Lost JFK assassination tapes on sale

[Douglas Caddy]

AP Exclusive: Lost JFK assassination tapes on sale

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | November 15, 2011 09:35 AM EST | Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A long-lost version of Air Force One recordings made after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

There are incidents and code names described on the newly discovered two-plus hour recording. It predates a shorter recording formerly thought to be the only surviving version.

The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer, is selling the reel-to-reel tape for $500,000.

The tape comes from the estate of Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr., a Kennedy aide who was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.

Clifton died in 1991. The Raab Collection acquired the items after the death of Clifton's wife in 2009.

[William Kelly]

AP Exclusive: Lost JFK assassination tapes on sale

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | November 15, 2011 09:35 AM EST | Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A long-lost version of Air Force One recordings made after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

There are incidents and code names described on the newly discovered two-plus hour recording. It predates a shorter recording formerly thought to be the only surviving version.

The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer, is selling the reel-to-reel tape for $500,000.

The tape comes from the estate of Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr., a Kennedy aide who was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.

Clifton died in 1991. The Raab Collection acquired the items after the death of Clifton's wife in 2009.

This could be significant.

Vince Salandria, a Philadelphia attorney, should be on it.

bk

[Guest Tom Scully]

Douglas and Bill,

Since this is a recording of government communications, assocaited with the military, and was most likely originally captured on government purchased tape media, equipment, and on government time...by an on duty military member, how could a private entity claim ownership and make a money demand for a government originated, historically significant sound recording?

Why doesn't this "news" trigger a military or LEO investigation into possible theft and deliberate concealment? Does the ARRB or its non-existent congressional oversight have any jurisdiction here? Is there potential to activate the ignored responsibility for oversight by contacting relevant legislative representatives? If this consisted of emerging autopsy X-Rays or photos, wouldn't there be a more pro-active reaction than a private offer to sell what is probably evidence in the assassination investigation?

[Douglas Caddy]

Douglas and Bill,

Since this is a recording of government communications, assocaited with the military, and was most likely originally captured on government purchased tape media, equipment, and on government time...by an on duty military member, how could a private entity claim ownership and make a money demand for a government originated, historically significant sound recording?

Why doesn't this "news" trigger a military or LEO investigation into possible theft and deliberate concealment? Does the ARRB or its non-existent congressional oversight have any jurisdiction here? Is there potential to activate the ignored responsibility for oversight by contacting relevant legislative representatives? If this consisted of emerging autopsy X-Rays or photos, wouldn't there be a more pro-active reaction than a private offer to sell what is probably evidence in the assassination investigation?

Tom, all your questions and comments are quite pertinent. I am sure that we have not seen the end of this story. At a minimum it would appear that the Kennedy Library would have a claim to the tape. The whole idea of the sale is repugnant and shocking.

However, it does make one wonder what other relevant evidence is out there in private hands waiting for disclosure some day.

[William Kelly]

JFKcountercoup: New AF1 Radio Tape Discovered

AP Exclusive: Lost JFK assassination tapes on salehttp://apnews.myway..../D9R186HO5.html

Nov 15, 10:20 AM (ET)

By JOANN LOVIGLIO

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A long-lost version of the Air Force One recordings made in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

There are incidents and code names described on the newly discovered two-plus hour recording, which predates the shorter and newer recording currently housed in the National Archives outside Washington and the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Texas.The shorter recording was thought to be the only surviving version of the tape.

The asking price is $500,000 for the reel-to-reel tape, which is inside its original box with a typewritten label showing it was made by the White House Communications Agency for Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr..

It is titled "Radio Traffic involving AF-1 in flight from Dallas, Texasto Andrews AFB on November 22, 1963."

"As Americans have looked to the history of the Kennedy assassination in search of answers, somewhere in an attic there existed a tape made years before the only known surviving version, of the conversations on Air Force One on that fateful day," said Nathan Raab, vice president of The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer that put the tape upfor sale Tuesday.

The recording is the highlight of the personal effects fromthe estate of Clifton, who was Kennedy's senior military aide and was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.

Clifton, whodied in 1991, had kept a collection of audio tapes, documents, photographs and video stemming from his years in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The Raab Collection, which is selling the tape and the rest of the archive, acquired the items at a public sale from Clifton's heirs after the death of Clifton'swife in 2009.

"At a time when there really wasn't what we consider today a chief of staff, Clifton carried on many of those functions," Raab said. "He retires in 1965, this goes with him."

The recording consists of in-flight radio calls between the aircraft, the White House Situation Room, Andrews Air Force Base, and a plane that was carrying Kennedy press secretary Pierre Salinger and six Cabinet members from Hawaii to Tokyo when the president was assassinated.

The Clifton tapes include additional debate about whether Kennedy's body would be brought to Bethesda Naval Hospital or Walter Reed Hospital for autopsy and if first lady Jackie Kennedy would accompany the fallen president, as well as expanded discussions about arranging for ambulances and limousines to meet the plane.

No references to Kennedy nemesis Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay occur in the shorter version, but the Clifton tape contains an urgent attempt by an aide to contact him. The aide, seeking to interrupt Air Force transmissions to reach LeMay, is heard saying the general "is in a C140. Last three numbers are 497. Hiscode name is Grandson. And I want to talk to him."

The whereabouts of LeMay, whose enmity for the president makes him a central figure for Kennedy assassination researchers, have long been disputed. The newly discovered recording can finally end the speculation and pinpoint his location immediately after the president's murder, Raab said.

Other conversations on the tape refer to "Monument" and "W.T.E." - code names for people as yet unknown - and someone only called "John."

Parts of the audio are difficult to discern because several conversations from the different patches are going on simultaneously. Raab said their digital recording was made as a straightforward recording, not as a forensic analysis, and current or future technology may be able to tease out and enhance the conversations.

The edited recording in the National Archives and the LBJ Library, available to the public since 1971, begins with an announcer stating it has been "edited and condensed" but not explaining how much was cut or by whom.

A more complete version of the Air Force One tapes were long sought but never found, adding fuel to decades-old suspicions that there is more to Kennedy's assassination than the official account naming Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman.

The Assassination Records Review Board, created by an act ofCongress in 1992 after the Oliver Stone film "JFK" caused public uproar to re-examine Kennedy's killing, unsuccessfully sought the unedited Air Force One tapes forits probe. Its final report in 1998, the board said the LBJ Library version was filled with crude breaks and chopped conversations.

"That this tape even exists will change the way we view this great event in history," Raab said. "It took decades to analyze the shorter, newer version and it will take years to do the same here."

The Clifton tape has been professionally digitized and a copy is being donated by the Raab Collection to the National Archives and the John F. Kennedy Library so the public will have access to the material even if the original tape is sold to a private collector.

The wholly unedited "raw" recording of the entirety of the trip, which also would have included periods of silence and static, has never been located. It would have been roughly 4 1/2 hours long.

http://www.raabcolle...force-one-tape/

THE ORIGINAL WHITE HOUSE VERSION OF THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION AIR FORCE ONE TAPE, THOUGHT LOST OR DESTROYED

General LeMay's aide urgently attempts to reach him

First Notice

Figures who surface for the first time

The foremost new addition to the historical record in one the most important events in American history, this tape predates the National Archives / Johnson Library version, is more than 30 minutes longer, and contain new names and incidents.

$500,000

http://www.raabcollection.com/inquiry/

IT ALSO CASTS LIGHT ON THE NUMBER OF VERSIONS OF THE TAPES, ANDTHE LATER CREATION OF THE PUBLIC VERSION IN THE DAYS OF THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION

Years before the creation of the LBJ Library version, thought until now to be the only surviving one, another tape existed of conversations aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963. This version was more than 30 minutes longer and contained new names and incidents. This piece of history has been long sought.The existence of this original version and the events and names it discloses will change the way we view this seminal event of the 20th century.

Toprint, download this PDF. Forthe Press Release, download this PDF

A digital copy will be donated to the National Archives and Kennedy Library.

SELECTED CLEAR DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE FIRST AIR FORCE ONE TAPE ANDTHE JOHNSON LIBRARY VERSION, WITH NEW TEXT QUOTED

Ours was a non forensic process; differences were identified solely from professionally digitized files using standard audio equipment

THE ANXIOUS EFFORT TO REACH KENNEDY'S ADVERSARY, GENERAL CURTISLEMAY.

All references to LeMay have been deleted from the Johnson version. His aide wanted to reach him badly and immediately, and was trying to interrupt Air Force One transmissions to do so.(see below for more on LeMay). "Colonel Dorman, GeneralLeMay's aide. General LeMay is in a C140. Last three numbers are 497, SAMC140. His code name is Grandson. And I want to talk to him." Any delay, he said, "would be too late." LeMay's precise location at the time of the assassination and after have been a subject of open speculation. This places him.

Audio clip excerpt – LeMay's aide urgently attempts to reach the General

NEW NAMES, MISSING IDENTITIES

Someone code-named "Monument," someone referred to as "WTE,"and someone named "John" referred to. "Hello? Can you get me Secretary Rusk? Hold on please…Cedar Rapids, give me 972. Stand by we are having a State Dept. join now. I'm showing a…I'll haveJohn give you a call soon as he's done. WTE wants him. OK. Hold on line.1102 3000 1104." Talking about Rusk: "He is talking to Mr. Ball. Stand byone. State Dept is talking to Mr. Salinger at this time. Do everything onthere. You talk to Ball. Number one is trying to break in…" "…november alpha bravo 90. I'd like to talk to Monument who's aboard that aircraft."

Excerpt: "WTE"

Excerpt: "Monument"

REVEALING THE IDENTITY OF CODE NAME STRANGER, OMITTED IN THELBJ VERSION

He was identified by Pierre Salinger in his book. "Andrews,The answer to your request is Maj. Harold R. Paterson, I think. Maj. Harold R. Paterson."

Excerpt: "Stranger"

THE DISPOSITION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S BODY, ANDTHE AUTOPSY. THE 1ST REFERENCE TO TAKING THE PRESIDENT'S BODY TO WALTER REED

There is additional discussion as to whether it should be taken to Walter Reed or Bethesda, on procuring an ambulance, and on whether Mrs. Kennedy would also going there. These were areas of disagreement. "Andrews supplying ambulance for body to take to Walter Reed. Repeat please, repeat please. Walter Reed for body, Walter Reed. Over. Say again, say again."

THE HEAD OF THE SECRET SERVICE, TRANSPORTING KENNEDY'S BODY,AND BRINGING THE NEWPRESIDENT'S PARTY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.

There is expanded discussion of which vehicles would pick up the body: Gerald Behn, the head of the Secret Service, is overheard giving his frank opinion on the matter, discussing the cars, a "black Cadillac," and/orambulances. "… a black Cadillac…I would get them out there anyways regardlessHenry, get them out there anyways regardless of the maybe. Maybe is what theysaid…" Later, a separate voice remarks, "I am trying to order White House car102 and 405x. I understand you are ordering two cars, is that a roger?" The ARRB report noted a later reference to a "black Cadillac" but since this conversation was omitted noted that it lacked context and might be important. This discrepancy is just one of a handful of such specific circumstances the ARRB notes.

Excerpt: The head of the Secret Service on the disposition of the body

THE PRESIDENT'S REMAINS; SURGEON GENERAL HEATON AND ADMIRAL BURKLEY. "MRS. KENNEDY WILL ALSO BE GOING"

There are expanded discussions with him. "Air Force One, Crown, I'm putting General Heaton on the line, over. Air Force One, Crown, go ahead. General Heaton on the line. Hello, General Heaton… General Heaton, this is Admiral Burkley…You…the military district of Washington in regards to the taking care of the remains of the President Kennedy, and we are planning on having the President taken to directly to Walter Reed and probably Mrs. Kennedy will also be going out there."

Excerpt: General Heaton and Admiral Burkley planning the disposition of the President's body

TEXAN CONGRESSMEN

Someone was looking for Texan Congressmen who were thereduring the assassination. "Air Force 1970, John D. needs to know here on theground if you have Congressmen Thomas, Thornberry and Brooks aboard. Can youcheck them out for us? Say again, Robby…The…need to know…"

Excerpt: Looking for the Congressmen from Texas

STATE DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATIONS

There is additional material relating to the communicationswith State Dept. officials, coordination of their return information, andconcern about information they were being given.


RADIOBANDS, LOGISTICS

There is expanded conversation about what bands they willspeak on, information valuable in assessing the process of communication onboard Air Force One during the flight home.

These are just a few of the points of difference we found,using the acoustic equipment at our disposal. Forensic equipment couldcertainly reveal more. Moreover, this discovery permits the applicationof new technologies to the original film and not simply to a digital file. Itis the most significant piece of audio/visual history ever to reach the publicmarket.

Note on Curtis LeMay: He was the Air Force Chief and aparticularly staunch opponent of the Kennedy administration. Robert McNamarastated that LeMay was a staunch advocate of "preemptivenuclear war to rid the world of the Soviet threat." Air Force Chief CurtisLeMay, who had been advocating nuclear war with the Soviet Unionsince the early 1950s, thought Cubawas a "sideshow" and told the President that the United States should "fry it." LeMay, himself amember of the Joint Chiefs, "was in the habit of taking bullying command ofJoint Chiefs meetings," and with LeMay leading the charge for war, "the otherchiefs jumped into the fray, repeating the Air Force general's call forimmediate military action." Around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis,Kennedy told an aide that the administration needed to make sure that the JointChiefs did not start a war without his approval. Thirteen days after thatcrisis began, the Soviets announced that they would remove the missiles from Cuba,with the USagreeing to remove missiles from US bases in Turkeyand "pledging not to invade Cuba."At the announcement of the end to the crisis, General LeMay told Kennedy, "It'sthe greatest defeat in our history," and that, "We should invade today." Lyndon Johnson had better relations with General LeMay.

MAJOR EVENTS TIMELINE:

November 22, 1963– John Kennedy is assassinated, and the conversations on board AF1 arerecorded. These conversations will eventually become one of the most importantprimary resources in the investigation

Late 1963-1965 – A copy is created for Ted Clifton, SeniorMilitary Aide to John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson military aide

1966-1968 – A shorter, edited version is created during theJohnson Administration, which was later given to the LBJ Library anddistributed by it to the National Archives and the John F. Kennedy Library. Bythe time LBJ leaves, all other versions go missing.

1970s – The LBJ version is released to the American people

1990s – A governmental agency's efforts to discover anyother version of this tape in governmental repositories are unsuccessful, evenunder penalty of perjury

2011 – The original, longer copy belonging to Cliftonis discovered

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

President Kennedy was murdered while riding in a motorcadein Dallas at 12:30 pm CST on Friday, November 22, 1963. Several photos and films captured theassassination, including the famous Zapruder Film. JFK was rushed to Parkland Hospital, where a tracheotomy andother efforts failed to keep him alive. After he was pronounced dead around 1 pm, his body was flown back to Washingtonaboard Air Force One, on board which were his wife Jackie and his successor,Lyndon B. Johnson. Upon landing his body was taken to Bethesda Naval Hospital,where an autopsy was performed, and he was buried at Arlington National Cemeteryon Monday the 25th.

Meanwhile, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested around 2 pm at the Texas Theatre in the Oak Cliffsuburb of Dallas and charged withmurdering a police officer named J.D. Tippit. Protesting that he was "a patsy,"Oswald was paraded in front of the world's gathering cameras and accused ofmurdering President Kennedy as well. He was interrogated throughout theweekend, though no recordings or transcriptions were made. During an intendedtransfer to county facilities on Sunday morning the 24th, Oswald was shot andkilled on live television in the basement of the Dallas Police station. Hismurderer was a local nightclub owner with alleged connections to organizedcrime named Jack Ruby. People were stunned by all this and there was awide-spread call for investigation of the Kennedy assassination and aftermath.

Who killed Kennedy and why?

In 1964, the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy,named by President Johnson and known as the Warren Commission, found noevidence that either Lee Harvey Oswald or Jack Ruby were part of "anyconspiracy, domestic or foreign…" The issuance of the Warren Report wasfollowed about two months later by 26 volumes of hearings and exhibits, the"supporting evidence" on which the Report and one-assassin conclusion werebased. Soon people who read the tomes were claiming that despite its lengthyreport the investigation was half-hearted and incomplete, that there werediscrepancies in the evidence, that information tending to place thecommission's conclusion in doubt had been ignored or withheld, that importantwitnesses had not even been interviewed, etc. They maintained that the officialstory did not stand up to scrutiny, and there must have been some conspiracy atthe heart of the assassination. This led to widespread allegations of agovernment cover up, and a plethora of theories were proposed about who killedPresident Kennedy and why. The percentage of Americans who doubted the WarrenCommission's conclusion leaped from 39% after that report was issued to 60% in1967.

A demand for answers 30 years after the event

In 1991 Oliver Stone released the film "JFK," which examined the events leadingto the assassination and the alleged subsequent cover-up. The film was verypopular, showing again the enduring fascination of the public with thisquintessential story of tragedy and conspiracy. It also proved to be a landmarkmoment politically, as it ignited an outcry for answers about the assassinationthat led to the passage of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination RecordsCollection Act of 1992. The act set up the U.S. Assassination Records ReviewBoard to search for, collect and re-examine for public releaseassassination-related records held by federal agencies. The Board finished itswork in 1998 and issued a final report, which though not containing findings onthe assassination of President Kennedy, did result in the release of previouslywithheld government records and the exposure of some new additional informationthrough its depositions of eyewitnesses. Yet for all the excitement and goodintentions, the Board's work spotlighted more the important information thatwas still missing than what it had been able to find.

The famed Air Force One Tapes

There is just a trio of important sources of primary evidentiary material inthe Kennedy assassination. Two of these are the evidence created or found in Dallas(such as acoustic evidence, ballistic evidence, and physical findings in theBook Depository), and the medical evidence (such as coroner's photographs andreports). Essentially everything about these materials is known, and they havebeen analyzed and reanalyzed. They have not been significantly augmented fordecades, and not much can be expected in the way of new discoveries.

The third important source of evidence in the Kennedyassassination are the famous Air Force One tapes, which recorded conversationsbetween that plane, the White House Situation Room, and other places in theimmediate wake of the assassination. The matters discussed included thedisposition of the President's body, where it should be taken and how it shouldbe removed from the plane and transported, the details of disagreements aboutthese key facts, plans for where Mrs. Kennedy would be taken, attempts toorganize a conversation about the President's autopsy, mentions of cars,limousines and ambulances, plus innumerable other topics. The tapes also placedthe various parties, allowing the public to learn where they were, at whattime, and what they were saying.

These tapes were released by the Lyndon B. Johnson Library,and they start with an announcer stating: "The following recording has beenreproduced from ground recorded non-high fidelity tape to re-cord record patchcommunications of Air Force One." He continues, "This tape has been edited andcondensed to contain only pertinent information relative to events during 22ndof November, 1963. Only material available from radio circuits used isavailable." The tapes at the National Archives and John F. Kennedy Library arethe version provided by the Johnson Library, and no other version of the tapeshas been known to exist. So with the only tapes available an edited version,and no answer to the questions of who ordered the edits or what had been editedout, the tapes themselves poured fuel on the fire and became a central part ofthe controversy.

ARRB expressed a great deal of interest in these tapes, andin a lengthy memo stated that they contained important observations that would"clearly justify" its pursuing them. It was concerned about the accuracyof the edited version, "crude edits and breaks," and its known discrepancies,like a conversation with General Heaton that was referenced at one spot but notrecorded anywhere. Plus there were the questions of what code names, localesand call numbers were missing, and what may have been the significance ofothers statements. And most obviously, what was edited out and why.

The ARRB went looking for the unedited tapes. It went so faras to issue a targeted request to the White House Communications Agency (WHCA)under penalty of perjury, and to the Air Force, seeking all additional recordsor versions of the Air Force One tapes. Neither had any such records norknowledge of the disposition of any such records. So again all that was leftwas the Johnson Library version.

The Discovery of the first Air Force One Assassination tape,thought lost or destroyed; Timeline of the versions of the Kennedyassassination tapes

So the prevailing state of affairs has been that the LBJ tape is the only onethat exists, that it was edited from original tapes that are presumed lost ordestroyed, and that we would learn nothing else.

Who possessed the newly discovered tape, one that is longerthan the LBJ Library tape

President Kennedy never appointed a chief of staff, but the man who undertookmany of the responsibilities of that office was his senior military aideChester (Ted) Clifton. Clifton wasin the Dallas motorcade and wasaboard Air Force One on that fateful day and involved in the discussions.Following the assassination, he was in charge of dealing with military andnational security affairs in the aftermath. He retained his position for awhile in the Johnson administration. He served from January 20, 1961 to hisretirement on August 3, 1965.

The raw tapes

The ARRB established that the WHCA was responsible for communications betweenAir Force One, the White House Situation Room, and other sites on the day ofthe assassination. It tape recorded those actual communications. These were theraw tapes. They would have been at least 4 hours and 20 minutes long, as knownportions of the tape commence no later than 1:45 EST and conclude on wheelsdown for Air Force One at approximately 6:05. The version states that it hadbeen edited down from these.

The first Air Force One Assassination tape

Sometime between the end of November 1963 and July 1965, the raw WHCA tapesfrom November 22, 1963 were used to create an Air Force One Assassination tapethat was 2:22 minutes long. The WHCA labels the tape as "For General Clifton,"and it is the first identifiable tape produced. This was either the officialWhite House version at that time, or it was produced specifically for Clifton.That this was the White House version as late as General Clifton's retirementin August 1965 is indicated by the fact that Pierre Salinger was given accessto at least some portions of it to research his book, "With Kennedy," which waspublished in 1966.

The Johnson Library edited version

During the Johnson presidency, at some time between the end of 1965 and January1969 when LBJ left the White House, a different, shorter and edited version wascreated. The preparer of this still had access to the raw tapes, showing thatthey existed then, and may well also have had access to the first Air Force OneAssassination tape. In this edited version, dozens of deletions were made fromthe first Air Force One Assassination tape. This edited version went back toTexas with LBJ (leaving no version in the White House records), and it wasgiven by him to the Johnson Library, where it resides today. This version isthe one that both the Kennedy Library and National Archives have, and is theone that was made available to the public in the 1970s.

The loss and/or destruction of the raw tapes and the firstAir Force One Assassination tape

The raw tapes and the first Air Force One Assassination tape never resurfacedafter 1965-6. Over the years all efforts to find them proved fruitless. Theyare no longer with the White House Communications Agency, where they werecreated.

General Clifton's first Air Force One Assassination taperediscovered

General Clifton's effects were recently disposed of by his heirs, and his copyof the original first Air Force One Assassination tape was among them. Thereappearance of this tape is a major event in the Kennedy assassination case,and makes possible for the first time a complete understanding of the versionsof the tapes and their chronology. We have had it professionally digitized, sothe tape is now in both digitized and reel-to-reel form.

THE IMPACT OF THE ASSASSINATION

The long term impacts of this proved to be profound. Theassassination left people more cynical and distrustful than before, an attitudestill in evidence today. And though the Kennedy years were not really part ofthe era that followed known as the Sixties, they set off various chainreactions that led it off.

The phenomenon of interest in the Kennedy assassination,which never seems to die

The event took place in 1963, 48 years ago. Yet people still have a keeninterest in it and very definite opinions. A 2009 CBS poll found that only onein 10 Americans believes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. By 74% to 13%, thepublic thought there was an official cover-up to keep the public from learningthe truth about the assassination.

This discovery is the first major change in the availabilityof primary resource on the assassination since the Commission finished itsdeliberations in the 1990s and the most important since the 1970s.

The sale of the original first Air Force One Assassinationtape and donation of the digitized content

The original tape, the essence of the history itself, is being offered forsale. A professionally digitized version will be donated to the NationalArchives and John F. Kennedy Library, and be available to the American people;it will be given as well to the purchaser of the original reel.

Raab Collection – Buying and Selling Historical Letters,Documents, And Manuscripts

http://www.raabcolle...aab-collection/

The Raab Collection is in its third decade as a nationallyrecognized name in historical autographs. Founded by attorney and authorSteven Raab as an outlet for his love of history, it became a family businesswhen his sons Nathan and Jonas joined. The Raab Collection specializes inseeking out and bringing to life important pieces in history, and has beeninstrumental in helping build some of the great autograph and manuscriptcollections in the country. It counts among its clients many of thegreat collecting institutions, among them the Library of Congress and theBritish Library. Moreover, it has represented the families of famousAmericans, including Thomas Jefferson, Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford, inthe sale and preservation of their most significant historical documents.

Among the families we've worked with are those of:

Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D.Eisenhower, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Knox Polk, Andrew Jackson, SeveralProminent Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, Many others

Steven Raab is a noted lecturer and writer on thesubject of historical autographs, and is a founding member of theProfessional Autograph Dealers Association. He and Jonas are the authors of thedefinitive book on historical autographs, In the Presence of History. Nathan Raab is a member of the Board of Trustees of the HistoricalSociety of Pennsylvania, and is currently the Secretary and Chair of theCommittee on Nominations.

He is also a regular guest contributor to Forbes.com. The Raab Collection has frequently been called upon by the media to serveas a source and resource, having appeared on CNN and CNBC,and in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and the New York Times, amongmany other venues.

Raab Collection documents are often on display ininstitutions nationwide, most recently with loans to the National Constitution Center,the National Museum of American Jewish History, and the Abraham LincolnPresidential Museum and Library. In 2008 the Raab Collection createdthe historical exhibit inside the Democratic National Convention in Denver,the first of its kind.

Building a legacy

We will help you not only build a collection but create alegacy that you can share with your family and the world. In addition tooffering our clients access to the most important historical documents, we helpconnect them institutions nationwide, if they choose. Our clients haveloaned or will loan their documents to: The National Constitution Center; TheNational Jewish Museum; Mount Vernon;The Heinz History Center; The Lincoln Museum; The Jimmy CarterPresidential Library; others.

Edited November 15, 2011 by William Kelly

[Cliff Varnell]

AP Exclusive: Lost JFK assassination tapes on sale

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | November 15, 2011 09:35 AM EST | Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A long-lost version of Air Force One recordings made after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

There are incidents and code names described on the newly discovered two-plus hour recording. It predates a shorter recording formerly thought to be the only surviving version.

The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer, is selling the reel-to-reel tape for $500,000.

The tape comes from the estate of Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr., a Kennedy aide who was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.

Clifton died in 1991. The Raab Collection acquired the items after the death of Clifton's wife in 2009.

Would they be willing to release a transcript? I second Salandria.

[Robert Howard]

AP Exclusive: Lost JFK assassination tapes on sale

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | November 15, 2011 09:35 AM EST | Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A long-lost version of Air Force One recordings made after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

There are incidents and code names described on the newly discovered two-plus hour recording. It predates a shorter recording formerly thought to be the only surviving version.

The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer, is selling the reel-to-reel tape for $500,000.

The tape comes from the estate of Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr., a Kennedy aide who was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.

Clifton died in 1991. The Raab Collection acquired the items after the death of Clifton's wife in 2009.

Would they be willing to release a transcript? I second Salandria.

All references to LeMay have been deleted from the Johnson version. His aide wanted to reach him badly and immediately, and was trying to interrupt Air Force One transmissions to do so.(see below for more on LeMay). "Colonel Dorman, GeneralLeMay's aide. General LeMay is in a C140. Last three numbers are 497, SAMC140. His code name is Grandson. And I want to talk to him." Any delay, he said, "would be too late." LeMay's precise location at the time of the assassination and after have been a subject of open speculation.

Another classic example of whats wrong with this picture....What should have been evidence in the government's possession or at least in a Presidential Library is discovered laying around somewhere, [in this case maybe that turned out to be a good thing] replete with code names never heard of before. The only positive in all of this is, as the media attention to it shows, is that the American public smells a rat, when there is one. The JFK Assassination continues to be almost 50 years later, "the story they wish would go away."

Edited November 16, 2011 by Robert Howard

[Mark Haley]

"The Clifton tape has been professionally digitized and a copy is being donated by the Raab Collection to the National Archives and the John F. Kennedy Library so the public will have access to the material even if the original tape is sold to a private collector."

[Douglas Caddy]

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2011/11/last-chair-jfk-sat-in-at-houstons-rice-hotel-expected-to-fetch-25k/

[William Kelly]

AP Exclusive: Lost JFK assassination tapes on sale

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | November 15, 2011 09:35 AM EST | Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A long-lost version of Air Force One recordings made after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, with more than 30 minutes of additional material not in the official version in the government's archives, has been found and is for sale.

There are incidents and code names described on the newly discovered two-plus hour recording. It predates a shorter recording formerly thought to be the only surviving version.

The Raab Collection, a Philadelphia historic documents dealer, is selling the reel-to-reel tape for $500,000.

The tape comes from the estate of Army Gen. Chester "Ted" Clifton Jr., a Kennedy aide who was in the Dallas motorcade when the president was assassinated.

Clifton died in 1991. The Raab Collection acquired the items after the death of Clifton's wife in 2009.

Would they be willing to release a transcript? I second Salandria.

All references to LeMay have been deleted from the Johnson version. His aide wanted to reach him badly and immediately, and was trying to interrupt Air Force One transmissions to do so.(see below for more on LeMay). "Colonel Dorman, GeneralLeMay's aide. General LeMay is in a C140. Last three numbers are 497, SAMC140. His code name is Grandson. And I want to talk to him." Any delay, he said, "would be too late." LeMay's precise location at the time of the assassination and after have been a subject of open speculation.

Another classic example of whats wrong with this picture....What should have been evidence in the government's possession or at least in a Presidential Library is discovered laying around somewhere, [in this case maybe that turned out to be a good thing] replete with code names never heard of before. The only positive in all of this is, as the media attention to it shows, is that the American public smells a rat, when there is one. The JFK Assassination continues to be almost 50 years later, "the story they wish would go away."

Thank you Robert,

I agree, and I think we should take advantage of this news story to pry open some more records - get Congressional oversight of JFK Act and get them to find out what happened to all these missing records, some of which turn up in someone's attic and estate sale. Put the smelly rats on the hot seat.

Besides the half mill for the AF1 tape, they also have some other interesting items from the Clifton estate that are now on the auction block, including a letter from Allen Dulles to Clifton and a photo of Clifton getting a medal from LBJ.

From what I understand so far, at the time of his death, Clifton was survived by his widow and a brother, both of whom must have now passed away, and their heirs are selling the farm. I think they live in California, but the auctioneers, Raab, is in Philadelphia.

As for the new code names, LeMay being Grandson is new to me, but as for not knowing where he was at the time of the assassination, that question was answered by the Andrews Log that was rescued from a dumpster - as Doug Horne has pointed out. Horne is talking with the AP writer who got the story (do you think Raab leaked it to drum up the bidders?) - and she is reportedly working on a more in depth story, and she has used Horne's ARRB memo and got the story accurate so far. Raab's web site is pretty accurate too, so they are doing their homework.

I'd like to get an obit for Clifton's wife and brother, as they would tell us who the family heirs are who are selling all this stuff.

And also get an id make on Col. Dorman - LeMay's aide who had to talk to him immediately to tell him something so important that it couldn't wait a half-hour for LeMay to get on the ground.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that this tape is complete, as it only has a half hour more material in it that is not on the tape we previously had, and doesn't appear to include the message from Bundy at the White House alluded to by White and Salandria, that there was no conspiracy.

I think this is an important story and so far have posted a few items at JFKcountercoupi, including her original AP wire service story that was published in hundreds if not thousands of papers and aired on radio and TV throughout the world - JFKcountercoup: New AF1 Radio Tape Discovered, some of the Raab web site and auction item details, along with the Significance of the tapes, which has Vince Salandria's Tale of the Tapes excerpt JFKcountercoup: Significance of AF1 Radio Transmissions and Doug Horne's memo, which is wrong on two counts that I will correct at JFKcountercoup: JFK at the SAC Command Post - Offut AFB.

The two counts Horne gets wrong are simple points that he just didn't know, not having read my research on the subject, and include the fact that "Liberty" station is the Cedar Rapids relay station at the Collins Radio Headquarters, and "Command Post" is the SAC Command Post.

These are also wrong on the official LBJ Library transcript, the transcript by Kathleen Cunningham and what Max Holland has to say in his book The Assassination Tapes, which deals extensively with the least significant aspects of the tapes and what's on them. The documentary film First 24 Hours, which is a pretty good hour long film, also utilizes the tapes extensively, but doesn't deal with the controversies they entail or their real significance.

More to come on this hot and still-developing story.

BK

Edited November 17, 2011 by William Kelly

[William Kelly]

Prequil to a Forensic Analysis of the Air Force One Radio Transmission Tapes

JFKcountercoup: Prequil to A Forensic Analysis of Air Force One Tapes

JFKcountercoup: Notes to Prequil to a Forensic Analysis

JFKcountercoup: Air Force One Radio Transmissions Combined Transcript /Annotated

[Kathleen Collins]

I can only add that any American government photo is automatically in the public domain.

As first lady Jacqueline Kennedy could be photographed wherever she went while holding that title. As is Kennedy footage taken by an unknown citizen or a network. It seems to me that holding the Zapruder Film away from the citizens for 7 years or so, breaks that law. We should have been able to see that film after it was processed. Instead, imo, the govt kept that film a secret and altered it. It seems to me that if Jacqueline Onassis was walking down Park Avenue and someone took a picture of her, that picture could be sold. It isn't in the public domain. She held no governmental purpose anymore. She was a private citizen at that point. If she went to her husband's grave site, that, to me is a governmental picture in the public domain because Kennedy's grave site is governmental.

Kathy C