Conspiracy of One: The Definitive Book on the Kennedy Assassination

ISBN 978-1-5136-3486-9

© 2018 by Jim Moore

This digital document has been produced by Nord Compo.

Conspiracy Of One

For My Grandmother:

In her heart he still lived;

the Watchman of Honor

who did not sleep.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication Page

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction by Carl Henry

Foreword to the 2018 Edition

Chapter I - View from the Sixth Floor

Chapter II - The Blue Ribbon Inquiry

Chapter III - The Assassin Who Never Was

Chapter IV - At the Depository— The Physical Evidence

Chapter V - Man On The Run

Chapter VI - The Madness Begins

Chapter VII - Pictures Don't Lie

Chapter VIII - The House Investigates

Chapter IX - The President's Back and Neck Wounds

Chapter X - The Governor's Wounds

Chapter XI - The President's Head Wounds

Chapter XII - The Final Solution

A Note on Chapter Twelve

Chapter XIII - An Epilogue

Bibliography

Cahier photos

Preface

In another recent book on the Kennedy assassination, Texas journalist Jim Marrs asks his readers not to trust what he has written. Crossfire further adds the admonition not to trust any book written on the killing of the President.

I can understand the injunction when it is applied to critics’ [Throughout Conspiracy Of One I refer to the detractors of the official assassination story as critics.] books which, in my opinion, are filled with supposition and woefully light on cold, hard facts. But I can say with great candor that Conspiracy Of One is one book you can and should believe.

There are five reasons why. First, I have spent the last 23 years researching my subject. I am not a Johnny-come-lately to the assassination investigation. Additionally, my training as a historian allows me to view objectively the evidence and contradictions in this case and render a sound judgment on their relative value.

Second, I have no axe to grind. I began as a critic, and I have progressed through their ranks. The fact that I now believe the so-called official version of the assassination should indicate to even the casual reader that I have come full circle. I am, therefore, intimately familiar with the arguments the critics use and the methods they employ in their quest for public attention and personal gain.

Third, my book deals with nothing but evidence, while most others on the subject deal with nothing but innuendo. This is a universal truth; the evidence in this case does nothing but strengthen the lone-assassin theory. Critics are hard-pressed to ignore it, but ignore it they do; the aforementioned Crossfire contains less than half-a-dozen pages detailing the medical evidence in this case. The other 575 pages are filled with a sort of literary grasping at straws.

Fourth, I do not accept the government-sponsored version of the assassination in its entirety. I believe the assassination of President Kennedy was no more than we were told it was, but I maintain that the details differ greatly from the official version. Thus, this book is not a rubber stamp for the Warren Commission. It merely picks up where the Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations left off years ago.

Fifth, and most importantly, this book names names and produces evidence—something no Warren Commission critic has ever done. Since my final solution does not correspond to the Warren Commission version of what happened that day in Dallas, it is as novel as one that propounds a gunman atop the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza. The difference you must consider is that I have taken pains to prove each point I’ve made herein, while most critics substantiate their questions with more questions.

Considering Marrs’ injunction, that you not believe this book, I think it only proper to add a few injunctions of my own. First, that you readers approach Conspiracy Of One with an open mind. This is a critical initial step.

I cannot count the individuals who have talked with me as I worked on the Sixth Floor exhibit in downtown Dallas and suggested that, since I did not believe in a conspiracy, I was not in full possession of the facts. Equally numberless are the times I was moved to reply that, having spent some 23 years researching the subject, I felt in full command of the evidence and testimony. I daresay the individuals to whom this remark was addressed had spent significantly less time drawing their pro-conspiracy conclusions.

An open mind, then, should be my readers’ stock in trade. Quite plainly, there are very few individuals on the face of the earth who have more knowledge of the Kennedy assassination than I do. Unless you are one of those three or four, you owe it to yourself to keep an open mind as you begin this book.

If you find yourself unable to begin this book without a preconceived conclusion in mind, you have done two things. First, you have wasted your money, because nothing I say in Conspiracy Of One will make a difference to you. Second, you have cheated yourself, because the truth about the assassination is easily understood and accepted—if you are open-minded to absorbing it.

The second injunction I’d make is to ask you readers to read the book in sequence, as it was written. Reading The Final Solution first, for example, will only frustrate you because it relies on the previous medical evidence chapters as its base in fact. Take your time and be patient. You and I have waited 27 years for the answer to the crime of the century, and another few hours won’t matter greatly.

Third, realize that the critics of the Warren Commission Report have not done us any favors. Indeed, they have managed to convince the majority of the American public that their institutions of government are not to be trusted. Had Oswald escaped the Dallas police on November 22, 1963, and lived to shoot Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan, the damage would not have equalled what the critics have done to us during the past three decades.

Fourth, when in doubt, investigate. If you don’t believe me when I tell you that a Carcano cartridge case can be dented by inserting it empty into the rifle chamber, go out and find a Carcano and an empty cartridge and see for yourself. If you don’t believe that the so-called pristine bullet, Commission Exhibit 399, is not pristine but quite flattened at the base, go to the National Archives and look for yourself. In a word, do the work. Do not decry the truth just because you are unwilling to go and look for yourself.

And fifth, hold other writers similarly accountable. Reading Crossfire, for example, you’ll find this sentence: Or do you believe witnesses who saw a rifle fired at Kennedy’s right front and films that show the rearward fall of the wounded president indicating just such a shot?

Marrs should know that there are no witnesses who saw a rifle being fired at Kennedy from any place other than the Texas School Book Depository building. He also should know that there are logical, scientific explanations for the rearward movement of the President’s head after the fatal impact. If he claims otherwise, you should ask him to provide the proof. Perhaps the fact that he left the proof out of his book was just an oversight on his part.

You readers face a formidable task. I’ve given you five sound reasons why you should believe Conspiracy Of One, and asked you to pause to consider five injunctions before you begin to read the book. In a word, this book will make you work for the truth. However, it’s my belief that the truth is a valuable-enough commodity to deserve a bit of your effort on its behalf.

I wrote this book for a single reason—to rid myself of the obsession that has dogged me through every phase of my life since I was a child. With the manuscript finished, and most of the details done, I still cannot abandon the path I have followed for so long.

Unfortunately, there can be no sequel to the unvarnished truth, and hence, none to this book. I’ll keep digging, looking for additional proof that my final solution is really the most valid hypothesis that can be created. If I find something contrary to what I now believe, I hope that I have the fortitude to let you know that I was wrong. But that’s something I don’t anticipate having to deal with.

Much to the critics’ dismay, I intend to be a thorn in their side for a long time to come. Bringing the truth about President Kennedy’s assassination to light is a responsibility someone had to shoulder and that someone is me.

As Jack himself noted, I do not shrink from this responsibility, I welcome it.

– Jim Moore, Waco, Texas, Summer 1990

Acknowledgements

FOR ANY PROJECT OF THIS SCOPE AND MAGNITUDE, there are dozens of individuals to thank. Without their help, I can truthfully say that this book would never have been written.

Conover Hunt, the embattled Project Director for the Sixth Floor exhibit, has always been helpful and direct in guiding my research efforts. The time I spent working with her was well-spent indeed. Although she may not agree with my final solution to the assassination, I know that I will always have her as a friend at the bar of history.

Carl Henry is perhaps as patient and non-judgmental a researcher as any I’ve met. Always kind to me, Carl gave me much food for thought while I wrote this book. I appreciate his willingness to listen, and I admire his ability to withhold judgment.

Rick Lane, the Dallas box manufacturer who helped me begin the reconstruction of the corner window and the corner stairway areas in the Sixth Floor exhibit, has become a good friend and a great client. Rick fabricated the hundreds of boxes we used in the re-creation, and I admire his skill.

Lindalyn Adams and the staff at the Dallas County Historical Foundation have been most kind, even when the hour was late and the days hot and long. I appreciate their trust and belief in my potential, for without access to the creative sessions that actually formed the Sixth Floor exhibit, this book would not have become a reality. I especially want to thank Dave, Sheryl, and V’Ann for all they’ve done on my behalf.

For a decade and a half I’ve talked on a continuing basis with assassination witnesses and those closest to the event. Most have been unfailingly kind. I especially want to thank Phil and Marilyn Willis for inviting me into their home and for sharing their memories with me. Also, thanks to Marina Oswald Porter for our brief conversations. Many of the witnesses I talked to years ago have left an impact on me. I hope that, through this book, I have left their legacy to the world.

David Belin and John Lattimer were always willing to spend time with me on the telephone, answering questions about the assassination, the investigations, and the evidence. I deeply and sincerely appreciate their desire to help set the record straight.

The staff (my friends and co-workers) at Success Motivation Institute helped me past some of the hurdles I had to overcome in order to produce this manuscript. I especially want to thank Jim and Judy Sirbasku for their friendship, John Mills and Bud Haney for their guidance, and John Robison for his poor attempts at humor.

A special thanks to my secretary, Kelly Hlavenka, for placing and answering the dozens of calls during the preparation of this book. Her attention to detail was truly above and beyond the call of duty.

My parents, Bill and JoAnn Moore, have always been wise enough to encourage my rather unusual interests, even though it meant interrupting their personal lives. Though I haven’t always shown it, I deeply appreciate their support and effort.

If I could touch the Elysian Fields with the written word, I would give special thanks to my great-grandfather, N.O. Kenner. Not only was he the wisest man I have ever met, but he awakened in me the desire to always want to know more. Without the opportunity to know and learn from him, this book would never have been written. He was the first person to believe in me and my potential, and I miss him deeply.

This is not an easy book to publish in 1990. I am especially grateful to Mark Hulme and the Summit Group–my deepest thanks to Kirby Faulk, Starlette Pickett, Cheryl Corbitt, and the Creative Team.

These pages comprise the beginning and the end of my sentimentality. As my college writing instructor once told me, writing is serious business.

JIM MOORE

Introduction by Carl Henry

IT ALWAYS HAPPENED. On the sixth floor of the old Texas School Book Depository, as we worked on the Sixth Floor Exhibit, or over lunch at one of the area restaurants, Jim Moore and I were once again locked in thoughtful debate over topics pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

You could not find two more disparate points of view on some topics of conversation, or two that were more in line on other interest areas. Jim and I have had an ongoing discussion concerning the assassination of President Kennedy since the day we met in 1988 on the fifth floor of the Depository in the office of Conover Hunt, Project Director of the Sixth Floor Exhibit. Back and forth, round and round, over the last two years, Jim and I have examined every blade of grass and the twig of every tree in Dealey Plaza. From plotting out the location and angles of shots fired from the sixth floor window to standing (hopefully) in the exact spot where witnesses stood and trying to understand what they could (and could not) have seen, I have had the time and opportunity to come to know and appreciate Jim Moore.

When Jim asked that I write this introduction, I jumped at the chance because I believe that he and I share the same heartfelt concern. Over the past few years, objective rational research into JFK’s assassination has given way, has lost ground to, a highly speculative form of inquiry which has one feeling more and thinking less. Playing to the emotions, rather than to a balance of reason and emotion, tenuous relationships and far-fetched theory have become the foundation for truth, supplanting facts, common sense and reason. America! Don’t park your mind while your heart is running! Ask your questions, but think about the answers you receive. What we need to do is to go back and reexamine the basic points of contention in this case and be willing, as we investigate, to accept with our hearts what our brains tell us is truth.

As you read this book, I believe you will be challenged, as I have been, to think anew about the places, people and events of November 22, 1963 and to have your opinions altered by Jim Moore’s insightful research and writing.

Carpe Diem. Seize the day! Upon reading Jim’s manuscript, I was struck by the calm, lucid manner in which he skillfully unravels what has become an emotional Gordian knot—the assassination of President Kennedy. Nothing has so frustrated me as a researcher, over the last three to five years as the unprofessional manner in which certain individuals have tarnished the image of legitimate investigation into the late president’s assassination. By holding bi-monthly we’ve solved it media events, some have hyped wild claims which are made without a hint of concrete evidence to support one single assertion. Meanwhile, competent, serious inquiry is either brushed aside or ignored because it lacks sensational elements or because it runs contrary to the deeply held beliefs of others. The situation is reminiscent of earlier days when the government had similar reactions to researchers who challenged an official train of thought with a but or what about. . .. The pendulum swings.

It must be that to finally solve the case and answer the question as to what actually happened on that tragic day in November, 1963, we need the thoughtful, meticulous type of investigation offered through the efforts of researchers such as Jim Moore. If we are to know the truth, we must be willing to consider those facts which upon first inspection, we would mentally toss aside because we cannot or will not accept the logical conclusions to which they lead.

To be honest, Jim and I differ on a few points, but as a friend and colleague (and having worked together on the Sixth Floor Exhibit), I value Jim’s honest, open, probing type of investigation which forces me to honestly evaluate my own beliefs and prevents me from holding on, too tightly, to untenable positions.

I believe that as the years progress, we will find that what we had been looking for all along was within our grasp from the beginning and that researchers such as Jim Moore were the still, calm voices of reason in an age of sensational, accusatory screams.

Carl Alan Henry

August 28,1990

When Conspiracy of One was first published in the fall of 1990, it caused a media sensation. Here, at last, was a book that advanced the idea that the Warren Commission might have correctly identified the assassin of President John F. Kennedy after all. At that time, this was not a popular view. One radio talk show host introduced me as the only man in the world who believes Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I scarcely thought that was the case, but from time to time on the talk show circuit, I certainly felt lonely!

While the sensational conspiracy books and television programs continue to propagate alongside pro-conspiracy websites and YouTube videos, some very sober and reasoned examinations of the events of November 22, 1963 have also concluded that the central thesis of this book is correct: Oswald acted alone. I admit to feeling somewhat en vogue. After almost 30 years in the wilderness of conspiracy thinking, where speculation is rampant and absolute truths are hard to come by, feeling en vogue is almost comforting. Suffice it to say I have learned my lesson the hard way: Hell hath no fury like conspiracy addicts scorned.

One JFK conspiracy website contributor recently pointed out that I was only 31 when this book was first published. The contributor wondered online whether I’d become wise enough, with the passage of time, to repent the folly of my youth. I do not repent it at all. I think my conclusion is as valid today as it was in 1990.

Readers may not realize that Conspiracy of One was the first of a new genre. Two years after this book was published, Gerald Posner’s Case Closed appeared. Conspiracy of One was one of the most cited sources in Posner’s book. I do not share the widespread notion that Posner ‘borrowed’ liberally from my research; Gerald and his wife were friends of mine back in the day. In point of fact, other than the Warren Commission’s Report and the 26 volumes of exhibits and testimony, there was little else Posner might have borrowed from!

That’s all changed now, of course. Some months ago, I finished Philip Shenon’s splendid A Cruel and Shocking Act and Howard Willens’ excellent History Will Prove Us Right. The pendulum has swung full circle in the past three decades; researchers are gradually accepting the view that Oswald acted alone and are beginning to focus, as Gerald Posner did, on what might have motivated him.

Researchers like the late Carl Henry and I played some role in this tectonic shift. Now, more than 50 years after the Kennedy assassination, fifth- and sixth-generation investigators are responsible for making new arguments and moving them forward. The grueling work of discovery is now largely over; what’s left involves combing over Oswald’s time in Mexico City, New Orleans and Dallas to determine why the assassin did what he did and whether anyone else influenced him. As I mentioned to Vincent Bugliosi some years ago, those quests don’t interest me very much. To me, this sort of research pales in comparison to recreating the sniper’s nest in the sixth-floor window where Oswald sat.

To be truthful, I do not think much about the assassination nowadays. I wrote this book in an effort to