“Oswald’s Summer of Secrets: New Orleans and the JFK Assassination” is the topic of conference in the Crescent City starting tomorrow October 16. Some JFK writers whose work I admire will speak, including Joan Mellen, Russ Baker, and Jim Marrs.
I won’t be attending.
The conference presents as fact something that I don’t think has been established factually.
Judyth Vary Baker, who says she was romantically involved with Lee Harvey Oswald in the summer of 1963, is presented in the conference program as “a former girlfriend of Oswald.”
This statement may be true. Baker did work at the Reilly Coffee Company in 1963 where Oswald was briefly employed. But it is not demonstrably true, and such a significant claim must be if we are to accept it and join in debate with the person making it.
A while ago, I asked Baker to provide corroboration and her response was unconvincing. Since then, I have see nothing that to prove that Baker’s story of romantic involvement actually happened. If there is such evidence, I would be glad to see it.
The conference participants are right that events in New Orleans in the summer of 1963 are critical to understanding the disaster that culminated in Dealey Plaza in the fall. To complicate that important discussion with Baker’s dubious claim is an invitation to distraction and disputation. I think the JFK Lancer conference in November will be more reliable and edifying.
Who is Juan Valdez?
Ed Haslam revealed awhile back that his mentor was his college professor who, it turns out was military intelligence.
Judyth Baker claims in her book she worked for the CIA but has never publicly said she ever quit the Agency and when she did quit.
Kris Milligan’s father was CIA.
Thank you.
I watched a few parts of the Oswald Conference live-streamed and was impressed with Ed Haslam’s presentation on Mary Sherman/Ochsner/JVB/Oswald/Ferrie
/cancer weapons etc. He showed slides of JVB’s signature and her distinctive initial “J” (before and after she met LHO in summer 1963) on various documents to evidence that it was JVB who initialed/approved his time cards at Reilly Coffee in summer 1963; and that for some reason these cards were not exhibits to the WCR. And, on another panel there was a female witness (did not catch her name) to LHO dropping off packages to Juan Valdez’s apt. in NO that same summer, who also appeared to back up JVB’s version of events.
Happy Birthday Lee Harvey Oswdld
Born New Orleans, Louisiana
October 18, 1939
Died Dalllas, Texas
November 24, 1963
Without bothering to deal with the Judith Vary Baker story – I reject it because unlike real whistle blowers – she cannot provide or lead us to any new documents or witnesses – but certainly something significant happened in New Orleans that summer that had a bearing on the assassination, especially if Oswald had anything to do with it as a pawn or Patsy. And we should take a closer look at what happened there that summer.
Jim Braden also lived there that summer, as did Marine buddies Kerry Thornley and Hidell. Oswalds distribution of FPCC leaflets at the Navy base instigated an ONI file on him that has not been properly evaluated, and the background of Oswald’s family and family friends who found him the apartment need closer scrunity.
The two Jack Martins also need a closer look at and the papers Oswald left with the New Orleans cop who questioned him has some interesting clues yet to be developed.
Is it true that William McClaney’s wife owned the Magazine St apartments?
Myrtle Evans and her husband are also significant players few have checked out
I agree that the Ferrie-Bannister network – as exemplified by the Arms Bunker Raid indicates those Yahoo Knuckleheads were incapable of pulling off the Dealey Plaza hit – but they could have contributed to the effort to frame Oswald.
Who wants to revisit New Orleans in the summer of ’65 to try to determine what really happened there?
Bill Kelly
Thanks, Jeff. I was hoping that someone would have the guts to say something about this.