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Aaron Crumbley Ms. Caruso ENGL 1102 22 Feb 2012 John F Kennedy: The Actual Truth November 22, 1963, a day when America would lose its President. On this fateful day, someone or a few people successfully assassinated the thirty-fifth president of the United States. The possibility of a conspiracy or a cover up has been mused by a large proportion of the American public and as it stands today, people still believe the details are fishy. There are twenty plus theories on what could have happened and this paper is going to discuss five in particular. The first theory raises its head as Lee Harvey Oswald was a conspiracy theorist himself who was known to have ties with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Next, I have dissected two different eyewitness accounts that come from four different people. Here, we have the involvement of the American Mafia, why would the Mafia care about the president you may ask? Lastly we come to the darkest, most dishonorable of all theories, the idea that Vice President, Lyndon Baines Johnson had something to do with the death of JFK. After picking apart these theories you will see why the facts point to something out of the ordinary. Irving, Texas, home to the secret, unsuspected hiding spot of the rifle that would soon kill the President of the United States. The home belonged to Ruth Paine, a Quaker from Texas who had befriended the Oswalds.1 Marina Oswald and her two children were living with Ruth while Lee joined them solely on the weekends; he was living in a rooming house in downtown Dallas2 near the Texas School Book Depository where he had gotten a job thanks to Ruth. It is worth

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noting that Oswald once travelled a distance of 12 hours to check out a copy of Mao Zedongs biography. Mao was a Chinese Communist Revolutionary who believed heavily in Marxism and Leninism. This contributes to his possible political standpoint and his former ties to the Soviet Union who were known communists. Pairing that with Oswalds visiting Moscow in 19593 with the intention to turn his back on his former country for which he had served certainly raises a few [Link] injured or killed four people on November 22, 1963, among them were President Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, Officer J.D. Tippit and James Tague4 who lastly was struck by a piece of curb from Oswalds supposed one errant shot. If there are no reports of anyone explicitly seeing Oswald why did he rush his last shot?Also a single bullet theory has been proposed, now I am no lead detective but you tell me how one bullet can hit President Kennedy, Governor Connally and the curb of the street? It cannot happen like that. The Warren Commission itself had labeled Oswald the lone assassin, yet faced with scrutiny the Commission never fought back when people began to question their findings. Kennedys autopsy had been very flawed as if someone indeed was trying to cover up the true reason for Kennedys death5. There were a hundred or so mysterious deaths among people who supposedly knew too much.(Mallon 110) Oswald then proceeded to delay transport from the city lockup to the county jail solely over changing a shirt, which just so happened to give Mr. Jack Ruby enough time to show up and murder Oswald at the jail6. Seems unreasonable does it not?Unless Oswald was a party to the conspiracy to murder himself.(Mallon 112) Jack Bell of the Associated Press witnessed the assassination from the fourth car back from the President. A loud bang as though a giant firecracker had exploded in the caverns between the tall buildings(Bell 3) Bell then stated that the second and third shots happened in7 rapid succession, which does agree with Thomas Mallon. As my eyes swept the buildings to

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the right, where the shots-if they really were shots; and it seemed unbelievable-might have come, I saw no significant sign of activity. Yet supposedly the last shot was rushed which caused Oswald to miss therefore he must have been in a scurry to get out of the building. When arriving at Parkland Hospital Bell saw Kennedy face down in the backseat of the convertible lying motionless;when Bell stopped a Secret Service agent to ask if President Kennedy was dead he was greeted with I dont know, but I dont think so.8Then we must face the question of why the top was off of the convertible and why the shatter-proof windows were rolled [Link] Kennedys were welcomed with open arms by everyone in Texas leading up to the motorcade but this still does not seem like a valid reason to leave the President a sitting duck. An ordinary man on a business convention in Texas happened to weigh in on the next report, Norman Similas stated there was an interval between the first and second shot, along with an interval between the second and third shots, yet Bell reported the three shots to have occurred in rapid succession. Similas also confirmed that the Secret Service and the local police were both scanning the crowd and the surrounding buildings before the second and third shots went off. If this is the case how could so many highly trained professionals not see anything?9 Not even a shimmer of light from a building or the long barrel of a rifle. Bell was a highly esteemed reporter who was actually in the motorcade, which means he could reach out and publish an article to make the public believe what the government wanted. Our third report comes from Tom Wicker who happened to be on location for the murder of President Kennedy. The first official report by Malcolm Kilduff, assistant White House Press Secretary stated that President Kennedy had been killed by one bullet to the brain. However, Dr. Kemp Clark, head neurosurgeon at Parkland Hospital claimed Kennedy had one wound below the Adams apple10, a massive gaping wound in the back and one wound on the right side of the

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head. Also worth mentioning Mrs. Connallys report claimed that the first two shots happened in rapid succession, while Bell, Senator Yarborough and Similass reports both claimed there was an interval during the first and second shot. Basically we have been faced with three different ways that Kennedy has been murdered. Oswald had once turned his back on America for the Soviet Union, as well as being active in the Fair Play for Cuba committee, which backed the Cuban Revolution. Basically Oswald was an antigovernment man who had ties to Cuba and to the Soviet Union during pivotal years of the Cold War.11During the 1960 campaign Lyndon Johnson and his wife were nearly mobbed in a hotel lobby in downtown Dallas, why return in the following years? There was also political discrepancy between the Democrats in Texas. Here isan excerpt from Kennedys speech that was intended for November 22, 1963 Right wing conservatism is the rule, rather than the exception (Wicker 27). Oswald had tried to kill former far right wing General Edwin Walker, Soviets were extremely prejudiced against conservatism.12 Carlos Marcello, Santos Trafficante and Jimmy Hoffa were deemed responsible for the assassination based on this theory, the mafia was angry with not only John, but Robert Kennedy for trying to root out organized crime in America. This theory has evolved from a book written by Trafficantes lawyer Frank Ragano. G. Robert Blakely, chief counsel and staff director to the House Select Committee on Assassinations believed Oswald was involved, however there was at least one gunman firing from the grassy knoll.13 Afterwards Blakely came to the conclusion that in fact it was Carlos Marcello that organized the hit on JFK yet he was never apprehended.14 Writer Matthew Smith brings a very interesting fact to the table. Thomas Killiam, a man who had once worked for Jack Ruby claimed that there was indeed a link between Ruby, Oswald, and the Mafia. Killiam told his brother, I am a dead man, but I have run as far as I am running. Killiam was found dead in an alley in March of 1964, only three

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months after the assassination of President Kennedy. (Spartacus 4) The last suspect of mafia involvement was Sicilian-American, Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana. It was whispered that Giancana had fixed the Presidential Election of 1960 to go in favor of Kennedy, Cooke County which had given Kennedy the election was controlled by Giancana, however Kennedy supposedly reneged on his deal with Giancana and suffered the consequences.15 Lyndon Baines Johnson was the primary beneficiary from the death of JFK.16 He had also persuaded Kennedy to make a stop in Texas, even though he and his wife had been nearly mobbed during the Texas stop of the 1960 campaign. Johnson even went so far as to try and have Gov. Connallys seat switched with Senator Yarboroughs the morning before, Johnson and Yarborough did not see eye to eye very well.17 One of Johnsons close friends, Billie Sol Estes was a known conman with a dark side yet Johnson stayed near, Robert Kennedy was building a case on the Estes/Johnson relationship and had informed Johnson of this. (Education 6) Oil barons Haroldson Hunt and Clint Murchison18 helped fund the assassination on claims that Kennedy was going to bring an end to the oil depletion allowance, however this remained unchanged through Johnsons presidency which saved the American oil Industry over 100 million dollars. In 1984 Estes was convinced to give evidence against Johnson, get rid of him, he had claimed Johnson stated, referring to Dept. of Agriculture worker Henry Marshall who at the time had been investigating Estes. On 9th August, 1984, Estes' lawyer, Douglas Caddy, wrote to Stephen S. Trott at the US Department of Justice. In the letter Caddy claimed that Billie Sol Estes, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mac Wallace and Cliff Carter had been involved in the murders of Henry Marshall, George Krutilek, Harold Orr, Ike Rogers, Coleman Wade, Josefa Johnson, John Kinser and John F. Kennedy. Caddy added: "Mr. Estes is willing to testify that LBJ

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ordered these killings, and that he transmitted his orders through Cliff Carter to Mac Wallace, who executed the murders." (Education) Mac Wallace had been a lift wing activist in his college years, which is until he met Lyndon Johnson. He then found himself with a job in the Texas Dept. of Agriculture during October 1950. Within the next year Wallace had been convicted of murder while trying to cover-up a scandal involving Johnsons sister. Even though twelve jurors found Wallace guilty the judge had overturned his case and he was a free man. Wallace also was defended by the same man who had defended Johnson when his ballot-rigging scandal erupted. It is uncertain whether LBJ was actually involved, yet his corrupt, dark political activities lack no evidence. The circumstances that surround John F Kennedys death are certainly tainted. The American public still questions the facts to this day. Over the course of this paper I have examined several key theories that remain in high standing and also bring hard evidence to the table. It is hard to believe that so many different groups would want the same man dead, yet he was not favored by all. There is one thing for certain, President Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963, but no one knows the true details behind the murder.

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Works Cited

Bell, Jack. Eyewitnesses Describe Scene of Assassination. New York Times. 23 Nov 1963. Print.

Mallon, Thomas. A Knoll of Ones Own. Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 299.5 (2007): 106-112. Literary Reference Center [Link]. 6 Feb 2012.

Scheim, David. [Link]. Web. 8 Feb 2012.

Simkin, John. [Link]. The Education Forum. Web. 8 Feb 2012.

Wieker, Tom. Gov. Connally Shot; Mrs. Kennedy Safe. New York Times. 23 Nov 1963: Special. Print.

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I may change the location of the house, or simply incorporate a relationship between Oswald and Michael (my shooter) 2 Possibility of Oswald telling his family that was what he was doing while in fact he was living with Michael or the government had him tied up somehow. 3 This is the reason that the government used Oswald as a scapegoat for the assassination. 4 In reality only Oswalds shot missed for two reasons, one being that Oswald was so nervous because he knew what would become of him regardless, second because Michael was such a trained expert at what he did, he was the governments golden child of the time that they had chosen to assassinate Kennedy. 5 More government interaction, trying to cover up the autopsy because the government wanted America to believe that indeed Oswald was the lone gunman. 6 This was Oswalds way of making sure that he would for certain be killed at the jail because he knew that he would not be able to keep the secret safe because he had turned on Michael and the government and did not want to take the fall for the government who does not even care about its own President. 7 Michael struck with his first shot and then Oswald correlated his shot with Michaels second so that he would have time to escape the building because Michael was positioned in a different building. 8 It was known that the President was dead, the agent was just ensuring that Texas did not go into a mass panic and therefore not allow Michael to leave the area. 9 The Secret Service agents knew of the plan therefore they were looking without looking, as well as the local police being switched out with government officials, this would allow for a clean getaway and to ensure that no local cop tried to be a hero. 10 Michaels first shot being from directly in front of the president. 11 These facts were only stated to merely add to the illusion that the government wanted to keep Oswald as their scapegoat for this project. 12 Oswald indeed tried to kill the former general, yet he had not done so on purpose therefore leaving it common knowledge that he did not agree with right wing conservatism, along with the government keeping him out of jail, this way they could continue to use him for their project. 13 Here is Michaels connection to the grassy knoll, the government enacted this theory to keep the heat off of themselves. 14 Because the government had enlisted him to take some heat for the assassination yet he was never apprehended. 15 Giancana had been in contact with the government, and when Kennedy did him wrong it was the final straw for the President, because everyone in the government wanted him gone anyways. 16 He was the one who approached Michael about taking on the operation. 17 Johnson at first told Michael to not kill Gov. Connally but after his brief episode of trying to switch the cars he told him to shot Connally , just dont kill him he said. 18 These two heads of oil country, promised Johnson all kinds of rewards if he could keep the oil depletion allowance high.