Armstrong's Magic Tonsillectomy & Vanishing Scars

Lee's developmental history was negative except for a mastoid operation and a tonsillectomy when he was about seven. He remembers that the operations frightened him, but nothing else about them.

--Warren Commission: Vol. XXI,
page 488 (Siegel Exhibit No. 1)

Also indicating that Oswald had a tonsillectomy is a 12/6/63 FBI report (file # Memphis 105-891; Memphis 44-1165) which reported that a Dr. Philbin of Dallas, Texas removed Oswald's tonsils on January 17, 1945.

What is fascinating, though, is not the numbers but what else is written on these old documents. Both name the patient: "Oswald, Lee H. Pvt." And both indicate that he was suffering from tonsillitis. The entry from 1957 on the record above indicates he was treated for "tonsillitis."

The second sick call record, dated 5-23-58 is even more specific.

Sore throat. Temp 98.
Present one day.
Injection of phagus with purculet
left tonsil.
Rx gargles
bed rest

These sick call records are documented in the USMC "Official Military Personnel File on Lee Harvey Oswald" (released to researcher Robert J. McDonnell by the Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Headquarters, on Sept. 29, 1992).

So.... Did Lee Harvey Oswald's tonsils grow back? Were Marine medics hallucinating? Or is there a more likely explanation?

The Warren Commission, John Armstrong believes, combined the biographies of two different people to arrive at the classic legend of Lee Harvey Oswald. One was a Russian speaking youth, possibly the child of Hungarian parents. Armstrong notes that this person was referred to as "Harvey." The other was a taller but similar looking boy with a Southern U.S. accent, born as "Lee Harvey Oswald." Both may well have become entangled at an early age in an intelligence operation. It was "Harvey" who traveled to Russia and was shot dead by Jack Ruby. It was "Lee" who got into a fight in the ninth grade at Beauregard Junior High School and lost a tooth.

One Lee Harvey Oswald had his tonsils removed on January 17, 1945. The other did not.

And what about the mastoid operation referred to in the Warren Commission deposition excerpted at the top of this page? Oswald's Marine medical records indicate the following: "Mastoid operation 1945; Hospitalized 2 weeks, Ft. Worth, Texas." But despite a careful examination of his body for scars as small as a quarter on an inch in size, Oswald's autposist recorded none remotely near the mastoidectomy. The mortician who prepared Oswald's body for burial couldn't find scars that should have been there either. The scar from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the left elbow from Oswald's Marine years also appeared to have disappeared after his death.

Question: Can Your Tonsils Grow Back After a Tonsillectomy?
Answer:
Both tonsil and adenoid tissue has the ability to regenerate if it is not completely removed during surgery. Even a very tiny amount of tissue can cause them to grow back. However, this isn't a common occurrence.

There are certain factors that may make your tonsils more likely to grow back, such as if they are removed before the period of time when they would normally be growing has passed. Under normal circumstances, tonsils and adenoids tend to grow at a fairly steady rate until a person is about 8 years of age. At this point, they begin to shrink. Adenoids pretty much disappear by adulthood. Understanding how the tonsils and adenoids normally function and grow may help you determine if your tonsils are likely to grow back or not.

Given the amount of time it takes for tissue to regenerate and a naturally limited growth period, it is unlikely that, should your tonsils grow back, they will ever grow back to their original size.

If you had your adenoids removed at the same time as your tonsils, it is more likely that they will grow back than your tonsils. While I have cared for patients who are having a second adenoidectomy, I have never cared for someone, or even known someone, who has had to have their tonsils removed more than once in a lifetime. If you know someone whose tonsils have grown back, they probably had their tonsils removed many years ago. There was a period of time when the method used to remove the tonsils made it more likely for them to grow back. This method, which involved leaving the outer portion of the tonsils intact in order to reduce pain and decrease the risk of bleeding, is no longer used.

The procedure for mastoidectomy takes place under general anesthesia administered by our MD Anesthesiologist and takes approximately two to three hours. This is done either by itself or in conjunction with other procedures including tympanoplasty and ossicular chain reconstruction. An incision is made just behind the ear. This incision is typically very well masked within an existing skin crease, and the resulting scar usually heals to the point of being imperceptible to the naked eye.

The procedure for mastoidectomy takes place under general anesthesia administered by our MD Anesthesiologist and takes approximately two to three hours. This is done either by itself or in conjunction with other procedures including tympanoplasty and ossicular chain reconstruction. An incision is made just behind the ear. This incision is typically very well masked within an existing skin crease, and the resulting scar usually heals to the point of being imperceptible to the naked eye.

Jimbo Baggins @ the 13\" Ed Forum wrote:I would be happy to discuss more freely the mastoidectomy evidence and analysis presented in Harvey and Lee, but since Mr. B’s partner Greg Parker clearly has nothing better to do than record my every online keystroke and react with feigned outrage, so that Mr. B himself can be outraged and post a link to it here, I’m not going to do it.