CONSPIRACY THEORIST:
>>> "Why would RC [Roger Craig] lie?" <<<
DAVID VON PEIN:
That's a good question indeed. And I won't pretend to know what was going through Roger Craig's mind when he said (at some point after April 1964) he saw the words "7.65 MAUSER" stamped on the barrel of Oswald's Carcano rifle.
Interestingly, however, you won't find the word "Mauser" mentioned even ONE time during Craig's semi-lengthy April 1st, 1964, session with the Warren Commission, even after Craig was asked this open-ended question by David Belin:
"Anything else happen up to that time [i.e., AFTER the rifle had been found on the 6th Floor, which Craig had just described before Belin asked this very question] that you haven't related here that you feel might be important?"
The next word out of Craig's mouth was: "No."
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/craig.htm
And I won't pretend to know exactly why Deputy Sheriff Craig would say that the bullet shells that were discovered in the sniper's window were "lying three in a row, not more than an inch apart, all pointing in the same direction" (direct quote from Roger D. Craig via the video program "Two Men In Dallas").
But this picture proves Craig to be just flat-out wrong with respect to the sniper's-nest bullet shells:
Given the sum total of all the evidence, I feel confident in saying with a good deal of firmness and finality that Roger D. Craig, for whatever reason(s), DID DELIBERATELY LIE about at least one very, very important piece of evidence (the rifle) associated with the JFK murder case.
And there's ample information and evidence to support the notion that Craig lied about some other things besides just the rifle as well. But the "7.65 Mauser" comment that came out of Craig's mouth is a provable "lie", without a shred of a doubt.
I'll also add the following remarks as an addendum to the Mauser/Craig controversy:
If it could be established that NO MAUSER RIFLE had ever been manufactured (prior to November 1963) with a "7.65 MAUSER" marking on its barrel, that fact ALONE, of course, would prove that Roger Craig lied when he said he saw such writing printed on the barrel of the gun that was found on the sixth floor of the Book Depository.
I have no idea if such a thing can be proven beyond all doubt or not. After all, a lot of "Mauser" rifles had been made up to 1963. I certainly haven't been able to establish if ANY Mauser rifle ever made prior to '63 was ever stamped with such a marking on its barrel. But it's definitely some food for additional thought anyway.
Also, I'll add the following picture (provided by John McAdams' website), which shows the similarities between a Mauser and a Carcano. I can easily see how someone could confuse the two types of rifles if they only saw one of these types of guns from a distance, or "at a glance":
David Von Pein
November 2007
LINK TO ORIGINAL POST (NOVEMBER 8, 2007)
