Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

C2766 Rifle Mail Order Identification

C2766 Rifle Mail Order Identification Klein’s Sporting Goods photographed the mail order and envelope for the C2766 rifle on microfilm before destroying the originals, and an enlarged photograph was used as the basis for handwriting identification. Comparison with the standards established that the handwriting on the purchase order, the envelope, and the money order (retained by the post office after being cashed) was that of Lee Harvey Oswald. The identification rested on numerous specific characteristics in the return address, including the construction of the “A” in “A. Hidell,” the elongated approach stroke and rightward slant of the “i,” the larger second “l,” the “B” in “Box” with a smaller upper lobe, the distinctive loop construction of the “D” in “Dallas,” the flattened “s,” and the “u” form of the “x” in “Texas.” Both the questioned and standard writings also used the same erroneous mixture of capital and lowercase letters in words such as “Texas.” The questioned writing showed no significant evidence of disguise, though the use of hand printing on the mail order may have served that purpose; Cole noted that persons using aliases frequently make no attempt to disguise their writing.

V510210 Revolver Mail Order Identification

V510210 Revolver Mail Order Identification Based on comparison with the standards, the handwriting on the mail order sent to Seaport Traders, Inc., of Los Angeles in response to which the V510210 revolver was sent, was also identified as that of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Post Office Box Document Identification

Post Office Box Document Identification A post office box application consists of three parts: directions, applicant information, and instruction space concerning delivery and authorized users. Under postal regulations, the Dallas Post Office retained the second part of the application for box 2915 and destroyed the third part after the box closed. The signature “Lee H. Oswald” and other handwriting on that application were identified as Oswald’s, with the balance filled in by the postal clerk. Two change-of-address orders signed “Lee H. Oswald” were also identified as Oswald’s: one dated October 10, 1962, forwarding mail from 2703 Mercedes Avenue in Fort Worth to box 2915 in Dallas, and one dated May 12, 1963, forwarding mail from box 2915 in Dallas to 4907 Magazine Street in New Orleans. The New Orleans post office retained the third part of the application for box 30061, signed “L. H. Oswald” and naming “A. J. Hidell” and “Marina Oswald” as persons entitled to receive mail, and both the writing and signature on that card were identified as Oswald’s.

Spurious Selective Service and Marine Corps Documents

Spurious Selective Service and Marine Corps Documents When Oswald was arrested, he possessed a Selective Service notice of classification and a U.S. Marine Corps certificate of service in the name “Alek James Hidell,” along with corresponding documents in his own name. The Hidell cards were photographic counterfeits. After Oswald’s arrest, retouched negatives were found in Michael Paine’s garage at 2515 West Fifth Street in Irving, Texas, including retouched negatives of the Oswald cards. Comparison of these retouched negatives with both the Hidell and Oswald cards demonstrated that the Hidell cards had been produced by photographing the Oswald cards, retouching the resulting negatives, and making photographic prints from the retouched negatives.

Hidell Notice of Classification Examination

Hidell Notice of Classification Examination The face of the Hidell notice of classification was produced from the face of the Oswald notice through a two-step photographic process. The counterfeiter first photographed the Oswald notice to make a basic intermediate negative, then opaqued out all typed or handwritten information, including Oswald’s name, selective service number 41-114-39-532, the local board official’s signature, and the mailing date. A second intermediate negative was made of the lowermost third of the Oswald notice, reproducing the printed legend exactly but at reduced size. The two intermediates were combined to produce a third negative identical to the basic intermediate except that the reduced legend created a square blank space in the lower left corner. A photographic print was then made from this third negative, and new material was inserted into the resulting blanks, including the typed name “ALEK JAMES HIDELL,” selective service number 42-224-39-532, and mailing date “Feb. 5, 1962.” Two typewriters were used, as shown by differences in the design of the typed figure “4” and by differences in impression strength, likely because the counterfeiter switched typewriters when the first ribbon proved insufficiently inked for the glossy photographic paper. The notice also bore uninked indentations visible only under strong side lighting, apparently made with the typewriter set at stencil, possibly as a dry run to center and align the inserted material. Sidelight photography revealed that “ALEK,” “JAMES,” and “HIDELL” had each been typed in stencil at least twice before being typed with the ribbon, a capital “O” had been stenciled prior to one of the “ALEK” attempts, and a serial number and mailing date had also been typed in stencil.