Ever since the murder of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, billions of people have wondered whether or not gunman Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, or whether he participated in a conspiracy. Director Oliver Stone during his acclaimed career directed a controversial movie which suggested that multiple individuals may have played a role in the popular young President’s demise. His film, JFK(1991) starring Kevin Costner, has reached international audiences.
President Kennedy died after bullets struck him as he rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, Texas past the Texas School Book Depository Building. Cheering crowds lined the streets as the President and First Lady waved to them from the backseat of an open limousine. The Governor of Texas, John Connally, and his wife rode with them. A motorcycle escort accompanied the procession.
The shooting created public panic and resulted in confusion at the scene. The gunfire wounded Governor Connally and gravely injured the President. As Secret Service agents scrambled to protect President Kennedy and the First Lady and direct the car towards a hospital, some onlookers ran from the site in terror.
Police officers struggled to locate the shooter. They eventually apprehended an armed suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, but a Dallas night club manager named Jack Ruby unexpectedly gunned him down shortly after he was taken into custody.
The events of that notorious day sparked years of official inquiries, and led to the popularization of several conspiracy theories concerning the assassination. The Warren Commission which officially investigated the murder at the behest of Congress concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, an ex-marine, bore responsibility for the President’s death.
On September 13, over 50 years after the shocking assassination, a revision to the previously published work “The Oliver Stone Experience” will reveal yet another tantalizing tidbit of information regarding the Kennedy murder. The material purports to divulge the confession of a retired government employee known only as “Ron”.
The informant claimed he suffered from terminal cancer. After initiating a dialogue with the Hollywood director, he communicated in secret with him regarding the Kennedy assassination through letters relayed via a Bermuda address.
As they became better acquainted, Oliver Stone persuaded “Ron” to divulge more details. Finally, the old man agreed to meet with him to discuss what he knew about the JFK plot at a hotel in Rochester, New York. The meeting would fuel Oliver Stone’s views that a conspiracy plot may have taken President Kennedy’s life.
“Ron” claimed that he wanted to reveal what he knew about an assassination plot directed against President Kennedy from within the government. He indicated that he did not seek financial compensation or fame. Oliver Stone reported that his informant recounted the details of the plot using a lot of military terms as he discussed past events. He recounted an assassination plan to the director in which snipers who actually killed the President remained concealed within JFK’s security apparatus, hidden amongst people without any knowledge of the conspiracy at all.
Oliver Stone claimed that he became one of first people to learn the details of “Ron”‘s account. He later shared his information with an award-winning writer named Matt Zoller Seitz who had begun compiling an Oliver Stone biography. Some recent news reports from the United Kingdom have claimed “Ron” worked as a member of the Secret Service.
The events surrounding the tragic death of President Kennedy may never gain a definitive resolution. The deaths of Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby and the passage of time have contributed to an aura of mystery enveloping that fateful day decades ago.