Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. KennedyUnited States. Warren Commission
History
Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Subsequent events also reflect on Ryder’s credibility. In his
deposition, Ryder emphatically denied that he talked to any reporters
about this matter prior to the time a story about it appeared in the
November 28, 1963, edition of the Dallas Times-Herald.[C6-636] Earlier,
however, he told an agent of the U.S. Secret Service that the newspaper
had misquoted him.[C6-637] Moreover, a reporter for the Dallas
Times-Herald has testified that on November 28, 1963, he called Ryder
at his home and obtained from him all of the details of the alleged
transaction, and his story is supported by the testimony of a second
reporter who overheard one end of the telephone conversation.[C6-638]
No other person by the name of Oswald in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has
been found who had a rifle repaired at the Irving Sports Shop.[C6-639]
Possible corroboration for Ryder’s story is provided by two women,
Mrs. Edith Whitworth, who operates the Furniture Mart, a furniture
store located about 1½ blocks from the Irving Sports Shop, and Mrs.
Gertrude Hunter, a friend of Mrs. Whitworth. They testified that in
early November of 1963, a man who they later came to believe was
Oswald drove up to the Furniture Mart in a two-tone blue and white 1957
Ford automobile, entered the store and asked about a part for a gun,
presumably because of a sign that appeared in the building advertising
a gunsmith shop that had formerly occupied part of the premises. When
he found that he could not obtain the part, the man allegedly returned
to his car and then came back into the store with a woman and two young
children to look at furniture, remaining in the store for about 30 to
40 minutes.[C6-640]
Upon confronting Marina Oswald, both women identified her as the woman
whom they had seen in the store on the occasion in question, although
Mrs. Hunter could not identify a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald and Mrs.
Whitworth identified some pictures of Oswald but not others. Mrs.
Hunter purported to identify Marina Oswald by her eyes, and did not
observe the fact that Marina Oswald had a front tooth missing at the
time she supposedly saw her.[C6-641] After a thorough inspection of the
Furniture Mart, Marina Oswald testified that she had never been on the
premises before.[C6-642]
The circumstances surrounding the testimony of the two women are
helpful in evaluating the weight to be given to their testimony, and
the extent to which they lend support to Ryder’s evidence. The women
previously told newspaper reporters that the part for which the man
was looking was a “plunger,” which the Commission has been advised is
a colloquial term used to describe a firing pin.[C6-643] This work was
completely different from the work covered by Ryder’s repair tag, and
the firing pin of the assassination weapon does not appear to have
been recently replaced.[C6-644] At the time of their depositions,
neither woman was able to recall the type of work which the man wanted
done.[C6-645]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account