“My experience as a curator has been, if people have room and it’s a Kennedy item, they will collect it,” — Gary Mack, Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas.
Gary was right, as creepy as it was. He was right.
Gary Mack was commenting on a macabre item that came up for auction recently and now is headed for an honored spot in a museum, however there could be legal action taken before it goes on display.
This is the real deal, folks.
It is the coffin that Lee Harvey Oswald was originally buried in, after he was shot by Jack Ruby back in 1963. Oswald, the alleged killer of President John Kennedy was exhumed in 1981.
“The coffin was put on the auction block late last month by a Texas funeral home owner who swapped it with Oswald’s family for a new one when the body was briefly exhumed in 1981. It sold ... for $87,469, which includes a 20 percent buyers’ fee,” according to the Associated Press.
The problem is, according to Robert L. Oswald, the 76-year-old brother of the assassin, the coffin belongs to him, if anyone.
He told the AP that he purchased that coffin back in 1963, and never relinquished ownership, and he wants the “artifact” destroyed.
He said he “attempted to contact a funeral home owner to halt the sale, but his call was not returned. He said a similar request was ignored by the Santa Monica auction house that handled the sale.
“‘This is not about money on my part.’ Oswald said. ‘The coffin should have been destroyed years ago, and that is what I desire now.’”
Even in our culture of celebrity-sickness and fame obsession, it would seem that the man has his rights.
The wreck of a coffin should be turned over to the family that bought it — with money and with years of pain — so that it can be destroyed.
But it certainly should never be put on display.
— Chuck Smith