The Rifle in the Building
The Commission evaluated evidence on how Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (serial number C2766) was brought into the Depository Building. The evaluation considered: (1) circumstances of Oswald’s return to Irving on Thursday, November 21, 1963; (2) the rifle’s disappearance from its normal storage place; (3) Oswald’s arrival at the Depository on November 22 carrying a long and bulky brown paper package; (4) a long handmade brown paper bag found near the shooting point; and (5) palmprint, fiber, and paper analyses linking Oswald and the weapon to the bag.
The Curtain Rod Story
In October and November 1963, Oswald lived in a Dallas roominghouse while his family stayed with Ruth Paine in Irving, about 15 miles from his workplace. He normally commuted on weekends with Buell Wesley Frazier, a Depository coworker and neighbor of the Paines. On the morning of November 21, Oswald asked Frazier for a ride home that afternoon, explaining he was going home to get curtain rods for an apartment. Frazier’s sister, Linnie Mae Randle, also heard this explanation. However, the Commission found this story implausible: Oswald’s landlady testified his room already had curtains and rods, two curtain rods belonging to Ruth Paine remained in the garage after Oswald’s arrest, Oswald never asked Mrs. Paine about curtain rods, Marina said Oswald never mentioned them, and no curtain rods were found in the Depository. The Commission gave weight to the fact that Oswald gave a false reason for his midweek trip, which conveniently provided a pretext for carrying a bulky package the following morning.
The original text of this work is in the public domain. This page focuses on a guided summary article, reading notes, selected quotes, and visual learning materials for educational purposes.