John Ritchson Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Just to let you all know that after 24 years of searching I have found my lost child, my daughter Persephone and she is well and I am now a Grandfather to 2 beutiful little girls, and I hope to soon be reunited with my family. I am now going to open this bottle of very good 21 yo scotch and procede to do it serious bodily injury. In Best Spirits, John Ritchson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Parker Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Congratulations John! (Sounds a bit a bit like the myth of the original Persephone coming true...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Mauro Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Just to let you all know that after 24 years of searching I have found my lost child, my daughter Persephone and she is well and I am now a Grandfather to 2 beutiful little girls, and I hope to soon be reunited with my family. I am now going to open this bottle of very good 21 yo scotch and procede to do it serious bodily injury. In Best Spirits, John Ritchson <{POST_SNAPBACK}> John, this is wonderful news! I'm really happy for you, and wish you much well-deserved happiness with this long, over-due reunion. Family is so important. I wish you God-speed. Warmest regards, Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wim Dankbaar Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 (edited) Congrats. How did you find them? Wim By the way, I'd appreciate your comments on this: "Wim Fabricating Truth of the XP-100 on his website" While the Lancer Forum was down, I took the time to browse some of the other JFK Assassination sites, as well as re-read a considerable amount of testimony from the WC, HSCA and ARRB. While doing this, I took some time on Wim Dankbarr’s JFKMurdersolved website and more carefully read his postings on the XP-100. Since Wim was confident enough to post this on his site, then I believe it is fair game and the readers should know what a crock it is. I have posted several times on the forum of the unlikelihood of a weapon such as the XP-100 being utilized a weapon of choice on the knoll in DP. Wim took a portion of those postings and challenged it on his site by using a gunshop owner by the name of Dan who knows as much about guns as Wim does. Maybe that is why he was so confident to post Dan’s reply which in itself, did not address my concerns, with exception of the recoil factor, and that was even laughable. I have stated time and again that this would not be a weapon of choice due to it being a handgun that is poorly balanced in the offhand manner of support, is difficult to pan a moving target (especially in the case of DP with a varying vertical, horizontal and speed range), is a one-shot weapon within this timeline of the shots as it has to be reloaded by hand, and the fact that Files or anyone else could not have followed such a close range shot through an optic or through naked eye to impact as he claims. The time in flight of such a shot was (2600fps at 90 feet) was .034 seconds. Consider the recoil of the weapon which would interfere with LOS and the startle reaction from the detonation and recoil, this is humanly impossible. Wim posted Dan challenging my recoil issue by comparing the Oswald rifle of 6.5mm MC to a 7.65mm. He states that the 6.5mm is slightly less than the 7.65mm. He is accurate with the 7.65mm 180gr recoil energy of roughly 19lbs, but fails to list the 6.5mm MC as it is roughly 12lbs. This is slightly less. He then refers to the .221 at 50gr of the XP-100 at 5-7lbs. What he fails to address, as he is incapable of understanding obviously is that the manageable recoil energy is not even comparable as one is dealing with a shoulder mounted weapon while the other is dealing with a hand held, extended arm handgun. To put this into perspective, lets compare the Remington XP-100 in .223 55gr at 7lbs and the Remington 700 in the same .223 at the same 7lbs. The XP-100 has to be controlled by the arms and hands while the 700 receives and controls the energy through the shoulder and into the upper trunk of the body. A weight dispersion difference of some 70%. This is like comparing shooting a full stock shotgun in comparison to a pistol grip shotgun fired in the off-hand mode. Which will produce more rise and recoil? Wim then follows it up with John Ritchson, Marine Veteran of the 2nd TET in VN and Gunsmith, who refers to the manageable recoil of the XP-100 to his .44 magnum. I was generous in my previous posts and compared it to my .41 magnum of slightly less recoil then the .44 magnum. Both having extensive recoil for a handgun. John then goes into fantasyland with his ability to thread a needle with his .44 at 150yds. While Wim tried to make a case for his Files theory, in doing so, he simply proved how ridiculous it is. In closing, I would like to point out how he lists the XP-100 as the “Most Accurate Weapon in the World”. Maybe he should check with Remington to get their opinion on that. Does anyone else wonder why the XP-100 is still under the classification of Experimental Pistol and why it is minimally manufactured and sold as simply a novelty weapon? Some snipers choice, eh? Al Edited September 23, 2004 by Wim Dankbaar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Just to let you all know that after 24 years of searching I have found my lost child, my daughter Persephone and she is well and I am now a Grandfather to 2 beutiful little girls, and I hope to soon be reunited with my family.John Ritchson This is great news. I know most of the highlights of my life have been in the company of my daughter. How did you find her? Did you make use of the research skills you have developed during your study of the JFK assassination? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ritchson Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 (edited) Congrats.>How did you find them? Wim Greetings, that part was easy although time consuming, I simply did a people search on everyone on the planet named Persephone and sent them all an email and one day my daughter responded. I sent several thousand emails BTW >By the way, I'd appreciate your comments on this: >"Wim Fabricating Truth of the XP-100 on his website" >While the Lancer Forum was down, I took the time to browse some of the other >JFK Assassination sites, as well as re-read a considerable amount of testimony >from the WC, HSCA and ARRB. While doing this, I took some time on Wim >Dankbarr’s JFKMurdersolved website and more carefully read his postings on the >XP-100. >Since Wim was confident enough to post this on his site, then I believe it is fair >game and the readers should know what a crock it is. I have posted several >times on the forum of the unlikelihood of a weapon such as the XP-100 being >utilized a weapon of choice on the knoll in DP. Wim took a portion of those >postings and challenged it on his site by using a gunshop owner by the name of >Dan who knows as much about guns as Wim does. Maybe that is why he was so >confident to post Dan’s reply which in itself, did not address my concerns, with >exception of the recoil factor, and that was even laughable. First, I havn't read this post before and don't know anything about its' author. However I have some reservations about a gunshop owner who doesn't know anything about the products he deals in, or in a person who would make such an assertion without thoroughly investigating that individual. As to the matter of recoil, that is a purely subjective concept. What you might find difficult or unmanageble or even painfull, others would have no problem at all. I have extensively fired the worlds most powerfull weapons up to and including the .50 caliber BMG rifle and Dick Casull's monster 45-70 revolver. I have thousands of hours of range-time with these weapons and I have no problem at all dealing with the recoil factor from any weapon I've fired. In fact my range instructor in Army Basic Training took a 7.62mm/.308 M-14 rifle and stuck the steel butt in his crotch and shot off a 30 round mag just to show the trainees that the recoil was managable. >I have stated time and again that this would not be a weapon of choice due to it >being a handgun that is poorly balanced in the offhand manner of support, is >difficult to pan a moving target (especially in the case of DP with a varying >vertical, horizontal and speed range), is a one-shot weapon within this timeline >of the shots as it has to be reloaded by hand, and the fact that Files or anyone >else could not have followed such a close range shot through an optic or through >naked eye to impact as he claims. The time in flight of such a shot was (2600fps >at 90 feet) was .034 seconds. Consider the recoil of the weapon which would >interfere with LOS and the startle reaction from the detonation and recoil, this is >humanly impossible. Who is this guy? About the only thing I agree with in that above statement is that a .222 chambered XP-100 with a 10 1/2" barrel would not be my weapon of choice for killing the president of the United States. Even though the XP-100 is one weapon I've never had a chance to evaluate, I've fired several thousand rounds through a similar constructed .222 chambered Thomson Contender at both stationary and moving targets from multible positions and angles of trajectory and have found it more than adaquite as to accuracy and management. I've further consulted with Dave Emory the chief ballistician for Hornady as well as three of Americas' best snipers during Vietnam and they all agree the .222 XP-100 was more than adaquite to get the job done as it were. I'm speaking of couse of Gunny Hathcock, Craig Roberts, and Bert Waldren. Wayne Leek the chief ballistician for Remington developed the XP-100 to be the worlds' most powerfull and accurate "VARMIT" handgun, but rechambered it to a smaller less powerfull .221 cartridge after he decided the .222 burned a bit too much powder for a weapon with a 10 1/2" barrel. The deal here is the hotter the cartridge, the faster it washes out the barrel rifling. Even so, those varmit hunters I know who own XP-100s all say they have no trouble bowling over Cayotes at ranges up to 300 yards. BTW, the Snipers' Creed is, ONE SHOT-ONE KILL >Wim posted Dan challenging my recoil issue by comparing the Oswald rifle of >6.5mm MC to a 7.65mm. He states that the 6.5mm is slightly less than the >7.65mm. He is accurate with the 7.65mm 180gr recoil energy of roughly 19lbs, >but fails to list the 6.5mm MC as it is roughly 12lbs. This is slightly less. He then >refers to the .221 at 50gr of the XP-100 at 5-7lbs. What he fails to address, as >he is incapable of understanding obviously is that the manageable recoil energy >is not even comparable as one is dealing with a shoulder mounted weapon while >the other is dealing with a hand held, extended arm handgun. Apples and Oranges, Besides I always thought my arm was connected to my shoulder??? Also, felt recoil energy is dependent totally upon the weight and charactoristics of the weapon and shooter. >To put this into perspective, lets compare the Remington XP-100 in .223 55gr at >7lbs and the Remington 700 in the same .223 at the same 7lbs. The XP-100 has >to be controlled by the arms and hands while the 700 receives and controls the >energy through the shoulder and into the upper trunk of the body. A weight >dispersion difference of some 70%. This is like comparing shooting a full stock >shotgun in comparison to a pistol grip shotgun fired in the off-hand mode. Which >will produce more rise and recoil? So what? If your only going to get off one shot to make the kill all of the above becomes completely irrelevent. >Wim then follows it up with John Ritchson, Marine Veteran of the 2nd TET in VN >and Gunsmith, who refers to the manageable recoil of the XP-100 to his .44 >magnum. I was generous in my previous posts and compared it to my .41 >magnum of slightly less recoil then the .44 magnum. Both having extensive >recoil for a handgun. John then goes into fantasyland with his ability to thread a >needle with his .44 at 150yds. First, I'm a former US Army Recon Ranger 11Boo Doggy not a Jarhead. Secondly, It all depends on the load. And Lastly, while I've never "ACTUALLY" threaded a needle, my .44 mag Super Blackhawk Buntline Special with the right load and bullet in the hands of the right shooter is quite capable of 1moa accuracy at ranges up to 500 yards and I stand ready to prove it anytime, anywhere. >While Wim tried to make a case for his Files theory, in doing so, he simply >proved how ridiculous it is. While it is highly doughtfull Files did the shooting there is no question a .222 chambered XP-100 could get the job done. >In closing, I would like to point out how he lists the XP-100 as the “Most Accurate >Weapon in the World”. Maybe he should check with Remington to get their >opinion on that. Once again Accuracy is totally dependent on "LOAD" "BULLET" "RANGE" "EXTERNAL BALLISTIC CONDITIONS" and the charactoristics and nature of the shooter. >Does anyone else wonder why the XP-100 is still under the classification of >Experimental Pistol and why it is minimally manufactured and sold as simply a >novelty weapon? Some snipers choice, eh? Here are the Facts from Remington: Wayne Leek built 99 .222 Fireball XP-100s prior to 1962. All of those Fireballs will have a serial number less than 1,000. In late 1962 The .221 Fireball went into production and 13 were produced before the end of the year. By 1963 5,564 were sold. When the .221 XP-100 went out of production in 1975 some 156,160 Fireball XP-100s had been produced. On Jan 3, 1978 Remington reintroduced the XP-100 chambered for the 7mm Remington BR cartridge and the .223 cartridge which as of 1990 was still in production. I don't have the numbers for that model but I would hardly say this is an experimental firearm. And as for Novelty weapon: Here is what remington themselves have to say about it: "The Remington XP-100 is a single shot high power pistol for "EXTREAM" [Emphesis Mine] accuracy and long range shooting." It comes with recoil compensation , trigger-pull adjustment, predrilled and tapped scope holes, and 5 forend weight slots in the stock for adding or subtracting forend weight. Those wishing to contact Remington themselves simply go to their website and email their request. I hope this addresses this Issue. John Ritchson Al <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Edited September 23, 2004 by John Ritchson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wim Dankbaar Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Thanks John, The guy is Al Carrier, a motorcycle patrol cop from California, who seemingly has made it his mission to discredit Files (and me) on the JFKLancer forum, based on the alledged impossibility of the XP-100 to have been the weapon delivering the fatal headshot from the grassy knoll as Files decribed it. As for the choice of weapon for this particular job, let me quote Files himself: 1994: I told him I would like to use the Fireball. He said why that one? He said you've only got one shot. I said one shot's all I'm gonna get anyway if I wait until the last moment of fire and I may not fire, I said, and it's easy to conceal and I carry it in a briefcase and nobody will pay any attention to me and it's easier to walk away from there. ----------- Shortly before the motorcade came, I went back up there and started securing myself in a better position so I'd be able to reach the attache case at that point ...the briefcase...I knew once that I opened the briefcase up and pulled the weapon out, nobody's gonna be looking at me, the motorcade would be coming...making its first time...and I wouldn't have to remove the Fireball from the briefcase until approximately... they made the first turn on Elm Street there and I would have plenty of time at that point 2003: Chuck said: We’re going for a head shot now. I said: This I understand, I realize this. He said: You are not going to fire unless it becomes a necessity. He says: If I miss, then it’s gonna be up to you. He says: But you don’t fire, unless I miss. It’s gonna be your call at that point. So you got to be very alert on this. And I told him: Don’t worry about me. I got it, boss! And he said: What are you gonna use? I said: I’m gonna use the Fireball. And he looked at me and he says: Why? Why the Fireball? Now, the Fireball, for people who don’t know what a Fireball is, it’s like a cutdown rifle. It’s actually basically this long. It’s a weapon that was well ahead of its time, this was one of the prototypes, the agency had gotten a hold of it, it had been manufactured by Remington. Now, a lot of people are gonna tell you that this particular weapon was not available at that time. But this weapon was available. It didn’t go on sale untill a few years later. But this weapon had been manufactured as early as in 1961. We had a lot of trouble with the barrel blowing up when we used too big a round on it or something, overloads in it. A lot of problems with it, but they finally reinforced the barrel, we got it where it worked pretty good. And Chuck asked me: “Why the Fireball? Because you’ve only got one shot!” Because the Remington Fireball 2.22 is a single shot bolt action pistol and you can mount a scope on it. “Well, if I’m gonna wait untill you are through, I said, I’m gonna get one shot anyway, so it doesn’t really matter! Because I’ll never get a chance for a second shot. Because I will wait till the last possible moment.” He said: Okay, it’s your call! ---------------------- JF – Oh, I don’t know who was splattered I think one of the agents, probably one of the Secret Service agents riding on the back of the car. I am only assuming, I will say they probably got splattered because there was stuff everywhere. But one other thing I want to point out about the Remington .222 Fireball. It’s a high velocity pistol, the round travels aproximately 3180 feet per second. Now then, for this type of weapon there is very little recoil. Now a lot of people say there is a lot of recoil, it’s gonna jump and you can see nothing. And I have had a lot of criticism over the years over this here. So I’d like for somebody to go out to a firing range somewhere, a gunstore and take one of these particular types of weapons that carry a .222 round. You’re gonna find very little recoil. Especially when you are using an extended barrel weapon with a scope on it. You have the weight to hold it down, it’s not jumping and bouncing, you’re not shooting a 44 or 45. BTW, what makes you think it is unlikely that Files fired the shot? Wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ritchson Posted September 27, 2004 Author Share Posted September 27, 2004 Thanks John,[snip] BTW, what makes you think it is unlikely that Files fired the shot? Wim <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Greetings, I have two basic reservations: The .222 Fireball, based upon my interpetation of the killshot in the Zfilm produced far more ejecta from the Cratering Effect at the point of impact then I would expect to see even from hot mercury filled varmit load of that caliber and the headsnap was far more violent than I would expect to see from such a load even at close range. What I see is far more consistant with a much larger cartridge and a much more powerfull load, such as a mercury loaded 190gr boat tail hollowpoint fired from a weapon capable of handling 3,000fps pressures with that weight of bullet. I will see if I can post a picture of what I would concider the ideal sniper's weapon for an urban enviroment. I also question File's shooting abilitys. But hell, look what they did with respect to LHO and he couldn't hit the water if he jumped out of a boat. But seriously, Range time is all important and I've never seen his Range-Book posted or discussed. I'm fairly open minded when it comes to Files but I'm not satisfied that he is the kill-shooter. Respectfully, JohnR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wim Dankbaar Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 John, Thanks, The gun you pictured is not easily concealed. It does not fit in a briefcase. Moreover, it has a silencer. The grassy knoll gun did not seem to have one (Mary Woodward: There was an ear-shattering sound from behind us) Do you believe Charles Nicoletti was one of the shooters? Do you believe Johnny Roselli was in Dallas? You might want to write Files a letter. He'll respond to you. Wim JF – The original plan was that we would be shooting at a fast moving target. And Nicoletti had no military experience and I already had advised him that he would have to shoot high and the target would be running away from him. That he would have to shoot above the head. And we were going for a headshot, I told him “it’s going to be hard for you to hit him from there”. ------------ J – Tell me about these mercury loads. Can you describe them ? JF – Well, it was a 22 round and he took the tips off, he drilled them out and he inserted with an eyedrop, he put mercury into the end of the round and he restilled them with wax. This is to make them explode on impact. ---------------------- JF – Wolfman, when I contacted him after all this went down, and this is several years later, this is when I first met Joe West and Joe West had come here and visited me, we talked and he asked me: Do you think this party called Wolfman would talk to me? And Joe asked me what his real name was and I told him: I won’t divulge that but I will call him and talk to him. So I called him on the phone and I told him I was talking to Joe West from Texas, and he wanted to know who Joe was and I explained all this to him and I said: Joe would very much like to interview you. I did not give Joe West your name but I told him that you was the one that manufactured the special rounds. He made six rounds for me to take to Texas, all mercury loaded. I said: He wants to talk to you very much. Will you talk with him? And he said: Get back to me! I’ll let you know. He said: I wanna check a few things. The following week Wolfman was dead. ----------------- JF – What I believe is this : ….. And I got my readings as a marksman, I’m a good shooter, always was, I’m not bragging on my stuff, don’t get me wrong, but that’s what got me my start with David Phillips. Because of something that I did in the service, and I made a mark there and it’s on record and it’s recorded, for headshots, for what I did, and the things that I did. But anyway, to make a long story short, as I am preparing to squeeze off my round, Kennedy’s head moved forward, just as I squeezed. It was already in process, the head started forward. To me … what I believe is, … and I did not see, let me clear the fact now, I never saw Mr. Nicoletti shoot Kennedy, but I know he was the man in the Daltex building, the man supposed to be doing the shooting. Therefore the head started forward and as far as I am concerned Mr Nicoletti hit him at that point. As I squeezed off my round, the head started forward, I hit it and blew the head backwards. ----------- You know, and to me .. a lot of people are going to think I am probably sick, but when you get into a firefight, that was the ultimate high. I ‘ve never used drugs in my life. A firefight to me, being in the service, that was one of the greatest things there was. It was the ultimate high. And at this point, when you’re stalking down somebody, and this particular thing … it stopped me from hunting animals alltogethre. When I was young I used to love to go shoot deer, rabbit, squirls, whatever I could get, pheasants. ------------------- J – Where did you get hold of a prototype weapon like the XP-100? JF – It was given to me by David Phillips. I had received this maybe a year prior or 8 months. A year prior to the assassination. The gun had been used twice before on assassinations, but nobody like a president or nothing. It was good for using … if you want to get into a close place area or somewhere …. somebody might say why use a pistol? Well, anybody that knows their weapons, this particular piece is very accurate. Very accurate up to a 100 yards. At a 100 feet I’m talking about , we’re shooting now from the grassy knoll down to the highway, to the street there, we’re talking roughly 30, 35 yards. We’re only talking a 100 feet, this is like shooting fish in a barrel. And especially with a 3 power scope on it. But the weapon had been used before, you could put it in a briefcase, you could walk anywhere with it, nobody would pay any attention to it. The case I had set up, I had a little loading press inside for it, in case I had to manufacture anything, I had a little holder for all the special rounds that were in it. Everything was packed, foam rubber inside, the case was watertight, waterproof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Healy Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 John writ: [...] I also question File's shooting abilitys. But hell, look what they did with respect to LHO and he couldn't hit the water if he jumped out of a boat. But seriously, Range time is all important and I've never seen his Range-Book posted or discussed. [...] Ben Holmes had posted (alt.conspiracy.jfk) a URL for LHO's USMC range book and quite a discussion ranged on for a few days on the board some months ago - I think, Holmes was a USMC range instructor, he served for 10+ years, of the "Officer" catagory. David Healy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Healy Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 [The guy is Al Carrier, a motorcycle patrol cop from California, who seemingly has made it his mission to discredit Files (and me) on the JFKLancer forum, based on the alledged impossibility of the XP-100 to have been the weapon delivering the fatal headshot from the grassy knoll as Files decribed it. [...] an aside: Carrier is a cop from Indiana - from his lips on Lancer. Also a instructor in some such police related things, also likes to posts his resume and pictures related to WH/Secret Service Presidential duties, when they arise in Indiana which I suspect seeing Indiana is GOP, not often. I suspect he's a pretty good cop, decent writing skills, too... according to him, he knows plenty about everything JFK -- ardent Bill Miller/Peters supporter... David Healy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ritchson Posted September 27, 2004 Author Share Posted September 27, 2004 John, Thanks, The gun you pictured is not easily concealed. It does not fit in a briefcase. Moreover, it has a silencer. The grassy knoll gun did not seem to have one (Mary Woodward: There was an ear-shattering sound from behind us) Do you believe Charles Nicoletti was one of the shooters? Do you believe Johnny Roselli was in Dallas? You might want to write Files a letter. He'll respond to you. Wim [snipped for brevity] Greetings, That particular weapon was resolved from high definition digital ehancement technology of the Grassy Knoll by Sam McClung and the weapon seen is very simular to a special Breakdown Urban Sniper Rifle Developed by a Corsican(SP?) Gunsmith whose name evades me for the moment but none the less is designed to be easily concealed. The attachment on the front is not a silencer but rather a combination flash suppressor and recoil compensator. It has a folding stock, removable barrel assembly, and action and could easily fit into a briefcase. I have a good bmg. formatted photo of the weapon which I will post as an attachment if I can find it that is. We are not asserting that this photo depicts the killshot shooter but it definently shows someone was up there besides Files and his XP-100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wim Dankbaar Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 John, Yes, I have seen the enhancements of Sam McClung. I truly wish it were more convincing. Apparently it is persuasive for you more than for me. To me it is like looking to the clouds in the sky with my little son. We start seeing all kinds of things. No offense meant to you or Sam Mc Clung. Do I take it that you don't have a firm opinion on Nicoletti and/or Roselli? Wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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