The Voice Of Buell Frazier

An excerpt from the Lone star book that I mentioned in the Pat Hall thread.




THE VOICE OF BUELL WESLEY FRAZIER


“I know you have police out in the hall there, but I can get two
or three good licks on you before they get in here!”


[size=40] W[/size]hile Lee Harvey Oswald was being interrogated by the Dallas Police, the man who had mentored him when he first began working at the Texas School Book Depository and who had occasionally driven him to and from work from the Dallas suburb of Irving was undergoing a police interrogation himself.



Buell Wesley Frazier lived half a block away from where Oswald’s wife and children were staying in Irving. This tall, lanky nineteen-year-old from Huntsville, Texas, had been employed at the Depository only since September of l963. However, he was a quick learner and a patient teacher who enjoyed helping others. Frazier was asked by his supervisor, William Shelley, to mentor Oswald when he began working at the Depository in October 1963.


On the morning of November 22, he drove himself and Oswald to work at the Depository. As far as Frazier knew, it was mere coincidence that Ruth Paine, a neighbor who had befriended Oswald’s wife Marina, lived only a few houses from Frazier’s older sister, Linnie Randle. Paine even offered to let Oswald’s Russian wife and their children stay with her in Irving because,she said, she wanted to improve her Russian language skills. Randle was allowing her younger brother Buell to live with her and her family until he could save enough money to live on his own.


Paine had explained to Randle that Marina Oswald’s husband was looking for work and asked Randle if her brother Buell knew of any openings at the Texas School Book Depository. Through what appears to be an innocent encounter between two neighbors, Oswald was able to obtain work in the same building as Buell Wesley Frazier. Oddly enough, it was Ruth Paine, not Oswald, who directly contacted the Depository and arranged for Oswald’s employment interview. Who knows where Oswald might have been working on November 22, 1963, if Good Samaritan Ruth Paine had not assisted with his employment difficulties.


Though Frazier and Oswald never became close, Frazier was important to Oswald. Unlike Oswald, Frazier had a driver’s license and access to a car, so occasionally he drove Oswald from work to Irving on Friday afternoons so he could spend the weekend with his family. Oswald also rode back to work on Monday mornings with Frazier.


To Be Continued

Thanks for sharing Vinny

Welcome Mick.

Vinny wrote:Through what appears to be an innocent encounter between two neighbors, Oswald was able to obtain work in the same building as Buell Wesley Frazier.

Key phrase: "What appears to be"

But an innocent encounter has to overcome some hurdles.

1. Linnie testified that she made a list of places where - and I am paraphrasing here - a dumbass hillbilly like her brother could get a job (if anyone wants to argue about that paraphrasing, look up the exact words she used. It's not far off). She also stated that this same list was given verbally to Marina and Ruth for Lee. So why was the TSBD singled out? Claims that they were still hiring were belied by Truly laying someone off the previous day and by his testimony that he got some of the men laying floors to keep them working while it was quiet. Why is Ruth making the call when Lee was perfectly capable of doing so and normally would insisyed ondoing so because of his independent nature?
   
2. Why did Buell lie about which employment agency got him the job? Why wasn't the agency contract obtained (which would have shown Buell owing x percentage of initial pay check) (Liook here for "Oswald's job: The Setup" by John Manning (due for an update soon)
   
3. "Innocent" has to also overcoming the timing of Buell starting at the TSBD coinciding with the planning of the Dallas motrcade.
   
4. Why was the permanent and better paying position at the airport not passed on to Lee by Ruth? 
   

==============================
It was indeed the "slow season, as testified to by Bonnie Rae Williams

Mr. BALL. When you went to work there, did. you work at the building on the corner of Houston and Elm?
Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir. The first time I went there I was hired on at the other warehouse, the lower part of Houston Street.
Mr. BALL. By lower part, do you mean north of the main building?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir. Down further, the big white building.
Mr. BALL. That is sort of a warehouse?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You went to work there. That is about a block, a block and a half north?
Mr. WILLIAMS. A block and a half.
Mr. BALL. North of the corner of Houston and Elm?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And how long did you work at that place?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, I worked there until business began to get slow. I think that was--it was before November. I think it was some time during October. I am not sure.
Mr. BALL. And what did they put you to work at at that time?
Mr. WILLIAMS. They called me up to help lay a floor on the fifth floor, they wanted more boards over it. As I say, business was slow, and they were trying to keep us on without laying us off at the time. So I was using the saw, helping cut wood and lay wood.

Truly himself inadevertantly testified to it being slow when he said: 

Mr. BELIN. Do they just pick up the piece of paper for the order and carry them around with them?
Mr. TRULY. That is right, Most of them use a clipboard. They may have several orders at a time on the clipboard. That saves them going back to the table continually for one order. These orders amount from anything to $3 or $4 to $300 or $400, on up.
But usually if a boy is filling Scott, Foresman's orders, for instance, and he sees half a dozen over there, he will pick up maybe that many.
But during our busy season, when we have stacks and stacks of orders on the table, they don't try to put them all on a clipboard, they take a few at a time when they go to the sixth floor after stock, they try to be certain what they need for several orders at one trip.

During Oswald's employment, all the order-fillers, including Oswald, used clipboards.

We know from Charles Givens that the company did not historically invent work in order to keep workers on. Why did they do so on this occasion?

Mr. BELIN. Was there any period of time that you haven't worked there?
Mr. GIVENS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. What happened then?
Mr. GIVENS. Well, I Just, you know, sometimes I had some days to layoff during the slack season, like it is now, and when it' is rush season he calls you back.
Mr. BELIN. So it was just a question of being laid off during the slack season?
Mr. GIVENS. Yes, sir.


The sudden burst of charity to keep people employed and only needing to lay one person off became the excuse to hire Lee. It is unclear if Truly hired him out of pity for the sob story given by Ruth or because they put too many fillers on the floor laying, creating a short-term need. But either way, the dog don't hunt, the boat don't float and the mule don't kick.

From the moment a motorcade was decided in September, there was never any real doubt it would take the same route as previous motorcades, past a red brick building on Elm. It was only a matter of getting the patsy in there - accomplished with the possibly unwitting help of Buell.

Oswald had not needed to ride with his neighbor every day because he had rented a room in a boarding house in a Dallas suburb and could ride the city bus to work during the week. 

Yet this bus that he allegedly rode nearly every work day for 6 weeks was never identified and neither driver nor regular riders interviewed. All that potential insight into the daily demeanor of the accused gone begging.

The children referred to him as “Mr. Lee,” and they looked forward to his weekend visits.

He was teaching them Kung Fu.

The nickname the Paine children used for Oswald could explain why he used that particular alias when renting his room at the Beckley boarding house, though Oswald himself claimed that Earlene Roberts misunderstood his name and he had not bothered to correct her. 

Jut how does that work? 

How do you give your name as "Lee Oswald" or "Lee H Oswald" and have the persom mistake that for "OH Lee"? 

It is is too silly to seriously consider this is really what happened. 

But that's okay because we have this back-up story that he simply wrote his name like that on a scrap of paper allegedly acting as some type of record of payment.

(A simple handwriting test of the signature “O. H. Lee,” which was written on a scrap of paper saved by the landlords of Oswald’s boarding house, would have quickly determined whether Oswald deliberately signed an alias on a receipt, or whether Roberts simply wrote down the name she thought she heard. Unfortunately, no test was made.)

The testimony from Gladys Johnson was that Oswald wrote it.

But as everyone here knows, the scrap of paper was not only not tested, Gladys was allowed to keep the original so she culd sell it and the commission made do with a copy - useless as evidence.

Thanks Greg. Lots of things about Frazier do not add up. He still seems to be holding some things back. Hope he will reveal it some day.

I am not around here much, though fascinated by the whole Frazier thing. I just wanted to make one sort-of correction to something in the retelling of Frazier's story. It is not likely that Oswald got the idea to use "Lee" as an alias from the children calling him Mr. Lee. This is a Southern thing, where people call older people as Mr. or Miss plus their first name. It's a respectful way of address. So it wouldn't have been especially notable to Oswald.

AllenLowe wrote:I am not around here much, though fascinated by the whole Frazier thing. I just wanted to make one sort-of correction to something in the retelling of Frazier's story. It is not likely that Oswald got the idea to use "Lee" as an alias from the children calling him Mr. Lee. This is a Southern thing, where people call older people as Mr. or Miss plus their first name. It's a respectful way of address. So it wouldn't have been especially notable to Oswald.

Thanks Allen. Always good to have that local knowledge and insight passed on.

Given what you say, I would have to think that there were other local kids playing with the Paine kids. I doubt Ruth would have told her kids to address him as "Mr Lee" and I doubt Ruth's kids did it without "learning" from other kids, or being told to do it by adults.

Welcome back Allen.

Maybe one day Frazier will open up about what he may know about the JFK assassination in a way similar to the way Ray Wood did about Malcolm X's assassination. Here is an article on it: 


https://abcnews.go.com/US/claims-surrounding-malcolm-assassination-surface-letter-written-nypd/story?id=76031383&cid=clicksource_4380645_3_heads_hero_live_twopack_hed

It sure shows how big secrets can be kept and how authorities can manipulate people through intimidation and fear.

Jake_Sykes wrote:Maybe one day Frazier will open up about what he may know about the JFK assassination in a way similar to the way Ray Wood did about Malcolm X's assassination. Here is an article on it: 


https://abcnews.go.com/US/claims-surrounding-malcolm-assassination-surface-letter-written-nypd/story?id=76031383&cid=clicksource_4380645_3_heads_hero_live_twopack_hed

It sure shows how big secrets can be kept and how authorities can manipulate people through intimidation and fear.

Jake, you know by now how I feel about Buell Wesley Frazier and his recounting of the events from the days leading up to and the weekend following the assassination. 
His story doesn't gel, never has for me. 

As you know I've spent a great deal of time researching his statements, his various public interviews, his numerous public speeches and the official reports from authorities for the past 7 years. 
He and his sister in my opinion were either wittingly or unwittingly involved in the framing of Lee Oswald and then covered that up for the remainder of time. Frazier was a key person of interest from the get-go. 
He was a suspect. 

His ever-changing stories are well documented. He and his sister were the only two people on this earth who swear they saw Oswald with a package long enough to carry a rifle on the Friday morning.

Thank-you for the link Jake, for me this re-enforces the idea that secrets can be kept and that authorities can and will always find ways to ensure they are kept that way.

You're welcome Mick. Glad you liked it.

Frazier's recollection of his post assassination movements after leaving the TSBD as represented above are pure BS. He claimed similarly to an oral history with Gary Mack in 2002. Mack made a mild questioning of them at the time but let it drop. Frazier’s HSCA interview is available on YouTube and although not the greatest sound quality most is reasonably clear. On more than on occasion he said he went home first. He claimed to have heard JFK pronounced dead in the car radio on the way there.

When he arrived his mother was there. This was likely around 2pm. At one point he said his sister was there as well and they were watching TV coverage of the assassination. Another time he says his sister was at the hospital. I suspect the former. I believe the earliest Oswald was mentioned over the media that day was 2.42pm. At the point Frazier knew he was in deep doodoo.

Damage control would have cut in at that point and I suspect mother was left at the house and brother and sister head for the hospital. Frazier mentioned that the cops came looking for him at the house and talked to his mother. Makes sense as he would obviously be a person of interest after the TSBD coworkers told the DPD of him giving Oswald a ride. Frazier's address could be obtained from Truly.

There were 3 detectives and 3 Sheriff’s deputies at the Paine’s by about 2.30pm. Not hard to check out the Randle's for Buell at some point. My suspicion is that those cops asked the mother if she saw oswald that morning. When she said yes the next thing to ask was he carrying a package?........mother contacts them at the hospital and the package story evolves into curtain rods. It is his way out....except he doesn’t know the description won’t work for the rifle. He gets the type of paper wrong as well as the length......because he has never seen it or the rifle broken down.

You are right, Colin. His stories have changed over the years. He never mentioned seeing Oswald leaving by the rear entrance for many decades then suddenly "remembers" it. Quite fishy.

Colin_Crow wrote:Frazier's recollection of his post assassination movements after leaving the TSBD as represented above are pure BS. He claimed similarly to an oral history with Gary Mack in 2002. Mack made a mild questioning of them at the time but let it drop. Frazier’s HSCA interview is available on YouTube and although not the greatest sound quality most is reasonably clear. On more than on occasion he said he went home first. He claimed to have heard JFK pronounced dead in the car radio on the way there.

When he arrived his mother was there. This was likely around 2pm. At one point he said his sister was there as well and they were watching TV coverage of the assassination. Another time he says his sister was at the hospital. I suspect the former. I believe the earliest Oswald was mentioned over the media that day was 2.42pm. At the point Frazier knew he was in deep doodoo.

Damage control would have cut in at that point and I suspect mother was left at the house and brother and sister head for the hospital. Frazier mentioned that the cops came looking for him at the house and talked to his mother. Makes sense as he would obviously be a person of interest after the TSBD coworkers told the DPD of him giving Oswald a ride. Frazier's address could be obtained from Truly.

There were 3 detectives and 3 Sheriff’s deputies at the Paine’s by about 2.30pm. Not hard to check out the Randle's for Buell at some point. My suspicion is that those cops asked the mother if she saw oswald that morning. When she said yes the next thing to ask was he carrying a package?........mother contacts them at the hospital and the package story evolves into curtain rods. It is his way out....except he doesn’t know the description won’t work for the rifle. He gets the type of paper wrong as well as the length......because he has never seen it or the rifle broken down.

Hi Colin,
As you know I've made the Frazier story my number one preference in my research of the JFK case.
You raise some interesting points here. His numerous recollections over the years of almost all of the events and timelines from Thursday evening, all of Friday and until sometime Saturday morning are contradictory.

I note Frazier has made the claim on more than one occasion that (1.) - That he went home first after the assassination and (2.) - That he went straight to the hospital. But to my mind there could be a 3rd option. That is he went somewhere else other than his home or the hospital. 

The recollections from Frazier don't appear to be just a simple matter of a failing or faulty memory either. His Friday lunchtime story has altered and morphed into various scenarios over the years. Likewise, his recollections of his walk into the TSBD on Friday morning allegedly with Oswald walking ahead. Also his 5 different versions of his arrest. All in the record in reports and statements. Not forgetting his many different accounts of the same arrest in various films and videos over the years.

According to the reports Frazier most likely left the TSBD on Friday around 1.00pm but that's not certain it certainly could have been prior to or later. As you say it's possible he heard the news of the Presidents demise on the radio while driving - be interested to know if he had a working radio in the car.

His accounts of his interrogation with Fritz has chopped and changed as well, many times. 
I think we can both agree that he has some explaining to do. 

The scenario of Buell having gone home directly from the TSBD on the Friday around lunchtime seems logical at first glance.
Linnie Mae according to reports was seen by Adamcik at around 3.00pm or just before . Not sure of the age of the Randle kids but possibly Linne Mae's Mum Essie Mae Wlliams was with them at the house (not sure if they were of school age). Oswald as a suspect was mentioned at about 2.40pm on the Radio. Linnie Mae drove up to the Paines house when she met with Adamcik. So Linnie Mae was either heading back to her house after having been somewhere or on her way out. 

What I can't see happening is the cops going to the Randles house anytime before they saw Linnie Mae. That's not to say it didn't happen but as near as I can tellt here is absolutely zero evidence of any police officers or detectives having visited the Randle house before Frazier had been arrested. Of course I could be mistaken but I just haven't seen any document which would support that. If we can believe Adamcik and Stovall's reports the trigger for a search for Frazier came from Linnie Mae and her discussion with Adamcik at around 3.00pm. Linnie Mae could not have been at the hospital anytime before 3.30pm most likely even later than that. And according to reports after Frazier was arrested at about 6.00pm they went to the Randle house to search it and collected Linnie Mae and the Reverend Campbell to accompany Frazier to Police HQ 

The real question at least for me is why are there so many conflicting versions of the same events from those few days?
Only Buell knows and he's still with us.

Hey Mick,

I think Frazier's departure from the TSBD is likely some time after 1pm. He claimed not to have seen cops rush out in response to the Tippit shooting but got approval from Shelley to leave. Not sure what time the shots of Shelley Williams and Arce getting into the car were taken but all those guys were at HQ prior to Oswald's arrival around 2pm. I think it is possible he heard of JFK¡s death over his radio.

His HSCA interview is clear that he went home first. On one occasion I believe he slipped up and said both sister and mother were present watching TV coverage. Later he says only mother was there.....this was to be consistent with going to the hospital. Oswald's mentioned at 2.40 or so and so what do they do?

Before I go further there is also another time warp discrepancy that I think might be linked to this. Rose, Stoval and Adamcik were told to go to the Paine’s not long after Oswald arrived at HQ. Rose and Stovall had a brief interaction with him and they then headed out to Irving. Decker dispatched Weatherford, Walters and Oxford to join them as the Dallas homicide guys had no jurisdiction for Irving. The homicide guys claimed in their report that they waited for almost an hour for the deputies to arrive. This was not confirmed by the deputies. I believe that the hour wait was bogus for some reason. The arrival of the police to talk to Ruth and Marina was before the women heard Oswald named on TV. Michael Paine arrived at the house not long after, around 3pm.

I believe by 2.40pm Frazier and LMR went somewhere to work out what to do. They may not have gone to the hospital at that time but it would become the endpoint of the story.....innocently visiting his step father. Frazier said that after he left the home that cops arrived and spoke to this mother (HSCA). Clearly he would be a person of interest at that time. There were 6 cops just half a block away and we know there was communication between Fritz and the homicide guys and deputies passing information back and forth at the Paine house.

As for LMR's interaction with Adamcik i believe that it occurred much later, just about the time they were all about to take the women and Michael as well as load the collected evidence back to Dallas. I might be wrong but that was my recollection from the report. So if that was correct the discussion would have been closer to 5pm or so as they did not arrive at HQ until about 6pm. This would have given brother and sister at least a couple of hours to develop a story to minimise Buell's jeopardy.

Interestingly the interaction between Adamcik and LMR does not appear in his contemporaneous report. He tells of the visit to the Paine's and return as well as other events, but not that trinket.

A bonus I just found in Linnie May's SS interview of Nov28.



Looks like she put two and two together pretty quick. Before Buell returned home maybe?

Shelley, Williams and Arce went in the car at 13:30

Did LMR associate Oswald with the assassination before Oswald’s name was broadcast?

lanceman wrote:Did LMR associate Oswald with the assassination before Oswald’s name was broadcast?

Lanceman,

What we do know is that sometime around 3.00pm LMR approached Detective Adamcik of the Homicide and Robbery Bureau who was at the Paine's residence with information regarding Oswald and the alleged "carton" he had carried with him on that Friday morning while driving to work as a passenger with Buell Frazier. She (Randle) lived two houses down from the Paine's. Adamcik noted in his report that LMR drove up to the house. If the information is correct about the broadcast of Oswald's name over the radio at approximately 2.40pm then it is highly likely LMR has heard this news before she approached Adamcik.

What triggered LMR to approach Adamcik? The radio news about Oswald? Why was she driving to or past the Paine's residence? On her way home or on her way out? 

Timing in this is hard to lock down because there are too many conflicting accounts. But it's almost certain Rose, Stovall and Adamcik were sent by Fritz from Police HQ's to the Paine's house not much later than 2.30pm - that puts them at the Irving house at around 2.40 - 2.45 pm.  

So, your question is valid. Did LMR hear the news of Oswald before she approached Adamcik? 

The real question for me though is if you believe as I do that Oswald never had a large package in the first place then according to Adamcik's report LMR at approximately 3.00pm makes mention of a carton - a large sack big enough to carry a rifle. If this is what happened, then to my mind LMR was complicit in helping to frame Oswald.