CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Sixty years ago, historians say, America lost its innocence when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There’s a relic tied to that fateful day in Chesterfield County.
Inside an auto repair shop sits an ordinary, rusty car. A pale green 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon that has not run in decades. The owner of the vehicle, Frank Badalson, says he hopes this artifact of the past can provide a clearer picture of the villain of that day on Nov. 22, 1963.
“What it entails is ultimately the murder of the president of the United States,” Badalson said.
According to Badalson, it was 60 years ago when Lee Harvey Oswald drove this car.
It was owned by his friend, Ruth Paine and she gave him driving lessons in the car. On a few occasions, it stored the very rifle Oswald used to assassinate John F. Kennedy.
“Many think that it’s incredible to believe that a person so simple as Lee Harvey Oswald could pull this off,” Badalson said.
Badalson is a former Chesterfield police officer who says he spent years using his law enforcement skills to study the assassination. His investigations led to a close friendship with the car’s original owner and the surviving secret service agents who were with Kennedy that day.
“There is no justification for saying that Oswald was a simple guy and couldn’t do it,” Badalson said. “He did it.”
The Warren Commission reported Oswald ordered the rifle from the February 1963 issue of “The American Rifleman” magazine. Badalson has a copy of the same issue Oswald read.
“It’s the cheapest rifle advertised in the entire magazine,” explained Badalson. “The scope, as we see in the ad, made the rifle $19.95 … The only reason this weapon was cheap is because it was a 1940 model used by the Italians. The war was over, World War II was over … all these rifles were just sold as surplus. This was a war rifle. They made hundreds of thousands of these. There’s nothing wrong with this weapon.”
Badalson explained Oswald’s military training made this crime easy.
“That final headshot was 265 feet. Which equates to roughly 88 yards — 88 yards with a four-power scope becomes 22 yards,” Badalson said. “Anybody that is experienced with weapons knows that that’s an easy shot.”
The death of President Kennedy has sparked lots of conspiracy theories, but Badalson says Oswald acted alone.
“Those that don’t agree try to find one little way, one little item to focus on and ignore everything else to try to foster conspiracy.”
This car is a symbol of how just a few small, ordinary steps led to one of the biggest crimes in American history.
You can see the car for free yourself at Hancock’s Automotive on Iron Bridge Road.
