Generation Gap?

[Francesca Akhtar]

I've noticed that most of the folks involved in the discussions and investigation of the JFK assassination are folks of the "baby boom" era, most are over 40, and a lot are considerably older. When I tried to interest my 25-year-old son in the information I've been reading and researching, his response surprised me.

"Dad," he said, "I really couldn't care less." But, I explained, this is a murder case in which NO ONE has been convicted...no one has served a single day of jail time for killing the President of the United States of America. My son then proceeded to explain to me that the odds are, 40+ years later, the actual perpertator(s) is(are) dead, and, based upon past history, if any researcher gets too close to the truth, they will end up dead as well. "In that respect, I hope you NEVER figure out who did it," he added.

As I deal with young people today, I find that my son's attitude is probably in the majority. And of those who do show an interest in the assassination, the majority don't seem to want to do any significant research themselves; most find a scenario they support, and hang their hat on the works of others...even if the work can be discredited by some very simple research of some very accessible documents.

Are my perceptions here flawed, or are the folks under 30 just simply not interested in what is the most spectacular unsolved crime of the 20th century in America, if not the world? What have you seen and heard? Have you discussed the JFK assassination with anyone under 30? I'd be interested to learn if my experiences are unique, or if they are commonplace in the world today.

Hi Mark,

interesting post, in a way I can understand your son's view - a lot of young people probably feel there are more important issues for them to deal with than something that happened over 40 years ago, even something as big as the murder of a president. I don't agree that is is irrelevant to today and I think there are more younger people interested than you might first think. I'm 29 and I admit my interest is sometimes puzzling to those of a similiar age in my family or friends but I did meet quite few people in Dallas last week at the conferences who were in their 20's, 30's and even some teenagers who did think it still important. One of them was a guy a few years older than myself staying at my hotel, (a fellow Brit as it happens). Me and a few other researchers happened to get into conversation with him one evening in the hotel lobby . When we explained why we were all in Dallas he was somewhat bemused at first and voiced much the same thoughts as your son but then when we explained a bit further, he became interested and we ended up talking for a few hours. At the end of it he said that he had never really thought about it in much depth but after the conversation he'd had with us , he said he realised it did still matter. I think we had converted him by the end of the evening as he said he was going to do some reading up on it for himself as we had sparked his interest!

A couple of members of the British group Dealey Plaza UK of which I am a member, are under 20, and many are in their 30's, so I think there are younger people interested absolutely!

regards

Francesca

[Pat Speer]

I think my own experience with the assassination is relevant to this discussion. I'm 44 and have no memory of Kennedy as President. I have quite clear memories of watching "Grandpa Lyndon" on TV however. A few years back, around the time a certain group of liars took over this country, I decided I wanted to look into recent history and determine whether or not there was anything to all this conspiracy chat on the internet.. the one world order, skull and bones, Bilderberger stuff . While I rapidly lost interest in that stuff, finding it too fantastic, my attention soon began to center on American politics in the sixties and seventies. It was astounding to me that after 30 years the era was still so controversial. There were still so many mysteries. In talking to my family I found out I had a number of personal connections to some of these mysteries. My father's boss when I was a kid was a Texas oilman with mob ties, who just so happened to be one of Robert Maheu's best friends. My stepfather, on the other hand, had been a mercenary in WW2 (Flying Tigers) and had known Claire Chennault. He'd later worked on the ARAMCO pipeline in Saudi Arabia. At one point he supposedly ran guns to Castro. (In the past I've mentioned this incident but hid his identity. He was reportedly quite ashamed of this incident. I no longer think he had anything to be ashamed about. If he's up there looking down, I hope he's not too angry...)

Anyhow, the point is, my decision to help figure this stuff out came from both my desire to figure out the present, and my desire to figure out my family's relationship to history. I think younger people with similar interests will be drawn to this case for generations to come. When I was 3 years old, an old, old, man named Mr. Ellis took me aside and gave me a Kennedy half. He told me not to spend it, because the coin was printed to honor a great president. I still remember that day, and I still have that coin.

[Nathaniel Heidenheimer]

I teach U.S. history to high school students in NYC.

The terms and concepts we peddle as 'social studies teachers'-- terms like checks and balances, impeachment, federalism--are terms that do very little to explain visible power relations in 2005.

Is part of "power' the ablility to keep the language and concepts that might explain it 200 years behind the

times?

I find that kids are most interested in discussing the media and beurocratic coverup aspects of the case.

From these angles the case becomes about the present; dicisions of corporations and beaucracies to withold information from the public raise issues of corporate power over collective narrative. These questions are inseperable from the muddle in Iraq and everything else about todays false politics, with

our blatently false opposition party.

When the assaination is approached as a core sampeling of power relations it can really hold the youngsters attention.

Conversely if one assumes that Kennedy himself poses some intrinsic interest, it will probobly seem dull to the youngsters.

[Adam Wilkinson]

I have found that most people my own age (18) strongly support my research, however those between 30-55 show no interest and think it is a waste of time.

[Duke Lane]

There was in all probability a conspiracy to kill Kennedy. And for the last 42 years, a conspiracy has been in place to hide the truth. This shifting, morphing smoke screen, if penetrated, would change things dramatically. The mirrors would be shattered, and if as many suspect, the involvement goes far into existing power structures, it would mean pruning off of fallguys, distractions, defamation suits, disappearances, and irrelevant legal maneuverings. Perhaps even global events.

I doubt 'they' would go: 'I admit it, fair cop guv, which way to the injection room?'

They won't? You sure? It's kinda what I'd hoped for! Damn! Well, if they ain't, there ain't no sense hangin' 'round no more!

Please ignore all previous posts if you haven't already!!

[Gerry Hemming]

I think my own experience with the assassination is relevant to this discussion. I'm 44 and have no memory of Kennedy as President. I have quite clear memories of watching "Grandpa Lyndon" on TV however. A few years back, around the time a certain group of liars took over this country, I decided I wanted to look into recent history and determine whether or not there was anything to all this conspiracy chat on the internet.. the one world order, skull and bones, Bilderberger stuff . While I rapidly lost interest in that stuff, finding it too fantastic, my attention soon began to center on American politics in the sixties and seventies. It was astounding to me that after 30 years the era was still so controversial. There were still so many mysteries. In talking to my family I found out I had a number of personal connections to some of these mysteries. My father's boss when I was a kid was a Texas oilman with mob ties, who just so happened to be one of Robert Maheu's best friends. My stepfather, on the other hand, had been a mercenary in WW2 (Flying Tigers) and had known Claire Chennault. He'd later worked on the ARAMCO pipeline in Saudi Arabia. At one point he supposedly ran guns to Castro. (In the past I've mentioned this incident but hid his identity. He was reportedly quite ashamed of this incident. I no longer think he had anything to be ashamed about. If he's up there looking down, I hope he's not too angry...)

Anyhow, the point is, my decision to help figure this stuff out came from both my desire to figure out the present, and my desire to figure out my family's relationship to history. I think younger people with similar interests will be drawn to this case for generations to come. When I was 3 years old, an old, old, man named Mr. Ellis took me aside and gave me a Kennedy half. He told me not to spend it, because the coin was printed to honor a great president. I still remember that day, and I still have that coin.

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Pat:

On April 15, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Executive Order authorizing the formation of the American Volunteer Group. The Order permitted members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps to resign from their branch of the service with the assurance that they would be reinstated to their former rank or grade upon completion of their contract. The group was to defend the Burma Road, China's lifeline to Burma and Indian Ocean ports.

Since the U.S. was technically at peace with Japan, the plan required some subterfuge. Central Aircraft Manufacturing Co. (CAMCO) was elected as the middleman. CAMCO, owned by William Pawley, had an aircraft factory at Loiwing, China, supplying parts and planes to Chiang's Air Force. The "Volunteers" would sign a contract with CAMCO for one year, performing certain services not technically relating to combat.

[www.flightjacket.com/]

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Just before their 50th reunion in 1992, the AVG veterans were retroactively recognized as members of the U.S. military services during the seven months the group was in combat against the Japanese. Survivors were made eligible for veterans' benefits on the basis of that service, and were awarded medals for their participation.

[ www.wikipedia.org/Flying_Tigers]

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www.flyingtigersavg.com/ - 8k - Dec 2, 2005

Tex, what point about the American Volunteer Group do you most often tell and want people to know?

David Lee "Tex" Hill, Squadron Leader, 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears" :

There are several points about the Flying Tigers AVG that I want people to know. But one of the main points I would like people to remember is that this wasn't a bunch of mercenaries, mavericks or rouges that made up the AVG but rather a group of very talented, bright and energetic young men who were committed to the American cause of winning the War.

Now, I'm not saying we were always angels, but we were all young adventurous and spirited. But the fellas of the AVG weren't dummies either. Most went home after the war and started very successful and even dynamic careers.

Such as?

Well, a great many became captains in the airlines such as Pan Am. One started the Flying Tiger Airline with the help of several of the Tiger group. Others became test pilots developing all kinds of projects. Some went on to very successful military careers including Major General. There was a doctor, a lawyer and one that was both. The presiding judge in the infamous Charles Manson murder trial was a Flying Tiger. Several became successful in agriculture while others found their success in businesses like restaurants and manufacturing.

There were some who pursued successful non-flying careers in aviation as consultants, or one who was a state aviation director. One of the group helped pioneer the development of the jet engine and held many patents for engine components used today.

One group member distinguished himself as a state senator for over 20 years. Another became an Olympic diving coach on top of other successes. We even had one member who wrote television scripts in Hollywood.

There are other examples but the point is these guys weren't a bunch of dummies, they were some of the best young men this country ever produced.

David Lee "Tex" Hill earned his wings and commission as an ensign at NAS Pensacola. He served on the U.S.S. Ranger when he was recruited to join the AVG. Tex became an ACE with the AVG on January 24, 1942 and later a double ACE before the Flying Tigers were disbanded on July 4, 1942.

Tex then accepted an Army commission in order to continue his service to General Chennault in China and eventually commanded the 23rd Fighter group of the 14th Air Force. Col. Hill scored 12.25 AVG victories with a total of 18.25 including his U.S. Air Force Service. Tex Hill's decorations include:

The Distinguished Service Cross, The Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, The Presidential Unit Citations with one Oak Leaf Cluster, The Chinese Victory Medal, Two Stared Wing Decorations and the Chinese Order of the Cloud Banner 4,5,and 6th Orders. Tex lives with his wife, Mazie in San Antonio, Texas.

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Of all your memories and experiences with the AVG, which one do you like sharing the most?

Kenneth A. Jernstedt, Flight Leader, 3rd Squadron, "Hells Angels":

Actually, there are more than one such experiences but one I would like to share here is an event that came after the Flying Tigers disbanded on July 4, 1942.

I was a test pilot for Republic Aircraft on the P-47 in New York in 1944. Madame Chiang Kai-Shek had come to the States to promote China and was scheduled to make a speech at the Madison Square Gardens to a very large audience many of whom were dignitaries. There was a radio audience as well.

Someone working on this event thought it would be fitting that Madame Chiang Kai-Shek's honor guard should be the Flying Tigers that were in the area. So they brought us in and among us was George Paxton, Bob Neal, John Hennessy, Parker DuPouy, John Croft and several others. We were all test pilots or flying for different projects and companies around New York.

Well, General Hap Arnold was there also and during the event, he walked by and said to us; "Say, when am I going to get you boys back". Of course, he meant back into the Army. But since I was a Marine, I quipped that he never had me and wasn't going get me back. General Arnold and I were kind of standing together when he asked me what I was doing then. I told him test piloting the P-47 and he patted me on the shoulder, smiled and told me that I was "doing my part" for the war.

By then he was being more open and conversational when he said "You know, you AVG boys have an impressive combat record over there". For Hap Arnold to say that caught my attention and he added "but you know, more than the planes you destroyed, your main contribution was really the morale boost you gave this country"

He continued; "The six or eight months you fellas operated in the beginning of the war, there wasn't much good news for us. We, nor the British or anyone else were able to beat the Japanese in those early months of the war. You guys were really the glimmer of hope because you were the only ones getting results. That meant an awful lot back here."

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JBS History

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John Birch: A Patriotic Exemplar

by William Norman Grigg

December 13, 1993

At the age of eleven, Birch expressed a desire to become a Christian missionary. Upon learning of the violence inflicted upon missionaries by Chinese communists, the youngster selected China as his mission field. When cautioned by his pastor that "more will be killed" in China, Birch replied: "I know the big enemy is communism, but the Lord has called me. My life is in his hands, and I am not turning back."

Birch's labors in China began in 1940, a time when the country was being ravaged by the Japanese military. After Pearl Harbor he dyed his hair black, adopted the garb of the local population, and continued his underground work behind enemy lines.

While near the border of Japanese-occupied territory on the evening of April 19, 1942, Birch came upon Colonel James H. Doolittle and members of the raiding party that had just completed a dramatic bombing raid on Tokyo. With his encyclopedic knowledge of the language, customs, and geography of China, Birch was able to convey Doolittle and the crews of 12 American bombers to safety in free China.

Shortly thereafter, Birch became an intelligence analyst as a second lieutenant with the China Air Task Force -- General Claire Chennault's legendary "Flying Tigers." Performing high-risk intelligence-gathering missions on the ground, Birch acted as "the eyes of the 14th Air Force," devising an early warning system that enabled U.S. air units to come to the aid of Chinese units under enemy attack. He also organized a rescue system for pilots who were shot down by the Japanese. Chennault credited Birch with the fact that 90 percent of his downed flyers were rescued.

On August 25, 1945 -- ten days after the end of WWII -- Birch (by then a captain) was part of an official military mission to Suchow that was detained by Chinese communists. Captain Birch and another man were separated from their group and shot. An autopsy later demonstrated that after Birch had been immobilized by a gunshot to the leg, his hands were tied behind his back and he was shot execution-style in the back of his head. The communists had also desecrated Birch's dead body.

In its desire to depict the Red Chinese as innocuous "agrarian reformers," the U.S. government suppressed the news of the unprovoked murder of Captain Birch. It fell upon Robert Welch to rescue the memory of this selfless Christian patriot from the shameful oblivion to which it had been assigned. In December 1958, Welch named the new organization he created the John Birch Society to preserve the memory of this patriotic exemplar. Wrote Mr. Welch, "If we rediscover some of our sounder spiritual values in the example of his life ... and learn essential truths about our enemy from the lesson of his murder, then his death at twenty-six ceases to be a tragedy."

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Chairs,

GPH

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