Pseudonym: Oswald, Leon
1952-1962: George Piazza (who became Lewallen's attorney in 1967 - Piazza, Lewallen and Ferrie were all pilots) met David Ferrie when he was a 15 year old boy in 1952 when he was obtaining his private pilot's license. He joined the Civil Air Patrol and Ferrie was his instructor. They went on many cross-country flying trips to Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. At p. 317: Piazza remembered Lewallen coming from Cleveland to New Orleans about 1954 to find Ferrie. The two men lived together. Ferrie's brother worked for Firestone Tire Company in Akron. (Note: Luis Posada/AMCLEVE-15 also worked for Firestone in Ohio.)
Joan Mellen, A Farewell to Justice, p. 84
In Dallas in late September of 1963, three men had visited a Cuban exile named Sylvia Odio. Two of the men, called "Angelo" and "Leopoldo", were Latins, with one, Odio thought, speaking not with a Cuban, but with a Mexican accent. The third was an American whom the others called "Leon Oswald." They had just come from New Orleans, and were, they claimed, collecting for Odio's father's organization, JURE. A day or two later, "Leopoldo" called Odio and confided that "Leon" had raved about wanting President Kennedy dead. He was an ex-Marine, and wanted to help in the Cuban underground, exactly waht Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans had told Arnestro Rodriguez/NO 1213-S and Carlos Bringuier. "Leon" had accused the Cubans of lacking "guts". He insisted that "President Kennedy should have been assassinated after the Bay of PIgs and some Cubans should have done that, because he was the one that was holding the freedom of Cuba." During the weekend of the assassination, both Sylvia and her younger sister Annie at once recognized Lee Harvey Oswald as "Leon". Mellen also points out that Lewallen was more than six feet tall, much taller than the 5 foot 9 Lee Oswald. 11/27/63, see FBI 105-82555 Oswald HQ File, Section 232, p. 41: Lewallen says that he known David Ferrie since he served in the Cleveland Air Patrol in 1947 where Ferrie worked as an instructor, but did not see him between Nov. 21-25. He also assisted him with the Civil Air Patrol but had never met Lee Oswald. He says he had been Ferrie's roommate between 1953 to 1955.
Dave Reitzes, Lee Oswald: Space Cadet? https://www.jfk-assassination.net/cadet.htm
Warren Hinckle and William Turner write, "Oswald told Adrian Alba, the owner of the garage next door to where he was working, that his application was about to be accepted 'out there where the gold is' -- the NASA Saturn missile plant in suburban Gentilly...In his memoirs, Garrison begins with an item relating to a suspect of his, David Ferrie. Garrison writes, "Ferrie, once a pilot for Eastern Airlines, had been investigated by a private detective agency. I obtained a copy of its report. The investigators had maintained a stakeout near his residence and found that Ferrie was visited frequently by a man named Dante Marachini" (sic -- Marochini; Garrison, On the Trail of the Assassins, 1991, Warner Books, 133-4). Garrison notes that Marochini resided at 1309 Dauphine Street. Garrison suspect Clay Shaw resided nearby at 1313 Dauphine. Another resident of the building at 1309 Dauphine was James Lewallen, who had once shared an apartment with David Ferrie (Ibid., 134). Two of Oswald's fellow employees at Reily Coffee Co. in 1963 also wound up working for NASA - Alfred Claud at the Chrysler plant and John Branyan at the Boeing Aircraft Division. Also see https://www.jfk-online.com/dblewmaroch.html - Dante Marochini lived at 1309 Dauphine with James Ronald Lewallen, who also worked for NASA at the Chrysler plant in Michoud.
HSCA Report, Volume XI Current Section: W. David Slawson
1964 memo by David Slawson: "Mrs. Odio has revealed the following facts about the two Cuban leaders: One of them referred to himself as 'Leopoldo', the other was probably 'Rogelio Cisneros', and both of them were from Puerto Rico or Miami. The third man accompanying them, who said very little, she first told the FBI was introduced to her as 'Leon Oswald'. Now she is saying it was simply 'Leon'. When Mrs. Odio first spoke to representatives of the FBI, the physical description she gave of 'Leon Oswald' roughly fitted Lee Harvey Oswald. She is now reported to be saying the 'Leon Oswald' had a mustache or at least was unshaved, and that he had a dark, Cuban-like complexion."
Re 1963-1967: "Russo testified (note: in 1967) that in September 1963 he had attended a party at David Ferrie's apartment in New Orleans. Russo identified Clay Shaw as being present but said that he had been introduced to him at the party as 'Clem Bertrand'... (p. 14): Russo never admitted he was 'positive' about Leon Oswald being Lee Harvey Oswald, and Garrison admits as much in his book. Russo...said that he thought it would have been Lee Harvey Oswald...had it not been for the fact that this Leon was scruffy and unkempt looking and also had a beard. Therefore he could not firmly identify him as being 'Leon'. 3/3/67 - FBI 62-109060 JFK HQ File, Section 116, p. 81: NASA's personnel branch reported that James Lewallen was a a "NASA contractor as a quality control inspector on the Saturn booster rocket, has a confidential clearance". On p. 82: When Ferrie was questioned on 11/25/63 about who could vouch for his movements, he provided the name Jim Laewallen.
FBI 62-109060 JFK HQ File, Section 119
3/16/67, Gerald Moses, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate: "Russo told (Clay Shaw's attorney - Irvin Dymond) he became convinced that Lee Oswald and "Leon" Oswald were the same person after a member of Garrison's staff pencilled a beard and shaggy hair over a picture of the President's accused assassin. Russo said he was puzzled over whether the two Oswalds were the same man, but insisted that the Oswald he met in Ferrie's apartment, was 'dirty, unkempt, and needing a shave.' 'I wasn't sure', Russo said, 'and then I got involved in other things...I'd look at the picture, and I'd say yes, and then I'd say no." Also see p. 76: "Richard Gerstein, state's attorney of Dade County, Florida...(said Garrison) contacted him several months ago when he believed he had uncovered a conspiracy and asked my help. I interviewed several persons in the Greater Miami on his behalf including some American citizens and some persons of Cuban background. I know Jim Garrison and I have complete confidence in his integrity and ability. I do not feel he would embark on such an investigation unless he had good cause." Also see p. 75, which contains a photo of Lewallen with sunglasses and a drawing of Oswald with a pencilled in mustache and beard. Also see http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20Materials/Sylvia%20Meagher%20Clips/Sylvia%20Meagher%20Images/SM-242.pdf - page 2 has a clear photo of Lewallen, along with excerpts from the Walter Sheridan "White Paper" that state that Lewallen might have been considered Ferrie's roommate in Sept. 1963, as one would with any one who spent more than two or three days at Ferrie's home.
FBI 62-109060 JFK HQ File, Section 121
3/17/67, Gerald Moses, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate: "Under (Clay Shaw's attorney - Irvin Dymond's) questioning about why he had not come forward after seeing Oswald's pictures after the assassination, Russo said, "I saw pictures of Oswald in the sun holding a gun, one with him delivering pamphlets, a picture of him getting shot. That face stayed in my mind but the FBI said they had got the man who shot President Kennedy. I read the Warren Commission was to investigate. I'm not going to argue with the FBI. But I told several of my friends, 'I might know that man.'"
Joan Mellen, A Farewell to Justice, p. 196
June 19, 1967: "Some of (Walter Sheridan's) "White Paper" is devoted to challenging Perry Russo's contention that the real Lee Harvey Oswald was present at Ferrie's gathering. On camera, Layton Martens claims that "Leon" was really James Lewallen, no matter that Lewallen was well over six feet tall. Martens adds his persistent lie that Ferrie admired President Kennedy. Martens under oath had denied having been present at the Schlumberger robbery, or that he had ever met Novel, or Juan Valdes. On April 5th, Martens had been indicted for perjury; Garrison termed it "arrogant perjury."" Also see 1994.04.28.14:57:28:100005 - p. 124 - CIA memo writer opined that Lewallen "looked like Oswald, except with beard."
104-10300-10404: NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
May 1967: Rosemary James, New Orleans States-Item: "Layton Martens, a 24 year old former roommate of David Ferrie, has been questioned by Garrison and the grand jury. Martens was arrested with Ferrie 72 hours after the assassination and questioned by the DA and federal authorities. Ferrie made a trip to Texas - Houston and Galveston - with two men. Although Martens was arrested, he said that he did not make the trip with him. Martens was indicted by the grand jury Wednesday...in connection with a Houma...arms theft."
104-10428-10204: REPORT ON 'LEON OSWALD'
1978: The CIA's Latin American division speculated that Roque Antonio Dalton Garcia, an American/Salvadorean, should be considered as 'Leon Oswald' because he appeared to be working with Cuban intelligence, used the alias Jose Olividio Puentes Leon in DGI work in late 1963, and appeared to be possibly in the same photo with Gilberto Policarpo Lopez, a Tampa FPCC member who returned to Cuba after 11/22/63 and was Jim Angleton's favorite suspect. (See pp. 7-9, and Joseph Trento's A Secret History of the USA for Angelton's suspicions). The remaining traces are Latin American traces of "Leon Oswald" or virtually anyone traveling under the name of "Leon".