Post by Rob Caprio on Oct 31, 2023 20:48:19 GMT -5
All portions are ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2025
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo4V7FgX0AILaX5.jpg
ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-23.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) said Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) took his alleged 40” Mannlicher-Carcano (M-C) to work with him on November 22, 1963. He allegedly hid it in a paper bag and when asked by the man who gave him a ride, Wesley Frazier, he said he had “curtain rods” in the bag. As we have seen already in other posts, NONE of these claims by the WC are supported by the evidence in the twenty-six volumes, thus, none of these claims can be taken seriously.
To make matters worse for the WC there is ANOTHER story about curtain rods and this post will look into that area of this case.
*********************************************
[Note: This topic was covered in James Douglas’ book, JFK And The Unspeakable on pp. 350-351]
Ralph Leon Yates worked for the Texas Butcher Supply Company as a refrigeration mechanic, and while making rounds to meat outlets on Wednesday, November 20, 1963, he noticed a man hitchhiking in Oak Cliff near Beckley Avenue at the entrance to the R.L. Thornton Expressway. This was around 10:30 a.m. and Yates stopped to offer the man a ride. The man accepted and when he got in Yates noticed that he was carrying a package that was about four to four and a half feet long. He told the FBI that the package was, “a package wrapped in brown wrapping paper about 4 feet to 4½ feet long.” [Statement by Ralph Leon Yates to FBI special agent Ben S. Harrison, November 26, 1963, Dallas, Texas. Reproduced by John Armstrong on his CD-ROM for Harvey & Lee: How The CIA Framed Oswald (Arlington, Tex.: Quasar, 2003), “1963 November 1-21,”]
When Yates told the man that he could put the package in the back of the pickup truck the man told him that “it contained curtain rods” and he would rather keep it with him in the cab of the truck. [Ibid.] During the drive Yates mentioned the President’s visit and how people were getting excited about it. Yates would say this seemed to interest the man and he began to discuss this topic in greater detail with him.
Yates told the FBI the man said the following about how the President could be killed.
Quote on
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-23.jpg
Yates stated the man then asked Yates if he thought a person could assassinate the President. Yates replied that he guessed such a thing could be possible. The man then asked Yates if it could be done from the top of a building or out of a window, high up, and Yates said he guessed this was possible if one had a good rifle with a scope and was a good shot.
Yates advised about this time the man pulled out a picture which showed a man with a rifle and asked Yates if he thought the President could be killed with a gun like that one. Yates said he was driving and did not look at the picture but indicated to the man that he guessed so.
Yates said that the man then asked if he knew the President’s route for the parade in Dallas and Yates replied that he did not know the route but that it had been in the paper. He said the man then said that he had misunderstood him and that actually he had asked Yates if he thought that the President would change his route. Yates said he replied that he doubted it unless they might for safety reasons. (Ibid.; Commission Document (CD) 5, p. 418; p. 2 in original)
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=423
Quote off
Yates would drop the man off at the light near the TSBD at Houston and Elm. Was this where the man really needed to go or was he making a point of getting out where LHO worked with a long package after asking about how the president could be killed from a building with a rifle and scope?
Yates would tell this story to his co-worker Dempsey Jones about the strange man he picked up in OAK CLIFF and dropped off at ELM & HOUSTON who was carrying a long package that had “curtain rods” in it. Since Yates told Dempsey this story BEFORE the assassination, he became a corroborating witness and told this to the FBI in a statement via FBI special agent Arthur E. Carter, November 27, 1963. Dempsey Jones told the FBI the following during his interview.
Quote on
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo4V7FbWIAYk3vo.jpg
Dempsey Jones said Ralph Yates told him “the day before the President was shot” [November 21, 1963] about the hitchhiker “who discussed the fact with him that one could be in a building and shoot the President as he, the President, passed by.” Yates stated in his first FBI interview that he picked up the hitchhiker “at approximately 10:30 AM on either November 20 or 21, 1963.” Yates and Jones agreed that their initial conversation about the hitchhiker took place at least one day before the president was shot. (James Douglas, JFK And the Unspeakable on p. 351; CD 329, p. 2 in original)
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10730#relPageId=138
Quote off
After seeing images of LHO in the media he thought the man he gave the ride to was either LHO or is “identical” to LHO. This is contained in his statement to the FBI.
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo4V7FgX0AILaX5.jpg
Also see:
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=422
This raises the question then of why the FBI had NO interest in this story at all. They interviewed Yates over and over again, November 26, 1963; December 10, 1963; January 3, 1964; and January 4, 1964, and he was given a polygraph test too that he passed. James Douglas wrote the following in his book and it raises a great question that needs to be answered.
Quote on
Although Yates’s statement seemed to be a thorough incrimination of the now dead Oswald, once again—as in other “Oswald” appearances—it proved too much for the government’s case, even placing that case in jeopardy. As the FBI would make clear, the witness wasn’t wanted. They kept recalling him only in order to discredit his story.
What was so unacceptable about Ralph Yates's testimony? (Ibid.)
Quote off
Indeed, what was unacceptable about Yates’ story? He was either LHO or a double who looked almost identical to LHO. IF it was LHO it was a slam dunk for them as they had a pattern of LHO taking his “curtain rods” to work with him and discussing killing the president from a building with a rifle/scope. The ONLY reason for the FBI, and of course the WC, having NO interest in this story is they already knew it was NOT LHO and to focus on this would show there was at least one double out there impersonating LHO prior to the assassination and this was a can of worms they were not interested in exposing. Also, the fact the man was picked up near LHO’s rooming house and dropped off near LHO’s workplace again shows it was either LHO or someone trying to implicate him in the assassination. Why else would you bring up the issue of shooting JFK with a perfect stranger?
This incident was identical to quite a few others that drew attention to a person named “Oswald” and of course would be remembered after the assassination. On the same day as the Yates episode, we have an “Oswald” sighted at the Red Bird Airport by Wayne January. I have already covered this incident in an earlier post, so I won’t go into this now.
For a full account of Yates' story see these two links.
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-22.jpg
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-23.jpg
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=422
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=423
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=424
The sighting by Yates was such a threat to the WC's fantasy that they had to really work him over. Here is a report from the FBI in January 1964 that shows in just a few months Yates had become a nervous wreck. Of course, this report was not released until the time of the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) in the 1990s.
i.servimg.com/u/f78/19/52/40/87/ralph_12.jpg
i.servimg.com/u/f78/19/52/40/87/ralph_19.jpg
The other typical thing the FBI did was work on family members of someone who said something that didn't agree with the official fantasy. Here is a report from Ralph Yates' wife from January 9, 1964. It too would NOT be released until the 1990s because the FBI knew it didn't look kosher. So, as usual, they buried it.
i.servimg.com/u/f78/19/52/40/87/ralph_18.jpg
We see the same pattern with any witness who did not endorse the fantasy conclusion of the WC. They got the rough treatment from the FBI and of course, they had "mental" issues almost every time. The ones that did have some real issues were the WC's "star witnesses."
Here is a quick recap of the sightings of LHO in the month of November 1963:
1) Leonard Hutchinson will say that he refused to cash a check for LHO at his store (Hutch’s Market) in early November for $189.00. Despite him recognizing both LHO and Marina when their pictures are broadcasted after the assassination (and the Barber nearby who claimed to cut LHO’s hair) the WC said LHO never had a check for that amount and disregarded the issue.
2) On November 9, a LHO lookalike goes to a rifle range and makes himself very obvious by shooting at other people’s targets, firing rapidly and making a lot of noise. The LHO we know was at Ruth Paine's home all day.
3) Also on November 9, we see the Downtown Lincoln-Mercury incident where a man saying he was “Oswald” took a wild test drive with salesman Albert Bogard. He said he would “be coming into money in the near future.” The LHO we know could NOT drive an automobile.
4) On November 10, an exchange student by the name of Cristobal Espinosa who was in Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma football game meets a man by the name of “Lee Oswald” near the Baker Hotel. Espinosa remembered the name due to his issues with English as he had the man write his name in his notebook. According to Espinosa “Oswald” seemed very familiar with the downtown buildings and nightclubs of Dallas.
5) On November 15, Jack Ruby’s entertainer Billy De Mar says he is positive LHO was a patron of the Carousel Club. LHO did not go to Irving to stay with Marina this weekend and his full whereabouts are unknown.
6) On November 16, Hubert Morrow, the manager of Allright Parking Systems at the Southland Hotel in downtown Dallas, recalls that a man identifying himself as “Oswald” inquires about a job as a parking attendant. At first Morrow wrote his name as “Lee Harvey Osborn”, but the man corrected him by saying it was “Oswald.” According to Morrow the man asked him how high the Southland Hotel is and whether it commands a good view of Dallas or not. Could this have been the real LHO? Some have said he was in Irving at this time, but he did NOT go to the Paines’ house his last weekend before the assassination.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, if it Was the weekend of November 16th and 17th that he remained in Dallas, would that help you as to the time of the birthday?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. This was the weekend before the 21st, and he had not come home that weekend.
7) On November 20, we see both the Wayne January sighting and the Ralph Yates sighting.
8) On November 21, LHO is sighted at Dobbs Restaurant for breakfast according to waitress Dolores Harrison. Waitress Mary Dowling will say she remembers LHO being there on November 20 as well, and this is the time he was supposed to have been there at the same time J.D. Tippit was there.
Can these all be the real LHO? It is highly doubtful it is based on his known whereabouts and the fact LHO could NOT drive an automobile. Why did the WC never have the FBI fully look into these sightings? The ONLY conclusion we can draw from that is they did NOT want to learn or expose what these sightings meant. We know one thing for sure, IF they affixed any guilt on to the real LHO they would have broadcasted them to the world.
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo4V7FgX0AILaX5.jpg
ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-23.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) said Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) took his alleged 40” Mannlicher-Carcano (M-C) to work with him on November 22, 1963. He allegedly hid it in a paper bag and when asked by the man who gave him a ride, Wesley Frazier, he said he had “curtain rods” in the bag. As we have seen already in other posts, NONE of these claims by the WC are supported by the evidence in the twenty-six volumes, thus, none of these claims can be taken seriously.
To make matters worse for the WC there is ANOTHER story about curtain rods and this post will look into that area of this case.
*********************************************
[Note: This topic was covered in James Douglas’ book, JFK And The Unspeakable on pp. 350-351]
Ralph Leon Yates worked for the Texas Butcher Supply Company as a refrigeration mechanic, and while making rounds to meat outlets on Wednesday, November 20, 1963, he noticed a man hitchhiking in Oak Cliff near Beckley Avenue at the entrance to the R.L. Thornton Expressway. This was around 10:30 a.m. and Yates stopped to offer the man a ride. The man accepted and when he got in Yates noticed that he was carrying a package that was about four to four and a half feet long. He told the FBI that the package was, “a package wrapped in brown wrapping paper about 4 feet to 4½ feet long.” [Statement by Ralph Leon Yates to FBI special agent Ben S. Harrison, November 26, 1963, Dallas, Texas. Reproduced by John Armstrong on his CD-ROM for Harvey & Lee: How The CIA Framed Oswald (Arlington, Tex.: Quasar, 2003), “1963 November 1-21,”]
When Yates told the man that he could put the package in the back of the pickup truck the man told him that “it contained curtain rods” and he would rather keep it with him in the cab of the truck. [Ibid.] During the drive Yates mentioned the President’s visit and how people were getting excited about it. Yates would say this seemed to interest the man and he began to discuss this topic in greater detail with him.
Yates told the FBI the man said the following about how the President could be killed.
Quote on
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-23.jpg
Yates stated the man then asked Yates if he thought a person could assassinate the President. Yates replied that he guessed such a thing could be possible. The man then asked Yates if it could be done from the top of a building or out of a window, high up, and Yates said he guessed this was possible if one had a good rifle with a scope and was a good shot.
Yates advised about this time the man pulled out a picture which showed a man with a rifle and asked Yates if he thought the President could be killed with a gun like that one. Yates said he was driving and did not look at the picture but indicated to the man that he guessed so.
Yates said that the man then asked if he knew the President’s route for the parade in Dallas and Yates replied that he did not know the route but that it had been in the paper. He said the man then said that he had misunderstood him and that actually he had asked Yates if he thought that the President would change his route. Yates said he replied that he doubted it unless they might for safety reasons. (Ibid.; Commission Document (CD) 5, p. 418; p. 2 in original)
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=423
Quote off
Yates would drop the man off at the light near the TSBD at Houston and Elm. Was this where the man really needed to go or was he making a point of getting out where LHO worked with a long package after asking about how the president could be killed from a building with a rifle and scope?
Yates would tell this story to his co-worker Dempsey Jones about the strange man he picked up in OAK CLIFF and dropped off at ELM & HOUSTON who was carrying a long package that had “curtain rods” in it. Since Yates told Dempsey this story BEFORE the assassination, he became a corroborating witness and told this to the FBI in a statement via FBI special agent Arthur E. Carter, November 27, 1963. Dempsey Jones told the FBI the following during his interview.
Quote on
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo4V7FbWIAYk3vo.jpg
Dempsey Jones said Ralph Yates told him “the day before the President was shot” [November 21, 1963] about the hitchhiker “who discussed the fact with him that one could be in a building and shoot the President as he, the President, passed by.” Yates stated in his first FBI interview that he picked up the hitchhiker “at approximately 10:30 AM on either November 20 or 21, 1963.” Yates and Jones agreed that their initial conversation about the hitchhiker took place at least one day before the president was shot. (James Douglas, JFK And the Unspeakable on p. 351; CD 329, p. 2 in original)
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10730#relPageId=138
Quote off
After seeing images of LHO in the media he thought the man he gave the ride to was either LHO or is “identical” to LHO. This is contained in his statement to the FBI.
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo4V7FgX0AILaX5.jpg
Also see:
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=422
This raises the question then of why the FBI had NO interest in this story at all. They interviewed Yates over and over again, November 26, 1963; December 10, 1963; January 3, 1964; and January 4, 1964, and he was given a polygraph test too that he passed. James Douglas wrote the following in his book and it raises a great question that needs to be answered.
Quote on
Although Yates’s statement seemed to be a thorough incrimination of the now dead Oswald, once again—as in other “Oswald” appearances—it proved too much for the government’s case, even placing that case in jeopardy. As the FBI would make clear, the witness wasn’t wanted. They kept recalling him only in order to discredit his story.
What was so unacceptable about Ralph Yates's testimony? (Ibid.)
Quote off
Indeed, what was unacceptable about Yates’ story? He was either LHO or a double who looked almost identical to LHO. IF it was LHO it was a slam dunk for them as they had a pattern of LHO taking his “curtain rods” to work with him and discussing killing the president from a building with a rifle/scope. The ONLY reason for the FBI, and of course the WC, having NO interest in this story is they already knew it was NOT LHO and to focus on this would show there was at least one double out there impersonating LHO prior to the assassination and this was a can of worms they were not interested in exposing. Also, the fact the man was picked up near LHO’s rooming house and dropped off near LHO’s workplace again shows it was either LHO or someone trying to implicate him in the assassination. Why else would you bring up the issue of shooting JFK with a perfect stranger?
This incident was identical to quite a few others that drew attention to a person named “Oswald” and of course would be remembered after the assassination. On the same day as the Yates episode, we have an “Oswald” sighted at the Red Bird Airport by Wayne January. I have already covered this incident in an earlier post, so I won’t go into this now.
For a full account of Yates' story see these two links.
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-22.jpg
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Nov63-23.jpg
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=422
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=423
www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10406#relPageId=424
The sighting by Yates was such a threat to the WC's fantasy that they had to really work him over. Here is a report from the FBI in January 1964 that shows in just a few months Yates had become a nervous wreck. Of course, this report was not released until the time of the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) in the 1990s.
i.servimg.com/u/f78/19/52/40/87/ralph_12.jpg
i.servimg.com/u/f78/19/52/40/87/ralph_19.jpg
The other typical thing the FBI did was work on family members of someone who said something that didn't agree with the official fantasy. Here is a report from Ralph Yates' wife from January 9, 1964. It too would NOT be released until the 1990s because the FBI knew it didn't look kosher. So, as usual, they buried it.
i.servimg.com/u/f78/19/52/40/87/ralph_18.jpg
We see the same pattern with any witness who did not endorse the fantasy conclusion of the WC. They got the rough treatment from the FBI and of course, they had "mental" issues almost every time. The ones that did have some real issues were the WC's "star witnesses."
Here is a quick recap of the sightings of LHO in the month of November 1963:
1) Leonard Hutchinson will say that he refused to cash a check for LHO at his store (Hutch’s Market) in early November for $189.00. Despite him recognizing both LHO and Marina when their pictures are broadcasted after the assassination (and the Barber nearby who claimed to cut LHO’s hair) the WC said LHO never had a check for that amount and disregarded the issue.
2) On November 9, a LHO lookalike goes to a rifle range and makes himself very obvious by shooting at other people’s targets, firing rapidly and making a lot of noise. The LHO we know was at Ruth Paine's home all day.
3) Also on November 9, we see the Downtown Lincoln-Mercury incident where a man saying he was “Oswald” took a wild test drive with salesman Albert Bogard. He said he would “be coming into money in the near future.” The LHO we know could NOT drive an automobile.
4) On November 10, an exchange student by the name of Cristobal Espinosa who was in Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma football game meets a man by the name of “Lee Oswald” near the Baker Hotel. Espinosa remembered the name due to his issues with English as he had the man write his name in his notebook. According to Espinosa “Oswald” seemed very familiar with the downtown buildings and nightclubs of Dallas.
5) On November 15, Jack Ruby’s entertainer Billy De Mar says he is positive LHO was a patron of the Carousel Club. LHO did not go to Irving to stay with Marina this weekend and his full whereabouts are unknown.
6) On November 16, Hubert Morrow, the manager of Allright Parking Systems at the Southland Hotel in downtown Dallas, recalls that a man identifying himself as “Oswald” inquires about a job as a parking attendant. At first Morrow wrote his name as “Lee Harvey Osborn”, but the man corrected him by saying it was “Oswald.” According to Morrow the man asked him how high the Southland Hotel is and whether it commands a good view of Dallas or not. Could this have been the real LHO? Some have said he was in Irving at this time, but he did NOT go to the Paines’ house his last weekend before the assassination.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, if it Was the weekend of November 16th and 17th that he remained in Dallas, would that help you as to the time of the birthday?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. This was the weekend before the 21st, and he had not come home that weekend.
7) On November 20, we see both the Wayne January sighting and the Ralph Yates sighting.
8) On November 21, LHO is sighted at Dobbs Restaurant for breakfast according to waitress Dolores Harrison. Waitress Mary Dowling will say she remembers LHO being there on November 20 as well, and this is the time he was supposed to have been there at the same time J.D. Tippit was there.
Can these all be the real LHO? It is highly doubtful it is based on his known whereabouts and the fact LHO could NOT drive an automobile. Why did the WC never have the FBI fully look into these sightings? The ONLY conclusion we can draw from that is they did NOT want to learn or expose what these sightings meant. We know one thing for sure, IF they affixed any guilt on to the real LHO they would have broadcasted them to the world.