Reclaiming History (44 page)

“That’s him,” Barbara says. “The second one from the left.” When the officers have the men turn sideways, and Barbara sees Oswald from the same angle she saw him crossing her front yard, she is positive.
⁸¹¹

Her sister-in-law, Virginia Davis, agrees. The man they saw running from the Tippit murder scene is the number 2 man in the lineup—Oswald.
⁸¹²

Howard Brennan looks over the men carefully. He will later confide that he recognized the number 2 man, Oswald, immediately, but was afraid to say so.
⁸¹³
Brennan figures that the authorities don’t really need his positive identification anyway. It’s not as if they’ll let Oswald go if he doesn’t identify him. After all, the police are already holding the man for the murder of Officer Tippit. Brennan calculates that he can always tell police what he really thinks at a later date, when it really matters, and not risk endangering his family.
⁸¹⁴

Sorrels has Brennan move a little closer.

“I cannot positively say,” Brennan finally says.

“Is there anyone there that looks like him?” Sorrels asks.

“The second man from the left,” Brennan answers cautiously, referring to Oswald. “He looks like him. But the man I saw wasn’t disheveled like this fella.”
⁸¹⁵
(Of course, Oswald hadn’t yet been roughed up by the police during his arrest at that point.)

Brennan can tell that Sorrels is disappointed.

“I’m sorry,” Brennan says, “but I can’t do it. I was afraid seeing the television might have messed me up. I just can’t be positive. I am sorry.”
⁸¹⁶

The agent turns and makes arrangements for Brennan to be taken home.

I
n New Orleans, a telephone rings at the home of Abraham Plough, foreman of the mails for the U.S. Post Office at Lafayette Square Station. The caller is Postal Inspector Joseph Zarza, who wants Plough to come to Lafayette Square Station immediately to open up the premises. When Plough arrives, Inspector Zarza tells him that postal investigators in Dallas want him to retrieve the application form for post office box 30061. Plough flips on a light, walks over to the file cabinet containing the application forms, and within a few minutes locates the one in question.
⁸¹⁷
The form shows that box 30061 was rented to “L. H. Oswald” on June 3, 1963, and Oswald showed his home address as “657 French” Street. The box had been closed on September 26, 1963, with mail forwarded to 2515 West Fifth Street, Irving, Texas. Under the entry, “Names of Persons Entitled to Receive Mail Through Box,” Oswald had written the names, “A. J. Hidell” and “Marina Oswald.”
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*

Inspector Zarza calls Dallas inspector Harry Holmes and notifies him of the discovery.
⁸¹⁹

7:55 p.m.

In the third-floor hallway at Dallas police headquarters, detectives lead Oswald off the jail elevator and back through the crowd of reporters toward Captain Fritz’s office. Oswald tells newsmen that the only reason he is in custody is because of his stay in the Soviet Union, defiantly adding, “I’m just a patsy!”
⁸²⁰

8:05 p.m.

With Oswald again seated in Fritz’s office,
⁸²¹
FBI agent Clements continues his interview of the suspect, asking Oswald to provide the names, addresses, and occupations of relatives, as well as a sequential list of his own occupations and residences.
⁸²²
Oswald answers the agent’s questions readily enough, even courteously, although he doesn’t volunteer any information. Finally, on a perfectly innocuous question about his present occupation, Oswald balks.

“What started out to be a short interrogation turned out to be rather lengthy,” he complains. “I refused to be interviewed by other law enforcement officers before and I’ve got no intention of being interviewed by you. I know the tactics of the FBI. You’re using the soft touch. There’s a similar agency in the Soviet Union. Their approach would be different, but the tactics would be the same. I believe I’ve answered all the questions I’m going to answer, and I don’t care to say anything else.”
⁸²³
*

Nevertheless, when Clements ignores his complaint and asks the same question again—what his present occupation is—Oswald answers. At that, Clements terminates the interview.
⁸²⁴

8:18 p.m. (9:18 p.m. EST)

Alan Belmont, at FBI headquarters in Washington, is on the phone with Dallas special agent-in-charge Gordon Shanklin. The head of the Dallas office tells Belmont that he has made arrangements with Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth to fly one of his agents back to Washington with the rifle, cartridge cases, and metal fragments removed from Governor Connally just as soon as police release the evidence to the FBI.

“See if the police want us to make a ballistics test on the pistol that was used to kill Officer Tippit,” Belmont asks. “If so, have it forwarded for examination along with the bullets removed from Tippit’s body. If they don’t want to release the pistol to us, find out all you can about the make, caliber, how many bullets were fired.”

“Okay,” Shanklin agrees. “I also realize that it’s extremely important to locate and interview Oswald’s coworkers to determine his whereabouts and actions at the time of the shooting. This is being done as we speak.”

“Good,” Belmont says. “President Johnson has been in touch with Mr. Hoover and wants to be sure that the FBI is on top of this case and is looking to us to solve it. You understand what that means, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Shanklin answers.

“It is imperative that we do everything possible in this case,” Belmont says firmly.

“Understood,” Shanklin reaffirms.

To handle the number of leads pouring into the Dallas office and expedite the interviewing of Depository employees, Belmont tells Shanklin that he’s ordering an additional twenty agents, four stenographers, and ten cars to go to Dallas immediately.
⁸²⁵

8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. EST)

At Bethesda Naval Hospital, the three pathologists have rolled the president onto his left side and are examining the oval-shaped bullet wound located to the right of his spine and just above the right shoulder blade. Dr. Finck can see that the edges of the wound are pushed inward and recognizes the reddish brown skin around the margins as an abrasion collar, characteristics typical of entrance wounds.
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After taking photographs of the bullet hole,
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Dr. Humes probes the wound with his little finger, but finds that the bullet path seems to stop less than an inch into the hole.
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Dr. Finck attempts to explore the wound using a flexible metal probe, but after repeated attempts he can’t seem to find the path of the bullet. Afraid of making a false passage, Finck removes the probe and examines the front of the body. There are no corresponding exit wounds, only a tracheotomy incision in the front of the throat. Finck, Boswell, and Humes examine the margins of the incision, but cannot find any evidence of a bullet exit.

The doctors are perplexed. Where did the bullet go? Dr. Finck asks to examine the president’s clothing, hoping that it might give a clue as to what happened to the bullet, but finds that the clothing is not available.
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Dr. Finck then suggests that a whole-body radiographic survey be conducted before proceeding any further with the autopsy. All three of the pathologists know from experience that bullets can do crazy things when they enter the human body and might end up anywhere. The only way to be sure they haven’t missed it is to x-ray the entire body.
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Finck’s decision doesn’t set well with Admiral Burkley, who can see his idea of a quick recovery of evidence giving way to hour after hour of difficulties and delays.
*
Burkley says that Mrs. Kennedy had only granted permission for a limited autopsy, and questions the feasibility of finding the bullet that entered the president’s back without conducting a complete autopsy.

“Well, it’s my opinion that the bullet is still in the president’s body,” Dr. Humes tells him. “And the only way to extract it is to do a complete autopsy, which I propose to do.”

As tempers flare, Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman confers quickly with FBI agents Sibert and O’Neill. They agree that from an investigative and prosecutorial standpoint, the bullet must be recovered, no matter how long it takes. They advise Admiral Burkley of their position, but he remains resistant to furthering the probe. Admiral Calvin B. Galloway, commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Medical Center, steps up to break the deadlock and orders Dr. Humes to perform a complete autopsy.
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Now, to Admiral Burkley’s annoyance, they will have to wait more than a hour for the entire body to be x-rayed.
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A
t Dallas police headquarters, Captain Fritz ambles back to his office to face Oswald once again. The prisoner doesn’t seem to be tiring as the night drags on, although the detectives around him are beginning to feel the wear of the day.

Detective Elmer Boyd never saw a man answer questions like Oswald. He never hesitates about his answers. He shoots back an answer just as soon as the questions are asked, sometimes even before the questions are finished. Though most of the time he is calm, rather frequently his attitude suddenly changes and he gets mad, especially if he is asked something he doesn’t like.
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“Did you keep a rifle in Mrs. Paine’s garage in Irving?” Captain Fritz continues with his questioning.

“No,” Oswald replies, having apparently decided to answer more questions despite his earlier refusal.

“Didn’t you bring one with you when you came back to Dallas from New Orleans?” Fritz asks.

“No, I didn’t,” Oswald says.

“Well, the people out at the Paine residence say you did have a rifle,” Fritz states firmly, “and that you kept it out there wrapped in a blanket.”

“That isn’t true,” Oswald shoots back.
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Fritz lets the response hang there in the silence. He circles the desk.

“You
know
you’ve killed the president,” Fritz says bluntly. “This is a very serious charge.”

“No, I haven’t killed the president,” Oswald responds dryly.

“He
is
dead,” the captain says.

“Yeah, well, people will forget that in a few days and there will be another president,” Oswald replies, as if the day’s events mean nothing.
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8:40 p.m.

In Chief Curry’s third-floor office, Dallas FBI head Gordon Shanklin informs FBI agent Vince Drain that the FBI in Washington wants their Dallas agents to acquire the rifle found on the sixth floor, the revolver used to shoot Officer Tippit, and other various items, and bring them all to Washington immediately for examination. Drain discusses it with Chief Curry, telling him that he will personally stay with the evidence the entire trip to and from Washington to keep the chain of evidence intact.
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Personally, Curry doesn’t give a hoot what the FBI wants. This is a Dallas case under Dallas jurisdiction and the responsibility is his. Wanting to appear cooperative, though, Curry promises Drain that he’ll consider the FBI’s request.
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8:52 p.m. (9:52 p.m. EST)

The FBI sends a second Teletype to its fifty-five field offices:

The Bureau is conducting an investigation to determine who is responsible for the assassination. You are therefore instructed to follow and resolve all allegations pertaining to the assassination. This matter is of the utmost urgency and should be handled accordingly, keeping the Bureau and Dallas, the office of origin, apprised fully of all developments.
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8:55 p.m.

Crime-lab sergeant W. E. “Pete” Barnes makes his way through the throng gathered on the third floor outside Homicide and Robbery. The size of the mob there is unbelievable, and frankly, Barnes finds it disgusting. He can’t imagine how anyone can carry on an investigation properly with this kind of commotion going on.
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Barnes has been ordered by his boss, Lieutenant Day, to make paraffin casts of Oswald’s hands to see if there is any evidence that he has fired a weapon recently. Crime-lab detectives J. B. “Johnny” Hicks and R. L. Studebaker have come along to assist him.
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Also called a GSR, the gun residue test involves heating paraffin, a wax substance, to about 130 degrees. It’s then brushed onto the suspect’s hands and reinforced with alternating layers of bandage gauze. As the wax cools, it extracts from the skin particles of nitrates (acid elements in gunpowder residue that are deposited on the skin by the gases from a fired bullet), and these nitrates become embedded in the wax casts. The casts are then cut from the hands and sent to the crime lab for testing. There, technicians apply one of two chemicals to the casts to determine the presence of nitrates. A positive result will show up as a pattern of blue or violet dots.
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Barnes has been known to get exceptionally good paraffin casts, much better than some of the other detectives in his division. He once quipped, “The other detectives don’t get the paraffin hot enough. They are afraid they’ll burn the suspect, but I don’t mind if I burn the bad guys a little in order to get a good cast.”
⁸⁴²

Contrary to myth, the paraffin test is not conclusive for the simple reason that the two chemicals used by laboratories to test for nitrates—diphenylamine and diphenylbenzidine—will react to most oxidizing agents, including urine, tobacco, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soil, fertilizer, and many others. The list is so large that a positive nitrate result doesn’t preclude the possibility that the cause might be due to something other than gunpowder residue.
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Moreover, the mere handling of a weapon may leave nitrates on the skin, even without firing it.
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Because of their unreliability, paraffin tests have fallen into increased disfavor by law enforcement agencies in the United States.