Ball was a Warren Commission Attorney.
Letter 1
February 23, 1995
Question : I enclosed a photograph of a man who examines a spot where a bullet hit. Any details about that man is welcome. You investigated the matter during the Warren Commission investigation when you interrogated a policeman (Joe W. Foster) who is also in the photo with Eddie Walthers (a deputy sheriff). Foster told you that a bullet hit the manhole cover which appears in the photo. Walthers told somebody in 1963 that he found a bullet in the grass. Do you know who that somebody is?
BALL : Mr. Ball is 92 years of age and has not been in good health the past months. Your letter was read to him and he said he did not know the man in the photo (1) nor did he know to whom Eddie Walthers told that he found a bullet in the grass.
Question : Do you know anything about the Neutron Activation Analysis results of the bullets?
BALL : The Warren Commission concluded their work in September 1964. The Neutron Activation Analysis of the bullets and fragments of the bullets was performed at the request of the House Select Committee on Assassination in about 1978.
Very truly yours,Joy Wurl Secretary to Joseph A. Ball
(1) The unidentified man picking up a bullet seen in some Murray and Allen photos (see Cover Up, written by Gary Shaw, pp. 72-73).
In 1963, Bowles was a D.P.D. sergeant. Today he is the Dallas Sheriff.
Letter 1
October 3, 1990
Question : I enclosed two photos of a man waiting for a station wagon some minutes after the assassination (published in COVER-UP, Gary Shaw). You can see a man on the grassy knoll and the station wagon coming toward him.
BOWLES : How could anyone seem to be waiting for a station wagon? Perhaps they were as easily waiting for a�whatever. If you are thinking about the station wagon which was supposed to have been seen leaving the area, there could have been several, as they were quite popular here. It definitely was not Oswald, as he was positively identified by the bus driver, and his presence (Oswald�s) was presumed confirmed by the bus transfer slip in Oswald�s possession. The transfer was in Oswald�s possession when he was arrested, and he made no alibi to disclaim ownership. Further, the transfer was traced to that bus operator, and it was a timely issue.
Question : Do you know about Deputy Sheriff Harry Weatherford waiting on the roof a building near assassination site with a rifle?
BOWLES : Yes, Harry Weatherford was on the roof with a second deputy, and he had a rifle. They were assigned there for security. My first recollection of the suggestion that Weatherford might have been implicated was from the imagination of Penn Jones who, so far as I know, never worried about the other deputy. It would seem strange that a hit man would be stationed with a living witness. It does not fit reason.
Question : Were there any rifles on the roof of the Texas School Book Depository?
BOWLES : There was no rifle on the roof. The only weapon found at the Texas School Book Depository was Oswald�s Italian Carcano and the wrapper it had been concealed in, but no curtain rods anywhere. All the references to a Mauser were the erroneous comment made by an unqualified observer. That person vaguely (meaning he had no personal knowledge) called the rifle a Mauser, as opposed to, say a 30-30, or a 30-06 or a .22 or what ever. In truth, he had no specific or factual reason to say Mauser; he just said it, and everyone zeroed in as though that individual suddenly became the world�s most renowned firearms identification expert. This was an inaccurate statement on his singular part. There was no Mauser.
Question : I enclosed a photo of a man picking up a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. Do you know the man?
BOWLES : I cannot reply to your scenario about Buddy Walthers and any others and anything they might have picked up, or, if anything, its disposition.
Question : Were the bullet casings found at the Tippit murder scene were from a revolver or automatic pistol? A witness of the murder first said that he could not say that Oswald was the one who shot Tippit. Some months later, he was shot in the head by Darrell Wayne Garner. Afterwards, the witness could identify Oswald as the shooter.
BOWLES : The empty casings found where Oswald dumped them were a mixed assortment of .38�s, the incorrect manufacturer for the UK licensed Smith & Wesson revolver purchased by, and in the possession of Lee Oswald when he was arrested. Further, the gun had been reloaded with, and Oswald had in his pockets, the same collection of ammunition. There is no factual record of any officer finding .45 casings. I have no knowledge of Darell Wayne Garner. To the contrary, it is rather conclusive that Oswald shot Tippit.
Question : The was a clipboard in Tippit�s car. Do you know where it is?
BOWLES : Who said that Tippit had a clipboard? There were no city issue clipboards, and it was not all that common for an officer to have one.
Question : I enclosed a photocopy of a page of a book (The Crime of the Century), a Dallas Police Department document says that just days before November 22, 1963, two policemen saw somebody aiming a rifle on the grassy knoll.
BOWLES : Advance staff of the Secret service, with Dallas P.D. Intelligence officers scouted the route to determine what safe guards were appropriate. I seem to recall one of these people pointing to the east. According to one�s imagination, he could have been �pointing� rather than �aiming�. As a consequence of this routine security check, two uniformed officers were assigned to guard the railroad overpass. They were not carrying a rifle, and I don�t remember that they were not publicly named. More important, a document as you mention would in no manner be proof of anything, least of which, a conspiracy. Evidence is made of sterner stuff.
Question : I enclosed a blow-up of the Moorman that shows a policeman behind a fence on the grassy knoll. He seems to be shooting. The blow-up was made by Jack White.
BOWLES : The power of suggestion can do strange things. There was no police officer, in or out of uniform, nor was there any other person to fire a shot from the grassy knoll. President Kennedy was killed by a head-shot from the right rear, fired by Oswald from the Texas School Book Depository. Unfortunately for conspiracy buffs, that�s all there is to it.
Letter 2
December 15, 1992
Question : Do you know how Ruby got into the basement of City Hall to kill Oswald?
BOWLES : Ruby said he came down the automotive ramp from Main Street. This, to my knowledge, was never proved or disproved.
Letter 3
April 13, 1994
Question : Do you know anybody who was part of the investigation of the Tippit murder?
BOWLES : Gus Rose is probably the last detective around who handled Tippit�s murder, other than Leavelle.
Question : I enclosed a photo showing the arrest of three tramps. The policeman in the photo seems to have something in his ear. Do you know what it is? This photo shows policemen arresting three tramps and leading them to the Sheriff�s office. Did this policeman wear a listening device?
BOWLES : There�s no way of knowing what was in his ear. If I find out, I will let you know.
Letter 4
July 20, 1999
Question : Did you give tapes of the Dictabelt November 22, 1963 recordings to anyone in the weeks following the assassination?
BOWLES : No, I gave no tapes out. All the tapes then were reel-to-reel; cassettes had not been invented.
Question : Does the Sheriff's Department have JFK assassinations reports?
BOWLES : The Sheriff's Department has no records.
Question : Were the Dictabelts furnished to the House Select Committee on Assassination by Paul McCaghren the original ones?
BOWLES : The Dictabelts and Audiograph records furnished the House Select Committee on Assassination by McCaghren were unaltered originals. I do not know what the House Select Committee on Assassination relied on. They had the original recording referred to above. They did not ask for mine. There was nothing "special" about mine other than I could vouch for the origin and authenticity.
Letter 5
August 2, 1999
Question : Do you know of any souvenir collectors in the Dallas Police Department who could have got the Dictabelt recordings within the weeks following the assassination?
BOWLES : I know of no one who had tapes other than the FBI. Neither do I know of any souvenir collectors, least of all, Mr. White.
In 1963, Day was a D.P.D. Lieutenant in charge of the Fingerprint Section at the Homicide Bureau. He found prints on Oswald�s Carcano.
Letter 1
November 5, 1990
Question : Do you know of any fabrication of evidence from the part of the DPD? I read that the FBI asked you to sign a statement about the print that you found on the rifle.
DAY : I have not read the Warren Commission report nor am I aware of any responsible allegations of evidence fabrication by the Dallas Police Department. All my testimony was given under oath and is factual to the best of my knowledge and belief. There were no statements that I refused to sign.
Letter 2
February 1, 1992
Question : I read that the prints found on the Carcano may have been taken off of Oswald�s body by the FBI at the morgue.
DAY : I know of no way to take a latent print developed with finger-print powder from a deceased person and make it appear to have come from a gun barrel. If you have read someone's book espousing this theory, it strikes me as ridiculous!
Question : Do you know if a bullet was found in the grass of Elm Street
DAY : I remember nothing about a .38 caliber bullet found in the grass in Dealey Plaza.
All of the solid evidence found simply does not support a conspiracy theory.
Letter 3
April 15, 1992
Question : May I have details about the palmprint found on Oswald�s rifle?
DAY : I lifted the palm print off the gun barrel the night of November 22, 1963, period. If you are in Dallas, I will be glad to discuss it with you. A sudden command decision was made to release the gun to the FBI and I was unable to complete what I started.
Question : Was there any other rifle found in the Texas School Book Depository? A Mauser?
DAY : There was never a Mauser gun or any other rifle involved.
Question : Why did you not search for a print on Oswald�s revolver that was used in the Tippit�s murder?
DAY : Oswald was arrested in possession of the pistol. Several officers were present and a fingerprint check would not be called for under these conditions. I don�t remember any fingerprint check being made.
Question : I learned that the FBI contacted you on September 9, 1964, to ask you to sign a statement about the palmprint you found on Oswald�s rifle.
DAY : I do not remember any contact with the FBI regarding statement about the palm print from the rifle. Where are you getting that information from?
Question : Were the slugs found at the Tippit�s murder scene automatics?
DAY : Slugs removed from the body of Tippit were .38 caliber.
Question : I enclosed a photocopy of the book that talks about a Warren Commission document that shows the doubt that the Warren Commission had about the way you got the print on the Carcano. It appears that you refused to sign a statement in which you would say that you found a print on the Carcano.
DAY : I do not remember being contacted by the FBI about a statement. It must not have amounted to much or I would remember it.
Question : Why did the FBI take Oswald's fingerprints from his dead body?
DAY : The FBI was late in taking over the investigation. I would expect them to take their own prints from the body. This is normal procedure. But they did not have the rifle with them at the funeral home.
If there was someone other than Oswald involved, no one would like to know it better than the Dallas Police officers.
Letter 4
Sometimes in 1992
Question : Who found the bag on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository that Oswald used to carry in the rifle?
DAY : I don't know. It was on the floor next to and north of the box Oswald was sitting on when I arrived at the 6th floor. My men and I collected the bag at this place. As far as I know it had not been moved by any officers.
Question : What was the position of the spent casings on the 6th floor? Deputy Sheriff Roger Craig said that they were side by side, only inches apart and all pointing in the same direction.
DAY : When I arrived the spent casings were in random positions on the floor west of the box where Oswald was sitting. If I remember correctly one was in a narrow crack between the floor and the south wall. Photos were made of the casings before we collected them. I saw nothing unusual about the position of the casings.
Question : Do you remember if Public Relations Officer for the Dallas Police Department Glenn King said that a rifle was found on the roof of the Texas School Book Depository. He said that it was a Mauser dropped by a security officer.
DAY : I know nothing of the Mauser nor did I have reason to talk to Captain Glenn King.
Question : I enclosed photos showing Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers, Dallas Police Department officer Joe W. Foster and a FBI agent searching for a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. Do you know who this FBI agent is? Also, I enclosed a newspaper article that mentions that you evaluated the distance between the window Oswald shot from and the spot where a bullet hit the grass on Elm Street. Do you remember this?
DAY : I don't remember having talked to Walthers or Foster nor do I know anything of a bullet found by them. I don't think there was one found. I do not know the FBI agent or other person in the photo. Newspapers stories are written in haste and not always accurate. I vaguely remember some conversations about a manhole shown in the photo and guessed it was 100 yards from the window. It was not important enough to measure with a tape. This could be where the 100 yard story comes from.
Letter 5
March 29, 1994
Question : Was Oswald's rifle tested as to whether or not it was fired on November 22, 1963?
DAY : The only examination of the rifle by the Dallas Police Department was the checking for prints that I did and this wasn't completed before the gun was released to the FBI.
I am not sure what you mean by 'tested'. I am guessing that you are wondering if the gun was fired on November 22, 1963. Contrary to the movies, where they smell a gun to see if it has been fired, I know of no reliable test to accurately determine if a gun was fired today, yesterday or last month.
In 1963, Gemberling was a supervisor at the Dallas FBI Office.
LETTER 1
July 12, 1994
GEMBERLING : My good friend, Wallace Heitman, has made available your recent undated letter for appropriate response. For your information Mr. Heitman and I worked closely during the FBI's investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy.
To my knowledge the identity of the individual in the photograph enclosed with your letter has never been identified. This is unfortunate, but it has been definitely established that such an individual is not an FBI Agent. I am personally familiar with the identities of all FBI Agents in the Dallas area on November 22, 1963, when this photograph was alleged to have been taken in Dealey Plaza, and such an individual is not one of them.
This photograph has been published by more than one researcher for several years as "an unidentified FBI Agent". One researcher, with whom I have had personal conversations and correspondence since October, 1992, has commercially distributed a video entitled "The Mystery FBI Agent Man", in which he claims to have identified such individual. This video was introduced on the market after I had furnished him detailed information establishing, without any doubt, that such individual was not an FBI Agent.
I consider I am unable to identify the individual in the photograph, but I hope the foregoing information will be of assistance to you.
I regret I am unable to identify the individual in the photograph, but I hope the foregoing information will be of assistance to you.
LETTER 2
October 22, 1996
Question : I read that you confirmed that the man seen with Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers and Dallas Police Department officer Joe W. Foster picking up a bullet is former FBI agent Robert Barrett. Is that correct?
GEMBERLING : Your letter of 9/19/96 to the late Will Griffin has been made available to me by his widow for appropriate response. My records indicate I sent you a letter dated 7/12/94, informing you that the individual in the photograph in question, who for years has been referred to as an "unidentified FBI Agent" by many researchers, is not an FBI Agent.
For your information I gave a videotaped interview to Mark A. Oakes on 10/20/92, at which time I stated the unidentified individual looked like Mr. Barrett, but I could not be positive of such identification. At the time of the interview, Oakes showed me an alledged note from Barrett stating: "Mark, This is a photo of me. Sorry." The fact the photo is not of Barrett, makes the word "Sorry" appear to be more in context.
Furthermore, I was aware of each and every FBI Agent in Dallas on 11/22/63, and Mr. Barrett was the only one who even slightly resembled the unidentified individual. Mr. Barrett was not in the grassy area depicted in the photograph at any time on the afternoon of 11/22/63, although he was in the Texas School Book Depository sometime after 1:00 PM. He had more hair in 1963, than does the individual in the photograph.
In 1963, Mr. Barrett wore a large Notre Dame class ring on his left hand, with a dark ruby stone. No such ring is depicted. The photo reveals the shirt cuff of his left sleeve protruding below his coat sleeve. Mr. Barrett did not wear long sleeve shirts, and was wearing a dark sport coat, light colored trousers, and was wearing glasses on November 22, 1963. The unidentified individual appears to be wearing a suit.
I do not know who the unidentified individual is, but I do know it is not Mr. Barrett or any other FBI Agent. I have serious doubt that should the identity of this individual become known, it will change the fact that there is overwhelming evidence indicating Lee Harvey Oswald, alone, killed President Kennedy.
Hall was an FBI Agent in 1963.
LETTER 1
Sometimes in 1994
Question : I enclosed photos showing Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers, Dallas Police Department officer Joe W. Foster and a FBI agent searching for a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. Do you know this FBI Agent?
HALL : The person in the photo was not a Special Agent of the FBI in Dallas in 1963. The others you wrote to do not know him either. (1)
Your information is incorrect. This case was investigated and solved more than thirty years ago.
(1) Hall refers to the other FBI Agents I wrote to
Photo of Thomas Killam and his wife
Dr. Harper did a re-examination of the autopsy made on Thomas Killam. Killam appears on the list of mysterious deaths of witnesses in the JFK assassination. Some time before his death, Killam told his brother that he might be killed because he knew too much.
LETTER 1
April 4, 1990
Question : I would like to have your comments about Mr. Thomas Killam. His brother asked you to do that because he thought that his brother was killed because he knew too much about the JFK assassination.
HARPER : It is true that in the late 1960's I was asked by Earl Killam to investigate the facts surrounding the death of his brother, Thomas Killam, who had died a few years earlier in downtown Pensacola.
At the conclusion of the investigation, I prepared a lengthy written report of the findings. A copy of the report was given to Earl Killam, whereabouts now unknown, Also, a copy was furnished to Mr. Eddie Barker who was then a reporter for the Pensacola News-Journal. I do not have a copy of the report available to me, but perhaps you could obtain one from the files of the Pensacola News-Journal, One News-Journal Plaza, Pensacola, Florida, 32501.
There was absolutely no evidence found in the investigation that would indicate that Thomas Killam's death was a homicide. On the contrary, his death was apparently accidental as previously classified by the Pensacola Police Department.
Often referred as the Tall Tramp. Some photographs taken some minutes after the assassination show three men arrested. One of those men shows a striking ressemblance to Harrelson.
LETTER 1
June 14, 1990
Question : I enclosed a copy of an article of THE GLOBE. You told the reporter that you were one of the Tramps who appear in some photos. Were you involved in any way?
HARRELSON : The so-called tabloid papers in this country invent whatever story they feel will enhance their sales. Truth is a word they are totally unaware of when preparing their ludicrous reports. I possess absolutely no personal knowledge of these tragic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on 11/22/63.
Hartmann was a member of the House Select Committe on Assassination photo panel.
EMAIL 1
July 24, 1998
Question : Have you kept any House Select Committe on Assassination work paper or photo material with you?
HARTMANN : No, I don't have much of anything available in the way of extra material.(In fact, I was wishing they had sent us a complete set of the committee report volumes so that I could have a better set of the final results!)
Question : On July 10, 1978, you prepared at least 2 documents regarding some photo analysis made by another photo consultant regarding the Backyard Photos. -David Eisendrath- regarding the Backyard Photos. These documents are entitled Eisendrath Fakes.
One of the Eisendrath documents mentions this passage:
QUOTE
I have already written to you about the photogrammetry of the backyards, and after several rereadings still feel that this should be re-edited, re-calculated, or DESTROYED. It's a bombshell and should not be published in its present form.
UNQUOTE
I would like to know whether you remember anything about that.
HARTMANN : All I can recall about the backyard photos was trying to make some "fake" photos myself by pasting heads from one photo on a body of another photo, using photos made in my own back yard. I was fairly sophisticated in darkroom work, and feathering out edges, pasting one image on another, making a new negative of the altered image -- the type of technology of that day. I think the general conclusion of our group (or at least me) was that there was no very good evidence that the backyard photos had been faked. The fact that the committee came up with additional prints owned by other parties also argued somewhat against a special set having been made by conspirators trying to frame Oswald.
My sense from this kind of work is that it is easy for popular myths go get started. I never could convince myself that the shadows on those backyard photos looked strange, or that the head was the wrong size, etc. Yet once those charges were made, that seemed to circulate as a "fact" and lots of people uncritically repeated it as if it had somehow been proven or was obvious. I noticed the same phenomenon (in my opinion) in the recent flaps over the "face on Mars". In spite of the fact that such features(shadows at certain times of day making a "face" or other "image" out of natural features), and in spite of the fact that almost no recognized Mars scientist found anything strange about the old Viking-probe image, many popular media built up impression that there was an obvious enigma in the older images. The recent Mars Global Surveyour image revealed it was an ordinary natural plateau-like hill, after all.
I say this only to make the point that you have to be careful about accepting that there is an "enigma" merely because other people say there is.
EMAIL 2
July 25, 1998
Question: Do you know where David Eisendrath lives? (SEE EMAIL #2)
HARTMANN : I didn't answer too well about Eisendrath. Off the top of my head (here at a meeting in Dublin about meteorites!), I recall his name but don't recall much of what he did or said. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have an address for him. Good luck in tracking down some of this.
Basically, though I went into the investigation thinking we were likely to find evidence of conspirators in addition to Oswald, I came out feeling that the preponderance of evidence pointed to Oswald as the lone activist in this. That is not to say he might not have been talking to other people informally, but I concluded from the evidence I saw that he conceived and executed this action on his own, and was the only gunman.
Humes was a Bethesda doctor who did the autopsy of JFK.
LETTER 1
August 27, 1998
Question : Do you know about Dr. Metzler filming the JFK's autopsy with a 8 mm film? Dennis David who assisted you as a technician said that he helped Dr. Metzler develop the film.
HUMES : In reply to your recent inquiry I can state with certainty that I never heard of Dr. James Metzler and that neither he nor anyone else used an 8mm camera to film any part of President Kennedy's autopsy. The only photographs taken were done, under my direction, by Mr. John Stringer, our medical photographer.
I also do not recall Mr. Dennis David but I presume that he was one of several corpsmen who were of considerable assistance to us. I have absolutely no knowledge of any dialog between him and Dr. Metzler, whomever he may be.
Question : Do you think you will write a book someday about the JFK's autopsy? It would be a best-seller!
HUMES : Dr. Boswell and I have no plans for further publication concerning that tragic event beyond what was published in JAMA, May 27, 1992.
Note: In my letter to Dr. Humes, I mentioned METZLER when I should have written PITZER.
Leavelle was a D.P.D. detective in 1963. He is one of my best source since he made his own investigation in the JFK assassination in the years following the tragic events.
LETTER 1
November 20, 1992
Question : This is a follow-up of our phone conversation. Did I understand well that you told me that Barrett told you that he is the "unidentified man" seen in some Murray's photos picking evidence on Elm Street?
LEAVELLE : If I led you to believe that Bob Barrett identified himself to me in the picture that is wrong. When I asked about the picture some years later some of the agents told I should have met him since he had been to our department several times. I might have but I don't remember it. The agent in charge of the investigation from the Dallas office says he thinks it is Barrett. Two researchers have told me they have talked with him and he identified himself in the picture. One of the researchers is Mark Oakes. He lives in St. Louis, Mo.
LETTER 2
January 18, 1993
Question : Do you know which policeman had his mike stuck during the assassination?
LEAVELLE : The officer who they think had his mike stuck open was Les Beilharz. I did not work on that part of the investigation, so I don't know.
Question : It appears that within minutes of the assassination a police car stopped at the front of Oswald's house. Do you know who was that policeman?
LEAVELLE : On Beckley Ave. at Zangs when the red light turns red on Beckley three to five cars are backed up and the third car will be in front of the rooming house. Our survey showed that about ever third car stopped at the light would honk the horn. And if you were not close to it you would not know what car blew the horn. The police car could have been one of several cars that went up and down Beckley.
Question : Do you know that the paraffin test made on Oswald shows negative on his face?
LEAVELLE : Paraffin test alone never proves anything. If you suspect some one of firing a gun and you have other evidence, then the paraffin test tends to verify or corroborate the other evidence. And it is not unusual for it not to show up on the face.
Question : Policeman Gerald Hill when discovering the shell casings at the Tippit murder scene first said on the radio that he found automatic shell casings. It turned out not to be the case. Did you ask Hill to explain?
LEAVELLE : No, I did not ask Gerald Hill why he said the shell casing was automatic. I did ask Joe Poe the police officer at the scene if the spent shells he showed me were the same ones he showed Hill, and he said that they were.
Question : Do you know where the clip board that Tippit had in his car at the moment of his murder is?
LEAVELLE : I know nothing about the clip board.
LETTER 3
July 13, 1993
Question : Do you know anything about policeman Roesco White?
LEAVELLE : White was a police officer for a time, but he was not on the police department in November of 1963. He was a civilian employee at the time and went into training in December 1963.
Question : Do you remember who you talked with at the Dallas FBI Office about the photo showing a FBI Agent?
LEAVELLE : Let me get your mind off that FBI Agent seen in the picture with Foster and Walthers. He was not picking up a bullet or anything else. He was looking at a mark in the grass that he thought might have been made by a bullet. It was determined that this was not the case. I know who the man is but he does not want to be bothered and I can assure you it is not Barrett.
Linn was a reporter in Dallas who heard an audio tape of the shots. He says there were three shots on it.
EMAIL 1
September 2, 1998
Question : Have the tapes of the interviews you did with people regarding the JFK assassination been kept? Do you think WFAA could help me?
LINN : I was working radio at the time, and as far as I know, all those tapes have been lost. WFAA-TV, however, still has videotape of everything broadcast on that station during those days, including numerous interviews with witnesses. I have no idea what kind of public access is permitted. The news director would likely be the person to ask.
Question : If I may, I would like to suggest to you to send a copy of your manuscript to the Assassination Archives Review Board in Washington. They close on Sept 30th, 1998. They often received that kind of stuff. It will be then sent to the National Archives. Or you may send it to the JFK Assassination Museum in Dallas. I am willing to pay for a photocopy of it. I am in Dallas in March 1999. May I take a look at it then, please? I would like to point out that the events you are telling in your manuscript may be of very great value for the American people and future generations. Too many unique pieces of evidence regarding the JFK matter have disappeared.
LINN : Thanks for the suggestion. I will not be in Dallas in March 1999, or any other time (unless visiting there on vacation occasionally). Sorry, but I will not share via photocopy or otherwise my scribblings of the time. I appreciate the thought, though.
EMAIL 2
September 2, 1998
LINN : Please forgive my delay. An accurate and complete account of my experience during the JFK assassination can be found in a book published a few years ago, but I'm not sure I remember either the author's name or the title correctly. I have the book at home, and I've been intending to check it there and respond to your email. It's Gerald Posner's book, "Case Closed."
Question : Does the tape still exist or a copy of it?
LINN : No.
Question : Did you listen to the shots? If so, how many shots did you hear?
LINN : I listened to the shot on the tape. There were three.
Question : Did you see anything suspicious in Dealey Plaza during or after the shots?
LINN : I was not there during the shots.
Question : Do you know reporter Jonny Ruthledge? Do you know where he lives?
LINN : I don't know who that is.
Question : Did you interview any witnesses, doctors, policemen,...?
LINN : Of course. I was a reporter. I interviewed all kinds of people.
Question : Have you kept anything regarding the assassination that the general public has not seen?
LINN : No.
Question : Have you written anything published or not published about the assassination?
LINN : Yes, and it will remain unpublished.
Question : How long did you stay in Dealey Plaza?
LINN : I was not in Dealey Plaza at the time of the shooting. I went there later.
Question : Did you go to Parkland?
LINN : Later, yes, but after the president's body and the vice-president had left.
In 1963, McCaghren was a Captain in the Dallas Police Department Intelligence Unit. Today he is a professional security consultant in Dallas.
LETTER 1
November 18, 1993
Question : I enclosed photos showing Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers, Dallas Police Department officer Joe W. Foster and a unidentified man searching for a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. The photos were taken 10 minutes after the assassination. Chief Jessie Curry said that the unidentified man is a FBI Agent. Some people say the Agent is Robert Barrett. Do you know that Agent and have you ever talked about that matter to Jessie Curry?
McCAGHREN : I feel sure the person leaning over is a Dallas Sheriff's Deputy. I do not know his name. I assure you it was more than 10 minutes later that this was taken. I did not know Robert Barrett.
Question : Was there any other rifle found other than Oswald's Carcano? Capt. Glenn King said that there was one found on the roof of the Texas School Book Depository. I think that policeman Marrion Baker was on the roof after the assassination. Was there a Mauser?
McCAGHREN : There was no other gun found at the scene other than the one belonging to Oswald.
Question : Do you know what kind of bullets (automatic or revolver) were found at the Tippit murder scene. Gerald Hill first said that these were from an automatic pistol, but they turned out to be from a revolver.
McCAGHREN : I was not aware that any shells were found at the scene of Officer Tippit's murder.
Question : Do you know someone who saw Jack Ruby going into the basement of City Hall when he killed Oswald?
McCAGHREN : Detective Blackie Harrison saw Jack Ruby going into the basement of City Hall and called him by name.
Payne was a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald in 1963.
EMAIL 1
September 18, 1998
Question : Do you have personal stuff on the JFK assassination?
PAYNE : I don't have any audio tapes of any of those witnesses. I did record on my reporter's notepad some comments from people I interviewed at Dealey Plaza just after the assassination, but they're not very significant and they're very brief. Most of the stuff I got I phoned in to the rewrite desk.
Question : Do you know about Dallas newsman Travis Lynn hearing the shots on an audio tape some time after the shooting?
PAYNE : As to Travis Linn's recollection about having heard the gunshots on an audio report, I don't know. I don't remember anything about it.
Question : Could I have some background about your activities in 1963?
PAYNE : I still live in Dallas. I worked for the Dallas Times Herald at the time, and later worked for KERA-TV. Earlier I had worked for the Fort Worth Press. Afterwards and for nearly 30 years I taught journalism at Southern Methodist University.
In 1963, Pierce was a lieutenant in the Dallas Police Patrol Division.
LETTER 1
May 11, 1993
Question : Do you know someone who saw Jack Ruby entering the basement of City Hall when he killed Oswald?
PIERCE : I do not know who is anyone saw Ruby enter the basement.
Question : Captain Frank Martin said to the Warren Commission that 'there is a lot to be said, but I'd probably better not to say it', referring to the murder of Oswald. Do you know what he meant by that?
PIERCE : I never talked to Capt. Frank Martin regarding this matter and would have no idea what it meant.
Question : I enclosed photos showing Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers, DPD officer Joe W. Foster and a FBI Agent searching for a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. Do you know who this FBI Agent is?
PIERCE : I do not know this FBI Agent.
LETTER 2
August 16, 1993
Question : Do you know who had his mike stuck some time after the assassination? Could it be Les Beilharz who was on a 3-wheel motorcycle?
PIERCE : I have heard that it was H.B. McLain who had the open mike. However if it was on a 3-wheel motor, then could have been Beilharz. McLain was assigned to the solo motors and Beilharz was assigned to the three wheel.
Question : Do you know anything about a night transfer of Oswald?
PIERCE : I do not know the plan to transfer Oswald. However, it was the thought among members of the department that Curry was directed as to the manner the transfer was conducted.
Question : Do you know anybody who saw a hole in the Limousine's windshield at the Parkland Hospital?
PIERCE : That was Sergeant Stavis Ellis. I never talked with him regarding the Limousine
Pinkston was a FBI Agent in 1963. In 1964 with his colleague Robert Barrett, he searched for a bullet in the the grass on Elm Street with a metal detector.
LETTER 1
October 6, 1993
Question : This is the photo showing Policeman Joe W. Foster, Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers and an unidentified man. Do you think it is FBI Agent Robert Barrett?
PINKSTON : I don't think that the photo is Bob Barrett.
LETTER 2
Sometimes in 1993
Question : Do you have a photo of Robert Barrett?
PINKSTON : No.
Question : Do you know if the Dallas FBI Office keeps the photographs of FBI Agents in 1963?
PINKSTON : Only in Washington, D.C.
In 1963, Preston was a Dallas policeman. He says he saw written proofs of a conspiracy, like a motel receipt made to Jack Ruby and Lee Oswald. He sent the documents to D.A. Henry Wade who gave them to the FBI. The files have since then disappeared.
LETTER 1
September 11, 1996
PRESTON : Enclosed is copy of National Enquirer of August 17, 1996. I was never questioned by the Warren Commission. The agent from the FBI went to work for H.L. Hunt the Dallas oilman. So I guess that is where my files went. After Mr. Hunt's death, a PBS reporter showed me some files. That was in these I turned over to District Attorney Wade and the FBI.
Art Rickerby was a Life photographer who took some photographs in Dealey Plaza and at Parkland Hospital. This is Rickerby's widow.
EMAIL 1
July 13, 1999
Question : I am very interested in the JFK assassination. I have seen Art's pictures on LIFE-TIME website. And I have seen another one on www.stockphoto.com (Black Star).
Do you have JFK ass. photos on your site beside the one showing JFK and Jackie?
I remember seeing one in the November 84 Life edition taken at Parkland Hospital. I could not find it on Life's website, Black Star doesn't have it and you don't have it on your site. I wonder who has it...
In short, I am trying to catalog ALL the photos that Art took to make sure that no photo he took has been "lost" and unseen.
Did he take AND B&W AND color photos?
RICKERBY : Like any good photo journalist, my late husband made many photos the day of the assassination. Some were published, most were not. However those that were made on Dealey Plaza have been blown up, analyzed, and studied intently by many people. The Parkland Hospital photo you may remember is of the Vice President's limo, abandoned as its occupants rushed inside. A bouquet of yellow roses (the picture is black and white, but we know from other photos made that day) has also been hastily abandoned and is strewn across the interior. He shot in color before the actual shooting, and again later at the funeral. However I believe that, in the frenzy of the moment, he was using trustworthy black and white. I own the copyright to any images not published in LIFE Magazine. However, the folks at LIFE keep them in their files for me. If you are interested in purchasing, we sell Limited Edition prints (no more than sixty prints in any one size will ever be made from any one negative) starting at $350.
Question : Do you remember what Art said about the shooting? Did he hear three or four shots? Where did he think the shots came from? Did he notice anything particular? Did he talk about a man with an open umbrella who was photographed by him? At Parkland, did he look at the JFK's Limo's windshield and did he say if there was hole in the windshield? Did he write his memories about the assassination?
RICKERBY : I remember that Arthur said he heard the shots (he was on a press bus behind the President -- a couple of cars I believe). He left the bus, "commandeered" a civilian car and followed the President's limo to Parkland. However, by the time he arrived the President and most of his party were already inside the hospital. If he had seen the President's limo, he would certainly have photographed it -- and if he had seen a bullet hole in the windshield, he would certainly have told me about it. Nor did he ever mention the famous man with the umbrella. I do remember that he thought there had been more shots than were reported in the press at the time, but I don't remember how many. I hope all of this is helpful.
EMAIL 2
August 8, 1999
RICKERBY : It is my belief that Arthur's two b/w shots at Dealey Plaza were the only usable ones. It appears, now that I have seen the color print, that he was already in another car, heading for the hospital when it was made. I was so surprised to find that there was any color at all that I have asked the folks at the LIFE Picture Collection to pull the color file so that I can review it next week. I will let you know if we find anything.
I have the contacts from the black and white set. It goes from the grassy knoll to the back of Parkland and has nothing of special interest from your point of view. The picture of the roses scattered in the Vice President's limo is, of course, famous in its own right.
EMAIL 3
January 18, 2000
RICKERBY : I did go to New York to check on the color photo Black Star was featuring on its web page. They claim the original slide is long gone, but made me a copy of their print -- not a very satisfactory solution. I also went to LIFE and searched their old color files. We found a nice shot of the funeral, but absolutely no other color from Dallas. The shot is interesting because it shows a different angle of the plaza, but nothing else exciting. Are you still interested?
In 1964 the French government inquired to the FBI about the reasons why the U.S. authorities expelled Souetre from the U.S.A. on November 22, 1963. Souetre -or somebody using his identity- was being followed by the FBI some time BEFORE the assassination.
LETTER 1
February 24, 1990
Question : I read some articles that suggest that you were involved in the JFK assassination. I enclosed copies of them. I also enclosed a photograph of a man looking like you with Dr. Alderson of Houston, Texas, USA. Dr. Alderson says that he met you. I am not accusing you of anything. I just want to satisfy my curiosity about this matter. I also enclosed a photo of Lee Harvey Oswald with somebody looking like you.
Note: The photo shows Oswald with somebody identified only as Alfred of Cuba. The photo was taken in USSR during Oswald's stay over there.
SOUETRE : I can only confirm what I already told persons interested in this matter. I am absolutely for nothing in this matter. It is with amazement that I heard about this theory when it was published in the National Inquirer article. I have never been interrogated by any police agency and hence could not deny any relations with any Doctor Alderson that I may have met 40 years ago� However, it seems possible to me that M. Mertz, well-known smuggler, had the opportunity to use my identity during some dubious activities. It is up to him to answer that question.
Specter was an attorney for the Warren Commission.
LETTER 1
Sometimes in 1994
Question : I would like to know if you have the Neutron Activation Analysis results of the bullets and fragments of the bullets in the JFK assassination case. What are the results?
SPECTER : The attached information is forwarded in response to your recent inquiry. I am hopeful that it will be of assistance to you.
Note: Specter send me a document which has nothing to do with my question. It is entitled CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE REPORT FOR CONGRESS, THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: CONSPIRACY THEORIES written by Suzanne Cavanagh, analyst in American National Government, dated March 10, 1992.
Jim Braden
Trombly was suspect Jim Braden's attorney before the House Select Committee on Assassination.
EMAIL 1
April 8, 2000
Question : I am doing a research into the JFK assassination. I read the transcript of Jim Braden's deposition during the HSCA sessions. It was mentioned that you were his representative.
I would like to know if you kept any interview transcripts you had with him, audio recording, photo or ANYTHING to do with Jim Braden. If not, I would enjoy having your personal feeling of what Jim Braden was really doing in Dealey Plaza in Dallas on the day of the assassination.
I will email you some text that was written by a friend of mine, William Kelley, about Jim Braden. I would like to know if you have any other details. But I guess it will take some of your time.
TROMBLY : I have gotten both of your emails. When I have a little time, I will sit down and read the longer one. I must say, that from the day that Jim Braden walked into my law office over twenty years ago, he remains one of the more fascinating characters I have met in 26 years as a lawyer. It is a matter of public record that I represented him in connection with a libel suit that he brought against Peter Noyes and Bernard Fensterwald, Jr., in connection with a book entitled "Coincidence or Conspiracy," that Fensterwald wrote - a book that incorporated (and, arguably, republished) many of the assertions made in Noyeses earlier book, "Legacy of Doubt."
At some time during that period, or after it, I represented Mr. Braden before the House Select Committee.
Without divulging any confidentiality, I can say that Braden pursued both events (the lawsuit and the opportunity to testify before the House Select Committee) because he told me that he wanted to clear his name. I may have Mr. Braden's deposition in the civil case - but will have to do some digging. I will also have to confirm that it is appropriate to release it (not by checking with him - but by researching the issue).
As to your question as to Braden's sincerity - yes, he looked sincere. If he were really involved in some way...wouldn't he have tried to disappear into anonymity, rather than bring a lawsuit AND request an opportunity to be questioned by a Congressional committee?
I haven't a clue as to his whereabouts. But it would somehow not surprise me if he were alive.
Uhrbrock was a Life photographer present in Dallas after the JFK assassination.
Letter 1
May 25, 2000
UHRBROCK : I was in Dallas for 30 days after the assassination and took photographs every day. All the photographs I took are in the Life files and are available from the Life Picture Collection. Obviously because of the volume of photographs taken by Life photographers it is impossible to have every image on the internet.
The photograph on the Life cover of Oswald carrying a gun and all the pictures inside of Oswald were copies I made from the photographs in the police files.
I was present at many of the interviews with witnesses in the days following the assassination.
You asked about photographers photographers Bob Philips and Robert W. Kelley. Both are dead.
I have lost track of photographer Shel Hershorn and did not know photographer Allan Grant. You could contact (ASMP) American Society of Magazine Photographers in New York which is a professional association which may have records on their location. The Life Photo Lab may also be able to help you. The last I knew Shel Harshorn was in Dallas, Tx.
You asked about the Quebec-Quantanamo Peace March of 1963. Personally I never heard about it. You state that marchers were tortured by the police. I believe torture is too strong a word. In the United States I have known the police to use excessive force but I never knew of any torture taking place and I was involved in many of the memorable civil rights protests took place in the 60's.
Wise is one of the policemen who arrested three tramps hiding in a train after the assassination.
Letter 1
October 10, 2000
Wise : To whom it may concern. I have given only three interviews through the years.
I do not give any interviews without being paid. Having been called a spy, or a crook through the years causes this. A subpoena of government gets the free interviews and I give them a hard time too.
Sorry I cannot help you. I am returning your dollar and documents. Please do not write me again, as I will throw it in the trash.
