Dale K. Myers - With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J. D. Tippit

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

Excerpts from: The Other Witnesses by George and Patricia Nash, reprinted with permission of The New Leader, Copyright October 12, 1964, The American Labor Conference on International Affairs, Inc. Excerpts from: Assignment: Oswald by James P. Hosty, Jr., reprinted with permission of Arcade Publishing, Copyright 1996 by James P. Hosty, Jr. Published by Arcade Publishing, New York, New York. WFAA-TV newsfilm courtesy of WFAA-TV, Inc., Dallas, Texas. Dust jacket newspaper collage reprinted with permission of The Dallas Morning News.

Copyright 1998, 2013 by Dale K. Myers

ISBN: 978-1-4804-5502-3

This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
www.openroadmedia.com

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND DOCUMENTS IN THIS BOOK

The photographs and documents presented in this book have been culled from the best available and in many cases, original sources.

All photographs and documents have been digitally enhanced for clarity, while taking care not to alter the content. In some cases, documents have been reformated to fit the page. These instances are noted as they occur.

Panoramic and composite images were created by combining two or more photographs or video images. Although some alteration was necessary to create these images, the overall scene as originally depicted remains intact.

All dimensional illustrations and maps were created by the author. Foliage, street signs, and other landscape details have been excluded for clarity.

Portions of the morgue photographs have been pixelated out of respect for family and friends of the deceased.

Dedicated to the defenders of truth

2013 Edition

Introduction

I n 1980, Lizzie Mae Peterson, J.D. Tippits mother, went to a movie theater with her daughters, Christene and Joyce, to see a screening of Coal Miners Daughter, the bio film about the life of country singer Loretta Lynn.

In an opening scene, Lorettas future husband, Doolittle Lynn (portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones) bets a group of miners that he can drive his jeep up a steep incline. Mustering considerable bravado, he manages to accomplish the difficult task amid the cheers of the men gathered below.

As he stood atop the hill and waved his cap to the crowd below, Mae leaned over to Joyce and whispered, Thats J.D.

To his family, J.D. Tippit was a funny prankster who loved cigarettes, cars and horses. He rarely drank, always seemed to have his sleeves rolled up, and loved the western-swing music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. His favorite was Dusty Skies.

Get along doggies were moving off of this range

I never thought as how Id make the change

The blue skies have failed so were on our last trail

Underneath these dusty skies

These aint tears in my eyes

Just sand from these dusty skies.

F or the Tippit family, this is a personal story. The murder of one so loved was devastating beyond words. It was difficult for many of them to find peace in the weeks and months after his death, in particular J.D.s mother.

One afternoon, Mae Peterson had a vision. She lay down to take a nap and was startled when her father, Alford Rush, who had died when she was five, and her son J.D. appeared to her. There was a peaceful, soothing feeling about their presence, she said, and they told her, Dont grieve anymore. It seemed as if a great weight was lifted from her shoulders at that very moment.

Other family members reported similar occurrences.

I was having a hard time with his death too, niece Linda Chaney remembered, and he came to me in a dream and winked at me, like he always used to do. It was very soothing, and I felt better immediately.

J.D.s younger brothers Don, Wayne, Edward, and Ron idolized him. For a long time, his brother Don dreamed about J.D. every single night.

Its tough, niece Linda said. You forget how painful it was; how much pain we went through until you relive all this. And to see Uncle Donnie get tears in his eyes just the other night some thirty odd years after the fact, it just kind of brought it all back.

P articularly painful were the allegations that J.D. was somehow involved in a conspiracy to kill the President or to murder Oswald.

After Uncle [J.D.] was killed, niece Carol Christopher said, you just wouldnt believe the people especially if they didnt know who we were that would claim that they knew something, or knew Uncle [J.D.] and would tell these big elaborate stories that were just the biggest lies .

Of course, anyone who really knew J.D. Tippit knew that the idea of him being involved in a conspiracy to kill anyone was preposterous.

The conspiracy stuff is so untrue, so totally unfounded, J.D.s widow, Marie, said in a rare 2003 interview. That was really difficult for me. Everyone that knew J.D. knew better. That part really made me angry. But we in the family know its all total lies.

People want sensationalism, J.D.s youngest son, Curtis, added. Moms been abused by conspiracy theories and tabloid publications, and as a result wouldnt talk to anybody about it for years. Too many people want to cling to a false history, believing my father was in on something with Jack Ruby, and went to meet him, and all this stuff. Really, its all kind of silly and funny. If anybody knew the facts, theyd see how false these theories are. But a whole lot of people thrive on it.

J.D. being involved in a conspiracy is laughable to say the least, his sister Joyce DeBord declared. It is laughable because that wasnt J.D. in any way, form or fashion.

Her husband, Alvie, agrees, Anybody that knew J.D. knew that he couldnt be involved. His personality just wasnt that way.

No, J.D. wasnt involved in any conspiracy, J.D.s boyhood friend Robert A. Junior Ward laughed. He was just a common man who knew only one way to make a living and that was to work for it and treat his fellow man like he would like to be treated himself. No, nobody will ever make me believe that J.D. was involved in any kind of conspiracy.

Perhaps the sharpest retort came from J.D.s life long friend and brother-in-law Jack Christopher.

Its pathetic to think that anybody could think that a working man like J.D. would be involved in any kind of conspiracy, Jack said firmly. I knew him his whole life and I know that he was not . So anybody that claims that he was involved in a conspiracy is just guessing, making it up, or writing a book about something that couldnt possibly be proved whatsoever.