Business as usual or meet the lone gunman(UA-66627984-1)

Secret Service

Prayer Man book review on YouTube

Rob Clark & Joe Borelli of the Lone Gunman Podcast have been doing video book reviews recently and yesterday it was Prayer Man – More Than a Fuzzy Picture turn.

It is just over fifteen minutes long and I cannot thank these guys enough for this review.

Oswald’s Fingerprints, Palm prints and the Nitrate Test at the Dealey Plaza UK Ashorne Hill Seminar

Did Pierce Allman see Lee Harvey Oswald when he entered the TSBD?

Did Pierce Almann see Lee Harvey Oswald when he entered the TSBD?

Pierce Allman was manager of programming and production at WFAA and an important witness to the assassination. He had a prime spot, only a few meters down on Elm from where Tina Towner was standing. 

Pierce Allman was a manager of programming and production at WFAA and an important witness to the assassination. He had a prime spot to see what happened when JFK ws assassinated and was only a few meters down from the turn of Houston St on to Elm St. Pretty close to where Tina Towner stood and was filming.

Pierce Allman (centre of photo with his back towards the lens) in Willis 6. Photo: Phil Willis. Click pic. to enlarge

After the shots were fired Allman went down on Elm (see above), and then made his way, like many others, towards the picket fence / grassy knol area. This is where he encountered Bob Jackson and also spoke with the Newmans.

He then realised he needed to get to a telephone, call the WFAA office and relay what he just had witnessed. The TSBD was the nearest place where he thought he could do this. He made his way up the steps and went inside the building through the half open front door where he asked a young man where the nearest phone was. He was directed by him to go further inside the shipping area. And from there Allman reported what just had happened. He was not sure whether this individual was or wasn’t Lee Harvey Oswald.

The phone in question, used by Allman, is the one being used by one of the two men in the background in the still capture of the Tom Alyea film below.

Virgie Rachley being interviewed by Kent Biffle. Click photo to enlarge.

The first report of this interaction starts with Thomas J Kelley’s report from Nov 29 1963 (page 5) on Lee Harvey Oswald’s interrogation. I refer to the highlighted bit.

From the document: Oswald said he was standing in front of the TSBD to Thomas Kelley, this would make him the third person (after Will Fritz & James Hosty) referring to where Oswald said where he was. Bear in mind that this report was about the first interrogation on Nov 23rd. Kelley did not get to Dallas until Friday the 22nd later that evening (he is seen in the corridor and later on during Oswald’s press conference). Meaning: Oswald stated that he was outside in front of the TSBD on the 23rd as well. Something not mentioned by Fritz nor Bookhout in any of their reports from that session.

US Secret Service – Thomas J Kelley – Nov 29 1963. Click to enlarge.

Let’s move to Allman and his possible sighting of Oswald. In the Feb 3 1964 report by US Secret Service agents Roger WarnerForrest Sorrels, Allman was interviewed inside the WFAA offices on Jan 29 1964. This document below is very interesting since it delves pretty deep into what happened when he went into the TSBD. Upon arrival inside the TSBD no one bothered to ask him who he was. Allman filed his report and went off the air only after an Army Intelligence Officer asked him to stop using the phone. This Military Intelligence Officer is James Powell. According to Powell he saw only two persons inside the TSBD near a desk, one of which was Allman. The other person was described by Powell as about 30 years old and being tall. That second person was Terrence Ford. He is on page 3. But I wish to draw your attention to the middle of page 2 where Allman’s encounter is recorded.

I quote: Mr. Allman then stated that he ran full speed into the Texas School Book Depository building with intention of locating a phone and calling his televsion station WFAA. Mr. Allman stated that after he had entered the front door of the building, he had emerged into a hallway and there he met a white male whom he could not further identify. He asked this white male for the location of a telephone. Mr. Allman stated that he did not identify himself to this person; stated that he was extremely excited at the time and that he could not remember anything about the person except for the fact that he was a white male. Mr. Allman had seen pictures of Lee Harvey Oswald and could not positively state whether or not he is the one of whom he inquired. Mr. Allman stated that the person pointed out a phone to him which was located in an open area on the first floor of the Texas School Book Depository; that he immediately went to the telephone and stayed at this position for approximately 25 minutes talking to his office. Mr. Allman stated that he was accompanied by a felow worker Terry Ford.

I quote from page 2: Mr. Allman then stated that he ran full speed into the Texas School Book Depository building with intention of locating a phone and calling his televsion station WFAA. Mr. Allman stated that after he had entered the front door of the building, he had emerged into a hallway and there he met a white male whom he could not further identify. He asked this white make for the location of a telephone. Mr. Allman stated that he did not identify himself to this person; stated that he was extremely excited at the time and that he could not remember anything about the person except for the fact that he was a white male. Mr. Allman had seen pictures of Lee Harvey Oswald and could not positively state whether or not he is the one of whom he inquired. Mr. Allman stated that the person pointed out a phone to him which was located in an open area on the first floor of the Texas School Book Depository; that he immediately went to the telephone and stayed at this position for approximately 25 minutes talking to his office. Mr. Allman stated that he was accompanied by a felow worker Terry Ford.

I need to add that the Secret Service report above is apparently not the first interview with Allman,  allegedly they also got in touch with him about two/three weeks after the JFK assassination as per his many interviews on TV in later years (scroll down further below). However there is no documentation available about this.

So the questions are, where is that report? Did the USSS talk to Allman in early December 1963 when Roy Truly and others were interviewed by the USSS?

During that same month of Feb 1964 Allman stated in the Criminal Intelligence report of Feb 18 1964 that neither he nor Terrence Ford saw, let alone encountered Oswald. A full-on denial two weeks after the Feb 3 USSS report. Interesting.

Interesting fact is that this type of ‘shift’ in a person’s statement is not a first. I can think of Jim Leavelle’s Feb 15 report (here & here) on Victoria Adams i/e which carries the same date!

Then there is Allman’s HSCA interview from May 10 1978. During this interview that so called denial 14 years prior has softened a fair bit. I refer again to the highlighted part.

In 2014 for the LA Times, Allman speaks again about the moment he goes into the TSBD (at 05:52).

Then there is the video where Almann is being interviewed on the spot where he stood when JFK was assassinated. Watch until the end.

Then CBS do an article with Allman which is published on Nov 21 2013. I quote from this: It was there he had a chance encounter.

“There was a guy standing in the doorway,” remembered Allman, “and I said, ‘Where’s the phone?’ And he jerked his thumb and said, ‘In there!’ And I said, ‘Thank you.’”

Moments later, Allman filed a live report, unaware that he’d just come face to face with the president’s assassin. “This is Pierce Allman from the Texas School Book Depository building…” he reported at the time. Allman would not learn the man’s identity until three weeks later, when the Secret Service paid him a visit.
“They said, ‘Are you familiar with the testimony of Lee Oswald after his arrest?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And they said, ‘He states as he was leaving the depository building, a young man with a crew cut rushed up, identified himself as a newsman, and asked where a phone was. So this was very obviously you.’”

It must have come as something of a shock when Allman realized the guy he asked for directions was the person who just shot the president. “It did,” said Allman. “He didn’t appear stressed in any way.” 

Additionally in 2015 Pierce Allman did an interview with the Sixth Floor Museum and at 30:50 the subject is broached again.

For those that think that there is nothing to ‘see’ here you need to consider the way certain elements inside the DPD/FBI worked back in those days. there are a fair few instances where witnesses have claimed pressure was applied to them and there are more examples where people stated their Warren Commission statements were altered.

*****

In all these years since have there been others that had said they thought they had noticed Oswald on the first floor?

We know that Vice-President of the TSBD Ochus Campbell stated he saw Oswald on the first floor in the New York Herald Tribune, a quote that was never repeated again.

Then there was Carolyn Arnold who stated in her FBI statement that when she looked back she thought she had seen a fleeting glimpse of Lee Harvey Oswald while looking back toward the TSBD. Evidently that statement was buried for some time and Carolyn Arnold was not asked to appear in front of the WC. In later years, during the HSCA, she refuted this.

Kent Biffle, of the Dallas Morning News, who was also inside the TSBD shortly after, reported about Oswald being seen in a storage room and in his Sixth Floor Museum Oral History interview at 17:00 he states: “I have wondered often if I ran past LHO, in fact, going in with the cops” And at 23:28 one fellow journalist is heard mentioning “Just a little point. You wouldn’t have recognised Lee Oswald if you had seen him”. To which Biffle replies “No I wouldn’t have. I had seen photographs of him, but I am sure that was 3-4 years before and I just blindsided him. So, I wouldn’t have made him out. I have wondered about that since, whether he may have been out front at the time we went in, but I wouldn’t have known it”.

And now we have Pierce Allman saying something to the same effect.

If we also look into Roy Truly’s FBI affidavit from Nov 23rd, where the explicit statement is made that they saw “no one there”, as noted by Sean Murphy back in 2013. That over-emphasis of no one being there in the hallway when the Darnell film clearly shows several people making their way up and towards the stairs already while Truly himself is standing several feet away from them.

No one saw Oswald down there…..hmmmmm.

 

Dealey Plaza UK Warwickshire Seminar

Dealey Plaza UK Warwickshire Seminar

The leadership of Dealey Plaza UK had decided to hold a special seminar for our 30th anniversary in a completely different location. This was after holding the yearly seminar for about 20 years in Canterbury, and  decision was made to move on. The seminar in 2024 at the Abode Hotel in  Canterbury was a very enjoyable and informative affair, but boy oh boy was this to be superseeded with the new gaff.

Ashorne Hill. Pic.: Scott Reid.

For this year’s 30th commemorative event something special needed to be done for us to present our recent JFK Assassination research and head honcho Neal Safaty pulled two options out of his hat of which Ashorne Hill in Leamington Spa was voted everyone’s favourite. Looking at the shot above it is more than evident why.

This year was marked as the 30th anniversary of DPUK so it had to be a special event. Especially after we had to cancel our 25th due to the Covid Lockdown. Neale did an amazing job and planned a three day seminar (June 27-29) instead of the usual two and it turned out to be a fantastic event from the beginning to the very end.

L to R: Andrew Iler, Peter Antill, Johnny Cairns, Malcolm Blunt, Bart Kamp, Scott Reid and Paul Bleau. Pic: Scott Reid.

We all gathered the day before on a sunny Thursday afternoon for drinks and a light bite. And this was how it was to be; the sunshine continued all over the weekend. It was meant to be a smart casual event, but the weather dictated shorts so…..

The AV facilities were excellent as we were able to stream. I suggest you go to the DPUK site for a listing of the whole program in case you are interested on who was presenting.

My favourite speakers were our Canadian delegates Andrew Iler and Paul Bleau. Very solid presentations, soon you will be able to see for yourself on YouTube.

I myself did two loose presentations; one on Oswald’s fingerprints and the next day I spoke about the current state of the Darnell & Wiegman films with the latest developments in mind.

Pic.: Scott Reid.

And of course a chat with Malcolm Blunt where the audience was also invited to ask questions.

Pic.: Scott Reid.

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend, my favourite DPUK event by and large and I cannot wait until 2026!

Videos, once sorted, will be posted at some point.

 

The NBC JFK Assassination films of Dave Wiegman & Jimmy Darnell

I should have posted this a day or so ago, but work and travel prevented me from doing this.

A few days ago James DiEugenio of Kennedys & King contacted me asking whether I could provide him with whatever I had on the Prayer Man films (shot by NBC’s Dave Wiegman and WBAP’s Jimmy Darnell) and which are being kept by NBC under lock and key.

I shared what I knew, but that did not reduce my utter amazement when DiEugenio sent me the link of a Fox News video featuring  Jesse Watters interviewing Anna Paulina Luna

View the segment HERE.

Luna mentions tape, but it should be a 16 mm celluloid film. NBC has used low quality tape tranfers for media usage.

Nor were these films unseen or kept secret, the film was shared in 1964.

Plus it was included with the JFK film by Oliver Stone when the documentary Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy was released.

The Wiegman film has been used in many documentaries, it has been freely available. Death in Dealey Plaza being one of them.

The films are not secret, the Sixth Floor Museum released a first genreation copy in August 2024.

That the orginal 16mm films need to stored at NARA instead of at NBC HQ is a given and from there on the best possible high res scans need to be made.

Following that deblurring needs to be pursued. AI could help with that, and until then the lone nutters and conspiracy theorists waste everyone’s time with their beliefs, thoughts and utter speculation. Your opinions are worthless.

This week there will be a hearing, the films may get some more attention then as well.

I am cautiously optimistic about all this.

Will we get the cherry on top?

Out Of The Blank #1714 – Paul Abbott & Bart Kamp

 

Robbie Roberston invited Paul Abbot and yours truly for another chat, most of it about the DPD (Dallas Police Department) and it was great fun to do so. It has been more than 6 months since I did my last chat.

Listen to it HERE

It has been a while

Greetings all!

It has been a while since I posted as I did not have much to share and I needed a much needed break from it all. And now I have a few things to share with you. But before I start I wish to thank everyone who bought my book and also took the effort of reviewing it and heaping it with such praise. I am completely chuffed by the overal large postive feedback to it.

A new job, which I started in Jan. this year, was the perfect escape from it all. In early Dec. 2023 I was approached for it and after a trip to Germany I was offered the job within 15 minutes and the first 10 was just about my book. So after all it was good for something!

Although I did look at some things, the work I did is so demanding from a time perspective that pro-activeness wasn’t on the cards at all and it will take some time before I get back into the ring.

But (there is always one) I have started to collect some bits that will be used in an update to the book. But it will be quite a while before I even attempt to do that. I am planning to release a hardback version then and will also insert more photographic media. The print quality of photographs prevented me from doing this last year. Hopefully things will have improved by the time the updated version will be released. Watch this space for further announcements.

Instead I started to work on some technicalities of the Malcolm Blunt archive and I can tel you that in the past month I have been busy using OCR on about 15,000 PDFs to increase ease of searching through the entire set of records. This was the easy part as I could let it do its job in the background.

Next comes grouping the records, renaming and catagorising and rehousing it on a new Google Drive depository which I hope to have completed by the 61st anniversary. It will have a few thousand extra PDFs which have not been shared before. I shall announce its completion of course. I know this is a thankless task, but I wish to complete the whole thing there and then before I can move on. The beauty of doing this huge undertaking is that I end up reveiwing previously scanned documents again and this ‘break’ from all that documentation has enabled me to see further bits that I can use, also for books 2 & 3. Whenever that may be.

Oh yes!!!!!! 

JFK Lancer 2023 Conference

JFK Lancer 2023 Conference

  Below some pictures of the crowd at the JFK Lancer Conference while my presentation was on in Dallas on Nov 19th 2023.

With thanks to Peter Antill for the photographs.

And here is the video of it, added Nov 24th.