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64 KiB
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<xml><p> THE COWTOWN CONNECTION
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by
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M. Duke Lane
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(CIS ID: 760042356)</p>
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<p><ent type='PERSON'>Harold Weisberg</ent> once said about his <ent type='PERSON'>Whitewash</ent> works that "there are no
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theories in my books... they're factual."[1] The sentiment about factuality
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has been echoed by many respectable researchers, who insist that "the <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent>
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case ought to be treated as a homicide, which is what it is." Aren't we
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pressing for a final, legal investigation of the <ent type='PERSON'>JFK</ent> murder to view all of
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the evidence, new and old, holding it to the constraints of our legal system?
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A common refrain, after all, is that <ent type='ORG'>the Warren Commission</ent>'s investigation
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and "conviction" of <ent type='PERSON'>Lee Oswald</ent> would never have held up in a true adversarial
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judicial proceeding.</p>
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<p>Interestingly, we don't seem to hold ourselves to the same constraints. If
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one researcher discovers something, even in error, we are apparently
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permitted to cite that person's work, without certification, as established
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fact. Many people complain when their own theories are held up to the same
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critical light as we hold the official investigations, as if we aren't
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beholden to the same burden of proof we assign them.</p>
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<p>There has even been recent argument on both sides of this issue regarding
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whether researchers' conclusions ought to be held up to critical peer review
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or whether we should be allowed to follow our intuition and reach reasonable
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conclusions... which can't be anything more than speculation, by
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definition.[2] That we accept such speculation and/or incomplete
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investigation as "fact" is exemplified by <ent type='PERSON'>Robert Morrow</ent>'s recently published
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<ent type='ORG'>First Hand Knowledge</ent> (FHK),[3] in which he suggests that an apparent <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>
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operative was detained in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> only a couple of hours after Kennedy's
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assassination.</p>
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<p>FHK is, by most people's estimation, a reprint of Morrow's earlier <ent type='ORG'>Betrayal</ent>,
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this time, however, naming names and adding new information. One piece of
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this "new information" is that an "unidentified suspect" taken into custody
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in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>, 30 miles west of <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent>, was, in fact, <ent type='PERSON'>David Atlee Phillips</ent>, a
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former <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> operative who was based in <ent type='GPE'>Mexico City</ent> while <ent type='PERSON'>Lee Harvey Oswald</ent> was
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purportedly visiting <ent type='NORP'>Soviet</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Cuban</ent> embassies in that city, and/or the
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"Maurice Bishop" character said to be <ent type='NORP'>Cuban</ent>s refugees' <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> contact for the
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Bay of Pigs operation. What, the reader must wonder, was this man--of all
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people--doing in that place at that time? This is information with curious
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implications indeed!</p>
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<p>As evidence of <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent>' apparent complicity in the murder, <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> includes a
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photo of <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent> beside <ent type='ORG'>the House Assassinations Committee</ent>'s sketch of
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"Bishop," which many researchers agree look strikingly similar. The photo is
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included with the <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent> and "Bishop" pictures. The man, <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> asserts,
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bears an "uncanny resemblance" to <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent>/Bishop. Even while the angles of
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the men's faces are different, making a direct comparison difficult if not
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impossible, there does indeed appear to be a resemblance between them.</p>
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<p>What was <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent>/Bishop doing in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>? The reader is left to wonder,
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for <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> cites <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Shaw</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Larry Ray Harris</ent>' Cover-Up[4] to state that no
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record of this man's arrest exists and, in fact, the negatives of the
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pictures taken of the arrest have disappeared from the files of The Fort
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Worth Star-Telegram. Who but the government could manage such an obvious
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cover-up, one must wonder. Who indeed?</p>
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<p>Since I live near <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>, I decided to look into this. This article will
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take the reader roughly through the steps of my investigation into this
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question. In the end, we will find that not only was <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> "reaching," but
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also that previous information was incomplete at best. While I cannot
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possibly clear <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent> from any sort of involvement in <ent type='ORG'>the Bay</ent> of Pigs
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episode or the <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent> hit, it is quite clear that he was NOT the man in the
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photo <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> uses to implicate him. This is perhaps an abject lesson for the
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reader not to take everything he reads at face value, no matter what the
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credentials of an author may seem to be....</p>
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<p>Let us pause for a moment to consider Morrow's works. <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent>, as we know,
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claims to be a former <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> contract agent who supposedly delivered four
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Mannlicher-Carcano 7.65mm rifles to <ent type='PERSON'>David Ferrie</ent> for what he later
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determined to be the <ent type='PERSON'>JFK</ent> assassination, one of which he says he kept. In both
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FHK and <ent type='ORG'>Betrayal</ent>, he discusses the purchase and delivery of these rifles to
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<ent type='PERSON'>Ferrie</ent>, who of course, cannot confirm or deny Morrow's allegation since he is
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dead. Nor can Morrow's <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> connection be affirmed or refuted; we have no
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choice but to either take the man at his word or not, since it is impossible
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to prove one way or the other. That is simply the nature of the beast.</p>
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<p>Likewise, we can either believe or disbelieve his accounts of the various
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newly-named people's involvement in the planning, execution and/or cover-up
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of the assassination. Certainly, the dust jacket overview and the author's
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own preface to his new book paint a reasonably credible picture of the man
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who claims to have "first hand knowledge" of the assassination. Knowing,
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however, that there is no statute of limitations against prosecution in a
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murder, how is it that <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> can publicly come forward with an admission of
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having participated in the most notorious murder of our time? Even aside from
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prosecution, surely one must wonder at what repercussions he might suffer at
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the hands of those whom he names as his accomplices, including the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>.</p>
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<p>These questions are handled adroitly enough even before the reader reaches
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the book's introduction. "Mr <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent>," the dust jacket states, "has now come
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forward with the truth because he believes the danger to his family is
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reduced due to the impending release of the <ent type='ORG'>Congressional</ent> files on the
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assassination," thereby assuring us that <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> doesn't expect to become
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another "mysterious death."</p>
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<p>But what of the others he names? His own preface makes this clear: "More than
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half the characters about to come to life on these pages have already been
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put to death, tortured, exiled or silenced in strange and horrible ways."
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They are either dead or otherwise will not rise to their own defense against
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Morrow's accusations. It is worthwhile to note that <ent type='PERSON'>David Atlee Phillips</ent> is
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among the former, having died of cancer at his <ent type='GPE'>Arlington</ent>, VA, home on July 7,
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1988.[5] He will not be stepping forward to clear his name, nor will Tracy
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Barnes, another of the people <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> names in FHK and who is also dead. The
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rest of the "more than half" of Morrow's characters will likewise not be
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coming forward to correct the record and provide true facts since they've
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either been "put to death, tortured, exiled or silenced in strange and
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horrible ways." The other half, we may reasonably conclude, have but bit
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parts in Morrow's narrative, and aren't connected with the assassination, and
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so have nothing to "fear."</p>
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<p>Returning to the question of <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent> (or Bishop) having been arrested in
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<ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>, we must bear these factors in mind. <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Shaw</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Larry Harris</ent>
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have already told us that no record of the arrest exists and that negatives
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of the photographs taken of this man have "disappeared" from the
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Star-Telegram's files. <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent> has only added to the mystery by connecting the
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<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> to this man, a factor which can apparently not be proven nor disproven.
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Or can it?</p>
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<p><ent type='PERSON'>Tom Tilson</ent> Tells Tall Tales
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===========================</p>
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<p>One of the first things I was curious about was whether this arrest had any
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connection to the black sedan chase so often related to the events in Dealey
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Plaza. This connection was bolstered by an article which appeared the day
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after the assassination in The <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> Morning News which told of a man having
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been arrested in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> because he was said to be driving a car "linked
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to the slayer."[6] <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> was the apparent destination of the driver of
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the black sedan headed westbound on the DFW Turnpike and chased by an
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off-duty <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> policeman.</p>
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<p>This incident was first reported by <ent type='PERSON'>Earl Golz</ent> in The <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> Morning News[7]
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nearly twenty years after the fact, and repeated by <ent type='PERSON'>Jim Marrs</ent> in
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Crossfire,[8] to which the reader is referred for additional information. In
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addition, rumblings of a car having been found abandoned in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> later
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in the day_naturally tied to the "black car chase"_raised even more
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interesting possibilities. Was the man in the FHK photo the same one who
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off-duty officer <ent type='PERSON'>Tom Tilson</ent> chased from Dealey Plaza, and who may
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subsequently have abandoned the car before having been arrested?</p>
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<p>Unequivocally not. To begin with, it is apparent that there never was a car,
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black or otherwise, where <ent type='ORG'>Tilson</ent> claimed he initially saw it. His interview
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with <ent type='PERSON'>Golz</ent> clearly states that he was driving along Commerce Street just
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beyond the <ent type='PERSON'>Stemmons</ent> Freeway bridge but not yet as far as the Triple <ent type='ORG'>Underpass</ent>
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(the railroad bridge) when he saw a man run down the bridge abutment, toss a
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long object (a rifle?) into the back seat, run around to jump into the
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driver's seat and take off.</p>
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<p>According to his daughter who was riding with him, "seconds before she saw
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the fleeing man, the presidential limousine had just sped past his parked car
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on the grass... and the limousine was turning onto <ent type='PERSON'>Stemmons</ent> Freeway."[9] This
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time roughly corresponds to the time that Mel McIntire took two photographs
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of the limo emerging from under the railroad bridge and, shortly thereafter,
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<ent type='ORG'>the Secret Service</ent> follow-up car turning onto <ent type='PERSON'>Stemmons</ent>.[10] In neither photo
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is there a "parked car on the grass." With the rest of the motorcade still in
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Dealey Plaza, it is impossible that a car could have gotten to that spot in
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time for <ent type='ORG'>Tilson</ent> to have seen it before passing under the Triple <ent type='ORG'>Underpass</ent>. It
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simply wasn't there.</p>
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<p>Moreover, photographic evidence belies Tilson's claim that "everyone was
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jumping out of their cars pulling up on the median strip" in the plaza as he
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saw the man running down the abutment and jumping into his car.[11] Of the
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many photographs taken in DP, none show "everyone... jumping out of their
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cars [and] pulling up on the median strip," and none show cars parked on the
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median even long after the motorcade had left the plaza, much less when
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<ent type='ORG'>Tilson</ent> claims they were (before the press bus had even reached the
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<ent type='ORG'>Underpass</ent>). Obviously, <ent type='ORG'>Tilson</ent> has never looked at any pictures of the
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assassination and aftermath before.</p>
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<p>If that doesn't prove the lie, then consider that the <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> Police
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Department (<ent type='ORG'>DPD</ent>) recorded and investigated, however cursorily, quite a number
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of reports about suspicious cars in the <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> area that afternoon.[12] Yet,
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according to <ent type='ORG'>Tilson</ent>, his own compatriots decided to ignore his report because
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"if you didn't have a big white hat on, they didn't even want you in the
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office."[13] Does it make sense that detectives will credit and investigate
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reports from ordinary citizens, yet ignore one from "one of their own?"</p>
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<p>Also, is it credible that a fleeing assassin would drive a dozen or so blocks
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through city streets to get on a highway when there was and is an entrance
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ramp onto the same highway, going in the same direction, within 100 yards of
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where his car was supposedly parked and immediately to the left of the
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<ent type='PERSON'>Stemmons</ent> Freeway entrance taken by the motorcade? I think not.</p>
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<p>If Tilson's story is a fabrication, however, that doesn't preclude that a car
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was found abandoned in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>, and in fact, one was. Almost by accident,
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I met a retired <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> police officer, WD <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent>, who had called in a
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report of an abandoned and presumably stolen car only a few minutes after the
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time that <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent> was being shot thirty miles away.[14]</p>
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<p>Officer <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent>, who is now retired from the force, was on patrol in the
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Riverside section of east <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> and had come across the vehicle. He
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called it in to the dispatcher at about 12:45 to 1:00. (It was later
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determined to have been stolen in <ent type='GPE'>Houston</ent> the previous week.) <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> is
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certain that the car was not black (ergo not related to Tilson's "black
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sedan"), but only recalls it as being "a light color, perhaps even
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two-toned." Since it had been parked there for a number of days, we can
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reasonably conclude that it was not related to the <ent type='PERSON'>JFK</ent> murder, thereby
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removing it from consideration in relation to the arrest in question.</p>
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<p>If At First You Don't Succeed...
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================================</p>
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<p>Between the apparent fact that <ent type='PERSON'>Tom Tilson</ent>'s black sedan never existed and
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that the car found abandoned in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> wasn't connected to this
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pseudo-event, it was quite certain that this avenue of inquiry would not lead
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to a conclusion about the photo in FHK. Who, then, was the man in the photo,
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and what could be learned about him? After all, he could be just about
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anyone: how can an unidentified man be found thirty years later from his
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image that is bound to have changed in the interim? There are more than two
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million people in the <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> metroplex; where and how do you begin?</p>
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<p>As anyone can see, there are in fact two men in the photograph: the
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"unidentified suspect" and a police officer. Since nobody'd had any luck
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finding out about the arrest from official files, I reasoned, the next-best
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way would seem to be to find out what the arresting officer could remember.
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And if you're trying to find out who a cop is, who're the best people to ask?
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Naturally, other cops who may have worked with him. I decided to check with
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<ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> police.</p>
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<p>Identifying the officer in the photo proved not as easy as I'd thought, since
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in the course of less than two hours, I'd gotten no less than four "positive
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identifications" of the man from nearly a dozen of his fellow officers,
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including the Assistant Chief of Police. Only one of them, as it turned out,
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was correct. This should be instructive to anyone who attempts to identify a
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person based upon the recollection of only one or two of his
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contemporaries... even if they're trained observers, as police are frequently
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termed.</p>
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<p>The officer who found the abandoned car mentioned earlier, WD <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent>, also
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turned out to be the arresting officer in the case of <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald Wayne <ent type='ORG'>House</ent></ent>,
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which many readers are familiar with. For the sake of those who aren't and
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for putting <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent>' observations and impressions on the record (since
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nobody's ever asked him about this before), we'll once again depart our main
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focus on the FHK photo to recap the story of this arrest; interestingly, it
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will lead us directly back to the photo.</p>
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<p>In addition to the brief mention of the "2-city manhunt" in The <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent>
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Morning News on the morning after the assassination, there was one (and only
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one) other account of someone being arrested in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>. It appeared in
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The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> Star-Telegram the day after the assassination, and related
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that a 22-year-old man had been picked up as a possible suspect in the
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assassination of President <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent>.[15] While it didn't identify the man by
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name, it did indicate that he was from Ranger, a small town southwest of Fort
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Worth. It also identified the arresting officers (WD <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> and BG <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent>)
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and noted that the man had been arrested in the 3400 block of <ent type='GPE'>East Belknap</ent>
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Street in the city.</p>
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<p>Reconstructing this arrest from a variety of sources, it happened something
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like this:</p>
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<p>On the morning of November 22, <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald Wayne <ent type='ORG'>House</ent></ent> left his home in Ranger, TX
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bound for <ent type='ORG'>Mesquite</ent> (a <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> suburb) to visit an old <ent type='ORG'>Army</ent> buddy, Randall
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Hunsaker.[16] He had parked his car in a lot on Commerce Street at about
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10:30[17] and called Hunsaker, who was apparently not home. Hearing that <ent type='PERSON'>JFK</ent>
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was due to ride through downtown, he decided to get a glimpse of <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent>,
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whom he says he had long admired.[18] After the motorcade had passed, he
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headed toward <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> on the DFW Turnpike to visit a cousin.[19]</p>
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<p>Along the way, <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> says he stopped for gas at a station in <ent type='LOC'>Grand Prairie</ent>,
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where two women who had heard about the assassination asked him if he knew
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anything more about it. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> told them that he'd heard the alleged
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assassin's description, which he then related to the women. The description
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he gave them of <ent type='PERSON'>Oswald</ent> describes <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> as well, a resemblance that can be
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clearly seen in photos taken of him that day except that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> is much
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shorter than <ent type='PERSON'>Oswald</ent>.[20] It is also possible that the women had heard the
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description themselves and felt that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> matched it closely enough to
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arouse their suspicions.</p>
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<p>One of the two women he spoke with was apparently the "Mrs <ent type='PERSON'>Cunningham</ent>"
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identified in <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> County Deputy Sheriff JC Watson's report who called the
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<ent type='LOC'>Grand Prairie</ent> PD after <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had left the filling station. The <ent type='LOC'>Grand Prairie</ent>
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PD then notified the <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> County sheriffs, who in turn made a general
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broadcast including his description and that of his car and its license plate
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number at 1:35 pm. A "short while" later <ent type='GPE'>Tarrant County</ent> officials notified
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sheriffs that the car and driver had been taken into custody.[21]</p>
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<p>The green and white <ent type='ORG'>Ford</ent> was heading westbound on the DFW Turnpike toward
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<ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>.[22] At about the same time or just shortly after the Sheriff's
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broadcast had gone out, <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> officer WD <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> had pulled into the Shady
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Oaks Drive-in on Riverside Drive just after having called in his report of
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the abandoned car. While waiting for a cup of coffee, he happened to glance
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in his mirror and noticed the car going by. He took off after it, leaving the
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carhop standing there with his order in hand.[23]</p>
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<p><ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> called into <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> dispatch to verify House's license plate number, and
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because he was driving an underpowered cruiser, he also requested assistance
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in case the driver attempted to evade him.[24] Officer BG <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent>, who was
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patrolling an adjoining sector, sped to his assistance and met up with him a
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short distance away at the "Five Points" intersection of <ent type='GPE'>East Belknap</ent> and
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<ent type='PERSON'>Bonnie Brae</ent>;[25] officer BL Harbour also fell in behind <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent>.[26] Upon
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seeing he had assistance, <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> notified dispatch that he was going to
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"curb" the car.[27]</p>
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<p><ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> pulled around <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> and forced him to pull over in the 3400 block of
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<ent type='GPE'>East Belknap</ent> Street near Sylvania Park; <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> came up behind <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, got
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out of his squad car, and trained his shotgun on <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, telling him to get
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out of the car and keep his hands where they could be seen. <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> frisked
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him and put him in handcuffs before putting him in the back of Whistler's
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car. By this time (shortly before 1:57 pm CST, the time on House's arrest
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report[28]), a number of other officers had also arrived, including Lt
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Lawrence <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> who immediately took charge as the ranking officer. Harbour
|
|
joined <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> in the latter's car and the two transported the prisoner to
|
|
city hall where they were photographed by newsmen.[29] <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> accompanied these
|
|
officers to city hall on his motorcycle[30] while <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> remained behind to
|
|
secure the scene and inventory the vehicle.[31]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>All of the officers involved described the arrest as "odd" because, during
|
|
all of this time, <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> never said a word. <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> in particular thought so,
|
|
and "couldn't imagine how you could pull a man out of his car, frisk him,
|
|
handcuff him and put him in the back of a patrol car in a matter of just
|
|
seconds, all the time with a shotgun aimed at him and he never even asked why
|
|
he was being arrested!"[32]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent>' account was confirmed by <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent>, who added that Lt <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> had
|
|
instructed them not to ask <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> any questions or make any statements to him,
|
|
but to "leave that to the <ent type='NORP'>Feds</ent>," who had apparently been notified to meet the
|
|
officers at city hall.[33] House's arrest report also indicated that "the
|
|
subject never once appeared nervous and in fact he was unusually calm," and
|
|
that he had never asked the officers why he was being arrested or taken into
|
|
jail.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Among the police, only Wood's account differed. He told a reporter that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>
|
|
was "hysterical" and that "the guy stuttered, he was so scared he couldn't
|
|
get a single word out, no matter how long he tried,"[34] descriptions the
|
|
arresting officers adamantly denied. In Wood's defense, however, that
|
|
recollection was nearly twenty years old by the time it was made.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>(House's own account of it, published ten months after his arrest, says that
|
|
he'd asked why he was being arrested and was told by officers "You're being
|
|
arrested for the assassination of President <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent>,"[35] which also
|
|
contradicts the officers' statements. I consider this to be a relatively
|
|
minor point since <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was "in the spotlight" during the interview and may
|
|
have tended to meld details. He was undoubtedly told at some time why he'd
|
|
been brought in; whether it was before or after he arrived at city hall seems
|
|
more a matter of how he told the story than how it actually happened.)</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Another oddity, <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> recalled, was that House's car was "absolutely
|
|
spotless, there wasn't even a slip of paper in the glove box," although he
|
|
found an empty dynamite box in the trunk, which <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> claimed to have been
|
|
using as a tool chest[36] (<ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent>, in his account, said that "we found several
|
|
boxes of dynamite in the back seat,"[37] which the arresting officers also
|
|
disputed). <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> was surprised to learn that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> supposedly junked the
|
|
car a short while later[38], saying that he couldn't imagine why he did since
|
|
the car was "immaculate."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was transported to city hall (which also housed police headquarters at
|
|
the time) by Officers <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> and Harbour, and photographs[39] show the two
|
|
taking him inside. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was then put in the "shakedown" room and searched,
|
|
where the only belongings that were recorded having been taken from him was a
|
|
wallet containing $23 in cash and a knife.[40] According to <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, he was
|
|
interrogated by federal officers for three hours and remained alone in his
|
|
cell for another hour before being cleared and released,[41] although the jail
|
|
report indicates the time was slightly shorter.[42]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Another apparent "oddity" came up when <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> also recalled that, when he
|
|
arrived at city hall later in the day, he had gone to the chief's secretary
|
|
to dictate his report. About midway into his report, he says, the chief came
|
|
in and told him "not to bother" completing his report, that the man had
|
|
already been cleared by the <ent type='NORP'>Feds</ent>.[43] <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> also did not recall writing a
|
|
report, corroborating <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent>' memory.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Again, there is nothing "sinister" about this. The official record of federal
|
|
agents interviewing him exists, and was published by the Warren
|
|
Commission.[44] I was also able to find an arrest report for <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> on file
|
|
that was compiled from "information from" the two arresting officers and BL
|
|
Harbour (who is now deceased). It was typed by a clerk and filed; it was not,
|
|
however, signed by the officers which is why I believe they don't remember
|
|
having filed it since, in reality, it was typed and filed after they'd
|
|
recounted the details of the arrest to the clerk. Considering the commotion
|
|
of the afternoon, it is hardly surprising that this occurred.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A Second Arrest in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>
|
|
=============================</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While there is a relative wealth of information about <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald Wayne <ent type='ORG'>House</ent></ent>
|
|
available, as we've already learned, nothing was known about the second man
|
|
who is pictured in FHK. As I've already noted, in Cover-Up, <ent type='ORG'>Shaw and Harris</ent>
|
|
relate that "a second <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> arrest was made at the same time <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was
|
|
taken into custody, but other than photographs from The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>
|
|
Star-Telegram, there is no record of the arrest." They continue that
|
|
"negatives of these photos [which include the one that appears in FHK and
|
|
also in Cover-Up] are now missing from the newspaper's files."[45] <ent type='PERSON'>Morrow</ent>
|
|
added his opinion that the man looked like someone associated with the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>
|
|
and/or <ent type='ORG'>the Bay</ent> of Pigs operation. It all sounds very mysterious, almost
|
|
sinister.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>None of the newspaper articles around that period provide any indication of
|
|
who this man was, and no account of this second arrest appeared in any of the
|
|
local papers. None of the photos were published by local newspapers, although
|
|
there were at least four other photos taken of him in addition to the one in
|
|
FHK. A second picture, which appears in Cover-Up,[46] shows the man being
|
|
taken from the <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> patrol car by Lt <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent>, and a third on file at the
|
|
Star-Telegram offices depicts him being led by <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> and another officer (the
|
|
same one in the FHK photo) into city hall; two others show the back of the
|
|
man and the arresting officers as they entered the building.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Neither of the two photos in Cover-Up (one of which is the one in FHK) were
|
|
taken by Star-Telegram photographers, which explains why the negatives are
|
|
not on file there. Most likely, they were taken by its rival newspaper, The
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Press</ent>, which ceased printing in May 1976 (although a new weekly
|
|
paper has been recently started under the same banner). The Star-Telegram, as
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Shaw</ent> noted, no longer has all of the negatives of the photos they had taken,
|
|
but I was able to find photos on contact sheets (positives made directly from
|
|
the film strips) there, and most did indeed have negatives available. The
|
|
photo archives of the <ent type='ORG'>Press</ent> are said to be in private hands, so I have as yet
|
|
been unable to view whatever remains of them.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some people have suggested that the Star-Telegram's negatives may have been
|
|
removed by the <ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent> as part of its official investigation, but there is no
|
|
evidence that this is the case. Some Star-Telegram staffers thought this
|
|
might be so, but the director of the photo archives told me that it is much
|
|
more likely that the photographers did not turn them all in, or removed them
|
|
after realizing that they may have some historical value. "We don't polygraph
|
|
them to make sure they do," he said. In any case, they were not removed by
|
|
any official body as part of either an investigation or a cover-up, nor most
|
|
certainly, to protect David <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While negatives are not available for a number of photos, there is nothing
|
|
particularly noteworthy about the ones that are missing versus those that are
|
|
not. In my estimation, it doesn't appear there is any cause to claim a
|
|
cleanup of "incriminating" photos, and certainly not with regard to this
|
|
particular arrest, since, as we shall soon see, the man had nothing to do
|
|
with either the assassination or the government. The photos on the contact
|
|
sheets can generally be viewed by the public on request, although it isn't
|
|
always easy to get copies of them.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The contact sheets turned out to be the solution to the question of who the
|
|
officer in the FHK photo actually was since, in one of the photos, I was able
|
|
to read the name plate on one of the men in one of the contact sheet photos:
|
|
it read "HW <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>," one of the four officers named by his associates.
|
|
After making a number of phone calls, I was able to locate <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>, and
|
|
phoned him an arranged to visit with him at his home in rural <ent type='GPE'>East Texas</ent>. Now
|
|
retired and raising cattle, he doesn't seem to have aged much in the past 29
|
|
years and looks very much the same as he did the day the photo was taken.
|
|
Both he and his wife positively identified him in the FHK photo, and also
|
|
identified Lt Lawrence <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> as the man with him in a photocopy I'd been able
|
|
to make of a Star-Telegram photo showing both officers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>(Two of the other officers who had been identified later called me and
|
|
identified <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> as well. It is also worth noting that, in head-on photos
|
|
of the man in custody, the similarity between him and "Maurice Bishop" and/or
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>David Atlee Phillips</ent> is no longer evident. One such photo can be seen in <ent type='PERSON'>Shaw</ent>
|
|
and Harris' Cover-Up,[47] and another is on file at The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>
|
|
Star-Telegram.)</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> is a private man and wouldn't allow our interview to be taped. He
|
|
was, however, very forthcoming in his recollections of that period. In
|
|
addition to arresting the man in the picture, <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> had also performed
|
|
security at Miller's Funeral Home while <ent type='PERSON'>Lee Oswald</ent> was being prepared for
|
|
burial, and also at Rose Hill Cemetery when <ent type='PERSON'>Oswald</ent> was buried. He also
|
|
pointed out that <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> kept a guard at the gravesite for many months following
|
|
Oswald's burial, citing various threats of people digging up the body and
|
|
dragging it through the streets of the city.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It was a quirk of fate that got <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> involved in these events. Since he
|
|
had joined the force in 1956, he had been assigned as a patrolman in the
|
|
detective division, investigating fraud in plain clothes. Sometime in
|
|
mid-1963, however, someone decided that all patrolmen were to be assigned to
|
|
the <ent type='ORG'>Patrol Division</ent>, so <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> donned his uniform and patrolled the
|
|
streets. In January 1964, <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> was named the <ent type='ORG'>Patrol Division</ent> Officer of
|
|
the Year for 1963, and promoted to detective. He returned to plain clothes
|
|
and was assigned to <ent type='ORG'>the Homicide Division</ent> for the remainder of his years with
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> remembered the arrest having taken place in the Riverside area on
|
|
the east side of <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>, although he couldn't recall the exact location.
|
|
He had assisted two officers who he thought were on motorcycles to transport
|
|
the prisoner to city hall. "There were a lot of cops there," he said, adding
|
|
that he had arrived after the other officers. Lt <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent>, whom <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>
|
|
diplomatically said was "not shy of the media," appeared "out of nowhere"
|
|
when he arrived at city hall with the prisoner. (In fact, <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> was already at
|
|
city hall, having escorted officers <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> and Harbour with <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>
|
|
from the arrest scene. In the <ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent> film footage, <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> can be seen alighting
|
|
from his motorcycle in front of the police cruiser) <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> then helped <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>
|
|
take the man out of the patrol car and escorted him into city hall. <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> is
|
|
also pictured taking the man out of the cruiser's front seat in one of the
|
|
photos in Cover-Up,[48] and it is his fingers that can be seen at the
|
|
prisoner's right elbow in the FHK photo.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Because he had merely assisted in the arrest, <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> did not believe that
|
|
he had filed an arrest report, that duty falling to the actual arresting
|
|
officers, whom <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> recalled having stayed behind to secure the arrest
|
|
scene and inventory the vehicle the man had apparently been stopped in. He
|
|
says he may have filled in a "call sheet," but later investigation found that
|
|
these are only kept for six months before being destroyed, so if he had, it
|
|
is no longer available. Beyond these facts and his recollection that it was
|
|
the only time in his career that he had loosed the shotgun officers carried
|
|
in their cruisers, he couldn't remember anything particularly striking about
|
|
the arrest and he was unable to remember what the man's name might have been.
|
|
He noted that <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> is now deceased, and that he didn't know who the arresting
|
|
officers might have been.[49]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The Unidentified Man</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While I had successfully identified the officer in the picture, I was still
|
|
no closer to learning who the man in custody was or why he been detained.
|
|
During my many meetings with current and retired <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> officers, however, I
|
|
had been referred to a number of others who may have had some information
|
|
regarding the case. One of these men was assigned as an officer to the
|
|
Identification Division in 1963, where he continues to work today as a
|
|
civilian employee (his associates consider him to be "the best fingerprint
|
|
guy you can find anywhere"). <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> thought that this individual may have
|
|
been working the afternoon of the arrests, and could provide some useful
|
|
information.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>As it turned out, he had worked the evening shift on November 22, and thus
|
|
had no details of the arrest. However, he thought there might still be a
|
|
record of it on file, but shortly found that the department's worksheets of
|
|
that period were no longer on file. He felt that I wouldn't be able to find
|
|
any information without knowing the man's name, but nevertheless transferred
|
|
me to the supervisor of <ent type='ORG'>the Records Division</ent>. The supervisor suggested that I
|
|
come into the police station and look through some of their old microfilm
|
|
records. I went to <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> later the same afternoon.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>I didn't really know what I was looking for, whether it would be a jail
|
|
roster or what, but I thought I might have been able to find a name that was
|
|
out of place or couldn't be verified against other records. I was given two
|
|
rolls of microfilm covering the period, one of arrest records, and another of
|
|
the Disposition Report and Property Records of prisoners. Since I had already
|
|
read elsewhere and been told by the officers that no arrest record was made,
|
|
I didn't know how much luck I'd have, but I figured it was worth a try.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>I began reading the arrest reports. It appeared that November 22, 1963
|
|
started out like any other day for <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> (aside from the President's visit
|
|
that morning). Of the thirty or so arrests officers made that day, many were
|
|
listed as "juvenile fugitives," and a roughly equal number were for
|
|
"investigation of theft under $50 (shoplifting)." There was also a report of
|
|
a man who'd been taken into custody because the police had learned he had VD,
|
|
and one of a man who had been arrested in the men's room of the local bus
|
|
station while injecting nitroglycerine into his arm. Maybe the day wasn't so
|
|
"typical" after all....</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='GPE'>Midway</ent> through the day's reports was the arrest report for <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald Wayne
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, which I decided to make a copy of since, after all, I'd been told it
|
|
hadn't been filed. The very next arrest report was for another man named
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Kenneth Glenn Wilson</ent>, then of 6121 <ent type='LOC'>Broadway</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Haltom City</ent> to the east of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>. Interestingly, he had also been arrested at the 3400 block of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>East Belknap</ent> Street, 23 minutes after <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had been. The arresting officers
|
|
were listed as Lt LE <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> and HW <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>.[50]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This was an odd coincidence: nobody had mentioned two men having been
|
|
arrested in that place at that time. Who was this man, and what had he been
|
|
arrested for? That the arresting officers were the same two men who had been
|
|
photographed bringing the "unidentified suspect" into city hall made this
|
|
record all the more intriguing. (It is worth noting that <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> couldn't have
|
|
actually been an arresting officer since he'd already left the scene before
|
|
the man was taken into custody. He was, however, one of the two officers who
|
|
escorted him into city hall and booked him, and so was included in the
|
|
report.)</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>, an auto parts salesman, was charged as an "investigation witness." If
|
|
he was the same man in the photos, this helped to explain why he is shown
|
|
unmanacled in the photos taken at city hall: the man wasn't a suspect, but a
|
|
witness! A witness of what? The details of the arrest provided that
|
|
information:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The above subject was arrested and charged as above [Inv. Witness] after he
|
|
came to the scene of where <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was arrested. When he arrived at the scene,
|
|
he stated that he recognized the car which <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was driving and stated that
|
|
he thought that it belonged to his wife's cousin. On the way to the [city]
|
|
hall, the subject stated that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was recently been discharged from the
|
|
service. He stated that he had not seen <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> lately and that his home is in
|
|
Ranger, <ent type='GPE'>Texas</ent>" [emphasis added].[51]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>As noted earlier, the interview <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had with the <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Press</ent> said that
|
|
he was traveling to <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> to visit his cousin, in addition to mentioning
|
|
his intent to visit his <ent type='ORG'>Army</ent> buddy in <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent>.[52] This man <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>--or rather,
|
|
his wife--must be who <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was going to see.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>When I was talking with WD <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> earlier, neither of us could figure out
|
|
why he had gotten off of the highway and driven up Riverside Drive since his
|
|
home was a number of miles farther out the same road. I drove to 6121
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Broadway</ent>, the address given on Wilson's arrest record. While the house no
|
|
longer exists, the route that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> took would have led him to his cousin's
|
|
house about a mile from where he was arrested. This particular segment of the
|
|
story no longer held any mystery. The question that nagged at me, though, was
|
|
how <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> knew <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had been arrested in the first place, an answer I knew
|
|
only <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> could provide.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>I was finally able to locate and contact <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> (he no longer lives in Fort
|
|
Worth), who verified that he was the same <ent type='PERSON'>Kenneth Glenn Wilson</ent> who had lived
|
|
at the 6121 <ent type='LOC'>Broadway</ent> address nearly 30 years ago. I explained the reason I
|
|
was calling, to identify a man in a photo which I believed to be him, and
|
|
wondered if he would be willing to help me. We discussed the circumstances
|
|
which led up to the photo being taken, and as he provided me with various
|
|
details without prompting_House's name, the make and color of car he was
|
|
driving, that he was from Ranger and that <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was, in fact, his wife's
|
|
cousin_it quickly became apparent that I had found the man whose arrest
|
|
report I held, but was he the same man in the photo?</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the course of our conversation, he mentioned that he had a book about the
|
|
assassination with his picture in it; did I perhaps have the same one? It
|
|
turned out to be Cover-Up, which of course, I had. I asked him to turn to
|
|
page 89 where the photos of <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> and the "unidentified suspect" were, and
|
|
asked him if he recognized any of them. "Sure," he said. "The three across
|
|
the top are <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>, and the two below that are of me."[53] One of these two
|
|
photos is the same as that which appears in FHK, as we've already discussed.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Satisfied that <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> and the "unidentified suspect" were one and the same, I
|
|
arranged to meet with him the following weekend when I could make the time to
|
|
travel to where he now lives. We met one Saturday afternoon at a roadside
|
|
restaurant near the interstate; he was accompanied by his wife and young
|
|
grandson, who was visiting for the weekend. We talked for nearly three hours.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> now wears glasses and is, in his words, "a little fatter and deeper in
|
|
debt," but the similarity with the man in the FHK photo was unmistakable. He
|
|
parts his hair differently, but facial characteristics like the nose, chin
|
|
and forehead don't change, and_despite his denial_he still has the same slim
|
|
build he had back then. When he later posed in the same semi-profile as in
|
|
the picture, there was no doubt I was looking at the same man. Furthermore,
|
|
both he and Mrs <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> recognized the pencil he'd always hung over his ear,
|
|
and the pocket protector he wore in those days.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>How did <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> come to be at that place and time where his cousin-in-law had
|
|
been arrested only moments before? Mrs <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> provided most of the
|
|
details:[54]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At some point after the shooting, while <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had been enroute to <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> police had contacted his mother_with whom he was living at the time_to
|
|
determine his whereabouts. After two or three such calls, Mrs <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> became
|
|
concerned, and called her niece, Mrs <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>. (Mrs <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> is now deceased, so I
|
|
was unable to determine what <ent type='ORG'>DPD</ent> had talked with her about during those
|
|
calls.) Mrs <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> called the <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>s' because, whenever <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> came to Fort
|
|
Worth, he would spend the night with the <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>s and she expected he would do
|
|
so this night too. After the calls from <ent type='ORG'>DPD</ent>, she became worried.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Shortly after the call from her aunt, Mrs <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> heard a radio broadcast of a
|
|
suspect, identified as "22-year-old <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> of Ranger, <ent type='GPE'>Texas</ent>" having
|
|
been arrested at 3408 <ent type='GPE'>East Belknap</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>.[55] At first, she said, she
|
|
didn't recognize the name since "nobody called him <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald," but realized
|
|
after a moment that it had been her cousin who'd been taken into custody in
|
|
connection with the slaying.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>She noted that the address was only a couple of blocks from where her husband
|
|
worked selling auto parts, and called to ask him to check on <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> since it
|
|
appeared he was in some sort of trouble. He excused himself from work and
|
|
walked the short distance to where <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had been arrested. There, he told
|
|
officers that he thought the car belonged to his wife's cousin, and was taken
|
|
into custody at 2:20 pm.[56] "I was looking out for <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>," Ken <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> told me,
|
|
"and they ended up taking me to jail!"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>He was not charged with a crime, and as the record of his arrest shows, he
|
|
was brought in solely as a witness. He was questioned about his relationship
|
|
with <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> and released 90 minutes later, at 3:50.[57] He returned home
|
|
with his wife, where <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> joined them a couple of hours later (<ent type='ORG'>House</ent> wasn't
|
|
released until 5:15[58]).</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>(Mrs <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> recalled an amusing anecdote from that day: when <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> had finally
|
|
come to their house, everyone wanted to know if he'd been nervous. "Nervous?
|
|
Of course not, I didn't do anything," he said, sitting down... missing the
|
|
chair completely and sprawling on the floor. Nervous? Who me? I guess not.)</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Wilson's account also clears up questions about HW Sinclair's recollection of
|
|
the event and in reconstructing the "arrest:" <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had been curbed by
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> and hurried into Whistler's cruiser with Harbour in the back with
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>House</ent>. They in turn sped off to city hall with their prisoner with Lt <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> in
|
|
the lead, who may well have given orders to secure the scene before
|
|
departing. Other officers began arriving during and after this period, one of
|
|
whom was <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>. Whether he arrived before or after <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> is difficult to
|
|
determine and not really important. He was nevertheless selected to transport
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> to headquarters, which he did. Obviously, <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent> did not feel
|
|
threatened by the mild-mannered <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>, who rode beside him unmanacled and
|
|
volunteering information about his wife's cousin, <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, during the five or ten-minute ride downtown. From all accounts, it was a relatively pleasant
|
|
trip, if being under arrest or dealing with suspected Presidential assassins
|
|
can ever be called "pleasant!"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On arriving at city hall, the two men were met by Lt <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent>, who had escorted
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> to city hall less than a half-hour before.
|
|
Undoubtedly, <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> felt a need for additional police presence ushering <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>
|
|
into city hall because a crowd of people had gathered,[59] and under the
|
|
circumstances, it wouldn't have been unreasonable to suspect they might have
|
|
become unruly at the sight of a "suspect" in the assassination being led
|
|
before them. In fact, Ken <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> recalled the scene as "a little frightening
|
|
with all those people standing around yelling."[60]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Photos of both <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> were taken by photographers from both the
|
|
Star-Telegram and the <ent type='ORG'>Press</ent>, although neither paper ever published them. TV
|
|
camera crews also captured footage of <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> being led into city hall and
|
|
through the corridors of the police department, but if similar footage of
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> exists, I haven't seen it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Conclusion
|
|
==========</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Beginning with a photograph of an "unidentified man" said to have been
|
|
arrested in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> and connected with both the <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent> murder and the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, along with a vague rumor or two of how the "black sedan" described by
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Tom Tilson</ent> may have been found in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>, we've come to find that not
|
|
only is there no evidence to support such a connection, but also that it is
|
|
quite apparent that the black sedan never actually existed and is either a
|
|
figment of Tilson's imagination, a mis-recollection, or an attempt to portray
|
|
himself as having a role in the events of November 22, 1963_however
|
|
peripheral_which he in fact did not have.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While it is a fact that two men were taken into custody in <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> "in
|
|
connection with the shooting," there is nothing other than speculation that
|
|
can link either of them with the murder. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had been to <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> to visit a
|
|
friend who wasn't home when he got there. Unable to leave town because of the
|
|
heavy traffic due to the parade, he waited for the motorcade to pass before
|
|
he was able to leave to visit his cousin. A couple of women at a gas station
|
|
thought he matched the broadcast description of a suspect, and he was taken
|
|
into custody, cleared and released.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The second man, Ken <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>, was only trying to help <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, his wife's cousin.
|
|
He was taken into city hall as a witness, and not as a suspect. He wasn't
|
|
charged with any crime, and wasn't even handcuffed as he rode to city hall in
|
|
the front seat with HW <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>. He was questioned about his relationship to
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>House</ent>, released and went home. He's hardly given a second thought to these
|
|
events afterward until I spoke with him about them.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>That Ken <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> remained "unidentified" for nearly 30 years is surprising
|
|
when you consider that I was able to locate and identify him within two weeks
|
|
of the time his photo in FHK was brought to my attention, using records which
|
|
"don't exist" long after others had apparently attempted the same. None of
|
|
the police officers involved in these arrests_save Lawrence <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent>, who was
|
|
interviewed by The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> Star-Telegram 20 years later_had ever been
|
|
contacted by anyone, and it's apparent that the search for the men's arrest
|
|
records was neither thorough nor tenacious since they were, in fact, quite
|
|
readily available.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>I must admit I had been somewhat surprised that Ken <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> had never
|
|
attempted to identify himself, especially having seen his photo in Cover-Up
|
|
along with what could be considered "mysterious" if not "sinister"
|
|
insinuations made about his being taken into custody. Then again, maybe I
|
|
shouldn't have been so surprised, since there are many people who are
|
|
apprehensive or skeptical, even cautious and suspicious of anything to do
|
|
with the <ent type='PERSON'>JFK</ent> murder, and don't want their names associated with it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On the other hand, we've also got to ask ourselves who would <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> have gone
|
|
to even had he wished to identify himself? It's not an easy task to reach an
|
|
author through his publisher after all, and even so, once a book is published
|
|
and widely circulated, it is not an easy matter to change bits of material,
|
|
especially when it doesn't add to the story. It is unlikely that Cover-Up
|
|
will be amended, but will <ent type='ORG'>First Hand Knowledge</ent> be corrected because we now
|
|
know for certain that the "unidentified suspect" is no longer unidentified,
|
|
was never in fact a suspect, and was absolutely not either David <ent type='ORG'>Phillips</ent> or
|
|
"Maurice Bishop?" We'll have to wait for the second printing to find out.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While the underlying concern of whether it is "better" from a publishing
|
|
standpoint to maintain the intrigue and aura of mystery, or to ascertain that
|
|
mundane details as this has turned out to be are accurately portrayed remains
|
|
an important one, it is in truth of little consequence whether Wilson's
|
|
"story" is corrected since, to all those thousands of people who've bought
|
|
Cover-Up and FHK and not read this article, Ken <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> will always be a
|
|
"mysterious <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> agent" involved in the assassination whose "arrest" was
|
|
"covered up" by sinister forces. Certainly, I'd like to see the record
|
|
amended, but I don't expect it will be. I just hope the same mistake won't be
|
|
made by future authors.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is perhaps unfortunate in some respects that I have brought these men and
|
|
women to the fore, even despite the fact that it has "cleared" an innocent
|
|
man from any involvement with the crime, and set the record straight about
|
|
his detention. <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent>, for example, told me how his wife's cousin, <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> <ent type='ORG'>House</ent>,
|
|
had been "harassed" over the peripheral role he had played in the events of
|
|
November 22, 1963, and no longer wishes to talk to anyone about it; indeed,
|
|
Cover-Up states that when the authors attempted to interview <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> during the
|
|
course of their research, they met with "extreme hostility." Others declined
|
|
to have their recollections recorded, voicing similar concerns.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>For these reasons, I have refrained from noting too many personal details to
|
|
preserve their privacy and hopefully to prevent them from becoming part of
|
|
"the continuing inquiry," ruing the day they first heard my name: their roles
|
|
are long since finished. I enjoyed meeting each of them, and appreciate the
|
|
time they took to speak with me, the hospitality they showed me, and the
|
|
assistance they provided to close this chapter of history quickly. I hope
|
|
they never have cause to regret it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>I hope too that this experience can temper the enthusiasm, even zeal, of many
|
|
researchers who feel that the "truth" can be found by citing every lead and
|
|
"reasonable conclusion" as absolute fact. If we are ever to be successful in
|
|
our efforts to re-open an official investigation of some sort, we must come
|
|
armed with evidence, not mere theories and speculations. After all, we're
|
|
supposed to be investigating a murder, not writing novels or creating myths,
|
|
aren't we?</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Copyright c 1993, M. Duke Lane</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The author gratefully acknowledges the advice, assistance and encouragement
|
|
of <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Mack</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Mary Ferrell</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Dave Perry</ent>, and other <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> area researchers in
|
|
this investigation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>NOTES
|
|
-----</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>1. Interview with <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Null</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>WBAI</ent>-FM <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>, 99.5 FM, October 1992</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>2. See Letters to the Editor of The Third Decade, Volume 9, Number 1,
|
|
November 1992, pp 36-40; Number 2, January 1993, pp 9-11; and Number 3, March
|
|
1993, pp 27-28 (all related).</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>3. <ent type='PERSON'>Robert Morrow</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>First Hand Knowledge</ent>, 1992, S.P.I Books/Shapolsky
|
|
Publishers, Inc, <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>4. <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Shaw</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Larry Ray Harris</ent>, Cover-Up, self-published, <ent type='PERSON'>Cleburne</ent> TX,
|
|
1976, page 89</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>5. Obituary, <ent type='ORG'>The Washington Post</ent>, July 9, 1988, pG5</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>6. "Police Launch 2-city <ent type='ORG'>Manhunt</ent>," The <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> Morning News, November 23, 1963,
|
|
page 2. The full account reads: "During the frantic period at the hospital,
|
|
police, <ent type='ORG'>Secret Service</ent> men and <ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent> agents had started a 2-city manhunt. They
|
|
arrested several persons, among them a <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> man who was said to be
|
|
driving a car linked to the slayer." There was no additional coverage of this
|
|
event in the paper.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>7. <ent type='PERSON'>Earl Golz</ent>, "Ex-officer suspect he chased '2nd gun'," The <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> Morning
|
|
News, August 20, 1978, p 42A.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>8. <ent type='PERSON'>Jim Marrs</ent>, Crossfire: The Plot that Killed <ent type='PERSON'>Kennedy</ent>, 1989, Carroll & Graf
|
|
Publishers, <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>, pp 325-327. This is a nearly verbatim recounting of the
|
|
aforementioned <ent type='PERSON'>Golz</ent> article.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>9. <ent type='PERSON'>Golz</ent>, "'2nd gun'"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>10. "Scenes From an Assassination" (photographic essay), The <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent>
|
|
Times-Herald, November 20, 1983</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>11. <ent type='PERSON'>Golz</ent>, "'2nd gun'"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>12. <ent type='ORG'>See Decker Exhibit</ent> 5323 (affidavits to <ent type='GPE'>Dallas</ent> County Sheriffs): 19H500,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Malcolm Summers</ent>, November 23, 1963; 19H497-98, Jesse <ent type='PERSON'>James Williams</ent>, November
|
|
22, 1963; 19H501, <ent type='PERSON'>William Clifford Anderson</ent>, November 25, 1963; 19H522-23,
|
|
November 22, 1963; and Cover-Up, p 88 (reference to <ent type='ORG'>DPD</ent> radio logs for
|
|
11/22/63, time not indicated)</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>13. <ent type='PERSON'>Golz</ent>, "'2nd gun'"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>14. Interview with WD <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> by author, December 22, 1992</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>15. "Man Arrested Here Released," The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> Star-Telegram, November 23,
|
|
1963, p9</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>16. Warren Commission Document #301 (CD 301), pp 111-112. See also John
|
|
Moulder, "'Suspect' Seized Here Made History," The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Press</ent>,
|
|
September 28, 1964, page 1 and Cover-Up, p 88.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>17. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent> CD 301, and CD 897, p 331</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>18. "'Suspect' Seized Here Made History"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>19. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>20. Cover-Up, p 89</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>21. 19H522-23, November 22, 1963.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>22. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent>, and arrest report #19560, <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald Wayne <ent type='ORG'>House</ent></ent>. November 22, 1963</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>23. <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> interview</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>24. A six cylinder <ent type='GPE'>Plymouth</ent>: <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> interview and <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> arrest report</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>25. Interview with BG <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent>, January 5, 1993</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>26. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> arrest report</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>27. <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> interview; <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> interview</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>28. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> arrest report. Note that this may be "official" as opposed to
|
|
actual time since an <ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent> newscast transcript notes the first broadcast that
|
|
"a car has been stopped at <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> that may have some connection with the
|
|
shooting" at 1:49 pm CST, eight minutes earlier. WBAP radio had also
|
|
broadcast a similar statement three minutes earlier at 1:46, indicating that
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>House</ent> had already been pulled over and perhaps already taken to city hall.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>29. Cover-up, p 89, upper row of photos</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>30. <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> is now deceased and surviving officers do not recall who the
|
|
motorcycle officers were, but news footage taken by <ent type='ORG'>KXAS</ent>-TV (then WBAP-TV)
|
|
made available to me by <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent> researcher <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Mack</ent> shows <ent type='PERSON'>Wood</ent> getting
|
|
off of his motorcycle as <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> is being driven up in the squad car</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>31. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> arrest report; <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> interviews</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>32. <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> interview</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>33. <ent type='PERSON'>Whistler</ent> interview</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>34. <ent type='PERSON'>Elston Brooks</ent>, "An Arrest He'll Never Forget," The <ent type='GPE'>Fort Worth</ent>
|
|
Star-Telegram, November 20, 1983, p 20F (<ent type='LOC'>Sunday</ent> special section: "Turning
|
|
Point: The Assassination of <ent type='PERSON'>JFK</ent>")</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>35. "'Suspect' Seized Here Made History"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>36. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>37. "An Arrest He'll Never Forget"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>38. Cover-Up, p 88</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>39. Photos can be seen in Cover-Up, top of p 89</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>40. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> Property Record #19560, <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>41. "'Suspect' Seized Here Made History"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>42. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> disposition report #19560, <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent>. The report indicates that charges
|
|
were dropped after <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was questioned, and he was released at 5:15 pm, 3
|
|
hours and 18 minutes after he'd been arrested</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>43. <ent type='PERSON'>Roberts</ent> interview</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>44. CD 301</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>45. Cover-Up, page 89</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>46. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>47. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>48. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>49. Interview with Mr and Mrs HW <ent type='ORG'>Sinclair</ent>, December 20, 1992</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>50. <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> arrest record #19561, <ent type='ORG'>FWPD</ent> (shown on back cover), and accompanying
|
|
disposition report and property record #19561</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>51. <ent type='PERSON'>Ibid</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>52. "'Suspect' Arrested Here Makes History."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>53. Telephone interview with <ent type='PERSON'>Kenneth Glenn Wilson</ent>, January 9, 1993</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>54. Interview with Mr and Mrs <ent type='PERSON'>Kenneth Glenn Wilson</ent>, January 23, 1993</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>55. Live WBAP radio broadcast, November 22, 1963 at the time <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> was
|
|
brought into the jail. In addition to the newspaper reporters and
|
|
photographers who were at city hall, there were a number of television and
|
|
radio personnel. Footage from <ent type='ORG'>KXAS</ent>-TV and <ent type='ORG'>KTVT</ent>-TV (op cit) of <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> being
|
|
brought into police headquarters and being marched through the hallways and
|
|
offices clearly indicates that coverage of the arrest was immediate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>56. <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> arrest records. Again, this is an official rather than
|
|
actual time.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>57. At 3:50 pm; <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> disposition report #19561</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>58. <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> disposition report #19560</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>59. WBAP-TV (<ent type='ORG'>NBC</ent>) news footage</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>60. <ent type='ORG'>Wilson</ent> interview</p>
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</xml> |