Zach Robertson

Mike, Excellent post and fantastic links. I have the Soldier of Fortune magazine where the Bayo-Pawley article was published. A Plot to Destroy JFK and Invade Cuba is must read material for anyone seriously interested in studying the assassination. Some of the early issues of SOF have articles related to the Secret War against Castro that have never been reprinted anywhere and about the only place you can find them is on Ebay. SOF won't reprint them. This particular article proves that elements within the CIA were planning on undermining the administration of their own Commander-In-Chief five months before he was assassinated on the streets of Dallas. David Morales was the one who signed off on this mission. Ted Shackley gave it the "OKAY" as he trusted Morales. I really do not think anyone in Washington really knew anything about this. Zach

Hi Scott, Thanks for the kind words – I greatly appreciate it! I am glad you are not giving up on your search. Keep digging, you never know what you might find, or where you might find it. Continuing the inquiry on Jerry Buchanan and looking through my copy of Ed Arthur's Glory No More, I found the following passage that may be of interest to you. Keep in mind there is no index in the book and there are a few spelling errors (Jerry Henning being an example), I found this entry on page 153-154 of a man named Kaiser: Zach

You're welcome Bernice - thank you Here is one more entry on Jerry Buchanan. This is from Ed Arthur's Glory No More © 1975, a great book if you can find it: Mary Ferrell's Database: BUCHANAN, JAMES "JIM" BUCHANAN, JERRY Zach

Jerry Buchanan background from NoduleX10 by AJ Weberman: JERRY "BUCKY" BUCHANAN Jerry Buchanan, Jim Buchanan's brother, 22, attended Riverdale School in Norfolk, Virginia, and then served in the Army. He was stationed on the Czechoslovakian border. In June 1959 he was the Subject of a Miami investigation for impersonation based on use of Army identification in the name of Jesse L. Murphy used to cash bad checks. The complaint, which charged Jerry Buchanan with Impersonation, was dismissed at Miami when he was located at Ft. McPherson, Georgia, in April 1959, serving a sentence for AWOL. In September 1961 Jerry Buchanan trained with Rolando Masferrer on No Name Key in Florida: "There were 60 of us" Buchanan said, "About half Cubans and half Americans. The island was mostly swamp and we were sleeping out in the open. In November 1961 a friend of Buchanan had been shot by a Cuban in a training accident. a growing antipathy between the two groups finally led Buchanan to leave the island with the Americans, all of whom subsequently joined FIORINI'S International Anti-Communist Brigade." On May 16, 1961, Jerry Buchanan told his hometown newspaper, The Norfolk-Ledger, "There are hundreds of Americans in Miami right now who'd like nothing better than a crack at giving Castro the boot. Cubans are nice people but, under pressure, they don't remember orders." [N-L 5.16.61] The Buchanan brothers flew supply missions from a secret base in the Bahamas to anti-Castro guerrillas in the Escambray Mountains. Victor Paneque helped locate these men. In April 1963 British authorities captured 13 of Cuban exile Orlando Bosch's men on a small West Indies island. Jerry Buchanan was the only American among the 13 arrested. The funds for this anti-Castro action had been furnished by a Chicago-based Cuban exile, Paulino A. Sierra, who collected money from Las Vegas gambling interests. [CIA 201-739652] Jerry Buchanan from the video linked here: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=62878 Zach

Here is a little more information on the Oswald-Buchanan fist fight story. It seems to be just that - a story without any merit whatsoever. This is from The Fish Is Red by Warren Hinckle & William W. Turner [later updated as Deadly Secrets]: Here is a passage from The Last Investigation by Gaeton Fonzi: Zach

Just to clarify again, NO ONE ever once attempted to get every member of Interpen to appear as an Oswald impersonator. Steve Wilson is the main focus here. One can look at the images and decide for themselves. John Thomas Masen was not a member of Interpen. His photo is there to show he really doesn't resemble Oswald despite earlier allegations. Billy Lovelady was also not a member of Interpen. He worked at the TSBD with Oswald. I really don't think it was very difficult to impersonate Lee Harvey Oswald. Information independent from Gerry Hemming and photographs of Edwin Anderson Collins are available on this Forum and the Spartacus website for your perusal. Thanks, Zach

Thanks Scott. Obviously Kennedy was shot on 11/22 and Lee Oswald was shot on 11/24. I got a little ahead of myself! I don't think these guys had to look exactly like Oswald to pass as him. He was not exactly a celebrity and general features, height, weight were close enough. There is a video interview of Gerry Hemming where he describes Ed Collins as the best Oswald impersonator. It was here but it is not working on my computer right now. Maybe there is another link for this, or my real player is just acting up again. Also, in my opinion, Steve Wilson was not too shabby as a perspective Oswald impersonator either. Larry Hancock wrote a book called Someone Would Have Talked, which in my opinion, is the best on the subject of JFK. James Richards did the awesome photo pages and here are a couple worth posting under this topic. For good measure, William Seymour is thrown in the mix as well. All three of these guys were arrested with Hemming in the Dec. 1962 incident. Part 1 Part 2 Zach

Just to clarify: the Buchanan incident is obviously separate from the 13 Anti-Castro fighters who were arrested. Whether the man Jack Ruby shot in Dallas on 11/22 ever made it to Florida during this time period is up for debate. Here is another version of the story of the 13 Anti-Castro fighters from the Miami Herald via the great Latin American Studies website: U.S. Nabs Anti-Castro Fighters-Why? The list of men arrested is a very curious one. A few of them even resembled Lee Oswald and allegedly used the name "Oswald" during the 1962-1963 time frame in a variety of places, not just Florida. Zach

Here is another Forum thread that discusses this topic. Oswald involved in fist fight? This involved Jerry Buchanan and his brother Jim, who were an interesting pair to say the least. I really do not believe this incident really happened and the "Oswald" in Florida was likely an impersonator. Zach

I checked the index of Anthony Summers' great book, Not In Your Lifetime and there is an end note concerning Steve Kennan on page 441. Associated Forum topic: Was Lee Oswald in Montreal in 1963? Warren Commission documents + Oswald 201 File, Vol 24 Part 2 Zach

Thanks to Bill Simpich for studying the documents available, it would appear that Nelson L. Raynock is Henry Hecksher. Hecksher’s name is scribbled in the top right of this document. Hecksher also used these pseudonyms: James D. Zaboth and Henry Boysen. CIA Pseudonyms [Carl E. Jenkins, the only other CIA officer involved in AMWORLD to my knowledge, used the pseudo James E. Beckoff] PHOTOS OF MANUEL ARTIME BUESA ALONE AND WITH MARTIN FERRER AND HENRY BOYSEN Artime and Hecksher from the above link. AMTHRILL's true identity is a mystery for another day. Zach

Michael, Bill, & Steve: Thank you very much for the kind words. It is awfully high praise that I greatly appreciate. It is great to be able to use this forum to get to know good people like yourselves. And Michael, I’m sure if James reads what you wrote about him, he would be very appreciative as well. Zach

John, Thanks for the great insight. Very interesting stuff about R.G. Guzman, the Orange County Health Deptartment and the Private Detective James Jones. O’Hare’s “death” was March 23. The people at Cox-Parker Funeral Home also play into this. The “burial” at Glen Haven Memorial Park was March 26. And the death certificate is dated May 6. It makes sense that O’Hare would hook up with Rip Robertson’s buddy – especially if that is indeed them together at the corner of Main and Houston in Dallas on 11/22. Thanks Bill, Is the Jerry Rose article available anywhere? I'd also like to see the rest of that Continuing Inquiry article as well. I wonder if they have it at Baylor? I am not sure exactly how O’Hare faked his death although I’ve read that he was prepared to do it anytime if things went awry. I would be willing to bet a lot of those types of guys were. I also do not know if O’Hare’s “death” had anything to do with the Church Committee forming or not. That may just be a coincidence. I can’t make out the bottom of the Campbell death certificate. I can only speculate what happened with that guy. Hopefully some new leads will turn up on that character. Zach

Here is some additional information on Col. Bishop: William Bishop Mexico City 1963 The Man Who Knew Too Much end notes Bernard Fensterwald disinformation linking O'Hare to Bishop U.S. - Cuban intelligence conference on JFK assassination Mary Ferrell Database Entries: This photo of Bishop was taken in 1980 after he suffered a stroke. (Photo Credit: The Man Who Knew Too Much by Dick Russell) Zach

I think it would be worthwhile to start a topic on John Adrian O’Hare. At this point, I think it is clear that O’Hare and the man known as Colonel William Bishop are two totally different people. John O'Hare also went by the following names: Col. Richard Gray, P. Harrison and possibly Oscar Del Valle Garcia. [Garcia may be Bishop's alias and another attempt to tie O'Hare to Col. Bishop's identity.] O’Hare faked his own death in March of 1975, escaped the country, and lived out his days in Africa. Bishop died in 1992 in Texas. Here are some of the resources I have dug up concerning John Adrian O’Hare: LIFE Magazine Aug 5, 1966 [story + photos] Weisberg Collection: AKA Colonel Richard Gray Report on CIA Domestic Improprieties + Phony O’Hare Death Certificate Latin American Studies: Ken Smith Investigation Morning Journal - Datona Beach, Florida Friday, May 14, 1976 The Continuing Inquiry. Volume 8, Issue 8 Is John Adrian O’Hare - Superspy - Dead or alive? The Third Decade, Volume 5, Issue 6 The Senator Must Die: A Review, by Jerry D. Rose Oscar Del Valle Garcia on No Name Key He Is My Father Catacombs of Salt This photo, from the Spartacus website, was taken in 1966 in Vietnam. Zach

Thanks for the update Greg, After not hearing anything for about a month, I was a little worried. Glad to hear Jack is doing well. I wish him the best during these difficult times. Regards, Zach

The Gordon Campbell character should be of great interest to anyone studying the assassinations of both Kennedy brothers. Finding out what happened to the man Brad Ayers knew as Gordon Campbell after JMWAVE was phased out is very important. Possible links to the Ambassador Hotel and the Bulova Company are tantalizing. This image of Gordon Campbell is from the exceptional photographic archive of James Richards. [Thank you for sharing, James] The image quality is not the best, but I don’t think there are any other photos available of Campbell at this time. Hopefully someone out there can help shed some light on this mysterious aspect of JMWAVE. Zach

Here is a LIFE Magazine article on Clendenin Ryan from 1949. Wire-Tapping Mystery There are 2 nice photos of Ryan and also an image of John Broady included. Also for those that don't know, you can access all the LIFE Magazines from 1936-1972. LIFE Magazine Archive This is an invaluable resource for research. Zach

I was wondering if you could share who the Manhattan connection to this is? I seem to remember reading about a man by the name of John Martin who was supposedly from NYC and associated with Intel-types. Is this the man you were referring to? Excellent, Zach, you are right on the money. John Martin is an alias of course. He was also a sponsor of Robert Emmett Johnson. I very much enjoy your posts. Keep up the great work. JK Thanks Mr. Kelly! Here is an forum topic that I think deserves some more attention here: Clendenin J. Ryan - Baltimore millionaire and CIA funder While Clendenin Ryan is likely not "John Martin," I think he has plenty of connections to Col. Ulius Amoss, The INFORM intelligence network, and ultimately Robert Emmett Johnson which in turn, will lead to "John Martin's" true identity. Zach

Hi Mr. Kelly, First off, I just want to say that I very much enjoy reading your posts. They are filled with great insight. I was wondering if you could share who the Manhattan connection to this is? I seem to remember reading about a man by the name of John Martin who was supposedly from NYC and associated with Intel-types. Is this the man you were referring to? Thanks, Zach

Here is an interview General Lansdale gave for the series Vietnam: A Television History Estrangement from the Kennedy Administration: Part 4 Part 5 Lansdale in Vietnam: The "ED HEADS" were all about winning the hearts and minds in Vietnam BBC News: Saigon Songs Finally, the famous photo taken by George Smith of the Fort Worth Star Telegram: Associated Forum Topics: Lansdale in DP on 11/22/63? The Ed Lansdale lookalike Was Lansdale in Dealey Plaza? [Photo Credits: 'Edward Lansdale's Cold War,' by Jonathan Nashel] Zach

Here is an interesting article from 1967 that mentions this incident: Garrison Says CIA Knows JFK Slayer This article is from the Harold Weisberg Archive at Hood College. It contains over 240,000 files online and is a tremendous resource. It is the world's largest accessible private collection of government documents and public records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Harold Weisberg Archive Zach

It would appear that WOFIRM is just another crypt for the Central Intelligence Agency. There are some interesting document hits in the above search link. Here are two on Mitch WerBell, another name that deserves mention within the subject of Caribbean intrigue. WERBELL-INFORMATION ON SUBJECT'S LIFE STYLE AND ETHICS WERBELL-INQUIRY IF CIA EMPLOYEE Not to divert the thread, but here is another curious document regarding Phillips: AMCORE-2, A LONG TIME WOFIRM ASSET Bill, is AMCORE-2, LUIS CONTE AGUERO? Zach

David, I appreciate that. Another name that is not mentioned who I'd like to learn more about is Napolean Vilaboa. Here is a cable from 1965: CUBAN EXILES AND PLANS FOR THE FORMATION OF A COMPANY OF MEN FOR DUTY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ======= Bill, Here is something else that I find curious: MICHAEL C. CHOADEN, MY FRIEND I just found that after a quick search. I am sure there are plenty more documents regarding Phillips' time in the Dominican. What is WOFIRM? Mary Ferrell WOFIRM search Zach

David, Loran Hall, Frank Sturgis, Felipe Vidal, Bill Johnson and Robert Emmett Johnson. I figured between helping facilitate the assassination of Trujillo and conspiring in numerous failed vest pocket invasions of Haiti, I thought REJ might get at least a passing mention, but I am not surprised he didn't. Zach