Updates

ATLANTA (AP) -- Kerry Thornley, author of a book about Lee Harvey Oswald written in part before he was charged with assassinating President John F. Kennedy, died [in late November] of cardiac arrest. He was 60.

Thornley became friends with Oswald in 1959 when both were in the Marines in California. He began writing "The Idle Warriors," the story of a disillusioned Marine who defects to the Soviet Union, after Oswald defected.

He finished the manuscript in 1962 and was called before the Warren Commission. He testified about Oswald's apparent fascination with Communism. He then was hauled into court by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, who accused him of conspiring to kill the president.

Thornley's manuscript eventually was published in 1991 after gathering dust as evidence seized by the commission.

"I will fight anybody that argues with me about those three shots," Mrs. Connally told Newsweek magazine in its Nov. 23 issue. "I do know what happened in that car. Fight me if you want to."

The Warren Commission concluded in 1964 that one bullet passed through Kennedy's body and wounded Connally, and that a second bullet struck Kennedy's head, killing him. It concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman.

The Connallys maintained that two bullets struck the president in Dealey Plaza 35 years ago and a third hit the governor. Connally died in 1993 at age 75.

The Warren Commission concluded there also was a bullet that missed the car entirely. Some conspiracy theorists argue that if three bullets struck the men, as the Connallys insisted, and a fourth missed, then there must have been a second gunman because no one person could have fired four rounds from Oswald's bolt-action rifle so quickly.

Mrs. Connally says in Newsweek that personal notes she wrote a few weeks after the assassination reaffirm her belief of the number of shots.

She said the notes were meant to be a chapter of family history for her three children and grandchildren. After coming across them a few years ago, she began reading excerpts to small groups in Houston and Dallas.

Mrs. Connally wrote that after hearing the first shot, Connally turned to his right to look back at Kennedy "and then wheeled to the left to get another look at the President. He could not, so he realized the President had been shot."

Then, she wrote, Connally "was hit himself by the second shot and said, `My God, they are going to kill us all!'"

According to her notes, that was followed by the third shot that passed through Kennedy's head.

She wrote: "With John in my arms and still trying to stay down ... I felt something falling all over me ... My eyes saw bloody matter in tiny bits all over the car. Mrs. Kennedy was saying, 'Jack! Jack! They have killed my husband! I have his brains in my hand.'"

Friends,
The final schedule of events follows for COPA's National Conference this year in Dallas, November 20-22. All speakers listed are confirmed. If you have not yet registered for the event, now is the time. Full registration is $200 until November 15, then $225 through the event. Day registrations are possible at the event, sessions, and the Awards Dinner ($35). Hope you are able to attend. The Hyatt Regency still has some rooms available, but not at discount prices. For information, call 214-712-7268. Nearby hotels include the Paramount at 214-761-9090, the Adolphus, and the American Suites at the West End. The new Dallas Light Rail Line stops at the conference location, which is the Amtrak Station, 2nd floor, 400 South Houston Street in Dallas, just off Dealey Plaza.

OPEN QUESTIONS: JFK-MLK-RFK
5th Annual National Conference
Coalition on Political Assassinations
Dallas, Tezas, November 20-22,1998
400 S. Houston Street, Second Floor

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday, November 19
7:00 -11:00 p.m. - Early Bird Gathering - Hyatt Regency Hotel, near Registration Desk

Friday, November 20
8:00 am - 4:00 p.m. - Registration - 400 S. Houston, Second Floor, outside Grand Hall
8:00 am - 7:00 p.m. - Resources - Dealey Room
9:00 am -12::00 p.m. - Working Panels in Grand Hall, Pullman-B, Stationmaster and Club Car
12:00 -1:00 p.m. - Press Conference - Pullman-A
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Working Panels in Grand Hall, Pullman-B, Stationmaster and Club Car
6:00 p.m. - Reception, Cash Bar in Grand Hall
7:00 p.m. - Welcome -
Dr. Cyril Wecht, Dr. Gary Aguilar, Walt Brown, Ph.D., Phil Melanson, Ph.D., John Judge
8:00 p.m. - Panel I - The JFK Assassination - Then and Now -
Vincent Salandria, Esq., Josiah Thompson, Ph.D., Walt Brown, Ph.D.

Saturday, November 21
8:00 am - 5:30 p.m. - Registration - 400 S. Houston, Second Floor, outside Grand Hall
8:00 am - 6:00 p.m. - Resources - Dealey Room
9:00 -10:30 am - Panel II - Past Investigations - Pullman-A
Donald Gibson, Ph.D., John Williams, Ph.D., William Turner, Joan Mellen, Ph.D., Jim DiEugenio, William Davy
10:30 am -12:00 p.m. - Panel III - Historical Overview - Pullman-A
Mark Lane, Dr. Martin Schotz, Chris Sharrett, Charles Shively
12:00 -1:00 p.m. - LUNCH and COPA Board Meeting/Lunch
1:00 - 2:30 p.m. - Panel IV - The Martin Luther King Assassination - Pullman-A
Judge Joe Brown, William Pepper, Esq., Philip Melanson, Ph.D., Dick Gregory, T. Carter
2:30 - 4:00 p.m. - Panel V - Medical Evidence - JFK - Pullman-A
Dr. Cyril Wecht, Dr. Gary Aguilar, Dr. Charles Crenshaw, Brad Kizzia. Esq., Dr. David Mantik, Kathleen Cunningham
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. - Panel VI - Records Review Board - Accomplishments 8c [sic] Unlinished Work - Pullman-A
Judge John Tunheim, Dan Alcorn, Esq., Jim Lesar, Esq., Dr. Gary Aguilar, John Newman, Ph.D.
6:00 p.m. - Awards Dinner - Grand Hall
7:00 p.m. - Keynote Speaker (TBA) - Grand Hall
9:00 p.m. - Panel VII - Videotape Presentations - Pullman-A
Dr. Cyril Wecht, Brad Kizzia, Esq., James Johnston, Esq., John Kimsey

Sunday, November 22
8:00 am - 4:00 p.m. - Registration - 400 S. Houston, Second Floor, outside Grand Hall
8:00 am - 9:00 am - COPA Board Meeting / Breakfast
8:00 am - 5:30 p.m. - Resources - Dealey Room
9:00 -10:00 am - Panel VIII - Robert F. Kennedy Assassination - Pullman-A
Phil Melanson, Ph.D., Lisa Pease, William Turner, Lawrence Teeter, Esq.
10:00 -11:00 am - Panel IX - The Zapruder Film - Pullman-A
Robert Groden, Hal Verb
11:00 am -12:00 p.m. - Investigative Leads - Evidence & Suspects - I - Pullman-A
Steven Jones, William Kelly, Charles Robbart
12:00 -1:00 p.m. - Commemorative Event, Grassy Knoll, Dealey Plaza
Dr. Cyril Wecht, Dan Alcorn, Esq., Dr. Gary Aguilar, Josiah Thompson, Ph.D., Vincent Salandria, Esq., William Turner, Mark Lane, Dr. Charles Crenshaw, Walt Brown, Ph.D., James Lesar, Ph.D., John Judge, others
1:00 -1:30 p.m. - LUNCH
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. - Panel XI - The Future - Pullman-A
Dr. Cyril Wecht, Dan Alcorn, Esq., Walt Brown, Ph.D., Jim DiEugenio, James Lesar, Esq., John Judge
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. - Investigative Leads - Evidence & Suspects - II - Pullman-A
John Gooch, John Kimsey, John Judge
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Investigative Leads - Evidence & Suspects - III- Pullman-A
Stewart Galanor, Dr. William Truels, Art Snyder, Ph.D.
4:30- 5:30 p.m. - Investigative Leads - Evidence & Suspects - IV - Pullman-A
Russell McLean, John Armstrong

OPEN QUESTIONS - JFK, MLK, RFK
5th Annual National Conference of COPA
35th Anniversary of JFK Assassination
Dallas, TX - November 20-22
Hyatt Regency Hotel - Reunion Square

Speakers, films, latest research on assassinations

Conference Hotline (202) 310-1858
COPA (202) 785-5299 / 584-1021 (fax)
P.O. Box 772, Washington, DC 20044
email: copa@nicom.com

Contact: JFK Lancer, Debra Conway
949-699-2744 (tel) 949-699-2755 (fax) debra@jfklancer.com
Tom Jones, 888-259-6317 (registration line)
Conference Web Site: http://www.jfklancer.com/Dallas98.html

JFK ASSASSINATION EXPERTS TO MEET IN DALLAS

The 1998 Third Annual "November In Dallas" Conference, Awards Dinner and Remembrance Ceremony

November 14, 1998 (LINE)- JFK Lancer Productions & Publications is proud to present a JFK assassination research conference, "November in Dallas 1998," commemorating the 35th Anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: His Life, His Death, His Legacy. The Lancer Conference will be held at the Dallas Grand Hotel on November 19th-22nd. Four days of new evidence and analysis from the top assassination researchers open to the public. (ONLY $150 for adults, Banquet $20, Bus Tour $35)

Autopsy Technicians To Speak
One of the most anticipated dimensions of this Dallas JFK Conference is its session with the actual autopsy technicians, Paul O'Connor and Dennis David, who worked on the president's body at the Bethesda Navy Hospital. These technicians state they saw a huge wound in the rear of the president's head--a wound that does not show in the official photos and x-rays. A review of the ARRB medical document releases will be held by Doug Horne during this panel.

Experts Attending
The over 40 experts confirmed to present material include T. Jeremy Gunn, Douglas Horne, Mary Ferrell, Gaeton Fonzi, John Armstrong, Joe Backes, Tony Baltakis, Madeleine Brown, Chris Courtwright, Angus Crane, Glen Cressy, Charles Drago, George Michael Evica, Jim Fetzer, Steward Galanor, Ian Griggs, Larry Hancock, Carol Hewett, Russell Kent, Steve Jones, Connie Kritzberg, Anna Marie Kuhns-Walko, William Law, David Lifton, David Mantik, Russ McLean, Jim Marrs, Wallace Milam, Dale Myers, Martha Moyer, Brad Parker, Roger Peterson, James Sawa, Martin Schotz, Arthur and Margaret Snyder, Sherry Sullivan, Lawrence Teeter (Sirhan Sirhan's attorney), Josiah Thompson, Glenn Vasbinder, Hal Verb, Lamar Waldron, Doug Weldon, Nancy Wertz, Jack White, John M. Williams, and Bill Xanttopoulis. What a lineup!

Our special guest again this year is Kerry McCarthy, John Kennedy's cousin and family historian.Kerry has spent the past year getting to know our group and being of great assistance. Show her and the Kennedy family how much you care -- COME TO DALLAS!!

President Kennedy was assassinated 35 years ago on November 22, 1963 in Dallas Texas during a political trip. He was in the presidential limousine with his wife, Jackie, and the Governor of Texas, John Connally, and his wife Nellie. Today, a majority of people believe his death is a crime that has not been solved, nor truly investigated.

We believe in meeting in Dallas each year until this case is officially solved. Please plan to attend this anniversary conference today.

Thank you

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ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO THIS ALERT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: JFK Lancer,
Tom Jones, 888-259-6317 (registration line)
Conference Web Site: http://www.jfklancer.com/Dallas98.html

Bethesda Autopsy Technician and Officer of the Day To Speak
A featured event of this Dallas JFK Conference will be the appearance of Bethesda Autopsy Technician, Paul O'Connor and Officer of the Day, Dennis David. Both report facts at varience to the official version. O'Connor worked on the president's body at the Besthesda morgue and observed a huge wound in the rear of the president's head--a wound that does not show in the official photos and x-rays. David reports the arrival of the president's body in a black hearse at the rear morgue's entrance 15 or 20 minutes prior to the arrival of the Navy ambulance containing Jacqueline Kennedy and the president's casket at the front of the hospital. The ARRB's recent document release confirms David's observation. A review of the ARRB medical document releases will be held by Doug Horne during this panel.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After President Kennedy's assassination, an angry J. Edgar Hoover scribbled stinging remarks in the margins of an FBI memo detailing how agents had failed -- sometimes for "asinine" reasons, Hoover wrote -- to keep a close eye on Lee Harvey Oswald in the months before the 1963 shooting.

The FBI memo was among more than 400,000 Kennedy-related documents released [November 9] at the National Archives.

It has long been known that the FBI mishandled its pre-assassination investigation of Oswald, who had been watched by agents since 1959 when he defected to the former Soviet Union. But archivists say this is the first time they've seen the Dec. 10, 1963, memo containing Hoover's curt, handwritten remarks about how the bureau bungled the case.

The 11-page memo to Clyde Tolson, the No. 2 official at the FBI, was written by James Gale, who conducted an internal probe that revealed "a number of investigative and reporting delinquencies in the handling of the Oswald case."

The memo argues that based on Oswald's defection, his tendencies toward Cuban leader Fidel Castro and other details known to FBI agents, Oswald should have been placed on the FBI's Security Index, a list of people considered threats to public officials or national security.

The list is available to the Secret Service, which uses the information in its efforts to protect the president. FBI field personnel told Gale they did not think Oswald met the criteria for being on the list.

If Oswald had been on the list, law enforcement officials probably would have been more aggressive in checking his status before Kennedy traveled to Dallas.

"Certainly no one in full possession of all his faculties can claim Oswald didn't fall within this criteria," Hoover wrote at the bottom of the memo.

John Newman, a University of Maryland professor and former intelligence officer who has written a book on Oswald, said Hoover was angry because FBI agents in Washington, Dallas, New Orleans and New York all had been following Oswald's movements yet were "flat on their feet" in the weeks before the assassination.

"Hoover is saying in earthy terms the obvious: How could they have been so incompetent?," Newman said. "Hoover's written remarks make clear the level of incompetence and embarrassment of the bureau's handling of Lee Harvey Oswald."

Gale's memo cites several FBI missteps in Dallas.

FBI Agent James Hosty, who was assigned to Oswald in Dallas, said the bureau wanted to interview Oswald's wife, Marina, but didn't do it in March 1963 because Oswald had been "drinking to excess and (had) beat up (his) wife on several occasions."

Hosty said the Dallas bureau opted for a "60-day cooling-off period."

This is "certainly an asinine excuse," Hoover wrote.

After the cooling-off period, the FBI couldn't find Oswald or his wife. The pair surfaced a few months later in New Orleans.

According to the memo, Hosty said Oswald returned to Dallas in early November 1963 -- the month Kennedy was shot -- but that Mrs. Oswald still was not interviewed because the bureau didn't want her to think she was "being harassed or hounded because of her immigrant status."

"I just don't understand such solicitude," Hoover wrote.

In his memo, Gale suggests the bureau delay disciplinary action against any agent until after the Warren Commission released its findings on the Kennedy assassination.

Any leak to the public or media about the FBI taking disciplinary action against its own personnel would look like "a direct admission that we are responsible for negligence which might have resulted in the assassination of the president," Gale wrote.

Hoover responded: "I do not concur."

In mid-December 1963, Hoover quietly censured and placed on probation more than a dozen agents, including Hosty, for shortcomings in handling the Oswald case. (In his book on Hoover, author Curt Gentry wrote that in obtaining his personnel file years later, "Hosty discovered that his answers to Inspector Gale's questions had been falsified.")

Gale also suggested the bureau change the criteria for placing an individual on the Security Index "rather than take the position that all of these (FBI) employees were mistaken in their judgment."

Hoover disagreed again, writing: "They were worse than mistaken."

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