I have a hunch

[Jim Root]

Way back on Oct. 29, 2004 I posted two letters. One was written by General Edwin Walker on June 5, 1963 and resulted in a reply from John J. McCloy on June 12, 1963. (I will bring those letters back after I make this post).

They seem innocuous enough except for the historical curiosity that they are two pieces of correspondence between two people that would soon (five months later) become associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Over the last few weeks I have found and posted the further coincidence of the change in US policy concerning the Limited Test Ban Treaty that was taking place at exactly the same time these two letters were written. On June 10, 1963 Kennedy made a speech which changed the position of the US (from the McCloy position if you wish) which led to the LTBT. That policy changing speech was replied to by the Soviets on the following day.

As my earlier posts showed General Maxwell Taylor (one of the "Big Fish" I believe) would continue to argue with Kenndy against the treaty until put in his place and silenced by Kennedy in July.

So what is new to add to this flurry of activity on the part of these three players (McCloy, Walker and Taylor)? Let me attempt to briefly overlap the activities of Lee Harvey Oswald during this same exact time period.

Most all of us agree that the activities of Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans are significant to the assassination. But let us look at when his activities begin in light of this additional information?

On May 29, 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald orders 1000 handbills for his Fair Play for Cuba activities.

On June 3, 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald rents a P.O. Box and leaves the name A. J. Hidell as a person who will receive mail at that location.

On June 16, 1963 Oswald is distributing literature on Dumaine Street in New Orleans.

On June 24, 1963 Oswald applies for a new passport.

Over the past year I have made many posts that deal with the overlap of timelines by various persons and Lee Harvey Oswald. Many of these time lines overlap the areas where we find information "gaps" in the Warren Report. For example Oswalds travel to Russia that overlaps Walkers travel to Augsburg, Germany. Or that Oswald begins his journey to Russia with his application for a passport in Santa Ana, California on Sept. 4, 1959, the same day that the US Embassy in Helsinki indicates to the State Department that an entry visa can be issued quickly by the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki. The missing travel day for Oswald (Oct. 9, 1959) that overlaps with a second message from the Helsinki Embassy that provide the information about First Class Intourist Vochers being needed by a person wishing to gain easy entry into the Soviet Union (something Oswald obtains before he applies for his visa into Russia).

Add to this information the fact that I can draw an association between McCloy (backed up by Edward Drea a current Pentagon Historian), Taylor and Walker with a little known historical character by the name of John B. Hurt who remained an employee of the NSA until just about this same time in 1963. We do know for a fact that Lee Harvey Oswald did attempt to contact a person by this same name while he was in custody after the assassination of JFK. We also know that this attempted phone call by Oswald was another piece of information that was left out of the Warren Report.

These are either coincidences or pieces to a puzzle. To me the picture seems to be comming into focus.

Jim Root

[Ron Ecker]

Jim,

I think you’ve drawn a fascinating picture with your research as set forth in this and previous posts. I tend to agree with you on the involvement of Taylor, possibly McCloy as well, on Walker and Oswald likely crossing paths for informational purposes on Oswald’s way to Russia, and the NSA’s Hurt being the Hurt that Oswald tried to reach from the Dallas jail.

That said, there are a couple of elements in the scenario you’ve presented that I question, and I wonder if you consider these elements to be essential to the mix. First, I question the idea that Oswald actually tried to shoot Walker. This is exactly what the conspirators want us to believe, of course, that Oswald was this lone nut who showed himself capable of shooting the president by having already taken a shot at this general. I see Oswald as a U.S. intelligence operative who did what he was told to do and apparently did it well. He was sent on a mission to Russia and accomplished what he was supposed to. Upon his return, he was placed in various jobs apparently for the ostensible purpose of reporting to the FBI on possible subversives (e.g. Molina at the TSBD). He built a pro-Castro legend for himself in New Orleans under the guidance of Banister and others, again being a good soldier, not knowing what the true purpose of this charade would turn out to be. This man had no reason to go take a shot at Walker, and (this brings us to the second element I question) Walker had no reason to be surprised and panic upon Oswald’s arrest. I rather suspect that Walker at least had knowledge of who the designated patsy was going to be, the same person who (it would eventually be alleged) had tried to kill him too.

I don’t find the idea that Oswald was mad about being used by Walker and others to pass U2 info to the Russians, to the extent that he would try to kill Walker for it, very persuasive. Oswald was not unstable (all his public temper tantrums, or those of impersonators, were acts with a purpose). And I would think that Oswald had a good idea of what he was giving to the Russians, as it had to do with what he had been specifically trained in as a Marine. Did he think that the Russians were going to do nothing with it?

IMO the attempt on Walker was staged by the conspirators as part of the framing of Oswald (and indicates that the JFK plot was already in play by April 10, the date of the attempt on Walker), and for Walker it also had the advantage of deflecting suspicion from himself in the conspiracy, since he was being portrayed as another intended victim.

Those, then, are the only questionable elements I see in your scenario, if I have understood it all correctly.

Ron

[Mark Stapleton]

Jim,

I agree with Ron and others that your research has been very productive (although I don't really see how you plucked May 29, 1963 out of the hat, except maybe for the fact it was JFK's 46th birthday).

I agree with Ron in that I doubt LHO willingly and knowingly tried to kill Walker, but I agree with you that Walker was involved in the assassination.

Why? Because I believe selecting Dallas as the scene of JFK's murder was no coincidence.

It was possibly the only city where all the settings were perfect. Civic leaders like Ted Dealey and Earle Cabell hated him, the DPD leadership were lackeys of the powerful Dallas Citizens Council (and most disliked JFK anyway), the oil industry, based in Texas, hated him almost to a man and a large contingent of CIA sponsored anti-Castro forces were based in reasonably close proximity to the city. Add to this the almost indecent insistence by LBJ that Kennedy visit Dallas and his unsuccessful last minute request that Connally and Yarborough swap seats and you have, IMO, the most perfectly planned "home ground" fixture. So if it was a home ground fixture, it's almost impossible to rule out Dallas's most vociferous Kennedy hater, General Edwin Walker. The message (if only we could find proof of it) from those in Dallas to LBJ was "we'll take care of him, providing you BRING HIM HERE".

Edited November 24, 2005 by Mark Stapleton

[Robert Howard]

Jim,

I agree with Ron and others that your research has been very productive (although I don't really see how you plucked May 29, 1963 out of the hat, except maybe for the fact it was JFK's 46th birthday).

I agree with Ron in that I doubt LHO willingly and knowingly tried to kill Walker, but I agree with you that Walker was involved in the assassination.

Why? Because I believe selecting Dallas as the scene of JFK's murder was no coincidence.

It was possibly the only city where all the settings were perfect. Civic leaders like Ted Dealey and Earle Cabell hated him, the DPD leadership were lackeys of the powerful Dallas Citizens Council (and most disliked JFK anyway), the oil industry, based in Texas, hated him almost to a man and a large contingent of CIA sponsored anti-Castro forces were based in reasonably close proximity to the city. Add to this the almost indecent insistence by LBJ that Kennedy visit Dallas and his unsuccessful last minute request that Connally and Yarborough swap seats and you have, IMO, the most perfectly planned "home ground" fixture. So if it was a home ground fixture, it's almost impossible to rule out Dallas's most vociferous Kennedy hater, General Edwin Walker. The message (if only we could find proof of it) from those in Dallas to LBJ was "we'll take care of him, providing you BRING HIM HERE".

Jim, I have never gotten around to mentioning this but, I have been very intrigued regarding the John B Hurt linguist connection and the Oswald telephone calls incoming/outgoing. I am always at bookstores and usually check military history items as well as JFK books; several times I have stumbled upon World War 2 Pacific Theatre books that either are about codebreaking or have a section on it, and I never see anything about John B Hurt, which strikes me as a little odd. I think you are on to something on both counts timeline and the Hurt connection, I think your going to come up big at some point. Are there any documents pertaining to John B Hurt that are classified, do you think he could have been connected to intercepts regarding the Soviets and/or Cuba? Possibly N.S.A.? Your response would be greatly appreciated.

[Jim Root]

Ron

Once again you have cut to the chase!

Let me begin to answer your first question: "First, I question the idea that Oswald actually tried to shoot Walker." Gerald McKnight in his recently published book, Breach of Trust, makes the same case. He refers to what he calls the "Walker note," which is the note that Marina turned over to the FBI about a week after the assassination, as one of the most important pieces of evidence that would point toward the quilt of Oswald IF the note is in fact real (which McKnight questions). For eleven years I have followed a research trail that included the question, "If Oswald did shoot at Walker what would have been his motive?"

With that question in mind the discovery of the overlaping travel to Germany/Russia while interesting becomes more than coincidental when we discover that there is a possibility that the Walker could in fact have met Oswald while he traveled to Russia. But neither person, when you consider the compartmentalization of covert activites, needed to know exactly who or what the other person was involved in. Walker would have only needed to know that information was to be passed to Oswald and could easily have assumed that since it was him (a Major General) being asked to pass the information the operation would have been important.

You stated, "I see Oswald as a U.S. intelligence operative who did what he was told to do and apparently did it well. He was sent on a mission to Russia and accomplished what he was supposed to. Upon his return, he was placed in various jobs apparently for the ostensible purpose of reporting to the FBI on possible subversives (e.g. Molina at the TSBD)"

Where I offer an alternative for your thoughts is that I do not believe that Oswald was expected to return to the United States nor do I believe that he (Oswald) thought that he was working for a US Intelligence agency. I do believe that US Intelligence led Oswald to believe that he was working for some organization, perhaps the Socialist Party. Upon his return to the US the intelligence personal that were working Oswald would have been put into a cunnundrum of not knowing who Oswald was now working for or with.

I would suggest that the reeturn of Lee Harvey Oswald to the United States created a problem for someone in US Intelligence, a problem that had to be considered and countered. Once again the timelines come into play. Within one week of the State Departments legal decision that Oswald will be allowed to return to the United States, General Walker begins to indoctrinate the 24th Infantry Division with the John Birch "Pro Blue" program. While Oswald is working his way around the buracratic maze necessary to return to the US, Walker is turned into a "Right Wing fanatic" and resigns for the military (providing plausible deniabilty to US policy involvement in the U-2 shootdown, deflecting possible expousure to right wing elements in the military). Within a week of Oswald's departure from the Soviet Union Yuri Nosenko makes contact with the CIA, defecting to the US shortly after the assassination with a great deal of information about Oswald.

It is my belief that both countries had reason to worry about how they had used this man and that both countries were keeping their distance while creating their own legends about Lee Harvey Oswald, protecting themselves from what he might say, who he might identify and what he might do.

You stated, "I rather suspect that Walker at least had knowledge of who the designated patsy was going to be, the same person who (it would eventually be alleged) had tried to kill him too."

Please allow me to present an alternative scenerio here.

If ever there was a potential patsy I believe it was Walker. This true American Hero may have been "asked" to resign from the military to infiltrate the far right in America. He would have done so without question, just as he had done his entire life, following the orders of his superiors. In an alternate scenario we would have Walker being forced to play along with the conspirators rather than being a part of the conspiracy. Suppose for a moment that Walker's reactions immediatley following the assassination may have saved his life. If the McCloy letter to Walker was a way to associate Walker with the conspirators if they were caught and given the Walker "legend" of leader of the "far right" movement in America we have the perfect "alternate" patsy if Oswald were somehow able to escape. Imagine for a moment that Walker was the one man in the United States who would know, without a doubt (if he had passed information to Oswald on October 10, 1959), that Oswald had been used by US Intelligence. Walker would know immediatly that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy orchestrated at the highest levels of government. Walker would know that he could be associated with Oswald and he could surmise that Oswald would be associated with the U2 shootdown from the news reports that were broadcast within hours of the assassination. All this information would be spewing forth from a television set at the Captain Shreve Hotel in Shrevepost, LA while Walker would be contemplating what had just happened. Somehow a German newspaper would contact Walker, in his hotel room at exactly 7 AM the following morning and that newpaper would then report the Oswald assassination attempt on Walker. With the death of Oswald the conspirators would be content to watch as Walker would fall into historical oblivion.

It is my belief that the conspirators would have much rather we believed (as most people do) that Oswald did not shoot at Walker!

But for these thoughts to hold water we need to look at the "legend of Oswald" that begins to emerge at the time before the assassination but after the attempt on the life of Walker. For this I go to the Testemony of James P. Hosty.

"Mr. STERN. If you will look at page 2 of the report we have marked for identification No. 829

Mr. HOSTY. Yes, sir.

Mr. STERN. The last paragraph on that page relates--well, tell us what information that refers to.

Mr. HOSTY. It says, "On April 21, 1963, Dallas confidential informant T-2 advised that Lee H. Oswald of Dallas, Tex, was in contact with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New York City at which time he advised that he passed out pamphlets for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. According to T-2, Oswald had a placard around his neck reading, 'Hands Off Cuba, Viva Fidel.'"

Mr. STERN. Did you attempt to verify that information?

Mr. HOSTY. When I got it, it was approximately 6 or 7 weeks old, past the date it allegedly took place, and we had received no information to the effect that anyone had been in the downtown streets of Dallas or anywhere in Dallas with a sign around their neck saying "Hands Off Cuba, Viva Fidel." It appeared highly unlikely to me that such an occurrence could have happened in Dallas without having been brought to our attention. So by the time I got it, it was, you might say, stale information and we did not attempt to verify it.

Mr. STERN. When you record this as something that an informant advised about on April 21, that doesn't mean he advised you or the Dallas office on April 21?

Mr. HOSTY. That is right.

Mr. STERN. Did this information come from another part of the FBI?

Mr. HOSTY. Yes, sir; it came from the New York office of the FBI. They were advised on the 21st of April.

Mr. STERN. But the information didn't get to you until some time after?

Mr. HOSTY. In June, I believe.

Mr. STERN. Did you have any information apart from this that there was an organization active in the Dallas area called, "The Fair Play for Cuba Committee"?

Mr. HOSTY. No, sir; we had no information of any organization by that name.

Mr. STERN. Had you at this time ever heard of such an organization?

Mr. HOSTY. Yes, sir; I had.

Mr. STERN. In what connection?

Mr. HOSTY. The New York office had advised all offices of the FBI to be on the alert for the possible formation of chapters of this organization which was headquartered in New York.

Mr. STERN. Had you investigated the Dallas area in that connection?

Mr. HOSTY. We had checked our sources, I had and other agents assigned to the internal security division had checked sources. We were on the alert for it.

Mr. STERN. And you found what?

Mr. HOSTY. We found no evidence that there was any such organization in Dallas.

It seems that about eleven days after the assassiantion attempt on Walker, confidential imformant T-2 is saying that Oswald was passing out FPFC information. This information comes from New York. Within the record we find that Oswald does not actually make contact with the FPFC group until several months after this event. Hosty's investigation of this April 21st information seems to show that the allegation was false....never the less the Oswald file is reopened and his movements are wathced by the CIA beginning at this time (Morley). I might suggest that it is because Oswald took the shot at Walker that "those" who needed a patsy would then know that Oswald had a weapon and that he was willing to use it making him the perfect candidate for the "assassin character" that was to be needed in this plot. I might also suggest that the conspirators would begin to build the "legend" even before Oswald was participating in the building of his "legend." Once Oswald became a participant, the conspirators may have needed to tie up the loose ends that could lead to the exposure of the conspirators (McCloy Walker letters).

Let me suggest that Oswald may believe that he is working with an organization such as the Socialist Pary once again at this time. He begins his activities with a letter to the FPFC (May 1963). Perhaps in the same way that, a few weeks before he joined the Marines, his letter to the Socialist Party began his decent into the world of espionage. I might suggest that Oswald may have known that by writting these letters he would make contact with his handlers. This new letter may have once again began his journey toward destiny.

As a sidebar to the creation of the "legend" of Oswald, I might add some speculation on Oswalds journey to Mexico City in the weeks leading up to the assassination of Kennedy. First, the pictures of Oswald emerging from the Soviet/Cuban Embassy's in Mexico City were generated within hours of the assassination. We now know that they were not Oswald. For what purpose would US Intelligence be led to belive that that was Oswald? Someone had to have had the ability to decieve our own intelligence agencies....does the purpose becomes obvious.

Once again from the Hosty testemony:

"Mr. HOSTY. I then received a communication on the 25th of October from the New Orleans office advising me that another agency had determined that Lee Oswald was in contact with the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City in the early part of October 1963.

Mr. STERN. Did they tell you anything else?

Mr. HOSTY. No. Just very briefly that there had been a contact.

Mr. STERN. Did this increase your effort to find him?

Mr. HOSTY. Very much so, yes. I became curious then. Shortly thereafter, on the 29th of October, I received another communication from the New Orleans office advising that they had a change of address for Lee and Marina Oswald to 2515 West Fifth Street, Irving, Tex. "

"....Mr. STERN. And at what time did you know of Oswald's trip to Mexico City and his apparent appearance there at the Russian Embassy?

Mr. HOSTY. The 25th of October."

Not only do I believe that Oswald may have been mad about being used by "Walker's group" of "right wingers" when he went to Russia, Oswald may have felt that the FBI was closing in on him for his assassination attempt on Walker. Hosty never talked with Oswald until after the assassiation but Oswald was very aware that Hosty was asking questions and monitoring his moves. A "guilty" Oswld may have felt that time was running out for him and that the "law" was closing in. How would he be allowed to tell his story? How could he let the world know that all these horrible people were conspiring to control the world and hold the people in subjugation?

And then it is announced that the Presidential motorcade would slowly move past the office building where Oswald worked.

Jim Root

[Jim Root]

Robert

The linguist John B. Hurt is mentioned in several books about William Friedman's group of codebreakers. Since Hurt was a Japanese linguist rather than being trained in mathematics, as most of the original codebreakers were, and given the fact that he died before his work during WWII was declassified he seems to have been swept under the carpet so to speak. Was this done because his name could be associated with the assassiation of JFK or not I can not give you a diffinitive answer but I to find it odd that he has vanished from history. Yet books such as the Puzzle Palace mention Hurt as an original member of Friedman's team.

I have about 250 pages of declassified documents written by Hurt but all are pre 1947. Several passages are very interesting and have provided some leads that I am not yet ready to post on...they may be nothing more than just interesting tidbits of history. Some things lead me to believe that he may have been a Socialist but that is only speculation based upon his discription of Nazi's as a hated evil that must be destroyed vs his discription of Communists and the Japanese...saying such I must keep in mind that during the war we were allies of the communists but we were also at war with the Japanese.

In one area he gives a good reporting on the Japanese willingness to surrender before the dropping of the Atomic bomb. I was surprised by how similar Hurt's words were to the words used by John J. McCloy at the famous June 18th meeting with Truman where the invasion of Japan was discussed. I have been assured by Edward Drea (a Pentagon historian) that McCloy not only had access to the Magic intercepts but was the person who decided who was also given access to them.

McCloys use of "inside information" to make himself look good for future history is an interesting trait that I believe led to J. Edgar Hoover's cold reception to having McCloy on the Warren Commission. When Edward Eptsein interviewed McCloy shortly after the Warren Report was made public McCloy said these words about Oswald in response to Epsteins question:

"Q. Did you have any pet area of interest?

A. Yes. I was interested in the espionage angle. I spent 10 years investigating Black Tom explosions--that's how I got into Government. I thought Oswald was trained in Espionage. I saw a pattern--mail drops, micro dots, his code(?), his knowledge of sabotage, etc. I thought he might be a sleeper Soviet agent who went haywire. I think we put something of that in the Report, I did, but it was toned down. The others said my evidence was not "evidential." I still believe it is possible some document will turn up showing Oswald might have been an agent. Not necessarily a conspiracy but an agent gone haywire."

Did McCloy know, just as he knew about the Japenese willingness to surrender in 1945, that some piece of evidence might show up that Oswald was an agent? It is interesting that he mentions "micro-dots" in that quote. The person who researched that information for the Warren Commission was NSA employee Frank Rowlett, another original member of Friedman's Team and a friend of John B. Hurt.

Coincidence?

Jim Root