Search for content in message boards

Charles Pezet & the JFK investigation

Charles Pezet & the JFK investigation

Posted: 29 Jun 2006 5:44AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 6 Jan 2007 8:49AM GMT
Surnames: Pezet, Wylie, Rodgers, Valle-Riestra
It never ceases to amaze me what can turn up in a Google Search.

How about a Pezet who was questioned by the FBI during one of the most intensive investigations of the last century: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy!

Buried in the 26 volumes of the Warren Commission Report, among thousands of documents and photos tracing the steps of Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, is commission exhibit No. 2467. It is an FBI report dated April 8, 1964 of interviews with Charles R. Pezet and Juanita Davalos at Dallas, Texas, concerning the identification of a bracelet similar to that belonging to Marina Oswald, wife of the accused assassin.

The Pezet connection is detailed in an FBI report found in Vol. 25, pages 640 to 643. (You can read the report at this link: http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh25/pdf/WH...
Or here: http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh25/html/WC... )

According to the report, Charles R. Pezet was operating a watch repair concession at the H.L. Green Department Store on Main Street in Dallas. The FBI was interested in expansion identification bracelets which Oswald and his wife both wore. What significance the bracelets had is not revealed in the report. During his interview, Charles Pezet indicated that he may have sold the bracelet in question to Marina Oswald, and after performing some test engravings for the FBI, he was fairly certain that he was the person who had engraved her name on the ID bracelet.

Shown a photo of Lee Harvey Oswald, Pezet told the FBI he was unable to recall whether the assassin had ever been one of his customers, but conceded that it was possible that Oswald had purchased items from his shop.

The agent goes on to recount that Charles Pezet had been called by a manager of the department store to engrave a piece of jewelry for a customer in early October 1963, about a month before Kennedy was killed, but Pezet did not pay much attention to the customer and could not even recall if it was a man or a woman.

Charles Pezet belonged to a branch of the Pezet family from Peru that settled in the United States. He was the only child of Carlos Pezet Valle-Riestra, who served as counsel general of Peru in Houston, Texas, among other diplomatic posts, and Carmela Rodgers. Charles was a great, great grandson of Gen. Juan Antonio Pezet, president of Peru (1863-65).

Charles married Laverne Wylie of Dallas and they had three daughters. Laverne died on April 1, 2005. Charles passed away in January of 2006 at the age of 82.

Re: Charles Pezet & the JFK investigation

Norita Scott-Pezet (View posts)
Posted: 30 Jun 2006 1:25PM GMT
Classification: Query
Peter, what a fascinating story. Could not help but thinking as I was reading through this, that it would be most interesting to publish a book about the Pezet's in the Americas, where each branch came from. There are Pezet's in the USA, in Canada, in Central and Sourth America, Alaska ??, Caribbean ???. Who were their ancestors? Lets learn more about them.

Its been at least five years since I started working on the Pezets in Panama. Very hard to find out more about the first Pezet in this country. At least I now do have good information on most of the Pezet's that came after him.

Re: Charles Pezet & the JFK investigation

Posted: 2 Jul 2006 3:37AM GMT
Classification: Immigration
Edited: 6 Jan 2007 8:49AM GMT
Surnames: Pezet
Hi Norita,

Glad you enjoyed the anecdote about Charles Pezet.

As for your idea about writing a book on the Pezets in the Americas, the thought has occurred to me too, and I think it would be a very interesting project. It has always been my hope that the people visiting this message board (or the parallel one on Rootsweb) would share their family history and stories to broaden our collective knowledge of the Pezet family. I have tried to do that and have "met" quite a few distant relatives and fellow researchers, like yourself, as a result. Perhaps if we all put out heads together, we could do it. One thing that I think would be essential is finding a bilingual partner in France who could help with the research on the families of the Pezet who emigrated from France to America.

To be continued....

Saludos,
Peter.

Re: Charles Pezet & the JFK investigation

Posted: 31 Jul 2015 2:43AM GMT
Classification: Query
this is 2015. 8 years since we commented on this thread. Just to let you know that I am working on a book about the Pezets in Panama. Hopefully will have it ready to send to print by the end of this year....Regards, Norita
per page

Find a board about a specific topic