Edwin Walker

[J. Raymond Carroll]

From Epstein: The "Neutron Activation Analysis done in 1977 (by the HSCA) exactly matched the metallic elements found in the bullet that was recovered in Walker's home to the batch of Mannlicher-Carcano ammunition used in Oswald's rifle in the assassination of Kennedy.... the House Select Committee employed a very advanced form of neutron activation analysis to match the recovered bullet and fragments to the ammunition used in the Mannlicher Carcano. In this technique, traces from the ballistic evidence are bombarded by neutrons in a nuclear reactor so that the precise composition of elements-- antimony, silver, and copper-- can be measured by their emissions on a gamma-ray spectrometer to an accuracy of one-billionth of a gram. The composition of traces from the bullet and fragments were thus compared to that of the unfired bullet found in the chamber of the Mannlicher-Carcano and found to exactly match."

Jim Root

The HSCA accepted Dr. Guinn's opinion as being based on "science" and the FBI began using the technique of Comparative Bullet Lead Analysis (CBLA) in the 1980's. It took a long time before criminal defense lawyers figured out that Guinn's theory, which sounds so grandiloquent, was actually complete gobbledygook and could be challenged in the courts. CBLA has now been declared unscientific and inadmissable in State and Federal Courts, and has been abandoned by the FBI.

At the most recent COPA conference, G. Robert Blakey conceded that Guinn's theory, which Blakey had promoted to the HSCA, has been shown to be nothing more than "Junk Science."

The remainder of the case against Lee Oswald does not amount to very much, and there is fairly ample evidence that the Walker shooting was perpetrated by persons unknown

Edited March 27, 2007 by J. Raymond Carroll

[Charles Drago]

In the late 90's, fully in command of my faculties, I co-sponsored with junk scientist Ken Rahn and the fools in the University of Rhode Island's Political Science Department (who allowed him to present propaganda as instruction in the methods and philosophy of science) a JFK research conference in Providence.

Rahn began his presentation with the promise that it would, once and for all, demonstrate the viability of NAA in general and Guinn's process in particular, and thus demonstrate beyond refutation that LHO fired all the shots at the motorcade and acted alone.

Seriously.

When Rahn concluded, the first questioner to rise was Stewart Galanor, mathematician and author of "Cover-up." Stewart, in his typically understated and concise manner, eviscerated the just presented "science" to the degree that Rahn, shaken and pale, was forced to rise and say, "What I just shared is merely a work in progress."

"'Work in progress,' Dr. Rahn?" Stewart responded. "But you began your presentation by telling us that it was 'definitive.' What happened?" (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but the session was recorded, so bring it on if you so desire)

Stewart then demanded that Rahn produce his oft-referenced bench notes. "They're in my other brief case, at home" the junk scientist offered.

Stewart than reminded one and all that once before, in the wake of a Rahn smoke-and-mirrors show, he had asked after the not-so-good doctor's notes, only to receive the same evasive reply.

Through it all, the semi-comatose chair of the Poly Sci Department silently demonstrated the thousand-yard stare.

Yes, it was all b.s. From Day One.

Yet -- and here's the point of this stroll down Memory Lane -- it took the imprimatur of the ultimate false authority, the parent state (in this instance in the form of an FBI conclusion) to render acceptable that which had been scientifically demonstrated decades before (see, for instance, Evica's "No More Magic Bullet").

Is there not a lesson to be learned here?

An aside: In a fascinating variation on the Helsinki Syndrome, Rahn's intellectual hostages -- his students -- were the first to defend his excreble performance, one of them going so far as to hold up a copy of the Warren Report and refer to it as "the Bible."

This was the same young victim who wrote a paper for Rahn's class in the scientific method -- for which I believe he received an "A" -- in which he argued that the observations of Parkland physicians were of little value because, based upon analysis of emergency room docs across the nation, gunshot wounds were too often grossly misidentified in terms of entrance, exit, and other significant characteristics due to the physicians' unfamiliarity with that sort of trauma.

"But aren't the on-duty Parkland doctors' skills and track records the only relevant data base in this case? Doctors with vast experience in gunshot wounds?" I asked.

Silence.

The case against LHO is non-existent.

Charles

Edited: Language. Antti Hynonen

Edited March 28, 2007 by Antti Hynonen

[Myra Bronstein]

In the late 90's, fully in command of my faculties, I co-sponsored with junk scientist Ken Rahn and the fools in the University of Rhode Island's Political Science Department (who allowed him to present propaganda as instruction in the methods and philosophy of science) a JFK research conference in Providence.

Rahn began his presentation with the promise that it would, once and for all, demonstrate the viability of NAA in general and Guinn's process in particular, and thus demonstrate beyond refutation that LHO fired all the shots at the motorcade and acted alone.

Seriously.

When Rahn concluded, the first questioner to rise was Stewart Galanor, mathematician and author of "Cover-up." Stewart, in his typically understated and concise manner, eviscerated the just presented "science" to the degree that Rahn, shaken and pale, was forced to rise and say, "What I just shared is merely a work in progress."

"'Work in progress,' Dr. Rahn?" Stewart responded. "But you began your presentation by telling us that it was 'definitive.' What happened?" (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but the session was recorded, so bring it on if you so desire)

Stewart then demanded that Rahn produce his oft-referenced bench notes. "They're in my other brief case, at home" the junk scientist offered.

Stewart than reminded one and all that once before, in the wake of a Rahn smoke-and-mirrors show, he had asked after the not-so-good doctor's notes, only to receive the same evasive reply.

Through it all, the semi-comatose chair of the Poly Sci Department silently demonstrated the thousand-yard stare.

Yes, it was all b.s. From Day One.

Yet -- and here's the point of this stroll down Memory Lane -- it took the imprimatur of the ultimate false authority, the parent state (in this instance in the form of an FBI conclusion) to render acceptable that which had been scientifically demonstrated decades before (see, for instance, Evica's "No More Magic Bullet").

Is there not a lesson to be learned here?

An aside: In a fascinating variation on the Helsinki Syndrome, Rahn's intellectual hostages -- his students -- were the first to defend his excreble performance, one of them going so far as to hold up a copy of the Warren Report and refer to it as "the Bible."

This was the same young victim who wrote a paper for Rahn's class in the scientific method -- for which I believe he received an "A" -- in which he argued that the observations of Parkland physicians were of little value because, based upon analysis of emergency room docs across the nation, gunshot wounds were too often grossly misidentified in terms of entrance, exit, and other significant characteristics due to the physicians' unfamiliarity with that sort of trauma.

"But aren't the on-duty Parkland doctors' skills and track records the only relevant data base in this case? Doctors with vast experience in gunshot wounds?" I asked.

Silence.

The case against LHO is non-existent.

Charles

Okey dokey.

So about that Walker episode...

Was it publicized a lot to help incriminate the patsy but I'm not aware of it?

Seems like the propagandists would want maximum mileage out of the incident; why bother to set it up otherwise?

Anyone have an opinion? I mean, about the Walker episode--the subject of this thread.

Edited quote of Charles Drago. (Langauge). Antti Hynonen

Edited March 28, 2007 by Antti Hynonen

[John Dolva]

Myra, if you go to here : http://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/contents.htm and select volume XX and go to the Oliver exhibits you'll find a copy of "the Councillor" which has a copy and translation of the German Right wing newspaper article published just after the assassination. Also a timeline of Walkers movements and a number of other people. I know it's not exactly what you're after but it helps to put some things in context.

I find right clicking on the pdf file and saving and using acrobat on the computer easier. Also to read some of the fuzzier letters one can copy the pages into a image manipulator to adjust contrasts etc makes it easier to read.

Alternatively if someone has a good copy of the journal that could be posted/linked to?

[William O'Neil]

John

I have found one statement by a former West Point classmate that indicates that at some time Walker may have been married for a brief period. My research of Walker seems to suggest that this is not true and that he never was married.

General Edwin Anderson Walker has a nephew by the same name. As I understand it he, or his family, were the ones that deposited the General Walker papers at the University of Texas. These papers are restricted from researchers. I would love to have an opportunity to get into them.

His Aunt was a well know actress of the time named Charlotte Walker. She was very active on the New York stage during the period preceding and while Walker was attending West Point and there is some indication that Walker may have appeared in a play himself during the summer of his junior year. I can imagine this connection may have induced visits to the Broadway scene of that day.

Charlotte Walker's daughter attained a degree of recognition in movies. Her name was Sara Haden and is best remembered for her role as Aunt Milly Forrest in the Andy Hardy series of movies with Mickey Rooney.

Family includes Charles Ganahl who signed the Ordinance of Succession for Texas during the Civil War period.

I do believe the following are living relatives:

Ganahl Walker, Jr. (a historian of some note on the "Hill Country" of Texas)

Charles Ganahl Walker IV

Edwin Anderson Walker (nephew)

I have additional genealogy info but it is stored at a different location.

Jim Root

Jim , The papers at UT are the Julia Knecht collection (Walker's gal Friday) they contain the stuff she retained of Walker's and her own material. The collection was split in two, and half is at UT and the other at The Sixth Floor. Gary Mack told me 2 years ago that the stuff he has is not processed yet. The stuff at UT is off limit's to "researchers" per Walker's nephew's restrictions. They treated me rather curtley when I asked WHY?

[Charles Drago]

Edwin Walker's event was a put-on to help frame up the patsy.

If one of the unmarked Mannlichers could fire into the house, the guy would be a lone nut gunman after the fact...

Ok, so I'm trying to understand the Walker episode. It's almost up there with the Tippit mystery.

I'm leaning towards believing, along with Shanet, that it was part of the setup to make the patsy look like a hard core left wing gun-totin' wacko.

But... if that's the case then why wasn't the Walker episode publicized more after Oswald's death to reinforce the image they were manufacturing of him?

Was it publicized a lot to help incriminate the patsy but I'm not aware of it?

Seems like the propagandists would want maximum mileage out of the incident; why bother to set it up otherwise?

Okey Dokey ...

Assume, for the sake of argument, that a cabal of flag officers rested at the top of the "facilitators" stratum, and that a few of the brightest, savviest lower level operators wanted to send a message that they would not be trifled with or scapegoated by the over-the-horizon brass. And so they demonstrated that no group was immune to "utilization" in the grander plan.

We assume at our own peril that that plan went off relatively smoothly pre-11/22.

Yours on point,

Charles "B.S." Drago

[Myra Bronstein]

Myra, if you go to here : http://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/contents.htm and select volume XX and go to the Oliver exhibits you'll find a copy of "the Councillor" which has a copy and translation of the German Right wing newspaper article published just after the assassination. Also a timeline of Walkers movements and a number of other people. I know it's not exactly what you're after but it helps to put some things in context.

I find right clicking on the pdf file and saving and using acrobat on the computer easier. Also to read some of the fuzzier letters one can copy the pages into a image manipulator to adjust contrasts etc makes it easier to read.

Alternatively if someone has a good copy of the journal that could be posted/linked to?

Thanks John. Sounds like a good resource.

[Jim Root]

Myra

The person who provided the most compelling evidence against Oswald for the Walker shooting was Marina Oswald. To date she has never backed away from her testimony concerning this event.

Check the commission docs for a copy of the letter that Oswald wrote to Marina telling her what to do in the event that he was captured as well as the pictures that Oswald is reputed to have taken before the assassination attempt. The photos showed some road construction work that was being done in the days preceding April 10, 1963. The photos were in the possession of Marina Oswald and seem to verify that Oswald was scoping the operation prior to committing the act.

Jim Root

[Jim Root]

John

I have found one statement by a former West Point classmate that indicates that at some time Walker may have been married for a brief period. My research of Walker seems to suggest that this is not true and that he never was married.

General Edwin Anderson Walker has a nephew by the same name. As I understand it he, or his family, were the ones that deposited the General Walker papers at the University of Texas. These papers are restricted from researchers. I would love to have an opportunity to get into them.

His Aunt was a well know actress of the time named Charlotte Walker. She was very active on the New York stage during the period preceding and while Walker was attending West Point and there is some indication that Walker may have appeared in a play himself during the summer of his junior year. I can imagine this connection may have induced visits to the Broadway scene of that day.

Charlotte Walker's daughter attained a degree of recognition in movies. Her name was Sara Haden and is best remembered for her role as Aunt Milly Forrest in the Andy Hardy series of movies with Mickey Rooney.

Family includes Charles Ganahl who signed the Ordinance of Succession for Texas during the Civil War period.

I do believe the following are living relatives:

Ganahl Walker, Jr. (a historian of some note on the "Hill Country" of Texas)

Charles Ganahl Walker IV

Edwin Anderson Walker (nephew)

I have additional genealogy info but it is stored at a different location.

Jim Root

Jim , The papers at UT are the Julia Knecht collection (Walker's gal Friday) they contain the stuff she retained of Walker's and her own material. The collection was split in two, and half is at UT and the other at The Sixth Floor. Gary Mack told me 2 years ago that the stuff he has is not processed yet. The stuff at UT is off limit's to "researchers" per Walker's nephew's restrictions. They treated me rather curtley when I asked WHY?

William

I have just recently obtained a copy of the inventory of the Walker Papers in storage at UT (three page inventory, works stored in two boxes). I also have obtained a copy of the Knecht collection inventory as well (well over 100 pages). The invetories both show over 95% of the infromation is post 1961.

Am currently reviewing both for additional insights.

Jim Root

[Pat Speer]

Myra, if you go to here : http://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/contents.htm and select volume XX and go to the Oliver exhibits you'll find a copy of "the Councillor" which has a copy and translation of the German Right wing newspaper article published just after the assassination. Also a timeline of Walkers movements and a number of other people. I know it's not exactly what you're after but it helps to put some things in context.

I find right clicking on the pdf file and saving and using acrobat on the computer easier. Also to read some of the fuzzier letters one can copy the pages into a image manipulator to adjust contrasts etc makes it easier to read.

Alternatively if someone has a good copy of the journal that could be posted/linked to?

Thanks John. Sounds like a good resource.

Myra, there are some who suspect that the Walker incident was designed for two purposes. 1) to get positive publicity for Walker; 2) to give Oswald the bona fides to get into Cuba. As far as Oswald telling Marina he fired the shot... I often wonder about Oswald's relationship with his wife and suspect he never trusted her. If he was CIA, as some suspect, he may have been playing his own wife. He may have thought by telling her she would get word to the Paines or to others he suspected of leftist sympathies. He may have hoped this would open some doors for him when he tried to get into Cuba. There is a lot about Oswald, Marina, the Paines and the De Mohrenschildts that remains a mystery. I mean, how odd is it that the Walker incident occurred only days before De Mohrenschildt met with the U.S. military and encouraged the overthrow of his employer, Haitian dictator Papa Doc Duvallier?

[Thomas Graves]

Check the commission docs for a copy of the letter that Oswald wrote to Marina telling her what to do in the event that he was captured as well as the pictures that Oswald is reputed to have taken before the assassination attempt.

_____________________________________

Jim.

I'd like to see these documents. Could you please put a link to these "commission docs" here on this thread, or otherwise direct me to the appropriate website/database?

Thanks,

--Thomas

_____________________________________

Edited March 28, 2007 by Thomas Graves

[James Richards]

The papers at UT are the Julia Knecht collection (Walker's gal Friday) they contain the stuff she retained of Walker's and her own material. The collection was split in two, and half is at UT and the other at The Sixth Floor. (William O'Neil)

Bill,

What do we know about Julia Knecht?

I seem to remember that in the early 1960's, she had a bee in her bonnet about the alleged training of Communist pilots at Perrin Air Force Base. She claimed this was done at the behest of the State Department and she was leading a push to have the whole thing fully investigated.

I also seem to remember a Major was also behind trying to get the affair investigated but I can't remember his name.

James

[Jim Root]

Two new tidbits of information that I have heard, seen or read in the past 72 hours while visiting the 6th Floor Museum.

1. The bullet recovered from Walker's home was called "steel" jacketed in the Walker incident police report. The bullets used in the Kennedy assassination were Copper.

2. The angle from which the bullet seems to have entered Walker's home does not appear to have been a straight shot: Window, past Walker, into wall directly accross from window. Instead you have window, Walker, then into a wall that is adjacent to the exterior wall where the window was. This means the angle from which the shot was taken was much more difficult that what I had previously thought.

I had the opportunity to see some news reel movies of the site taken the night of and the next day as the Walker incident happened (April 10 and 11, 1963). And yes Walker did show his wounds to the camaras the day after the incident occured.

Jim Root

[Jim Root]

Thomas

I am on the U of Texas Campus and have a limited amount of access time to use the computer. Will be home next week and attempt to post a link unless somone beats me to it.

Jim Root

[J. Raymond Carroll]

I mean, how odd is it that the Walker incident occurred only days before De Mohrenschildt met with the U.S. military and encouraged the overthrow of his employer, Haitian dictator Papa Doc Duvallier?

What is the source for this meeting between DeM & the military?

Do we know at whose initiative the meeting was held?

Do we know when DeM and the military began their relationship?