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Leming, Texas
On November 30, Stanley Moczygemba told the FBI that on the
first Saturday in October (the 5th) at 7 a.m., he picked up a
hitchhiker he thought was Oswald on Loop 281 in southern San Antonio
and drove him south to Leming, where Moczygemba owned a farm.
The hitchhiker did not have a wife or child with him. During the
28 mile drive south to Leming, this hitchhiker Oswald told Moczygemba
that he had recently traveled from Laredo to San Antonio but was
now returning to Laredo. Moczygemba said that the hitchhiker was
the same age as Oswald and was 5'8" and about 150 pounds.
He noted that *Oswald* was wearing a hat and a heavy coat much
too warm for the weather, and the coat was closed almost up to
the neck. (13)
Putting Together the South Texas Sightings
What are we to make of all these reports? Marina and Ruth Paine
have maintained consistently over the years that they did not
see Oswald from the time he departed New Orleans until he turned
up in Dallas prior to the October 5-6 weekend. Moreover, Rachel
Oswald was born on October 20, and in none of these accounts is
the woman with *Oswald* described as being pregnant. The descriptions
of the wife are not always consistent, and -- except for the radio-station
sighting in Alice -- the FBI reports on the sightings fail to
provide any information on the sex of the child or children. Finally,
under most circumstances, the varying descriptions of the age
of the child or children with our south Texas Oswalds do not appear
to match demographically with June Oswald.
So while Marina obviously was not running around southern Texas
in early October, can we just as easily discount the admittedly
remote possibility that her husband was there casting around for
a job with a phony family along for the ride? Do not the repeated
sightings of *Oswald* driving a car by themselves eliminate this
possibility, since the official story is that he could not drive?
Oswald the Driver?
At least on the latter question, I believe the answer is no.
British researcher Ian Griggs recently has published an interesting
analysis of the issue, *Oswald: A Driving Force?*, in John Kelin's
on-line magazine, Fair Play, and in the April 1997 JFK/DPQ Journal.
(14)
In addition to Griggs' work, we can look briefly at an additional
document I have located at the Archives. It is an internal Warren
Commission document from Slawson to all members of the staff which
reads, *We are beginning to uncover bits of evidence which indicate
that Lee Harvey Oswald may have been better able to drive a car
than we previously believed. If this is so, it is significant
primarily because he must have had a motive for keeping his ability
secret. Likewise, if Marina knew of his driving ability and has
failed to disclose it to the Commission she too must have some
motive for keeping it a secret.* (15)
Finally, I know that John Armstrong has uncovered some documentation
regarding motor vehicle division employees who claim to have seen
a driver's license issued to Oswald.
So if the driving issue does not clearly disqualify Oswald
from having been involved in the multiple early October sightings,
what about the official timeline so rigorously documented by the
Warren Commission?
The Official Timeline -- Placing Oswald on the Bus
The Commission concluded that Oswald, riding on Transportes
del Norte bus No. 373, crossed the International Bridge from Nuevo
Laredo into Texas at about 1:35 a.m. on October 3. Several passengers
said they remembered an American resembling Oswald being pulled
off the bus by Mexican immigration officials before crossing the
border. One passenger indicated that he overheard the man mumbling
complaints about the incident after returning to the bus. (16)
Another passenger was certain that Oswald was the *desgraciado*
(or disgraceful man) who rudely continued reading with his light
on after 10 p.m. while others were trying to sleep. (17) The Warren
Commission then writes that Oswald traveled from Laredo to Dallas
via San Antonio, on Greyhound bus No. 1265, substantially following
Interstate 35 for the entire trip, leaving Laredo at 3 a.m. and
arriving in Dallas at about 2:20 p.m. the same day. So they have
him on a bus, never leaving I-35 traveling through the area at
least half a day before any of these sightings begin. This conclusion
was based in part on the sale of Greyhound international exchange
order 43599 to H. O. Lee for $12.80, the price of a one-way ticket
from Laredo to Dallas, and the issuance of ticket number 8256009.
But Raul Tijerna, the ticket agent who issued the ticket on
the international exchange order, could not recall the specific
transaction and could not identify Oswald from photographs. (18)
The exchange order and ticket both were processed for latent fingerprints,
but no latent impressions of value were developed, according to
a memo from Hoover to the CIA. (19) Neither the bus driver from
Laredo to San Antonio, J. C. Robison, nor the driver from San
Antonio to Dallas, Ben Julian, could identify or remember Oswald.
(20)
Apparently only one passenger, Eulalio Rodriguez-Chavez, thought
he remembered seeing Oswald on the bus as far as San Antonio.
(21) During his June, 1964 statement to the FBI, Rodriguez-Chavez,
somewhat inexplicably still enraged at Oswald the *desgraciado*
for use of a reading light on a bus trip nine months prior to
the interview, at one point lost his composure and began crying
at length over Kennedy's death. After pulling himself together,
he told the FBI that he had concluded -- conveniently enough --
that Oswald was *a loner* simply because he did not associate
with other passengers at rest stops. (22) The Warren Commission
relies fairly heavily on Rodriquez-Chavez' June of *64 statement
in placing Oswald on the bus. But I have obtained several additional
documents from July of *64 which all but totally discredit Rodgriguez-Chavez'
recollections regarding his alleged bus trip with Oswald. Why
the WC decided to go with Rodriguez-Chavez' statement and ignore
these later documents is anybody's guess. It turns out that Rodriguez-Chavez
spent the lion's share of his time on the bus hitting on a woman
named Paula Rusconi. Rusconi did not remember Oswald at all but
certainly did remember the lovesick Mr. Rodriguez-Chavez. In fact,
she correctly pinpointed the location of their seats, something
he could not do. Ms. Rusconi also correctly pinpointed the arrival
time in San Antonio, while Rodriguez-Chavez, who sheepishly admitted
upon being reinterviewed that he also recognized Rusconi, was
just a little bit off in his recollection of the arrival time
* by about 6 hours! Rusconi thought it curious that Rodriguez-Chavez
had specifically remembered Oswald over the reading light affair,
since *. . . in fact many of the passengers left light on and
continued talking throughout the night.* FBI documents relating
to Ms. Rusconi's interview go on to conclude, *the details of
information furnished by Rodriguez indicated he may have had a
faulty recollection. .. It would appear that Rodriguez was either
somewhat confused or embellished his recollection of Oswald.*
(23)
And, of course, additional confusion about Oswald's travels
is provided by Mexican immigration records relating to the cancellation
of his tourist permit at Nuevo Laredo on October 3, indicating
that his method of travel was in an auto (and that his destination
was New Orleans, not Dallas). (24)
Official Timeline - Oswald's
Presence
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