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A question for James Richards


Al Carrier

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James,

Do you have any info on a Major Lopez operating out of Laos in '63 and communications from DIA to Col. Conein in regards to his (Lopez) whereabouts, sent on November 9 and 25, 1963. The second apparently also questioned the whereabouts of Lopez' Team 5.

This supposed communication was brought to my attention by one I have been able to rely upon in the past, and who sent this info to me a week ago. I have been unable to track a Major Lopez, so it may well be an operational name, if the communications are legit. Also, it could explain Pakse Base Man and also alert as to what happened to team 5.

Speculation at this point, but it falls together rather nicely with history of such ops. If you can provide any insight, it would be appreciated as I have exhausted my current resources as to finding a Major Lopez.

Al

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James,

Do you have any info on a Major Lopez operating out of Laos in '63 and communications from DIA to Col. Conein in regards to his (Lopez) whereabouts, sent on November 9 and 25, 1963. The second apparently also questioned the whereabouts of Lopez' Team 5.

This supposed communication was brought to my attention by one I have been able to rely upon in the past, and who sent this info to me a week ago. I have been unable to track a Major Lopez, so it may well be an operational name, if the communications are legit. Also, it could explain Pakse Base Man and also alert as to what happened to team 5.

Speculation at this point, but it falls together rather nicely with history of such ops. If you can provide any insight, it would be appreciated as I have exhausted my current resources as to finding a Major Lopez.

Al

Disregard,

I discovered Lopez.

Al

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Hi Al,

I have a source who is checking military flights out of Laos (plus the little airstrip on the Thai border) for the 9th onwards. If this is what I think it is, then I don't believe it will be on the record.

What I can tell you about Pakse Base Man is that he was CIA and was known as 'Jim'. I have not been able to put him and Conein together but it's not like anyone is volunteering information.

James

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Hi Al,

I have a source who is checking military flights out of Laos (plus the little airstrip on the Thai border) for the 9th onwards. If this is what I think it is, then I don't believe it will be on the record.

What I can tell you about Pakse Base Man is that he was CIA and was known as 'Jim'. I have not been able to put him and Conein together but it's not like anyone is volunteering information.

James

James,

I thought I found Lopez last night but turned out to be wrong.

What I find interesting about the cable I am referring to is that the reference to Lopez is minus a service number, which is normally presented with the name. This tells me that either the Major Lopez reference is an operational name or that this is not the first cable to Conein in reference to Lopez from the DIA. I would lean toward the operational name. That is if this is ligit.

Another issue that brings this into an interesting perspective is the timeline of the first planned attempt on JFK in Chicago in conjunction with the Diem assassination. The latter having evidence of Conein's support as a go between between Big Mihn and the White House.

If this is ligit, it would make alot of sense as to the motivation and likelihood of the operational level of the attack. What is missing is a link to operations in the US for staging and a link to the setting up of Oswald. Somewhere this must have went through New Orleans, at least in the setting up of the Oswald Legend. Now whether that was with knowledge of the events that were going to take place or it was simply made aware to the operators and utilized by them, is the next question.

If this is ligit, it takes this to the next step. I appreciate your looking into the flight out of the region, but if Team 5 was utilized in DP, I also doubt you will find a manifest. I also have serious doubts we will ever find Team 5.

Al

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Another issue that brings this into an interesting perspective is the timeline of the first planned attempt on JFK in Chicago in conjunction with the Diem assassination. The latter having evidence of Conein's support as a go between between Big Mihn and the White House.

Kennedy involvement in the assassination of Dien is interesting subject. Torbet MacDonald’s administrative assistant claimed that MacDonald did a lot of secret work for JFK. He never talked about this work. This included a secret trip he made to Saigon to meet Diem.

Torbet MacDonald who was JFK’s roommate from college and one of his closest friends. MacDonald was a member of Congress from Massachusetts and often accompanied JFK on his trips. For example, he was with JFK when he made his first visit to LBJ’s ranch where he met all his mates from Texas.

It has been pointed out that it is strange why McDonald is not mentioned in books written by other JFK’s aides. Robert Kennedy also does not even mention MacDonald in the long interviews he gave for the Kennedy Library.

Another interesting fact about MacDonald is that he gave an interview with the Kennedy Library after JFK’s death. However, it was sealed and not published. It was eventually released in 1995 but was found to contain nothing of importance. Was it censored? What did Macdonald say that meant it had to be sealed.

MacDonald also died during the early stages of the House Select Committee on Assassinations. He was only 59. Was he about to be called to appear before the HSCA? I have the email address of Macdonald's son. Do you think he is worth contacting?

James, do you have a photograph of Torbet Macdonald?

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South east asia, the French colonial domain of Laos, Kampuchia, Vietnam this is the key Algeria was the key to the Degaulle attempts and the subsequent Kennedy attempt

has its roots in the same matrix, the cauldron of Indo-Chinese colonial commitments

and black suited agency men. The agencies, in the advent of paramilitary joint operations carried the battle into the streets/ white tigers, Laotian connection.

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MacDonald also died during the early stages of the House Select Committee on Assassinations. He was only 59. Was he about to be called to appear before the HSCA? I have the email address of Macdonald's son. Do you think he is worth contacting?

James, do you have a photograph of Torbet Macdonald? (John Simkin)

Hi John,

I absolutely think MacDonald's son would be worth contacting. You just never know.

I also have some shots of MacDonald. His first name is Torbert by the way. My scanner isn't working at the moment but if you have any shots of JFK and Jackie's wedding, in the large group shots, MacDonald is second from the right in front.

James

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I don't have this photograph? Has any other member of the Forum got this photograph and a scanner? (John Simkin)

The photo in question is one showing JFK's friends and relatives (all male) who are posing in a field against a fence. Jackie is in the middle (the only woman) and Torbert MacDonald is horsing around trying to get under her dress.

James

Edited by James Richards
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I don't have this photograph? Has any other member of the Forum got this photograph and a scanner? (John Simkin)

The photo in question is one showing JFK's friends and relatives (all male) who are posing in a field against a fence. Jackie is in the middle (the only woman) and Torbert MacDonald is horsing around trying to get under her dress.

James

3084.jpg

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What I can tell you about Pakse Base Man is that he was CIA and was known as 'Jim'.

James,

I recall you or someone saying that this person was at Long Tieng in Laos. Pakse and Long Tieng were two different bases, Pakse in the south of Laos and Long Tieng in the north. If this 'Jim' was at Long Tieng, shouldn't he be called Long Tieng Man, and not Pakse Base Man? (We wouldn't want his nickname to mislead researchers into looking for his identity in the wrong place.)

The following is quoted from a website about USAF Major Richard DeFer (Raven 20), who was killed in action while flying out of Pakse:

“Pilots newly recruited to the Ravens would first go to Udorn AFB in Thailand. Giving up their uniforms and dog tags, they would replace them with civilian clothes. Then they would get an O-1 light observation aircraft and fly to one of two bases in Laos: Pakse in the south or Long Tieng in the north. Ravens would work with the USAF, the CIA, Laotian military, the Hmong freedom fighters and a Laotian 'backseater' who knew the territory very well. Missions included finding the enemy, calling in air strikes, directing the bomber pilots and taking pictures for bomb damage assessment.”

http://www.ravens.org/dickdefer/defer.html

Ron

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James, Ron and Larry:

Anecdote -

I asked a Vietnam Era veteran friend of mine about his experience overseas.

"I was not afraid of the Vietnamese.

I was afraid of the helicopters arriving at the base, and the men

in the black suits and briefcases arriving at the base.

That always meant that one of us was going to die."

A very ugly, but verbatim, oral history anecdote of a US 1960s veteran.

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I recall you or someone saying that this person was at Long Tieng in Laos. Pakse and Long Tieng were two different bases, Pakse in the south of Laos and Long Tieng in the north. If this 'Jim' was at Long Tieng, shouldn't he be called Long Tieng Man, and not Pakse Base Man? (We wouldn't want his nickname to mislead researchers into looking for his identity in the wrong place.) (Ron Ecker)

Hi Ron,

I agree, the last thing we need in this assassination is more confusion. I'm already cross-eyed and walking into walls.

I'm pretty sure the guy in question is from Pakse. The reason being is that they were involved with moving people and stuff across the Thai border which was very close by.

James

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