Post by Rob Caprio on Oct 12, 2021 12:42:42 GMT -5
All portions are ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2024
www.conspiracyarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Featured-Lee-Harvey-Oswald.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) said that Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) was the murderer of President John F. Kennedy (JFK). They also claimed other things about him that the evidence does NOT support. In one of the claims they used to show LHO went to Mexico City, Mexico, they portrayed a type of personality LHO never seemed to portray in order to make it appear their claim was true.
This post will look at that particular claim and see if it is reflected in other evidence in the twenty-six volumes of Hearings & Exhibits. I will use quotes for “LHO” or any reference to him as I do NOT believe based on this evidence, or any evidence presented by the WC, that the real LHO was ever in Mexico at all. I have done many other posts on this topic so simply search the archives for the reasons why I say this.
**********************************************
One of the pieces of evidence the WC used to show “LHO” went to Mexico City, Mexico, were testimonies of people on the same bus that LHO allegedly used to get there from Laredo, Texas. This testimony was given in the form of an affidavit for Mr. & Mrs. John McFarland (her name was Meryl), and in the form of testimony before counselors of the WC for Ms. Pamela Mumford.
“LHO” would tell the McFarlands the following about his plans once he arrived in Mexico City.
Quote on
www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh11/pages/WC_Vol11_0112b.gif
Q. What reason did Oswald give for traveling to Mexico?
A. He stated that he was en route to Cuba and that he could not travel there from the United States as it was against the law. (McFarland Affidavit)
www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh11/html/WC_Vol11_0112b.htm
Quote off
So “LHO” was not shy about telling them his plans that involved traveling to Cuba which was NOT allowed in the U.S. Why would he make a point of doing this when it was not needed unless it was to draw attention to himself and make himself memorable?
The “LHO” portrayed by the WC, via their evidence, was an outgoing sort of guy who would strike up a conversation with strangers and hit on young women. For instance we see this comment in the McFarland affidavit concerning this type of behavior by “him.”
Quote on
Q. Did you see Oswald speaking to any other person?
A. Yes. We observed him conversing occasionally with two young Australian women who boarded the bus on the evening of September 26th at Monterrey, Mexico. He also conversed occasionally with an elderly man who sat in the seat next to him for a time. (Ibid)
Quote off
This shows “LHO” spoke with two young Australian girls and the elderly man who sat next to him for a time. Only one of the girls would be called by the WC or asked to give an affidavit as the other, Patricia Winston, had returned to Australia. Why this stopped them from contacting her is not known as the McFarlands did their affidavit in Liverpool, England, so they could have done the same thing for Ms. Winston.
Let’s look at what Ms. Mumford said about this issue in her testimony.
Mr. BALL. Now, who were the English-speaking people that you mentioned? Will you describe them?
Miss MUMFORD. There was a young English couple who were traveling down to the Yucatan to study the Indians and their way of life. There was an elderly English gentleman in his mid- or late-sixties, I should imagine. He told us during the journey that he had lived on and off in Mexico for 25 years. Then there was the young Texan, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Patricia and myself.
Mr. BALL. Now, when you first boarded the bus did you speak to the English-speaking people?
Miss MUMFORD. We got on and Oswald heard Patricia and I talking. And we had two heavy overnight bags, and he told us later that he had turned to his companion, who was the middle-aged English gentleman, and said, "I wonder how you say 'How can I help you' in Spanish", which gave us the opinion later that he couldn't speak the language; couldn't speak Spanish.
He took us for two Spanish girls, I guess, and was going to help us with our luggage.
Just a thought here, but if “LHO” heard them speaking as she says, why did he think they were NOT English-speaking people? Does this make any sense to you?
He also was not very helpful with their luggage either.
Mr. BALL. Did he help you with your luggage?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
Mr. BALL. You went on to the back of the bus?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. When did you first speak to any of these four?
Miss MUMFORD. Oswald was the first one we spoke to. He left his seat and came down to the back of the bus to speak to us.
This is the key part as it shows “LHO” left his seat and had the nerve to come to the back of the bus and start a conversation with the two young Australian girls. Does this sound like the quiet LHO we hear about in other areas of this case? Oh, and how helpful this “LHO” would be in getting all the incriminating things out there for them to hear and remember too.
Mr. BALL. What did he say? Can you tell me his language as close as you can?
Miss MUMFORD. …He then proceeded to tell us about himself…the first thing he told us was that he was from Fort Worth, in Texas…He wanted to know the places we had visited. We told him. And he mentioned that he had been in Japan while he was in the Marines….He then told us that he had been to Russia and asked whether we had ever been to Russia….And we asked him what he was doing in Russia and did he have trouble getting in. He said that he was studying there. He had an apartment in Moscow and was studying. We didn't ask him what he was studying. At this stage he showed us his passport that had a Russian stamp on it; some sort of a Russian stamp.
Mr. BALL. Did he speak to you again after that time that he first came back?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes; oh, about 2 hours before we arrived in Mexico City he asked us whether we had accommodations arranged there. And we said no, we had a vague idea from a book called "Mexico on Five Dollars a Day" where we were going to stay.
And he suggested that on previous trips to Mexico City he had stayed at a place called the Hotel Cuba, and he recommended it for clean and cheap living.
And he then made a crack that he wasn't suggesting the Hotel Cuba because he was going to be there; he just suggested it to help us. And we decided that we wouldn't take him up on his suggestion; that we would go bur own way.
Then we arrived in the Mexico City bus station and he didn't speak to us, attempt to speak to us at all. He was one of the first off the bus and the last I remember seeing him he was standing across the end of the room.
Mr. BALL. Then you had two conversations with him?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes…During the trip I engaged the middle-aged English gentleman in conversation, asking him about the weather, and what it was like usually. And he said, "The young man traveling beside me has traveled to Mexico also. Why don't you talk to him?" And that was all.
Mr. BALL. Did he say anything else to you on the trip except that there was a young man sitting next to him that had been in Mexico before?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
So in his discussions with Ms. Mumford and Ms. Winston he got across that he had been in the Marines and that he had traveled to Russia “to study.” He also mentioned that he had been to Mexico City before so he recommended the Hotel Cuba for them. And if you add in his comment about going to Cuba to the McFarlands we see the man assumed to be LHO covered all the bases for later on as these would be the “talking points” against him once he was accused of killing JFK.
“LHO” did NOT mention his name however, just these points needed to be dropped.
Mr. BALL. Had he told you his name before that?
Miss MUMFORD. He never mentioned his name once.
Mr. BALL. He never did?
Miss MUMFORD. He never introduced himself; no.
Mr. BALL. How did you know his name?
Miss MUMFORD. We didn't.
Mr. BALL. Did you notice the name on the passport?
Miss MUMFORD. Well, I didn't; no. Pat says it rang a bell when the rest of the business came up, and we recognized him on television. And she said, when the name came through on the television, it did ring a bell with her, but she said even then she couldn't picture that name on the passport.
Mr. BALL. You did see the name on the passport, did you?
Miss MUMFORD. Well, yes, he must have shown it to us. I can't really remember.
Mr. BALL. But you didn't remember the name?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
She would say she thought LHO was the man when his pictures were shown on television following the assassination, but when the FBI showed her two pictures she could NOT identify them as being the man she saw on the bus.
Mr. BALL. Well. you were shown pictures of a man later on by the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, were you not?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And they showed you pictures of Oswald, didn't they; Lee Harvey Oswald?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
Mr. BALL. You didn't ever see a picture of Oswald?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
Mr. BALL. But they showed you pictures of a man, did they not?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes; they showed us two pictures the first time one picture I was fairly certain was the same gentleman. The other picture whom they said was the same man, I couldn't give that description--I couldn't say definitely that it was him or even the same man. The second time the FBI official showed me a photo was some weeks or months later, and I could make a definite what is the word I want?
Mr. BALL. Identification?
Miss MUMFORD. Identification of that picture.
So what pictures did they show her the first time since she said they did NOT show her photographs of LHO? What “man” was she shown photographs of? Furthermore, she would identify this man weeks or months later, but these photographs were NOT of LHO based on what she told the WC. So, who were they of?
She would identify the older Englishman, Albert Osborne (real name John Howard Bowen) from a picture the FBI showed her.
Mr. BALL. What did you tell the agent?
Miss MUMFORD. Well, that third picture on the second time he had showed it to me, was, I was certain, the same man.
Mr. BALL. You mean the elderly Englishman?
Miss MUMFORD. The elderly Englishman.
Mr. BALL. That you had seen on the bus?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes.
This is important since Osborne/Bowen denied ever sitting next to the man in question when he was interviewed by the FBI (he would never be called by the WC for some odd reason). I covered this earlier in my "Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions" series.
Quote on
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/pages/WCReport_0379a.gif
The man next to Oswald was probably Albert Osborne, a native of the British Isles who worked as a itinerant preacher in the Southern United States and Mexico for many years. Osborne denied that he sat next to Oswald; but in view of his inconsistent and untrue responses to Federal investigators concerning matters not directly related to Oswald, the Commission believes his denial cannot be credited. (WCR, p. 733)
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0379a.htm
Quote off
Why they did NOT call him to see if his denial was “not credible” is a mystery, but as usual they just wrote him off when he did NOT tell them what they wanted to hear (i..e that LHO was the man sitting next to him on the bus to Mexico).
Now, let’s look at some testimony of people who worked with LHO in the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) to see if he was the sort of man to approach women and start talking with them as portrayed in the bus story.
Mr. BELIN - Do you know, or did you know Lee Harvey Oswald either by sight or by name?
Miss ADAMS - I didn't know Lee Harvey Oswald, per se. I didn't know his name. I recognized him after I saw him on television, as having been with some men, but I had no dealing with him.
So Ms. Vickie Adams was never approached by LHO and never spoke with him. How about Virgie Rachley?
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you ever meet Lee Harvey Oswald or have occasion to see him while you were employed at the Texas School Book Depository?
Mrs. BAKER. I had seen him.
Mr. LIEBELER. Had you ever said anything to him or talked to him at all?
Mrs. BAKER. No, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you form any impression of him just from seeing him around the building?
Mrs. BAKER. Just that he was awful quiet.
So not only didn’t she speak with him, but she said he was “awful quiet.” How about Geneva Hine?
Mr. BALL. Did you ever know a fellow named Lee Harvey Oswald?
Miss HINE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. When did you first meet him?
Miss HINE. I never met him to know his name but I saw him every day.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever speak to Oswald?
Miss HINE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he ever speak to you?
Miss HINE. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. He never replied to you?
Miss HINE. No, sir.
Again we see that LHO did not interact with her and she would tell the WC that “all the boys down there speak to me” so she found it odd that he never replied to her. What happened to the brash young man on the bus?
How about Mrs. Robert Reid?
Mr. DULLES. How many times do you think you saw Mr. Oswald during the period he was employed?
Mrs. REID. It couldn't have been—
Mr. DULLES. Five times, 10 times?
Mrs. REID. I would say five times. At times I would go down to Mr. Truly's office for some business. I would see him across the floor, but he paid no attention to you and there were times, the few times, he ate lunch up there but he never talked to anyone.
Mr. DULLES. Never talked to anyone?
Mrs. REID. And he was usually reading, I noticed that.
Mr. BELIN. Mrs. Reid, since the tragedy of November 22, have there been any discussions that you have heard among any employees which might relate to the character insofar as the Personal habits or what-have-you of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mrs. REID. The only thing I have heard anybody say was he never talked to anybody, he always went about his business, that is the only thing I heard the employees say.
Mr. BELIN. Did you ever hear anyone say that he might have been friendly with at least one other employee?
Mrs. REID. No; I have not.
Mrs. Reid too never talked with him before November 22, 1963. How about Doris Burns?
Mr. BALL. Did you ever know Lee Harvey Oswald?
Miss BURNS. I rode on the elevator with him one time.
Mr. BALL. That's all?
Miss BURNS. But I didn't know who he was--about a week before.
Mr. BALL. You never talked to him?
Miss BURNS. I never talked to him.
Where did the talkative guy on the bus go? Based on his advance to the two Australian girls and the supposed affair Silvia Duran would claim she had with the man who came to her Consulate, one would expect LHO to be a smooth talker, but we have seen he did NOT speak with one woman at the TSBD. How about some of the others that knew him somewhat there?
Mr. BALL. Did you ever meet a fellow named Lee Oswald?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, he worked with us and he didn't associate with us too much. He was kind of quiet. He didn't like to talk too much to us or anything.
And:
Mr. BELIN. Did you know Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. GIVENS. Well, I knew of him.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember any conversation you ever had with him? What you said and what he said?
Mr. GIVENS. Well, he was a fellow that kept pretty much to himself. He never had too much to say.
Mr. BELIN. Did he ever say anything to you, what a nice day, or about his family, or baseball, or anything?
Mr. GIVENS. No, sir.
And:
Mr. BALL - Did you know Lee Oswald?
Mr. JARMAN - Only as a coworker.
Mr. BALL - Did you ever talk to him while he was working there?
Mr. JARMAN - I have had him to correct orders at various times. That is about all.
And:
Mr. BALL. Is that the same kind of a job that Lee Oswald had?
Mr. NORMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you know him?
Mr. NORMAN. No; just as an employee, that is all.
Mr. BALL. You didn't know him before he came to work there?
Mr. NORMAN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you get acquainted with him after he was there?
Mr. NORMAN. No. Just knew his name. I mean, you know, he wouldn't talk to anybody so I didn't…
Mr. BALL. He didn't talk to anybody?
Mr. NORMAN. No.
And:
Mr. BALL - Did you know Lee Oswald?
Mr. SHELLEY - He worked for me.
Mr. BALL - Did you ever talk to him?
Mr. SHELLEY - Not too much; he wasn't too talkative. If I had something I wanted him to do, I would tell him and he usually did it.
And:
Mr. BALL. Did you know Lee Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I didn't know him personally, but I had seen him working. Never did say anything to anyone. He never did put him self in any position to say anything to anyone. He just went about his work. He never said anything to me. I never said anything to him.
And:
Mr. BELIN. Anything else you can remember about Lee Harvey Oswald on that day?
Mr. TRULY. …He seemed to be quiet and well mannered….He looked like a nice young fellow to me--he was quiet and well mannered. He used the word "sir", you know, which a lot of them don't do at this time.
How do we base all these comments of him being quiet and NOT interested in speaking with his coworkers with the talkative person portrayed on the bus to Mexico? If it was LHO, and that is a HUGE IF based on the evidence given to us by the WC, then he had to be fulfilling a role as his normal personality was one of a quiet nature.
Again, we see evidence totally at odds with the claims of the WC and they did NOT find any interest in checking this out further. They did NOT bother to call John Howard Bowen (a.k.a. Albert Osborne) before them to get more information. Why NOT? It has been said that Mr. Bowen ran a CIA assassination school in Mexico so perhaps this is what the WC was staying away from.
At the very least, the description involving the personality of the individual on the bus was at such odds with what they heard about LHO this alone should have interested them enough in finding out more, but it didn’t. Why not? Add in the fact that Ms. Mumford was shown photographs of a man that was NOT LHO (and later identified the second one) this too should have caused concern for them, but didn’t. Why not? Lastly, the fact the man on the bus managed to get across all the talking points the Dallas Police Department (DPD), FBI and media would use in the days following the assassination should also have caused concern for them, but didn’t. Why not?
www.conspiracyarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Featured-Lee-Harvey-Oswald.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) said that Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) was the murderer of President John F. Kennedy (JFK). They also claimed other things about him that the evidence does NOT support. In one of the claims they used to show LHO went to Mexico City, Mexico, they portrayed a type of personality LHO never seemed to portray in order to make it appear their claim was true.
This post will look at that particular claim and see if it is reflected in other evidence in the twenty-six volumes of Hearings & Exhibits. I will use quotes for “LHO” or any reference to him as I do NOT believe based on this evidence, or any evidence presented by the WC, that the real LHO was ever in Mexico at all. I have done many other posts on this topic so simply search the archives for the reasons why I say this.
**********************************************
One of the pieces of evidence the WC used to show “LHO” went to Mexico City, Mexico, were testimonies of people on the same bus that LHO allegedly used to get there from Laredo, Texas. This testimony was given in the form of an affidavit for Mr. & Mrs. John McFarland (her name was Meryl), and in the form of testimony before counselors of the WC for Ms. Pamela Mumford.
“LHO” would tell the McFarlands the following about his plans once he arrived in Mexico City.
Quote on
www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh11/pages/WC_Vol11_0112b.gif
Q. What reason did Oswald give for traveling to Mexico?
A. He stated that he was en route to Cuba and that he could not travel there from the United States as it was against the law. (McFarland Affidavit)
www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh11/html/WC_Vol11_0112b.htm
Quote off
So “LHO” was not shy about telling them his plans that involved traveling to Cuba which was NOT allowed in the U.S. Why would he make a point of doing this when it was not needed unless it was to draw attention to himself and make himself memorable?
The “LHO” portrayed by the WC, via their evidence, was an outgoing sort of guy who would strike up a conversation with strangers and hit on young women. For instance we see this comment in the McFarland affidavit concerning this type of behavior by “him.”
Quote on
Q. Did you see Oswald speaking to any other person?
A. Yes. We observed him conversing occasionally with two young Australian women who boarded the bus on the evening of September 26th at Monterrey, Mexico. He also conversed occasionally with an elderly man who sat in the seat next to him for a time. (Ibid)
Quote off
This shows “LHO” spoke with two young Australian girls and the elderly man who sat next to him for a time. Only one of the girls would be called by the WC or asked to give an affidavit as the other, Patricia Winston, had returned to Australia. Why this stopped them from contacting her is not known as the McFarlands did their affidavit in Liverpool, England, so they could have done the same thing for Ms. Winston.
Let’s look at what Ms. Mumford said about this issue in her testimony.
Mr. BALL. Now, who were the English-speaking people that you mentioned? Will you describe them?
Miss MUMFORD. There was a young English couple who were traveling down to the Yucatan to study the Indians and their way of life. There was an elderly English gentleman in his mid- or late-sixties, I should imagine. He told us during the journey that he had lived on and off in Mexico for 25 years. Then there was the young Texan, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Patricia and myself.
Mr. BALL. Now, when you first boarded the bus did you speak to the English-speaking people?
Miss MUMFORD. We got on and Oswald heard Patricia and I talking. And we had two heavy overnight bags, and he told us later that he had turned to his companion, who was the middle-aged English gentleman, and said, "I wonder how you say 'How can I help you' in Spanish", which gave us the opinion later that he couldn't speak the language; couldn't speak Spanish.
He took us for two Spanish girls, I guess, and was going to help us with our luggage.
Just a thought here, but if “LHO” heard them speaking as she says, why did he think they were NOT English-speaking people? Does this make any sense to you?
He also was not very helpful with their luggage either.
Mr. BALL. Did he help you with your luggage?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
Mr. BALL. You went on to the back of the bus?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. When did you first speak to any of these four?
Miss MUMFORD. Oswald was the first one we spoke to. He left his seat and came down to the back of the bus to speak to us.
This is the key part as it shows “LHO” left his seat and had the nerve to come to the back of the bus and start a conversation with the two young Australian girls. Does this sound like the quiet LHO we hear about in other areas of this case? Oh, and how helpful this “LHO” would be in getting all the incriminating things out there for them to hear and remember too.
Mr. BALL. What did he say? Can you tell me his language as close as you can?
Miss MUMFORD. …He then proceeded to tell us about himself…the first thing he told us was that he was from Fort Worth, in Texas…He wanted to know the places we had visited. We told him. And he mentioned that he had been in Japan while he was in the Marines….He then told us that he had been to Russia and asked whether we had ever been to Russia….And we asked him what he was doing in Russia and did he have trouble getting in. He said that he was studying there. He had an apartment in Moscow and was studying. We didn't ask him what he was studying. At this stage he showed us his passport that had a Russian stamp on it; some sort of a Russian stamp.
Mr. BALL. Did he speak to you again after that time that he first came back?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes; oh, about 2 hours before we arrived in Mexico City he asked us whether we had accommodations arranged there. And we said no, we had a vague idea from a book called "Mexico on Five Dollars a Day" where we were going to stay.
And he suggested that on previous trips to Mexico City he had stayed at a place called the Hotel Cuba, and he recommended it for clean and cheap living.
And he then made a crack that he wasn't suggesting the Hotel Cuba because he was going to be there; he just suggested it to help us. And we decided that we wouldn't take him up on his suggestion; that we would go bur own way.
Then we arrived in the Mexico City bus station and he didn't speak to us, attempt to speak to us at all. He was one of the first off the bus and the last I remember seeing him he was standing across the end of the room.
Mr. BALL. Then you had two conversations with him?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes…During the trip I engaged the middle-aged English gentleman in conversation, asking him about the weather, and what it was like usually. And he said, "The young man traveling beside me has traveled to Mexico also. Why don't you talk to him?" And that was all.
Mr. BALL. Did he say anything else to you on the trip except that there was a young man sitting next to him that had been in Mexico before?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
So in his discussions with Ms. Mumford and Ms. Winston he got across that he had been in the Marines and that he had traveled to Russia “to study.” He also mentioned that he had been to Mexico City before so he recommended the Hotel Cuba for them. And if you add in his comment about going to Cuba to the McFarlands we see the man assumed to be LHO covered all the bases for later on as these would be the “talking points” against him once he was accused of killing JFK.
“LHO” did NOT mention his name however, just these points needed to be dropped.
Mr. BALL. Had he told you his name before that?
Miss MUMFORD. He never mentioned his name once.
Mr. BALL. He never did?
Miss MUMFORD. He never introduced himself; no.
Mr. BALL. How did you know his name?
Miss MUMFORD. We didn't.
Mr. BALL. Did you notice the name on the passport?
Miss MUMFORD. Well, I didn't; no. Pat says it rang a bell when the rest of the business came up, and we recognized him on television. And she said, when the name came through on the television, it did ring a bell with her, but she said even then she couldn't picture that name on the passport.
Mr. BALL. You did see the name on the passport, did you?
Miss MUMFORD. Well, yes, he must have shown it to us. I can't really remember.
Mr. BALL. But you didn't remember the name?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
She would say she thought LHO was the man when his pictures were shown on television following the assassination, but when the FBI showed her two pictures she could NOT identify them as being the man she saw on the bus.
Mr. BALL. Well. you were shown pictures of a man later on by the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, were you not?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And they showed you pictures of Oswald, didn't they; Lee Harvey Oswald?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
Mr. BALL. You didn't ever see a picture of Oswald?
Miss MUMFORD. No.
Mr. BALL. But they showed you pictures of a man, did they not?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes; they showed us two pictures the first time one picture I was fairly certain was the same gentleman. The other picture whom they said was the same man, I couldn't give that description--I couldn't say definitely that it was him or even the same man. The second time the FBI official showed me a photo was some weeks or months later, and I could make a definite what is the word I want?
Mr. BALL. Identification?
Miss MUMFORD. Identification of that picture.
So what pictures did they show her the first time since she said they did NOT show her photographs of LHO? What “man” was she shown photographs of? Furthermore, she would identify this man weeks or months later, but these photographs were NOT of LHO based on what she told the WC. So, who were they of?
She would identify the older Englishman, Albert Osborne (real name John Howard Bowen) from a picture the FBI showed her.
Mr. BALL. What did you tell the agent?
Miss MUMFORD. Well, that third picture on the second time he had showed it to me, was, I was certain, the same man.
Mr. BALL. You mean the elderly Englishman?
Miss MUMFORD. The elderly Englishman.
Mr. BALL. That you had seen on the bus?
Miss MUMFORD. Yes.
This is important since Osborne/Bowen denied ever sitting next to the man in question when he was interviewed by the FBI (he would never be called by the WC for some odd reason). I covered this earlier in my "Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions" series.
Quote on
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/pages/WCReport_0379a.gif
The man next to Oswald was probably Albert Osborne, a native of the British Isles who worked as a itinerant preacher in the Southern United States and Mexico for many years. Osborne denied that he sat next to Oswald; but in view of his inconsistent and untrue responses to Federal investigators concerning matters not directly related to Oswald, the Commission believes his denial cannot be credited. (WCR, p. 733)
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0379a.htm
Quote off
Why they did NOT call him to see if his denial was “not credible” is a mystery, but as usual they just wrote him off when he did NOT tell them what they wanted to hear (i..e that LHO was the man sitting next to him on the bus to Mexico).
Now, let’s look at some testimony of people who worked with LHO in the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) to see if he was the sort of man to approach women and start talking with them as portrayed in the bus story.
Mr. BELIN - Do you know, or did you know Lee Harvey Oswald either by sight or by name?
Miss ADAMS - I didn't know Lee Harvey Oswald, per se. I didn't know his name. I recognized him after I saw him on television, as having been with some men, but I had no dealing with him.
So Ms. Vickie Adams was never approached by LHO and never spoke with him. How about Virgie Rachley?
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you ever meet Lee Harvey Oswald or have occasion to see him while you were employed at the Texas School Book Depository?
Mrs. BAKER. I had seen him.
Mr. LIEBELER. Had you ever said anything to him or talked to him at all?
Mrs. BAKER. No, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you form any impression of him just from seeing him around the building?
Mrs. BAKER. Just that he was awful quiet.
So not only didn’t she speak with him, but she said he was “awful quiet.” How about Geneva Hine?
Mr. BALL. Did you ever know a fellow named Lee Harvey Oswald?
Miss HINE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. When did you first meet him?
Miss HINE. I never met him to know his name but I saw him every day.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever speak to Oswald?
Miss HINE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he ever speak to you?
Miss HINE. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. He never replied to you?
Miss HINE. No, sir.
Again we see that LHO did not interact with her and she would tell the WC that “all the boys down there speak to me” so she found it odd that he never replied to her. What happened to the brash young man on the bus?
How about Mrs. Robert Reid?
Mr. DULLES. How many times do you think you saw Mr. Oswald during the period he was employed?
Mrs. REID. It couldn't have been—
Mr. DULLES. Five times, 10 times?
Mrs. REID. I would say five times. At times I would go down to Mr. Truly's office for some business. I would see him across the floor, but he paid no attention to you and there were times, the few times, he ate lunch up there but he never talked to anyone.
Mr. DULLES. Never talked to anyone?
Mrs. REID. And he was usually reading, I noticed that.
Mr. BELIN. Mrs. Reid, since the tragedy of November 22, have there been any discussions that you have heard among any employees which might relate to the character insofar as the Personal habits or what-have-you of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mrs. REID. The only thing I have heard anybody say was he never talked to anybody, he always went about his business, that is the only thing I heard the employees say.
Mr. BELIN. Did you ever hear anyone say that he might have been friendly with at least one other employee?
Mrs. REID. No; I have not.
Mrs. Reid too never talked with him before November 22, 1963. How about Doris Burns?
Mr. BALL. Did you ever know Lee Harvey Oswald?
Miss BURNS. I rode on the elevator with him one time.
Mr. BALL. That's all?
Miss BURNS. But I didn't know who he was--about a week before.
Mr. BALL. You never talked to him?
Miss BURNS. I never talked to him.
Where did the talkative guy on the bus go? Based on his advance to the two Australian girls and the supposed affair Silvia Duran would claim she had with the man who came to her Consulate, one would expect LHO to be a smooth talker, but we have seen he did NOT speak with one woman at the TSBD. How about some of the others that knew him somewhat there?
Mr. BALL. Did you ever meet a fellow named Lee Oswald?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, he worked with us and he didn't associate with us too much. He was kind of quiet. He didn't like to talk too much to us or anything.
And:
Mr. BELIN. Did you know Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. GIVENS. Well, I knew of him.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember any conversation you ever had with him? What you said and what he said?
Mr. GIVENS. Well, he was a fellow that kept pretty much to himself. He never had too much to say.
Mr. BELIN. Did he ever say anything to you, what a nice day, or about his family, or baseball, or anything?
Mr. GIVENS. No, sir.
And:
Mr. BALL - Did you know Lee Oswald?
Mr. JARMAN - Only as a coworker.
Mr. BALL - Did you ever talk to him while he was working there?
Mr. JARMAN - I have had him to correct orders at various times. That is about all.
And:
Mr. BALL. Is that the same kind of a job that Lee Oswald had?
Mr. NORMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you know him?
Mr. NORMAN. No; just as an employee, that is all.
Mr. BALL. You didn't know him before he came to work there?
Mr. NORMAN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you get acquainted with him after he was there?
Mr. NORMAN. No. Just knew his name. I mean, you know, he wouldn't talk to anybody so I didn't…
Mr. BALL. He didn't talk to anybody?
Mr. NORMAN. No.
And:
Mr. BALL - Did you know Lee Oswald?
Mr. SHELLEY - He worked for me.
Mr. BALL - Did you ever talk to him?
Mr. SHELLEY - Not too much; he wasn't too talkative. If I had something I wanted him to do, I would tell him and he usually did it.
And:
Mr. BALL. Did you know Lee Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I didn't know him personally, but I had seen him working. Never did say anything to anyone. He never did put him self in any position to say anything to anyone. He just went about his work. He never said anything to me. I never said anything to him.
And:
Mr. BELIN. Anything else you can remember about Lee Harvey Oswald on that day?
Mr. TRULY. …He seemed to be quiet and well mannered….He looked like a nice young fellow to me--he was quiet and well mannered. He used the word "sir", you know, which a lot of them don't do at this time.
How do we base all these comments of him being quiet and NOT interested in speaking with his coworkers with the talkative person portrayed on the bus to Mexico? If it was LHO, and that is a HUGE IF based on the evidence given to us by the WC, then he had to be fulfilling a role as his normal personality was one of a quiet nature.
Again, we see evidence totally at odds with the claims of the WC and they did NOT find any interest in checking this out further. They did NOT bother to call John Howard Bowen (a.k.a. Albert Osborne) before them to get more information. Why NOT? It has been said that Mr. Bowen ran a CIA assassination school in Mexico so perhaps this is what the WC was staying away from.
At the very least, the description involving the personality of the individual on the bus was at such odds with what they heard about LHO this alone should have interested them enough in finding out more, but it didn’t. Why not? Add in the fact that Ms. Mumford was shown photographs of a man that was NOT LHO (and later identified the second one) this too should have caused concern for them, but didn’t. Why not? Lastly, the fact the man on the bus managed to get across all the talking points the Dallas Police Department (DPD), FBI and media would use in the days following the assassination should also have caused concern for them, but didn’t. Why not?