Nearly 50 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, numerous conspiracy theories still compete for attention. A recent study by the History Channel found that 85 per cent of Americans believe the assassination was the result of a plot against the president. Longtime Islander, historian and writer James Reston Jr. has developed his own argument in his new book.
Nearly 50 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, numerous conspiracy theories still compete for attention. A recent study by the History Channel found that 85 per cent of Americans believe the assassination was the result of a plot against the president. Longtime Islander, historian and writer James Reston Jr. has developed his own argument in his new book to be released next month, The Accidental Victim: JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, and The Real Target in Dallas.
Conspiracy theories imply that some organized body enlisted Mr. Oswald to do their dirty work, but Mr. Reston says Mr. Oswald is an unlikely hired gun. “No formal government would ever rely on such a person,” he said in an interview with the Gazette, pointing to the extreme volatility of Mr. Oswald’s nature and lack of expertise as a sharpshooter.
Mr. Reston found the explanations of the Warren Commission, the presidential panel charged with investigating the assassination, unconvincing. According to a summary of the Warren Commission’s findings, the official opinion did not arrive at a “definitive determination of Oswald’s motives,” and instead pointed to a host of factors, including a “deep-rooted resentment of all authority” a “capacity for violence,” and an “urge to try to find a place in history.”
“It’s time for historians to stand up and say what are the facts here,” Mr. Reston said.
The accidental theory was first suggested by Mr. Oswald’s wife, Marina, and Texas Sen. Ralph Yarborough, but it is not a widely accepted one. As Mr. Reston explains, the notion that such a grand act may have had a comparatively petty motive is a tough sell to the American people.
“For the country to have lost its president in the greatest crime of the century, when the commander-in-chief might have been an incidental or accidental target, was an irony too grotesque to contemplate,” he writes.
Mr. Oswald did not hate JFK, Mr. Reston insists. In fact, there is evidence that he liked and even admired the president, as did his wife. But he did harbor a deep personal resentment towards then-Texas governor, John Connally, who was seated in front of Mr. Kennedy and was wounded during the assassination. Mr. Osward had appealed to the governor to reverse his dishonorable discharge from the Marine Corps, but was ignored in what Mr. Reston calls, “a classic bureaucratic brushoff,” that profoundly injured Mr. Oswald’s faith in authority.
Mr. Reston “sniffed out” a new angle on the assassination during his research for a biography of John Connally called The Lone Star, published in 1989. While writing that book he learned of Mr. Oswald’s letter to Mr. Connally, a plea to a fellow Texan to restore his honorable discharge. Mr. Oswald had served in the Marines for three years, but had left the ranks in order to seek Russian citizenship. When he returned to the United States, Mr. Oswald, a poor speller who only completed the ninth grade, had only his honorable discharge to prove his worth to employers. When this was taken away from him without a hearing, he was devastated. This anger, targeted at Mr. Connally, fueled the assassination, Mr. Reston argues, with the intended victim being the governor and not the president.
The second part of Mr. Reston’s theory relies on the five-second interval between gun shots fired, in which Mr. Kennedy remained upright, while Mr. Connally writhed in pain, ducking out of the line of fire. Mr. Kennedy suffered chronic back pain and wore a Scarlett O’Hara-style corset every day to maintain his youthful image. During the assassination, he was unable to react to the shots because the corset rendered his midsection immobile.
“My theory is that he was basically mummified,” by his corset and overlaying ACE bandages, Mr. Reston said. Mr. Oswald continued to fire not because he necessarily wished to murder the president, but due to a theory called the motor program, which suggests that once a gunman begins to shoot, he may have difficulty stopping. After the initial shot, Mr. Connally ducked out of the line of fire, and Mr. Kennedy remained his sole target, so he suffered the worst wounds.
“Once, in those terrible seconds, he began to execute his plan to murder, he could not distinguish between Connally and Kennedy; he could only keep firing,” Mr. Reston writes.
Mr. Reston visited the National Archives in Maryland to view the corset, an experience he documents in the final pages of the book.
Mr. Reston’s work on this book began a year ago when he was interviewed for a History Channel program that will air in November. His fascination with human motivation may have something to do with his career as a novelist, he said.
“It has always interested me how people go beyond complaint and anger to violence,” he said. “There had to be something deeply emotional and personal there.”
Mr. Reston also served three years in the military, and his own honorable discharge from the Army meant a great deal to him.
At the time of the assassination, Mr. Reston was working for then-Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, a champion of conservation initiatives and national parks. Mr. Udall was away in Japan that November, so Mr. Reston, then 22, watched Walter Cronkite’s famous televised announcement in Mr. Udall’s office.
The Accidental Victim will be released officially on Sept. 9, just over two months before the 50th anniversary of the Nov. 22 assassination.
“It’s important to leave the 50th anniversary with the facts,” Mr. Reston said.
On Sept. 10, he will step “into the lion’s den,” with a reading in Dallas.
“Dallas, I am told, is still overwhelmed by guilt,” he said.
Comments
I appreciate your years of
Keith Duff Allentown, NJI appreciate your years of newspaper editing and quality writing. I think you've got too much free time on your hands; this is, as a plot, a REAL stretch. If Qswald wanted to assassinate the Governor, he would not have waited until Connally was in a Presidential motorcade hundreds of yards away.
If Lee Harvey Oswald was
Budster1949 SF Bay AreaIf Lee Harvey Oswald was really up in that window and aiming to kill John Connally he would have taken the shot when the limousine was moving directly toward the Texas School Book Depository along Houston Street, before it turned left on Elm Street. It was a clear shot at Connally, sitting in front and to JFK's left. Moreover, the limo had to slow considerably to make the hairpin turn onto Elm. Once on Elm Street, there was a tree in the way for several seconds and the limo was moving away. Reston has not discovered a new theory. This very scenario was considered and discarded in 1963. Even the Warren Commission realized it was ridiculous, and given their report, it's clear that their "ridiculous" filter was pretty porous.
"I no longer believe that we
Mary Tracy"I no longer believe that we were able to conduct an appropriate investigation of the [Central Intelligence] Agency and its relationship to Oswald.... I do not believe any denial offered by the Agency on any point. The law has long followed the rule that if a person lies to you on one point, you may reject all of his testimony.... We now know that the Agency withheld from the Warren Commission the CIA-Mafia plots to kill Castro. Had the commission known of the plots, it would have followed a different path in its investigation.... We also now know that the Agency set up a process that could only have been designed to frustrate the ability of the committee in 1976-79 to obtain any information that might adversely affect the Agency. Many have told me that the culture of the Agency is one of prevarication and dissimulation and that you cannot trust it or its people. Period. End of story. I am now in that camp." --Robert Blakey, staff director and chief counsel for the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations, statement from 2003
Our corporate media will
Mary TracyOur corporate media will
promote any theory to absolve
the obvious prime suspect in the
assassination -- the CIA.
The most important clue to
mark crane bronx, nyThe most important clue to the JFK assassination can be found in this Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMuF1u94cic
More likely it was a contract
Dee Ouchman Isles of LangerhansMore likely it was a contract hit by Lady Bird.
Glad to see some quality
o joyner new orleansGlad to see some quality crime fiction coming out of the Island besides all those stupid Vineyard murder mysteries.
The most blatant and
farmer5 chilmarkThe most blatant and pertinent clue to who really assasinated JFK can be found in the few words uttered by Lee Oswald after his arrest when he pointed a finger clearly at the responsible party; "I'm just the patsy".
All we really know for
John Somewhere-in-the-Middle, USAAll we really know for certain about the assassination is that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the trigger man.....
Except for that part where he
Iman AzolExcept for that part where he pulled the trigger.
John. F. Kennedy's
Gerry Segal New York, NYJohn. F. Kennedy's assassination happened 50 years ago and a majority of Americans do not believe The Warren Commission Report. After 50 years of denials, free the files.
"Sunny Day in Dallas" - Gerry Segal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRH7qTLzxvU
www.gerrysegal.com
JFK had so many,upon many
Brian Somewhere in TxJFK had so many,upon many agencies and people that genuinely hated him and wanted him gone...and your pointing your finger at Oswald?
When are people going to give
SteveWhen are people going to give themselves a proper education about the facts of this Assassination, in order to gain a proper insight into what actually occurred on November 22nd 1963, which is that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated JFK himself and no conspiracy was involved.
That is an irrefutable fact of history. One can pen as many conspiracy books as possible and none of those fantasy orientated books, can change that fact. These books are aimed at naive and gullible individuals who have difficulty separating fact from fiction. The authors of these books also belong in this category. The evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK alone and without a conspiracy is overwhelming. Read the Warren Commission Report. Gerald Posner's "Case Closed". Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History". A special message to conspiracy advocates : Stop confusing fact with fiction. Make sure that you can differentiate the facts of this case from misinformation and disinformation. Stop distorting facts in order to justify your own false and misleading fantasy's. Oh, a UFO did not land in Roswell in 1947. Bigfoot does not exist. The Loch Ness Monster is not real. There was no conspiracy from the homeland involved in 9 11. Ghosts do not exist. God does not exist. Fairies do not exist. Yes the moon landings were not faked, etc etc. And last but not least "THERE WAS NO CONSPIRACY INVOLVED TO ASSASSINATE JFK IN 1963. LEE HARVEY OSWALD WAS THE LONE GUNMAN WHO CARRIED OUT THIS HEINOUS CRIME.
Maxine, Georgia
Maxine GeorgiaMaxine, Georgia
Steve, in your following statement: "THERE WAS NO CONSPIRACY INVOLVED TO ASSASSINATE JFK IN 1963. LEE HARVEY OSWALD WAS THE LONE GUNMAN WHO CARRIED OUT THIS HEINOUS CRIME. Steve, according to the polls most Americans believe that there was a conspiracy to kill JFK and that Lee Harvey Oswald did not kill our President or Police Office Tippit Novenmer 22, 1963. Here is a quote worth thinking about: I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance. Socrates
November 3, 2013 - 4:44pm
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It doesn't matter what most
Iman AzolIt doesn't matter what most Americans believe. What matters are the facts.
Oswald shot Kennedy. The end.
Congratulations Mr. Reston
Mrs. N. USACongratulations Mr. Reston for getting it right. This is not just a theory; it is the truth. Oswald was never after Kennedy...he was after Governor Connelly. Oswald had nothing against Kennedy. His wife more than confirmed this; in fact, they admired him. Oswald wrote to Connelly, who was Governor of Texas, pleading and requesting that he reverse his "dishonorable discharge." Oswald did not deserve that, just because he wanted to go to Russia. Connelly was bad news and would not reverse the decision. Connelly ruined his life as a result. Oswald hated him for that. Oswald kept repeating that he did not shoot the President; he never wanted to do that. He was out for Connelly. Oswald was able to go into the Book Depository Building easily because he worked there. They also just released unquestionable evidence that there were three bullets that day. Oswald was not a very skilled gunner and his gun was not the greatest, either. The first bullet, which came from Oswald's gun missed completely and delivered debris near the Kennedy motorcade car. Kennedy had stated in the car, "I think I was hit." The second bullet, also from Oswald's gun, did hit both Kennedy and Connelly. But that bullet did not kill either of them. The third bullet, was a different type, and did not come from Oswald's gun. That third and different type of bullet came from a gun held by one of the Secret Service Agents, which accidentally went off, hitting Kennedy in the head. That was the bullet that killed the President. This was the cover-up that they did not want anyone to know about. This is why the Secret Service did not allow an autopsy in Dallas and they brought the body immediately back to Washington, DC.
Mrs. N you are 100% correct.
Lindsay Long Springfield, MOMrs. N you are 100% correct. The agent who shot Kennedy is still alive or I would print. Have researched this for years. Also, that is why the time sequence and the shots fired do not ring true in the Zapruder film clip. Marina and Lee admired Kennedy. Oswald hated Connelly with a passion for the Dishonerable discharge. Where is the motive for Oswald to shoot at Kennedy? Lone nut? I do not think so. Detectives, where were you in murder 101 at crime school. duhhh.
One of the things that struck
Michael Rinella Albany, NYOne of the things that struck me while editing George de Mohrenschildt's unpublished memoir (published as Lee Harvey Oswald as I Knew Him on November 9) was his emphasis on Lee Oswald's lack of hatred for Kennedy and loathing for Connally. This point of view is also repeated in the interviews he and his wife Jeanne gave Dutch journalist Willem Oltmans, details of which may be found in Oltmans own memoirs.
In the 'fictional' film 'The
Donald King St Albans, EnglandIn the 'fictional' film 'The Parallax View', conspirators fail to assassinate one of the contenders in an important election, so they then assassinate his opponent. Lee Harvey Oswald failed to kill Edwin Walker - the following year he almost killed John Connally. Both men had contested the Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas.
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