Who Killed John F Kennedy?

 

I often ask my grandchildren what they would like me to write about. Usually it various cool animals like capybaras , snakes, and sharks. This time one of my grandsons, Dylan, who’s a history buff ask about who killed JFK. Not bad for a middle schooler eh? Since he’s all game for a good conspiracy theory also, I figured I’d try to give him the gambit. So this week, my Notes from Papaw will also be my weekly Musing. Hold on, here it goes.

A basic Google search will usually outline six or seven main theories.

1. The Lone Gunman

• ·       The Theory: Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, killing President Kennedy and wounding Governor John Connally. Jack Ruby killed Oswald two days later on his own initiative.  Source: The Warren Commission (1964).
• ·       It is interesting to note that a majority of the American public reject this theory.

2. The Mafia Theory

• ·       The Theory: Organized crime orchestrated the assassination as retaliation against Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s aggressive crusade against the Mafia.
• ·       Jack Ruby may have had ties to the Mafia.

 

3. The CIA/Deep State Theory

• ·       The Theory: Elements within the CIA or the broader "military-industrial complex" killed Kennedy because they believed he was soft on communism, planned to withdraw from Vietnam, or was going to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces" after the Bay of Pigs failure.
• ·       The CIA did withhold evidence that they had Oswald under surveillance.

4. The Cuban Involvement Theories (Two Sides)

• ·       Pro-Castro: Castro retaliated after the CIA made multiple attempts to assassinate him. Oswald’s trip to the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico City shortly before the shooting fuels this theory.
• ·       Anti-Castro: Cuban exiles, enraged by Kennedy’s refusal to provide air support during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, killed him for "betraying" them.
• ·       It would be hard to prove it if only individuals were involved.

5. The Second Gunman on the "Grassy Knoll"

• ·       The Theory: Oswald was not the only shooter. A second gunman fired from a,knoll in front of the limousine, supported by analysis of the Zapruder film showing Kennedy's head moving backward and to the left.
• ·       Source: The 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). The HSCA concluded that a "probable conspiracy" existed based on acoustic evidence suggesting four shots were fired, though that evidence has since been challenged.

6. The Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Theory

• ·       The Theory: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson conspired to kill Kennedy to take the presidency and avoid being dropped from the 1964 ticket due to impending corruption scandals.

7. “Friendly Fire” Theory

• ·       The theory that a Secret Service agent accidentally killed President John F. Kennedy posits that in the chaos immediately following the first shots fired by Lee Harvey Oswald.
• ·       Agent George Hickey accidentally discharged his own weapon, firing the fatal headshot from the follow-up car.
• ·       There was a subsequent cover-up to protect the reputation of the Secret Service.
• ·       Source: JFK: The Smoking Gun: A 2013 documentary based on the work of Colin McLaren, an Australian detective, which popularized the theory.

To be honest, I do not think we will ever know the whole truth. I kind of lean toward the Friendly Fire Theory, but mostly because I really don’t want to believe that our government would be so brutal as to plan something like this. We do know they are good at cover-ups.

It kind of comes down to something one of my sons said. If the government can do all thses things, there not a lot that any one individual can do about it. So my advice to you is:

1. Trust God’s plan.

2. Be the best person that you can be.

3. Shine the light of truth to everyone you know.

4. Try to leave everyone who meets you better that they were before you came into their life.

That’s all I have this week. Later!