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All the United States Texas Fort Worth Lee Harvey Oswald's Grave

Lee Harvey Oswald's Grave

Of course the grave of JFK's assassin is surrounded by conspiracy theories.

Fort Worth, Texas

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Oswald’s nondescript grave.   Iconsoffright/CC BY 3.0
  BernerAchim/CC BY-SA 3.0
Rose Hill   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
Oswald and Nick Beef   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
Lee Harvey Oswald   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Photo taken on the weekend of Oswald’s death 56 years ago, someone has placed Flags, a card. and flowers at the grave site and a Lincoln penny on the marker. Nick Beef’s marker is to the right.   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
Lee Harvey Oswald gravesite with Nick Beef.   YouTube
Shannon Rose Hill Funeral Home   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
Main Gates. Turn left, go past lake on left, stop at small set of steps on left. At the top of the steps look to the right.   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
LH Oswald, note the Lincoln penny   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
  1969nancita / Atlas Obscura User
The infamous Oswald along with Nick Beef   notoriousFIG / Atlas Obscura User
Hours of Operation   Springer / Atlas Obscura User
a better view of the surrounding area   knoxium / Atlas Obscura User
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After Lee Harvey Oswald was captured as the prime suspect in President John F. Kennedy's assassination, he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby on the way into his final interrogation. It may have just been grief or it may have been to silence Oswald. The true motivation for his murder may never be known. Oswald was laid to rest in Fort Worth's Shannon Rose Hill Burial Park. There were no mourners at the funeral, so reporters present were asked to act as pallbearers.He did not rest peacefully. 

Oswald's original headstone, a simple granite slab bearing his full name, birthdate, and a cross, was stolen on the four year anniversary of Kennedy's death. The assassin's mother replaced the stone with a red stone that simply read "Oswald." The original headstone then reappeared, and has been contentiously traded amongst one family dealing in JFK memorabilia.

Then in 1981, a conspiracy suggesting that a Russian body double had been buried rather than Oswald led forensic investigators to exhume his body, cross reference his dental records, and confirm that it was indeed Lee Harvey Oswald in the ground.

Only adding to the myriad conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy's assassination, the plot next to Oswald bears an almost identical grave engraved with the name "Nick Beef." Some speculated that this might be a Russian conspirator, but cemetery records indicated that the plot was empty. Others assumed it was a sneaky directive to Oswald's grave. As cemetery staff were not allowed to give out the location of the assassin's plot, tourists could simply ask, "Where's the beef?"

In reality, the empty Beef grave was the work of "non-performing performance artist" Patrick Abedin. Abedin, who grew up in Dallas and saw Kennedy the night before he was killed, would visit the Rose Hill cemetery with his mother to see Oswald's grave. When he found out the plot right next to it was available, he began a years-long process of purchasing it in $10 installments. When the time came to put down a headstone he gave an inside joke name. Despite all this, he doesn't plan on being buried in Rose Hill Cemetery (he plans to be cremated instead). The stunt is more about creating permanence in a world that can change in an instant. 

Related Tags

Assassination Murder Death Presidents Cemeteries Gravestones Graveyards Conspiracy Theories Graves

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kkysar

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Molly McBride Jacobson, UK Bob, Meg, notoriousFIG...

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • UK Bob
  • Meg
  • notoriousFIG
  • knoxium
  • Collector of Experiences
  • Springer
  • Jason Michael Walker
  • 1969nancita

Published

February 13, 2017

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald#Burial
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/32266
  • http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/57162874-68/oswald-fort-lee-worth.html.csp
  • http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-long-strange-journey-of-lee-harvey-oswalds-tombstone-back-to-texas/
Lee Harvey Oswald's Grave
7301 E Lancaster Ave
Fort Worth, Texas
United States
32.729648, -97.203035
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