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Jim Root

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  1. Robert Great Read!!!! In 1964 Wilho Tikander was a judge in Chicago, Ill and to my knowledge William Surrey was in Raleigh, North Carolina. I believe that in June, 1959 Surrey was having some health issues but did manage to meet with members of the old Stella Polaris crew. These meeting were orchestrated by Richard Helms, himself part of the Sweedish OSS unit that, during WWII was under the command of Wilho Tikander, and participated in the Stella Polaris affair. Eric "Red" Erickson, as I recall, was, according to a Tikander document that I have in my posession, escourted by Himmler to tour ball berring plants rather than oil facilities but I guess he could have done both. After the war it was Tikander that went to great lengths to rehabilitate Erickson's reputation by letting it be known that he had been working throughout the war for the Allies. Your information brings up the name George DeMohrenschildt but I continue to point out that it was his brother Demitri that was more closely associated with this group. William Surrey was on Tikanders staff and in 1959 Tikander was having Surrey review some of what he was writting. I do have, somewhere, Tikanders list of assignments of various persons and the positions that they held (including both Helms and the secretary that Helms continuously employed throughout his CIA days). Nice work, Jim Root
  2. Hi Robert, been a long time since I have logged on this site. Thanks for bringing this back. If I remember correctly the first operator, Sweeney, was on duty when Treon came on to replace her. Sweeney, according to Treon, informed her that Oswald had attempted to make a phone call and that the Secret Service was there to monitor any call. I am drawing from memory but it seems that Oswald did not attempt a second call, Sweeney went off duty and Treon recovered the note with the two numbers and name "John Hurt" from the trash. I believe Gary Mack has a recording of a newsbroadcaster that reported that Oswald had attempted an outgoing phone call. This news report was made just prior to Ruby killing Oswald and no further mention of the call was reported after that. As I have reported before, my research into operation Stella Polaris (which began with a message decrypted by John B. Hurt)led me to investigate a Raleigh native that was involved in Operation Stella Polaris (which led to the Venona Secret), Secret Intelligence (SI) during WWII, who was openly a CIA operative and was meeting with an interesting group of people (led by 'Dick" Helms) in the weeks leading up to Oswalds entry into the Soviet Union in October 1959. This investigation has led me to uncover a most interesting cache of documents that lead to two very interesting people, Whitney Shepardson (a close associate of John J. McCloy) and Demetri Von Mohrenschildt (brother of Oswalds friend George). All these men are associated and all were involved with Richard Helms who, when when the CIA was created, brought with him his own intelligence organization. Warren Report Investigators who looked into the Silvia Odio incident suggested that if the incident was in fact true, the men accompaning Oswald could have provided a contact number for a cut-out. While speculative, the connection ties into a perfect knot a large amount of information that I have collected. It would first have Oswald defecting to the Soviet Union to aide in failure of the Paris Summit, something that McCloy sought. It would then have Oswald aide in the elimination of Kennedy and re-elevate McCloy to the position of chief arms negotiator, which McCloy was. Rather than my research leading me to information that would contridict my theory, each major detour has led to a super highway of information that supports this journey. Most serious researchers believe a call was made, the fact that it was not reported suggests that it may have led to something critical that could not, because of the security of the United States, be reported. The simple fact that Frank Rowlett and Meredith Garner (both close associates of John B. Hurt) would be selected to investigate Oswald for potential intelligence contacts suggests an acute tightness with which this whole area of intelligence was contained. Jim Root
  3. John A few years back I corresponded with several people who had met Walker as children when he visited their homes. Since this story makes reference to events at Little Rock and tells of visits to Arkansas in the post assassination attempt time period I might offer just a few thoughts. While in Little Rock Walker was actually (surprising in some ways) welcomed as a War Hero type celebrity in society there. He was touted as a very eligible bachelor and seems to have participated regularly on the social circuit. Following Walker's resignation from the military I believe it was the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce that issued a proclamation of support for Walker that I have a copy of somewhere in my files. It seems Walker left the Arkansas area with many friends and associates. Might point out that at the time of the assassination attempt on Walker he had been banned from travel to Canada where he had previously been a frequent visitor. Walker seems to have enjoyed "dropping in" on former comrades in arms and associates and seems to have had many visitors to his home as well. The small game hunting seems to have been something Walker enjoyed from his youth in Kerr County, Texas. Jim Root
  4. Thought this five year old post might be of some interest since the topic seems to be generating some current interest Jim Root
  5. John Interesting question to ponder but here goes. I believe that the author of the book Seven Days in May knew and had had talks with Kennedy while writting the book and during the production of the film. I think the film is to close to reality. After the funeral of JFK, Jackie Kennedy made reference to the Soviet Ambassador that it was now up to the Soviets to continue with arms negotiation which to me indicates that Jackie knew that that was a key issue at the time of JFK's death. General Walker (in interviews late in life) indicated that Oswald was working for both the Soviets and the US. Walker also indicated at one time that he felt that Bobby Kennedy knew that it was Oswald who had shot at him and had had Oswald released after the incident. I do not believe that the story as told is correct but to believe that Walker understood/believed that Bobby Kennedy was well aware of who Oswald was prior to or shortly after the assassination. Dulles had informed Joe Kennedy that his son would be the next President of the US prior to the election. McCloy did not like Nixon. The U-2 incident, in my opinion, helped Kennedy get elected. Kennedy, perhaps in gratitude, recognized McCloy during his first press conference and gave McCloy the job that McCloy wanted most, Chief Arms Negotiator (I believe McCloy was sincere in his desire to see an end to the spread of nuclear weapons which he had helped to create but did not want to see used during WWII). The amount of time Bobby Kennedy spent following the interrogation of Yuri Nosenko after his defection indicates to me that Bobby may have believed (for whatever reason) that Oswald was/had been a Soviet Agent and that his defection may have led to the downing of the U-2. Bobby Kennedy may have believed that if the downing of the U-2 had been a staged event by US Intelligence agencies then the actual legitimacy of the Kennedy Presidency may have been called into question.....a difficult problem for a man that wanted to protect the legacy of his brothers and families name. I believe Bobby Kennedy knew full well that the assassination had been a coup but do not believe that he knew who was behind it........I imagine it was difficult for Bobby to trust anyone after the event! Some thoughts Jim Root
  6. This thread was started to attempt to shed light on how Maxwell Taylor could have controlled the design of the motorcade route through Dallas by influencing the departure time from Fort Worth and therefore the landing time in Dallas. I must admit that I appreciate the attention being given John J. McCloy since I tend to believe that no assassination plot would have accured without McCloy's approval. Contrary to many suggestions I believe are being made it is my opinion that McCloy answered to nobody! By 1963 (and for a long time before then) McCloy was, in my opinion, one of the most powerful men in the world on his own! Yes, McCloy was associated with most of the richest families in the United States and a read of "Black Tom" will show how McCloy, in solving this particular case, made a lot of money for some very powerful interests early in his career. When Stimson placed McCloy in a position to totally revamp the military intelligence machinary of the United States McCloy, in effect, gained access to every secrete that America had from that point forward. He literally created the CIA and NSA. He literally rebuilt post war Europe and help to design the European Common Market (McCloy's vision of a United States of Europe). Reading about McCloy's tenure in Germany you find a man that could tell a President (Truman) that if he was going to take a job he would have total control and would refuse to be interferred with. Truman gave that horse its head and McCloy completed his task quite successfully. Kennedy on the other hand refused to follow McCloy's lead and ended up dead. McCloy once said that if there was to be a choice between the security of the United States and the Constitution of the United States that the Constitution was just a scrape of paper. Could a person who believed this, if he felt that the President was jepordizing the security of the United States by proposing a limited test ban treaty versus a comprhensive test ban treat, eliminate a President? One thing is for certain, after the death of Kennedy McCloy got what he wanted! From some earlier posts on McCloy: "I am also intrigued by John J. McCloys association with Maxwell Taylor during the Italian operations during WWII. It is at this time that the State Department is forced to admit that they were unprepared for instituting civil control over the vast amout of occupied Italy. The Army, with McCloy at the helm, was in negotiations (in many cases led by Maxwell Taylor) with members of the former facist regime to assure the domestic tranquility necessary to support the movement of needed war materials through occupied territory. This "need" to influence local politics would continue throughout the remainder of the 20th Century. Taylor is again found in a working relationship with McCloy in the post war administration of occupied Germany. These two tennis players were in a position to become very tight associates during this period of time and to make some very influential contacts. Within the Kennedy administration we find this 20 year working relationship developing further. First: Mccloy plays a pivotal role in both of these person’s careers. In the case of Warren - McCloy we find them coming together in early 1942 and the relocation of the Japanese to internment camps. Support for Warren to become Governor of California, support for Warren to be the vice-presidential nominee with Dewy in 48, support for a Warren appointment to the Supreme Court and (in an interesting twist) support for the Warren Court decisions on racial integration (something McCloy had authored and pushed through for the military). Second: McCloy was in charge of military intelligence during WWII. While Donovan led the OSS, Donovan was subordinate to General McCloy (yes General). McCloy kept key OSS men in place through the development of the National Security Act and engineered the rise of Dulles to the top leadership position within the CIA. Third: Dulles was a Kennedy family associate and before the 1960 election is said to have assured Joe Kennedy that his son would be the next president. In hindsight a rather provocative thing for the head of the CIA to say to the wealthy father of a presidential hopeful while working within an administration where the Vice President was also a candidate. But perhaps not so surprising when people like General Maxwell Taylor are bailing on the Eisenhower administration because of a perceived softness on communism. Fourth: Dulles brother (John Foster) was a primary supporter and speechwriter for the Dewy - Warren ticket in 48 and was also a Warren supporter for the Supreme Court. My speculation is that Warren was a "go to guy" that would, in reality, loyally do whatever he was told to do by the powers that surrounded him. His life is not a life that is philosophically consistent. All of which leads me to a conclusion that McCloy is the real leader of this trio. McCloy, tennis buddy, of Maxwell Taylor. McCloy, who worked with Maxwell Taylor as the Army developed Civil Military control techniques in Italy during WWII. McCloy who with General Taylor administered occupied Germany. And McCloy who along with General Taylor was brought into the Kennedy administration and put into a key position dealing with global survival." "One of the earliest Warren Commission meetings that McCloy missed was missed so that McCloy could attend a the Nuclear Disamament meeting in Geneva. It was at that meeting that Yuri Nosenko defected to the United States. Was this defection a coincidence? I think not. Both the Soviet Union and the United States had a reason, after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to distance themselves from any association with Lee Harvey Oswald. I also believe that James Jesus Angelton suspected that Nosenko was a false defector because Angelton was positioned to know that Oswald had been used as a "patsy" when he was sent to the Soviet Union." "Kai Bird's book on McCloy spends very little time dealing with the importance of the Magic intercepts during WWII. I believe it is possible that McCloy, by the time of Bird's interviews and books, was not about to emphasize this aspect of his life because it may have led to a connection to John B. Hurt. In the life of Stuart Menzies (person in charge of British Intelligence during WWII and McCloy's counterpart) the importance of protecting signals intelligence was paramount and plays a major role in any story about Menzies. Why was this aspect of McCloy's life deemphisized? Perhaps more importantly for those of you that are processing these posts is to remember that I believe that the relationship between John J. McCloy and General Maxwell Taylor is a primary key to this topic as well. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Taylor would be the "Big Fish" of military intelligence even if McCloy were not who I actually believe him to have been. Add to the menu Taylor's student and most reliable "right hand" man, Maj. Gen. Edwin Anderson Walker and the story adds additional meat for our table" "And the next day (June 11, 1963) McCloy was out chief arms negotiator and W. Averell Harriman was in. On June 12, 1963 McCloy would pen a letter to Maj. General Edwin Anderson Walker (the man Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of attempting to assassinate in April of 1963)." "McCloy, when questioning FBI Agent James Patrick Hosty, became aware that Hosty had written a note that stated where Oswald was working 18 days before the assassination of JFK. This would be an important piece of information (to know where Oswald was working) for anyone attempting to frame or use Oswald to assassinate the President. Yet McCloy, the man who had cracked the Black Tom case, neglected to give this note a Commission Exhibit number. I would call this a major ommission on his part. McCloy, who had used information about the travel of German agents during WWI, to break the Black Tom Case did not press the CIA to uncover exactly how Lee Harvey Oswald traveled from London to Helsinki although passenger lists were available in 1964. Why did he allow this ommission if he were truely investigating the assassination and the potential for a conspiracy? McCloy had the athority to find out whom Oswald traveled with toward Helsinki. He failed to do so. McCloy had the ability to track the Hosty note and find out exactly who knew where Oswald was working before the assassination. He failed to do so. McCloy should have known that Oswald attempted to contact a person named John Hurt after the assassination. McCloy should also have known that Frank Rowlett, a man that McCloy worked with during WWII, was associated with John B. Hurt, a man who had provided McCloy with information during WWII. But once again McCloy failed to enter this information that he had unique knowledge of into the official record of the assassination." "Press Conference #1, January 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy State Department Auditorium Washington, D. C . 6:00 p.m., EST 418 In attendance THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Won't you be seated. I have several announcements to make, first. I have a statement about the Geneva negotiations for an atomic test ban. These negotiations, as you know, are scheduled to begin early in February. They are of great importance, and we will need more time to prepare a clear American position. So we are consulting with other governments, and we are asking to have it put off until late March. As you know, Mr. John McCloy is my principal adviser in this field, and he has organized a distinguished panel of experts, headed by Dr. James Fisk of the Bell Laboratories -- and Mr. Salinger will have a list of the names at the end of the conference -- who are going to study previous positions that we have taken in this field, and also recommend to Mr. McCloy, for my guidance, what our position would be in late March, when we hope the tests will resume. Is it a coincidence that after McCloy is relieved as arms negotiator in 1963 a new president happens again and McCloy is once again the new Presidents principal adviser?" Some older thoughts Jim Root
  7. For years I have suggested that the primary conspirators may well have been John J. McCloy and Maxwell Taylor (and have more recently began to suspect Richard Helms as well). Most recently I have concentrated on McCloy and his roll in both the assassination and the use of his position on the Warren Commission to insure that certain information was covered up passed gently over. Several years ago I began a thread titled "Did the 'Big Fish" know" which centered on the fact that FBI Agent Patrick Hosty had sent a note on November 4, 1963 that detailed exactly where Lee Harvey Oswald was working and that that note was never given a Commission Exhibit Number and has never been uncovered althought two other Hosty notes were given Commission Exhibit Numbers and did make it to the office of Richard Helms. Today I would like to take this information a step further and make some additional suggestions on how the machanics of murder may have been put in place by Maxwell Taylor in his position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and control over Air Force One. It is actually surprisingly simple. Hosty note sent November 4, 1963 detailing where Oswald was working. November 8, 1963 Mr. Killerman assigns Winston Lawson to the Dallas portion of the Presidential trip of November 22 and tells him that there would be a 45 minute time lapse for the motorcade trip although the location of the luncheon was still up in the air. In his testimony Lawson states, "...This figuered a great deal in the parade route, the 45 minutes. Mr Stern then asks: The 45 minute time interval? Lawson: Yes, sir. Stern: Was established for you by the White House? Lawson: Yes, sir. We find two other important facts. The Trade Mart Luncheon site was established by the White House and that the motorcade would go down Main Street. Given the time factor, we learn that Lawson would know how far the motorcade would travel during the 45 minutes aloted (figuring "a great deal in the parade route, the 45 minutes"). At the end of this distance (dictated by time) the motorcade would go off Main onto Houston and then Elm to the Stimmons Fwy to backtrack to the Trade Mart luncheon leaving the TSBD as the last building passed. Looking deeper into this we find that the 45 minutes was created by creating a delay in Fort Worth before the Presidential plane left for Dallas. Looking at Mr. Kellerman's testimony we find the President giving a speech in the parking lot of his hotel at 8:25am followed by a breakfast with the Chamber of Commerce. We know that this was a short breakfast because Kellerman received a phone call from Dallas about the wheather at 10:00am while the President had returned to his Suite at the hotel. For nearly an hour and a half there is very little activity except to travel the few miles to the airport. (from the testimony of Roy Kellerman Mr. Specter: Now, at about what time did President Kennedy depart from fort Worth? Kellerman: We were airborne from fort Worth at 11:20 in the morning....we arrived in Dallas, Love Field, at 11:40am. Kellerman mentions three times in his testimony the arrival time of 11:40 at Love Field. I have had an opportunity to be present at a Vice Presidential landing....it arrived at exactly the minute that it was supposed to just as President Kennedy's plane landed at Love Field at exactly the time planned by Washinton and those in charge of military transportation said it would land on November 8, 1963. The Presidential Plane could have left at anytime from Fort Worth after the Commerce Breakfast but an hour and a half interlude was provided so that the plane would land in Dallas at exactly 11:40am. This hour and a half delay created exactly the right amount of time for the motorcade to travel past one last building on its way to the Trade Mart Luncheon and that one last building was the TSBD building where Oswald was working! Once again, as Winston Lawson says, "This figuered a great deal in the parade route, the 45 minutes." Jim Root
  8. Greg Yes it was Ruth Paine who suggests that Oswald said he was a Trotskyite Socialist. James Patrick Hosty elaborates on that in his testimony. I also believe that one of the American Embassy employees in Moscow may have made a comment about Oswald's political beliefs and that Oswald would find himself rather lonely or alone in those beliefs in the Soviet Union. Food for thought: This is important for me in my research if for no other reason than the Warren Commission suggests that Oswald was not sophisticated in his political beliefs. If Oswald was clear to Paine and perhaps others that he was in fact a Trotskyite socialist then the Warren Commission is not being truthful. Many conspiracy believers want to suggest that Ruth Paine was a part of the conspiracy but here we have a contridiction.....If Paine was a part of placing Oswald in the TSBD building she should have been spewing the "company" line that Oswald was mixed up in his political beliefs. But Ruth Paine does not do this....and lived to contridict the Warren Commission findings in this particular (but I believe) important point. Oswald also has missing time in Mexico City, which just happens to have been the center of the Trotskyite movement. I speculate that Oswald may have been doing more than site seeing on his extended visit to Mexico. US Intelligence had infiltrated the Socialist movement in the US starting in the 1930's (first Smith Act Trials) and I believe that Oswald had an understanding of both groups (Socialists and Communists) that had been tried using the Smith Act. The back yard photos and Oswald's desire to have Jonathan Abt (Smith Act attorney) act as his attorney, I believe, supports, at least in part, some of these thoughts. Jim Root
  9. William Matthew Aid has been very helpful in my research!! I appreciate his work. Jim Root
  10. Tom You may want to take a look at the Eugene Dinkin Thread that I recently brought back up. Just another connection with the NSA in France while John B. Hurt was in France after retirement. As far as the college education of John B. Hurt: In 1921 (at the age of 17) Hurt enrolled in the College of William and Mary (15 credits) then transfered to Roanoke College in Salem, Virgina. From 1927 - 1928 he attended the Education School of The University of Virginia. There seems to be some indication that he attended Johns Hopkins University but does not appear in any alumni records. In the summer of 1929 Hurt studied French at the University of Paris. Because of his lack of ability in mathematics Hurt did not obtain a degree during this early period of his life but did attend the University of Maryland in 1951 and 1953 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in French. Must say that I take Oswald at his word on being a Trotskyite Socialist....but hey we can differ....may explain alot of his missing time in Mexico City..... The Liberal aspect: Hurt, as a young boy, first learned Japanese from a missionary who had worked in Japan from his hometown. Hurt requested Japanese roomates and he seemed to "hang" with Japanese students. I would suspect a white college student from Virginia in the 1920's rooming with a Japanese student would seem rather liberal at that point in time. It seems that Hurt's one lifelong friend from his college days was a gentleman named Masao Maura. I Hurt's 1947 document he makes reference to the heroics of the Spanish Communists and their fight against Facists forces in Spain.....something that today we would consider somewhat liberal but at the time was common among the youth of that day. None the less some of the most ardent Socialists/Communists of the period were gathering in support of the anti-fascist in Spain. Hurt understood the War against Japan but seems to have worked hard to help in the negotiations to end it prior to the Atomic Bomb being dropped. It is in these efforts that we find Hurt crossing paths with Meridith Gardner who was working on Soviet Translations and codes while the Japanese were attempting to gain the support of the Soviets in gaining a negotiated end of the War with the US. Hurt seems to have been very disapointed in the US use of the Atomic Bomb and it is interesting that John J. McCloy would quote Hurt almost exactly when McCloy made his arguemnts to Truman to enter into negotiations with the Japanese to end the War rather than using the Atomic Bomb (not in any way intended to suggest that Hurt was aware of the Atomic Bomb prior to its use, just that Hurt was aware of the efforts on the part of Japan to negotiate and end to the war and that Hurt's information made it into the hands of John J. McCloy). Jim Root Jim Root
  11. Tom and Greg You both might find this old post interesting in light of the new info on John B. Hurt's wife Jim Root
  12. Tom Some thoughts and speculations...... The family information that I have on Ana suggests that the Virgina Hurt's were not all that close to Ms Dritelle so I would think it very possible that the spellings that you have could very well be the correct ones. I find the information on the "coupon" to purchase a pistol to be interesting to say the least. I have to admit that the more factual coincidences that are associated to Oswald and Hurt as well as Hurt with others associated to the assassination story to be to great to dismiss without further study. Having stated the above this moves a timeline forward several months that I have been working with and requires a rethink of some of my thoughts. I do believe, as I have many times stated, that Oswald was not an agent of US Intelligence per say but may well have been used by US Intelligence in the manner suggested by Angelton in Epstein's Orchid Man story. With this in mind I can imagine an Oswald story that would have several intelligence organizations that may have wanted a piece of his defection. For instance I very early on believed that the downing of Francis Gary Powers and his U-2 might be tied to the TIROS I satelite project. If my calculations were correct then this satelite, one of the first polar orbited satelites, may have been over Russia ant located above the U-2 downing and may have, using infared technology, been able to "see" Soviet missle launches. At the time I felt that the U-2 cover story of a weather plane straying off course fit well within a TIROS weather satelite launch and my limited ability to track the course of TIROS I suggested a possible link (although the U-2 downing may have been a bit far North to be able to be "seen" by TIROS). I later discovered the Paris Summit/Limited Test Ban link to John J. McCloy and have had a tendency to feel that this link was to solid to dismiss easily. I especially seem to feel that if McCloy had used Oswald to gain a desired result (failure of the Paris Summit) using Oswald that perhaps McCloy would use Oswald again (Kennedy assassination). This seem to fit well. But I do have two additional senarios that I have not yet discussed and have not written about because I just don't have much in the way of facts to base them upon.....only scattered pieces of evidence that suggest additional possibilities. One additional possibility or scheme that I have toyed with has to do with the way that Rudolph Abel was captured and that Abel then became the spy that was exchanged for Francis Gary Powers after the U-2 Incident. The Abel story plays in well with the Venona info and such as does the prosecutions of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg. We now know that the Venona intel led to the arrests of Rosenburgs but that the use of the Venona intercepts could not be presented in court, therefore other info needed to be presented that led to the conviction and execution of the Rosenburgs. Once again we find Hurt associates Rowlett and Gardiner providing the intelligence that led to these arrests and convictions.......I see plenty of reasons to suggest that Hurt may have been involved in the gathering of this information as well. A third one that continues to pop up into my mind but has only the foundation of air, is that perhaps Hurt was a Socialist and had Socialist connections in addition to his NSA employment. Once again there is no foundation for this except what I have read of his writtings and that all seem to suggest that he was "Liberal" in his political views (rather shakey to say the least). But I must admit that Oswald's early letter to the Socialist Workers Party does, I believe, play into this thing in some shape or form. Perhaps we can discuss these thoughts further. Jim Root
  13. Tom Thanks! You shook my memory as well. The Hurt family spelling for Ana is Dritelle. Ana was an American Jew of Russian descent who studied in Paris. By chance John B. Hurt and Ana met on board a ship in the late 1920's as they both sailed to Paris to study, one as a cellist and one apparently languages. They fell in love and married in Europe but the marriage was annulled. It seems that Ana's Jewish parents were the reason for the breakup....All this was before Hurt connected with Friedman around 1931......but the story continues. John B. Hurt, about 1935, married Myrtle Deteirre, who was from a French-apeaking area of Louisiana (this may be interesting as well). Myrtle died around 1945 of complications from pneumonia (at about the same time John was having a breakdown of some sort) . Around 1949 Hurt and Ana Dritelle were reunited and remarried. Hurt had no children from either marriage. I have been told that Ana was a fluent Russian speaker and that Hurt was as well yet an NSA historian would not confirm that Hurt spoke Russian. Perhaps that is because his work after 1947 is still classified and may have had something to do with the Russian language (Venoa? that both Rowlett and Gardenier worked on?). Jim Root PS Tom, at one point I was following a lead on another Soviet agent who, it seems, was married to a woman that may have played in some of the same orchestras with Ana....but could never make an actual name connection in any material I uncovered.
  14. Robert Thank you for the kind words. I just realized yesterday that I am in my 19th year of this stuff but is has been the last couple that have born the greatest fruit from the seeds planted so long ago. Since you brought up Gordon Aylesworth Blake I thought I would add a few bits of info I gathered in the past. Blake was a member of the West Point class of 1931, same as Edwin Walker and during those four years at West Point shared an instructor named Maxwell Taylor (later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs under Kennedy). After graduation from West Point both Walker and Blake were given the same assignment and continued to work togerther for most of their first year after graduation. Their paths would then part, Blake going Army Air Corp and Walker being assigned to Artillery but they would periodically come together throughout their careers. In 1934 William Friedman's Team of Cryptologists began their first expansion by training military officers at Ft. Monmouth, N,J. Both Walker and Blake would be there. In 1939 Blake would be sent to TH (Territory of Hawaii) and Walker would be as well. Although officially on different bases a look at a map shows the two were stationed close with Walker being assigned to the base where America's "Magic" listening post was located. The two would attend consecutive Army Air War College clases at Maxwell Air Force Base in the late 1940's. Both men were on the fast track and it seems that both were guided in their respective careers by their former instructor, Maxwell Taylor. Blake would serve in the Pacific during WWII winning the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster and a Silver Star and obtained the rank of Colonel during the War, same as Edwin Walker. Blake would become a Major General, the same rank held by Walker when he left the Military, in 1963, several years after Walker. Balke would retire in 1965 and as was the practice at that time was promoted to the Rank of Lt. General upon retirement. I do find it interesting that of these two West Point classmates, Walker climbed the latter of Rank much faster than Blake and while Blake became the Director of the NSA in 1962 we can only imagine where Walker would have gone next (I do have some ideas) if it had not been for the Overseas Weekly article that doomed his career. One more caveat. the position of Director of the NSA would have been, in 1962, approved if not made by, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor. Jim Root
  15. Hi Tom Not trying to belittle your offer at all. In reality I have researched each of the "John Hurt" names that I found on the Social Security Death Index that match the age criteria throughout the United States (around 150 different persons). I have also had contact with persons that either interviewed or did direct research with the John Hurt's that resided in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina in 1963, including the two John Hurt's that matched the phone numbers that were provided with the original information about the Raleigh Call. It seems that most of that information has led to dead ends. Does your friend have something that adds to the existing record? I might point out that John B. Hurt does not appear in the SS Death Index I guess because as a Federal Employee he never paid into SS. Just a quirk perhaps but the SS record is not complete. John B. Hurt does also does not appear to be buried at the cemetary that he was reportedly burried at, not sure why and as I stated earlier, his work was so top secret that it is still classified to this day (at least his work after 1947). It also seems that there is no death certificate filed in the reported County of his death. I did interview several people who knew and were related to John B. Hurt and have done a great deal of background with both an NSA Historian and a Pentagon Historian. I also went to the 6th Floor Museum and with the help of Gary Mack was able to hear a press reporters report who made comment of Oswald's failed attempt to contact someone the previous evening.....a major piece of the evidence that makes people believe that Oswald did attempt to make such an outgoing call at the time of the reported Raleigh Call. It seems that the state of the research over the past 10 years on the Raleigh Call is that the call probly went to a cut-out rather than to an actual person named John Hurt. This would be consistant with Oswald's lack of endeavor in attempting to make additional phone calls to additional numbers as Oswald actually did in earnest while attempting to contact Jonathan Abt. It is also in line with the two Warren Commission attorneys who worked on the Odio Incident that speculated that the men who may have been with Oswald could have provided Oswald with a contact number. i believe that Oswald also made statements while in custody that he had contacts who would help him. Following that particular line and with the research that I had done on John B. Hurt and his particular connections to certain people associated with the asassination of JFK I made an educated guess as to who a cut-out in the Raliegh Durham area might have been that would have a complete understanding of what a call would mean that was made from Lee Harvey Oswald to a person at a number requesting to speak to John Hurt. I pondered ithe thought and attempted to find evidence that might be found that would associate this person and the assassination story. Following up this lead I became the first researcher to request informtion from a cache of material that had been restricted from reasearchers for twenty years. This information was from a collection of a verifiable and well known CIA Agent that lived in the area, had been an OSS Operative in WWII, was a member of an organization known as the Pond and had approved operation Stella Polaris. Within this cache I found information about a group of people (led by Richard Helms) that were gathering information about what one of the group speculated, was going to be an off track intelligence operation going through Helsinki Finland in the next few months. This corrospondence was dated June of 1959. Also contained in the cache was a document that several authors of books dealing with the Venona Secret were aware of but have never seen which is complete amd contains hand written notes in the margins. If you are familiar with the Venona Secret then you know that Frank Rowlett and Meridith Gardner, the same two men who would later investigate Lee Harvey Oswald for intelligence connections, were in charge of Venona for the NSA. As a hitorical side bar, it was an Ultra Secret communication from the Japanese to the Finnish Intelligence community that John B. Hurt uncovered that led to the beginnings of the Venoa Project. Operation Stella Polaris was a direct result of this information. The operation got its name from the ship that was dispatched to pick up Finnish Cryptologist and there is good information to suggest that Col. (at the time) Edwin Walker dispatched this ship. The whole operation was carried out by a strange branch of Intelligence know as Secret Intelligence (SI) or "The Pond" that we are only now, 60 years later, begining to learn about. A study of the beginnings of the CIA shows that when Richard Helms came into the fledgling CIA he was allowed to bring his "personal" intelligence organization with him. Helms was a "Pond" member and with people who are currently researching this particularly unique intelligence organization (SI) I have been able to establish that Helms was in fact deeply involved with this group. As I stated earlier this cache shows very clearly that "Dick" Helms, who would monitor Oswald's movements until his death, was preparing, in June 1959 for an off track intelligence operation that would operate through Helsinki, Finland. Four months later Oswald arrives in Helsinki. The group that was meeting, at the request of "Dick" Helms in June of 1959 included Whitney Shepardson. Shepardson with the help of Dimitri Von Mohrenschildt (brother of George De Mohrenschildt) would, among other things start Radio Liberty, better known as Radio Free Europe. Shepardson was also the founder of the Council on Foreign Relations and would be involved in the appointment of his good friend John J. McCloy to several posts during his lifetime. Interesting that my speculation has led to finding a direct connection between John J. McCloy and the brother of Lee Harvey Oswald's friend Grorge DeMohrenschildt. It is of interest that Priscilla J(ohnson) McMillan would visit the office of Radio Liberty before departing for Moscow and her meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald. McMillian only resently pointed out the Oswald had told her that he could receive Radio Free Europe broadcasts while in Russia. This is ialso nteresting because one of the creators of "The Pond," John V. "Frenchy" Grombach entered intelligence operations after providing our early intelligence organizations with a methodology of using regular radio broadcasts to send information to agents in the field. I provide all this information not because I ruled out the possibility that there could have been other potential John Hurt's that may have been possible Lee Harvey Oswald contacts but rather, I have concentrated on this one because of the nearly 150 John Hurt's that I have researched this one and only this one seems to have led to the most fertile ground. I have attempted to approach this research as a homicide detective might as well. After a review of many potential John Hurt suspects I will admit that I have been led to concentrate on this one and my continued research into this John B. Hurt has led to more information than I ever suspected would be available to help solve this case. Jim Root
  16. Tom, you asked... Have you eliminated this fellow? North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004 Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries Name: John William Hurt Birth: date Death: dd mm 1977 - Buncombe, North Carolina Residence: Wilkes He was listed in the 1930 US Census as a member of an Army unit living in a barracks at Ft. Bragg, NC. I have recent contact info of his son, if you are interested. John died from TB at the Veteran's Hospital in Asheville, NC in 1977. I've confirmed who his recenlty still living son is, from Wilkes County, NC birth records. Tom I like my John B. Hurt During WWII he worked for John J. McCloy. He also worked with Meridith Gardner and Frank Rowlet who would investigate Lee Harvey Oswald for intelligence connections. John B. Hurt can also be connected to the man who was the head of the NSA in 1963 (and wrote a supporting note to the Warren Commission). In fact the future head of the NSA was in the first class given by Friedman's team of Cryptologist back in (I believe) 1934. As a matter of fact....Edwin Walker was there as well. And just for the fun of it, of the seven original members of Friedman's Team that became the NSA only ones work after 1947 is still classified....you guessed it John B. Hurt. Doesn't it make you wonder what a man who, at a minimum, shares a name with a man that Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to contact was working on and why it still remains classified to this day? Jim Root
  17. John I appreciate your roll as Devils Advocate and I assure you that there are 100's if not 1000's of factors that have come together, thru my research, to support my hypothesis. A few..... The date of the start of the Overseas Weekly investigation was a critical sticking point in my research and I am suprised that no one here has picked up on that particular point. The OW investigation started to early for what was, according to the Warren Commission, Oswald's first contact with the State Department annoucing his intentions of returning to the United States, to have been orchestrated to "frame" Walker. On the other hand if we take Oswald at face value he refers to his earlier note of December to State where he first announced his intention to return to the US. That note has never appeared but we need to consider it within the total picture that is being framed. Within my hypothesis it is John J. McCloy that may be the primary conspirator in the assassination of JFK. If I am correct any piece of information that could lead (via a paper trail) directly to him would have to be eliminated, very possibly by him as a Warren Commissioner. Case in point is FBI Agent Jame Hosty's third note which said exactly where Lee Harvey Oswald was working prior to the designation of the motorcade route. We know that that note was written and that it is a seemingly critical piece of evidence (who in Government knew exactly where Oswald was working) but was not even given a Commission Exhibit Number and was actually passed over by McCloy. We now know that Hosty's other two notes made it to the Office of Richard Helms (tracked by John Newman and reported by Jefferson Morely) so it is perhaps for good reason that McCloy may not have wanted a note that could be tracked perhaps to him to never be made public. If that note could not be tracked to McCloy and McCloy was doing a competent job it would have been given an exhibit number and woudl have been tracked to identify exactly who had access to that information. It was not! To this date the CIA denies that the third Hosty note ever made it to Helms desk but admits that the other two did. I have found that it is what is missing, (passenger lists, Hosty note, Raleigh Call to John Hurt) that create an obsure path which leads to John J. McCloy. Within my hypothesis McCloy was the head of all US Intelligence Organizations from 1941 forward. McCloy was brought into the War Department to build a modern Intelligence organization based upon the British system of intelligence. It is the fact that the December note that Oswald refers to is missing that fuels my closer look into the Overseas Weekly/Pro Blue investigation. The reporters did not discover a story....they were instead told to go and investigate a story about Walker by their editor. The FBI begins trailing Oswald just weeks after the failed attempt on the life of Edwin Walker. Officially this begins because an unidentified person reports that Oswald is handing out Pro Castro material in Dallas....a story that FBI Agent James Patrick Hosty says he believed never occure. The FBI's reports are directed to the Office of Richard Helms who says he never got the third one which stated exactly where Oswald worked......I find this unbelievable! The British, for hundreds of years maintained one man at the head of all intelligence that they referred to as "C." If McCloy was America's "C" we can understand why J. Edgar Hoover was reluctant to have McCloy serve on the Warren Commission because of the publicity. McCloy, if you follow his career seldom if ever sought publicity but if McCloy were America's "C" we can understand Hoover's concern in a different light and we can understand how certain documents and information have never become public that could lead to this particular blip in US Intelligence becoming uncovered. It took a major scandal in England to uncover Menzies as Britians "C." If McCloy were behind the scuttling of the Paris Summit (which the record shows he wanted scuttled) and Walker could be connected to Oswald entry into the Soviet Union and Oswald could be connected to the downing of the U-2 on May 1, 1960 we can understand why Walker would need to be burned......It is not the hypothesis it is just one of many pieces that fits the hypothesis After the assassination attempt on Walker we find Oswald in New Orleans speaking at Spring Hill College. As reported, a great deal of Oswald's talk centered on the failure of the Paris Summit and his seeming anger that there were people in both the Soviet Union and the United States that did not want to see the countries coming together. Oswald's anger in this particular field is another supporting piece within this hypothesis.... but just another one piece of so so many. Jim Root
  18. John Might add here that in contempory magazine articles, Maxwell Taylor was repeatedly reported as the man who chose his old comrade in arms to lead the 101st into Little Rock. On the Taylor website for Arlington National Cemetary they report Little Rock as one of Taylor's four most difficult problems as Chief of Staff of the Army and in that case Taylor sent Walker. One of the others, the First Straits of Taiwan Crisis, Taylor would also turn to Walker as the man he would trust to handle another of his most difficult assignments. But when it came to the Pro Blue debacle (and the return of Oswald), the soon to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Taylor) was silent and Taylor's most trusted "old comrade in arm" am Walker would fall instantly from grace. Once again, from old posts, I must point out that Taylor worked directly under John J. McCloy during the negotiations with Italy during WWII and it was Taylor that McCloy selected to be the Military Commander in Berlin while McCloy was High Commissioner in Post War Germany. The point I continue to suggest is that IF Oswald were injected into the Soviet Union in October of 1959 in an operation that McCloy had planned to scuttle the Paris Summit and the Limited Test Ban Treaty it would not be unusual for him to turn to his old friend the Chief of Staff of the Army (whom McCloy had often turned to, both as a tennis partner and for more official work) to find a trusted individual to be Oswald's contact as he traveled into the Soviet Union. Knowing that Taylor selected Walker for two of his most delicate operations in the past it would seem logical that Taylor would select this trusted officier again....but then we would have to have McCloy placed on the Warren Commission to make sure that passenger lists would never see the light of day for Oswald's travel from London to Helsinki. Just more thoughts on the subject. Jim Root
  19. Tom, Greg and John I am sorry that my answers have been rather short today. I have been working in several different places today so my posts have been from different locations and done quickly. I do appreciate your responses. Tom, your June 18, 1961 article is interesting and I believe may help to illustrate one of my points. The fact is what was occuring in the "Pro Blue" program was occuring throughtout the military at that time. It was common place. Walker was unusual only in that he was made the poster child for what was seemingly the norm. With this in mind I go back to the timing of the Overseas Weekly investigation and article. The investigation begins shortly after Oswald announces his intention to return to the United States and the article is published at the same time that Oswald is granted permission to return. This is not a defense of Walker or of the Pro Blue Program. It is factual and in my research was uncovered based upon trying to understand how a conspiracy and a group of conspirators capable of murdering a President could work to manipulate events to fit their needs and avoid being discovered while accomplishing their goal. If Oswald was unexpectedly returning to the US and if, as Gerry Hemming assured me, Walker was part of the team that inserted Oswald into the Soviet Union Oswald may have considered Walker to be the leader of a very bad organization (I believe Oswald was quoted as saying something to that effect) Remember here that I buy into the Angelton discription of Oswald as an insect moving between orchids unaware that he was spreading the pollen of his flowery host, Oswald was, just as he said, a patsy. Is it impossible to believe that a group of conspirators capable of murdering the President and getting away with it would have the ability to burn Walker as well? Is it impossible to believe that this group of conspirators would understand that Walker might be able to identify them especially if Walker knew that Oswald had worked for both Soviet and US intelligence as Walker stated in his last interview? Would it be logical to plant an easily discovered letter from a conspirator (John J. McCloy) written to Walker in a place where it could be easily found that could tie Walker to the Conspirators at the exact time that McCloy was resigning as Kennedy's chief arms negotiator and was, along with Maxwell Taylor in a serious dispute with Kennedy? Isnt it strange that at the same time that McCloy is penning his letter to Walker the FBI begins monitoring the movements of Oswald and that information about these movements is being forwarded to Richard Helms in the CIA. Is it because I took a close look at these events that I was the first person to find and publish the McCloy/Walker letter on this site (I have since located two additional copies strored in two additional places, was that to insure that a copy would be found if necessary)? Is it reasonable to think that Walker, after the assassination, would understand, especially if he had previously helped Oswald enter Russia, that the assassination of Kennedy was not the work of one lone nut but rather a group of very well placed conspirators and that he could be tied to both Oswald and them? John Walker did not receive the order to go to Little Rock while he was the commander of the Arkansa Military District . Walker was the Commander of the 101st Airborne at that time he was ordered into Little Rock by Maxwell Taylor. While in Little Rock Walker was given the command of the Arkansas Military District which oversaw, among other things the Army Missle Program. This was a major feather in his cap and Walker related such in a couple of local publications in his home town. It was the discovery of these articles that led me to the connection between Walker and Maxwell Taylor. I was shocked to find how close their relationship was. The Army Missle Program was, during the time Walker was in command of the Arkansas Military District, being taken away from the Army and was becoming the civilian program known as NASA. This transition upset the Army bras, especially Maxwell Taylor (who was at the time Chief of Staff of the Army) and I find it interesting that Walker was positioned by Taylor, once again, to oversea this transition for his "old comrad in arms." Taylor would also resign from the military while in a dispute with a sitting President. Taylor would, rather radically, write a book that was highly critical of both Eisenhower and the US military. Talk about a person who became political via his military position, Maxwell Taylor makes the actions of others seem primitive. Taylor the hawk who thought even Eisenhower soft on Communism became a Kennedy supporter. Kennedy himself, sounding much the same as Walker would later be portrayed, was rabid in his portrayal of the Eisenhower administration as soft on communism. Many parts of Kennedy's speeches would have fit well into the Walker's Pro Blue Program. Taylor was so masterful in his criticisim of the Eisenhower administration that Kennedy would not only read Taylor's book but would quickly bring Taylor into his administration after he was elected. I haVe suggested, years ago on this forum, that the 1960 election was swayed by the U-2 incident. If the Paris Summit had occured and Eisenhower and Krushev would have signed a Limited Test Ban Treaty in May of 1960 Nixon may have won the election. As it was Kennedy's bomber gap missle gap speeches resonated with the voters in 1960 and it was him that won the election. In Kennedys first press conference he announce the resumption of opern air nuclear testing and intorduced his lead arms negotiator John J. McCloy.....alll in the first two paragraphs of that press conference. If my theroy is correct, Kennedy may well have been helped into the Presidency by the U-2 Incident. If, as my theory suggests, McCloy was responsible for orchestrating that event by the use of a patsy named Oswald we can perhaps understand why Kennedy would be so indebted to McCloy that he would feature him in his first press conference. And perhaps we could ponder the thought that if McCloy had orchestrated the election of Kennedy and Kennedy then turned on McCloy.......perhaps it is not unreasonable to believe that McCloy could turn on Kennedy........ One more thought.....if we were to speculate that the above may have merit and Bobby Kennedy became aware of the roll that Oswald had played in the election of his brother to the presidency.....well one could only ponder how Booby might react.....perhaps as Walker suggested, Bobby was well aware of who Oswald was. Greg I was happy to read your comments: "I do think the Limited Test Ban sealed Kennedy's fate. It was, as they say, the final straw. As a side note. IMO, Oswald's trip to the Soviet Union was tied up with the Geneva negotiations." Thank you. Sorry for my wonderings....I am very tired,,,, Jim Root
  20. Tom Thank you for the note. My research is based upon hypothesis that has either been supported by facts or destroyed by facts. Each new fact uncovered has then provided new hypothesis which leads to new research. I do not see this as revisionist in any way. When I was in college I did a paper that compared Civil War era newspaper articles that reported upon the same events. I was amazed by how different the story could be told depending upon the slant the author placed upon the story. In many many cases it was difficult to tell that the same event was being reported except that the dates and the headlines usually allowed me to assume the stories were about the same event. So it is with history in geneeral.....we say that history is told by tthe victors....one persons freedom fighter is another persons terrorist. How we interperet events depends upon our views and the slants we wish to place upon the facts we uncover. For myself the Walker story began as a contridiction. Here was a man that in 1957 was a hero of the Civil Rights Movement amd conteporary news stories show a man who basked in the media attention he achieved as a hero of that movement. Four years later Walker is at the center the far right fring. To make matters more difficult to understand we find that the Walker of 1957 has been revised into the Walker of 1961. While I have found that most JFK conspiracy theorist want to believe that the US Govt. has had the ability to manipulate news reporting for years, and several threads on this particular site deal with that, when it comes to the Walker story the news post 1961 has it right and the news pre 1961 has it wrong. There lies the contridiction which I find so interesting and has led me to dig so deeply into the life of this man.....and in so doing develop a theory that explains how a conspiracy to assassinate JFK would have worked. What I find most interesting about it is that it needed to involve very few people yet the primary person who may have been involved, John J. McCloy was positioned to make sure the evidence that would have implicated him within my theory was so well covered up. Three facts: A) The passenger lists from the plane/s that carried Oswald from London to Helsinki, although available at the time were never made a part of the Warren Commission Report and records. FBI Agent Hosty's third note which said exactly where Oswald was working prior to the finalization of the motorcade route through Dallas was never given a commission exhibit number therefore making sure that whoever in government that had access to this information would not be known. Rather important piece of evidence. C) The fact that Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to contact someone by the name of John Hurt while in custody after the assassination was not made a part of the record but the two men who investigated Lee Harvey Oswald for potential intelligence contacts were closely associated with NSA employee John B. Hurt. By researching Walker I have been able to shed light on each of these three facts. Dealing with: A) Walker was traveling in Europe at the same time as Oswald and I can prove that they could have been on the same flights while each arrived at different locations. FBI Agent Hosty's notes (the two given commission exhibit numbers) were making it to the office of Richard Helms. Helms, in 1959, gathered information from former OSS/Pond members about Helsinki, Finland in the months preceeding Oswald's arrival in the same location. The laison that Helms was using to gather this information was a close associate of Demitri DeMor(sp) brother of George DeMor(sp) who befriended Oswald while he was in Dallas. C) During WWII John B. Hurt was providing information directly to John J. McCloy in his position of Asst. Sec. of War and by 1934 Edwin Walker can be associated with Hurt as well. Walker also did two specific missions during WWII that McCloy took a particular interest in and did them with stunning success. Feel free to do with my research as you wish but please allow me to put a couple of "slants" on your statements. "Isn't it true that the federal charges against Walker in Mississippi were dismissed, without prejudice, meaning they could be filed again during the five year statutory period, if a future, all white local grand jury could be persuaded to indict him, since the initial jury wouldn't?" You are correct that the charges were not reintroduced. Sometimes that occurs when there is not enough evidence to support the charges. "Walker won two libel suits against the press, one in Ft. Worth, and one in Louisiana. Both verdicts were overturned in a 1967 Supreme Court ruling. How many blacks were sitting on each jury, Jim?" Was ot a jury trial or was it heard by a judge. I believe the verdicts were not overturned it was the award that was overturned. And I do believe there was a black man on the Supreme Court at that time. "Dr. Charles White's remote diagnosis of Walker's mental state after "ole MIss....." I recently read a remote diagnosis dealing with President Obama's severe narcissistic personality disorder.....I give this about as much credence as I give to Dr. Charles White's remote diagnosis. I might ask do you accept one, both or neither of these remote diagnosis of these two different men who have perhaps differednt ideologies? And does one ideology make one remote diagnosis easier to accept than the other? Jim Root
  21. Greg Just a quick note here....I hope to write more later I wanted to first deal with this particular observation of yours: "I'm aware you don't feel Walker should be blamed for Pro Blue, and that indeed, you might even consider that Pro Blue itself has been unfairly criticized, but do you also beleve he was smeared for his actions in Ol' Miss, and that his "morals" arrests were without foundation - in effect, just further smears?" Two different words, blamed, responsible. I believe Walker took total responsibility for his Pro Blue Program and it cost him his military career. I also believe that Walker was "blamed" for a program that he had been operating for years (under one name or another) within the confines of similar programs that were occuring in every division of the Army of the United States at that time and that Walker did not understand why it suddenly became such a big deal. That the program becoming such a big deal coincides with Oswald's attempt to return to the United States is what I find most fascinating. While we look at the indoctrination of troop in the mico of Walker and the future the reality of the indoctrination of troops in the present of 1960 was common and not unusual. That Walker was signaled out, when I believe many others could have been singled out, such as Patton was during WWII, and then put in a postion to resign begs a closer look.....especially in light of missing flight passenger lists associated with Oswald's trip from London to Helsinki. Especially when associated with a letter from McCloy to Walker (June 1963) that coincides with McCloy's "disagreements" with Kennedy. I believe (not in a position to check my facts today) that the Ol' Miss incident led to a libel suit brought by Walker that he won. The monetary damages portion was later overturned but the fact that he won that suit would lead us to say that legally that incident was a smear and without foundation. The morals charge is a completely different story. I do think there may have been two of them and have no reason to believe that they were not true. It is this particular twist that led me to attempt to resach the homosexual angle of Walker's character further. As a young man Walker was sent to two different military schools, one in Texas and one in New Mexico. I had the opportunity to interview a few hometown folks that knew Walker or were familiar with the community as a whole and the impression (albeit after the morals incidents were known) was that Walker's family had sent Walker to military schools to "cure" him of this particular problem. One person that I interviewed (who did not know Walker personally)seemed to have done a great deal of research into this particular area and indicated that Walker's particular persuasion was know within a small tight knit community which I would think would not be surprising during the life of Walker. It is difficult to piece together a lot of Walker's childhood if for no other reason than there are not many living resources to draw upon. I have been led to speculate based upon what I have learned but it is only speculation. It does seem clear that while a student at West Point Walker had the ability to spend time attending Broadway Productions and particiapated in the social life surrounding the preformers in these productions. I even have evidence that supports the belief that Walker may have actually performed in a very short lived off Broadway production. IF Walker had homosexual tendencies and if these became apparent while he was a student at West Point, Walker could have become a very malable tool for use by Army Intelligence. I do have evidence that within months of Walker's graduation from West Point he was involved in an undercover drug investigation on a military base. When you follow Walker's early career it is spattered with evidence of undercover intelligence activities that his particular morals may have allowed him to better fullfill. Jim Root
  22. Greg Let me begin by saying how much I appreciate both your questions and your research! You provide me with an opportunity to both clarify my own thoughts and a chance to expand upon those thoughts. "Have you contacted those who served under him who wrote negative comments on the 24th's web page?" I have contacted many people from both the 24th and from many other units and have even exchanged an email or two with the person who runs that site. In speaking with the men and in some cases woman family members of men who served with Walker I find that people had an opinion of him when they served with him which was, at times, later tweaked and influenced by events that transpired after they served with him. There is an old cliche in politics, "If you throw enough mud against a wall some of it sticks." And Walker, over the years, has had a great deal of mud thrown at his reputation and career. But in my interviews, those that served closely with Walker, especially those who served with him in combat, without exception reguarded him as a man that they wanted in a foxhole with them if they were in combat. Having said that, it is true that Walker's character was not portrayed in the movie "The Devils Brigade" because he was viewed as to controversial. Walker was banned from traveling in Canada based upon events that occured after 1961. When the colors of the First Special Services Force were exchanged for the colors of the Green Berets, Walker was not allowed to be at the ceremony although, as I understand it, every other surviving American of the FSSF was invited and many did attend. Even Gerry Hemming, a frequent visitor to the Walker residence, assured me that after the morals charges against Walker many men who had served with him were less enthusiastic about Walker then they had been in prior years. So in my research I have found two views of Walker. First we have the Walker that men served with and second, the Walker that became highly publicized after his resignation. Some mud did stick but not nearly as much as you might think. "Delgado never testified that Oswald told him that. His testimony was that he had no idea how he came to that belief." Delgado says very clearly in response to being asked about Oswald being in Germany, "I knew that he was over there going to school..." What Delgado was unlear on was, "I can't for the life of me recall where I got the scoop that I thought he was going to some school in Berlin..." Germany is a country, Berlin is a specific place within that country. Delgado was unclear on if he was in Berlin but "knew" that he was "there"(in Germany). I personally believe that Delgado would have remembered if Oswald said that he was going to the Soviet Union and Delgado would have been much less likely to think that Oswald was in Berlin if Oswald had said Russia rather than Germany. "Here is what Walker stated in the Texas Monthly of February, 1991." Greg, let me start by saying thank you for providing the reference to this article, I had nver seen it previously. My research allows me to come to different conclusions than you but I must admit some of the Walker quotes are more than helpful to my work. For starters though, the article was written by Gary Cartwright and titled "The Old Soldier." Its byline was a factually incorrect statement that leads me to believe that the author was not very astute in his knowledge of Walker or his background, "In 1957 General Walker warned his troops of rampant communism and lost his job...." Those of us that know much of anything about Walker know that the first line of this article is historically incorrect which could call into question the inferences the author makes based upon his lack of clear knowledge about Walkers career. That being said the article is not that bad, in my opinion. From your quoted comments atributed to Edwin Walker: "Messages were criss-crossing this town that something was going to happen and the right wing was going to be blamed for it... " On October 24th 1963, a month before Kennedys visit to Dallas, the US Ambasssador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson had been in town. While on his visit Stevenson had been hit in the head by a woman holding an anti-United Nations sign and a man spat on Stevenson and a police officier. The right wing was blamed for the Stevenson incident and yes there was a lot of information "criss-crossing this town" that the Kennedy visit presented an opportunity for similar events. ".... I (Walker) made sure I was out of Dallas that day..." A logical thing to do in my opinion for a man that was labeled as being very anti-Kennedy. "...I (Walker) was on a plane flying from New Orleans to Shreveport when the pilot announced that Kennedy had been killed. I've got the plane number and everyone who was on it..." An event that I have seen attributed to Walker many times throughout the years and is in this article repeated once again. "...the Kennedy assassination was an overlapping conspiracy incidental to the larger conspiracy to assassinate General Walker..." This is not a Walker quote but you have placed it in the middle of several Walker quotes. It was the opinion of the author and should be addressed as such. Within my research I would suggest that the author might have given his impression based upon a view of Walker as a narcessist who would place himself above the assassination of Kennedy. Perhaps this is the bias of the author based upon an unclear understanding of the historical Walker (as his byline suggests and unclear understanding of the true history of Walker's career) With this in mind the statement of the author is perhaps not far off from what Walker was actually saying. I might suggest that the author could have indicated that Walkers thought presented in the phamplet discribed suggest that the Walker assassination attempt was an overlapping conspiracy incidental to the larger conspiracy to assassinat President Kennedy. I think that this is something that most conspiracy theorist might agree upon.....so lets look further: And the next quote you attribute to Walker from the article, in my opinion, supports my research and Walkers personal knowledge of the events surrounding the assassination: "...Kennedy comprimised the entire country when he decided to seek a second term..." In order to shore up his poll numbers Kennedy revived the Limited Test Ban Treaty (June 1963). People such as John J. McCloy, who I suggest may have been involved in the assassination, viewed this as a political move Kennedy was willing to use to bolster his re-election campaign....just as he was willing to slow down on Civil Rights legislation. McCloy resigned as Kennedy's Chief Arms negotiator and wrote his letter to Edwin Walker which I have written much about. Just as the U-2 incident stoped the Paris Summit and a Limited Test Ban Treaty from being signed in 1960 (which McCloy did not want to see signed), the Kennedy assassination brought McCloy back to the table as Chief Arms negotiator once again and allowed McCloy to achieve his long sought after comprehensive nuclear non-proliferation treaties. I ask again, was Oswald used to accomplish McCloys goals in two different events? This suggestion needs to be considered! I believe that Walker's comments in this interview actually support this position! "...if Kennedy had the good sense to retire, he'd be alive today..." Walker, in my opinion, knew that it was not good to cross paths with John J. McCloy! And McCloy, with his June 1963 letter to Walker had let Walker know that he too would be implecated in the assassination if he talked. And yes, I agree, the article does speak for itself....... Jim Root
  23. Hi John I will agree that Walker could, throughout his career, be described as "overly enthusiastic." Most people would tend to believe that would be a positive characteristic depending on how one wishes to few what one is enthusiastic about. Augsburg (I could have the spelling incorrect) was where the 24th Infantry Div. was stationed in Germany. Walker never did a tour in Vietnam. Walker was involved in an early Army training program that, in I believe it was, 1954/55 inserted the first small group of specially trained US soldiers into Vietnam. These soldiers entered Vietnam in civilian clothes by the way, via Hawaii. There were two groups of these specially trained men, one group went to Europe and one to Vietnam. They were the forerunners of the Green Berets. Although Walker was not the man that was in charge of the day to day training of these men he was the commander who oversaw and was involved in developing the training of this special force. Not surprising, considering both Walker's service in and later command of the First Special Services Force during World War II, which by the way, is considered to be the forerunner of the Green Berets. This special training occured under the Army's Chief of Staff, General Maxwell Taylor and was long a favorite project of Taylor's. It is not surprising that Walker, Taylors trusted collegue, would be involved in this project. During the Korean War Walker had also been involved in the training of special Ranger units (that Taylor endorsed but believed were poorly used during the Korean conflict). Walker had also been in charge of the Greek desk at the Pentagon during Americans successful involvement during the Greek Civil War and had been a part of the planning of Cold War strategies in the all important Army War College projects following World War II. Walker was an expert in counter insurgency warfare and had been involved in the development and implementation of tactics and training since WWII. You will find many references of men who would later be CIA operatives who were first trained and then recruited from programs that Walker was involved in (including Gerry P. Hemming). Walker was very well connected and was never considered a "nut case" by the men that were developing the "brush fire war" strategies of the 1950's. Walker himself suggests that he was to be given the Vietnam job. I find it interesting that the job ended up in the hands of Westmorland that had actally served under Walker. I do find the flag upside down story to be both true and interesting. Just as I find the story of how Walker's retirement was returned to him later in life. The retirement story has led me to speculate that when Walker was burned, and his papers prove that he was sure that it was US Intelligence that was having him burned and that he did not understand why,.....here is where the speculation begins.....Walker may have been assigned to spy on the "Right" in America. Couple of things here: 1) It was illegal for the military to spy on US citizens. This restriction would be removed legally if Walker had resigned from the military. This is similar to what was done with U-2 pilots and other military personal who would resign from the military while they were working for the CIA. Example: Francis Gary Powers was officially a civilian contracter working for NASA when he was downed in a U-2 spy plane over Russia......the official cover story was that it was a civilian NASA weather plane that had strayed off course. 2) A General is always in the service of the US Government and can be recalled at any moment that the nation, or President, deems their service to be required. I speculate that Walker would have served under his friend, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor, in any capacity he was called upon to serve.......Walker always did exactly what Kennedy's Chairman asked him to do and he always did it in an "overly enthusiastic" manner. The German magazine article.........I believe Walker knew, immediatly upon seeing Oswald's face, that the assassination of JFK was not the individual act of one lone man. I believe that Walker knew that the assassination of JFK was most likely the act of highly placed members of US Intelligence that also had the ability to connect him to that act (the letter from McCloy to Walker in June of 1963 would serve that purpose very well I think). I believe that Walker was uniquely placed to understand this! His action in the hours following the assassination, I believe, fit as a key piece to this puzzle that I continue to paint. Jim Root
  24. Ron Simple answer, yes. I do not believe Walker had any idea who Oswald was or what his mission/operation was. I assume Walker was given a package or information to deliver to Oswald which contained informtation on how to get into the Soviet Union via the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki after having purchased his first class intourist vouchers. This information, as we have since learned, was sent to the US State Dept. one day prior to Oswalds arrival in Finland. This contact may have been as simple as a chance meeting at the airport or perhaps being on the same flight from one destination to the next (my original thought based upon the missing passenger lists and the fact that Walker and Oswald were traveling in Europe at the same time period). With the help of Antti Hynoonan we have been able to prove that this was possible and fits in with the Delgado story that Oswald had told him he was going to Germany.....where Walker actually traveled to. It also provides an excellent reason why passenger lists would beome unavailable to the Warren Commission and the general public. While there is speculation which brings the pieces of this puzzle together it is a picture painted from evidence discovered by following a hypothesis. IF true then a returning Oswald could perhaps identify Walker as the man who provided information to him as he defected. IF Oswald was the patsy that he said he was then he would, as he said, have every reason to come to believe that Walker was the head of some very bad organization. Walker on the other hand would have reas to, as he said, believe that Oswald was actually working for both Soviet and American Intelligence. Both stories and comments fit into this picture. Walker would be just as much of a patsy in this as Oswald.....just as Oswald may have believed he was working for some Soialist group or organization, Walker would have believed that Oswald was working for US interests. Neither may have been clear on exactly what they were doing but I do know that Ted Walker would have followed any order that he was given.....and I do believe that he may have been misled along the way.....right up until he saw Oswald's face on TV after the assassination. And in the case of Oswald, he ended up at the only Soviet embassy in the world that could issue him a visa within 24 hours and he purchased his intourist vouchers, just as the Hickerson note said to do, prior to his application for that visa.......who provided him with that information? Or did Oswald just get lucky in 1959? And was it just luck that put the motorcade past where Oswald worked in 1963? My bet is that there were only a few happier people in both the US and Soviet Union than Edwin Walker was in the moments following the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. Jim Root
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