Harvey & Lee Home Page

HARVEY AND LEE

John Armstrong's Documented History of the CIA's "Oswald Project"

Website created March 9, 1999 and last updated November 25, 2024 by Jim Hargrove

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald

photographed by his brother, Robert Oswald, in Texas in
1958 and printed between pages 96-97 in Robert's book LEE, A Portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald. when he appeared at the Cuban Consulate in Mexico City in Sept. 1963. The Cuban Government provided this photo to the HSCA. when he visited the Russian Embassy in Mexico City in Sept. 1963. The CIA provided this photo of "Lee Harvey Oswald" to the FBI on 11/23/63. in Dallas Police custody two days after the assassination of JFK and officer Tippit. The accused assassin was shot dead by Jack Ruby, who formerly supplied guns to Cuba.

According to the Warren Commission "Lee Harvey Oswald" acted alone in killing President Kennedy, wounding Texas Governor John Connally, and murdering Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. But which Oswald?

In 1964 The New York Times quoted Chief Justice Earl Warren as saying, "Full disclosure was not possible for reasons of national security." But if "Lee Harvey Oswald" was the lone gunman and if he was not a government agent and if there was no conspiracy, then please tell us, Mr. Chief Justice, why cover up Oswald's background for reasons of National Security? Because full disclosure concerning the creation and use of multiple "Lee Harvey Oswalds" would expose the US government agency responsible for the creation of the man accused of killing President Kennedy.

Warren Commission member Senator Richard Russell said, "We haven't been told the truth about Oswald." Russell asked former Army Intelligence officer Colonel Phillip James Corso to conduct a discreet inquiry into the assassination. Corso reported back to Senator Russell that there were two birth certificates in the name of Lee Harvey Oswald and they had been used by two different people. Corso cited his sources as Francis Knight, head of the US Passport Office in Washington, DC, and William 0. Sullivan, head of the FBI's Domestic Intelligence Division. Russell came to the conclusion the assassination was a project of rogue CIA agents working with anti-Castro Cubans.

In 1978 former CIA accountant James B. Wilcott swore under oath before the House Select Committee on Assassinations that Lee Harvey Oswald was a "regular employee" of the Central Intelligence Agency, and that Oswald received "a full-time salary for agent work for doing CIA operational work." Wilcott testified that he was told by other CIA employees that money he had personally disbursed to an encrypted account (RX-ZIM) was for "the Oswald project or for Oswald." Wilcott's testimony was kept secret for decades, but can now be read in full by clicking on this link.

In 1996 former Deputy Counsel for the House Select Committee on Assassinations Robert Tanenbaum testified at the ARRB hearing in Los Angeles by saying, "the Attorney General of Texas, Henry Wade the District Attorney and Leon Jaworsky counsel to the Attorney General, on the transcript spoke to the Chief Justice and said in substance, as I recall, that they had information from unimpeachable sources that Lee Harvey Oswald was a contract employee of the CIA and the FBI." (Click here for full testimony.)

JFK researcher John Armstrong has shown how the Federal Bureau of Investigation handed the Warren Commission documents creating a fable for public consumption about the Central Intelligence Agency's "Oswald Project." The fictional portrait of "Lee Harvey Oswald" that finally appeared in the Warren Commission Report combined the biographies of two young people, Russian-speaking HARVEY Oswald and American-born LEE Oswald. The Russian speaking youth, possibly of Hungarian parents, was brought to the U.S. following World War II and given the name HARVEY Oswald. HARVEY was of small stature, quiet, slightly malnourished, and lived with a short, heavy-set impostor who was given the name "Marguerite Oswald" but seldom smiled. New Orleans born LEE Oswald was tall, husky, and athletic. As a youth LEE lived with half-brother John Pic, brother Robert Oswald, and his tall, nice-looking mother, Marguerite Claverie Oswald. A program created by US intelligence merged the identities of Russian-speaking HARVEY and American-born LEE Oswald. The result, ten years later, was a young Russian-speaking HARVEY who now had an American background and a birth certificate with the name "Lee Harvey Oswald." HARVEY was an ideal candidate to “defect” to the Soviet Union and work as an undercover agent who secretly understood the Russian language. HARVEY “defected” and two years later returned to America with a Russian wife and child. A year later this former “defector” was handing out literature in support of Castro and Cuba. Unknown to HARVEY, he had been chosen as the ideal candidate to frame for the assassination of President Kennedy. In the late summer and fall of 1963 LEE Oswald surreptitiously impersonated HARVEY and began setting him up as a "patsy" who was the assassin of President Kennedy. The photos below show images of LEE and HARVEY from 1952 thru 1963. The last photo has been cut in half to show this is a composite image. The left half of this photo shows Lee; the right half of this photo is Harvey. With this photo the same ID card could be used by both Oswalds.

Place mouse pointer on each image above for more information (do not click). American-born Lee Oswald is shown in the top row of photos above. Russian-speaking Harvey Oswald is in the bottom row. The 1959 photos were taken just eight days apart. The image at far right is from the U.S. Dept. of Defense ID card issued to "Lee Harvey Oswald" on 9/11/59. The photo has been cut in half here to show that it is a composite image. The left half shows Lee; the right half, Harvey. The same ID card could be used by both Oswalds.

John Armstrong began investigating Lee Harvey Oswald about forty years ago, in the early 1990s. He soon realized there were many, many discrepancies concerning Oswald's height, weight, eye color, scars, medical records, school records, military records, photographs, etc. For example, the WC said that Oswald was placed in the Youth House in NYC for truancy in 1953, but a quick look at Oswald's school records for the spring semester of 1953 shows that he attended PS #44 in New York City full time with very few absences. The WC published Oswald's New York City school records (PS #44) for the entire fall semester of 1953. The WC also published a school record that showed Oswald attended Beauregard Junior High School in New Orleans at the same time, during the entire fall semester of 1953. John Armstrong discovered that during the decade between 1953 and 1963 a vast number of overlapping records, documents and photographs expose the activities of two different young men--one using the name LEE Harvey Oswald and another using the name HARVEY Oswald. Following are year by year examples:

DATE	LEE OSWALD	HARVEY OSWALD
1953, fall semester	Lee attends Public School 44 (PS44) in New York City	Harvey attends Beauregard Junior High School in New Orleans and lives at 126 Exchange
1954	Lee and his mother live at 1454 St. Marys in New Orleans, then move to 1452 St. Marys.	Harvey and the Marguerite Oswald impostor live at 126 Exchange; in fall they move to 2220 Thomas Place, Fort Worth
1955, spring	Lee is in the 9th Grade at Beauregard JHS and living at 126 Exchange; he begins work at Tujague's in June in June	Harvey works full time at Dolly Shoe in February (fired by Louis Marzialle in April); attends Warren Easton HS in fall, address unknown
1956	Lee's mother is living at 3830 W. 6th St. in Ft. Worth, TX	On July 1, Harvey, Robert, and the Marguerite Oswald impostor are living at 4936 Collinwood
1957	Lee joins Student Squadron 3383 at Radar School in Biloxi, MS. His mother is living at 3830 W. 6th St. in Fort Worth, TX	Harvey is at the same Radar School, but in Student Squadron 3386; in October he begins work at Pfisterer's in New Orleans
1958	Lee is in Japan; his mother is at 3830 W. 6th St. in Fort Worth.	Harvey quits working at Pfisterer Dental Lab in June; is in Taiwan in Sept.
1959	Lee is with CIA sponsored anti-Castro guerilla groups in LA and FL; mother is working at Kriegers Dept. Store in New Orleans	Harvey is at Santa Ana, CA thru Sept. and "defects" to the Soviet Union in October
1960 and 1961	Lee visits Bolton Ford in New Orleans and asks about purchasing trucks to send to Cuba; mother is in New Orleans	While Harvey is still in Russia, FBI director Hoover writes a memo stating someone may be impersonating Oswald
1962	Lee visits Texas Employment Commission in April (XIX, p. 399)	Harvey is still in the Soviet Union, now with his wife and daughter; returns to USA in June
1963	Lee sets up Harvey as the "patsy" for the assassination of JFK	Harvey is working at the Texas School Book Depository
Nov. 22, 1963	At least five eyewitnesses see Lee depart Dealey Plaza in a Nash Rambler station wagon	Harvey departs Dealey Plaza via bus and taxi, as stated in the Warren Commission Report
Later on Nov. 22	Lee is seen driving a red Ford Falcon with license plates belonging to J.D. Tippit's best friend, Carl Mather, who worked for Collins Radio	Harvey is sitting in the Dallas jail. He claims he is "just a patsy," but is soon murdered by Jack Ruby, who formerly ran guns to Cuba.

The FBI and the Warren Commission Coverup

In January 1960, five months after Harvey Oswald “defected” to the Soviet Union, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover wrote a memo stating that someone was using Lee Harvey Oswald's birth certificate (click here to see memo). On January 20, 1961, while Harvey Oswald was in Russia, LEE Oswald appeared at the Bolton Ford Dealership in New Orleans to purchase ten trucks for Cuba on behalf of former FBI agent Guy Banister and Gerald Tujague's Friends of Democratic Cuba (LEE Oswald worked for Tujague in 1955-56). On March 31, 1961, a memo was sent from the passport office to John White, an official at the consular section of the State Department, reiterating the concern about two Oswalds originally expressed by Hoover nine months earlier. In the fall of 1961, while Harvey Oswald was still in Russia, Police Officer Charles Noto arrested LEE Oswald and Celso Hernandez on Breakwater Road on the Lakefront in New Orleans. In April, 1962, while Harvey Oswald was still in Russia, LEE Oswald visited the Texas Employment Commission in Ft. Worth and filled out form E-40a, Aptitude Profile Test (APT) B-1002 and the Occupational Aptitude Pattern test (WC XIX, p 491). There is no doubt that Hoover knew about a LEE Harvey Oswald in the United States while Lee HARVEY Oswald was in the Soviet Union.

Hoover's knowledge of two Oswalds became clear the day after the assassination of President Kennedy. Hoover sent agents to Stripling Junior High in Ft. Worth to confiscate HARVEY Oswald's school records. FBI agents were sent to the Pfisterer Dental Laboratory, Gerard Tujague Company, J.R. Michaels, and Dolly Shoe in New Orleans to confiscate all of HARVEY Oswald's employment records. These documents, and others like them, comprised much of the evidence that two young men shared the identity of Lee Harvey Oswald. Most of these documents were never given to the WC and disappeared. And documents that were given to the WC by the FBI were photographs (not originals) and many had been altered or fabricated. In May 1999, Mr. Armstrong found a document at the National Archives indicating the FBI had a procedure in place which routinely allowed the alteration of testimony of its own agents before the Warren Commission, sometimes over the objections of staff attorneys. The document indicated that a procedure was set up to handle these objections and to persuade the staff to go along with the alterations.

Click button at left to see FBI document describing procedures to alter Warren Commission testimony.

Click button at left to see a Warren Commission document in which WC staff attorney Albert Jenner writes to WC general counsel Rankin concerning background information on Marguerite Oswald and Lee Harvey Oswald. He wrote, "there are details in Mr. Ely's memoranda which will require MATERIAL ALTERATION and, in some instances, OMISSION."

Click button at left to see how THE FBI MERGED THE IDENTITIES OF HARVEY AND LEE OSWALD by fabricating, altering, and destroying documentary evidence.

The Garrison Investigation

In the late 1960s, an investigation led by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison attempted to go beyond the Warren Commission’s failures and find the truth about the assassination and “Lee Harvey Oswald.” In an internal memorandum dated November 14, 1968, Garrison’s chief investigator, Lou Ivon, answered his boss’s questions about Oswald height discrepancies and concluded that there was an Oswald and an Oswald impostor, one standing 5’ 9” tall as an adult, the other at 5’ 11” and substantially heavier. Ivon also wrote that his “guess is that the impersonation started in the Marines,” which John Armstrong has shown is exactly correct.

Click button at left to read the complete four page Garrison document describing the two Oswalds.

Oswald Never Purchased a Mail Order Rifle

The Postal Money Order allegedly used to purchase the rifle that supposedly killed JFK is perhaps the most unexplainable document published by the Warren Commission. A quick look at this money order (see DOCUMENT link below) shows that it was never deposited nor cashed at a bank. It does not have a single bank stamp on the front or reverse side. Yet the WC wants us to believe that this uncashed, never-deposited money order was used to purchase the rifle that supposedly killed President Kennedy. All monetary instruments deposited to banks or financial institutions (1962-63) were stamped by the bank into which the item was deposited, stamped by a correspondent bank, and stamped by the originating bank or institution when the item was returned. A US Postal Money Order (PMO) purchased in Dallas, TX, and sent to Kleins Sporting Goods in Chicago, would have been date-stamped when deposited to their bank (First National Bank of Chicago). The PMO would have been stamped a second time after passing through a correspondent bank and/or the Federal Reserve System. Finally the PMO would have been stamped a third time when returned to Federal Postal Money Order Center (FPMOC) in Kansas City. But the money order given to the Warren Commission did not have a single bank endorsement stamp and was not found at the FPMOC in Kansas City. The absence of date-stamped bank endorsements means this PMO was never deposited to a bank nor cashed by Kleins Sporting Goods. Yet we are supposed to believe that Klein's Sporting Goods shipped a rifle to Oswald in Dallas, TX and that he used this rifle to kill JFK.

This never deposited money order first appeared in the hands of Robert Jackson, an employee of the Federal Records Center, who lived in Alexandria, VA. Neither Mr. Jackson nor any employee of the Federal Records Center was questioned about the money order by the FBI or Warren Commission or HSCA or the Secret Service. At 9:35 PM (11/23/63) Jackson hand delivered this money order to J. Harold Marks, a Finance Officer for the US Postal Service, at his home in Arlington, VA. The initials that appear on the back of this money order were made by Jackson, Marks, and other Federal officials who took possession of the money order. The Secret Service made 5 photostats of this money order and sent the photostats to Dallas. The following day (11/24/63), at 10:00 AM, Secret Service Agent Grimes gave the original PMO to the FBI, and the money order soon vanished. The Warren Commission accepted photostats of this money order as "proof" that Oswald purchased this mail-order rifle from Klein's Sporting Goods in Chicago. Apparently, not a single member of the WC nor its attorneys nor staff questioned the authenticity of this money order nor questioned the absence of a single bank stamp/endorsement. To verify the authenticity and bank routing of this PMO, the Warren Commission only needed to ask the US Postal Department to conduct "payment research" on the money order. There is no cost for this service, but the results may have been a bit difficult for the WC to explain.

The Postal Money Order allegedly was purchased at the Dallas Post Office on March 12, 1963 at 10:30 A.M. According to Warren Commission documents, this money order was deposited into Klein's bank account in Chicago on February 15, 1963. The Warren Commission expected us to believe that the money order was deposited in the First National Bank of Chicago on February 15, 1963--a month BEFORE the money order was purchased in Dallas! The money order and bank deposit printed in the Warren volumes in 1964 are both good examples of how the WC manipulated "evidence" in an attempt to frame Oswald as the Lone Assassin. Oswald never purchased this money order nor was this money order ever deposited in Klein's bank account. If Oswald never purchased nor received a rifle from Klein's, then he could not have posed for the Life magazine photo and he could not have carried the rifle to the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.

Click button at left to see this U.S. Postal Money Order that was NEVER cashed, NEVER exchanged, nor EVER deposited into a bank or financial institution. The only stamp on the back was "rubber stamp" endorsement from Klein's Sporting Goods, the rifle retailer. Also included for comparison are a series of checks issued to Oswald that show multiple bank stamps on each and every item. Also shown is the WC "evidence" showing the money order was "deposited" a month before it was issued.

Mr. Armstrong Shares his Work with Fellow Researchers

In the mid-1990's John Armstrong began delivering speeches at JFK conferences. In 1997 he gave a presentation and brought in Dr. Milton Kurian from Massachusetts and Palmer McBride from Sun Valley, CA., who both spoke to the audience. In the 1997 "November in Dallas" conference he presented his most up-to-date research on the two Oswald's. His speech at NID98 expanded on some of the themes of the previous year's talk and included references to very recently released documents. In May, 1999 he gave a presentation at the University of Minnesota's "Death of JFK" conference. This speech included a good introduction to "Harvey and Lee" and clearly showed how the FBI suppressed, ignored, fabricated, altered, and destroyed evidence in order to frame one of the young men for the assassination and to hide the intelligence operation that enveloped both of them. It is probably the best introduction to Mr. Armstrong's work currently available.

Full Text of John Armstrong's 1997 Dallas Conference Speech

Full Text of John Armstrong's 1998 Dallas Conference Speech

Full Text of Mr. Armstrong's 1999 Univ. of Minnesota Speech

Harvey and Lee: Tippit Shooting (written in 1998--article from Fair Play)

Harvey and Lee: Tippit Shooting (written in 2014--significant updates show involvement of both Harvey and Lee)

2011--Poague Library at Baylor University copied more than 101,000 of Mr. Armstong's documents. Click here to access those documents.

Fellow Researchers Respond to "Harvey and Lee"

James Norwood, "Lee Harvey Oswald: The Legend and the Truth"

James Norwood, "What’s In a Name? 'Harvey' and 'Lee' & Why It Matters"

James Norwood, "Oswald’s Proficiency in the Russian Language"

James Norwood, "'Not an Easy Man to Explain': The Complicated Voice of Lee Harvey Oswald"

Steve Thomas has compiled a list of instances in government documents where the name Harvey Lee Oswald has appeared.

NEW! Six new videos created by John Armstrong about the Tippit and Harvey Oswald murders.

The Altered Dallas Police Transcripts

Tippit Murder, Part 1

Tippit Murder, Part 2

Tippit Murder, Part 3

Tippit Murder, Part 4

Oswald's Pre-arranged Murder (YouTube)

These videos make an excellent introduction to the research of John Armstrong.

OTHER VIDEOS: The following videos are based upon John Armstrong's work, primarily from his interviews with Len Osanic on Black Op radio. They were created, edited, and photographs were added by "MrChrillemannen," a person with whom neither John Armstrong nor myself has had any contact.

Who impersonated Lee Harvey Oswald?

The TWO Marguerite Oswalds....

Captain Westbrook, officer Tippit and Oswald's Double: version by MrChrillemannen; version by Vince Palamara

The CIA's Oswald project

Lee Harvey Oswald never bought a rifle

Documenting and Writing "Harvey and Lee"

During the past 50 years the JFK assassination has generated thousands of interviews, photographs, reports, books, articles, etc. From the beginning many of these items contained inaccurate and misleading information, sometimes intentional and sometimes unintentional. Authors often added to the confusion by carefully selecting and limiting their "sources" to fit their own preconceived theories. When closely scrutinized, their cited "sources" are often not sources at all and, in some cases, are non-existent. The Warren Report, a well known example of a "report," often cites "sources" that do not support its conclusions. The very strength of HARVEY AND LEE is the documentary evidence behind John Armstrong's analysis--thousands of documents, hundreds of photographs and dozens of interviews. CLICK on each of the following to view examples:

The Two Oswalds: A Chronological Survey:

1939-1953: Early Years of Harvey and Lee

1947... The Two Marguerites

Post WWII: Who Was Harvey?

1953: North Dakota

1953-1956: Tall Lee and Short Harvey--School Days

1956-1962: Marine Corps and the Soviet Union

1959-1962: Harvey in Russia... Lee in the USA

1962: Family Reunion; Oswald's Thanksgiving Day Charade

1962-1963: Setting Up Harvey Oswald as the "Patsy"

1963: Oswald did NOT Purchase a Rifle from Kleins

1963: Oswald did NOT purchase a Pistol from Seaport Traders

1963: Dial Ryder, the Oswald Repair tag, and two rifles

1963: The Mexico City Hoax

November 22, 1963

12:31 PM: Escape from the 6th Floor

12:32 PM: Oswald DID NOT Run Down the Stairs

12:33 PM: Harvey and Lee Depart the TSBD

1:06 PM: The Pre-Arranged Murder of J.D. Tippit

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5

Dallas Police Transcripts

12:35 PM: Westbrook & Croy

1:15 PM: "The Wes Wise Allegation" (red Ford Falcon)

11/24/63: The Pre-Arranged Murder of Oswald

Additional Topics about the Oswald Project:

Laura Kittrell Meets the Two Oswalds

Oswald and the CIA: Wilcott's Testimony

Alex (and Alek) James Hidell

Magic Tooth, Vanishing Scars

The Man Who Could--And Couldn't--Drive

Manipulated, Fabricated, and Disappearing Evidence

History of US Postal Money Orders

The FBI Fabricated Rifle Documents

The Coverup Continues...

Donald Norton

The Two Steve Landesbergs and Lee Oswald in NYC

How the FBI Merged the Identities of Harvey & Lee in 1955 and 1956

Using Fabricated Government Documents to Merge the Identities of Harvey and Lee.... 1955.... 1956.... 1957.... 1958

Marina met Robert Webster (1st American "defector") and then met HARVEY Oswald (3rd American "defector") in Minsk

Fabricated and/or previously unexplained documents

The Bare Facts about Jack Ruby

"I was part of a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy that involved others...."
--Jack Ruby to Dr. Teuter

"These people are in very high positions...."
--Jack Ruby to news reporter (televised)

"My motive was not patriotism, but rather to silence Oswald...."
--Jack Ruby to Dep. Sheriff Maddox

Click here for more!

HARVEY AND LEE

by John Armstrong

Harvey and Lee Website, based on research by John Armstrong, created by Jim Hargrove (jimbotopia@gmail.com).
Most documents reproduced on these pages are from the National Archives and the FBI "Series 2" microfilm series from UMI.
Web premiere: 3/9/1999; rev 1: 3/12/1999; rev 2: 5/26/1999; rev 3: 1/5/2001; rev 4: 7/1/2013; continuous updates are planned.
Harveyandlee.net domain registered 8/11/13.

Lee Harvey Oswald	Lee Harvey Oswald	Lee Harvey Oswald	Lee Harvey Oswald

photographed by his brother, Robert Oswald, in Texas in 1958 and printed between pages 96-97 in Robert's book LEE, A Portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald.	when he appeared at the Cuban Consulate in Mexico City in Sept. 1963. The Cuban Government provided this photo to the HSCA.	when he visited the Russian Embassy in Mexico City in Sept. 1963. The CIA provided this photo of "Lee Harvey Oswald" to the FBI on 11/23/63.	in Dallas Police custody two days after the assassination of JFK and officer Tippit. The accused assassin was shot dead by Jack Ruby, who formerly supplied guns to Cuba.

DATE

LEE OSWALD

HARVEY OSWALD

Oswald Never Purchased a Mail Order Rifle

HARVEY AND LEE

by John Armstrong