ONI Records Revisited
ONI RECORDS REVISITED
The Blind Men, the Elephant and Oliver Stone’s
Mercedes
When we first began the lobby effort seeking the release of
the government’s records on the JFK assassination, my uncle Stephen “Skip”
Haynes, a Catholic priest, gave a sermon on the subject, comparing the secret
files to the story of the blind men who tried to describe an elephant, each
feeling and describing a different part. I sometimes get the
feeling that's what we are doing with the JFK assassination records.
Oliver Stone, after he became the champion of the JFK Free
the Files movement, was asked to testify at a Congressional hearing, where he
was asked what he thought he would find in the files, which it was pointed out
to him, most certainly had been cleaned out, vetted, some destroyed, others
hidden?
Stone replied that he didn’t expect there to be any “smoking
guns” among the government’s records on the assassination, and they certainly
will be cleaned out of any compromising documents (and I’m
paraphrasing him here), but the government's JFK assassination files
were like a Mercedes-Benz left in Harlem for years - decades – now
going on fifty years. Stone said it will be stripped of its radio, chrome,
tires and engine parts, but its frame would still be there and you would be
able to recognize it as a Mercedes. And besides, it’s not necessarily what’s in
the files, but the principal of the thing – these records are the history of
our country, the death of our president, they were paid for by taxpayers and
they belong to the people and not to some secret agency.
The ONI Letter Authenticated
Shortly after the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald - the chief
suspect in the murder of President Kennedy, U.S. Navy Commander Robert Steel
wrote a letter to Dallas Police Detective Paul Bentley, one of the officers who
arrested Oswald at the Texas Theater.
Robert D. Steel,
Commander, USNR-R
Paul,
Perhaps you are aware that ONI has quite a file on
Oswald, which no doubt has been made available on the Washington Dallas
(Signed)
Robert D. Steel
[1] ONI Letter Steel, Robert D.
The legitimacy of this document was at one time questioned
because it was not among the official Warren Commission or Dallas Dallas
[2] Steel, Robert D. Oral History interview transcript
w/Steel. (Attached)
Steel recently reaffirmed the contents of the letter - that he personally knew both Arthur C. Sullivan, whom he identified as the head of the Dallas ONI office, as well as Dallas detective Paul Bentley, and that his agency, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), did indeed have “quite a file on Oswald.”
Paul Bentley, the person the letter is addressed to, was the
chief operator of the Dallas
Retired Dallas Police Detective Paul Bentley passed away
after a lengthy illness on July
21, 2008 ,
[3] Bentley Background.
A. C. Sullivan - Arthur Carroll Sullivan, Jr. was a 27 year veteran of ONI, had previously worked for the FBI and as an investigator for the Dallas District Attorney and lived in Denton, Texas, where Lee Oswald’s brother Robert Oswald, former USMC, also resided.
[4] Sullivan, A.C. Background.
The Mary Ferrell Files Data Base includes the note: SULLIVAN, ARTHUR C.
Sources: CD 7, p. 150 Mary's Comments: Research Analyst in
Charge, Naval Intelligence, 1114 Commerce, Rm. 204, Dallas , TX
[5] Mary Ferrell Archives http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=10408&relPageId=157
[Note: This document (copied in full below) makes no
reference to 1114 Commerce, but instead is an FBI report on Sullivan’s
knowledge about the enlistment of Oswald’s half-brother John Pic in the US Marine Corps. Like Sullivan, Oswald's brother Robert
Oswald lived in Denton , Texas ACME Brick
was also said to be located. The WC and all other reports previously indicated
that John Pic had originally served in the US Coast Guard, where he was serving
when Oswald and his mother visited them in New York Texas
FBI
Date 11/26/63
Special Agent A. C. SULLIVAN, Office of Naval Intelligence,
advised EDWARD JOHN PIC , half-brother
of LEE HARVEY OSWALD, enlisted in
the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, however, he did not actually serve on active
duty. He subsequently served two tours in the U.S. Coast Guard, dates not
available. PIC enlisted in the
U.S. Air Force in 1956, and gave his address c/o M. OSWALD, 3006
Bristol Road Ft. Worth , Texas East
Meadow , New York , New
York
by Special Agent ROBERT P. GEMBERLING
[6] Commission Document 7,p150 – FBI Gemberling Report
of 10 Dec 1963 re:
Oswald.
Current Section: D. Background – Relatives.
Current Section: D. Background – Relatives.
This note takes on added significance when it is learned
that a reported post-assassination investigation by the US Marine Corps was
said to have been confused with an actual investigation of Oswald’s
half-brother John Pic, who had served in the US Coast Guard and was in the Air
Force at the time of the assassination, but according to this memo, had also
enlisted in the US Marine Corp.
It may be significant that it appears that the ONI had two
official offices in Dallas, one at Commerce Street and the other at the Post
Office Annex on the South Side of Dealey Plaza, one possibly a regular ONI
office while the other for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (CIS). It’s
possible a third Dallas
Oswald’s
ONI File
The Warren Report mentioned that
“….the Commission has reviewed the complete files on Oswald, as they existed at
the time of the assassination, of the Department of State, the Office of Naval
Intelligence, the FBI and the CIA .”
Using that reference, Paul Hoch requested and acquired a 300
page ONI file in 1967, which he says is definitely not one of the USMC files that the Warren Commission published (two USMC files, personnel and medical, as
the Folsom and Donabedian Exhibits.). The files obtained by Hoch include a reference to
Oswald’s Soviet Embassy visit in Mexico and: “Information presently available
to the Office of Naval Intelligence does not indicate what significance, if any,
this contact may have represented, and no other information on OSWALD was
received until 22 November 1963.”
The file also included the Taylor Dallas
[7] Oswald’s ONI File
– WR., 433 https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?mode=searchResult&absPageId=73857;
http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/chapter-8.html)
Hoch, Paul. 1988 EOC .
THE TAYLOR
To: Admiral McDonald 27 Nov. 1963
From: Rear Admiral Taylor
Oswald Killing
1. Information from ourDallas 2533
Elm Street , Dallas Dallas
2. In this office we have a file on Patterson and another person not mentioned in the above message by the name of Tracy Thurio Pope. Pope is the one that first pointed out Patterson. Patterson was in the Navy and is now out. Pope was in the Navy and is out, Service No. 599 29 44, AA, USN. There is no Navy record on Stuart. This morning we had a meeting here to make sure that everybody is informed and that the FBI is getting everything it needs.
3. The above information certainly raises questions as to Ruby’s real motives in killing Oswald. We have all been interested in what seemed to us to be a look of recognition on Oswald’s fact when he spotted Ruby.
4. BuPers is being kept currently informed of information of the sort contained in paragraph 1 and 2 above.
Very respectfully, Rufus L. Taylor
Copy to: REVIWED BY NCIS (ONI) JFK TASK FORCE
On12-17-93
From: Rear Admiral Taylor
Oswald Killing
1. Information from our
2. In this office we have a file on Patterson and another person not mentioned in the above message by the name of Tracy Thurio Pope. Pope is the one that first pointed out Patterson. Patterson was in the Navy and is now out. Pope was in the Navy and is out, Service No. 599 29 44, AA, USN. There is no Navy record on Stuart. This morning we had a meeting here to make sure that everybody is informed and that the FBI is getting everything it needs.
3. The above information certainly raises questions as to Ruby’s real motives in killing Oswald. We have all been interested in what seemed to us to be a look of recognition on Oswald’s fact when he spotted Ruby.
4. BuPers is being kept currently informed of information of the sort contained in paragraph 1 and 2 above.
Very respectfully, Rufus L. Taylor
Copy to: REVIWED BY NCIS (ONI) JFK TASK FORCE
On
RELEASE IN FULL
[8] Taylor Memo Nov. 27, 1963
PATTERSON – UNDERCOVER HOMOSEXUAL ONI INFORMANT
It is interesting that they think it worth mentioning that
the ONI’s Dallas informant Robert K. Patterson was a homosexual, especially in
light of what we know from Donald Norton – that the military targeted
homosexuals and got them to inform on other homosexuals in the service,
especially officers and those with access to special information.
The case of defectors Martin and Mitchell also comes to
mind, as it was suspected that the former Navy officers and National Security
Agency (NSA) defectors to the Soviet Union were homosexuals (even though it
later was determined that they were not.) Most interesting is the way Martin
and Mitchell made their escape - from the United
States Mexico
City Havana Soviet Union , the same odd route
that Oswald reportedly spoke about in Mexico City in late September 1963.
[9] Norton, Don: http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2012/10/mae-judge-and-don-norton.html;
Patterson – Homosexual –Martin & Mitchell:
A subsequent FBI investigation of the Patterson allegation – that Oswald and Ruby were pre-assassination associates, positively determined that it was not Oswald who visited the electronics shop with Ruby, but one Lavern “Larry” Crafard, an ex-serviceman and Texas State Fair carnival roustabout who is certainly a person of interest (and is still a living witness/suspect). There are at least three incidents in which Crafard was mistaken for Oswald, one may have been intentional.
[10] Patterson – Oswald – Crafard; Case of mistaken identity.
This Taylor
J.
MASON LANKFORD
In another FBI report it is noted that it was J.M. Lankford
who ran Robert K. Patterson:
FBI REPORT:
At approximately 1:00 PM ,
on November 26, 1963 ,
J. M. LANKFORD, Special Agent, Office of Naval Intelligence, Dallas , Texas LEE HARVEY
OSWALD.
LANKFORD stated that his informant, ROBERT KERMIT PATTERSON, an admitted homosexual, has been furnishing information to ONI for some time. He has, in the past, furnished signed statements to the Office of Naval Intelligence setting forth his homosexual activities with young servicemen….
Patterson, a former Navy man, lived at the YMCA and was an associate Donald C. Stuart and operated a TV and radio repair shop with Charles Arndt, who also lived at the YMCA. Two weeks previous Ruby and a man who appeared to be Oswald visited there shop Contract Electronics at2533
Elm St.
LANKFORD stated that his informant, ROBERT KERMIT PATTERSON, an admitted homosexual, has been furnishing information to ONI for some time. He has, in the past, furnished signed statements to the Office of Naval Intelligence setting forth his homosexual activities with young servicemen….
Patterson, a former Navy man, lived at the YMCA and was an associate Donald C. Stuart and operated a TV and radio repair shop with Charles Arndt, who also lived at the YMCA. Two weeks previous Ruby and a man who appeared to be Oswald visited there shop Contract Electronics at
In that last sentence we also learn that Lankford’s ONI
informant Robert K. Patterson was living at the Dallas YMCA, where Oswald also
lived on occasion, and that Patterson was affiliated with Stuart, who also
worked at KLIF, the Dallas
John Mason Lankford Jr. (1921-1997), better known as Mason
Lankford, Fire Marshal of Tarrant County (Fort Worth Texas Texas Texas
As an “old acquaintance” of Texas-based Secret Service agent
Mike Howard, Lankford assisted Howard in securing Fort
Worth Inn of
the Six Flags at Arlington
[11] Lankford, Mason. Background.
Harold Weisberg specialized in reviewing FBI records and
John Newman and Jeff Morley have focused on CIA
records related to the assassination.
The relevant ONI records have been reviewed closely by Paul Hoch and
P.D. Scott, both interested in the military and intelligence records.
Hoch concluded his early analysis with the hope that the
outstanding questions could be cleared up by the Assassinations Records Review
Board (ARRB), as recently he wrote, “ One can hope that the ARRB did a (John)
Newman-like analysis to pin down the identity of additional files. Not actually
that likely, though.”
[12] Hoch, Paul.; EOC
Echos of Conspiracy 2 (1988), pp. 1-10:]
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2011/10/irregularities-relating-to-naval.html
Comment on Review Board from e-mail of 5 Feb. 13.
Comment on Review Board from e-mail of 5 Feb. 13.
Peter Dale Scott addressed the subject of the ONI Records in a 1990 conference presentation in which he wrote and spoke, in
part:
P.D. Scott:
“The special handling of Lee Harvey Oswald by the State Department….swiftly aroused…suspicions of FBI, ONI and Marine Intelligence personnel, and Hoover’s allies (notably Otto Otepka)....We know this chiefly from Oswald’s ONI records, where we also learn that there were considerable ONI messages on Oswald (alias Harvey Lee Oswald), stored in Marine G-2 (intelligence) files that were never seen by the Warren Commission….The charade of Oswald’s discharge from the Marine Reserve in 1960 was an operation coordinated by Marine G-2 and ONI Counterintelligence…”
“The special handling of Lee Harvey Oswald by the State Department….swiftly aroused…suspicions of FBI, ONI and Marine Intelligence personnel, and Hoover’s allies (notably Otto Otepka)....We know this chiefly from Oswald’s ONI records, where we also learn that there were considerable ONI messages on Oswald (alias Harvey Lee Oswald), stored in Marine G-2 (intelligence) files that were never seen by the Warren Commission….The charade of Oswald’s discharge from the Marine Reserve in 1960 was an operation coordinated by Marine G-2 and ONI Counterintelligence…”
Oswald’s
Suppressed ONI and Marine G-2 Records
“Lee Harvey Oswald’s defection to
the Soviet Union in 1959 was immediately
described as an “intelligence matter’ by the Navy’s Office of Naval
Intelligence….In the ensuring years the military intelligence agencies
continued to collect information about him. Since the publication of the Warren
Report we have seen the belated release of documents on Oswald from ONI (the
Office of Naval Intelligence), from Army G-2 (Intelligence) and even OSI (Air
Force Intelligence), the first of the military agencies to consult Oswald’s
security file in the State Department.”
“Oswald however, did not serve in the
Navy, Army or Air Force; like his brother Robert he was a Marine. In October
1959, at the time of this defection, he was no longer on active duty, but had
transferred six weeks earlier to the Class III Ready
Marine Corps Reserve . We shall see that over three years Marine G-2
(Intelligence) both received and disseminated records concerning Oswald,
regionally and at Marine HQ. Nevertheless, despite Marine G-2, all
unclassified, and presumably a tiny fraction of the whole. (These
large gaps in what is available suggests the existence of a second system of
classified records).”
“We know further that the Marine G-2 HQ
did receive classified intelligence on Oswald. The CIA on October 10, 1963 , sent a Secret
cable to the Navy, reporting that someone identifying himself as Lee Oswald had
been in contact with the Soviet Embassy in Mexico
City 10/11/63 .”
ONI and the
Deception of the So-Called ONI “File on Oswald”
“In response to the Warren Commission
request of February 18, 1964 ,
John McNaughton’s office supplied what it referred to as ‘the complete file of
the Office of Naval Intelligence on Lee Harvey Oswald.” In fact this
file was not complete. More importantly, it was only created on November 22, 1963 , from Oswald
records which apparently were stored earlier in two or three files, some of
which possibly had a different subject or subjects.”
“In the Archives version of this ONI
file, we find clues to its own creation on November 22, 1963 . A memo to file of that date by the
duty officer in the ONI Support Center DIA [the
Defense Intelligence Agency, a McNamara creation] to see the file on Oswald.’
Advised of this request, ONI Chief Admiral Rufus Taylor gave instructions ‘to
prepare a file for him to be passed to General Carroll.”
“Something analogous may have happened
at Marine HQ G-2 as well. A House Committee staff report says that the HSCA
“contacted Lt. Col. Bill Brewer of the Intelligence Division of Marine Corps
Headquarters on August 1, 1977 .
Brewer had been in charge of compiling the Oswald military file for the use of
the Warren Commission” This report adds ambiguously that according to Brewer,
“his records check had only individual local records within the individual
commands where Oswald had served and did not include records that were
classified secret or top secret”
“The details of this file-preparation
suggests conscious deception by ONI on November 22, both of General Carroll
(The Kennedy-McNamara appointee as head of DIA ), and
subsequently of DOD General Counsel John McNaughton. It was reviewing the ONI
“file on Oswald” that McNaughton requested three documents, referred to in the
file, which he never got to see.]…Some of the post-November 22 alteration of
this “file on Oswald” appears to be the work of the Archives itself, when the
curator of these records was Marion Johnson. This alteration, which even if
innocently inspired could be construed as tampering with evidence, should be
investigated by the Review Board, and the November 22 file as far as possible.
“As we look more closely at this
ONI-G-2 collaboration, we shall see that it has the marks of a
counterintelligence operation, indeed of an official ‘deception’ (to use an intelligence
term of art) with respect to Oswald. There is of course nothing in this fact
per se to link either ONI or Marine G-2 to the assassination.”
“What is more alarming is the refusal
by ONI on November 22, to share their actual records with even Joseph Carroll,
the Air Force General and former FBI agent who in 1961 was appointed by Kennedy
to be the first head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Particularly alarming
is the deceitful withholding at the time of three records which (unlike most of
the others) constituted strong clues to the existence of the
counterintelligence collaboration.”
“In suggesting to their superiors that
the three withheld records added no information, senior naval officers were
deceptive. Admiral Taylor’s decision to have a file prepared, rather than share
raw data, is further evidence that the original files with Oswald records
contained truths quite different than those eventually given to the public.”
“In 1963 Oswald’s personnel file was
stored at the Federal Records
Center St.
Louis Washington
Like Hoch, Scott also had high hopes that the ARRB would
review the matter closely, utilized its subpoena power and determine what was
really going on when he wrote:
“The Review Board should also question, and if necessary
depose, those in ONI who on November 22 ‘prepared a file’ for DIA and
their civilian overseers in the Pentagon. It is unlikely that whatever case
existed for secrecy about Oswald on the day of the assassination would still prevail
against the standards for release established I 1994 by passage of the JFK
Records Act.”
[13] Scott, P.D. OSWALD, MARINE CORPS INTELLIGENCE AND
THE ASSAULT ON THE STATE DEPARTMENT -
Peter Dale Scott Fredonia Conference July 1990
THE ARRB AND THE
ONI FILES
While the CIA has
taken most of the heat for refusing to make public their records on the
assassination of President Kennedy, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has
been just as obstinate, not only for refusing to turn over relevant
records, but for denying the existence of certain records that are known to
exist and skirting the law - the JFK Assassination Records Act of 1992.
With the passage of the act by Congress, the temporary
Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) was created, with five
non-governmental citizen-academics recommended by national historic and
archival associations, and led by Federal Judge John Tunheim. They hired a
staff whose job was not to reinvestigate the assassination but to identify and
assemble all of the government records related to the assassination in one
place – the JFK Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration,
which is located at Archives II on the beltway in College
Park , Maryland
Since it was just a temporary organization without any
future, and any association with the subject of the assassination was
considered toxic to anyone’s governmental career, there was a high turnover of
Review Board personnel, including two staff directors and two chief counsels.
[14] Horne, Douglas . Inside the ARRB.
Although the task of the ARRB was not to investigate the
assassination but only locate records, before the ARRB (1996-98) there was the
House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA 1977-78), which was authorized
to investigate the assassination, but was also compromised by those who wanted
certain information to remain secret, including two reports of official
military investigations of Oswald, one before and one after the assassination.
THE
HUFF REPORT ON USMC ASSASSINATION INVESTIGATION
When a USAF navigator (Lawrence Huff) told the HSCA that he
flew a US Marine Corps team to San Diego Japan
[15] Huff Report. HSCA, USMC post-assassination
investigation of Oswald.
Huff Report: POSSIBLE MILITARY INVESTIGATION OF THE
ASSASSINATION
Staff Repot HSCA March 1979 Volume XI, p. 539 (MF
p. 549) http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=83&relPageId=545
The ARRB Final Report notes: “The question of whether the
Marine Corps conducted a post-assassination investigation and produced a
written report on former Marine Private Lee Harvey Oswald, circa late 1963 and
early 1964, has never been resolved to the satisfaction of the public…. During
its investigation the HSCA learned from a former officer (Huff) that the USMC
sent a special investigations team to San Diego Japan
According to Huff the “for USMC eyes only” report concluded
that “Oswald was incapable of committing the assassination alone.” But that
report has never been acknowledged let alone released, even though the HSCA
investigators were supplied with the name of the plane’s pilot, the plane’s
tail numbers, flight data and the names of others aboard.
Nearly twenty years later the ARRB Final Report concluded:“The
Review Board asked the Marine Corps to search for any records relating to
post-assassination investigations that the U.S. Marine Corps might have
completed, as some researchers believe.”
[Note: It is not "some researchers" who believe that such an
investigation took place, it is the USAF officer, a navigator who held a Top
Secret clearance and read the report that concluded that Oswald was not capable
of committing the assassination alone. It was not in response to researchers
but to the testimony of the USAF officer that the inquiry into the marine Corp investigation was initiated. ]
“The U.S. Marine Corps searched files at both U.S. Marine
Corps HQ in Quantico Federal Records Center Suitland , Maryland
[16] ARRB Final Report on USMC post-assassination
investigation of Oswald. Also note that FBI Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI office for many years, Oliver "Buck" Revell, was a young USMC officer stationed at the New River MAS, North Carolina at the time of the assassination and worked closely with the FBI agents who investigated Oswald in the wake of the assassination, confirming the report by L. Huff (USAF), that there were such post-assassination investigations of Oswald's military background.
REEVES REPORT ON ONI DEFECTION INVESTIGATION
The Final Report of the ARRB also notes that: “….many have wondered whether the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) conducted a post-defection "net damage assessment" investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald circa 1959 or 1960…”
The Final Report of the ARRB also notes that: “….many have wondered whether the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) conducted a post-defection "net damage assessment" investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald circa 1959 or 1960…”
[Note here too the Final Report of the ARRB uses the wording
“many have wondered,” which makes it appear the Review Board staff was
responding to the questioning of “many wondering” researchers, when in fact the
one person “who wondered” whether the ONI conducted a post-defection net-damage
assessment was the Navy officer - Fred Reeves, who oversaw the investigation
and read the reports. Commander Steel also confirmed that he worked closely
with Reeves and believes he (Steel) may have been the officer who conducted the investigation and
wrote the reports.]
ARRB Final Report: “Various former Oswald associates and military
investigators have recalled separate investigations…The Review Board became
aware of an individual named Fred Reeves of California, who was reputed to have
been in charge of a post-defection 'net damage assessment' of Oswald
by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) shortly after Oswald's defection to
the U.S.S.R. The Review Board contacted Reeves, interviewed him twice by
telephone, then flew him to Washington , D.C. San Diego , California
“Reeves told the Review Board that a week or so after Oswald
defected to the U.S.S.R., two officers from ONI in Washington , D.C. El Toro , California El Toro ,
copied Oswald's enlisted personnel file, obtained the names of many of his
associates, and mailed this information to ONI in Washington , D.C.
“He said that ONI in Washington Washington eight to ten '119' reports on Oswald after the assassination, and that he was confident he was not
confusing the two events in his mind.”
“In the spring of 1998, Review Board staff members met with
two Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) records management officials,
one of whom personally verified that he had searched for District Intelligence
Office records (with negative results) from the San Diego, Dallas, and New
Orleans District Intelligence Offices in 1996 with negative results. This
search included '119' reports from the time period 1959-1964, during
an extensive search of NCIS record group 181. The search included any records
that would have been related to Oswald's defection. Thus, the Review Board
ultimately located no documentary evidence to substantiate Reeves' claims.”
[17] Reeves, Fred Report. ARRB. http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2013/02/fred-reeves-usnr-on-oni-119-reports.html
THE ONI
FILES & THE RAILROADING OF LCDR TERRI PIKE USNR
Those few paragraphs from the Final Report of the ARRB indicating that they searched ONI files but failed to locate any relevant records belies what actually occurred. The ONI stonewalled the Review Board and
blackballed one of its own officers who attempted to cooperate with the ARRB
staff and actually tried to conduct a complete search for the relevant records among the ONI files .
[18] See: Railroading of Terri Pike. http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2011/10/railroading-of-lcdr-terri-pike-over.html
The problem, as seen from the perspective of the HSCA and
the ARRB, was the ONI claimed they could find no records of these official
investigations in their files, both of which are described in detail by the officers who paticipated. These are
official investigations that should have taken place and did take place
according to the military officers involved, but for which we now have no
official reports or records, other than the recollections and testimony of the
officers.
When the Assassinations Records Review Board staff first
informed ONI - the Office of Naval Intelligence of the JFK Act and its requirements,
the director of ONI simply responded by saying they didn’t have a thing. On Nov
14 1995 the Assassinations Records Review Board (ARRB) sent the Navy Office of
General Counsel a letter outlining the JFK Act law requirements and two weeks later on Nov. 27
1995 the Director ONI responded by letter, stating that “the Office of Naval
Intelligence holds no records responsive to the tasking of 14 Nov 1995…..”
[19] ONI response to ARRB Request.
Two years later, Christopher Barger of the ARRB staff “met
with the ONI team responsible for heading the search for records under the JFK
Act,” and noted in his report that, “This team is directed by Lieut. Cmdr.
Terri Pike; LCDR Doolittle works in the ONI FOIA office; Pike reports to Capt.
Peiaec; LCRD Bastein is the JAG.” As he noted, “For reasons not entirely
clear to either the ONI team or ARRB, the tasking for this project only
trickled down to them on Friday, March 7, 1997. They were a little confused as
to why they were only being tasked with this now, but expressed a willingness
to do everything they possibly could to achieve the objectives of the Act.”
[20] ARRB Staff Meeting Report, March 11, 1997
For awhile it was “Gung Ho!” and they went all out to find
the relevant records. Intended searches would begin at Suitland at
the Federal Records Center Suitland ,
she said, but there will be others located in district offices round the
country in locations like Chicago Atlanta San
Francisco New Orleans St.
Louis Boston
“Despite the fact that they had only learned of this tasking on Friday, they had located and designated approximately 125 cubic feet of documents that directly relate to subjects we mentioned in our letter to the Navy. These will be reviewed page by page. She anticipated being able to complete the review by the stated deadline set by the Navy and ARRB of
“In addition, she said that ONI had identified about 950 cubic feet, or approximately 2.4 million pages of records which might be related to the topics we were interested in, but that we had not specifically mentioned…LCDR Pike stressed that she, and ONI, understood that all information, even negative result, is important to our process, and that they will be providing reports on everything they search, whether relevant documents are found within or not. Pike provided us with a ‘flow chart’ documenting the normal records disposition process within ONI, explaining what each step of the process is and where documents go during each phase of the process. The final page of her briefing package was a sample of the ‘clue sheets’ being provided to each reviewer for the April 30 documents. Approximately two dozen subject headings are listed along with ‘clues’ or keywords for each subject, and a time window for each subject….In closing, it should be reported that this team, and LCDR Pike in particular, are very impressive, they appear very much to have their act together on this project. They provided details and planning we have rarely seen from other agencies, yet they have had this project assigned to them for less than a week. They were extremely helpful, and have taken an aggressive and proactive approach to complying with the JFK Act. We can expect more impressive work from this team.”
Another ARRB memo says that, “LCDR Pike is our main point of contact in the ONI records review. She works for the Information Management Department…She said that they have completed their review of about 40 cu. ft. of the 127 cu. ft. ONI has committed to having reviewed for us by the April 30 deadline. She also said that they have found one box based on our SF 135 requests. This box has to do with defections, both Cuban and Soviet; they plan on turning this box over to us 'in toto.' She said that most of the records in that box are
On April, 21 1997 ARRB staffers met with LCDR Pike and LCDR Doolittle of ONI and reported that, “LCDR Pike stated that review of the first 123 cubic feet of ONI records had been completed, and that as a result .8 cubic feet of records (18 district files) on defectors had been identified as responsive to the
In August, 1997, after learning that Fred Reeves had prepared “119 Reports” on Oswald, ARRB staffer Doug Horne called Terri Pike and requested that she look for “119 Reports” covering an alleged ONI investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald’s October, 1959 defection to the
In a “Description of the Call: Summary” Doug Horne wrote –
“I left a voice mail telling Terri Pike about Fred Reeves and his claim to have
conducted a post-defection investigation of Oswald at MCAS El Toro in late 1959
or early 1960 at the request of ONI in Washington (Rufus Taylor); I
specifically mentioned ‘119 Reports,’ which Fred Reeves said were filed. I
asked her to search for those files or a copy of that investigative report, and
also asked her to pass to us the name and phone number of the person at ONI
most knowledgeable today about such matters/such records.”
In a Memo to the ARRB Pike eventually reported back that, “…I was relieved from the leadership position on this project in late August (1997) by the ONI Reserve Directorate Head….As you know, it was my responsibility to identify all records required under 44 U.S.C. 2107 (The JFK Act). I felt a personal commitment to ensure this effort was conducted ‘with vigor’ and as thoroughly as possible…”
For her efforts she was charged with “fraudulent” official travel as her “tasking did not say to search regional record centers.”
In a Memo to the ARRB Pike eventually reported back that, “…I was relieved from the leadership position on this project in late August (1997) by the ONI Reserve Directorate Head….As you know, it was my responsibility to identify all records required under 44 U.S.C. 2107 (The JFK Act). I felt a personal commitment to ensure this effort was conducted ‘with vigor’ and as thoroughly as possible…”
For her efforts she was charged with “fraudulent” official travel as her “tasking did not say to search regional record centers.”
T. Jeremy Gunn, the ARRB senior counsel who became Executive
Director, took a personal interest in the Pike case, and his notes indicates
that he believed she discovered certain special information and wanted to know,
“When was she transferred? Who were her superiors? How long after she
discovered this info was (she) terminated? What were the reasons given for her
termination?” On Dec. 3, 1997, Gunn sent a fax to Pike’s attorney David
Sheldon, asking to speak to Pike to learn of, “any discussions she had with ONI
officials regarding the content and disposition of records for which she was
searching and…any information she might have regarding the location of ONI
records and of ONI record-keeping policies.”
In aJan. 7 1998 Fax
and US Mail letter Ex. Dir. ARRB T. Jeremy Gunn wrote to Pike’s attorney. "Dear
Mr. Sheldon, I would like to thank you for returning my call and for your
willingness to consider our request. As I mentioned, we would like to speak, on
an informal basis, with your client, LCDR Terri Pike. We anticipate that the
discussion would likely take no more than one to one and one half hours. There
are two principle issues that we would like to discuss: first, any records she
located or pursued that were relevant to the assassination or to requests made
by the ARRB; second, any discussions she had with ONI officials regarding the
content and disposition of the records for which she was searching; and third,
any information she might have regarding the location of ONI records and of ONI
record-keeping policies. We do not anticipate any need to discuss issues other
than these with LCDR Pike, although you or she may know of other issues that
might be of interest to us. The two people from our office who would meet with
her are Doug Horne, Chief Analyst for Military Records (who Ms. Pike knows) and
Kim Heard, a Senior Attorney…."
Gunn then heard from ONI, who wrote: “The Department of the Navy strongly objects to LCDR Pike’s cooperation in the investigation being conducted by Mr. Jeremy Gunn of the JFK Assassinations Records Review Board. ONI is unaware of any unauthorized investigation regarding this issue. If Mr. Gunn wishes to conduct an investigation or inquiry, such an effort should be coordinated through the Office of Naval Intelligence.”
In a
Gunn then heard from ONI, who wrote: “The Department of the Navy strongly objects to LCDR Pike’s cooperation in the investigation being conducted by Mr. Jeremy Gunn of the JFK Assassinations Records Review Board. ONI is unaware of any unauthorized investigation regarding this issue. If Mr. Gunn wishes to conduct an investigation or inquiry, such an effort should be coordinated through the Office of Naval Intelligence.”
LCDR Pike was brought up before an Article 32 hearing to
determine if she should be court-martialed. [Article 32 (a): No charge or specification may be referred to a general
court-martial for trial until a thorough and impartial investigation of all the
matters set forth therein has been made. This investigation shall include
inquiry as to the truth of the matter set forth in the charges, consideration
of the form of charges, and recommendation as to the disposition which should
be made of the case in the interest of justice and discipline. (b) The accused
shall be advised of the charges against him and of his right to be represented
at that investigation as provided in section 838 of this title (article 38) and
in regulations prescribed under that section...]
Just as in the film “A Few Good Men” (“You can’t handle the truth!”) and the TV show JAG, an Article 32 hearing was held in a courtroom in Building 200, Washington Navy Yard, 2nd floor, and commenced at 0900 on Monday, 16, March, 1998, but the results are unknown. It is known however, that Pike’s attorney (Shelton SCI and
Top Secret Materials. Sheldon stated that the prosecutors needed to make this
stuff go away because he was planning on dragging it all out and it would hit
the newspapers, etc. Sheldon stated that there was some feeling that ONI was
trying to shuffle some of the JFK stuff to the side.”
Just as in the film “A Few Good Men” (“You can’t handle the truth!”) and the TV show JAG, an Article 32 hearing was held in a courtroom in Building 200, Washington Navy Yard, 2nd floor, and commenced at 0900 on Monday, 16, March, 1998, but the results are unknown. It is known however, that Pike’s attorney (
The case was being made on Pike's behalf that she was being reprimanded, not
for fraudulent travel, but because she had found some important records that
the ONI wanted to keep from being made pubic.
The JAG officer who was responsible for signing off on the
ONI records responsive to the JFK Act was Lt. Commander (LCDR) D. Bastien. In a
letter from Doug Horne to LCDR R. D. Bastien, Horne makes note of some of the
fires Pike started that Bastien was trying to stamp out:
“The purpose of this letter is to memorialize for the record our meeting….You suggested a correction in my summation of information provided by LCDR Pike…in which I quoted her as saying that ONI searches would include district offices within CONUS. You advised that although ONI had district offices in the past, there are no longer any district offices within CONUS, subsequently to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) splitting away from ONI as a separate entity. You further clarified that the only locations where you would expect to find ONI records today would be at the Federal Records Center in Suitland, at the Naval Historical Center, or at Archives II in College Park….You were confident that ONI had searched for and had not located any files for the Director of ONI,…Although LCDR Pike had promised delivery of the originals of those documents, ….the Review Board was still not in receipt of these documents….LCDR Pike had recently mentioned to our staff that she had located Naval Attache Records responsive to the JFK Act during her searches of RG 289, and had placed them in a box that she had labeled ‘44USC 2107.’
It was unclear from our conversation with her whether this box was left at
the FRC in Suitland ,
or whether it was located at ONI headquarters…Please confirm for me, in
writing, whether….ONI conducted search of records centers in San
Francisco Atlanta San Diego
An ARRB staffer who dealt with Bastien described him as, “...a real bastard, the nastiest individual I encountered within the military structure. He seemed actively opposed to what we were doing at the ARRB...He was a Navy legal officer, a military attorney, acting as the pit bull guard dog protecting the ONI family jewels.”
[22] LCDR Bastien, R.D. JAG Officer who replaced Pike and signed off on ONI compliance with JFK Act, under penalty of perjury.
“The purpose of this letter is to memorialize for the record our meeting….You suggested a correction in my summation of information provided by LCDR Pike…in which I quoted her as saying that ONI searches would include district offices within CONUS. You advised that although ONI had district offices in the past, there are no longer any district offices within CONUS, subsequently to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) splitting away from ONI as a separate entity. You further clarified that the only locations where you would expect to find ONI records today would be at the Federal Records Center in Suitland, at the Naval Historical Center, or at Archives II in College Park….You were confident that ONI had searched for and had not located any files for the Director of ONI,…Although LCDR Pike had promised delivery of the originals of those documents, ….the Review Board was still not in receipt of these documents….LCDR Pike had recently mentioned to our staff that she had located Naval Attache Records responsive to the JFK Act during her searches of RG 289, and had placed them in a box that she had labeled ‘44
An ARRB staffer who dealt with Bastien described him as, “...a real bastard, the nastiest individual I encountered within the military structure. He seemed actively opposed to what we were doing at the ARRB...He was a Navy legal officer, a military attorney, acting as the pit bull guard dog protecting the ONI family jewels.”
[22] LCDR Bastien, R.D. JAG Officer who replaced Pike and signed off on ONI compliance with JFK Act, under penalty of perjury.
After leaving the ARRB under a cloud two months before it
was finished with its work, its chief counsel and Executive Director T. J. Gunn
began working for the ACLU and now works in Morocco
In the Final Report of the ARRB, Chapter 8 Compliance with
the JFK Act by Government Offices - a. Office of Naval Intelligence: “6. The
Review Board pursued the matter of ONI records separately. Accordingly, the
Board requested that ONI submit its own certification of its compliance with
the JFK Act. In its Final Declaration of Compliance, ONI stated that it
conducted an extensive review of ONI records held at Federal Records Centers
throughout the country. ONI did not identify any additional assassination
records. ONI was unable to find any relevant files for the Director of ONI from
1959 to 1964. ONI also acknowledged that there were additional ONI records
that were not reviewed for assassination records, but that these records would
be reviewed under Executive Order 12958 requiring declassification of
government records.”
So in the end, ONI reported that it could not find any relevant assassination
records on the assassination from its Dallas Office(s), no “119 Reports” on
Oswald or any pre-assassination, post-defection or post-assassination
investigation reports, and that no relevant records whatsoever from the office of
the Director of ONI. And there’s some confusion as to whether it turned over the defector records Pike discovered and whether ONI turned over all of its records
or kept some back so they can be reviewed under Ex Or. 12958.
The Office of Naval Intelligence submitted its Final Declaration of Compliance datedMay 18, 1998 ,
signed by LCDR R. D. Bastien.
The Navy confirmed that it did not locate any relevant 1959-1964 files for the Director of ONI.
The Office of Naval Intelligence submitted its Final Declaration of Compliance dated
The Navy confirmed that it did not locate any relevant 1959-1964 files for the Director of ONI.
[23] ARRB Final Report, Chapter 8, 14. Dept. of Navy 5. ONI.
Also see: Railroading of LCDR Terri Pike and related ONI-ARRB Records;
Chronology prepared by ARRB Staff.
ADMIRAL RUFUS TAYLOR – DIRECTOR OFFICE NAVAL
INTELLIGENCE
The footnote of the Final Report of the ARRB in the reports
on Fred Reeves notes that, “One of the officers who called Mr. Reeves (to
initiate the now missing reports on a post-defection inquiry into Oswald) was Rufus Taylor, who was
Director of Naval Intelligence in 1964…”
In a
It is not such a wild idea that the pre-assassination
investigation into Oswald the defector and post assassination investigation of
Oswald the assassin were ordered and “handled outside normal investigative
channels” by those at the very top - the Commandant of the Marine Corp and
Director of Office of Naval Intelligence. We know these files were there at one
time, and it is inconceivable that ONI has lost the most significant records of
its director, and that they have not undertaken the routine CI investigation to
determine what became of them and to make sure they didn't fall into the hands
of the enemy or opposition - the Russians, Chinese, Wikileaks or the American
public.
During 1967 through 1969, Rufus Taylor was the Deputy Director of the
[24] Taylor, Adml. Rufus – Director ONI. Background. http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2011/10/rear-admiral-rufus-taylor-records-gone.html
Reconstructing the Oswald ONI File
So it now can be said for certain that the Director of the
Office of Naval Intelligence Rufus Taylor took a personal interest in Oswald
both before the assassination by personally ordering the investigation of his
defection to the Soviet Union in 1959, and after the assassination by
suggesting an alleged association between Oswald and Ruby, citing local Dallas
ONI undercover agents.
San Diego ONI investigator Commander Robert Steel confirmed
that Fred Reeves was in charge of the San Diego Navy CIS office and he (Steel)
had probably carried out the actual Oswald investigation for Reeves, as ordered
by Taylor, and wrote the “119 Reports” that are now among the missing ONI
records.
The missing ONI records may have been destroyed, but more
than likely are either misfiled or being intentionally and illegally withheld,
in which case it might be possible to persuade ONI to acknowledge them and
release them to NARA
The appropriate oversight committee of Congress should hold hearings on the enforcement of the JFK Act, twenty years after, and obtain the appropriate testimony that establishes the existence or non-existence of certain records, get LTDR Pike and others who had identified requested records to go back through the files and attempt to find them, and ensure that all of the relevant records in existence are located and turned over to theNARA for inclusion in the JFK
Records Collection.
The appropriate oversight committee of Congress should hold hearings on the enforcement of the JFK Act, twenty years after, and obtain the appropriate testimony that establishes the existence or non-existence of certain records, get LTDR Pike and others who had identified requested records to go back through the files and attempt to find them, and ensure that all of the relevant records in existence are located and turned over to the
Oswald’s non-classified military file was kept at the
military records center in St. Louis
Oswald’s ONI file and the ONI records related to the assassination can be reconstructed in much the same way,
and while it may have been stripped clean of all incriminating and embarrassing
information, like Oliver Stone’s Mercedes left in Harlem for fifty years, we
still have the basic skeletal frame and the testimony of those officers who
have seen the entire file, or most of it, and we can reconstruct the ONI file from
those recollections and the records of other agencies.
[25] Reconstructing the ONI Assassination Files.
Bill Kelly
Bkjfk3@yahoo.com
Notes and Footnotes to ONI Records Revisited
[1] ONI Letter, Steel, Robert D. Nov. 24, 1963 to DPD Det. Paul Bentley, re:
Oswald, Lee Harvey; Sullivan, A.C. ONI. http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-oni-letter.html
[2] Steel, Robert D. Oral History Interview transcript. Attached.
[3] Bentley, Paul. Background http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2013/01/dallas-police-detective-paul-bentley.html
Notes: It is interesting that the New York Times ran three - 3 corrections to Bentley's obituary, including correcting the type of hat typically worn by Dallas detectives - a Resistol, not a Stetson. There is also the question of why Bentley did not mention in his reports the "A.J. Hidell" alias Oswald was reported to have in his wallet that Bentley went through on the ride to Dallas City Hall.
Notes: It is interesting that the New York Times ran three - 3 corrections to Bentley's obituary, including correcting the type of hat typically worn by Dallas detectives - a Resistol, not a Stetson. There is also the question of why Bentley did not mention in his reports the "A.J. Hidell" alias Oswald was reported to have in his wallet that Bentley went through on the ride to Dallas City Hall.
[4] Sullivan, A.C. Background.
[5] Mary Ferrell Archives. http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=10408&relPageId=157
[6[ Gemberling, Robert P. CD Doc. 7. http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2013/02/john-pic-usmc.html
[7] Oswald’s ONI File WC. Hoch, Paul. 1967. See: EOC .
https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?mode=searchResult&absPageId=73857;
http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/chapter-8.html)
Hoch, Paul. 1988 EOC .
[8] The Taylor Memo, Nov. 27, 1963 to Adml. McDonald
[9] ONI Informant Patterson homosexual (Taylor Memo);
Norrton, Don
Martin & Mitchell http://jfkcountercoup2.blogspot.com/2013/02/nsa-defectors-martin-and-mitchell.html
[10] Patterson – Oswald – Crafard; Case of mistaken
identity. Crafard is mistaken for Oswald three times, by Patterson at
Electronics Store, at coffee shop next to Vegas Club, and at Texas Employment
commission, where he gave his name as Oswald.
[11] Lankford, Mason; Background.
[12] Hoch, Paul. Echoes of Conspiracy EOC
2 (1988), pp. 1-10.
[13] Scott, Peter Dale. OSWALD, MARINE CORPS INTELLIGENCE AND
THE ASSAULT ON THE STATE DEPARTMENT -
Peter Dale Scott Fredonia Conference July 1990 http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg
Subject Index Files/S Disk/Scott Peter Dale/Item 02.pdf
[14] Horne, Douglas . Inside the ARRB.
[15] Huff Report. HSCA, USMC post-assassination
investigation of Oswald.
Huff Report: POSSIBLE MILITARY INVESTIGATION OF THE
ASSASSINATION
Staff Report HSCA March 1979 Volume XI, p. 539 (MF
p. 549) http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=83&relPageId=545
Note: When the pilot of the plane was called to testify before the HSCA he said he wanted to check with the military first, and a military lawyer was apparently permitted to cross examine the pilot when he testified. After the pilot acknowledged the flight took place, and remarked on Huff's outstanding reputation and qualities, the military lawyer asked the pilot a second time about Huff's character, and the pilot reluctantly said that he thought Huff might have been mentally unbalanced. This was clearly an agreed upon and untrue statement meant to undermine Huff's credibility, and reflects on how far the military was prepared to go to keep the report secret.
Note: When the pilot of the plane was called to testify before the HSCA he said he wanted to check with the military first, and a military lawyer was apparently permitted to cross examine the pilot when he testified. After the pilot acknowledged the flight took place, and remarked on Huff's outstanding reputation and qualities, the military lawyer asked the pilot a second time about Huff's character, and the pilot reluctantly said that he thought Huff might have been mentally unbalanced. This was clearly an agreed upon and untrue statement meant to undermine Huff's credibility, and reflects on how far the military was prepared to go to keep the report secret.
[16] Final Report Assassinations Records Review Board
(Chapter 6 Part I: The Quest for Additional Information and Records in
Federal Government Offices) a. U.S. Marine Corps records of post-assassination
investigation of Oswald.
[17] Final Report ARRB on post-defection investigation of
Oswald by ONI (aka Reeves Report). Reeves
Report, ARRB.
[18] See: Railroading of Terri Pike http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2011/10/railroading-of-lcdr-terri-pike-over.html
[19] ONI response to ARRB Requests.
[20] March 11, 1997
ARRB Meeting Report
[21] Railroading of LCDR Terri Pike and related ONI-ARRB
records. Chronology prepared by ARRB Staff
[22] Bastien, LCDR, R. D. JAG officer, replaced Pike and
signed off on ONI compliance with JFK Act under penalty of perjury.
[23] ARRB Final
Report, Chapter 8, 14 Dept. of Navy, 5. ONI.
[24 Taylor, Adml. Rufus – Director ONI. Background.
[25] Reconstructing the ONI Assassination Files.
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - MORE TO COME
ReplyDelete[2] Steel, Robert D. Oral History Interview transcript. Attached.
Attached to what?
What do I have to do to read it here?
The interviewer of Lt. Cmdr. Robert D. Steel, USNR-Ret,
--Thomas Graves
La Jolla, Calif.
See Robert Steel transcript at JFKCountercoup.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteMay 2016 Post