Embedded
w/ Snipers
By
William Kelly
“In a
free society, counter-espionage is based on the practice most useful for
hunting rabbits. Rather than look for the rabbit, one posts oneself in a spot
where the rabbit is likely to pass."
The lead
Humvee in the convoy suddenly comes to a halt as it slips under a tree on the
edge of town, an empty tin can, hanging from a branch by a thread, dangles in
the breeze.
To the
untrained eye it is an empty tin can hanging from a tree, but to the trained
eye it’s a sure sign of danger – a makeshift wind gauge, a sniper’s wind gauge,
indicating a Level 2 or Level 3 sniper is operating in the area and they were
about to enter the sniper’s kill zone.
When
Uncle Sam contacted me for a special mission recently, I answered the call and
spent a few weeks in the field helping to train American soldiers, including
expert snipers, from whom I learned some things that can be applied to a better
understanding of the mechanics of what happened at Dealey Plaza on November 22,
1963.
Before
trying to figure out who the Sixth Floor Sniper was and why he did the things
he did, a few things must be understood about the nature of the sniper
profession.
Not a
new idea, the historical development of the sniper as a key surgeon in the
course of battle has only been perfected in the last half of the twentieth
century.
During
the Revolutionary War, at the Battle of Brandywine, near Philadelphia, Patrick
Ferguson a British sniper had General George Washington in his sights, but
decided not to shoot him in the back as he thought it ungentlemanly to do so,
thus sparing the life of the man who would be the first president of the
American republic.
At
Saratoga, a few months later, an American sniper with a Kentucky long rifle
shot and killed a British general, decisively altering the outcome of not only
that battle but the war.
On
eighteen and nineteenth century war ships, the marines were issued long barrel
rifles and placed in high mast nests from where they would shoot select targets
during battles, so friendly forces were forced to wear identifying marks on
their hats so not to be accidentally hit by the marine marksmen.
As
European gunsmiths refined the rifle and ammo, the abilities of marksmen
increased, though applying the weapon for assassination purposes didn’t become
effective until World War II, and increased steadily through the Korean War and
Vietnam, when the sniper came into his own.
Snipers
played pivotal roles on the Russian front during World War II, and refined
their abilities in Korea, but it wasn’t until Vietnam (1965-1973) when the
Level One sniper came into his own, especially recruited, trained, equipped and
sent into the field on specific missions.
Historically
snipers were responsible for killing mobster Bugsy Siegel, civil rights
activist Medgar Evers, and the Texas Tower murders, as well as failed attempts
to kill Charles deGaul and Fidel Castro.
Traditionally snipers have been measured by the ultimate yardstick – confirmed kills, as well as the longest shot, most difficult shot and high target value.
Traditionally snipers have been measured by the ultimate yardstick – confirmed kills, as well as the longest shot, most difficult shot and high target value.
As for
confirmed kills, there is Simo Hayha on top, and no one else really close.
Although relatively unknown outside of his native Finnland, where he is a
national hero, you can thank Hayha for popularizing the Olympic sport that
combines cross country skiing and accurate shooting, as that’s the way he
attacked and killed over seven hundred invading Russians in 1939.
A lone
wolf with no military chain of command, Hayha used his intimate knowledge of
the terrain to attack and evade the Soviets, who kept track and confirmed his
kills and sent Level 1 sniper teams and eventually a hole brigade to stop him.
Following
Hayha, there’s a Fyodor Okhlopkova, a World War II Russian sniper with 423
kills, and Francis Pegahmagabow, a Canadian native American Indian scout and
sniper credited with 378 kills during World War I.
A World
War II German, Matthaus Hetzenauer comes in at number four with 345 kills,
while his Russian front antagonists Lyudmila Pavlichenko (309 kills) a women,
is fifth on the all time snipers list.
Vasikly
Zaytsev, who shared Lee Harvey Oswald's nickname – “the Rabbit,” (242 kills) is
sixth, and probably one of the best known snipers thanks to the movie “Enemy at
the Gate,” which depicted the personal battle between the best German and
Russian snipers during World War II. Zaytsev went on to instruct snipers at a
special school he established and his students were known as "little
rabbits" and accounted for another 3,000 confirmed kills.
Red
Chinese sniper Zhang Tyaofang (214 kills) fought in Korea, is number seven.
The
Americans don’t rank until number 8 with Chris Kyle, a US Navy SEAL whose 160
confirmed kills during the Iraq war just outrank Australian Billy Sing, whose
150 kills during World War I and American Adelbert F. Waldron II, whose 109
kills in Vietnam round out the top ten snipers of all time.
Two
other American Marines deserve notice however, as Chuck Mawhinney (103 kills)
and Carlos Hathcock (93 kills) in Vietnam are almost celebrities, as the USMC
has an award named after Hathcock, while Mawhinney is known for being humble
about his achievements, as not even his wife, family or friends knew of his
Vietnam exploits until they were revealed in a book over twenty years
later.
Top Twelve Snipers of All Time - Based on Confirmed Kills
Top Twelve Snipers of All Time - Based on Confirmed Kills
1- Simo
Hayha – 705 kills (505 w/ rifle) Finnland 1939 WWII
2- Fyodor
Okhlopkov – 423 kills – Russian WWII
3- Francis
Pegahmagabow – 378 kills - Canadian WWI
4- Matthaus
Hetzenauer – 345 kills – German WWII
5- Lyudmila
Pavlichenko – 309 kills - Ukraine WWII
6- Vasikly
Zaytsev – the rabbit - German 242 kills WWII
7- Zhang
TYaofang – 214 kills Chinese - Korea
8- Chris
Kyle – 160 kills – US Navy SEAL – Iraq War
9- Billy
Sing – 150 + Australian during WWI
10- Adelbert
F. Waldron III – 109 kills US Navy/Army 1968 Vietnam
11- Chuck
Mawhinney – 103 kills USMC 1968
12- Carlos
Hathcock – 93 kills USMC 1968
Longest
Shot
As for
the longest shot, the long standing record once held by Canadian Corporal Rob
Furlong – 2,430 meter (1.51 miles) was recently eclipsed by Craig Harrison, of
the Royal Marines at 2,475 meters.
Carlos
Hathcock is said to have taken the most difficult shot ever, killing an enemy
sniper by shooting him through his scope as he was aiming at Hathcock. Waldron
once shot an enemy sniper in a tree from a moving boat, and an American in Iraq
made a successful shot through a brick wall.
According to the snipers, Oswald is a Level Three sniper who is officially credited with making the most difficult shot of all time at the highest priority target, and that's why they don't believe it.
According to the snipers, Oswald is a Level Three sniper who is officially credited with making the most difficult shot of all time at the highest priority target, and that's why they don't believe it.
Before
the Dealey Plaza analysis begins however, for starters, you must understand
that there are three categories of snipers. From the Sniper’s Manual (Based on
the Canadian Army TTP – Training, Techniques and Procedures.
Level
One – the Specially Trained Sniper
The most
dangerous sniper is the one who is individually selected, trained and equipped
with an accurate sniper rifle outfitted with a modern scope, night vision
device and thermal imager, an expert trained to select key personnel as their
target and can hit the bull’s eye accurately at great ranges (1,000+ meters).
These
snipers are accompanied by a spotter-security aide and are skilled in avoiding
detection. This sniper is the most difficult to effectively counter.
The
Level One sniper doesn't take multiple shots at a target when one shot is all
that’s needed. As they say, “One shot one kill,” is their motto.
This
level sniper is portrayed in the Hollywood movie “The Shooter," which
exemplifies the training, discipline, pride and professionalism exhibited by
expert snipers at this level.
Level
Two Snipers
Level
Two Snipers are trained marksmen, often found in the national armies of the
world and commonly utilized in urban combat, equipped with a standard issue
weapon and with fair to good field craft skills, he is difficult to detect. May
be deployed alone or in teams, with women snipers effective against the Nazis
on the Russian front during World War II.
The
Level Three Sniper
The
Level Three sniper is the armed irregular, with little or no formal military
training, who may or may not wear a distinguishing uniform, and may or may not
carry his weapon openly. He will go to great lengths to avoid identification as
a sniper.
The 6.5 mm Manlicher Carcano with cheap Japanese scope and custom US Air Force
holster sling (Where did Oswald get the sling?)
The gunsmith at Klines Sporting Goods in Chicago who mounted the scope on the rifle recently came out and acknowledged that Oswald got "very, very lucky," if in fact he used that gun to kill Kennedy.
The gunsmith at Klines Sporting Goods in Chicago who mounted the scope on the rifle recently came out and acknowledged that Oswald got "very, very lucky," if in fact he used that gun to kill Kennedy.
The
Sixth Floor Sniper, whether it was Lee Harvey Oswald or someone else, would be
classified a Level Three Sniper by his weapon – the Mannlicher Carcano, a
standard issue Italian weapon, and if Oswald, by his limited US Marine Corps
training.
Winchester Model 70 - Circa 1963
As
explained to me, a Level One sniper wouldn’t use that weapon and wouldn’t need
or take more than one shot. In 1963, a Level One sniper would probably use a
state of the art custom weapon and scope, or a prized Winchester Model 70
[http://en.wikipedia.og/wiki/Winchester_Model_70][ or Remington Model 700
rifle [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_700],
top of the line models.
Remington Model 700 - Circa
1963
Since
the weapon and MO – modus operandi – identifies the Sixth Floor Sniper as a
Level Three Sniper, Level One snipers say the Sixth Floor Sniper probably
didn’t take the fatal head shot that killed President Kennedy.
There
are also indications that the bullet that struck JFK in the head was a
different type of bullet than those fired from the Mannlicher Carcano, and that
shot was probably taken by a Level One sniper with a different style of weapon,
different type of bullet from a different location.
From the
Sixth Floor sniper’s nest, the best shot was when the target was approaching
the window on Houston Street, as it slowed down for the turn onto Elm Street,
and from then on the shots get harder, as the target moves from left to right
on a downward slope and interference by a tree.
The U.S.
Army Sniper’s Manual says under Engaging Moving Targets that: “Engaging moving
targets not only requires the Sniper to determine the target distance and wind
effects on the round, but must also consider the lateral and speed angle of the
target, the rounds time of flight, and the placement of a proper level to
compensate for both. These added variables increase the chance of a miss.
Therefore, the Sniper should engage a moving target when it is the only option.”
To
calculate leads, you take the Time of Flight (in seconds) x (times) target
speed (in feet per seconds) which equals = lead (in feet) x (times) .3048 =
meters x 1000 = mil. lead divided by range.
Of
course familiarity with the weapon and practice shooting at moving targets
increases the ability and skill of the shooter, but if Oswald was the Sixth
Floor Sniper there is no indication that he ever shot that rifle before, didn’t
practice or even purchase ammo for it.
As Lee
Harvey Oswald’s brother Robert, who was familiar with his shooting abilities
said, “If Lee did not spend a considerable amount of time practicing with that
rifle in the weeks and months before the assassination, then I would say that
Lee did not fire the shots that killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor
Connally.” (p. 208, “Lee – A Portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald by his Brother,
Coward-McCann, Inc., NY, 1967)
For the
Fiftieth anniversary of the assassination, the gunsmith at Kline’s in Chicago
who placed the scope on Oswald’s rifle was interviewed and quoted in a news
article saying that if Oswald used that rifle and scope he was “very lucky,”
and the snipers agree.
All of
the snipers agree that whoever fired those shots with that rifle from the Sixth
Floor window he did not use the scope, which was not properly aligned and not
necessary at that distance, where the manual sight would be sufficient.
While
the Sixth Floor sniper didn’t take the best shot from that location, as the
nearly stationary target came towards him, the head shot was most probably
taken by a Level One Sniper from either in front or behind so there was no
lateral movement as the target came towards or was going away from him.
From
what the Level One snipers tell me, the purpose of the Sixth Floor Sniper was
to provide diversion and deception, put ballistic evidence incriminating Oswald
into the car while the Level One sniper did what such snipers are trained to do
– kill the high priority target (HPT) with one shot.
They say
the Sixth Floor Sniper, whoever he was, was a Level Three sniper and his
standard issue weapon, while capable of firing three shots in the allotted time
and get out of three hits on target, was incapable of taking the fatal head
shot from that position with that weapon. Not a “lucky” shot, it couldn’t
happen. So there must have been a Level One sniper who took the fatal head shot
from another location, using a different type of weapon and ammo, and stationed
in front of or behind the target.
Integral
aspects of the Level One sniper attack, the diversion and deception not only
ensures the escape of the sniper and his spotter, but also protects the actual
sponsors, as one of the reasons for using a sniper to commit an assassination
is permit the escape of the shooter and to protect the sponsor.
The
diversion and deception were needed because there would be limited suspects if
a Level One sniper killed the President with only one shot, incriminating those
few military and intelligence agencies capable of putting a Level One sniper in
the field and taking out the highest priority target in the world without
getting caught. The Level Three sniper firing openly at the same time diverted
attention from the Level One sniper, expanded the suspect pool in general and
incriminated Oswald in particular.
In the
Marines Oswald’s nickname was “Ozzie Rabbit,” which they said was based on a
cartoon character popular at that time, and like Alice goes Through the Looking
Glass and into the Rabbit’s Hole to begin her adventure, those who devised the
Dealey Plaza operation incorporated Oswald, not as the real assassin or the
Sixth Floor sniper, but as the patsy and rabbit that would be set loose to set
a false trail and keep the official investigators from the real perpetrators of
the crime.
In his
book, “A Sniper Looks at Dealey
Plaza,” Craig Roberts concurs saying, “I analyzed the scene as a
sniper,….(and concluded)…it would take a minimum of two people shooting. There
was little hope that I alone, even if equipped with precision equipment, would
be able to duplicate the feat described by the Warren Commission,” so neither
could Lee Harvey Oswald, or any Level Three sniper.
“I would
have never put anyone in the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) with so many
locations that were much more advantageous,” Roberts said, “unless I needed a
diversion. If I did, it would be a good place for red herrings to be observed
by witnesses.”
As seen
from the street below, the Sixth Floor Sniper, according to all witnesses who
saw him, wore a white shirt (Oswald wore brown), and according to one witness
(Amos Eunis) who got a clear view of him, the sniper in the window had a very
distinctive bald spot on the top of his head, not a physical characteristic
shared by Oswald. Like Oswald, the Sixth Floor Sniper probably had good reason
to be there, possibly worked in the building or as a subcontractor or delivery
person familiar with the area, one who it wouldn’t seem suspicious for other
employees to see him there.
Nor did
he leave immediately, as the Warren Commission Report has Oswald running down
four flights of stairs to get to the Second Floor lunchroom in time to be seen
there by Dallas Police officer Marion Baker ninety seconds after the last shot.
The Sixth Floor Sniper took his time, did not run, and instead, as the photo
evidence proves, he moved boxes around, putting one on the window sill that was
mistakenly believed to have been used as a gun rest. He was still in the window
nearly four to five minutes after the shooting when seen by a secretary from
across the street. If not a TSBD employee or contractor, the Sixth Floor Sniper
was possibly a police or sheriff’s officer who just stayed nearby and blended
in with the other investigators when they began a search of the building.
The
sniper’s analysis is that the Sixth Floor, Level Three sniper’s job was to
divert and deceive, not to kill, and he did not take the fatal head shot, which
was probably taken by a Level One sniper from a location in front of or behind
the target, with a different style weapon and type of bullet, one that
shattered on impact.
This
sniper’s analysis is supported by the 1998 report by U.S. Attorney John Orr
that indicates the bullet that hit JFK in the head was a different type of
bullet than CE399 and other bullets fired from the Mannlicher Carcano rifle
found in the TSBD. Orr’s important report convinced the Department of Justice,
the FBI, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and
Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) to conduct further tests of CE567,
bullet fragments from the limo, no mean feat.
Like the
snipers, when a veteran deer hunter visited Dealey Plaza he was immediately
drawn to the area behind the picket fence on the Grassy Knoll and said that’s
where he would set up his deer stand.
But a
Level One sniper could take that fatal head shot from hundreds of yards away,
tucked back in a room away from the window so that no one could see him. Level
One snipers are the most difficult to detect and to counter.
According
to the Canadian Army Sniper Manual, the best way to stop a sniper is for
another sniper to kill him. The manual says: “The best way to stop the sniper
is to kill the sniper. Let them escape and they will attack someone else, somewhere
else.”
Counter-snipers
are instructed to “Have a plan and rehears it. Do Not fixate on casualties!
Kill the sniper, then attend to casualties.”
When
under fire the response policy is to keep moving, get out of the Kill Zone as
quickly as possible and move in a swerving S or Z pattern, identify the
sniper’s location, return fire, maneuver, attack and kill them. “Do not fixate
on casualties, kill the sniper!”
Although
Will Greer, the Secret Service driver was trained in these same procedures he
inexplicably slowed down after the first shot and came to almost a complete
stop precisely at the moment the head shot was taken. A Protestant Irishman
from Northern Ireland, Agent Greer was an Orangeman who belonged to the secret
order that fought the IRA and worked closely with the British MI5 and MI6
intelligence agencies.
Ian
Fleming, in the short story “The Living
Daylights,” has 007 assigned to kill a sniper expected to try to shoot
a defector running across the no-man’s land at the Berlin Wall, and James Bond
is surprised to see through his scope a beautiful women sniper, and he is
reprimanded when he only wounds and doesn’t kill her.
The
President’s security sometimes included counter-sniper snipers. Such
precautions were taken a few weeks before Dallas when the President visited
Tampa and traveled through the city in a similar motorcade, and over a dozen
Tampa Sheriff’s deputies were deployed with rifles on roofs along the motorcade
route. But no such precautions were taken in Dallas.
It has
been alleged (by Penn Jones), that Dallas Deputy Sheriff Weatherford was on the
Records Building roof overlooking Dealey Plaza with a rifle at the time of the
assassination, and there are published reports he returned fire. But
Weatherford’s official statement reflects that he was on the Houston Street
sidewalk with other deputies. Weatherford said that he was with Deputy Allan
Sweatt, whose statement confirms Weatherford’s story that they ran to the
Grassy Knoll before entering the back of the TSBD and searched the building.
Weatherford
assisted in the search of the sixth floor that discovered the shells and the
rifle, but failed to find Oswald’s clipboard, and he also participated in the
search of the Paine’s house and garage when the backyard photos were found
depicting Oswald holding the murder weapons and communist publications, which
was part of the cover-story, a failed black propaganda operation that attempted
to blame the assassination on Fidel Castro.
Just as
the dangling tin can was sign indicating there was a sniper operating in the
area, there were similar signs of danger before JFK entered Dealey Plaza, but
they went unheeded or were intentionally ignored.
Of the
Dealey Plaza danger signs, a few stand out, especially those who expressed
foreknowledge of the assassination, the Walker shooting, the recorded Alpha 66
threat, the Stevenson incident and Umbrella Man.
While
each of these danger signs should be reviewed in depth, the Umbrella Man was
right there at Dealey Plaza, and he admits that his umbrella was intended to be
a sign – a silent protest, a signal and message that President Kennedy would
recognize and understand – a sign that referred to his father’s isolationist
stand at the beginning of World War II, the image of Chamberlain’s umbrella at
Munich that represented the failed policy of “appeasement” with the Nazis,
which the Umbrella Man implied was JFK’s policy towards communists.
Louie Steven Witt, a Dallas insurance office worker who claimed to be the Umbrella Man, told the HSCA that the umbrella was a visual protest of JFK’s father’s policies of appeasement of Hitler at Munich when he was ambassador to the UK (1938-39), with the umbrella being a reference to Nevelle Chamberlain. Witt told the HSCA that it was someone in his insurance office - the Rio Grande National Insurance Co., told him that the Kennedys were sore about the umbrella being used as protest sign. “I was going to use the umbrella to heckle the president’s motorcade….I just knew it was a sore sport with the Kennedys. I just knew the vague generalities of it. It had something to do with something that happened years ago with the father Joe Kennedy when he was the Ambassador to England.”
Louie Steven Witt, a Dallas insurance office worker who claimed to be the Umbrella Man, told the HSCA that the umbrella was a visual protest of JFK’s father’s policies of appeasement of Hitler at Munich when he was ambassador to the UK (1938-39), with the umbrella being a reference to Nevelle Chamberlain. Witt told the HSCA that it was someone in his insurance office - the Rio Grande National Insurance Co., told him that the Kennedys were sore about the umbrella being used as protest sign. “I was going to use the umbrella to heckle the president’s motorcade….I just knew it was a sore sport with the Kennedys. I just knew the vague generalities of it. It had something to do with something that happened years ago with the father Joe Kennedy when he was the Ambassador to England.”
The Umbrella Man at Dealey Plaza
Who planted the seed in Witt’s mind to heckle the president? Perhaps it was someone who also shared an office in the Rio Grande building, - which included the Secret Service, Army Intelligence and the Emigration and Naturalization Service, where Oswald visited numerous times. Witt’s references to Chamberlain’s umbrella and appeasement at Munich are echoed exactly by General LeMay at the White House a year earlier.'
Chamberlain - Appeasement at Munich
At the
height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, on October 19, 1962, President Kennedy met
in the Oval Office with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when Air Force Chief Gen.
Curtis LeMay was recorded as saying, “…I don’t see any other solution for it
[other than direct military action].….This is almost as bad as the appeasement
at Munich.(Pause)...” Sheldon Stern: “The general had gone well
beyond merely giving advice or even disagreeing with his Commander-in-chief. He
had taken his generation’s ultimate metaphor for shortsightedness and
cowardice, the 1938 appeasement of Hitler at Munich, and flung it in the
President’s face. President Kennedy, in a remarkable display of sang froid,
refused to take the bait; he said absolutely nothing.”
A few
minutes later JFK did reply to LeMay’s remark that, “…In other words, you’re in
a pretty bad fix at the present time.”
“What
did you say?” Kennedy asked.
“You’re
in a pretty bad fix,” LeMay repeated. And in a response that the Miller
Center’s transcriptionists got wrong, JFK told LeMay that, “You’re in it with
me.”
And the
pretty bad fix that JFK and LeMay were in together then was not about Munich
but Cuba.
Then, as
JFK entered Dealey Plaza and the sniper’s Kill Zone, the Umbrella Man's sign
may have been the last thing Kennedy saw before his head was shattered by a
bullet fired by a Level One sniper who was not Lee Harvey Oswald.
Joe Kennedy - US Ambassador to the Court of St. James
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2014/02/view-from-snipers-nest.html
http://jfkcountercoup.blogspot.com/2014/02/view-from-snipers-nest.html
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