Ik kwam een bijzondere foto tegen. Op het eerste gezicht een alledaags portret van zes Amerikanen, maar dit is een foto met een verhaal. Het is 15 april 1947. De reizigers zijn in Texas City naar het theater geweest. Ze gaan erna op de foto met acteur Kenne Duncan (2e van links, met hand in de zak). Ze zouden eigenlijk nog een dag in de stad blijven, maar besluiten nog die avond te vertrekken naar de grote stad Houston. Een keuze die hun leven gered heeft: twaalf uur later was de bioscoop er … [Lees meer...]
De moord op Emmett Till
17 april 2014 door Reageer
We kennen allemaal wel enkele afschuwelijke verhalen uit de tijd van de segregatie in de Zuidelijke staten. Rosa Parks, James Meredith en de Little Rock Nine - ze komen veelvuldig terug in de geschiedenisboeken. Zelf had ik tot een aantal maanden geleden nog nooit gehoord van Emmett Till. Inmiddels is dat wel anders. In 2013 bezocht ik een aan hem gewijd museum en de locatie waar de jonge Emmett zijn doodvonnis tekende: de Bryant's Grocery & Meat Market in Money, Mississippi. Voorval in … [Lees meer...]
Boston bombings, 1 jaar later
15 april 2014 door Reageer
Vandaag, 15 april 2014, is het alweer een jaar geleden: de bomaanslagen tijdens de marathon van Boston. Rond kwart voor drie plaatselijke tijd maakten twee explosies nabij Copley Square een einde aan het leven van drie Amerikanen, waaronder één kind. Honderden raakten gewond. De klok van de marathon bleef staan op 04:09:43. De schandalige acties markeerden het begin van een massale klopjacht die tot 19 april zou voortduren, toen rond 20:45 lokale tijd Dzhokhar Tsarnaev werd ingerekend in een … [Lees meer...]
Hannibal, Missouri
14 april 2014 door Reageer
Ik heb de veel te vroeg overleden Boudewijn Büch altijd bewonderd. Zijn boeken zijn geweldig, maar vooral zijn reisprogramma is ongeëvenaard. Op een van zijn vele ontdekkingsreizen bezocht hij Hannibal, Missouri. Een klein dorp dat hij onder normale omstandigheden snel voorbij zou zijn gereden, ware het niet dat dit de stad is van Mark Twain. Hannibal: een aanrader Samuel Langhorne Clemens, zoals Twain in 1835 werd geboren, noemde het dorp in zijn boeken St. Petersburg. De plaats inspireerde … [Lees meer...]
Lévy on the Kennedy assassination
4 januari 2014 door Reageer
These days I'm reading American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville, (Random House, January 2006). A great book on the US, written by Bernard-Henri Lévy, a French public intellectual and author who travelled through the US in 2004 and 2005. You should all read it - it's been a while since I read such a great book on the United States. Off course he visits Dallas, and the Texas School Book Depository. "It is, more precisely, contained in this rare - perhaps unique - … [Lees meer...]
New document Oswald on SS Maasdam
11 december 2013 door 1 Reactie
I did years of research into the trip Oswald made from Minsk to Texas through my own country, the Netherlands, and on the days aboard the ship SS Maasdam, from Rotterdam to Hoboken, New Jersey. Saw photos and documents, came in contact with people who were on this ship with Lee Harvey Oswald. by PERRY VERMEULEN I always claim that no element in the whole Kennedy investigation has been treated this undervalued. The investigation on this trip in may and june 1962 was poor and minimal. I … [Lees meer...]
11/22/2013: 50 years after the JFK assassination
22 november 2013 door 1 Reactie
November 22, 2013. The assassination of John F. Kennedy was exactly 50 years ago. What happened in Kennedy's final hours? This is a liveblog on the events, from his departure in Fort Worth until the take off of Air Force One 3,5 hours later - now with a new President. by PERRY VERMEULEN, STAN BOS and MIKE BOESCHOTEN Timeline of the assassination of John F. Kennedy 11:17 AM Air Force One takes off from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. During the flight to Dallas, John F. Kennedy … [Lees meer...]
Visiting Marina
11 november 2013 door 1 Reactie
"Get out of my property," hissed the 75-year-old Kenneth Porter with restrained anger. He was clearly not enamored of this unannounced visit from the Netherlands. The second husband of Marina Oswald Porter was assisted by a loud barking, medium-sized dog. "Get out of my property, didn't you see the warning sign at the beginning of the driveway?" The hope for a little conversation was soon gone, let alone a picture and a short, unique interview with his wife Marina. "No, you do not have to call … [Lees meer...]
Ruth Paine House Museum opens
5 november 2013 door 2 Reacties
I visited the Ruth Paine house in Iriving, Dallas, last september. It was empty inside. Well, empty... A table, some chairs and a painting were left by the last occupants. Two months after my quick visit, the house is a home again. The Ruth Paine House Museum opens to public on November 6. by PERRY VERMEULEN The home that once belonged to Ruth Paine, the woman who befriended Marina Oswald and let her live there with her two young daughters, has been restored. The 1,250-square-foot house allows … [Lees meer...]
Oswald on SS Maasdam IV
25 oktober 2013 door 9 Reacties
Received a mail from someone who was interested in information I shared in the period 2007-2010, on the trip Lee Harvey Oswald made from Rotterdam (the Netherlands, my country) to the United States. Oswald travelled with his wife Marina and their baby, June. They left Minsk and travelled by train through Moscow, Poland and Germany, spending a night in a boarding house (in an expensive neighbourhood!) in Rotterdam. On June 4, the SS Maasdam, a Holland America Line ship, took off, bound for … [Lees meer...]
1026 N. Beckley Avenue: visiting Pat Hall
16 oktober 2013 door 4 Reacties
I rang the bell of 1026 North Beckley Avenue in the afternoon of September 10, last month, while visiting Dallas. After a while a middle-aged woman looked through the glass. She wasn't feeling well, but if I wanted to wait for 20 minutes, she was willing to dress up for a short interview. Great news: off course I wanted to talk with Patricia Puckett Hall (61). After all - it was her grandmother who rented a room to Lee Harvey Oswald in the last weeks of his life. Worth the wait. by PERRY … [Lees meer...]
Magazine St, New Orleans: where Oswald lived
27 september 2013 door 2 Reacties
I visited New Orleans in 2009 and was confused: the address of Lee Harvey Oswald was 4905 Magazine Street, but I couldn't find a house with that number. Walking from the corner of Magazine and Upperline Street, you'll find the odd numbers 4901 (uninhabited for years), 4903, 4907 and 4911 easily on your right. Where was 4905? I took several photo's like this one, of 4907 Magazine. Was this the house where Oswald lived from may to september 1963? Back home I soon learned that it wasn't. And in … [Lees meer...]
Books Bill O’Reilly – some criticism
16 september 2013 door 1 Reactie
Bought Bill O'Reilly's well-written Killing Kennedy earlier this year in Holland and last week, while on holiday in the US, I bought the 'successor', Kennedy's Last Day's. I saw the huge billboard on Times Square in New York - this was something I wanted to read! I bought it at Newseum, in Washington, DC - the beautiful museum that has a great exhibition on Kennedy as we speak (go see it!!). by PERRY VERMEULEN After reading the book on the plane back to the Netherlands, I must say I am … [Lees meer...]
The famous backyard photos
18 april 2013 door 9 Reacties
This month 50 years ago, the famous backyard photographs were made by Marina Oswald. The photos show her husband Lee Harvey Oswald standing in his backyard, with a holstered pistol strapped to his waist, holding a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle and two communist newspapers, The Militant and The Worker. The authenticity of the pictures have always been the subject of discussion. by PERRY VERMEULEN After police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald on suspicion of assassinating President Kennedy, they … [Lees meer...]
Make up your mind, Marina
12 april 2013 door 2 Reacties
Through the years after the tragedy there were lots of times when Marina Oswald-Porter unleashed things from her past. She gave interviews, wrote to relatives and gave testimonies to authorities like the Warren Commission and the House Select Committee on Assasinations. When talking about the journey from Minsk to the US, in June, 1962, her statements differ a lot. Let's, for instance, focus on the city she said she visited in Holland, and how long they stayed before the ship took them to the … [Lees meer...]
Eyewitnesses: the Newmans
6 april 2013 door 2 Reacties
We all know Bill and Gayle Newman, and their two sons Bill and Clayton. "History reserved a special seat for Bill and Gayle Newman", wrote The Dallas Morning News last november, introducting the couple, now both 71 years old. Author James Ragland: "The Newmans were the closest civilian eyewitnesses to the assassination of JFK. About 15 minutes after the president was shot, the Newmans were interviewed live on TV. Their 15 minutes of fame, however, has endured for 49 years, permanently etched in … [Lees meer...]
Lee Oswald in Berlin
4 april 2013 door 2 Reacties
The most remarkable note in Oswald's address book, in my opinion, is the above on. Yes: this book, found among Oswald's belongings after the assassination of JFK, was much more than just a list of names and addresses. What do we see here? Lee Harvey Oswald wrote down 'West Berlin - F.R.G. Tempelhofer Damm. Lee H.' He made a little doodle too, an innocent scribble, at first sight. F.R.G. means Federal Republic of Germany: the official name of West Germany. The Tempelhofer Damm is an important … [Lees meer...]
Oswald in Bus 1213
27 maart 2013 door 1 Reactie
You can always wake me up for remarkable details on the Kennedy case. Like this one - I found the image above in one of Robert Groden's books. by PERRY VERMEULEN John F. Kennedy was killed at 12:30 pm. Ten minutes later, Oswald took city bus 1213, driven by Cecil McWatters, aiming for Marsalis Street. Oswald stepped in at the intersection of Elm Street and Griffin Street. The bus continued its way on Elm, towards the Texas School Book Depository that Oswald just left. Photographer Stuart … [Lees meer...]
Kennedy in Berlin
26 maart 2013 door Reageer
In April 2012, I went to Berlin. The first place we visited, was the public square in front of the Rathaus Schöneberg, where Kennedy delivered his 'Ich bin ein Berliner'-speech on June 26, 1963. by PERRY VERMEULEN Watching the Wall Kennedy arrived in West-Germany on June 23 and visited Bonn, Frankfurt, Hanau and Cologne. In the morning of the 26th he flew to Berlin. "We’ll never have another day like this one, as long as we live", was how John F. Kennedy described the enthusiastic … [Lees meer...]
250 Mathenesserlaan
25 maart 2013 door Reageer
250 Mathenesserlaan is an address that not many researchers will recognize immediately. Its an interesting place, though, the house with the yellow stripes behind me, on the picture made in 2008. I was interviewed here after the publication of my first book, where I focussed mainly on the weekend Lee Harvey Oswald spent in Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands. He was in Rotterdam with Marina and baby June, waiting for the departure of the ship that took them back to the US after … [Lees meer...]
Naked on a boat
24 maart 2013 door 2 Reacties
This is a beautiful story about John F. Kennedy and some ladies on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea, in the summer of 1956. The above photo could have changed history, according to TMZ, a website on entertainment news, who published it in September 2009. by PERRY VERMEULEN Kennedy enjoying a vacation My second book starts with this narrative and I always begin my lectures with it: it says something about the image of the President. The photo shows two naked women jumping off the boat and … [Lees meer...]
The assassination of Mary S. Sherman
23 maart 2013 door 14 Reacties
On July 21, 1964, Dr. Mary Stults Sherman was brutally murdered in her appartment building on 3101 St. Charles Avenue, in New Orleans. She was a prominent orthopedic surgeon and expert in cancer research. The assassination remains unsolved, although there are some investigators who think they came close to a solution. And the assassination of John F. Kennedy has, according to them, everything to do with this tragedy. by PERRY VERMEULEN Mary's carreer Sherman was born … [Lees meer...]
The Nixon-Ruby connection
22 maart 2013 door 2 Reacties
Above you can see a detail of a FBI-document that caused much commotion, to say the least. Written on November 24, 1947, it states: "It is my sworn statement that one Jack Rubenstein of Chicago, noted as a potentional witness for hearing of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, is performing information functions for the staff of Congressman Richard Nixon, Republican of California. It is requested that Rubenstein not be called for open testimony in the aformentioned hearings." Find the … [Lees meer...]