1963: Dallas
The Government Decides That Truth Doesn't Exist
At noon, on a street in Dallas, the president of the United States is
assassinated. He is hardly dead when the official version is
broadcast. In that version, which will be the definitive one, Lee
Harvey Oswald alone has killed John Kennedy.
The weapon does not coincide with the bullet, nor the bullet with
the holes. The accused does not coincide with the accusation:
Oswald is an exceptionally bad shot of mediocre physique, but
according to the official version, his acts were those of a champion
marksman and Olympic sprinter. He has fired an old rifle with
impossible speed and his magic bullet, turning and twisting
acrobatically to penetrate Kennedy and John Connally, the governor of
Texas, remains miraculously intact.
Oswald strenuously denies it. But no one knows, no one will ever
know what he has to say. Two days later he collapses before the
television cameras, the whole world witness to the spectacle, his
mouth shut by Jack Ruby, a two-bit gangster and minor trafficker in
women and drugs. Ruby says he has avenged Kennedy out of patriotism
and pity for the poor widow.
-- Eduardo Galeano, "Memory of Fire: III Century of the Wind."
Part Three of a Trilogy, translated by Cedric Belfrage,
Pantheon Books, 1988, p. 183
the following is taken from "The People's Almanac #2," by David
Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, Bantam Books, 1978, pp. 47-52.
_________________________________________________________________________
THE LAST WORDS OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD
Compiled by Mae Brussell
Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone in shooting Pres. John F. Kennedy
on Nov. 22, 1963, or did he conspire with others? Was he serving
as an agent of Cuba's Fidel Castro, himself the target of American
assassins? Or in squeezing the trigger of his carbine was he
undertaking some super "dirty trick" for a CIA anxious to rid
itself of a president whose faith in the "company" had evaporated
in the wake of the Bay of Pigs fiasco? Or was he representing a
group of Cuban exiles, the Teamsters Union, the Mafia? Indeed, was
it Lee Harvey Oswald at all who killed JFK? Or was there a double
impersonating Oswald? These questions continue to nag many people
more than a decade and a half after that dreadful day in Dallas, in
spite of the 26 volumes of hearings and exhibits served up by the
Warren Commission, the congressional investigations, the release of
heretofore classified FBI documents.
Almost everyone, it seems, has been heard from on the Kennedy
assassination and on Lee Harvey Oswald's guilt or innocence, except
one person--Lee Harvey Oswald himself. From the time of Oswald's
arrest to his own assassination at the hands of Jack Ruby, no
formal transcript or record was kept of statements made by the
alleged killer. It was said that no tape recordings were made of
Oswald's remarks, and many notes taken of his statements were
destroyed.
Determined to learn Oswald's last words, his only testimony, "The
People's Almanac" assigned one of the leading authorities on the
Kennedy assassination, Mae Brussell, to compile every known
statement or remark made by Oswald between his arrest and death.
The quotes, edited for space and clarity, are based on the
recollections of a variety of witnesses present at different times
and are not verbatim transcripts. "After 14 years of research on
the JFK assassination," Mae Brussell concludes, "I am of the
opinion that Lee Harvey Oswald was telling the truth about his role
in the assassination during these interrogations."
12:30 P.M., CST, NOV. 22, 1963 Pres. John F. Kennedy Assassinated
12:33 P.M.
Lee Harvey Oswald left work, entered a bus, and said, "Transfer, please."
12:40 - 12:45 P.M.
Oswald got off the bus, entered a cab, and said, "May I have this cab?"
A woman approached, wanting a cab, and Oswald said, "I will let you have
this one. . . . 500 North Beckley Street [instructions to William Whaley,
driver of another cab]. . . . This will be fine." Oswald departed cab
and walked a few blocks.
1:15 P.M. Officer J. D. Tippit Murdered
1:45 P.M. Arrest at the Texas Theater
"This is it" or "Well, it's all over now." Oswald arrested. (Patrolman
M. N. McDonald heard these remarks. Other officers who were at the scene
did not hear them.) "I don't know why you are treating me like this. The
only thing I have done is carry a pistol into a movie. . . . I don't see
why you handcuffed me. . . . Why should I hide my face? I haven't done
anything to be ashamed of. . . . I want a lawyer. . . . I am not
resisting arrest. . . . I didn't kill anybody. . . . I haven't shot
anybody. . . . I protest this police brutality. . . . I fought back
there, but I know I wasn't supposed to be carrying a gun. . . . What is
this all about?"
2:00 - 2:15 P.M. Drive to Police Dept.
"What is this all about? . . . I know my rights. . . . A police
officer has been killed? . . . I hear they burn for murder. Well, they
say it just takes a second to die. . . . All I did was carry a gun. . . .
No, Hidell is not my real name. . . . I have been in the Marine Corps,
have a dishonorable discharge, and went to Russia. . . . I had some
trouble with police in New Orleans for passing out pro-Castro literature.
right. . . . I demand my rights."
2:15 P.M. Taken into Police Dept.
2:15 - 2:20 P.M.
"Talked to" by officers Guy F. Rose and Richard S. Stovall. No notes.
2:25 - 4:04 P.M. Interrogation of Oswald, Office of Capt Will Fritz
"My name is Lee Harvey Oswald. . . . I work at the Texas School Book
Depository Building. . . . I lived in Minsk and in Moscow. . . . I
worked in a factory. . . . I liked everything over there except the
weather. . . . I have a wife and some children. . . . My residence is
1026 North Beckley, Dallas, Tex." Oswald recognized FBI agent James Hosty
and said, "You have been at my home two or three times talking to my wife.
I don't appreciate your coming out there when I was not there. . . . I
was never in Mexico City. I have been in Tijuana. . . . Please take the
handcuffs from behind me, behind my back. . . . I observed a rifle in the
Texas School Book Depository where I work, on Nov. 20, 1963. . . . Mr.
Roy Truly, the supervisor, displayed the rifle to individuals in his
office on the first floor. . . . I never owned a rifle myself. . . . I
resided in the Soviet Union for three years, where I have many friends and
relatives of my wife. . . . I was secretary of the Fair Play for Cuba
Committee in New Orleans a few months ago. . . . While in the Marines, I
received an award for marksmanship as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
was present in the Texas School Book Depository Building, I have been
employed there since Oct. 15, 1963. . . . As a laborer, I have access to
the entire building. . . . My usual place of work is on the first floor.
However, I frequently use the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh floors to get
books. I was on all floors this morning. . . . Because of all the
confusion, I figured there would be no work performed that afternoon so I
decided to go home. . . . I changed my clothing and went to a movie.
no other reason. . . . I fought the Dallas Police who arrested me in the
movie theater where I received a cut and a bump. . . . I didn't shoot
Pres. John F. Kennedy or Officer J. D. Tippit. . . . An officer struck
me, causing the marks on my left eye, after I had struck him. . . . I
just had them in there," when asked why he had bullets in his pocket.
3:54 P.M.
NBC newsman Bill Ryan announced on national television that "Lee Oswald
seems to be the prime suspect in the assassination of John F. Kennedy."
4:45 P.M. At a Lineup for Helen Markham, Witness to Tippit Murder
"It isn't right to put me in line with these teenagers. . . . You know
what you are doing, and you are trying to railroad me. . . . I want my
lawyer. . . . You are doing me an injustice by putting me out there
dressed different than these other men. . . . I am out there, the only
one with a bruise on his head. . . . I don t believe the lineup is fair,
and I desire to put on a jacket similar to those worn by some of the other
individuals in the lineup. . . . All of you have a shirt on, and I have a
T-shirt on. I want a shirt or something. . . . This T-shirt is unfair."
4:45 - 6:30 P.M. Second Interrogation of Oswald, Captain Fritz's Office
"When I left the Texas School Book Depository, I went to my room, where
I changed my trousers, got a pistol, and went to a picture show. . . .
You know how boys do when they have a gun, they carry it. . . . Yes, I
had written the Russian Embassy. (On Nov. 9, 1963, Oswald had written to
the Russian Embassy that FBI agent James Hosty was making some kind of
deals with Marina, and he didn't trust "the notorious FBI.") . . . Mr.
Hosty, you have been accosting my wife. You mistreated her on two
different occasions when you talked with her. . . . I know you. Well, he
threatened her. He practically told her she would have to go back to
Russia. You know, I can't use a phone. . . . I want that attorney in New
York, Mr. Abt. I don't know him personally but I know about a case that
he handled some years ago, where he represented the people who had
violated the Smith Act, [which made it illegal to teach or advocate the
violent overthrow of the U.S. government] . . . I don't know him
personally, but that is the attorney I want. . . . If I can't get him,
then I may get the American Civil Liberties Union to send me an attorney."
"I went to school in New York and in Fort Worth, Tex. . . . After
getting into the Marines, I finished my high school education. . . . I
support the Castro revolution. . . . My landlady didn't understand my
name correctly, so it was her idea to call me 0. H. Lee. . . . I want to
talk with Mr. Abt, a New York attorney. . . . The only package I brought
to work was my lunch. . . . I never had a card to the Communist party.
pistol in Fort Worth several months ago. . . . I refuse to tell you
where the pistol was purchased. . . . I never ordered any guns. . . . I
am not malcontent. Nothing irritated me about the President." When Capt.
Will Fritz asked Oswald, "Do you believe in a deity?" Oswald replied, "I
don't care to discuss that." "How can I afford a rifle on the Book
Depository salary of $1.25 an hour? . . . John Kennedy had a nice family.
minutes after the assassination. Oswald confirmed this in Captain Fritz's
office. A man impersonating Oswald in Dallas just prior to the
assassination could have been on the bus and in the taxicab.) "That
station wagon belongs to Mrs. Ruth Paine. Don't try to tie her into this.
She had nothing to do with it. I told you people I did. . . . Everybody
will know who I am now."
"Can I get an attorney?. . . I have not been given the opportunity to
have counsel. . . . As I said, the Fair Play for Cuba Committee has
definitely been investigated, that is very true. . . . The results of
that investigation were zero. The Fair Play for Cuba Committee is not
now on the attorney general's subversive list."
6:30 P.M. Lineup for Witnesses Cecil J. McWatters, Sam Guinyard, and
Ted Callaway
"I didn't shoot anyone," Oswald yelled in the halls to reporters. . . .
"I want to get in touch with a lawyer, Mr. Abt, in New York City. . . . I
never killed anybody."
7:10 P.M. Arraignment: State of Texas v. Lee Harvey Oswald for Murder
with Malice of Officer J. D. Tippit of the Dallas Police Dept.
"I insist upon my constitutional rights. . . . The way you are treating
me, I might as well be in Russia. . . . I was not granted my request to
put on a jacket similar to those worn by other individuals in some
previous lineups."
7:50 P.M. Lineup for Witness J. D. Davis
"I have been dressed differently than the other three. . . . Don't you
know the difference? I still have on the same clothes I was arrested in.
The other two were prisoners, already in jail." Seth Kantor, reporter,
heard Oswald yell, "I am only a patsy."
7:55 P.M. Third Interrogation, Captain Fritz's Office
"I think I have talked long enough. I don't have anything else to say.
rather lengthy. . . . I don't care to talk anymore. . . . I am waiting
for someone to come forward to give me legal assistance. . . . It wasn't
actually true as to how I got home. I took a bus, but due to a traffic
jam, I left the bus and got a taxicab, by which means I actually arrived
at my residence."
8:55 P.M. Fingerprints, Identification Paraffin Tests--All in Fritz's
Office
"I will not sign the fingerprint card until I talk to my attorney.
[Oswald's name is on the card anyway.] . . . What are you trying to prove
with this paraffin test, that I fired a gun? . . . You are wasting your
time. I don't know anything about what you are accusing me."
11:00 - 11:20 P.M. "Talked To" by Police Officer John Adamcik and FBI
Agent M. Clements
"I was in Russia two years and liked it in Russia. . . . I am 5 ft. 9
in., weigh 140 lb., have brown hair, blue-gray eyes, and have no tattoos
or permanent scars."
(Oswald had mastoidectomy scars and left upper-arm scars, both noted in
Marine records. "Warren Report," pp. 614-618, lists information from
Oswald obtained during this interview about members of his family, past
employment, past residences.)
11:20 - 11:25 P.M. Lineup for Press Conference; Jack Ruby Present
When newsmen asked Oswald about his black eye, he answered, "A cop hit
me." When asked about the earlier arraignment, Oswald said "Well, I was
questioned by Judge Johnston. However, I protested at that time that I
was not allowed legal representation during that very short and sweet
hearing. I really don't know what the situation is about. Nobody has
told me anything except that I am accused of murdering a policeman. I
know nothing more than that, and I do request someone to come forward to
give me legal assistance." When asked, "Did you kill the President?"
Oswald replied, "No. I have not been charged with that. In fact, nobody
has said that to me yet. The first thing I heard about it was when the
newspaper reporters in the hall asked me that question. . . . I did not
do it. I did not do it. . . . I did not shoot anyone."
12:23 A.M., NOV. 23, 1963 Placed in Jail Cell
12:35 A.M. Released by Jailer
Oswald complained, "This is the third set of fingerprints, photographs
being taken."
1:10 A.M. Back in Jail Cell
1:35 A.M. Arraignment: State of Texas v. Lee Harvey Oswald for the
Murder with Malice of John F. Kennedy
"Well, sir, I guess this is the trial. . . . I want to contact my
lawyer, Mr. Abt, in New York City. I would like to have this gentleman.
He is with the American Civil Liberties Union." (John J. Abt now in
private practice in New York, was the general counsel for the Senate
Sub-Committee on Civil Liberties from 1935-1937, and later served as legal
adviser for the Progressive party from 1948-1951. Mr. Abt has never been
a member of the ACLU.)
10:30 A.M.-1:10 P.M. Interrogation, Capt. Will Fritz's Office
"I said I wanted to contact Attorney Abt, New York. He defended the
Smith Act cases in 1949, 1950, but I don't know his address, except that
it is in New York. . . . I never owned a rifle. . . . Michael Paine
owned a car, Ruth Paine owned two cars. . . . Robert Oswald, my brother,
lives in Fort Worth. He and the Paines were closest friends in town. . .
. The FBI has thoroughly interrogated me at various other times. . . .
They have used their hard and soft approach to me, and they use the buddy
system. . . . I am familiar with all types of questioning and have no
intention of making any statements. . . . In the past three weeks the FBI
has talked to my wife. They were abusive and impolite. They frightened
my wife, and I consider their activities obnoxious."
(When arrested, Oswald had FBI Agent James Hosty's home phone and office
phone numbers and car license number in his possession.)
"I was arrested in New Orleans for disturbing the peace and paid a $10
fine for demonstrating for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. I had a
fight with some anti-Castro refugees and they were released while I was
fined. . . . I refuse to take a polygraph. It has always been my
practice not to agree to take a polygraph . . . The FBI has overstepped
their bounds in using various tactics in interviewing me. . . . I didn't
shoot John Kennedy. . . . I didn't even know Gov. John Connally had been
shot. . . . I don't own a rifle. . . . I didn't tell Buell Wesley
Frazier anything about bringing back some curtain rods. . . . My wife
lives with Mrs. Ruth Paine. She [Mrs. Paine] was learning Russian. They
needed help with the young baby, so it made a nice arrangement for both of
them. . . . I don't know Mrs. Paine very well, but Mr. Paine and his wife
were separated a great deal of the time."
(Michael Paine worked at Bell Aerospace as a scientific engineer. His
boss, Walter Dornberger, was a Nazi war criminal. The first call, the
"tipoff," on Oswald, came from Bell Aerospace.)
"The garage at the Paines' house has some seabags that have a lot of my
personal belongings. I left them after coming back from New Orleans in
September. . . . The name Alek Hidell was picked up while working in New
Orleans in the Fair Play for Cuba organization. . . . I speak Russian,
correspond with people in Russia, and receive newspapers from Russia. . .
. I don't own a rifle at all. . . . I did have a small rifle some years
in the past. You can't buy a rifle in Russia, you can only buy shotguns.
I had a shotgun in Russia and hunted some while there. I didn't bring the
rifle from New Orleans. . . . I am not a member of the Communist party. .
. . I belong to the Civil Liberties Union. . . . I did carry a package
to the Texas School Book Depository. I carried my lunch, a sandwich and
fruit, which I made at Paine's house. . . . I had nothing personal
against John Kennedy."
1:10 - 1:30 P.M. Lee Harvey Oswald Visited by Mother, Marguerite Oswald,
and Wife, Marina Oswald
(To his Mother.) "No, there is nothing you can do. Everything is fine.
I know my rights, and I will have an attorney. I already requested to get
in touch with Attorney Abt, I think is his name. Don't worry about a
thing."
(To his Wife.) "Oh, no, they have not been beating me. They are
treating me fine. . . . You're not to worry about that. Did you bring
June and Rachel? . . . Of course we can speak about absolutely anything
at all. . . . It's a mistake. I'm not guilty. There are people who will
help me. There is a lawyer in New York on whom I am counting for help. .
. . Don't cry. There is nothing to cry about. Try not to think about
it. . . . Everything is going to be all right. If they ask you anything,
you have a right not to answer. You have a right to refuse. Do you
understand? . . . You are not to worry. You have friends. They'll help
you. If it comes to that, you can ask the Red Cross for help. You
mustn't worry about me. Kiss Junie and Rachel for me. I love you. . . .
Be sure to buy shoes for June."
2:15 P.M. Lineup for Witnesses William W. Scoggins and William Whaley
"I refuse to answer questions. I have my T-shirt on, the other men are
dressed differently. . . . Everybody's got a shirt and everything, and
I've got a T-shirt on. . . . This is unfair."
3:30 - 3:40 P.M. Robert Oswald, Brother, in Ten-Minute Visit
"I cannot or would not say anything, because the line is apparently
tapped. [They were talking through telephones.] . . . I got these
bruises in the theater. They haven't bothered me since. They are
treating me all right. . . . What do you think of the baby? Well, it was
a girl, and I wanted a boy, but you know how that goes. . . . I don't
know what is going on. I just don't know what they are talking about. . .
. Don't believe all the so-called evidence." When Robert Oswald looked
into Lee's eyes for some clue, Lee said to him, "Brother, you won't find
anything there. . . . My friends will take care of Marina and the two
children." When Robert Oswald stated that he didn't believe the Paines
were friends of Lee's, he answered back, "Yes, they are. . . . Junie
needs a new pair of shoes."
(Robert Oswald told the Warren Commission, "To me his answers were
mechanical, and I was not talking to the Lee I knew.")
3:40 P.M. Lee Harvey Oswald Calls Mrs. Ruth Paine
"This is Lee. Would you please call John Abt in New York for me after
6:00 P.M. The number for his office is ___________, and his residence is
_______________ . . . . Thank you for your concern."
5:30 - 5:35 P.M. Visit with H. Louis Nichols, President of the Dallas
Bar Association
"Well, I really don't know what this is all about, that I have been kept
incarcerated and kept incommunicado. . . . Do you know a lawyer in New
York named John Abt? I believe in New York City. I would like to have
him represent me. That is the man I would like. Do you know any lawyers
who are members of the American Civil Liberties Union? I am a member of
that organization, and I would like to have somebody who is a member of
that organization represent me." Mr. Nichols offered to help find a
lawyer, but Oswald said, "No, not now. You might come back next week, and
if I don't get some of these other people to assist me, I might ask you to
get somebody to represent me."
6:00 - 6:30 P.M. Interrogation, Captain Fritz's Office
"In time I will be able to show you that this is not my picture, but I
don't want to answer any more questions. . . . I will not discuss this
photograph [which was used on the cover of Feb. 21, 1964 "Life" magazine]
without advice of an attorney. . . . There was another rifle in the
building. I have seen it. Warren Caster had two rifles, a 30.06 Mauser
and a .22 for his son. . . . That picture is not mine, but the face is
mine. The picture has been made by superimposing my face. The other part
of the picture is not me at all, and I have never seen this picture
before. I understand photography real well, and that, in time, I will be
able to show you that is not my picture and that it has been made by
someone else. . . . It was entirely possible that the Police Dept. has
superimposed this part of the photograph over the body of someone else. .
. . The Dallas Police were the culprits. . . . The small picture was
reduced from the larger one, made by some persons unknown to me. . . .
Since I have been photographed at City Hall, with people taking my picture
while being transferred from the office to the jail door, someone has been
able to get a picture of my face, and with that, they have made this
picture. . . . I never kept a rifle at Mrs. Paine's garage at Irving,
Tex. . . . We had no visitors at our apartment on North Beckley. . . . I
have no receipts for purchase of any gun, and I have never ordered any
guns. I do not own a rifle, never possessed a rifle. . . . I will not
say who wrote A. J. Hidell on my Selective Service card. [It was later
confirmed that Marina Oswald wrote in the name Hidell.] . . . I will not
tell you the purpose of carrying the card or the use I made of it. . . .
The address book in my possession has the names of Russian immigrants in
Dallas, Tex., whom I have visited."
9:30 P.M. Lee Harvey Oswald Calls His Wife, Marina, at Mrs. Paine's Home
"Marina, please. Would you try to locate her?" (Marina had moved.)
10:00 P.M. Office of Captain Fritz
"Life is better for the colored people in Russia than it is in the U.S."
9:30 - 11:15 A.M., SUNDAY MORNING, NOV. 24,1963 Interrogation in Capt.
Will Fritz's Office
"After the assassination, a policeman or some man came rushing into the
School Book Depository Building and said, `Where is your telephone?' He
showed me some kind of credential and identified himself, so he might not
have been a police officer. . . . `Right there,' I answered, pointing to
the phone. . . . `Yes, I can eat lunch with you,' I told my co-worker,
`but I can't go right now. You go and take the elevator, but send the
elevator back up.' [The elevator in the building was broken.] . . .
After all this commotion started, I just went downstairs and started to
see what it was all about. A police officer and my superintendent of the
place stepped up and told officers that I am one of the employees in the
building. . . . If you ask me about the shooting of Tippit, I don't know
what you are talking about. . . . The only thing I am here for is because
I popped a policeman in the nose in the theater on Jefferson Avenue, which
I readily admit I did, because I was protecting myself. . . . I learned
about the job vacancy at the Texas School Book Depository from people in
Mrs. Paine's neighborhood. . . . I visited my wife Thursday night, Nov.
21, whereas I normally visited her over the weekend, because Mrs. Paine
was giving a party for the children on the weekend. They were having a
houseful of neighborhood children. I didn't want to be around at such a
time. . . . Therefore, my weekly visit was on Thursday night instead of
on the weekend. . . . It didn't cost much to go to Mexico. It cost me
some $26, a small, ridiculous amount to eat, and another ridiculous small
amount to stay all night. . . . I went to the Mexican Embassy to try to
get this permission to go to Russia by way of Cuba. . . . I went to the
Mexican Consulate in Mexico City. I went to the Russian Embassy to go to
Russia by way of Cuba. They told me to come back in `thirty days.' . . .
I don't recall the shape, it may have been a small sack, or a large sack;
you don't always find one that just fits your sandwiches. . . . The sack
was in the car, beside me, on my lap, as it always is. . . . I didn't get
it crushed. It was not on the back seat. Mr. Frazier must have been
mistaken or else thinking about the other time when he picked me up. . . .
The Fair Play for Cuba Committee was a loosely organized thing and we had
no officers. Probably you can call me the secretary of it because I did
collect money. [Oswald was the only member in New Orleans.] . . . In New
York City they have a well-organized, or a better, organization. . . .
No, not at all: I didn't intend to organize here in Dallas; I was too
busy trying to get a job. . . . If anyone else was entitled to get mail
in P.O. Box 6525 at the Terminal Annex in New Orleans, the answer is no. .
. . The rental application said Fair Play for Cuba Committee and the
American Civil Liberties Union. Maybe I put them on there. . . . It is
possible that on rare occasions I may have handed one of the keys to my
wife to get my mail, but certainly nobody else. . . . I never ordered a
rifle under the name of Hidell, Oswald, or any other name. . . . I never
permitted anyone else to order a rifle to be received in this box. . . .
I never ordered any rifle by mail order or bought any money order for the
purpose of paying for such a rifle. . . . I didn't own any rifle. I have
not practiced or shot with a rifle. . . . I subscribe to two publications
from Russia, one being a hometown paper published in Minsk, where I met
and married my wife. . . . We moved around so much that it was more
practical to simply rent post office boxes and have mail forwarded from
one box to the next rather than going through the process of furnishing
changes of address to the publishers. . . . Marina Oswald and A. J.
Hidell were listed under the caption of persons entitled to receive mail
through my box in New Orleans. . . . I don't recall anything about the
A. J. Hidell being on the post office card. . . . I presume you have
reference to a map I had in my room with some X's on it. I have no
automobile. I have no means of conveyance. I have to walk from where I
am going most of the time. I had my applications with the Texas
Employment Commission. They furnished me names and addresses of places
that had openings like I might fill, and neighborhood people had
furnished me information on jobs I might get. . . . I was seeking a job,
and I would put these markings on this map so I could plan my itinerary
around with less walking. Each one of these X's represented a place where
I went and interviewed for a job. . . . You can check each one of them
out if you want to. . . . The X on the intersection of Elm and Houston is
the location of the Texas School Book Depository. I did go there and
interview for a job. In fact, I got the job there. That is all the map
amounts to. [Ruth Paine later stated she had marked Lee's map.] . . .
What religion am I? I have no faith, I suppose you mean, in the Bible. I
have read the Bible. It is fair reading, but not very interesting. As a
matter of fact, I am a student of philosophy and I don't consider the
Bible as even a reasonable or intelligent philosophy. I don't think of
it. . . . I told you I haven't shot a rifle since the Marines, possibly a
small bore, maybe a .22, but not anything larger since I have left the
Marine Corps. . . . I never received a package sent to me through the
mailbox in Dallas, Box No. 2915, under the name of Alek Hidell, absolutely
not. . . . Maybe my wife, but I couldn't say for sure whether my wife
ever got this mail, but it is possible she could have." Oswald was told
that an attorney offered to assist him, and he answered, "I don't
particularly want him, but I will take him if I can't do any better, and
will contact him at a later date. . . . I have been a student of Marxism
since the age of 14. . . . American people will soon forget the President
was shot, but I didn't shoot him. . . . Since the President was killed,
someone else would take his place, perhaps Vice-President Johnson. His
views about Cuba would probably be largely the same as those of President
Kennedy. . . . I never lived on Neely Street. These people are mistaken
about visiting there, because I never lived there. . . . It might not be
proper to answer further questions, because what I say might be construed
in a different light than what I actually meant it to be. . . . When the
head of any government dies, or is killed, there is always a second in
command who would take over. . . . I did not kill President Kennedy or
Officer Tippit. If you want me to cop out to hitting or pleading guilty
to hitting a cop in the mouth when I was arrested, yeah, I plead guilty to
that. But I do deny shooting both the President and Tippit."
11:10 A.M. Preparation for Oswald's Transfer to County Jail
"I would like to have a shirt from clothing that was brought to the
office to wear over the T-shirt I am wearing. . . . I prefer wearing a
black Ivy League-type shirt, which might be a little warmer. I don't want
a hat. . . . I will just take one of those sweaters, the black one."
11:15 A.M. Inspector Thomas J. Kelley, U.S. Secret Service, Has Final
Conversation with Lee Harvey Oswald
Kelley approached Oswald, out of the hearing of others, except perhaps
Captain Fritz's men, and said that as a Secret Service agent, he was
anxious to talk with him as soon as he secured counsel, because Oswald was
charged with the assassination of the President but had denied it. Oswald
said, "I will be glad to discuss this proposition with my attorney, and
that after I talk with one, we could either discuss it with him or discuss
it with my attorney, if the attorney thinks it is a wise thing to do, but
at the present time I have nothing more to say to you."
11:21 A.M. Lee Harvey Oswald Was Fatally Wounded by Jack Ruby
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
1963: Dallas, The Government Decides That Truth Doesn't Exist
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment