Whistling by the Graveyard

[Ron Bulman]

Tink Thompson for the New York Times? 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=umbrella+man&view=detail&mid=D367BE2BDD758D4D854BD367BE2BDD758D4D854B&FORM=VIRE

Yet the questions continue.  Cliff, Witt wasn't fiddling with the umbrella trying to get it open when JFK passed, it was out and open.  In the video Mr. Thompson says Witt was protesting Joe Kennedy's affiliation with Chamberlain regarding the Appeasement at Munich 30ish years before???  Was Mr. Thompson possibly being a bit sarcastic near the end?  A great collection of pictures and video of UM & RM in the link.

Just a well informed for the time Dallas citizen performing a personal protest, at the end of the parade, right where JFK was first shot.  Happenstance.  Forgive my pessimism.

Umbrella man is at the back of the sidewalk with his umbrella open and raised as JFK approaches.  Radioman or somebody is standing Directly in front of him at the curb ten feet away with his arm raised pointing straight up.  Is this not unusual?  The crowd has thinned out.  Where they were they would not have seen the final shots from the side or front.  Might the umbrella have been an all clear to proceed affirmation to shooters located elsewhere?  Speculation, again.  Food for thought.  Since sitting down on the curb after seeing his brains blown out from the rear was just natural while others are rushing past to the Grassy Knoll.  Then getting up and sauntering away in opposite directions.  See ya later new friend,  see ya down the road, nice to meet ya, nice parade and all.  

 

Edited July 22, 2018 by Ron Bulman

[Cliff Varnell]

On 7/21/2018 at 8:13 PM, Ron Bulman said:

Tink Thompson for the New York Times? 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=umbrella+man&view=detail&mid=D367BE2BDD758D4D854BD367BE2BDD758D4D854B&FORM=VIRE

Yet the questions continue.  Cliff, Witt wasn't fiddling with the umbrella trying to get it open when JFK passed, it was out and open. 

Ron, this is from the HSCA report:

<quote on>

Rosemary Willis...noticed two persons who looked "conspicuous." One was a man near the curb holding an umbrella, who appeared to be more concerned with opening or closing the umbrella than dropping to the ground like everyone else at the time of the shots.

<quote off>

According to Rosemary Willis, UM was paying attention to his umbrella. 

According to Witt he was paying attention to his umbrella.

Quote

In the video Mr. Thompson says Witt was protesting Joe Kennedy's affiliation with Chamberlain regarding the Appeasement at Munich 30ish years before???  Was Mr. Thompson possibly being a bit sarcastic near the end?  A great collection of pictures and video of UM & RM in the link.

Just a well informed for the time Dallas citizen performing a personal protest, at the end of the parade, right where JFK was first shot.  Happenstance.  Forgive my pessimism.

I pulled a "Louis Witt" once.  It was glorious...Back in the early days of The Occupy fall of '11 the Oakland police rioted in Oscar Grant Plaza, an Iraq War vet was shot in the face with a "non-lethal" round...I showed up the next night, tons of people in downtown Oakland, Mic Check galore...as I left I found a row of TV vans on 14th St, the last van was a Fox News rig...I poked my head into the vehicle, saw no one, and growled -- "There's something going on here but you don't know what it is, do you Mr. Jones!"...for all I know the van was empty, and I doubt anyone in it would be hip enough to recognize the Bob Dylan lyric from "Ballad of a Thin Man."

I didn't care about any of that, I just got a kick out of yelling a Dylan lyric at a Fox News van.

I still get a kick out of it.

Louis Witt got a kick out of brandishing an umbrella at Kennedy until it dawned on him what happened.

Quote

Umbrella man is at the back of the sidewalk with his umbrella open and raised as JFK approaches.  Radioman or somebody is standing Directly in front of him at the curb ten feet away with his arm raised pointing straight up.  Is this not unusual?  The crowd has thinned out.  Where they were they would not have seen the final shots from the side or front.  Might the umbrella have been an all clear to proceed affirmation to shooters located elsewhere?  Speculation, again.  Food for thought.  Since sitting down on the curb after seeing his brains blown out from the rear was just natural while others are rushing past to the Grassy Knoll.  Then getting up and sauntering away in opposite directions.  See ya later new friend,  see ya down the road, nice to meet ya, nice parade and all.  

 

Tosh Plumlee said DCM looked like an operative with whom he flew into Dallas that morning, a man he knew as Gator.

DCM holds his fist in the air -- isn't a fist a signal for "hold fire"?

Edited August 11, 2018 by Cliff Varnell

[Ron Bulman]

Cliff, I'm not trying to get in a whizzing contest here.  I accept this is what Witt and Rosemary told the HSCA but I question it.  First, look at this picture. 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&amp;ccid=M0Et%2bQk8&amp;id=B2B74F4C9458CA701C0B8BA8CB6F9BAE8A072604&amp;thid=OIP.M0Et-Qk8V9l8NOXCTaDF1QHaFj&amp;mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.ytimg.com%2fvi%2fbdjQIzMFlHk%2fhqdefault.jpg&amp;exph=360&amp;expw=480&amp;q=umbrella+man+picture&amp;simid=607986055259490402&amp;selectedIndex=64&amp;ajaxhist=0

Umbrella man is standing at the back of the sidewalk almost in the grass.  With the umbrella out, open and up.  Radioman or whoever is standing on the curb with his arm raised.

Rosemary was 10 years old.  I've always appreciated her statements, they are important firsthand observations.  She may well deserve a thread of her own if there is not one.  She was running through a crowd and saw a lot, something terrible for anyone to see, the president's head explode, but especially so at such a young age.  If she saw umbrella man on the curb fiddling with an umbrella was it a few seconds before the picture?  Because it's out, open and up in it.  Or did she see "radioman" on the curb and someone opening an umbrella behind him as she turned to look elsewhere in the commotion?

As to Witt (pun intended).  I know little about him, has anyone ever checked into his background or veracity otherwise?  I have to wonder.  If you plan to come see the president to protest his fathers actions 30 years before, how difficult is it to open an umbrella before he passes by?  Then after your failure you set down on the curb by a stranger while pandemonium erupts around you? 

[Cliff Varnell]

32 minutes ago, Ron Bulman said:

Cliff, I'm not trying to get in a whizzing contest here.  I accept this is what Witt and Rosemary told the HSCA but I question it.  First, look at this picture. 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&amp;ccid=M0Et%2bQk8&amp;id=B2B74F4C9458CA701C0B8BA8CB6F9BAE8A072604&amp;thid=OIP.M0Et-Qk8V9l8NOXCTaDF1QHaFj&amp;mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.ytimg.com%2fvi%2fbdjQIzMFlHk%2fhqdefault.jpg&amp;exph=360&amp;expw=480&amp;q=umbrella+man+picture&amp;simid=607986055259490402&amp;selectedIndex=64&amp;ajaxhist=0

Umbrella man is standing at the back of the sidewalk almost in the grass.  With the umbrella out, open and up.  Radioman or whoever is standing on the curb with his arm raised.

Rosemary was 10 years old.  I've always appreciated her statements, they are important firsthand observations.  She may well deserve a thread of her own if there is not one.  She was running through a crowd and saw a lot, something terrible for anyone to see, the president's head explode, but especially so at such a young age.  If she saw umbrella man on the curb fiddling with an umbrella was it a few seconds before the picture?  Because it's out, open and up in it.  Or did she see "radioman" on the curb and someone opening an umbrella behind him as she turned to look elsewhere in the commotion?

As to Witt (pun intended).  I know little about him, has anyone ever checked into his background or veracity otherwise?  I have to wonder.  If you plan to come see the president to protest his fathers actions 30 years before, how difficult is it to open an umbrella before he passes by?  Then after your failure you set down on the curb by a stranger while pandemonium erupts around you? 

So if you're involved in murder and treason you're going to sit down on the curband chill ouit , or are you going to get out of there asap?

If Witt's purpose was nefarious, what was it?

I don't buy the spotter/shooter scenarios.

[Ron Bulman]

30 minutes ago, Cliff Varnell said:

So if you're involved in murder and treason you're going to sit down on the curband chill ouit , or are you going to get out of there asap?

If Witt's purpose was nefarious, what was it?

I don't buy the spotter/shooter scenarios.

I question whether umbrella man was Witt.

[Cliff Varnell]

1 hour ago, Ron Bulman said:

I question whether umbrella man was Witt.

Okay...still, what was he doing?

[B. A. Copeland]

 

On 7/21/2018 at 5:57 AM, David Boylan said:

B.A. I did indeed. I fixed the post. 

HSCA doc on Hargraves.

http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/jfk/NARA-Oct2017/NARA-Nov-2017/docid-32242884.pdf

Thanks as always Dave!

 

On 7/21/2018 at 9:28 AM, Paul Brancato said:

I don’t but I want to know the source too. Evan Marshall is the one on the forum who made the statement, claiming an inside source of some kind. 

Interesting tidbit on Westbrook. Again for me this brings up the unanswered mystery as to what the 488th Military Intelligence Unit was all about. If my memory is accurate Westbrook, Lumpkin, and Gannaway were all part of that unit, commanded by Colonel Jack Crichton. Also in that unit, according to his autobiographical work Brandy - Portrait of an Intelligence Officer, was Colonel Frank Brandstetter, who reported to Army Chief of Staff Intelligence (ACSI) for two decades beginning in 1956. I mention all this again because there is a direct link between Westbrook and Army Intelligence. Also closely connected to ACSI was General Lansdale, according to Prouty, who would know. I have to wonder if Colonel Lucien Conein was likewise connected. Seems to me he would be the likely source for a SE Asian military sniper. 

 

Just more possibly interesting leads I’ll definitely look into when I have a moment Paul, thanks. I’ve been devouring you and Steve’s posts on Military Intel so this fits right in.

Edited July 24, 2018 by B. A. Copeland