Is this guy saying the infamous doctored backyard photo

[Myra Bronstein]

http://www.nilesstar.com/articles/2007/04/...ews/ndnews3.txt

"Who killed Kennedy?

By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star

Friday, April 13, 2007 9:09 PM EDT

NILES - As a child in second grade, Tim Smith did not understand all the intrigue surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. By 1975 however, as he watched the Geraldo Rivera Goodnight America program looking into the shooting in Dallas, his interest was piqued.

Tuesday, April 17, Smith, of Buchanan, will speak at Saint Mark's Catholic Church Hall in Niles to share the results of years of study on one of the most intriguing events and long-standing mysteries of the 20th century.

"I firmly believe I could go into any courtroom in this country and get Lee Harvey Oswald off. There is enormous evidence and there is no evidence. The problem, the biggest frustration, is that following all roads that led out from Dealey plaza, lead nowhere," Smith said.

Smith believes there are few independent scholars who have examined more evidence of that fateful day than he has. He has collected articles from the national archives and held some of the original documents and photographs. He traveled the country interviewing some of the most prominent people in the investigation.

"I read everything I could get my hands on and went to conferences. I started writing articles and eventually wrote my master's thesis on the subject. I think I have interviewed nearly everyone who was anywhere near that day," he said.

This is the first the long time professor at Southwestern Michigan College has spoken about his extensive research since 2003. At that time he was asked to speak at the 40th Anniversary Symposium at prestigious Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, Pa.

"Not only was it a tremendous honor but I got to meet people I had been corresponding with for years. It was like a Woodstock," he said.

Asked what his most intriguing interview had been, Smith hesitates. There have been so many.

"I think the most intriguing would have to have been the two or three phone interviews I had with Marina Oswald. Her English was still not that good even after all these years. A friend of mine had paved the way so that the interview could be non-confrontational and she would know it was safe to speak to me. I asked her about the famous picture of her former husband in their backyard with the rifle. About the claims that said it had been doctored. There is no doubt that she took it. She said she took a few," Smith said.

..."

Uh, maybe he didn't understand her English as well as he thought?

[Pat Speer]

Myra, Marina has never disavowed the photos. She said at one time she took A photo, then it was two, then three. She told someone she took the photos from the opposite direction, etc. It's really hard to figure out. If she'd been pressured into lying about the photos, then why did she continue to lie about them after coming forward and saying she thinks Lee was framed? Was she concerned about the fact that she SOLD the photos to Life? I don't know.

Someone needs to sit her down and show her the photos and ask her point blank if she took them. I suspect she'd say "yes." My concern about the photos has less to do with their authenticity--as Oswald is posed with conflicting Communist newspapers, the photos were clearly in jest or a ruse--than with the ongoing cover-up in Dallas of the stolen negatives. The DPD had at least three negatives and two of them disappeared, and to this day NO internal DPD investigation of their disappearance has been made public. To my way of thinking, this is reprehensible. The HSCA looked into it a little and should have publicized every detail of their investigation. But no, they apparently felt we weren't entitled to know who'd stolen the evidence, and what became of it.

[Antti Hynonen]

Pat Speer Posted Today, 07:58 AM

Myra, Marina has never disavowed the photos. She said at one time she took A photo, then it was two, then three. She told someone she took the photos from the opposite direction, etc. It's really hard to figure out. If she'd been pressured into lying about the photos, then why did she continue to lie about them after coming forward and saying she thinks Lee was framed? Was she concerned about the fact that she SOLD the photos to Life? I don't know.

Someone needs to sit her down and show her the photos and ask her point blank if she took them. I suspect she'd say "yes." My concern about the photos has less to do with their authenticity--as Oswald is posed with conflicting Communist newspapers, the photos were clearly in jest or a ruse--than with the ongoing cover-up in Dallas of the stolen negatives. The DPD had at least three negatives and two of them disappeared, and to this day NO internal DPD investigation of their disappearance has been made public. To my way of thinking, this is reprehensible. The HSCA looked into it a little and should have publicized every detail of their investigation. But no, they apparently felt we weren't entitled to know who'd stolen the evidence, and what became of it.

Some of us discussed the backyard photos in depth on at least one other thread on this Forum a few years back. Gary Mack sent me a message and related that there were, in fact, (going from memory here) some 2 or 3 additional backyard photos - not seen by the general public, similar, but with Lee posing without the guns or the newspapers. These were sent to some media company's H.Q. in New York if I recall correctly. At any rate, the total of the backyard photos amounted to some 6-7 shots.

Considering Marina's testimony and her having said that she had taken: first 1 photo, then 2, then 3... she should probably change it to say about 7 with the information researchers have about them today.

[Ed O'Hagan]

On two separate occasions Marina told me , " I took the pictures, but the pictures you see to-day are not the ones I took." She also told me that she was "a woman with two husbands".... and that I suspect was true, even though she was implying that there were two sides to "Lee"... Never once, however, during our several conversations did she refer to Lee as being her husband.

In his book 'Crossfire', Jim Marrs's excellent description of the couple's relationship in the chapter titled 'A Whirlwind Romance' is well worth revisiting. Marrs records the following:

................. a baby girl - June Lee Oswald - was born to Marina on February 15, 1962...Oswalds heard from the American Embassy that everything was in order and that they should come to Moscow to sign the final papers.... during this time that Marina noted a cooling in Oswald's attitude toward her... coolness was to increase after they left Russia

(N.B. the coolness became even more pronounced aboard the SS Maasdam)

... both Oswalds met with Captain Alex Davison, at the American Embassy in Moscow... the address of Davison's Russian-speaking mother - who lived in Atlanta, Ga. - can be found in Oswald's address book..... Davison was later revealed as the contact man for U.S. intelligence operations involving a Soviet colonel who spied for the CIA.

... the couple arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 13, 1962 aboard the ship SS Maasdam.

Marrs then describes what I think has to be one of the most intriguing scenarios of the entire chapter:

When the Oswald's arrived in New York, they had seven suitcases. When they left by plane, they only had five. Asked about the dwindling number, Oswald stated he had sent them ahead by rail. However, when the couple arrived in Fort Worth, Robert stated they had only two suitcases. The lost baggage may have something to do with their flight to Texas, which, although many direct flights were available, went by way of Atlanta. Atlanta was the home of Natasha Davison, the mother of Captain Davison, the U.S. attaché with intelligence connections who had met with the Oswalds in Moscow.

At the Forth Worth airport, Robert Oswald met his brother , Lee , Marina and the baby. If one accepts the 'Two Oswald' theory, the only way that could have been possible was that Harvey deplaned in Atlanta, and Lee then joined Marina and June aboard the aircraft as it continued the flight to Fort Worth. Otherwise, Robert would have been meeting an entire group of complete strangers.

Is it possible that Harvey's coolness towards Marina was based on the fact that he was not too happy with the idea that he was going to be replaced 'daddy-wise' by Lee ?

[Thomas Graves]

[...]

... the couple arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 13, 1962 aboard the ship SS Maasdam.

Marrs then describes what I think has to be one of the most intriguing scenarios of the entire chapter:

[...]The lost baggage may have something to do with their flight to Texas, which, although many direct flights were available, went by way of Atlanta. [...].

[...]

__________________________________________

Interesting that Marrs says, "...flight to Texas..." Did they fly into Fort Worth, or Dallas (and have Robert meet them there and drive them to Fort Worth)? Also, Marrs says "...many direct flights were available [From New York]..." Many direct flights from New York to Fort Worth or many direct flights to Dallas, or both? Just curious...

Thanks,

--Thomas

P.S. Fascinating post, Ed!

__________________________________________

Edited April 17, 2007 by Thomas Graves

[Ed O'Hagan]

Interesting that Marrs says, "...flight to Texas..." Did they fly into Fort Worth, or Dallas (and have Robert meet them there and drive them to Fort Worth)? Also, Marrs says "...many direct flights were available [From New York]..." Many direct flights from New York to Fort Worth or many direct flights to Dallas, or both? Just curious.../quote]

__________________________________________

Marrs states that :

Upon disembarking from the SS Maasdam the family were met by Spas T. Raikin, a representative of the Traveler's Aid Society, which had been notified of the Oswalds' arrival by the State Department. Raikin helped whisk the Oswald's through customs and then found them a place to stay in New York. He later arranged contact with Lee's brother, Robert, who sent the couple $200 to pay for plane fare to Fort Worth, Texas.

The Delta Airlines flight was routed via Atlanta. The question raised by Marrs is why would anyone take an indirect flight when there were many direct flights available. It is all the more remarkable when one considers that they had been on the move across Europe by train for around three days and then nine days at sea on the Maasdam... and with an infant to care for....... If I remember correctly, Spas Raiken's office was located on Camp St., New Orleans. I wonder if he too boarded the aircraft in New York and deplaned in Atlanta.

It's interesting what turns up when one searches for 'Spas Raiken' on Google. Give it a go!

Edited April 17, 2007 by Ed O'Hagan

[Guest John Woods]

Hal Verb is a strong supporter of the backyard images being of Lee. He was on the photo panel at one of the JFK conferences back in the late 90's.

johnw

[Ed O'Hagan]

Hal Verb is a strong supporter of the backyard images being of Lee. He was on the photo panel at one of the JFK conferences back in the late 90's.

johnw

I spoke with Hal Verb several years ago. He was a convinced believer at the time that ice bullets had been used in the assassination.

*****************

Lee Harvey Oswald denied having ever posed for the backyard photos which were admittedly taken by Marina at 214 Neeley St.

Around 2:00 p.m. on the day of the assassination when Lee Harvey Oswald was already in police custody, T.F.White claimed that he saw 'Oswald' in the parking lot of the El Chico restaurant. A map of Dallas will show that 246 Neeley St is not that far from the El Chico on the corner of W. Davis and N. Beckley.

In an earlier thread , I speculated as follows:

'Mike' from the C.I.A’ ( as Iggy had called him) was taken out the side-door of the theater and transported to the parking-lot of the El Chico restaurant on W. Davis, where he had parked the borrowed Plymouth. Iggy had driven behind them all the way from the Theater, and after the driver had left he drove into the parking lot. 'Mike', who was by this time getting ready to drive away, got out of the Plymouth and came over to the T-Bird to speak to Iggy. Iggy told him to go on ahead to the motel, and he would be there in about 15 minutes after he had picked up a take-out order from the restaurant. Iggy then got out of his car and walked across to the entrance of the El Chico. 'Mike' got back into the Plymouth, and was just about to turn left and head west on W. Davis when he was spotted by an employee of the Mack Pate garage, which was located one block south on W. Seventh St. and directly behind the El Chico.

The man, T.F. White, was a frequent visitor to the restaurant to pick-up food and beverages, both for himself and other workers at the garage. He recognized 'Mike', having spoken to him on a couple of occasions when they were both waiting for their orders to be prepared . Although White did not know his first name , he did know Mike’s surname , because when bringing his order to the counter from the kitchen the waitress would call it out, and Mike would respond accordingly. At that time 'Mike' and his family had been living on Neeley St., just one block north of W.Davis. His name was ‘Oswald’...The one who went to Russia, married Marina, posed for the backyard photographs taken by Marina, and then had Lee's facial image superimposed over his own.

Now why would he have done that?

In fact when Marina stated that it was she who took the photographs in the backyard at Neeley St., and described to me precisely everything that we see in what she calls "... the ones we see to-day"... and which she claims she did not take , she automatically is faced with having to provide an explanation as to why anyone would go to the trouble of faking pictures of HER HUSBAND to make them look like HER HUSBAND. The one thing that she did not tell me, or anyone else for that matter, was that the "... the ones we see to-day" are not of her husband. But she will consistently refer to 'Lee' and leave one to assume that she is referring to her husband. Surely, if the photos we see to-day are fakes ( i.e. not the ones she took), then she has to be asked in what way are they different. To date she has subtly avoided answering the question. However, note that she is in fact agreeing with Lee Harvey Oswald's claim that the pictures he was shown, namely " ...the ones we see to-day". were faked. In other words Marina is unwittingly telling us that Lee Harvey Oswald was not her husband.

[David G. Healy]

Interesting that Marrs says, "...flight to Texas..." Did they fly into Fort Worth, or Dallas (and have Robert meet them there and drive them to Fort Worth)? Also, Marrs says "...many direct flights were available [From New York]..." Many direct flights from New York to Fort Worth or many direct flights to Dallas, or both? Just curious.../quote]

__________________________________________

Marrs states that :

Upon disembarking from the SS Maasdam the family were met by Spas T. Raikin, a representative of the Traveler's Aid Society, which had been notified of the Oswalds' arrival by the State Department. Raikin helped whisk the Oswald's through customs and then found them a place to stay in New York. He later arranged contact with Lee's brother, Robert, who sent the couple $200 to pay for plane fare to Fort Worth, Texas.

The Delta Airlines flight was routed via Atlanta. The question raised by Marrs is why would anyone take an indirect flight when there were many direct flights available. It is all the more remarkable when one considers that they had been on the move across Europe by train for around three days and then nine days at sea on the Maasdam... and with an infant to care for....... If I remember correctly, Spas Raiken's office was located on Camp St., New Orleans. I wonder if he too boarded the aircraft in New York and deplaned in Atlanta.

It's interesting what turns up when one searches for 'Spas Raiken' on Google. Give it a go!

A lot DELTA flights originating in NY for points south and west were routed through Atlanta, Atlanta being DELTA's headquarters. 1 and 2 stop flights are cheaper than non-stop flights...

Best of my knowledge Robert Oswald was not a wealthy person...

Edited April 18, 2007 by David G. Healy