What does the Files story need?

[Phil Dragoo]

TESTIMONY OF GERALD LYNN HILLhttp://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvol ... 7_Hill.pdf

[Yellowbirch]

Phil Dragoo wrote:TESTIMONY OF GERALD LYNN HILLhttp://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvol ... Hill.pdfAs you know, we need a lot more than the nonsense the Warren Commission gave us.Belin was a waste of our taxpayer dollars.

[Bob]

I DO believe Files was a shooter. Has Jimmy told the entire truth? No. Speaking of Jim Marrs...TO JAMES FILES CONFESSION CRITICS: ANSWER ME THISby JIM MARRSFirst off let me set the record straight. I have not -- nor am I now --taking any particular position on the truthfulness of the James E. Filesconfession. I was not on the Grassy Knoll on November 22, 1963, so I cannotstate with any 100 percent assurance what really happened.All I have ever said on this matter is that I am aware of much more to thisstory than simply a talking-head videotaped confession and that I feel itdeserves more serious attention than it has received in the past. Those whohave been so quick to dismiss Files as a hoax do not know the full detailsof this issue. Others have personal problems with one or more of theresearchers who have brought the Files story public. Let's not toss out themessage just because we don't like the messenger. Never forget that thewhole Files story came about due to a tip from an FBI agent, not from merespeculation by some researcher.Despite what I feel to be an honest and open-minded attitude toward theFiles story on my part, I, along with anyone else who dares to admitinterest in this issue, have suffered much abuse on the Internet and otherplaces from some critics who, after superficial or no research, branded theFiles story a hoax.Without making a long, involved story even longer, I would simply like theanswers to the following three simple questions regarding James Files:HOW DID JAMES FILES KNOW THAT HUMAN TEETH IMPRESSIONS WOULD BE FOUND ON A.222-CALIBER SHELL CASING FOUND ON THE GRASSY KNOLL IN 1987?It is a fact that John C. Rademacher of Granbury, Texas, discovered a.222-caliber shell casing on the north Grassy Knoll in Dallas' Dealey Plazain 1987. He brought the casing to my class at the University of Texas atArlington in 1990. I recall asking him about strange marks on the casingbecause at the time I was very interested in the sabot or husk bullet issue.Rademacher said the mark was on the casing when he found it but that he hadno idea what it was.On May 3, 1993, researcher Bob Vernon along with TV executive Barry Adelmanfirst interviewed James E. Files in prison. Files claims to have used anunusual and expensive single-shot match pistol, a .222-caliber RemingtonXP-100 "Fireball", to shoot President Kennedy from behind the wooden picketfence on top of the Grassy Knoll. Toward the end of the interview, Filescasually mentioned that he had left the .222-caliber shell casing behind onthe Grassy Knoll and that if anyone was to find it they would know it washis. When asked how it could be identified, Files said he had bitten down onthe empty shell casing and left it behind on a cross piece of the woodenpicket fence. "It will have my teeth marks on it," he explained.Reflecting on this information, Vernon recalled seeing something about a manfinding a shell casing on the Grassy Knoll in the files of the late Texasresearcher Joe West. After locating the story in West's material, Vernonalong with Mrs. Joe West visited Rademacher in July, 1993, and first saw theshell casing with the markings on it. After about two months ofcorrespondence, Vernon finally obtained the shell casing in late September,1993, and sent it for study by Dr. Paul Stimson of the University of Texasat Houston, a member of the American Boards of Oral Pathology and ForensicOdontology. About Oct. 4, 1993, following days of microscopic examination,Dr. Stimson reported, "Opinion: The indentations are oriented on the shellcasing in a pattern that would be consistent with the maxillary rightcentral incisor making the larger mark and the two smaller marks would beconsistent with the lower right central and lateral incisors. It is myopinion that the marks are consistent with having been made by humanindentation."It is highly unlikely that this whole story could be a gigantic hoaxinvolving such diverse people as Dr. Stimson, Vernon, Joe West (who diedbefore ever learning of the casing connection between Rademacher and Files)and his wife, Adelman, Files, myself and others over a period of more thansix years.Having rejected the complicated hoax theory and considering that apparentlyno one in the world knew of the casing/teeth issue prior to Dr. Stimson'sfindings in October, 1993, I am left with the question --- If he had nofirst-hand knowledge, how did James Files know that human teeth impressionswould be found on a .222-caliber shell casing discovered on the Grassy Knollin 1987?HOW DID FILES FIND OUT ABOUT THE "WHITE STAR" TEAMS IN LAOS UNLESS HE WAS AMEMBER?During interviews with James E. Files, he told of his military record whichincluded a stint with the 82nd Airborne Division concerning covertoperations in Laos in 1959. He said he was supposedly out of the militarybut was actually being paid by the U.S. Army and specifically mentionedbeing part of the "White Star" teams to train Laotian Army regulars. Being aVietnam-era veteran myself and a lay historian, I was surprised that I hadnever heard of the "White Star" teams. In fact, I chalked this term up as apoint against Files since no one I knew had ever heard of such teams. Thenin the summer of 1996, in a telephone conversation with Col. FletcherProuty, I happened to mention that Files claimed to have trained LaotianArmy troops in 1959. "Oh, that was my operation," said Prouty. "They werecalled the White Star teams." Prouty explained that members of the "WhiteStar" teams were "sheep-dipped," He explained this process as "an intricateArmy-devised process by which a man who is in the service as a full careersoldier or officer agrees to go through all the legal and official motionsof resigning from the service. Then, rather than actually being released,his records are pulled from the Army personnel files and transferred to aspecial Army intelligence file. (The Secret Team: pp. 172-173)" This isexactly the process mentioned by Files and, obviously, could go far inexplaining some of the frustrations encountered in trying to verify hismilitary record. Prouty said the "White Star" teams were composed of"sheep-dipped" officers and men who were hired by a private company createdby the CIA and sent to Laos to train troops. Prouty's statements force thequestion --- If Files is a phony and never in the military (as some criticshave asserted), how did he know the correct term "White Star" teams and thecircumstances of their involvement in Laos.unless he was part of it?WHERE DID FILES LEARN OF AN "ABORT TEAM" IF NOT FROM JOHNNY ROSELLI?According to the Files confession, the JFK assassination was carried out byChicago mob hit man, Charles "Chuckie" Nicoletti on orders from boss SamGiancana. ".(Richard) Cain and Nicoletti were actual gunmen for the hit."wrote Giancana's brother Chuck in his 1992 book Double Cross (pp. 334-335).Files said the hit team originally was to be Nicoletti and mobster JohnnyRoselli. Files himself was only to have transported weapons to Dallas andacted as driver. But, according to Files, Roselli arrived in Dallas early onthe morning of November 22, 1963, by means of a "military flight". Rosellisaid the CIA had sent an "abort team" to Dallas to stop the assassinationand he declined to participate saying they would all be killed. Undaunted byRoselli's fears, Nicoletti decided to move ahead with the carefully-laidplans and so asked Files --- a man who had been his driver and confederatein several other jobs --- to back him up. Many critics have questioned whyFiles at such a young age and not being a "made" Mafia man would have beenincluded on something as important as the JFK assassination. This is a verygood question but it appears answered in this account of Files' last-minutesubstitution after Roselli suddenly backed out, fearful of being killed byan "abort team".Files' use of the term "abort team" was only the second time in my career Ihad heard that term. The first involved a "black ops" military pilot whoalso mentioned an "abort team' --- and in connection with the JFKassassination!!William Robert "Tosh" Plumlee claimed to have been involved in secretgovernment skullduggery beginning before the Bay of Pigs invasion andlasting through the Iran-Contra scandal. I have reams of FBI and DEA reportson Plumlee and they state he was claiming to have knowledge of the JFKassassination as far back as the 1970s. In addition to his numerousgovernment files, Plumlee was called for secret testimony during theIran-Contra hearings. He obviously is a credible source.In the late 1980s, Tosh took me on a guided tour of Dallas and presented anincredible story of how he piloted a plane from Florida to New Orleans onNovember 21, 1963. In New Orleans, he picked up a team of men, along withsome small cases, and flew them to Dallas, arriving early on Nov. 22.Originally slated to land at Red Bird Airport, he was diverted to GarlandAirport due to early morning rain and overcast. Here the team disembarked.This group was largely unknown to Tosh except for one man whom he hadpiloted before. He only knew this man as "Colonel John Roselli". Tosh alsosaid he was told that the group were an "abort team" sent to Dallas to stopan assassination attempt on President Kennedy. Tosh's account of thisflight, his observations in Dealey Plaza and his planned return trip to meetDavid Ferrie in Houston make for a fascinating tale, one that has never beendisproved.Tosh says he flew Roselli into Dallas on a military plane and Roselli tellsFiles he arrived on a military flight. Tosh said the flight was to bring inan "abort team" and Roselli bows out of his part in the assassinationconfessing fear of an "abort team". Since Tosh and Files are the only twopeople I have ever heard mention an "abort team" and since by all researchTosh and Files never met, how could Files have known about an "abort team"unless his story of Roselli's statements are true?Now I am the first to admit that there are problems with the Filesconfession, mostly due to the lack of substantiating documentation. Ofcourse, men like Files don't live long or prosper with the Chicago mob orCIA by leaving behind a well-managed paper trail. In my study of this issue,I have found many small things which seem to corroborate his story. Three ofthese are mentioned above.There remains much more research to be done on the Files. In the meantime,if someone will simply give me a credible and well-supported answer to theabove three questions, I might consider joining the chorus of nay-sayers inthe James Files confession.-Jim Marrs

[kenmurray]

Bob, that article that Marrs wrote about Files a while back convinced me that Files was a shooter.

[Bob]

I've never read or heard Marrs refute that article. Robert Groden also believes that Files was a primary participant in JFK's murder. In fact, he has this web site linked on his very own home page.http://jfkmurder.com/

[tom jeffers]

i know i have said this many times but i will do so again for the purposes of this thread. I have had the pleasure of writing this man for several years and consider him a friend. Many of you may think this statement is self serving however i do not agree. i have had the chance to examine his letters, ask questions and just engage in general BS during this time. I am not a gullible person nor do I make my decisions about people hastily. I find that Jimmy has what few people have today and that is integrity and I believe him. Many of you will ask how can an ex-assassin have integrity? He would rather be labeled a liar than to give any details about anyone's involvement if still alive. If you don't like Jimmy, then blame your government because they create guys like him everyday to use and then throw away when they are no longer useful. Jimmy's life is full of history making events that would make up 10 movies. Everyone here is fixated on the jfk assassination and for him, it was one day in his colorful life. He is sorry now that he even opened up that can of worms because it is a headache for him. Narrow focused people say he's lying and he doesn't care and he doesn't want to waste the energy required for such a fruitless purpose. If somebody flashed a picture tomorrow showing jimmy behind the fence, non believers would just say it was photoshopped.

[ChristophMessner]

The Files story needs to continue where Joe West was stopped: demanding the exhumation of JFK and testing his shirt for mercury.

[dankbaar]

Robert Morrow wrote:I do not believe James Files shot JFK. I do like Wim Dankbeer and I learn a from him, especially on the role of George Herbert Walker Bush in the JFK assassination. I do like this forum and the JFK murdersolved web page in general.Now, James Files may know a lot of stuff. As Jim Marrs says, the milieu that he was in can be educational to us as JFK researchers.James Files was likely too young to be a picked assassin in this killing. The actual shooters were probably ages 28-44 (a guess) - young enough to be capable, old enough to get the job done.Like I said, I do not believe Files was a shooter. But he may know something. And it does seem likely to me that Johnny Roselli was involved in the JFK assassination.Robert, If Files knows more, but he was not the grassy knoll shooter, why did he make himself the shooter? If he's lying, do you think he knows who the real grassy knoll shooter was? If so, why would he not tell? Why would he keep the ID of the real shooter hidden? This is obviously a man with very rigid standards, maybe not the ones of the average person, but rigid, like not snitching on someone that is still alive. You believe he doesn't apply those standards in his telling of his role in the shooting? You believe he told us a bold faced lie? Lying has motive. What would be his motive? How did Files know that JFK's head snapped forward first before he was hit in the right temple? Did you know that JFK's head snapped forward first before he was hit in the right temple?Why did Files make the "mistake" of saying that he hit JFK in the left side of the head, while it was the right side? Which side is the right side from the perspective of the shooter?

[Phil Dragoo]

TomYou describe a man who lives by a code of conduct, and this is how James Files has presented.I have seen him as consistently credible. Twenty-four in Dallas would not be young compared to those on patrol in Afghanistan today.He was trusted by Charles Nicoletti to fill the role vacated by John Roselli, a frequent visitor to JM WAVE and the CIA-outfit liason for the get-Castro operation.Jim Marrs and Robert Groden find him credible as well.There is a Milky Way across the lateral skull x-ray, high, from the right ocular, a signature written in mercury, so far above the external occipital protuberance identified by the three prosectors that Baden and the HSCA panel insisted they raise the inshoot four inches, ten centimeters to cover the fraud.Ruby was in the Dal-Tex that week. Braden, that day. Jimmy says Charles Nicoletti was there.David Mantik's placement of the Harper fragment has the inshoot at the L (lead trace) while the fragment itself was blown out by the temple shot a split-second later. Nicoletti from the Dal-Tex, Jimmy from the fence, just as witnesses reported: bang-bang.

[Alex Hidell]

Phil,I think Files could very well have done what he said he did. I still have concerns that he doesn't talk about a second person with him behind the picket fence and that virtaully every eyewitness said they heard 2 shots from the knoll area and several said they saw 2 men behind the fence. What concerns me is your assertion that the minute metal fragments "like stars in the night sky" as described by the X-Ray technician who took skull X-Rays, somehow indicates JFK was hit with a mercury round. All the fragments suggest is that JFK was hit with a frangible bullet, unlike the ones supposedly used by Oswald, but these fragments say nothing about whether they were coated with mercury or not. All an X-Ray shows is the opacity of a substance, not its chemical make up.