Oswald and the Hidell ID

According to the Warren report, Oswald was arrested carrying identification for two different names. One was for his actual name, Lee Harvey Oswald, and the other for the fictitious name, Alek James Hidell. The Hidell name was on a Selective Service card, with a photo of Oswald. We were also informed by the Warren report that Oswald allegedly ordered both the rifle and the revolver using the Hidell name, but had it delivered to his post office box in Dallas - which was under his real name.

The idea that Oswald would order the rifle and revolver under the Hidell name, but have them delivered to his Post Office box under his real name, is truly absurd and bizarre. Now obviously, the purpose of using an alias is to conceal the fact that he had purchased the weapons. So why in God’s name would he have them delivered to his P.O box? The simple answer is: He wouldn’t! Please refer to this post for further discussion on the rifle order.

I realise I have stated this before. However, I honestly think it is imperative I repeat it in this post. Now, if Oswald actually purchased the rifle and revolver under the Hidell name - and then used the rifle to murder the President, why on Earth would he be carrying the Selective Service card in his Wallet? It makes absolutely no sense. Although lone gunman zealots have used the testimony of the DPD Officers as proof that Oswald had the Hidell ID inside his wallet at the time of his arrest – there is every reason to believe this was an outright lie!

First of all, consider the fact that although Paul Bentley removed Oswald’s wallet from his left pant pocket en route to City hall – neither Bentley nor any of the four other arresting Officers mentioned the name Hidell in their arrest reports! In fact, when Bentley was asked during his interview on WFAA-TV, concerning how he had obtained Oswald’s name, he made absolutely no mention of the Hidell name. Also, when Sgt Gerald Hill, District Attorney Henry Wade, Captain Will fritz, and DPD chief Jesse Curry were interviewed by reporters on the day of the President’s assassination – they never once mentioned the name Hidell! Hill also failed to mention it during his radio interview.

However, what’s even more intriguing is that on the following day, Jesse Curry had informed reporters that the money order for the rifle bearing the name A. Hidell had been discovered. Yet incredibly, he again failed to mention that a Selective Service card bearing that name was found in Oswald’s wallet! This simply defies belief.   

When Oswald was taken to City Hall, he was first placed into an interrogation room with homicide detectives, Gus Rose, and Richard Stovall. The Officer who placed him there was Charles Walker. According to Walker’s testimony, he allegedly discovered the Hidell ID in Oswald’s wallet after placing him into the interrogation room. See below.

Mr. Belin.

After you got down there, what did you do with him?

Mr. Walker.

We took him up the homicide and robbery bureau, and we went back there, and one of the detectives said put him In this room. I put him in the room, and he said, "Let the uniform officers stay with him." And I went inside, and Oswald sat down, and he was handcuffed with his hands behind him. I sat down there, and I had his pistol, and he had a card in there with a picture of him and the name A. J. Hidell on it.

Please note, that by “Pistol” Walker surely meant wallet. He either misspoke, or the stenographer had misquoted him. Regardless of this error, Walker’s discovery of the Hidell ID was a lie. Bear in mind that Paul Bentley had claimed during his TV interviews, and in his arrest report, that he had obtained Oswald’s wallet en route to City Hall. Bentley was corroborated by Gerald Hill in his testimony. See below.

Mr. Belin.

Was he asked where he lived?

Mr. Hill.

That was the second question that was asked the suspect, and he didn't answer it, either. About the time I got through with the radio transmission, I asked Paul Bentley, "Why don't you see if he has any identification." Paul was sitting sort of sideways in the seat, and with his right hand he reached down and felt of the suspect's left hip pocket and said, "Yes, he has a billfold," and took it out. I never did have the billfold in my possession, but the name Lee Oswald was called out by Bentley from the back seat, and said this identification, I believe, was on the library card. And he also made the statement that there was some more identification in this other name which I don't remember, but it was the same name that later came in the paper that he bought the gun under.

Mr. Belin.

Would the name Hidell mean anything? Alek Hidell?

Mr. Hill.

That would be similar. I couldn't say specifically that is what it was, because this was a conversation and I never did see it written down, but that sounds like the name that I heard.

As we can see, Hill confirmed that Bentley had obtained Oswald’s wallet. However, neither Bentley nor Hill ever claimed that the wallet was turned over to Charles Walker once they arrived at city hall. In fact, Bentley claimed in his arrest report: “I turned his identification over to Lt. Baker”. The lieutenant Baker Bentley is referring to is T.L Baker, of the DPD homicide bureau. It is unclear exactly what Bentley meant by identification. However, bear in mind that both Bentley and Hill claimed the revolver was turned over to Baker. Hence, by all likelihood, Bentley was referring to Oswald’s Wallet and contents when he stated identification.

Unfortunately, Baker doesn’t confirm that Bentley delivered Oswald’s wallet to him. However, Baker claimed he identified Oswald to Fritz as “Lee Oswald”, and there was no mention of the name Hidell anywhere in his lengthy report! Incidentally, despite Walker’s claim of having Oswald’s wallet, he doesn’t mention this in his arrest report. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to believe that Walker was being truthful.

As mentioned previously, Oswald was initially placed into an interrogation room with detectives Gus Rose, and Richard Stovall. According to both of their Warren commission testimonies, they had Oswald’s wallet with the Selective Service card bearing the Hidell name inside of it. In the report by Rose, Stovall (and another detective named John Adamcik), they obtained Oswald’s name and ID when he was brought into the interrogation room. However, there was no mention of Hidell.

Rose informed the Warren commission that when he asked Oswald what his name was, Oswald replied that it was Hidell. See below.

Mr. Rose.

There were some people in the office from the Book Depository and we talked to a few of them and then in just a few minutes they brought in Lee Oswald and I talked to him for a few minutes?

Mr. Ball.

What did you say to him or did he say to you?

Mr. Rose.

Well, the first thing I asked him was what his name was and he told me it was Hidell.

Mr. Ball.

Did he tell you it was Hidell?

Mr. Rose.

Yes; he did

Although Rose claimed that Oswald told him his name was Hidell, Richard Stovall, who was in the interrogation with Rose, claimed Oswald told them his name was Lee Oswald. See below.

Mr. Ball.

Do you remember what was said to him and what he said to you?

Mr. Stovall.

I don't recall exactly--I went in and asked him for his identification, asked him who he was and he said his name was Lee Oswald, as well as I remember. Rose and I were both in there at the time. He had his billfold and in it he had the identification of "A. Hidell," which was on a selective service card, as well as I remember.

Now, there are a couple of problems with Rose’s and Stovall’s testimonies. Firstly, they were in the interrogation room together with Oswald. Rose claimed Oswald stated his name was Hidell, yet Stovall claimed Oswald said it was Lee Oswald. Obviously, they can’t both be telling the truth. Secondly, if Oswald really had ordered the rifle and revolver, why the heck would he inform them his name was Hidell – let alone carry the Selective Service card bearing that name in his wallet! None of this makes any sense.

Furthermore, both Rose and Stovall claimed they had Oswald’s wallet. Yet, as previously mentioned, Bentley most likely turned the Wallet over to Lt. T.L Baker. It’s also important to keep in mind that neither Bentley nor Baker claimed in their reports that they turned the wallet over to Rose and Stovall during Oswald’s interrogation. Combined with the fact that Rose and Stovall made no mention of the wallet or Hidell in their report – the most logical conclusion is that they were lying when they claimed they had Oswald’s wallet.

Based on the above information – there is absolutely no reason to believe Oswald had the Alek James Hidell Selective Service card in his wallet when he was arrested. It’s also important to note that FBI agent James Hosty (who interviewed Oswald along with FBI agent James Bookhout), didn’t mention the Hidell name in his handwritten notes. However, Hosty and Bookhout did mention it in their reports (although it could easily have been added in to their reports later). Captain Fritz also had knowledge about the Hidell name – but didn’t mention it in his notes until the day following the assassination!

Naturally, lone gunman zealots have no qualms about the lack of mention of Hidell in any of the aforementioned reports and interviews. However, they never explain why it was not mentioned – and simply take the testimonies of the DPD Officers at face value. In fact, what makes the lack of mentioning the Hidell name even more incredible (had the Selective Service card actually been found in Oswald’s wallet) is the fact that the name O.H Lee (which Oswald used to identify himself at his boarding house) was mentioned in James Hosty’s notes, T.L Baker’s report etc. Yet, the Hidell ID was not.

The final point I would like to make is that in 1963, Selective Service cards did not contain a photograph of the card bearer on them. Yet, “Oswald’s” did. As researchers such as Gil Jesus have pointed out, the card was obviously a fake to anyone who looked at. In fact, it served Oswald no useful purpose (aside from incriminating himself for the assassination). So yet again, there is no reason to believe Oswald would be carrying it in his wallet.

Now, if the Selective Service card was never in Oswald’s wallet, the obvious question is: Where was it discovered? The answer to that question is that it was found in a wallet at the Tippit murder scene. This is based on the recollections of former FBI agent, Robert Barrett. Barrett claimed that after he arrived at the Tippit murder scene, he was asked by DPD Captain W.R Westbrook, if he knew who Lee Harvey Oswald and Alek James Hidell were. Barrett also claimed that Westbrook showed him the wallet. Former FBI agent, James Hosty, wrote about Barrett’s allegations concerning the wallet in his book, Assignment Oswald.

The wallet was captured on film by WFAA cameraman, Ron Reiland. Reiland’s footage shows a uniformed police Officer (believed to be Sgt Calvin “Bud” Owens) showing the wallet to two plain clothed Officers (believed to Captain George Doughty, and Captain W.R Westbrook). See below.

Lone gunman zealots have naturally tried to dismiss Barrett’s story. For example, some such as David Von Pein have claimed that the wallet was actually Tippit’s. Others such as Dale Myers have claimed that Barrett was simply mistaken about when Captain Westbrook asked him about Oswald and Hidell. However, former DPD Officer, Leonard Jez, informed researcher Martha Moyer that the wallet at the Tippit murder scene contained ID for Oswald! Nevertheless, it is important we address these claims by lone gunman zealots.

First, let’s address the possibility of whether the wallet was Tippit’s. This allegation is based on Ron Reiland, who claimed the wallet was Tippit’s during his narration of the footage on WFAA-TV. Unfortunately for lone gunman zealots, Tippit’s wallet was accounted for at the Methodist hospital, where he was taken after he was shot. DPD Officer, W.R Bardin, filled an inventory sheet listing the items removed from Tippit following his death. One of those items was a black billfold aka wallet.

Secondly, as Dale Myers and others have noted, Reiland made a series of mistakes when describing the events following the assassination. For example, Reiland claimed the gun which Calvin Owens was holding with the wallet, belonged to Tippit’s killer. Whereas in actual fact, the gun belonged to Tippit. Now if Reiland mistook Tippit’s gun for the killers, then he should not be considered reliable. In fact, Dale Myers argued against Reiland’s credibility in his book, With Malice.

The final point I would like to make, is that there is no mention in any report or interview by DPD Officers that the wallet belonged to Tippit. Similarly, there is no mention in any report or interview that the wallet contained ID for Oswald and Hidell. However, is this supposed to come as a shock? Think about it. With a wallet already found in Oswald’s pant pocket, (and with Oswald arrested as a viable suspect for Tippit’s murder), the presence of a second would clearly indicate that Oswald was framed for Tippit’s murder.

Now, does anyone honestly believe that with a viable suspect already arrested, the DPD would allow any notion that Oswald was framed? Keep in mind that Johnny Brewer (who allegedly saw Oswald enter the Theatre looking scared) claimed he heard a Police Officer shout out to Oswald “Kill the President will you”. Julia Postal, the Theatre cashier who allegedly called the Police, overheard a Police Officer utter the words “I think we’ve got our man, on both counts”. Apparently, the DPD had decided inside the Theatre that Oswald was guilty for both the Tippit Killing and the President’s assassination. In previous posts, I also discussed the various lies by the DPD regarding evidence such as the palm print from the barrel of the rifle.

Therefore, the argument by lone gunman zealots that the DPD would not hide the fact the wallet at the Tippit murder scene contained ID for Oswald and Hidell, is simply a crock. Let’s now address the issue of whether Barrett could have been mistaken about when he was asked if he knew who Oswald and Hidell were. Firstly, Barrett was always adamant that Captain Westbrook asked him about Oswald and Hidell at the Tippit murder scene. Even Dale Myer’s acknowledged that Barrett’s recollection was consistent.

Secondly, there is absolutely no evidence that Westbrook had possession of Oswald’s wallet following his arrest. As I have mentioned previously, Paul Bentley indicated that he had turned Oswald’s wallet over to Lt. T.L Baker. Furthermore, no DPD Officer (including Westbrook himself) mentioned in their reports/testimony that Westbrook had possession of Oswald’s wallet at City hall. In fact, according to Westbrook’s testimony, the only evidence he observed at City Hall immediately following Oswald’s arrest was the revolver. He also made no mention of speaking to Barrett following his return to City Hall – but indicated he returned to the scene of the Tippit with Barrett, following Oswald’s arrest at the Theatre.

Based on the above, there is no simply no reason to believe Barrett had misremembered where he was when asked about Oswald and Hidell. Besides, as I previously mentioned, DPD Officer, Leonard Jez, also recalled the wallet contained ID for Oswald. Also consider this: Julia Postal informed an FBI agent during an interview (here, page 14), that one of the Officers told her inside the Theatre that the suspects name was Oswald.  

Obviously, the Officer couldn’t have known Oswald’s name since his wallet was removed from his pant pocket inside the Police car. However, if the wallet at the Tippit murder scene contained ID for Oswald with his picture, then the Officer would have known Oswald’s name. I should note that in her affidavit to the Dallas Sheriff’s Office, Postal claimed she had heard the suspects name was Oswald at a later stage in time. However, she could easily have had her affidavit altered to conceal this fact – just as numerous witnesses such as Roger Craig had their statements altered.

There’s also the issue of the three wallets which allegedly belonged to Oswald. As discussed above, one wallet was removed from his left pant pocket en route to City hall. Another wallet was discovered on a dresser at the residence of Ruth Paine. The third wallet was by all likelihood the one discovered at the Tippit murder scene. There has never been a rational explanation by lone gunman zealots concerning this issue.

Now let’s get real people. If it wasn’t the wallet found at the Tippit murder scene, then where did it come from? We know there definitely was a third wallet, because FBI agent James Hosty signed a receipt (dated 27/11/63) for a billfold (wallet), a notebook recovered from Oswald’s rooming house, and for one spent shell casing allegedly found on the 6^th floor of the TSBD. See here.

However, despite the claims by Barrett, Jez, Postal, and the receipt for a third wallet, there is still one important question concerning the wallet at the Tippit murder scene. Why wasn’t a dispatch broadcast over the DPD radio stating that the suspect’s name was Oswald/Hidell? Many researchers who have closely studied the DPD radio transcripts have concluded that they have been altered/edited. Hence, the broadcast of Oswald/Hidell could easily have been edited out of the transcripts. In my opinion, Tippit’s killer dropped the wallet into his patrol car, as he leaned into the car to speak to him (as witnesses by Helen Markham).

In conclusion, there is no reason to believe the Selective Service card with the Hidell name was found in Oswald’s wallet - and very good reason to believe it was found inside the wallet at the Tippit murder scene. The obvious implication of this is that Oswald was framed for both the Tippit killing, and for President Kennedy’s assassination. Unless we are to entertain the utterly ridiculous notion that Oswald was carrying two wallets on his person, and happened to drop one at the Tippit murder scene – thereby incriminating himself!

As I said before, Captain Fritz did have knowledge about the Hidell name, since he mentioned it in his handwritten notes. Fritz by all likelihood learned of the Hidell name when he received the wallet at the Tippit murder scene from Captain Westbrook. Incidentally, Fritz didn’t question Oswald about the Hidell ID - until the day following the assassination. But Apart from Fritz knowledge of the Hidell name, all the evidence indicates the Selective Service card bearing the Hidell name was not in Oswald’s wallet when he was arrested.