J. Mason Lnnkford

  J. MASON LANKFORD

In another FBI report it is noted that it was J.M. Lankford who ran Robert K. Patterson:

At approximately 1:00 PM, on November 26, 1963, J. M. LANKFORD, Special Agent, Office of Naval Intelligence, Dallas, Texas, personally appeared at the Dallas Field Division. Mr. LANKFORD advised SA John J. FLANAGAN that approximately fifteen minutes previously an informant of his had contacted him concerning JACK RUBY and LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

LANKFORD stated that his informant, ROBERT KERMIT PATTERSON, an admitted homosexual, has been furnishing information to ONI for some time. He has, in the past, furnished signed statements to the Office of Naval Intelligence setting forth his homosexual activities with young servicemen….

Patterson, a former Navy man, lived at the YMCA and an associate Donald C. Stuart and operated a TV and radio repair shop with Charles Arndt, who also lived at the YMCA. Two weeks previous Ruby and a man who appeared to be Oswald visited there shop Contract Electonics at 2533 Elm St. Stuart also worked at KLIF. 

In that last sentence we also learn that Lankford’s ONI informant Robert K. Patterson was living at the Dallas YMCA, where Oswald also lived on occasion, and that Patterson was affiliated with Stuart, who also worked at KLIF, the Dallas radio stationed owned by Gordon McLendon, who also had ties to both Ruby and ONI.

John Mason Lankford Jr. (1921-1997), better known as Mason Lankford, Fire Marshal of Tarrant County (Fort Worth), Texas. worked for General Dynamics/Convair Division as Director of Security (from 1948 to 1972), where Robert Oswald was employed at Convair during in 1956. Two other GD Security officers were I B Hale, ex-FBI whose wife got Oswald jobs (and whose sons broke into the apartment of Judith Campbell Extner) and Max Clark, who knew Oswald. In addition to chief firefighter and Convair director of security, Lankford was board chairman of the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies, and was probably acquainted with DPD Detective Paul Bentley, who was head of the Texas association of polygraph operators.

As an “old acquaintance” of Texas-based Secret Service agent Mike Howard, Lankford assisted Howard in securing Fort Worth for JFK’s visit and on Sunday morning, November 24th, Howard called him to request that he accompany him as part of the security team protecting Marina and Marguerite Oswald at the Inn of the Six Flags at Arlington. The site was said to have been chosen by Lankford. Also present was Robert Oswald, who refers to Lankford as “Mason,” suggesting the two had known each other, possibly from Convair. Mason Lankford’s father, John Mason Lankford Sr. worked at Temco in the early 1950s and could have known David Harold Byrd, owner of the TSBD building.

[22] Lankford, Mason. Background.