January 22, 1952

[Jim Root]

Information taken from the book, America's Germany, John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany and additional articles about Robert Patterson.

In 1951 former Sec. of War Robert Patterson was employed by German Industrialist to sway High Commissioner John J. McCloy's position on German steel and coal production. McCloy's former boss would arrive in Frankfort armed with his legal brief, entitled "Restoration of the Rule of Law" which was a wide-ranging attack on the High Commission and John J. McCloys actions as High Commissioner.

Patterson would maintain that because there were no precedents for "Law 27" the High Commission had to administer the statute according to American procedures and that by American criteria "the provisions of Law 27 plainly transgress the requirements of due process of law" He (Patterson) compared it to a "bill of attainder," without safeguards against arbitraty action and with inadequate and overly narrow provisions for appeal.

The implications of Pattersons brief were clear: the United States would have to end its decartelization policy if it wished to meet its own legal standards and McCloy was out of line in forcing this Law on the Germans.

Needless to say, "McCloy was angry about Patterson's efforts and believed them highly improper..."

"McCloy convinced Patterson that with the Schuman Plan on the line, he should help prevent a serious crisis in US - European relations. Subsequently Patterson went back to his clients with the advice that "after review of the situation" they should "adopt (the ) American solution ...."

Paterson later wrote apologetically to McCloy, well aware, as he put it, of "the sense or irritation that men on distant outposts cannot help feeling when those back home who are not charged with particular responsibility bob up and offer their opinions."

On January 22, 1952 Patterson would die in a plane crash that was credited to "pilot error." Years later the daughter of the pilot (Captain Thomas Reid) would suggest that the plane had been sabotaged and that a severe mechanical malfunction had occured. Thomas Reid, it seems, had worked for ARAMCO and CIA agent Col. William Alfred Eddy in Saudi Arabia prior to becoming an American Airlines pilot.

Patterson's wife would invite nearly 40 people to be honorary pall bearers at the funeral that was attened by Harry Truman, Dean Acheson, George Marshall, Henry Morgenthau, Bernard Baruch, Omar Bradley, Dr. Ralph Bunche, Luciua Clay, J. Lawton Collins, Sam Rayborn, Jimmy Doolittle, Elihu Root, Jr. Ferdinand Eberstadt, Maxwell taylor, etc. etc.

Notably missing from the honorary pall bearer list is John J. MCloy, the only Asst. Sect. of War under Stimson not invited.

I have read that Patterson was slated to become the Chairman of the Counsel on Foreign Relations in 1952. Instead, that horor would go to John J. McCloy.

The coincidence. John J. McCloy would become angry with Robert Patterson for his "messing" with his administration of Germany after the WWII. A few months later Patterson would be dead and for some reason Patterson's wife would not invite McCloy to the funeral (suggesting bad blood).

On February 2, 1953 Mrs. Margaret Wl Patterson, widow of Robert P. Patterson, former Secretary of War who met his death in a plane crash in Elizabethm, N.J., filed a suit against American Airlines for $2,685,000 one of the largest individual damage claims ever fied against an airline.

Fast forward 11 years and it would be Kennedy that would be "messing" with McCloys positiiton on arms negotiations with the Soviets and Kennedy would end up dead.

It is interesting to see that in two cases, Patterson and Kennedy, when people mess with what McCloy wants they ended up dead and McCloy gets exactly what he wants!

Edited January 22, 2008 by Jim Root

[Robert Howard]

And of course, I only mention this as a historical aside, but John J. McCloy was according to several authors, seated in Adolf Hitler's box in Berlin/1936 watching the Olympic Games with him. Wonder if Jesse Owens ran that day, that might have been an awkward moment. I suppose Allen Dulles wasn't the only person with connections who could interact with Nazi's without any cause for concern.......In 1976 John J. McCloy found time out of his busy schedule to release his book, The Great Oil Spill - The Inside Report - Gulf Oil's Bribery & Political Chicanery.........arguably proving that for those who walk in the realm of transnationalist's, having your cake and eating it too, is just a sign that

membership has its privileges.......

[Jim Root]

Upon further research into the Jan. 22, 1952 American Airlines flight which killed the former Secretay of War Robert Patterson I have discovered this additional information of interest.

From Jan. 4, 1951 until Jan 22, 1953 (a period of one year before and one year after this Jan. 22, 1952 accident) there were 32 commercial airline accidents in the United States.

In 30 out of the 32 accidents the cause of the crash was identified and reported.

In only two cases was the casuse not identified, the Jan. 22, 1952 crash that killed Robert Patterson and a crash that occured on Dec. 21, 1952. Of note is the fact that the Dec. 21 crash occured over the Atlantic Ocean and the plane was not recovered making it impossible to determine the exact cause of that occurance (the reason given for no determination for the cause of the accident).

This leaves the Jan. 22, 1952 crash as the ONLY crash in at least a two year period where the crash scene could be investigated, that it was not reported or determined why the accident occurred. Either the government failed in its attempt to ascertain exactly what happened during its investigation of this crash or could it be that there were forces that were put into play to insure that a complete investigation was not done or the complete story not reported?

Some might suggest a similarity between the Warren Commission's investigation (or lack there of) of the death of John F. Kennedy, upon which John J. McCloy played a role, and the investigation of Flight 6780 which killed Former Sec. of War Patterson (a man whom, just as John F. Kennedy did) had had a major rift with John J. McCloy's policies in the months preceding his death.

Two events in some ways similiar in nature, two deaths, two incomplete investigations.

Coincidence?

Jim Root

[Ron Ecker]

Jim,

Very interesting. I did some Googling, and it is worth noting that there was a very short window of opportunity (less than a day) to sabotage that flight, if it was sabotaged and the target was Patterson.

Here is a link to a newspaper story, according to which Patterson intended to leave Buffalo by train that night, but finished his work earlier than expected and asked an associate to get him a plane flight. The only stop before the crash was in Rochester.

http://www.newspaperarchive.com/freepdfvie...spx?img=5057429

Here are links (you've probably already seen these) to a description of the crash from Time magazine, and a report on the probable cause ("insufficient evidence"):

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...,822038,00.html

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19520122-0

On the Council of Foreign Relations, according to Patterson's bio at Wikipedia he did serve as its president, though the years are not given.

Ron

Edited January 25, 2008 by Ron Ecker

[Jim Root]

Ron

Interesting where the newspaper clipping has Patterson saying, "no one knows where death and disease will strike" in a speech just a few days prior to his own death.

As you know, based upon my research, it is my belief that McCloy had written himself in as the head or coordinator of all intelligence organizations within the United States (similiar to the British system that he was sent by Stimson to investigate in 1940).

The history of the development of the CIA and NSA via the National Security Act of 1947 (July 26, 1947) is interesting to compare with this subject. Seven days before Patterson became Sec. of War, Executive Order 9621 dissolved the OSS effective four days after Patterson took office (Oct. 1, 1945). it would be McCloy, while working under Patterson, that would begin moving and salvaging the various components of the OSS that would be later consolidated into the CIA. Each step along the way McCloy had to receive the written approval of Patterson for what McCloy was doing.

If my belief is true (McCloy as the "czar" of US Intelligence is true, Patterson would be one of the few people in America that would have known this.

Is it possible that Patterson's death, after being in a disagreement with McCloy, may have been considered as an act of National Security....? If so, and the plane that Patterson was riding on was sabotaged would the government position itself to hide that fact?

Interesting questions.

By the way McCloy and Patterson's paths seem to have crossed at an earlier date, while McCloy was at Harvard Law School. This particular incident seems to have been one that McCloy never forgot and felt that it was a slight that he did not deserve.

Jim Root

[Robert Howard]

Resurrecting old threads, is something I do to keep the focus centered, a sort of, discovering the epicenter, if you will.

Along those lines, a particularly hard to find book

On Active Service In Peace And War - Henry L. Stimson with McGeorge Bundy

is available for online viewing.....

See

http://www.archive.o...603mbp_djvu.txt

Did you know that our John B. Hurt authored a book?

It was called:

A Version of the Japanese Problem In The Signal Intelligence Service, later Signal Security Agency 1930-1945

[sanitized Copy furnished by NSA.]

Edited September 5, 2010 by Robert Howard

[Jim Root]

Resurrecting old threads, is something I do to keep the focus centered, a sort of, discovering the epicenter, if you will.

Along those lines, a particularly hard to find book

On Active Service In Peace And War - Henry L. Stimson with McGeorge Bundy

is available for online viewing.....

See

http://www.archive.o...603mbp_djvu.txt

Did you know that our John B. Hurt authored a book?

It was called:

A Version of the Japanese Problem In The Signal Intelligence Service, later Signal Security Agency 1930-1945

[sanitized Copy furnished by NSA.]

Robert

I have had a copy of John B. Hurt's work for several years now. It is an interesting read and I have quoted from it in a few threads that I have posted in the past.

Couple of thoughts on Hurt's work:

He was not very kind in his opinion of Joseph Kennedy

He was not very good remembering names of associates and clearly points this out.

His reference to working with Meridith Gardner is not by name but is clearly implied

Stella Polaris is mentioned and how the code books recovered (drawing from memory) were returned to the Russians was also discussed

His reference to the Japanese negotiations with the Soviet Union to surrender prior to the dropping of the Atomic is an almost word for word rendering of John J. McCloy's words to Truman prior to Truman making the final decission to drop the Atomic bomb.

I might also, once again, point out that a Pentagon historian did verify to me that Hurt's translations (and hand written notes)were delivered directly to John J. McCloy.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive.

Jim Root