Steve Thomas

I think I know the answer to my question. Army Regulation 135-382 Army National Guard and Army Reserve Reserve Component Military Intelligence Units and Personnel 19 October 1992 MID(S) are Military Intelligence Detachment (Strategic) e. Officers selected to command area studies MID(S) must also-- (1) Be an MI Branch qualified colonel or lieutenant colonel. c. The primary mission of a MID(S) during IDT is completion of assigned intelligence projects. MID(S) are exempt from training requirements determined not to be mission essential Due to lack of internal administrative support, necessary reports will, when possible, be prepared by the unit to which the MID(S) is subordinate or attached for administrative support. MID(S) commanders will establish and maintain frequent liaison with the appropriate MUSARC commander and staff to communicate the MID(S) mission and status, and to avoid undue administrative burdens being placed on the unit. e. MID(S) are exempt from submitting pre-camp records on training schedules and logistic support in connection with AT. h. MID(S) are exempted from preparing mobilization station training schedules. a. Because MID(S) are not authorized administrative support personnel or unit equipment, MID(S) will be attached to another unit for administrative and logistical support. No other unit will be attached to a MID(S). The appropriate MUSARC commander will designate the organization to which a MID(S) is attached for administration, mess, maintenance, and supply. Each MID(S) and the organization to which it is attached for administrative and logistical support will negotiate a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU will describe in sufficient detail the support to be provided the MID(S), including technical support. A copy of the attachment orders and the MOU will be forwarded to the USARC commander. b. MID(S) are not required to maintain a library of Army regulations, supply and maintenance publications, and manuals. I still have to find out what ARCOM (Army Reserve Command) the 488th was attached to. Army Reserve Command Military Intelligence Detachment 4th Army CONUS (Continental Unites States) ARCOM and Number of MID's 83rd ARCOM 3 86TH ARCOM 4 88TH ARCOM 4 123RD ARCOM 8 5th Army CONUS 89th ARCOM 2 90th ARCOM 4 Steve Thomas

Alistair, Why do neither Brown nor Dhority make mention of this in their after-action reports? See DPD Archives. Box 3, Folder# 5, Item# 2 and Box 3, Folder# 6, Item# 2 http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box3.htm Steve Thomas

Alistair, You're absolutely right. All of the lineups had to do with Tippitt witnesses. As Chief Jesse Curry said, "We never were able to put Oswald in that window with a gun in his hand". Brown was testifying only to the lineups he was at. I don't think any DPD personnel were present at Brennan's, Brown included. Steve Thomas

Jim, I think Sorrels had it right when he testified, " He (Fritz) said, "I wish he would have been here a little sooner, we just got through with a lineup. But we will get another fixed up." If you go to the Index for the DPD Archives, there must be 50 references to the lineups. I've gone through all of them, and the only place Brennan shows up is in this one Box 6 file. I think the DPD did arrange for another lineup, just for Brennan. Based on the Reports filed by the people who were present at the Davis lineup, and the WC testimony of Will Fritz, there were no DPD people present. What I'd like to know is who else was there besides Sorrels. Winston Lawson sort of backhandedly refers to it, but the WC only asked him if there was anything unusual about it in the way the other "suspects" looked. They didn't ask him specifically what Brennan was asked and what he answered. Based on his WC testimony, Lawson could very well have been present at this Brennan lineup. He said that Brennan didn't have much to offer in the way of evidentiary value and that Brennan's name didn't mean anything to him. Mr. STERN. Do you know who that was, the witness? Mr. LAWSON. I do not know; no, sir. Mr. STERN. Could it have been someone named Brennan? Mr. LAWSON. The name doesn't mean anything to me. In his Report of what he did on November 22nd, Lawson said that he returned to DPD Headquarters and reported to Sorrels and "remained there under his direction". CE 772, page 633 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1134#relPageId=659&tab=page Nothing about attending Brennan's lineup. Yes, Brennan testified that he thought it was Patterson that picked him and brought him down to DPD Headquarters. Patterson was interviewed by the Church Committee, and said that he had not filed a formal Report on Oswald's interview, but the Committee jumped from Oswald's interview to a discussion about Hosty, and then Patterson's interview with Marina. So I can't tell from this document if he was present for the Brennan lineup or not. (I'm sorry, I forgot to include the citation for this, but if you do a search in the MF Foundation, you'll find it.) CE 1024 is a collection of SS Agents' Reports. Patterson is not among them. In his cover letter to CE 1024, Rowley writes to Rankin that Sorrels' and Lawson's Reports were not included as they were already part of the Commission's records. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1135#relPageId=736&tab=page Steve Thomas

I just read that Lawson, in a police car, led the motorcade that took jfk from Parkland back to Love Field at 2:14 PM, so it couldn't have been him. I didn't know that. CE 1026 page 814 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1135#relPageId=828&tab=page Steve Thomas

Alistair, Have you ever read Winston Lawson's Report? The only place I can find it is a CD-ROM here: http://www.paperlessarchives.com/jfk_assassination_secret_servi.html Steve Thomas PS: I once spent a while trying to find out who the Secret Service agent was who was present at Oswald's first interrogation at 2:20 in the afternoon. Something like six different policeman report one as being there, but never identified who he was.

Alistair, Thanks, but I don't think it was Lawson. Sorrels said he "sent" an agent to pick up Brennan. I don't that Sorrels would be "sending" Lawson anywhere. If anything, it would be one of the agents under Sorrels' direct command, like one of the guys from the Dallas office. Patterson said that there were five or six Dallas agents sitting around DPD Headquarters waiting around to see if there was anything Sorrels wanted. I think it was one of those, but I don't know which one. And, if you read Lawson's testimony, he was only asked if there was anything unusual about the lineup. He didn't say who was there. There is a listing in the Dallas Police Archives of the Secret Service personnel who assisted in the investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald. These names include: Forrest Sorrels Mr. Kelley William H. Patterson Roger Warner Winston Lawson Mike Howard – whose actual name is James H. Howard Charles Kunkel John Howlett Dave Grant Index Page, by an unknown author. Index page from notebook containing an inventory of information related to the investigation of the assassination and related cases - under index letter "s", (Original), date unknown. Dallas Police Archives Box 6 Folder # 1, Item# 72: as cited in the City of Dallas Archives – JFK Collection, http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box6.htm I would look in the Reports by some of the others besides Lawson and Kelley. Steve Thomas

Larry, Thanks. Ian and I talked about this years ago. Yes, it was a "special lineup" right after the one with the Davis sisters at 7:55 on Friday evening. I just got to wondering who was there. This is very strange to me. From what I can gather, no members of the Dallas Police Department attended. Here you've got a guy claiming to be an eyewitness to the shooting, and no one from the Police Department was there to watch him identify the assailant. That would never have stood up in a court of law would it? There were six members of the DPD who supposedly were there for the Davis sisters, although two of them: Moore and Hall said in their after-action reports that they didn't even attend that one. Mr. MOORE. Well, I helped answer telephones mostly for, oh, I don't know, until the time I went out to North Beckley to search Oswald's room. Mr. BELIN. At 1026 North Beckley? Mr. MOORE. Yes; I believe that is right. Mr. BELIN. About when was that? Mr. MOORE. I am going to guess around 6 or so in the evening. The notes may show a little closer time. Mr. BELIN. All right. About how long did you stay out there? Mr. MOORE. Hour and a half, possibly. Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do? Mr. MOORE. We drove back to the city hall. Mr. BELIN. Now I assume then that you went through the property and marked it, and what have you. This took a little bit of time? Mr. MOORE. Yes; it did. Mr. BELIN. Anything else on that day that has anything else to do with the assassination of the President or the Tippit murder that you can think of offhand? Mr. MOORE. No. H.M Moore's Report Box 3, Folder# 10, Item# 11 http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box3.htm After bringing the property back from 1026, he inventoried it. Nothing about attending any lineup at all Friday evening. Hall's Report Box 3, Folder# 7, Item# 2, page 2. http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box3.htm Nothing about being in any lineup at all Friday evening. Was not interviewed by the WC Brown, Sims, Boyd and Dhority all wrote Reports, but make no mention of Brennan's lineup. Brown and Dhority took the Davis sisters home after their lineup. It's just very weird. Steve Thomas

Alistair, Thanks, I was looking at that too. Sorrels had William Patterson calling around trying to find Brennan, but I'm not sure he was the agent Sorrels sent to pick him up. I was reading through Patterson's testimony to the Church Committee here: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1431&search=Patterson#relPageId=25&tab=page from around pp 12 onwards He talks about attending an interrogation of Oswald, but doesn't say anything about attending a lineup. He said there about 5 or 6 agents from the Dallas office sitting around the DPD Headquarters in case Sorrels needed anything. He also didn't write up a Report, so I just don't know. He mentioned Roger Warner as being around, but I haven't gone back to see what Warner might have said. Steve Thomas

I guess this has been talked about to death, but I was just a little curious about who was present when Brennan was confronted with Oswald. I've gone through the lineups in the DPD Archives, and the only place I found one was in Box 6, Folder# 1, Item# 73, page 3. http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box6.htm Mr. McCLOY. Were you present at the showup at which Brennan was the witness? Mr. FRITZ. Brennan? Mr. McCLOY. Brennan was the alleged---- Mr. FRITZ. Is that the man that the Secret Service brought over there, Mr. Sorrels brought over? Mr. McCLOY. I don't know whether Mr. Sorrels---- Mr. FRITZ. I don't think I was present but I will tell you what, I helped Mr. Sorrels find the time that that man--we didn't show that he was shown at all on our records, but Mr. Sorrels called me and said he did show him and he wanted me to give him the time of the showup. I asked him to find out from his officers who were with Mr. Brennan the names of the people that we had there, and he gave me those two Davis sisters, and he said, when he told me that, of course, I could tell what showup it was and then I gave him the time. Mr. McCLOY. But you were not present to the best of your recollection when Brennan was in the showup? Mr. FRITZ. I don't believe I was there, I doubt it. Mr. Sorrels. And when they came down there with him, I got ahold of Captain Fritz and told him that the witness was there, Mr. Brennan. He said, "I wish he would have been here a little sooner, we just got through with a lineup. But we will get another fixed up." So I took Mr. Brennan, and we went to the assembly room, So when we got to the assembly room, Mr. Brennan said he would like to get quite a ways back, because he would like to get as close to the distance away from where he saw this man at the time that the shooting took place as he could. And I said, "Well, we will get you clear on to the back and then we can move up forward." They did bring Oswald in in a lineup. He looked very carefully, and then we rooted him up closer and so forth Mr. STERN - How many other people were in the lineup? Mr. SORRELS - As I recall it, there were five. In other words, all told there was five or six--I don't remember. I believe there were five. (At the 7:55 PM lineup with the Davis sisters, there were four people in the lineup) In their WC testimony, neither C.W. Brown or C.N. Dhority make any mention of this lineup with Brennan and Sorrels. They were the police officers with the Davis sisters at 7:55 PM. Brown attended all four of the lineups. Fritz had to ask Sorrels who was there and to find out from his Officers who was there. So, who was the “we” that Sorrels talked about? Steve Thomas

Chuck, I'm sorry. I mis-spoke. At the time, the Reserve MID's or Detachments were not grouped together into Groups the way the Active Army Groups were. When Col Robert Jones testified before the HSCA, he identified himself as the Operations Officer of the 112th Military Intelligence Group. When Lt. Col. Mark A. Miles retired in 1972, he was awarded the Legion of Merit upon his retirement at Headquarters, 5th Army. The medal cited Miles' service since April 1970, as deputy commander of the 112th Military Intelligence Group at 5th Army. These were Active Army At this point, I am confused. SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS, Wednesday, March 4, 1970 "The 112th Military Intelligence Group is located here (San Antonio) and was the operation which relayed information to the Data Bank for the 112th Army area although it is not part of the 4th Army." The King Alfred Plan and 112th Military Intelligence Group San Antonio Light, October 6, 1972 Lt. Col. Mark A. Miles has been awarded the Legion of Merit upon his retirement at Headquarters, 5th Army. The medal cited Miles' service since April 1970, as deputy commander of the 112th Military Intelligence Group at 5th Army. http://coldcaseupdate.blogspot.com/search/label/112th%20MI%20Group However, in a January 24, 2014 article by Ruth Quinn on the 112th's deactivation on January 29, 1993, she writes, “The 112th began its existence way back in 1946 as the 112th Counter Intelligence Corps detachment in Dallas, Texas and was assigned to the Fourth Army. At the time, the detachment consisted of 16 officers, six warrant officers, and 26 enlisted men. The mission was counterintelligence in the Zone of the Interior (inside the United States) in a region that included New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.” https://www.army.mil/article/118745/112th_MI_Brigade_Inactivated__29_January_1993/ I think that intelligence matters were funneled through the 4th Army. The 112th was Active Army. The Army Reserve Detachments on the other hand, were autonomous and suffered from what was described as "benign neglect". The Command Structure was confusing. They were under the oversight of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) or the Army Intelligence Agency (AIA) but under the operational control of their parent headquarters, such as the 4th Army or 5th Army. The 488th reported to the DIA. See: Reforming Military Intelligence Reserve Components 1995 - 2005 by Colonel Thomas R. Cagley http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a233391.pdf Steve Thomas

Chuck, Thank you. I'm learning a little more about the 488th. I know about the Spartacus website and the Wikipedia entries, but I'm trying to dig a little deeper. For instance, these entries regurgitate this same line, " "In 1956 Jack Alston Crichton started up his own spy unit, the 488th Military Intelligence Detachment in Dallas". What is the source for that? How does one know it was 1956 and not 1957, or 1955, or 1960? Was the 488th that Crichton was associated with part of the US military command structure? The US Army Reserve did have STRATMID's (Strategic Military Intelligence Detachments) that were part of a larger ARCOM (Army Reserve Command). A number of ARCOMS were grouped together to form an (MI) or (MIG) Military Intelligence Group , like the 4th Army or the 5th Army Group. These made up the ARCONUSA (Army Reserve Continental United States). There were 158 of these STRATMIDS in the United States. These Detachments were comprised of 9 men, and were compared to the size of a rifle company. The thing was, the requirement was that they had to be commanded by a colonel. They were "rank heavy". All chiefs and no Indians. There really was a 488th STRATMID. Is this the same one that Crichton is related to? What company, regiment, brigade, division, ARCOM, reserve army corps did the 488th belong to? Has anyone ever seen a piece of paper, file, document, budget request, expenditure report, personnel roster, monthly fitness report, requisition for toilet paper with the 488th name on it? These kind of things. Steve Thomas

Jim, I guess I was wrong. In Box 14, Folder# 2, Item# 55, there is a Report from a Robert T. Davis to Captain Solomon recounting his duties on November 24th. He identifies himself as Robert T. Davis, Reserve Officer # 957. I guess that if you were to look for something associated with Croy, you'd look somewhere in the 900's. http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box14.htm Solomon told the WC, and in his Solomon's Exhibit 5107 (21H534) that a Reserve Officer could only be on duty while in the presence of a regular officer. If Croy was running around by himself, he wasn't on duty. Steve Thomas

As Buhk wrote in his after-action report to Police Chief Jesse Curry on December 3, 1963, “We converged on that location and there were Secret Service men and other patrol and CID officers present when all the people were ordered out of the building. One of the Secret Service men stated the person who came out of the basement with the others was not the suspect and that he had already talked to him a few minutes previously.” Notice that Marvin Buhk speaks of more than one Agent being present. The “Agent” Buhk spoke to was also a primary catalyst in shifting attention away from the branch library. At 1:34PM, Patrolman C.T. Walker broadcasts on Channel 2 that the suspect is in the Library. At approximately 1:40 Sergeant C.B. Owens tells Dispatch, and the Dispatcher broadcasts to all cars to “Disregard all information on the suspect arrested, it was the wrong man.” This is only about an six-minute window of opportunity. When did these “secret service men” arrive at the Library, how did they know to go there, and when did one of them have time to “talk to the man previously”? Steve Thomas

Jim, Two things: 1) I'm thinking that Reserve Officers weren't issued badge numbers like regular policemen were. A lot of the Reports of Officers' Duties on the 24th of Nov. were put together in Box 14 of the DPD Archives. http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box14.htm I had to smile. Compare the Report of Croy in Box 14 Folder# 2, Item# 46 with a guy named O.W. Harrison, also a Reserve Officer in Box 14, Folder# 2, Item# 86. Looks like the were done with the same cookie cutter. *smile* 2) I'm thinking that Croy was driving around in his own car that a police scanner in it. In his WC testimony, Croy said that he heard the President had been shot when the call came in over the radio, and that he was at Colorado and Zangs when the call came over the radio that an Officer had been shot at 501 E. 10th. But, on the Dispatch Tapes, you never hear him respond that he is Code 5 (enroute), or Code 6 (that he's arrived). And you don't hear the Dispatcher directing him there, and him responding. It makes me think that he could hear, but couldn't transmit. I think that's why he stopped at the Courthouse and asked some officers if they needed any help, rather that calling in by radio. Steve Thomas

Richard, Thanks for your input, but.... I'm embarrassed as all get out. I was looking at something else the other day and was using Fritz's Interrogation notes. I was looking at his handwritten copy when I noticed that just above the initials B.O., he had written Jame W. I think that he didn't press down on his pen hard enough, or the paper had a little oil on it or something, and the letter S got dropped off. Bookhout's name was James W. Bookout. I think the person who typed Fritz's notes made the same mistake I did. I now believe that what Fritz wrote was, "Jame(s) B.O., thinking that Bookhout was two words, but he didn't know how to spell it; and then wrote in Bookhout sometime later on when he realized that it was just one word. I feel sheepish. Steve Thomas

Does anyone know what Croy's Officer ID# was? I ask because I don't see anything in the Dallas Dispatch tapes referring to him. Steve Thomas

Chuck, This was an outstanding piece of work. Thank you. It leads me to a couple of questions: 1) Everyone seems to take the following statement at face value: (from the info piece on the 488th here: http://spartacus-educational.com/JFK488mid.htm "In 1956 Jack Alston Crichton started up his own spy unit, the 488th Military Intelligence Detachment in Dallas. Crichton served as the unit's commander under Lieutenant Colonel George Whitmeyer, who was in overall command of all Army Reserve units in East Texas. In an interview Crichton claimed that there were "about a hundred men in that unit and about forty or fifty of them were from the Dallas Police Department."" Now, one doesn't form a military "unit" on their own. The Army wouldn't stand for it, and wouldn't authorize any expenditures for it. So, is this "unit" something dreamed up in Crichton's own mind in some kind of delusions of grandeur? The statement I cited says that the "unit's" commander was Whitmeyer. Has anyone ever seen a single piece of paper with the 488th's name on it? A report? a Document? a File? a TOD or a TOE? You wrote, "The chain of command for the 488th Reserve went up through the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence...." What Company, Regiment, Division did it belong to? 2) On this same web site in an info piece on Jack Crichton it says, " In an interview Crichton claimed that there were "about a hundred men in that unit and about forty or fifty of them were from the Dallas Police Department." Do you know if that interview is online anywhere? Thanks again for your work. Steve Thomas

This is just a guess... "Mr. Lawson acknowledged that Lt. Col. George Whitmeyer, who was part of the Dallas District U.S. Army Command, who Lawson said "taught Army Intelligence" 1/31/78 HSCA interview of Secret Service agent Winston Lawson (RIF#18010074-10396) Is this possibly where Whitmeyer worked? Jules E. Muchert Army Reserve Center 10031 E. Northwest Highway This Property was a part of the original boundaries of White Rock Lake Park. The City of Dallas sold the Property to the Federal Government in 1956 for an Army Reserve Training Center Site. http://www3.dallascityhall.com/committee_briefings/briefings0607/QOL_061107_muchert.pdf Steve Thomas

If this is the same George L. Whitmeyer who, according to the 1940 Census was born in northcentral Pa in 1890 and was 50 years old in 1940, would have been 28 years old in 1918. http://www.archives.com/1940-census/george-whitmeyer-nj-125053713 Steve Thomas

Was George Whitmeyer of the pilot car fame an ambulance driver in WWI? see pp. 45-47 of this book: Pennsylvania Voices of the Great War. edited by J. Stuart Richards. https://books.google.com/books?id=ioHMaObHMdwC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq="George+Whitmeyer"&source=bl&ots=QGBIXPCaAx&sig=v5ysuhgX7PmcU8T4zeuCp1y8Vak&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4n_SPtq3RAhXnwlQKHbVoAuc4ChDoAQhEMAk#v=onepage&q="George Whitmeyer"&f=false In his 1978 obituary, it says that Whitmeyer's sister from Philadelphia attended his funeral. Steve Thomas

I don't know if John Dolva is still posting anymore, but what do others think of his 2013 comment? Steve Thomas

That's funny. I was poking around and ran across something I posted 10 years ago asking if the HSCA documents were available online. Guess not much has changed since then. Steve Thomas

Here's the Title Page, I guess you have to write them or arrange to visit the Archives in person. AGENCY INFORMATION AGENCY : HSCA RECORD NUMBER : 180-10109-10154 RECORDS SERIES : NUMBERED FILES AGENCY FILE NUMBER : 013841 DOCUMENT INFORMATION ORIGINATOR : HSCA FROM : ELLIS, STARVIS TO : [No To] TITLE : [No Title] DATE : 08/05/1978 PAGES : 3 DOCUMENT TYPE : NOTES SUBJECTS : CONSPIRACY THEORIES; EYEWITNESS; STARVIS, ELLIS CLASSIFICATION : UNCLASSIFIED RESTRICTIONS : OPEN IN FULL CURRENT STATUS : OPEN DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 08/10/1993 COMMENTS : Box 242.

Mr. SHELLEY - Gloria Calvary from South-Western Publishing Co. ran back up there crying... Is "crying" the same thing as Mr. SMITH. Yes, sir.; and this woman came up to me and she was just in hysterics... Steve Thomas