Camelot Uninterrupted

This timeline will pursue the possibilities of what would have happened had John F. Kennedy not been assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. The results of this change in the timeline of American history sets off numerous changes in the country that leads a considerably different United States than the one we see today.

Point of Convergence: April 10, 1963
On April 10, 1963, former Marine and Dallas resident Lee Harvey Oswald peered into a nearby house, that of retired Major General Edwin Walker. "Fascist son-of-a-bitch," Oswald muttered to himself as he looked down the scope of his 6.5 mm caliber Carcano rifle. Walker was well-known around the area for his right-wing leanings: he was an avid anti-Communist, supportive of segregation, and, perhaps worst of all to Oswald, a member of the right-wing John Birch Society. Oswald had purchased the rifle under an assumed name, "A. Hiddell", due to his association with communism and his suspecting that he may not be allowed to purchase a gun under his given name. Oswald had planned on making such a statement for some time, and Walker gave him his chance.

As Oswald peered into Walker's house through a window, Walker sat at his desk, the back of his head pointed toward Oswald's rifle. Oswald thought "this must be fate" and took a shot at Walker. And then another. One bullet struck Walker's forearm, but another struck Walker in the head, killing him almost instantly. Walker, who had no wife and children, was left to bleed on the floor of his house. Oswald, struck by the events despite his willingness to shoot Walker, his his rifle and escaped the scene immediately, hoping to avoid suspicion.

Four days later, on April 14, Easter Sunday, Oswald and his wife Marina were visited by their friends George and Jeanne de Mohrenschildt. Lee showed George around their apartment, where they came across George's rifle, standing upright. George joked to Lee, "Where you the one who shot General Walker?" The story had covered the Dallas news that week, but the Dallas Police had not yet found a suspect in the case. Lee didn't respond but simply smiled, but George's suspicions weren't appeased. After George and Jeanne left, George spent the next few days contemplating the possibility that someone he knew had committed a murder that he heard about constantly on the television and the radio for the last week. George knew that there was something off about Oswald, and not just because of his politics. He knew that Oswald and Walker had opposing viewpoints, but until seeing Oswald's reaction he hadn't suspected that he was capable of murder. After contemplating the possibility for three days, George decided to go to the police on April 17.

The Dallas Police talked with George about his suspicions for hours, putting together a possible case toward arresting Oswald. Lee was a Marine, and capable of taking the aim necessary to kill Walker. On top of that, Lee had infamously tried to defect to Soviet Union in 1959, something that the Associated Press had made known that year. Believing that Oswald had a political motivation to kill Walker, the Dallas Police next sent out a call to gun stores with Oswald's photo, trying to find the store that sold Walker his rifle. One gun store clerk recognized Oswald's picture and reported that he had sold the rifle to Oswald under his assumed name, which furthered police suspicions. The Dallas Police now had a method and a motivation for Walker's murder, and moved in to make the arrest on April 30, 1963. Oswald was very resistant to police attempts to arrest him, requiring several officers to tackle him before he could be handcuffed.

Months later, on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was preparing for his trip to Dallas, Texas, part of a kick-off for what was sure to be a extensive and bruising re-election campaign.