More than 50 years ago, Jack Swike was in Atsugi, Japan, where he served as a Marine Corps Intelligence officer in charger of security and top-secret material for Marine Air Group 11 (MAG-11) in 1956 and '57. Swike, who lives in Merrillville, would leave Japan just months before Lee Harvey Oswald would be stationed there.
Over the last three decades, Swike, displaying the intellectual curiosity necessary to be an intelligence officer, has been delving into what he considers almost a lost period of history in Oswald's life. He has put together years of extensive research in a new book, "The Missing Chapter: Lee Harvey Oswald in the Far East," which was self-published and available for $19.95 from Amazon.com.
Swike, a graduate of the Marine Corps Officers Candidate School, U.S. Navel Intelligence Schools, U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Intelligence School, Marine Corps Basic Officers School and the U.S. Counterintelligence School, says he decided to write the book after reading the Warren Commission report and challenging some of its findings.
"In the decades since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, many investigations have been conducted and countless books written about alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald," writes Swike in the forward of his book. "But no one -- until now -- has written exclusively about Oswald's military service in the Far East, a key part of his brief life. From my research, I've found that most information in current books about Oswald's life overseas is incorrect, as are statements made by witnesses and researchers."
Swike was determined to change that.
"For years there were many tings you couldn't talk about, because it was classified information," says Swike, who also worked as a counterintelligence agent for the U.S. government after military service and who now is a full-time consultant for the plumbing and piping contractors union.
"This book answers a lot of questions and solves some mysteries," says Swike noting his next book will probably be about his humorous experiences in the military.
"But it also creates some more mysteries too."
FYI: "The Missing Chapter: Lee Harvey Oswald in the Far East" by Jack Swike, which was self-published and available for $19.95 from Amazon.com.
