. This "brandished a pistol" thing appears to be part of the script.

See this thread:

And this thread:

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Richard Booth

[Richard Booth]

1 hour ago, Joseph McBride said:

I've always been fascinated by the stories about a supposedly
dead Secret Service agent spirited out of Dallas. I write what
I know about that in my book INTO THE NIGHTMARE.

 

I also find this story interesting. 

This is from The Huntsville Times (22 Nov 1963) in an Associated Press story:

Secret Service Agent, Dallas Officer Killed