One final issue under the heading of “JFK Urban Legends”:

Paul Groody: "I feel as though someone had gone to the cemetery...off hours, had taken the head of really of Lee Harvey Oswald that now was dead-how he got that way I don’t know but at least it was the head-and had brought the vault to the surface as best they could being a heavy item as it is-a tripod lifting that body lifting the body and the vault out of the grave. In the process the bottom of the vault fell breaking the vault causing the casket to deteriorate to a degree. Then of course, removed the head of the one that was there that had been autopsied and put this head in its place so that we would find the teeth of Lee Harvey Oswald-that’s my theory-this is what I think happened. Whoever caused that is the same faction that caused the assassination in the first place. In my mind, a cover-up had taken place."

Groody’s statement became the beginnings of what could be called “The Head in the Box Theory”. Jack White described the theory at the JFK Research Forum this way:

"There was much opposition to the exhumation by ROBERT OSWALD until MARGUERITE DIED. After her death, Robert suddenly dropped his opposition. When MARGUERITE was BURIED NEXT TO LEE, there were only a few inches of dirt separating the MARGUERITE HOLE and the LEE CASKET. A mortuary tent was placed over the site as is usual. Then later, the exhumation occurred. Several weeks after the exhumation, I received an anonymous phone call. The caller would not give his name because of violation of his secrecy oath. He said he was a FORMER AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER who was stationed at CAFB in Fort Worth. He said he wanted me to know that AT THE TIME OF THE MARGUERITE DEATH, A SECRET AIR FORCE FLIGHT LANDED AT CARSWELL AFB. He was part of the security detail. Unloaded from the air force plane was a small wooden crate about the size of a hatbox. Oddly it was loaded into a HEARSE. That was his story. He said he follows the JFK case, and had heard of the CRANIOTOMY PROBLEM, and wondered if there was any connection. Draw your own conclusions.” (Emphasis in original)

White attached the following disclaimer to his yarn:

“I cannot vouch for the veracity of this story. But I cannot say it is untrue either.”

Of course, the story is untrue since the head was attached to the body on arrival at Baylor. There was no switch at all and the evidence proves it. The Paul Groody story seems to represent a microcosm of what is wrong with JFK assassination research at this late date. Unfortunately, the umbrella man, the three tramps and the changed motorcade route seem to be still with us. And this writer is under no illusion that Groody’s story will be completely put to bed. But maybe researchers will think twice before placing complete belief in it. Perhaps that is all that one can ask.

         Oswald's Grave

Postscript

In 2002, fourteen years after his first appearance on The Men Who Killed Kennedy, Groody was featured in a documentary entitled Infamous Grave Sites on the Travel Channel to again discuss his allegations. In Groody’s first quote he states, “Who was this man? I don’t know and like I’ve always said, I don’t care-none of my business, I only buried the guy.” Groody stayed with his basic story even when confronted with photos of the head showing the craniotomy, “That head that was now on that body was not the head that I embalmed. I know that the body had not been changed, because I recognized various things about the body that I had done.” But Groody seemed to offer no explanation for how a head switch could have occurred. Indeed, when asked if a conspirator could have been disguised as a policeman or security guard he unequivocally stated, “No sir, no possible way that could have been done because all the security was around it and there was no way that anybody could carry a head in a sack or anything and do a head change at that time.”

So what are we to make of Paul Groody and his possible motivations? Three possibilities come to mind:

1. Groody is telling the truth and a vast conspiracy somehow managed to switch the head of Lee Harvey Oswald despite a great deal of evidence that it didn’t happen.

2. Groody is lying for reasons known only to him.

3. Groody is sincere about what he believes he saw but simply mistaken.

This writer believes number one can be ruled out by the evidence presented here. What about number two? Those who know him describe Groody as a likeable and credible individual. Gary Mack stated, “He never indicated he was telling the story to get anything. In fact, when he and Baumgardner met with me and a reporter, they didn’t want any publicity, especially Baumgardner. They were hoping we could get some answers, as they were concerned about their recollection and its implications.”

Similarly Jack White said, “Embalming LHO was Groody's 15 minutes of fame. I found his story to be very credible and consistent, and filled with interesting details. I think he is very little different than most people who have some minor claim to fame...they are anxious to tell people what they witnessed. Groody is very outgoing and personable, not shy at all. For such a person, I found nothing highly unusual about any of his statements.”

Indeed, Groody seems to have a unique personality that includes the occasional use of self-deprecating humor. In the eighties, he gave the following quote to the Dallas Morning News discussing arrangements for Oswald’s funeral, "The Secret Service wanted me to do it as secretly as I could and not put out any information. We were scared because the President had already been shot and now Oswald was shot. I didn't know if some other nut was going to shoot the dumb undertaker."

It seems then that number two can be ruled out as well. This writer believes that the evidence shows that number three is indeed the reason behind the Groody allegations and much of the confusion surrounding the exhumation of Lee Harvey Oswald.

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