THE LUCIEN CONEIN LOOK-ALIKE WAS NOT CONEIN


On October 12, 2008, I received an email from Frank Caplett informing me that the man resembling Lucien Conein in the photograph taken by James Altgens (below, arrowed) is not Conein.

In 1999, Mr. Caplett was invited to accompany a colleague on a drive to Dallas to visit an aunt. In the aunt's home he saw on the wall a framed version of Altgens photograph with a newspaper clip acknowledging the presence the aunt's late husband in the famous picture.

Mr. Caplett: "...this guy is in no way, form or fashion Conein."



I have written to the aunt seeking confirmation.
If/when I receive a response, its import will be reported here. -- Allan Eaglesham (10/15/08)


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On November 24, 2009, I received several photographs of Robert H. Adams from Mr. Caplett, including one of an identity card, taken in the home of the aunt referred to above. A comparison with the Lucien-Conein look-alike is provided below as well as a framed picture which shows a newspaper clipping naming Mr. Adams as present in the Altgens picture.

Mr. Caplett: "In 1963 Mr. Adams worked at the downtown post office. During his lunch break [on November 22], he walked to the location where he was pictured on Main Street in front of the Criminal Courts building."


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I am grateful to Frank for following up on this matter and for making the effort and taking the time to clarify the situation. It is clear that the man with the "widow's peak," in the photo taken by James Altgens at the corner of Main and Houston, was not Lucien Conein. -- Allan Eaglesham (11/24/09)


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On January 29, 2011, researcher Morgan Reynolds posted the following on the Deep Politics Forum at:


"Jim Fetzer remains adamant that the Altgens photo in question shows CIA spook Lucien Conein rather than Robert H. Adams, the person Allan Eaglesham and I believe is pictured.

To help resolve this controversy, I called Frank Caplett, special ed teacher, the man who contacted Allan a few years ago with new information that convinced Allan the photo shows Adams, not Conein, whereupon Allan changed his 'familiar faces' website identification from Conein to Adams. I hit if off with Frank in our conversation of nearly two weeks ago, partly because we both are Green Bay Packer fans with our respective Wisconsin connections, and I found him completely convincing. He supplied me with the photos he had of Adams and explained that in 1999 he embarked on an auto trip on Memorial Day weekend with Edith Ellis, a teaching colleague, and they stopped in Dallas to visit Edith's aunt, Imogene Adams, as part of their Texas itinerary. Frank recognized the famed, framed photo (not 'plaque' as he initially mislabeled it) with 'newspaper' caption on a wall in Imogene's house. Since Frank was a lifelong JFK assassination buff, he was excited at this discovery but waited to learn more while Edith and Imogene enjoyed their visit. In response to Frank's eventual question, widow Imogene replied, "Yes, that's my husband." After many years of marriage, Robert H. Adams died of lung cancer and Imogene never remarried. She is a retired nurse, 86 years old. She added, 'His friends called him the next morning when they saw his picture in the paper.'

Nine years later Frank happened to see Allan's website and contacted him about the mistaken identification of Conein for Adams, an innocent spectator on the day of the assassination who was on his lunch break from his postal job at the facility nearby. Convinced by the photos and story from Frank, Allan changed his website to account for the new information. So this account depends upon two 'serendipity' events: 1) Frank's visit to Imogene Adams' home and unplanned discovery of the framed photo, and 2) discovery of Allan Eaglesham's website nine years later and motivation to initiate a correction of what he believed was a mistaken identification.

Yesterday I called Imogene Adams to hear what she had to say. She lives a few blocks from Love Field and is listed in the Dallas white pages, address and all. Initially she was suspicious about who I was and why I was calling. As the conversation rolled on, she relaxed. She confirmed the visit by Edith and Frank over a decade earlier and I asked if the framed photo with caption was on a wall in her house: 'Yes, it was.' What about the 'newspaper' caption? She said it was a corrected caption to 'mention my husband.' Did she make the caption? 'Yes.' What about the wrong day and date? 'I did have the wrong date.' Did she make the caption yourself? 'I took it to a print shop and they made it for me.' So this was a matter of family pride that her husband was in a famous newspaper photo at an historic event, the assassination of president Kennedy? 'Yes.'

Conclusion? It is Robert Adams in the Altgens photo by all common-sense standards. I find Imogene Adams the most improbable conspiracist/Langley contract agent I can imagine."


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I am grateful to Morgan for following up on the information provided by Frank, thus clarifying the situation further. Beyond a reasonable doubt, the man with the "widow's peak," in the photo taken by James Altgens at the corner of Main and Houston, was not Lucien Conein. -- Allan Eaglesham (1/30/11)


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More photographs of photographs of Mr. Adams, taken by Frank Caplett:


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