Edwin Walker

[Michael Hogan]

According to Joan Mellen, Joseph Cooper was a Baton Rouge policeman that had worked undercover for the FBI, infiltrating the Klan.

Cooper told Garrison investigator Andrew Sciambra that Guy Banister attended a speech given by Edwin Walker in 1963. He claimed that

Banister and Walker knew each other.

http://books.google....d=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK

Cooper's story is a strange one.

http://mcadams.posc....man/jcooper.htm

[Paul Trejo]

According to Joan Mellen, Joseph Cooper was a Baton Rouge policeman that had worked undercover for the FBI, infiltrating the Klan.

Cooper told Garrison investigator Andrew Sciambra that Guy Banister attended a speech given by Edwin Walker in 1963. He claimed that

Banister and Walker knew each other.

http://books.google....d=0CDYQ6AEwAjgK

Cooper's story is a strange one.

http://mcadams.posc....man/jcooper.htm

Michael, many thanks for this independent confirmation that Guy Banister personally knew ex-General Edwin Walker. Walker was a featured speaker at scores of extreme-right-wing rallies from 1961 to 1964, and Guy Banister was a member of almost every Anticommunist organization he could join -- no matter how extreme.

So, Joan Mellen's account of their encounter makes sense -- Walker gave a speech and Banister listened to it.

That is a material connection, and I appreciate the citation. There are also indirect connections -- both men were prominent members of the John Birch Society. Both were Minutemen in their respective cities. Both were closely linked to the White Citizens' Council groups that flourished in the South, and both associated with the State Sovereignty Commission in the South.

In all those organizations, Walker was called upon to make speeches. There are conflicting reports about his speaking ability. Some say he could stir thousands to their feet in a roaring ovation. Others said he couldn't string a sentence together without help.

The truth is somewhere in-between: when Walker was preaching to the choir, he spoke quite well. When Walker was being cross-examined, he spoke quite poorly.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 13, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Here's an example of Edwin Walker giving an interview for the White Citizens' Council TV program in Mississippi on or about 1 March 1962.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeQKuJTJi48

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 14, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Here's Part 2 of Edwin Walker giving a follow-up interview for the White Citizens' Council TV program in Mississippi on or about 7 March 1962.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9yUW019xoA

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 14, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

I notice that a several of you have visited YouTube to see my uploads of resigned General Walker's interviews by the so-called Citizens' Council Forum, in early 1962.

So I have more to share. You can now watch and hear a half-hour speech given by resigned General Walker to the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission in December of 1961.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb2cn5JVWRs

This was Walker's second speech. In fact, it was nearly the same as his first speech given to the NIC (National Indignation Convention) in Dallas only a few weeks before, except that it was tailored for Mississippi -- that is, it quoted from the Bible quite a bit more, and wore the sheep's clothing of Christian theology. (Yes, even the devil can quote Scripture.)

If you've seen the movie that JFK encouraged, namely, Seven Days in May (1964), starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, you might be reminded of the speeches given by General Scott (played by Lancaster) in which large crowds hung on his every word and jumped to their feet in praise. General Scott was modeled after the resigned General Walker.

I extend my thanks to the MDAH (Mississippi Department of Archives and History) which has 83 videos from the so-called Citizens' Council Forum -- a front group for the White Citizens' Council of Mississippi.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

Edited March 15, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[John Dolva]

Paul, it would be fantastic if you could find any copy of any old MSC movies (by Simms in Dallas and others) made about the Insurrection. I think one that I particularly want to see is called 'Oxford, USA" something like that. There were others (some that probably never got distributed.) The oxford one got a very wide viewing and shaped the opinions of many for a jnumber of years, (the MSC were circulationg it from 63 to 65 to any group like the JBS and others that wanted to show it,)

[Paul Brancato]

Paul - thanks for posting these. Interesting that he mentioned LBJ at least twice in his diatribes about commie simps in the government.

[Paul Trejo]

Paul - thanks for posting these. Interesting that he mentioned LBJ at least twice in his diatribes about commie simps in the government.

Well, that's right, Paul B. Walker was standing to the right of almost everybody in 1962 -- except possibly H.L. Hunt and the John Birch Society.

When these interviews of Walker were taken in 1962, H.L. Hunt was already plowing thousands of dollars into Walker's run for the Governor's mansion in Texas.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Paul, it would be fantastic if you could find any copy of any old MSC movies (by Simms in Dallas and others) made about the Insurrection. I think one that I particularly want to see is called 'Oxford, USA" something like that. There were others (some that probably never got distributed.) The oxford one got a very wide viewing and shaped the opinions of many for a jnumber of years, (the MSC were circulationg it from 63 to 65 to any group like the JBS and others that wanted to show it,)

John, I was thinking the same thing, because I'd read about so many extreme rightists singing the praises of the film, "Oxford, USA."

So, I contacted the MDAH, and sure enough, they have a copy for sale. I'll process the paperwork next week, and in a short time I'll upload that film to YouTube as well.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 15, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Well, my web site at www.pet880.com has been completely hacked and all 1,200 of my Dolph Briscoe photographs were deleted by an attacker. AT&T is looking into this as I write.

In a few days my site will be back to normal, with hardened security. In the meantime, I want to share a transcription of one of the Dolph Briscoe artifacts here on the FORUM.

This artifact is a TV script, a prepared statement, made on 27 September 1962, just three days before the Ole Miss riots. Ex-General Ediwn Walker has just issued announcements on radio and television throughout the South calling for a massive march on Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, in protest of the NAACP action of registering Black student James Meredith at that traditionally all-white campus. Walker called for "ten thousand strong from every State in the Union -- bring your tents, your skillets and your flags!"

Correspondingly, JFK mobilized thousands of troops to uphold the Supreme Court ruling and maintain law and order in MIssissippi.

We do well to remember that Walker was the successful integrater of Little Rock high school in Arkansas from 1957-1959. In 1959, however, Walker joined the John Birch Society, and also submitted his first resignation to President Eisenhower, citing a "fifth column conspiracy". So, the seeds of his Pro-Blue program were already sown in Arkansas.

Anyway, in 1962, immediately before the Ole Miss riots, Walker and his handlers prepared a television interview script in lieu of an impromptu interview. This script exists among Walker's personal papers at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History in Austin, Texas. I provide a full transcript verbatim below:

Best regards,

---Paul Trejo

--------------------------------------- BEGIN ATTACHMENT --------------------------------------------------------

TV Film, September 27, 1962, Dallas, Texas

No. 1 (short) Prepared Statement of General Walker

Q: General Walker, you have called for a citizens' army. What would be the purpose and what do you expect to gain?

A: I believe you have called it a citizens' army. I call it [a movement]. I indicated it was time to move. We have talked, listened and been pushed around too long. It is time to take a stand. Now is the time to be heard, 10,000 strong, from every State in the Union and to indicate our desires for the traditions of this country and the importance of the state of the Union. It is time to rally to the cause of freedom throughout the nation. It is time to wave the flag of freedom -- when the President permits or uses any troops in the State of Mississippi.

Q: What are your feelings regarding the use of troops?

A: It is absolutely unconstitutional -- it is not the law of the land -- we seem to be operating without law. Any law would have to be made by the legislative branch of the Government, and it has never been done. I urge a movement as a necessity to show that this country stands by the Constitution of the United States and by the oath of office which all Presidents have taken, and certainly have followed up to 1933. The decision for arms is going to have to be made by the President of the United States. They will use whatever is necessary. The people will not move until they have made the decision. The President of the United States has proffered all of our weapons to the United Nations. This is a United Nations action, which has been termed a police action. Of course, in the disarmament program -- armed force is necessary to maintain integration.

Q: What kind of force in this case -- should he use military force?

A: They would either put the U.N. forces over us or the internal police of this country. I led force on the wrong side by order of a President in 1957 and 1958. I am now on the other side; and, being in civilian clothes, I am now expected to be on the other side, which is now the right side.

Q: General, some people have termed this the greatest crisis this country has had in 100 years. What do you think?

A: I don't understand the word "greatest." This is a very grave crisis. This, with the Cuban situation, the sovereignty of the State is all-important. It is absolutely unbelievable that at this time there should be force in the United States which would disrupt its union for any purpose. We cannot have differences of opinion unless we have some form of protection; and our freedom at home is protected by our local State Sovereignty.

Q: General, what are your immediate plans?

A: My plans are to watch the action that may be taken from Washington DC, in the enforcement of integration, through the method of forcing Meredith into the University, which is itself unconstitutional. When a President directed force from Little Rock it was unconstitutional and it still is unconstitutional when such laws have never been passed by Congress.

Q: Do you feel there is a possibility of court action against you?

A: Certainly not.

Q: Do you feel that if you went to Mississippi there would be court action?

A: I certainly don't think so. I would have the protection of the United States which ever citizen is entitled to. Many numbers of people are certainly -- it is certainly the right of people; otherwise, you could not even have a political rally.

Q: Would you and your followers use force?

A: I hope that no physical force is ever used in Mississippi.

Q: If the Government used physical force, would you oppose it?

A: I think public opinion would prevent any need for physical force.

Q: If, on Monday, Meredith made an attempt to enter the university, what would you do?

A: I have stated I intend to do to Mississippi when Federal troops are used. I know thousands of people are going to Mississippi already because there is tremendous interest all over the United States. The Governor of Florida has made a statement, and also Faubus.

Q: Have you had any communication with Governor Barnett?

A: I have had communications with the State Capitol. I can't tell you about the Mississippi State Capitol reaction -- the reaction in Mississippi is tremendous. They are happy to be able to feel they have people on their side. As to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the nation -- do you know that I am being flooded with messages of appreciation for these efforts that are being made to stand behind Governor Barnett?

Q: Would you give us the number of people who have responded to your call?

A: There are two phones busy and calls are stacking up -- people can't get through. Local people do not think that Dallas is any different from other towns. Dallas is just like the rest -- there is much local support. I opposed the principle in Little Rock. It was unconstitutional then. The Army made its feelings known by not desiring to take any part in the action. I am convinced that the troops would have been 100%, practically, opposed to taking any part in the action. That was indicated by thousands of messages against the action directed from Washington, DC. Many messages against the use of troops have been received.

Q: What would be the purpose of the meeting tonight?

A: I understand somebody is having a tea party here today.

Q: If and when you should go to Mississippi, where will you stay -- Oxford or Jackson?

A: When I am in Mississippi I probably will visit Oxford and Jackson both -- there are other things I would like to see.

Q: People are en route to Mississippi. Do you think it is a grassroots movement?

A: It originated in itself among people all over the country. Certainly I don't feel it is anything I have said -- but response from all over the country -- so that for a grassroots right on the spot -- Governor Barnett is fully supported in his State and has great backing for his purpose -- and that has been indicated for many, many years.

Q: What would be your mission?

A: I would join the nation that stands behind Governor Barnett, as opposed to Federal action that has been taken against the State in this issue. I would suggest also that we absolutely take a better look at the Constitution of the United States, and possibly this is needed in Washington DC. There should be free travel in the limit of the United States; and any attempts to stop this would be surprising and a great shock to the American people. We are concerned with the rights of the people who are only expressing their feelings and desires even if that is not done out of consideration to the NAACP. Of course, you have probably noticed that the Communist Braden was traveling in Mississippi, getting his people organized.

Q: Are you in sympathy with Bob Kennedy?

A: I certainly am not in sympathy with any efforts with forced integration, which seems to be the issue at present. You may assume they are making their decisions from court edicts.

Q: You would be urging an attempt against court edicts favoring the NAACP?

A: That is a most unusual statement. Certainly the NAACP has its right to say what they want throughout the country and be protected.

Q: Will you comment on the form of violence that you might be anticipating?.

A: I am anticipating no violence at all. I certainly hope there is no violence. I am certainly one man that has stood in front of violence in Little Rock and I certainly would not approve of any violence, but I think everybody has the right to show opposition in support of Governor Barnett.

Q: Do you feel the deployment of Federal Marshals similar to Oxford -- do you regard that as unconstitutional?

A: Of course the Federal Marshals have the free right to go as they are directed. Their intent and purpose and what they do in intimidating the Governor and people of Mississippi -- this also applies to the use of Federal troops in Mississippi.

Q: If Robert Kennedy decides to use Marshals instead of troops -- would you comment on the disposition of Marshals?

A: They have been using Marshals in Mississippi for several days. I don't know how many they have.

Q: What solution do you offer?

A: I think the most important thing today is the unity of the United States. This is inescapable and, in face of the world threat, it is vitally important.

--------------------------------------- END ATTACHMENT -----------------------------------------------------------

Edited March 17, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Michael Hogan]

One of the first to suspect Walker.......

http://www.smashword...-after-50-years

[Paul Trejo]

One of the first to suspect Walker.......

http://www.smashword...-after-50-years

Michael, thanks for sharing these recent recollections from AP reporter Joseph H. Carter, who was in the press bus following JFK on 22 November 1963, and with his own ears heard the fatal shots ring out.

His story, published only this year, "Sounds of JFK’s Death Shots...Ear-Witness Account," recounts that in the first hours after the JFK shooting, before Oswald was officially charged with killing JFK, this AP reporter immediately suspected that ex-General Edwin A. Walker was responsible for this deed.

As chance would have it, Joseph Carter lived only a few blocks from Walker's home at 4011 Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas. I'll quote a part of Carter's story here:

------------------------------ Excerpt from Smashwords 2013 -----------------------------------

...Who did it?” I asked myself as I drove toward home. I was not, at the moment, privileged with information about Oswald’s shooting of policeman J.D. Tippet or about Oswald’s arrest as the suspected assassin. I knew only that JFK was shot dead.

Oswald’s arrest had unfolded during the course of the afternoon when I had been busy doing my own reporting. Then a thought struck me. Rightwing General Edwin A. Walker, retired commander of Allied forces in Europe and a nasty, vocal Kennedy critic, had flown the American flag upside down at his home near my apartment. What about Walker?

Altering my route, I skidded to a halt before Walker’s house and bounced out in a trot. I rapped on the door. A matronly lady answered. “Carter of United Press.” I said. “I want to see General Walker.”

“The General is not here,” she retorted and slammed the door.

So much for that, I thought, as I walked to my car and drove home...and listened to my wife, Beverly tell me what she had witnessed beyond TV reports....a neighborhood four-year old boy on the playground that was shared by my own son, Joe Jr., jeered: “Ha,ha,ha, Kennedy is dead.” Kids in Dallas and across Texas, no doubt, had heard such remarks from their parents. I was not surprised. Hatred by the right wing was vocal, widespread and growing in 1963...a general mood of racism and anti-federal government feelings were rank...

...“Miami Herald” editor, Jim Kukar recalled 1963...“I heard people say ‘good riddance’...Months before Oswald shot Kennedy...you could taste the hatred the John Birch Society fueled in west Texas.”

---------------------------- End of Excerpt © Copyright Smashwords 2013 -------------------------------------------

Notice how this account matches the account by Terri Williams, to the effect that in nearly her entire Mississippi high school class, which was mostly composed of children of the KKK, let up a collective cheer when JFK was announced dead.

We Yankees who look back on 1963 must look through so many dark times -- through Watergate and Vietnam -- to try to estimate the Spirit of 1963. Mississippi and Alabama had held out as long as they could, resisting the racial integration of their public schools as ordered by the Supreme Court Brown decision. They established grass roots White Citizens' Councils throughout the South for this purpose, as well as powerful and well-funded States Rights Commissions. Walker was a frequent speaker at these events.

Walker also led a race riot at Ole Miss University on 30 September 1963. The KKK in this period was circulating handbills explaining why JFK was wanted for treason. The White Citizen's Councils were demanding the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren.

The South successfully merged the problem of race to the problem of the USSR -- they preached throughout the South that "Race-mixing is Communism."

JFK's great sin -- beyond Cuba -- was that he forced the South to integrate Ole Miss university -- with the Federal power of bayonets. Walker was in the forefront of this serious clash.

Ex-General Walker was the perceived leader of the extreme right wing radicals in 1963. That is why Joseph Carter, AP reporter, immediately suspected Walker's involvement in the JFK killing.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited March 20, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Brancato]

The racist south certainly wanted JFK gone and were glad he died, but their racist agenda was not helped by that death, as LBJ continued his integration policies. LBJ was the Pentagon's senator, and it was the military industrial complex that benefitted from LBJ's ascension to the presidency.

Of course I am not sure that looking at the actual winners and losers of the assassination tells us who the planners were, but surely anyone planning to kill the president would have thought LBJ would be an improvement. That does suggest that the Joint Chiefs, the group JFK feared most and was most in conflict with inside his own administration, was the source of the conspiracy.

I have no doubts that the top of the food chain is somewhere above the JC. But it was the military chiefs themselves who had the first hand knowledge of the danger JFK posed to their geopolitical plans.

The operations in Dallas itself may have involved Walker, and I am just as suspicious of the local military intelligence unit, Jack Crichton, and the intersection between that unit and the Dallas Police.

And while I'm at this, I think the most logical explanation of why Ruby killed Oswald is that he was protecting himself. He was the Jew that would be blamed because he was part of the conspiracy on the ground. His close ties with Dallas cops gave him three things - access to the crime scene, the timing of when the prisoner would be moved, and knowledge that Oswald still hadn't talked. Once he was moved all bets were off.

None of this lets Walker off the hook, as he was intertwined with both the planners and the ground crew in this scenario.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Paul Brancato

[Paul Trejo]

The racist south certainly wanted JFK gone and were glad he died, but their racist agenda was not helped by that death, as LBJ continued his integration policies. LBJ was the Pentagon's senator, and it was the military industrial complex that benefitted from LBJ's ascension to the presidency.

Of course I am not sure that looking at the actual winners and losers of the assassination tells us who the planners were, but surely anyone planning to kill the president would have thought LBJ would be an improvement. That does suggest that the Joint Chiefs, the group JFK feared most and was most in conflict with inside his own administration, was the source of the conspiracy.

I have no doubts that the top of the food chain is somewhere above the JC. But it was the military chiefs themselves who had the first hand knowledge of the danger JFK posed to their geopolitical plans.

The operations in Dallas itself may have involved Walker, and I am just as suspicious of the local military intelligence unit, Jack Crichton, and the intersection between that unit and the Dallas Police.

And while I'm at this, I think the most logical explanation of why Ruby killed Oswald is that he was protecting himself. He was the Jew that would be blamed because he was part of the conspiracy on the ground. His close ties with Dallas cops gave him three things - access to the crime scene, the timing of when the prisoner would be moved, and knowledge that Oswald still hadn't talked. Once he was moved all bets were off.

None of this lets Walker off the hook, as he was intertwined with both the planners and the ground crew in this scenario.

Paul B., I like where you're headed with this line of thought.

When ex-General Walker led the riots at Ole Miss on 30 September 1962, in response to JFK sending federalized troops to protect James Meredith there, history tells us some surprising stories.

For one, Colonel Birdson (Chief of the Mississippi Highway Patrol) had trouble keeping his men in line, because many (or most) of them wanted to join the protestors, and had no wish to stop the protesters. Some would salute to Birdsong to his face, and then go out to join the protesters, according to one report.

I know an elderly woman at Church who was present at Little Rock, Arkansas, when General Walker successfully led the 104th Airborne Division to racially integrate that high school. Her father took her there two days in a row. She had two uncles in the National Guard, and on the first day, they were among the protesters -- but on the second day, they were with their units protecting the black children who were attending Little Rock high school.

They said they wished they could be with the protesters, but they were under orders and they followed orders.

This is the mood I find in many histories of the late 1950's and early 1960's. The Brown v. The Board of Education decision really divided America. (Some say that school integration is still dividing America today, with continual funding attacks on public schools, and proposals for voucher systems and so on.)

So -- America was divided, therefore we must expect to see this in our military men in uniform in 1963. The Dallas police, according to William O'Neil and other researchers, were ultra-right-wing in 1963. I would expect to see a link between the local military and the DPD, because the DPD would probably recruit from there.

Also, I know another elderly man at Church who grew up in a small town close to Dallas, and he says that the KKK was active in his home town in 1963. So, there was an entire culture there.

If that's true, I'm doubly suspicious of ex-General Edwin Walker, because he was so visible in 1961-1962. Every single month from April, 1961 through April 1962 Walker's name was in multiple newspapers and magazines. Many thought of him (incorrectly) in terms of Truman dismissing MacArthur from Korea. (We see the folly of that today, but back in 1961 the mistake was common).

Therefore, Walker quickly became the *leader* of the extreme right in the USA. What makes me triply suspicious, is that after the Ole Miss riots, Walker's name became mud in the eyes of the majority -- but he became even more popular among the ultra-right-wing underground.

Robert Allen Surrey, Walker's publisher, was a leader in Dallas' American Nazi Party. Surrey accompanied Walker to Ole Miss on 29 September 1962. Walker was a rabid right-winger in his actions and associations (although he used code-words in his speeches of the period). Nor was Walker married with children -- he was a single, aging man who liked to see his name in the papers. He had one skill, and that was military leadership -- but JFK took that away from him.

Look at it this way, Paul B.; what sort of person runs for Governor of Texas in May 1962, and then leads a race riot at Ole Miss on September 1962? This is an unusual character. Lots of military unit commanders cuss the President, but they remain soldiers and the follow orders. Walker was unstable and liked to be in the limelight. He thought of himself as a leader, and large crowds of crackpots also thought of him as their leader, and they told him so and sent him money.

Now let's look at Jack Crichton -- I suspect he was right-leaning, or you wouldn't mention him. But had he ever been a General? Would he give orders to resigned General Edwin Walker -- or would he take orders?

Yet Walker didn't need regular troops for his purposes -- he had plenty of retired troopers in the Minutemen as followers. To this we must also add many radical Cuban Exiles who would do anything -- literally anything -- if only they could get Cuba back under their control.

Still, I don't have final proof of my theory. I'm interested in what you have to share about Jack Crichton, Paul B.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

Edited March 20, 2013 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Brancato]

Well Paul T - I didn't know Crichton personally, but plenty is written about him on the forum website. Head of a local military intelligence unit in Dallas, involved in the motorcade planning, supplied the interpretor for Marina while she was in custody after the assassination of Oswald. According to the castro cubans -Escalante I think - he and George Bush were private funders of Nixon's Operation 40. He had his own oil company on whose board sat Clint Murchison, he was a friend of Sid Richardson, DeMohrenschilt, involved in oil leases with Batista. A very connected and suspicious character, a Republican and right winger, classmate of Earle Cabell, retired a Colonel. Wiki has a good article too.

It is unclear to me who would take orders from whom, but in general I think that guys at the head of the CIA like Dulles, or at the had of major oil companies and defense contractors - inotherwords the big money people - are atop the pyramid, and the military's job is to make the world safe for their global operations.