Steve Thomas

Larry, On February 5, 1964, Lt. Jack Revill wrote Jesse Curry a memo detailing the groups that had been put under surveillance prior to JFK's visit. You can find that list of nine organizations in the DPD Archives Box 13, Folder# 4, Item# 52, pages 1&2. http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box13.htm And yes, your reserve officer was right. There were no Cuban exile groups. Steve Thomas

A long time ago, I used to use meta search engines like MetaCrawler and Dogpile. I haven't used them in a long time. Got out of the habit, I guess. Steve Thomas

Jim, Just a quick side note: In that same issue is an article about the history of Congo. I don't know if it would contribute in any way to your reflections on the Hammarskjold murder. https://www.nouvelobs.com/monde/afrique/20181220.OBS7462/les-mains-coupees-du-congo-une-horreur-de-la-colonisation.html Just thought I'd pass it along. Steve Thomas

Doris Mumford https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC5gQYo2Gpw Steve Thomas

John, I guess you'd have to decide if the woman in question is a younger journalism student or a 36 year old woman: http://22november1963.org.uk/jfk-assassination-grassy-knoll-witnesses#arnold-mckinnon-bowers-hoffman Cheryl McKinnon Another possible witness whose presence in Dealey Plaza cannot be substantiated is Cheryl McKinnon, a journalism student who claimed to have been standing on the north side of Elm Street. Cheryl McKinnon does not appear to have offered an opinion on the source of the shots, or indeed on the assassination itself, until 20 years afterwards, when she wrote an account of her experiences for her newspaper: (San Diego Star–News, 22 November 1983) “I had prepared for days to be in the plaza. As a journalism major in school, my plans were to write a story about my experiences as a class project.” “Cheryl McKinnon is frequently identified, without any supporting evidence, as the woman wearing sunglasses who is seen in several films and photographs, crouching on the grass. The woman in question has also been identified by Karen Moore, a contributor to an online forum, as her mother, Doris Mumford. Photographs uploaded to the forum are consistent with the identification of the woman as Doris Mumford, who at the time of the assassination was 36 years old and living in Richardson, a few miles north of Dallas. In a comment on the excellent jfkfacts.org blog, Karen Moore writes that her mother was standing near William Newman, and “heard three shots, they came from behind her, and she saw the life leave the President’s face.”” Steve Thomas

Larry, On March 6, 2016, in a post on Manuel Rodriguez Orcarberro in the Education Forum, you wrote about the house on Harlendale, http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/22726-orcarberro/ “The house itself was rented by Jorge Salazar, Vice Sec. of Alpha 66. The burst of traffic in early Nov is what brought it to the attention of Walther's mother. At least one source document that Stu located stated that Veciana had been to the house multiple times on trips to and through Dallas...but we have not been able to corroborate that. Several of the folks who either lived there or frequented the place - like Oswaldo Aurelio Pino - were either being investigated by the FBI or were FBI sources. There is some reason to believe that the FBI even put the place under at least part time surveillance in November.” I believe that at least one or more of the people attending the bi-weekly meetings at the house were FBI informants, but have you guys learned anything new about FBI surveillance on the house? Steve Thomas

Harlandale - Alpha 66 Debacle in New Orleans - DRE Odio - JURE Oswald was just all over the place. Steve Thomas

Larry, Thanks for taking the time. PS: I had forgotten that Oswald supposedly was seen at at a DRE meeting. Steve Thomas

David, Paul Brancato has been dipping into the Skorzeny papers. Paul, if you are reading this, have you encountered any references to the face cards in the suit of Spades in your research? Steve Thomas

Larry, I didn't know all this. You've rocked me on my heels a little bit, and brings up a couple of questions in my mind: 1) Would you say that Artime and AMWORLD were connected to Alpha 66? 2) Does this say anything about Alpha 66 being spurned by the CIA and turning to the Army Chief of Staff, Intelligence for support? 3) The CIA is running DRE. ACSI is running Alpha 66 Who's running JURE? 4) Were the CIA and the Pentagon really that much at odds that they were firing on each other's ships? 5) I always believed that Hosty's comments about the FBI observing Oswald meeting with subversives related to the house on Harlendale. Am I wrong? Steve Thomas

David, You posted: In the thread on the assassination of Dag Hammerskold, Jim DiEugenio posted in the Education Forum on January 24, 2019, http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/25464-now-it-can-be-told-dag-hammarskjold/?page=3 Ace of Spades was left in the collar of Hammerskold's collar “I was talking about the Hammarskjold murder, you know, shot out of the sky over Congo, with what appears to be an instant cover up with someone sticking the ace of spades in his collar.” What is going on here? Steve Thomas

Larry, I once started putting together a scenario, or narrative of Sylvia as a gun runner, or at least as a conduit for arms smuggling. Why are all these people coming to Sylvia? I am keeping my eyes and ears open. Commission Document 946 - SS Aragon Report of 5 May 1964 re: Sylvia Odio, Rogelio Cisneros Diaz page 3 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11342&search=%22Juan_Martin%22#relPageId=4&tab=page On May 4, 1964 in an interview in his home with SS Agent Ernest I. Aragon, Rogelio Cisneros told Aragon that: Rogelio Cisneros, a JURE member in Miami, went to Dallas alone, by plane in June, 1963 for the specific purpose of contacting Sylvia Odio who was supposed to introduce Cisneros to a Uruguayan named Juan Martin, who was interested in selling small arms to JURE. “He further identified himself as Rogelio Cisneros Diaz, an officer of JURE, at Miami,Florida, and added that the name “Eugenio” is his designated “war name"”. The JURE office in Dallas was already in operation, having been established in May, 1963. He only contacted Sylvia Odio once. When they went to her house, Cisneros was accompanied by Jorge Rodriguez (Alvarada) (Alvereda?), their Dallas delegate, and no one else. My question is, why would Rogelio Cisneros fly from Miami, FL. To Dallas, TX. alone, in a plane for the specific purpose of contacting Sylvia Odio in order to meet a gun runner who he had never met before? Why her? https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=71164#relPageId=3&tab=page On October 20, 1965 Antonio Francisco Alentado Leon is given as the President of JURE in Dallas. They have had no meetings since October, 1964. http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=95676#relPageId=46&tab=page Johnny Martin 9923 Carnegie Dr. Dallas, Texas Father Walter J. McHann (Mary Ferrell's database spells it Machann) CE 2943 p. 402. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1142#relPageId=438&tab=page Letter from James Rowley of the Secret Service to J. Lee Rankin dated May 5, 1964. McHann interviewed by SS Inspector Kelly on April 30, 1964. McHann was chaplain to the Cuban Catholic Committee of Dallas. They organized religious and social activities for the Cuban refugees. Did they organize the picnic? McHann said he had been introduced to John Martin aka Juan Martin; and that one night, John Martin came to Sylvia's while he was there. McHann described John Martin as a Latin, but not a Cuban. Martin had a house in Dallas, but did not live there. He lived in a different city with his family. Sylvia seemed to know John Martin quite well. McHann said he had no recollection of Manuel Rodriguez, George Parrel, or any of the officers of SNFE. At the request of Inspector Kelly, McHann telephoned Sylvia Odio. In that phone call Sylvia told McHann that “John Martin was a Uruguayan who was supplying arms purchased in some South American countries to some Cuban groups.” McHann told Kelly that in the phone call, she told McHann that the second man (not Leopoldo) who had come to visit her was Eugenio Cisneros. Rogelio Cisneros was interviewed in Miami by Ernest Aragon of the SS on May 4, 1964. Rogelio told Aragon that he used the name Eugenio as a war name. CE 2986 p. 349 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1142#relPageId=385&tab=page (This is also page 3 of CD 946) Sylvia would later on tell the WC that McHann had misunderstood her about Eugenio in the phone call. Lucille Connell also said she had been introduced to John Martin – a Uruguayan who was trying to obtain guns for the Cuban people in their efforts to overthrow Castro. She said she was suspicious of Martin because he claimed to be an “airplane engineer”, although Sylvia Odio stated he owned a washeteria. FBI interview of Lucille Connell on November 29, 1963. CD 205 p. 640 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10672#relPageId=643&tab=page TESTIMONY OF SYLVIA ODIO The testimony of Sylvia Odio was taken at 9 a.m., on July 22, 1964 http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/odio.htm Mr. LIEBELER. So that you have been in Dallas since March of 1963, is that correct? Mrs. ODIO. That's right. Mrs. ODIO. Well, I had been having little groups of Cubans coming to my house who have been asking me to help them in JURE. They were going to open a revolutionary paper here in Dallas. And I told them at the time I was very busy with my four children, and I would help, in other things like selling bonds to help buy arms for Cuba. And I said I would help as much as I could. This man, the other one, the second Cuban, took out a letter written in Spanish, and the content was something like we represent the revolutionary counsel, and we are making a big movement to buy arms for Cuba and to help overthrow the dictator Castro, and we want you to translate this letter and write it in English and send a whole lot of them to different industries to see if we can get some results. Mrs. ODIO. No. I have told you I moved several times, and it is because of reasons of my work, and because my children at the time were in Puerto Rico, I and I went down to get them in Puerto Rico June 29th. That was exactly the day that I saw Ray again. We had been trying to establish a contact in Dallas with Mr. Johnny Martin, who is from Uruguay. He is from there, and he had heard that I was involved in this movement. And he said that he had a lot of contacts in Latin America to buy arms, particularly in Brazil, and that if he were in contact with one of our chief leaders of the underground, he would be able to sell him second-hand arms that we could use in our revolution. FBI Interview by SA's Norman W. Propst and Ural E. Horton, Jr. with Mrs. C.L. Connell dated 11/29/63 Mrs. Connell told the Agents that, “Odio further reported to Connell during this conversation (a telephone conversation between Sylvia Odio and Mrs. Connell on 11/28/63) that a call had been made in recent months by a Cuban associate of hers to an unknown source in New Orleans, Louisiana, requesting information on Lee Harvey Oswald. Odio volunteered that information was in turn received from the New Orleans source to the effect that Oswald was considered by that source in New Orleans to be a “double agent”. The source stated Oswald was probably trying to infiltrate the Dallas Cuban refugee group, and that he should not be trusted.” Manuel Rodriguez Orcarberro was sent to Dallas to establish a chapter of Alpha 66. He established residency on September 6th. Veciana of Alpha 66 meets with Phillips in Dallas allegedly on September 7th. Who really arranged that Veciana/Phillips meeting? When Veciana went back to Miami, did he tell anyone there about having met Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas? Steve Thomas

Larry, I could very well be wrong, but I think the conflict was whether Sylvia had been in contact with her uncle before Oswald's appearance at her doorstep, or afterwards. If he had written her about Oswald right after the August New Orleans fracas, and then he shows up on her doorstep in September... that's kind of ominous. Steve Thomas

Jim, On January 13th, you wrote in this thread, " Ever since that I have tried to stress how important Congo was in both the history of Africa, as a Third World struggle and what huge stakes were on the table. Three central actors had to be murdered for the imperial powers to win out: Lumumba, Hammarskjold and Kennedy. And that is what happened." Do you think the same forces were at work? I once watched a YouTube video of you giving a lecture somewhere (I don't remember where you were). It was your contention that Kennedy was murdered because he believed that emerging nation states should have control over their own natural resources. I wrote you a note telling you that I thought you were right on the money and that I agreed with you wholeheartedly. And, do you know, by any chance, what the significance of the Ace of Spades playing card is? Steve Thomas

Jim, I can't speak to its results, bur I have read that DuckDuckGo doesn't retain your search history as the other search engines do. Steve Thomas

Do you give any credence to the idea that Oswald was running around south Texas in and around October 3rd? Oswald in Aliceland? A Tale of Two Days: A Tale of Two Oswalds by Chris W. Courtwright Presented to JFK Lancer's *November in Dallas* Conference on November 21, 1997 http://jfklancer.com/Courtwright/Courtwright1.html Steve Thomas

by Jefferson Morley 1/23/19 https://www.alternet.org/2019/01/heres-real-reason-the-cia-loved-george-h-w-bush/ Steve Thomas

Pam, Do you think this is the same version that Rich Della Rosa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrRbkY9gEnQ and William Reymond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSdyqDBTpeo said they saw? Steve Thomas

Jim, In the comments section of the article by Lisa Pease, a person named, "Abe" quoted a passage from the Wilson Center: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/dag-hammarskjold-his-critics-and-the-united-nations-1956 " Dag Hammarskjold was more controversial as UN Secretary-General in his own time than the afterglow of later decades might suggest. At the time of the Suez crisis in 1956, his critics denounced him as pro-Egyptian while David Ben-Gurion of Israel proclaimed that he was “our number one enemy after Russia.” Hammarskjold not only helped to resolve the Suez crisis but also set in place the UN Emergency Force, which became the conceptual centerpiece for all future UN peacekeeping operations." I looked at the Suez Crisis a little from the French point of view as a lead-up to the Algerian Crisis of 1958-1960. As I understand it, the French had a sort of chip on their shoulder following their humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. They felt they had a lot to prove. And.... As Lisa pointed out in her Consortium News article, " As the Commission’s report noted, “Katanga contained the majority of the Congo’s known mineral resources. These included the world’s richest uranium and four fifths of the West’s cobalt supply." The French exploded their first atomic bomb in the Algerian desert in 1960. More and more I am starting to look at the need for uranium as a driving force behind a lot of the political events of the 1960's. Steve Thomas

Jim, What do you think is the significance of the playing card? "And even more strangely, the commission found the evidence “strongly suggests” that someone moved Hammarskjöld’s body after the crash and stuck a playing card in his collar before the photographs of his body were taken. (The card “or something like it” was plainly visible “in the photographs taken of the body on a stretcher at the site.”)" Steve Thomas

Paul, Just out of curiosity, does Brandstetter mention anything about Lumpkin, Whitmeyer, or L.Robert Castorr in either of his books? Steve Thomas

Robert, You might be interested in this Forum thread: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/23478-revolt-of-the-colonels/ Crichton, Lumpkin and Whitmeyer were all connected to the Intelligence capacity of some branch of the Reserves, but I personally am not ready to go there as far as the 488th is concerned. Others are. Steve Thomas

Robert, Everett DeGolyer http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/degolyer-everette.pdf “He lived to be honored by the highest elective offices and to be awarded the highest decorations of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. He was a lecturer much sought after, filled distinguished positions at three universities, and was awarded honorary degrees by six. Nine or more United States Government agencies, commissions, advisory boards, and committees called on him for service which he generously contributed. This combination logically made his advice much sought after in business, and he was for many years the world's leading oil consultant. The opinion of his firm, DeGolyer and MacNaughton, on an appraisal of the worth of a property or a company was accepted as final in financial and government circles the world around. This firm was at one time or another consultant to ten or more foreign governments on subjects ranging from organizing exploration programs to the proper price for oil F.O.B. tankers in the Persian Gulf.” “As would be expected of a man of such outstanding reputation, his services were called for by the Federal Government. Starting in 1918 with a special report for the United States Treasury, he became in 1941 Director of Conservation in the Office of the Coordinator for National Defense and Assistant Deputy Coordinator in 1942. The following year he was first made Assistant Deputy Administrator for War, and then head of the Petroleum Reserves Corporation mission to the Middle East. He was a member of the Advisory Committee on Raw Materials for the Atomic Energy Commission, and filled many other important positions. He served on the National Petroleum Council from its beginning.” Lately, I've become interested in the role that uranium mining might play in the JFK story. I'm not a geologist, but uranium deposits seem to be found near oil fields. I lived in the Rangely, CO. area for a while, so I had a personal interest in DeMohrenschildt's comings and goings there. When I read that D.H. Byrd sold his interests in Byrd Oil and used the money to found Byrd Uranium, my ears perked up. Whey would a person give up the lucrative money of big oil to invest in uranium? You have to figure that in the later 50's and early 60's, uranium would have to be a pretty hot commodity. It struck me a while back that a lot of the key figures in the White Russian Community in the Dallas/Fort Worth area were not just "oil men", but were engineers in the petroleum field, and specialized in the exploration of oil deposits around the world. (Think Jack Crichton and George Bouhe among others. "Mr. BOUHE - For 9 1/2 years I was employed as a personal accountant of a very prominent Dallas geologist, and probably capitalist if you want to say it, Lewis W, MacNaughton, senior chairman of the board of the well-known geological and engineering firm of DeGolyer & MacNaughton, but I was MacNaughton's personal employee." WC testimony of George Bouhe http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/bouhe.htm) They also seemed to have ties to military intelligence. There's a woman named Linda Minor, who writes a blog called, Quixotic Joust. She explored the topic of uranium exploration among rich Dallasites here: http://quixoticjoust.blogspot.com/2011/06/other-uranium-explorers-in-texas-in.html “Other Uranium Explorers in Texas in the 1950's “ She talks about the shadowy Dallas Uranium and Oil Company in the Dal-Tex building, and more. See Paul Raigorodsky's testimony in WC testimony vol 9 on the importance of Jake Hamon, and his relationship to George DeMorghenschildt and Everett DeGolyer. Steve Thomas

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B.A., I have seriously looked at the possibility that it was Marina who ordered the rifle. It goes back to the idea that Lee Oswald freely admitted that the Selective Service card in the name of Hidell was his, but denied that it was his signature on that card. The logic of that escapes me, unless he was covering up for someone. Marina admitted to signing the name “Hidell” to “two or three things” with the name “Hidell” that were not pamphlets. CE 2726 p. 105 (26H105) https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1142#relPageId=141&tab=page is a June 17, 1964 letter from Hoover to J. Lee Rankin concerning Marina's signature on the A.J. Hidell signature on the Fair Play for Cuba Committee membership card. The FBI determined that Marina signed the FPCC membership card in the name of A.J. Hidell. Hoover says that Exhibits 404A, 408A, 409A and 420 are being returned to you. These are samples of Marina's handwriting. Marina's 1969 testimony at the Clay Shaw trial: http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/marinash.htm Q: Did you sign anything for him down here? A: Yes, sir. Q: What did you sign? A: Some kind of paper about something, but I don't remember what it was. Q: Would you recall -- A: The name Hidell. Q: Hidell? A: Yes. Q: You signed the name, Hidell? A: Yes, sir. Q: And what was your purpose of doing that? A: He asked me to do it and I refused, and then he forced me to do it. Q: What do you mean, forced you? A: He threatened me if I wouldn't do it he use, you know -- how shall I say? Q: Physical threats? A: Physical threats, yes, sir. Why was it necessary to get the name "Hidell" just right? In what other instance was it important that the name "Hidell" look just right? Now, you can either believe that Marina was practicing how to write the name Hidell because Lee threatened to beat her up if she didn't, or you can believe that this was a forger practicing her craft. On at least three occasions in her testimony, Marina said they were living on Neely St. in January of 1963. Mr. RANKIN. When did you move to Neely Street from the Elsbeth Street apartment? Mrs. OSWALD. In January after the new year. I don't remember exactly. Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall the first time that you observed the rifle? Mrs. OSWALD. That was on Neely Street. I think that was in February. For whatever reason, this can't be true. The Oswalds moved from Elsbeth to Neely on March 3rd and according to the postal money order, the rifle wasn't ordered until March 12th. Current Section: CE 1156 - FBI report dated February 18, 1964, of interview of Marina Oswald, Dallas, Tex. (CD 735, pp. 439-445). http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1317#relPageId=227 Marina told the FBI on February 17, 1964 that she saw Oswald practicing with the rifle at the Neely Street address at the beginning of January, 1963. 9(CE 1156 p. 197). On February 18, 1964 she told the FBI that she was mistaken about the date, and that the rifle cleaning incident had taken place in March, 1963. Here are the rifle order and the Hidell Selective Service card signatures: Steve Thomas