Barnidge: Secret Service agent dispels JFK conspiracy theories
By Tom Barnidge
Contra Costa Times columnist
12/20/2010
ONE OF THE recurring questions that Gerald Blaine hears as he talks about President John F. Kennedy's assassination is why he now, 47 years later, chose to write a book about the tragedy.
The former Secret Service agent, who served throughout Kennedy's presidency, said someone needed to set the record straight.
"Unfortunately, since the assassination, history has been dominated by a cottage industry called conspiracy theory," he said. "When it finally reached the point where people started accusing the agents of being part of it, well "..."
No event in American history has been more thoroughly debated or dissected than the death of our 35th president. Conspiracy theorists have linked the assassination to organized crime, Fidel Castro and every alphabet organization from the KGB to the FBI to the CIA.
If you Google "JFK assassination," you will get 882,000 hits and dozens of far-flung theories.
Judging by the crowd at the Pleasanton Library on Sunday, when Blaine talked about his book, "Kennedy Detail," interest has not waned. About 250 people crammed into a room where a sign read: "Maximum Occupancy: 139." Dozens more were turned away.
Blaine, 84, said he went years without talking about JFK's death -- not even to his family.
"I didn't want to bother the family," he said, "and I didn't know how to deal with it. I found out that was consistent with every agent who worked for President
Kennedy. Not one of them talked about it."
Blaine is certain that Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone. His marksmanship skills were more than adequate, and he perfectly fit an assassin's profile.
"He had psychiatric problems when he was a young man," Blaine said. "He had problems in military service and problems holding down a job. He even had a problem when he tried to defect, and he had a marriage that failed.
"Also, about a month or two before taking a shot at the president, he took a shot at a general in Texas. The bullet just missed, but it was traced back to Oswald's rifle."
Kennedy was shot while riding in an open-top car -- a president rides only in bulletproof vehicles today, Blaine said -- but that was in keeping with his personality. He wanted to see and be seen by the people.
The fateful Dallas appearance marked the last of several southern stops, including Tampa, Fla., San Antonio and Houston. Earlier in the trip, Secret Service agents rode on the back of the presidential limousine, which likely would have obstructed Oswald's aim. Kennedy stopped that.
"The president told us, 'I've got to use my political style, and my political style is to be among the people, to greet them and have them be able to see me,' " Blaine said.
The assassination still torments the former agent, but what makes matters worse is what he regards as misrepresentation of what he knows to be true.
"How many of you saw the movie 'JFK'?" he asked, referencing a film that reinforced conspiracy theories. "Unfortunately for our youth, that seems to be their history book.
"An article last month in USA Today said 82 percent of young people between 18 and 29 believe that President Kennedy's assassination was a conspiracy. "
He said he has no illusions of transforming the doubters, but he hopes his book, which includes input from fellow agents, will at least put facts on the table.
"If we make history out of the wild stories," he said, "you'll never trust history again." Blaine said he knows the truth about what happened in Dallas. He's had to live with it for 47 years.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Secret Service MANUAL
You won't find any Secret Service manual anywhere from any era: they are classified. And, yes: I am 1000000000000% sure there was and is and always has been a manual. Periodically, I get people randomly questioning the late Col Fletcher Prouty's "contention" that there was a manual...on THAT score, he was correct.
Beyond my absolute certainty, think about it this way: every major employer has an employee handbook---why wouldn't the Secret Service ("no,that's fine, boys; just go out there and fly blind: no written procedures or precedent needed" LOL)
Vince
For the proof there is/was a pre-assassination manual, see the only two over-the counter sources:
http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh18/html/WH_Vol18_0340a.htm
and
Bowen and Neal, "The United States Secret Service" , 1960, p. 209
Vince Palamara
Beyond my absolute certainty, think about it this way: every major employer has an employee handbook---why wouldn't the Secret Service ("no,that's fine, boys; just go out there and fly blind: no written procedures or precedent needed" LOL)
Vince
For the proof there is/was a pre-assassination manual, see the only two over-the counter sources:
http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh18/html/WH_Vol18_0340a.htm
and
Bowen and Neal, "The United States Secret Service" , 1960, p. 209
Vince Palamara
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
VERY funny re: Amazon reviews of "The Kennedy Detail"
VERY funny re: Amazon reviews of "The Kennedy Detail"
It is VERY obvious that the grand majority of the 5-star, glowing reviews are from family and friends---one is from former agent Andy Berger's daughter, a few are from Colorado (where Blaine lives), and one is from a friend of former agent Win Lawson. One review even states "Read the book-not the REVIEWS" ...could it be because the reviews are mixed to awful, perhaps?
Expect years---decades---of my rebuttal and response to this stuff. I don't take too kindly to certified letters. To quote Rambo: "Let it go! Let it go or I'll give you a war you won't believe." He didn't "let it go" (C-Span lies, etc.)...so you know the rest.
Vince Palamara
Like Lisa McCubbin, born AFTER 11/22/63---and you point is???
It is VERY obvious that the grand majority of the 5-star, glowing reviews are from family and friends---one is from former agent Andy Berger's daughter, a few are from Colorado (where Blaine lives), and one is from a friend of former agent Win Lawson. One review even states "Read the book-not the REVIEWS" ...could it be because the reviews are mixed to awful, perhaps?
Expect years---decades---of my rebuttal and response to this stuff. I don't take too kindly to certified letters. To quote Rambo: "Let it go! Let it go or I'll give you a war you won't believe." He didn't "let it go" (C-Span lies, etc.)...so you know the rest.
Vince Palamara
Like Lisa McCubbin, born AFTER 11/22/63---and you point is???
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Excellent comments on "The Kennedy Detail" Discovery Channel special by Randy Gunter & Randy Owen
"The Warren Omission Channel Strikes Again!"
Sat Dec-04-10 12:57 AM by Randy Gunter
think it is very easy to see this presentation from the “Warren Omission Channel” aka Discovery Channel, for what it is; An attempt by these remaining USSS agents to do a self-cleansing of their souls before they check out to meet their maker. These agents have waited 47 years to return to Dallas and basically address or disclose nothing? Why? Because they are still tormented by the Dealey Plaza Demons and Ghosts of November 22, 1963. Did you notice Win Lawson in his hospital room or convalescent home? He's on his deathbed and trying to exorcise the demons.
Like many others have said, they addressed none of the plethora of USSS issues that occurred during the Dallas Debacle but yet had the nerve to complain about “their workload”, “their long hours” and “their low pay” of 1963. Jerry Blaine made the comment “I was on poverty level, had I lived in Chicago.” I think this is a gross lie, his current day annual salary comes in around $65K.
Sorry fellows, if you’re looking for sympathy from me, it isn’t happening. You chose your job, and you failed miserably at it. If you didn’t like it, quit and move on to something else (Like Jerry “Complain” Blaine did after JFK was killed). He said he "walked out and later had regrets".
As a veteran of numerous USSS missions, I can speak personally to the life of a USSS agent. You have the prestige of protecting the most important person in the world and his family, and other heads of state. You travel to some of the most exotic and exciting places in the world. You stay in some of the best hotels, resorts, and eat some of the finest cuisine known to mankind. You have the US Government provide you with PERDIEM for travel and a clothing allowance to purchase business suits and wardrobe on top of your regular pay. You meet famous persons from all types of venues. You draw a federal retirement when you're eligible. How is this so bad again?
The USSS detail had a full day on November 21, 1963; Houston, San Antonio, and a return to Fort Worth at Midnight. So, what did they do? Go to sleep? No. They decided to make a long day the longest day by going out and staying out drinking and carousing until 5 or 6 in the a.m. on November 22nd. Then report for duty within 1-2 hours to protect the President. This ladies and gentlemen was “Dereliction of Duty” in it’s highest regard.
They were sworn to protect the President and his family, and prohibited from drinking alcohol while serving in this capacity. Whenever, I was performing a USSS mission, I was cautioned, counseled, whatever you wish to call it, that I if I was found to be drinking alcohol or drunk during a USSS mission (either by being caught in the act or the smell of alcohol on my breath), I would be court-martialed by the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice).
Total Dereliction of Duty by these agents, but yet was anyone ever punished or reprimanded for their actions? No. They are viewed by some as “Heros”. Since when are the actions I have described, one of a “Hero”?
Clint Hill said the only way he came to understand and accept what happened in DP that fateful day was by admitting “That the shooter had the advantage that day.”
Oh really, Mr. Hill? If that isn’t the biggest copout I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is. So you and your fellow USSS agents were doing all you could by staying out all night drinking, and by compromising the security and integrity of the parade route (i.e. By not posting agents or security in high threat and vulnerable areas such as the slow turns where open windows were prevalent and where cover and concealment were obvious threats (i.e. Grassy Knoll, Storm Drains, Open Building Windows), and by ordering agents not to react even when JFK was under attack?
Wow, I guess when you give all of those advantages away without a fight and saying that “The shooter had all the advantage that day”, you are correct Mr. Hill.
Randy
"A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living." - John F. Kennedy
---------------
After a delay in the U.S., “The Kennedy Detail” documentary aired last night on the Canadian Discovery Channel. The two-hour special, with former Secret Service agents, has its highlights and lowlights.
For those interested in seeing rare family films and photos of the Kennedys, the show aired several I have never seen before. There is some remarkable footage and fascinating anecdotes by some of the agents. Recently, documentary filmmakers have been using an interesting technique to make still photographs come alive. It's a simulated 3-D effect in which the subjects in the photo appear closer to the camera than the rest of the picture, and in some cases, there is a slow zoom-in on the subjects making it appear they are slowly moving. Unfortunately, the producers and edits picked the wrong picture to use this technique on. I'll explain later.
In the lead-up to the assassination, the documentary did an excellent job of showing what the Secret Service agents went through during the course of their duties...the low pay, the days and weeks of being away from their own families, and their attachment to the subjects they were supposed to protect. The agents' memories of the death of infant Patrick Kennedy is just one of the very moving segments of the show.
There are some rare views of JFK's visit to Florida in the days before his death. However, there is no discussion of possible plots to kill him, as alleged in some recent books.
As for the assassination, there is a lot of rarely seen footage. For longtime researchers, they won't find anything new, however. There is a cool animation showing the location of some of the agents in the motorcade.
It's heartbreaking to see interview subjects break down and cry, like several did in the 1988 series “The Men Who Killed Kennedy.” That was 25 years after the assassination. Now, nearly 50 years later, it's probably even more heartbreaking to see some of the agents come to tears during parts of their narrative after all these years.
Some of the issues not addressed in the show include:
-JFK's infidelities (I'd like to know what they knew and how it made them feel—this was addressed in the 2003 book “The Dark Side of Camelot” and the ABC-TV special back then “Dangerous World,” but I would have liked to have heard these particular agents' versions),
-the late night in Fort Worth the night before (not one word was mentioned about this),
-the stand-down footage at Love Field (not only was it not addressed, it wasn't even shown),
-reports of a dead SS agent (I would have liked to have seen how the agents thought this story got started—there has been some coverage elsewhere of the agents' wives who thought the worst when they heard these reports),
-the confrontation with the FBI at Parkland (an FBI agent was reportedly “decked” by a SS agent when the G-man entered the emergency area of Parkland),
-the cleaning of the limo at Parkland (any ideas on who did it and why),
-preparations for the WC investigation (I'd like to know if they received instructions, like James Hosty of the FBI--”I was told not to volunteer any information, just to answer their questions”),
-reactions to the deaths of RFK, and JFK Jr.,
-and the destruction of documents that were supposed to have been turned over to the Assassination Records Review Board in the 1990's.
No surprise that the agents believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. I may disagree, but still respect their opinions. However, Gerald Blaine, co-author of the book that inspired this program, says Oswald fit the profile of an assassin. Really? First, there have been reports over the years that a CIA pyschological profile of Oswald showed he did not fit the profile of an assassin. Also, unlike most lone assassins, Oswald had a wife and two daughters and never claimed responsibility for his act. Hardly the profile of an assassin. While Oswald may fit some characteristics of an assassin, he just as easily as he fits some of the characteristics of a patsy.
Oh, the problem with the 3-D effect? One of the controversial photos taken during LBJ's swearing-in is the one of the “wink.” I was surprised to see it on the show. However, the 3-D effect makes the foreground subjects look larger than they really were in the photo and because of this Lady Bird Johnson's hair covered up the wink! For the producers and editors, it was a bad choice and a bad effect to use on that particular photo.
Three of the agents, Hill, Landis and Lawson, returned to Dealey Plaza and while inside the former Texas School Book Depository remarked how easy the shots were to make. I'm sure Jesse Ventura, a former Navy Seal and sharpshooter, and other marksmen would disagree.
Nearly 50 years after the murder in Dallas, it is still fascinating to see the event still resonates emotionally with the agents. One agent in particular still shows a high degree of anger when discussing Oswald's demeanor during his interrogations.
While there is very little discussion of conspiracy theories (or even conspiracy evidence), it seems the agents fail to realize one reason the theories have proliferated is because of their silence over the years. The agents also seem to not know that some conspiracy theorists or researchers have actually helped debunk some of the wilder accusations made against the Secret Service. Robert Groden has been very effective in disputing the theory that agent Bill Greer, the driver of the limousine, fatally shot JFK. Other researchers have also helped to counter the myth JFK was accidentally shot by an agent in the followup car.
Evidence aside, the show does put a human face on the agents whose service required them to be secret while carrying out their public duties. Even with a lack of counselling, the fact these agents survived an event that took a such a heavily emotional and destructive toll speaks volumes. It's unfortunate that their silence over the years, sometimes self-imposed, caused them long-suffering depression. It's also obvious that the scars of this event will not go away even after all these years.
I applaud the agents for coming forward now with their stories. I only wish they had done it sooner. One lesson to be learned from this sad chapter in history: when government officials hold back on revealing the truth at the time, it will be almost impossible to reveal it later and have people believe it.
Randy
Sat Dec-04-10 12:57 AM by Randy Gunter
think it is very easy to see this presentation from the “Warren Omission Channel” aka Discovery Channel, for what it is; An attempt by these remaining USSS agents to do a self-cleansing of their souls before they check out to meet their maker. These agents have waited 47 years to return to Dallas and basically address or disclose nothing? Why? Because they are still tormented by the Dealey Plaza Demons and Ghosts of November 22, 1963. Did you notice Win Lawson in his hospital room or convalescent home? He's on his deathbed and trying to exorcise the demons.
Like many others have said, they addressed none of the plethora of USSS issues that occurred during the Dallas Debacle but yet had the nerve to complain about “their workload”, “their long hours” and “their low pay” of 1963. Jerry Blaine made the comment “I was on poverty level, had I lived in Chicago.” I think this is a gross lie, his current day annual salary comes in around $65K.
Sorry fellows, if you’re looking for sympathy from me, it isn’t happening. You chose your job, and you failed miserably at it. If you didn’t like it, quit and move on to something else (Like Jerry “Complain” Blaine did after JFK was killed). He said he "walked out and later had regrets".
As a veteran of numerous USSS missions, I can speak personally to the life of a USSS agent. You have the prestige of protecting the most important person in the world and his family, and other heads of state. You travel to some of the most exotic and exciting places in the world. You stay in some of the best hotels, resorts, and eat some of the finest cuisine known to mankind. You have the US Government provide you with PERDIEM for travel and a clothing allowance to purchase business suits and wardrobe on top of your regular pay. You meet famous persons from all types of venues. You draw a federal retirement when you're eligible. How is this so bad again?
The USSS detail had a full day on November 21, 1963; Houston, San Antonio, and a return to Fort Worth at Midnight. So, what did they do? Go to sleep? No. They decided to make a long day the longest day by going out and staying out drinking and carousing until 5 or 6 in the a.m. on November 22nd. Then report for duty within 1-2 hours to protect the President. This ladies and gentlemen was “Dereliction of Duty” in it’s highest regard.
They were sworn to protect the President and his family, and prohibited from drinking alcohol while serving in this capacity. Whenever, I was performing a USSS mission, I was cautioned, counseled, whatever you wish to call it, that I if I was found to be drinking alcohol or drunk during a USSS mission (either by being caught in the act or the smell of alcohol on my breath), I would be court-martialed by the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice).
Total Dereliction of Duty by these agents, but yet was anyone ever punished or reprimanded for their actions? No. They are viewed by some as “Heros”. Since when are the actions I have described, one of a “Hero”?
Clint Hill said the only way he came to understand and accept what happened in DP that fateful day was by admitting “That the shooter had the advantage that day.”
Oh really, Mr. Hill? If that isn’t the biggest copout I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is. So you and your fellow USSS agents were doing all you could by staying out all night drinking, and by compromising the security and integrity of the parade route (i.e. By not posting agents or security in high threat and vulnerable areas such as the slow turns where open windows were prevalent and where cover and concealment were obvious threats (i.e. Grassy Knoll, Storm Drains, Open Building Windows), and by ordering agents not to react even when JFK was under attack?
Wow, I guess when you give all of those advantages away without a fight and saying that “The shooter had all the advantage that day”, you are correct Mr. Hill.
Randy
"A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living." - John F. Kennedy
---------------
After a delay in the U.S., “The Kennedy Detail” documentary aired last night on the Canadian Discovery Channel. The two-hour special, with former Secret Service agents, has its highlights and lowlights.
For those interested in seeing rare family films and photos of the Kennedys, the show aired several I have never seen before. There is some remarkable footage and fascinating anecdotes by some of the agents. Recently, documentary filmmakers have been using an interesting technique to make still photographs come alive. It's a simulated 3-D effect in which the subjects in the photo appear closer to the camera than the rest of the picture, and in some cases, there is a slow zoom-in on the subjects making it appear they are slowly moving. Unfortunately, the producers and edits picked the wrong picture to use this technique on. I'll explain later.
In the lead-up to the assassination, the documentary did an excellent job of showing what the Secret Service agents went through during the course of their duties...the low pay, the days and weeks of being away from their own families, and their attachment to the subjects they were supposed to protect. The agents' memories of the death of infant Patrick Kennedy is just one of the very moving segments of the show.
There are some rare views of JFK's visit to Florida in the days before his death. However, there is no discussion of possible plots to kill him, as alleged in some recent books.
As for the assassination, there is a lot of rarely seen footage. For longtime researchers, they won't find anything new, however. There is a cool animation showing the location of some of the agents in the motorcade.
It's heartbreaking to see interview subjects break down and cry, like several did in the 1988 series “The Men Who Killed Kennedy.” That was 25 years after the assassination. Now, nearly 50 years later, it's probably even more heartbreaking to see some of the agents come to tears during parts of their narrative after all these years.
Some of the issues not addressed in the show include:
-JFK's infidelities (I'd like to know what they knew and how it made them feel—this was addressed in the 2003 book “The Dark Side of Camelot” and the ABC-TV special back then “Dangerous World,” but I would have liked to have heard these particular agents' versions),
-the late night in Fort Worth the night before (not one word was mentioned about this),
-the stand-down footage at Love Field (not only was it not addressed, it wasn't even shown),
-reports of a dead SS agent (I would have liked to have seen how the agents thought this story got started—there has been some coverage elsewhere of the agents' wives who thought the worst when they heard these reports),
-the confrontation with the FBI at Parkland (an FBI agent was reportedly “decked” by a SS agent when the G-man entered the emergency area of Parkland),
-the cleaning of the limo at Parkland (any ideas on who did it and why),
-preparations for the WC investigation (I'd like to know if they received instructions, like James Hosty of the FBI--”I was told not to volunteer any information, just to answer their questions”),
-reactions to the deaths of RFK, and JFK Jr.,
-and the destruction of documents that were supposed to have been turned over to the Assassination Records Review Board in the 1990's.
No surprise that the agents believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. I may disagree, but still respect their opinions. However, Gerald Blaine, co-author of the book that inspired this program, says Oswald fit the profile of an assassin. Really? First, there have been reports over the years that a CIA pyschological profile of Oswald showed he did not fit the profile of an assassin. Also, unlike most lone assassins, Oswald had a wife and two daughters and never claimed responsibility for his act. Hardly the profile of an assassin. While Oswald may fit some characteristics of an assassin, he just as easily as he fits some of the characteristics of a patsy.
Oh, the problem with the 3-D effect? One of the controversial photos taken during LBJ's swearing-in is the one of the “wink.” I was surprised to see it on the show. However, the 3-D effect makes the foreground subjects look larger than they really were in the photo and because of this Lady Bird Johnson's hair covered up the wink! For the producers and editors, it was a bad choice and a bad effect to use on that particular photo.
Three of the agents, Hill, Landis and Lawson, returned to Dealey Plaza and while inside the former Texas School Book Depository remarked how easy the shots were to make. I'm sure Jesse Ventura, a former Navy Seal and sharpshooter, and other marksmen would disagree.
Nearly 50 years after the murder in Dallas, it is still fascinating to see the event still resonates emotionally with the agents. One agent in particular still shows a high degree of anger when discussing Oswald's demeanor during his interrogations.
While there is very little discussion of conspiracy theories (or even conspiracy evidence), it seems the agents fail to realize one reason the theories have proliferated is because of their silence over the years. The agents also seem to not know that some conspiracy theorists or researchers have actually helped debunk some of the wilder accusations made against the Secret Service. Robert Groden has been very effective in disputing the theory that agent Bill Greer, the driver of the limousine, fatally shot JFK. Other researchers have also helped to counter the myth JFK was accidentally shot by an agent in the followup car.
Evidence aside, the show does put a human face on the agents whose service required them to be secret while carrying out their public duties. Even with a lack of counselling, the fact these agents survived an event that took a such a heavily emotional and destructive toll speaks volumes. It's unfortunate that their silence over the years, sometimes self-imposed, caused them long-suffering depression. It's also obvious that the scars of this event will not go away even after all these years.
I applaud the agents for coming forward now with their stories. I only wish they had done it sooner. One lesson to be learned from this sad chapter in history: when government officials hold back on revealing the truth at the time, it will be almost impossible to reveal it later and have people believe it.
Randy
Thursday, December 2, 2010
"Secrets of the Secret Service" AND "The Kennedy Detail" on Discovery Channel tonight: HUGE CONTRADICTORY IRONIES
"Secrets of the Secret Service" AND "The Kennedy Detail" on Discovery Channel tonight: HUGE CONTRADICTORY IRONIES
IMPORTANT:
The DISCOVERY Channel will ALSO be airing an official Secret Service documentary from Dec 2009 (repeat) at 8 pm (right before THE KENNEDY DETAIL) called "Secrets of the Secret Service" which AGREES WITH MY TAKE ON THE LOVE FIELD RECALL FOOTAGE! ( I have videos on You Tube dissecting this, as well as several blogs)
HOW IS THAT FOR SOME CONTRADICTORY IRONY? :o)
Vince Palamara
PLEASE SEE
http://www.ctka.net/reviews/kennedydetailreview.html
IMPORTANT:
The DISCOVERY Channel will ALSO be airing an official Secret Service documentary from Dec 2009 (repeat) at 8 pm (right before THE KENNEDY DETAIL) called "Secrets of the Secret Service" which AGREES WITH MY TAKE ON THE LOVE FIELD RECALL FOOTAGE! ( I have videos on You Tube dissecting this, as well as several blogs)
HOW IS THAT FOR SOME CONTRADICTORY IRONY? :o)
Vince Palamara
PLEASE SEE
http://www.ctka.net/reviews/kennedydetailreview.html
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Jim DiEugenio re: Vince Palamara in Vince Bugliosi's book :)
Jim DiEugenio re: Vince Palamara in Vince Bugliosi's book :)
Jim writes---
"Bugliosi’s next chapter deals with the Secret Service. Again, I can hardly recall any notable book saying that the Secret Service was the main plotter in the JFK case. The only one I can think of is the 1974 self-published effort entitled Murder from Within. It is a book that few people even know about, let alone use. Bugliosi seems to understand this, as he did not with the FBI. So he writes that “One other U.S. intelligence agency has had the suggestion of complicity in the assassination leveled against it by the conspiracy theorists, the Secret Service, but nowhere near as much as the CIA and FBI.” (p. 1239, italics added) But in his continual efforts to have it both ways, he later changes this to the Secret Service being behind the assassination. (p. 1241) Why does he do this, when in fact, there is virtually no one who says this? Probably so he can land another of his straw man broadsides: “... the notion that the Secret Service was behind the assassination is, like virtually all the conspiracy theories, ridiculous on its face.” (p. 1241) Yep, especially when virtually no one is saying it.
Now what does Bugliosi do with his two classifications of the Secret Service as being both “complicit” and/or “being behind” the assassination? As is his usual bent, he severely limits the discussion of both. How does he do that? Consider the following: “With respect to the Secret Service, for all intents and purposes, the inquiry about complicity in the assassination begins and ends with the motorcade route.” (ibid) This is a shocking statement. Even for someone as agenda-driven as this author is. Let me drop just one name to show how Bugliosi’s self-imposed limits are nothing but solipsistic: Abraham Bolden. Secret Service agent Bolden has described an assassination plot on Kennedy in Chicago in early November that is very similar in design to what happened in Dallas. But as I demonstrated in Part 3 of this series, since Bugliosi does all he can to curtail any discussion of the plot to kill Kennedy in Chicago, he can ignore that vitally important episode.
Let me drop another name to show how solipsistic Bugliosi’s take on the subject of the Secret Service is: Elmer Moore. As I wrote in Part 4 of this series, Moore has become one of the most important discoveries of the ARRB. As Pat Speer, Doug Horne, Gary Aguilar, and myself have noted, it is not unjustified to say that Moore was one of the most important players in the cover-up. The Secret Service agent eventually became a personal valet to Earl Warren. Again, Bugliosi does not have to deal with the very important figure of Moore. Why? For the simple reason that he does not mention him in the nearly 2,700 pages of his book.
Surprisingly, the author glosses over the name of Pat Kirkwood in this chapter. Kirkwood ran an after-hours club called The Cellar located in Fort Worth. Within days of the assassination, it became fairly well known that Secret Service agents had been at the Fort Worth club well into the early hours of the morning. Drew Pearson mentioned it this way, “Obviously, men who have been drinking until nearly 3 AM are in no condition to be trigger-alert or in the best physical shape to protect anyone.” (Jim Marrs, Crossfire, p. 246) As Marrs notes, this was a clear violation of the Secret Service rules and regulations as expressed in their manual. But James Rowley decided not to discipline any of the agents involved, even though four of them rode on the car behind the presidential limousine. Why? Because if he did, it “might have given rise to an inference that the violation of the regulation had contributed to the tragic events of November 22.” (ibid, p. 247) Which some people have said was the case. Both Ken O’Donnell and Ralph Yarborough noted the slow reaction time by the Secret Service to the fusillade.
Pat Kirkwood later elucidated what had happened. At about midnight the evening before the murder, some reporters called him and said they were out with about 17 Secret Service agents. They asked him if they could bring the agents over. According to Kirkwood, they were still there at 3:30 AM, joking about how local firemen had to replace them in guarding the president at the Fort Worth hotel. After the episode got in the papers, the White House called and told Kirkwood not to talk to anyone because the Secret Service had taken a beating in the press already. So Kirkwood and his manager didn’t say anything for years. But later manager Jim Hill said that the agents were clearly drunk since they were drinking nothing but alcohol. (ibid, p. 248) It’s incredible that Bugliosi deals with all this in one paragraph. In fact, I have told you more about what actually happened than he does. Further, the man, who has all kinds of boilerplate condemnation of the critical community, does not condemn this unprofessional and irresponsible behavior. Which actually borders on negligence.
The man who has done the best work on the Secret Service failure in Dealey Plaza is Vince Palamara. Bugliosi mentions his book called Survivor’s Guilt and briefly discusses it. (See p. 1243) What the author leaves out from Palamara is rather interesting. Thankfully, Doug Horne put it in Vol. 5 of his series Inside the ARRB.
As Horne notes, in the original security design, there was included motorcycle escorts traveling to the side of the limo. At a meeting on November 21st, Secret Service agent Winston Lawson did two things: he cut the number of guarding escort motorcycles in half—from four to two—and he then placed them to the rear of the car, not to the side. (Horne, p. 1402) Further, Horne notes that Lawson then lied about this by saying that it was Kennedy who wanted the motorcycles to the rear. (ibid, p. 1403) Palamara has also proven that it was standard practice to have motorcycles ride to the side of the limousine. Therefore, what happened in Dallas appears to be a deliberate anomaly. (ibid) As Horne writes, “If motorcycle patrolmen had been riding abreast of the limousine on Elm Street, their positioning may have obscured the President from shooters firing in front of the limousine.” (Horne, p. 1404)
This weird formation of the motorcycles is backed up by B. J. Martin, one of the cyclists. He said he was given instructions at Love Field to ride to the rear of the limousine. He said he had never heard of such a formation. (ibid, p. 1404) The HSCA investigated these charges and found them soundly based. They called the formation around the president, “uniquely insecure.” (ibid, p. 1405) In addition, Palamara found out that Floyd Boring had told Clint Hill that JFK did not want agents riding on the rear steps of the presidential limousine in Dallas. (ibid, p. 1406) As Horne writes, this assignment of agents may have obscured the aim of an assassin firing from the rear of the car. Again, the failure to do this was falsely attributed to President Kennedy. (ibid, p. 1409) Even though Bugliosi has read Palamara, there is not a word about any of this in Reclaiming History.
Just like there is not a mention of the name of Henry Rybka. Rybka is a Secret Service agent who has become famous due to a YouTube film clip. This film was shot by local television in black and white. It depicts both the presidential limo and the follow up car leaving Love Field. Agent Henry Rybka is running along the rear fender of the presidential limo as the car pulls out of the airport. As Rybka is doing this, agent Emory Roberts calls him back away from the car. Rybka is surprised by the Roberts order. He turns, shrugs his shoulders, and stretches out his arms—three times. Rybka apparently thought he was going to be on the rear steps of the limo. That is, obstructing any shots from the rear of the car. Apparently, he can’t believe he is being called off.
Palamara calls what happened in Dallas—the altering of the motorcycle formation and cutting it in half, and the removal of agents from standing on the rear of the car—“security stripping”. This clearly resulted in the assassins having a much better opportunity to hit their target than if the proper procedures had been followed. No surprise, Bugliosi apparently did not think any of this was important in discussing Secret Service complicity in the assassination."
. . . . .
Jim writes---
"Bugliosi’s next chapter deals with the Secret Service. Again, I can hardly recall any notable book saying that the Secret Service was the main plotter in the JFK case. The only one I can think of is the 1974 self-published effort entitled Murder from Within. It is a book that few people even know about, let alone use. Bugliosi seems to understand this, as he did not with the FBI. So he writes that “One other U.S. intelligence agency has had the suggestion of complicity in the assassination leveled against it by the conspiracy theorists, the Secret Service, but nowhere near as much as the CIA and FBI.” (p. 1239, italics added) But in his continual efforts to have it both ways, he later changes this to the Secret Service being behind the assassination. (p. 1241) Why does he do this, when in fact, there is virtually no one who says this? Probably so he can land another of his straw man broadsides: “... the notion that the Secret Service was behind the assassination is, like virtually all the conspiracy theories, ridiculous on its face.” (p. 1241) Yep, especially when virtually no one is saying it.
Now what does Bugliosi do with his two classifications of the Secret Service as being both “complicit” and/or “being behind” the assassination? As is his usual bent, he severely limits the discussion of both. How does he do that? Consider the following: “With respect to the Secret Service, for all intents and purposes, the inquiry about complicity in the assassination begins and ends with the motorcade route.” (ibid) This is a shocking statement. Even for someone as agenda-driven as this author is. Let me drop just one name to show how Bugliosi’s self-imposed limits are nothing but solipsistic: Abraham Bolden. Secret Service agent Bolden has described an assassination plot on Kennedy in Chicago in early November that is very similar in design to what happened in Dallas. But as I demonstrated in Part 3 of this series, since Bugliosi does all he can to curtail any discussion of the plot to kill Kennedy in Chicago, he can ignore that vitally important episode.
Let me drop another name to show how solipsistic Bugliosi’s take on the subject of the Secret Service is: Elmer Moore. As I wrote in Part 4 of this series, Moore has become one of the most important discoveries of the ARRB. As Pat Speer, Doug Horne, Gary Aguilar, and myself have noted, it is not unjustified to say that Moore was one of the most important players in the cover-up. The Secret Service agent eventually became a personal valet to Earl Warren. Again, Bugliosi does not have to deal with the very important figure of Moore. Why? For the simple reason that he does not mention him in the nearly 2,700 pages of his book.
Surprisingly, the author glosses over the name of Pat Kirkwood in this chapter. Kirkwood ran an after-hours club called The Cellar located in Fort Worth. Within days of the assassination, it became fairly well known that Secret Service agents had been at the Fort Worth club well into the early hours of the morning. Drew Pearson mentioned it this way, “Obviously, men who have been drinking until nearly 3 AM are in no condition to be trigger-alert or in the best physical shape to protect anyone.” (Jim Marrs, Crossfire, p. 246) As Marrs notes, this was a clear violation of the Secret Service rules and regulations as expressed in their manual. But James Rowley decided not to discipline any of the agents involved, even though four of them rode on the car behind the presidential limousine. Why? Because if he did, it “might have given rise to an inference that the violation of the regulation had contributed to the tragic events of November 22.” (ibid, p. 247) Which some people have said was the case. Both Ken O’Donnell and Ralph Yarborough noted the slow reaction time by the Secret Service to the fusillade.
Pat Kirkwood later elucidated what had happened. At about midnight the evening before the murder, some reporters called him and said they were out with about 17 Secret Service agents. They asked him if they could bring the agents over. According to Kirkwood, they were still there at 3:30 AM, joking about how local firemen had to replace them in guarding the president at the Fort Worth hotel. After the episode got in the papers, the White House called and told Kirkwood not to talk to anyone because the Secret Service had taken a beating in the press already. So Kirkwood and his manager didn’t say anything for years. But later manager Jim Hill said that the agents were clearly drunk since they were drinking nothing but alcohol. (ibid, p. 248) It’s incredible that Bugliosi deals with all this in one paragraph. In fact, I have told you more about what actually happened than he does. Further, the man, who has all kinds of boilerplate condemnation of the critical community, does not condemn this unprofessional and irresponsible behavior. Which actually borders on negligence.
The man who has done the best work on the Secret Service failure in Dealey Plaza is Vince Palamara. Bugliosi mentions his book called Survivor’s Guilt and briefly discusses it. (See p. 1243) What the author leaves out from Palamara is rather interesting. Thankfully, Doug Horne put it in Vol. 5 of his series Inside the ARRB.
As Horne notes, in the original security design, there was included motorcycle escorts traveling to the side of the limo. At a meeting on November 21st, Secret Service agent Winston Lawson did two things: he cut the number of guarding escort motorcycles in half—from four to two—and he then placed them to the rear of the car, not to the side. (Horne, p. 1402) Further, Horne notes that Lawson then lied about this by saying that it was Kennedy who wanted the motorcycles to the rear. (ibid, p. 1403) Palamara has also proven that it was standard practice to have motorcycles ride to the side of the limousine. Therefore, what happened in Dallas appears to be a deliberate anomaly. (ibid) As Horne writes, “If motorcycle patrolmen had been riding abreast of the limousine on Elm Street, their positioning may have obscured the President from shooters firing in front of the limousine.” (Horne, p. 1404)
This weird formation of the motorcycles is backed up by B. J. Martin, one of the cyclists. He said he was given instructions at Love Field to ride to the rear of the limousine. He said he had never heard of such a formation. (ibid, p. 1404) The HSCA investigated these charges and found them soundly based. They called the formation around the president, “uniquely insecure.” (ibid, p. 1405) In addition, Palamara found out that Floyd Boring had told Clint Hill that JFK did not want agents riding on the rear steps of the presidential limousine in Dallas. (ibid, p. 1406) As Horne writes, this assignment of agents may have obscured the aim of an assassin firing from the rear of the car. Again, the failure to do this was falsely attributed to President Kennedy. (ibid, p. 1409) Even though Bugliosi has read Palamara, there is not a word about any of this in Reclaiming History.
Just like there is not a mention of the name of Henry Rybka. Rybka is a Secret Service agent who has become famous due to a YouTube film clip. This film was shot by local television in black and white. It depicts both the presidential limo and the follow up car leaving Love Field. Agent Henry Rybka is running along the rear fender of the presidential limo as the car pulls out of the airport. As Rybka is doing this, agent Emory Roberts calls him back away from the car. Rybka is surprised by the Roberts order. He turns, shrugs his shoulders, and stretches out his arms—three times. Rybka apparently thought he was going to be on the rear steps of the limo. That is, obstructing any shots from the rear of the car. Apparently, he can’t believe he is being called off.
Palamara calls what happened in Dallas—the altering of the motorcycle formation and cutting it in half, and the removal of agents from standing on the rear of the car—“security stripping”. This clearly resulted in the assassins having a much better opportunity to hit their target than if the proper procedures had been followed. No surprise, Bugliosi apparently did not think any of this was important in discussing Secret Service complicity in the assassination."
. . . . .
Secret Service Agent John Lardner passes away-yet ANOTHER agent who didn't participate in "The Kennedy Detail"
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2010/12/01/john_joseph_lardner_former_secret_service_agent/
John Joseph Lardner, former Secret Service agent
John Joseph Lardner guarded President Kennedy on a winter day, with his right hand — and his trigger finger — exposed.
By J.M. Lawrence
Globe Correspondent / December 1, 2010
E-mail this article To: Invalid E-mail address Add a personal message:(80 character limit) Your E-mail: Invalid E-mail address
Sending your articleYour article has been sent. E-mail| Print| Reprints| Text size – + When John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961, Secret Service agent John Joseph Lardner rode behind him on Pennsylvania Avenue. He was proud to be a kid from Lowell who grew up to guard the president, he told his family.
Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!Submit to DiggdiggsdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis There was little else he ever shared about those Kennedy years. “There’s a reason we’re called the Secret Service,’’ Mr. Lardner would often tell his nephew, Michael Walsh of Bedford, N.H.
Mr. Lardner, a US Marine Corps captain who was a Secret Service agent from 1959 to his retirement in 1983 as special agent in charge of Rhode Island and Bristol County, died of a heart attack at his home in Easton Nov. 19.
He was 80.
“My dad lived his life by the Marine Corps code,’’ God, corps, and country, said his oldest daughter, Kristin M. Brown of East Sandwich.
“It was just the way his life was.’’
Mr. Lardner would never discuss his assignment on the day Kennedy was shot or say whether he was in Dallas.
“He would never tell,’’ his daughter said.
“He had strong opinions about the assassination, but it was very difficult for him to talk about. He was never a man at a loss for words, but it was the one subject you just couldn’t approach him about.’’
Following the assassination, Mr. Lardner was assigned to the detail guarding Jacqueline Kennedy and her children. His family said they believe Mrs. Kennedy personally requested him.
After his sudden death, his daughter began sorting through his personal papers and found thank you notes from Mrs. Kennedy and jokes in the agent’s old spiral bound notebook jotted by a young Caroline Kennedy.
In one old photo, Mr. Lardner walks behind the president as he leaves a hospital pushing Mrs. Kennedy in a wheelchair. A nurse carries newborn John Jr.
In another photo, Mr. Lardner stands next to President Kennedy on a winter day. The agent wears one glove on his left hand, leaving his right hand — and his trigger finger — exposed.
Born in the Bronx, Mr. Lardner was the only son of a brick mason John and a nurse, Mary (Corcoran), who emigrated from County Kerry, Ireland. His sister Eileen died in 2009.
Mr. Lardner graduated in 1949 from Lowell High, where he played football.
He became an apprentice brick mason under his father and grandfather while going to Northeastern University. He graduated with a degree in business in 1954 and joined the Marines.
He was married more than 35 years to Karen M. (Buchwald). They met at a pub in Boston in the 1970s when she was a nurse. They had three children. His daughter Kristin recalled reveling at the sight of her father’s dress uniform.
“He would have me lead the charge through the house with my brothers and sisters in marching cadence. ‘Over hill over dale, we will hit the dusty trail . . .’ I can sing the entire song to his day,’’ said Kristin, who is a paramedic.
Mr. Lardner started out in the forgery and counterfeit department of the Secret Service before he was assigned to presidential details.
Mr. Lardner, who was known as Jack, showed little interest in his former colleague Gerald Blaine’s just published book, “The Kennedy Detail: JFK’s Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence,’’ according to his family.
“I said, Jack you’re not going to buy the book? He said, ‘Mike, there’s a reason why we were called the Secret Service,’ ’’ his nephew said.
“I said man, oh, man, that’s old school talking.’’
Mr. Lardner also was a life-long Republican and supported Republican candidates in Massachusetts, including Senator Scott Brown.
“The only time I saw him cry in the 33 years I knew him was the day President Reagan died,’’ said his daughter. “He adored him.’’
Mr. Lardner was active in local government in Easton, where he was on the Finance Committee for several years. He was an avid tennis player and an expert skier.
In recent years, he enjoyed investing in the stock market and sharing stock tips with his family. However, he would never talk about substantial topics over cordless phones, his nephew said.
“He would always say, ‘Are you hardwired?’ He was very careful of what he would say on a telephone,’’ Michael said.
In addition to his oldest daughter and wife, Mr. Lardner leaves his son, J. Adam of Easton; another daughter, Kerry A. of Truro; and five grandchildren.
Services have been held.
John Joseph Lardner, former Secret Service agent
John Joseph Lardner guarded President Kennedy on a winter day, with his right hand — and his trigger finger — exposed.
By J.M. Lawrence
Globe Correspondent / December 1, 2010
E-mail this article To: Invalid E-mail address Add a personal message:(80 character limit) Your E-mail: Invalid E-mail address
Sending your articleYour article has been sent. E-mail| Print| Reprints| Text size – + When John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961, Secret Service agent John Joseph Lardner rode behind him on Pennsylvania Avenue. He was proud to be a kid from Lowell who grew up to guard the president, he told his family.
Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!Submit to DiggdiggsdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis There was little else he ever shared about those Kennedy years. “There’s a reason we’re called the Secret Service,’’ Mr. Lardner would often tell his nephew, Michael Walsh of Bedford, N.H.
Mr. Lardner, a US Marine Corps captain who was a Secret Service agent from 1959 to his retirement in 1983 as special agent in charge of Rhode Island and Bristol County, died of a heart attack at his home in Easton Nov. 19.
He was 80.
“My dad lived his life by the Marine Corps code,’’ God, corps, and country, said his oldest daughter, Kristin M. Brown of East Sandwich.
“It was just the way his life was.’’
Mr. Lardner would never discuss his assignment on the day Kennedy was shot or say whether he was in Dallas.
“He would never tell,’’ his daughter said.
“He had strong opinions about the assassination, but it was very difficult for him to talk about. He was never a man at a loss for words, but it was the one subject you just couldn’t approach him about.’’
Following the assassination, Mr. Lardner was assigned to the detail guarding Jacqueline Kennedy and her children. His family said they believe Mrs. Kennedy personally requested him.
After his sudden death, his daughter began sorting through his personal papers and found thank you notes from Mrs. Kennedy and jokes in the agent’s old spiral bound notebook jotted by a young Caroline Kennedy.
In one old photo, Mr. Lardner walks behind the president as he leaves a hospital pushing Mrs. Kennedy in a wheelchair. A nurse carries newborn John Jr.
In another photo, Mr. Lardner stands next to President Kennedy on a winter day. The agent wears one glove on his left hand, leaving his right hand — and his trigger finger — exposed.
Born in the Bronx, Mr. Lardner was the only son of a brick mason John and a nurse, Mary (Corcoran), who emigrated from County Kerry, Ireland. His sister Eileen died in 2009.
Mr. Lardner graduated in 1949 from Lowell High, where he played football.
He became an apprentice brick mason under his father and grandfather while going to Northeastern University. He graduated with a degree in business in 1954 and joined the Marines.
He was married more than 35 years to Karen M. (Buchwald). They met at a pub in Boston in the 1970s when she was a nurse. They had three children. His daughter Kristin recalled reveling at the sight of her father’s dress uniform.
“He would have me lead the charge through the house with my brothers and sisters in marching cadence. ‘Over hill over dale, we will hit the dusty trail . . .’ I can sing the entire song to his day,’’ said Kristin, who is a paramedic.
Mr. Lardner started out in the forgery and counterfeit department of the Secret Service before he was assigned to presidential details.
Mr. Lardner, who was known as Jack, showed little interest in his former colleague Gerald Blaine’s just published book, “The Kennedy Detail: JFK’s Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence,’’ according to his family.
“I said, Jack you’re not going to buy the book? He said, ‘Mike, there’s a reason why we were called the Secret Service,’ ’’ his nephew said.
“I said man, oh, man, that’s old school talking.’’
Mr. Lardner also was a life-long Republican and supported Republican candidates in Massachusetts, including Senator Scott Brown.
“The only time I saw him cry in the 33 years I knew him was the day President Reagan died,’’ said his daughter. “He adored him.’’
Mr. Lardner was active in local government in Easton, where he was on the Finance Committee for several years. He was an avid tennis player and an expert skier.
In recent years, he enjoyed investing in the stock market and sharing stock tips with his family. However, he would never talk about substantial topics over cordless phones, his nephew said.
“He would always say, ‘Are you hardwired?’ He was very careful of what he would say on a telephone,’’ Michael said.
In addition to his oldest daughter and wife, Mr. Lardner leaves his son, J. Adam of Easton; another daughter, Kerry A. of Truro; and five grandchildren.
Services have been held.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
FANTASTIC review of "The Kennedy Detail" (but what does Blaine care? He's getting very rich peddling this crap)
2.0 out of 5 stars Historically inadequate, November 22, 2010
By Michael W. Perry "Michael W. Perry, author of... (Author of Untangling Tolkien, Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME) This review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)
As you may have noticed, the reviews of this book are all over the place. Some liked it, others did not. I'm in the latter category.
This problem isn't, as some have claimed, that this book was written in the third person by a first-person source, Gerald Blaine. That's explained in the Introduction. It's that the book bears little evidence of having been written by someone with Blaine's background in security and technology. It gushes, it emotes, and it burdens readers with overabundance of trivial detail like travel writers. And, judging by her website, that is precisely what the "with author," Lisa McCubbin typically does for a living. It isn't hard to conclude that she was not the person who should have written this book.
That's unfortunate, because it could have been an important resource for historians for generations to come. Numerous interviews were conducted with the agents involved, but what we learn from them is the clothes they wore, the food they ate, and their feelings at particular moments. That's the stuff of travelogues but not of serious history.
Even worse, at critical points in the narrative the author seems unaware of the historical significance of what is taking place. One example is the clash that takes place between the local medical examiner and Secret Service agents over what is to be done with the President's body. Her focus isn't on what matters, the serious blunders that were being made by removing the President's body and limousine from the scene of the crime, it's on what Jacqueline Kennedy may have been feeling at that particular moment. McCubbin, whose adoration of the Kennedy's leaves her less than objective at times, seems unaware that in every other crime the victim's family simply have to cope with what criminal investigations require. Many of the conspiracies theories, which McCubbin clumsily dismisses near the end of the book, were born out of those blunders.
Finally, like others, I feel this book reads all too much like something that might have been written for Woman's Day magazine circa 1965. This book, in which "JFK's Secret Service Agents Break their Silience" contains almost nothing that those agents needed to be silent about. No one cares what they had for breakfast on that fateful day, and the details of the motorcade in which they participated have been known for decades. Others have described how the morale of JFK's Secret Service agents were destroyed by his pathological womanizing, which required unknown women to be smuggled into the White House or his hotel room at strange hours. But you will find not a word about that here. In this bit of romantic fiction, JFK was an ideal father in a storybook marriage. Lisa McCubbin didn't have to dwell on that sordid side of the Kennedy Presidency. But she should have at least shown us she was aware of it and discussed those aspects of it that were relevant to his Secret Service protection.
In short, this book fails to deliver on its promises.
--Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II
By Michael W. Perry "Michael W. Perry, author of... (Author of Untangling Tolkien, Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME) This review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)
As you may have noticed, the reviews of this book are all over the place. Some liked it, others did not. I'm in the latter category.
This problem isn't, as some have claimed, that this book was written in the third person by a first-person source, Gerald Blaine. That's explained in the Introduction. It's that the book bears little evidence of having been written by someone with Blaine's background in security and technology. It gushes, it emotes, and it burdens readers with overabundance of trivial detail like travel writers. And, judging by her website, that is precisely what the "with author," Lisa McCubbin typically does for a living. It isn't hard to conclude that she was not the person who should have written this book.
That's unfortunate, because it could have been an important resource for historians for generations to come. Numerous interviews were conducted with the agents involved, but what we learn from them is the clothes they wore, the food they ate, and their feelings at particular moments. That's the stuff of travelogues but not of serious history.
Even worse, at critical points in the narrative the author seems unaware of the historical significance of what is taking place. One example is the clash that takes place between the local medical examiner and Secret Service agents over what is to be done with the President's body. Her focus isn't on what matters, the serious blunders that were being made by removing the President's body and limousine from the scene of the crime, it's on what Jacqueline Kennedy may have been feeling at that particular moment. McCubbin, whose adoration of the Kennedy's leaves her less than objective at times, seems unaware that in every other crime the victim's family simply have to cope with what criminal investigations require. Many of the conspiracies theories, which McCubbin clumsily dismisses near the end of the book, were born out of those blunders.
Finally, like others, I feel this book reads all too much like something that might have been written for Woman's Day magazine circa 1965. This book, in which "JFK's Secret Service Agents Break their Silience" contains almost nothing that those agents needed to be silent about. No one cares what they had for breakfast on that fateful day, and the details of the motorcade in which they participated have been known for decades. Others have described how the morale of JFK's Secret Service agents were destroyed by his pathological womanizing, which required unknown women to be smuggled into the White House or his hotel room at strange hours. But you will find not a word about that here. In this bit of romantic fiction, JFK was an ideal father in a storybook marriage. Lisa McCubbin didn't have to dwell on that sordid side of the Kennedy Presidency. But she should have at least shown us she was aware of it and discussed those aspects of it that were relevant to his Secret Service protection.
In short, this book fails to deliver on its promises.
--Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II
Monday, November 22, 2010
"Secrets of the Secret Service" (12/09) Discovery Channel-VINDICATION
This official Secret Service documentary, produced by the very same
network that is coming out with "The Kennedy Detail", endorses my view
on the Love Field recall agent video...gee, along with former JFK
agent Larry Newman, The History Channel, THE RYBKA FAMILY, millions of
You Tube viewers, the ARRB, and many authors and researchers, guess
they were "fooled", as well...not! Whether Lawton or Rybka, both
agents were "ostensibly" assigned to Love Field. As a fellow
researcher said, "Vince, Blaine seizing on the wrong agent identity is
like saying 'it wasn't Heinrich Hoffmeister of the SS that killed those
prisoners, it was Heinrich Hoffman of the SS: same diff!!!!"
Vince Palamara
network that is coming out with "The Kennedy Detail", endorses my view
on the Love Field recall agent video...gee, along with former JFK
agent Larry Newman, The History Channel, THE RYBKA FAMILY, millions of
You Tube viewers, the ARRB, and many authors and researchers, guess
they were "fooled", as well...not! Whether Lawton or Rybka, both
agents were "ostensibly" assigned to Love Field. As a fellow
researcher said, "Vince, Blaine seizing on the wrong agent identity is
like saying 'it wasn't Heinrich Hoffmeister of the SS that killed those
prisoners, it was Heinrich Hoffman of the SS: same diff!!!!"
Vince Palamara
THESE Kennedy Detail agents WEREN'T interviewed for Gerald Blaine's book -I WONDER WHY?
THESE Kennedy Detail agents WEREN'T interviewed for Gerald Blaine's book -I WONDER WHY?
Blaine's nonsense will be overshadowed by THIS major 50th anniversary movie!
Blaine's nonsense will be overshadowed by THIS major 50th anniversary movie!
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpps/entertainment/leonardo-dicaprio-to-make-movie-about-jfk-assassination-dpgoh-20101122-fc_10736961
Leonardo DiCaprio to Make Movie About JFK Assassination
Updated: Monday, 22 Nov 2010, 7:45 AM PST
Published : Monday, 22 Nov 2010, 7:45 AM PST
(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Leonardo DiCaprio will star in and produce "Legacy of Secrecy," a new movie based on the John F. Kennedy assassination, according to Variety .
The website reported that DiCaprio and his father George, who brought the book "Legacy of Secrecy" to his attention, will produce the movie adaptation of the book through his Warner Bros.-based Appian Way.
He will play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham, who allegedly was an FBI informant who infiltrated Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello's inner circle. The book claims that Marcello confessed to Van Laningham that he ordered Kennedy's assassination.
Kennedy was shot in 1963 while riding in a motorcade through Dallas with his wife Jackie. The Toronto Sun said the movie may be released in 2013 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination.
Variety said the book includes information from declassified FBI files from the National Archives. It also includes information from FBI and Secret Service files that show more than a dozen of the crime boss's associates and family members were questioned or arrested by authorities in connection with the murder.
Variety said this will be the first time that Marcello was the subject of a feature film. While he was not included in the 1964 Warren Report, a 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations said he and mobster Santo Trafficante "had the motive, means and opportunity" to commit the act.
The book was written by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann. Waldron will retain documentary film and TV rights to the book, which also connects the Mafia with Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and Watergate.
DiCaprio, who last starred in "Inception," is preparing to play the late FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in a biography directed by Clint Eastwood, Movies Online reported.
see also
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/news/article_1600273.php/DiCaprio-engaged-in-JFK-Secrecy
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118027763?refCatId=13
http://www.moviesonline.ca/2010/11/dicaprio-to-investigate-jfk-assassination/
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpps/entertainment/leonardo-dicaprio-to-make-movie-about-jfk-assassination-dpgoh-20101122-fc_10736961
Leonardo DiCaprio to Make Movie About JFK Assassination
Updated: Monday, 22 Nov 2010, 7:45 AM PST
Published : Monday, 22 Nov 2010, 7:45 AM PST
(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Leonardo DiCaprio will star in and produce "Legacy of Secrecy," a new movie based on the John F. Kennedy assassination, according to Variety .
The website reported that DiCaprio and his father George, who brought the book "Legacy of Secrecy" to his attention, will produce the movie adaptation of the book through his Warner Bros.-based Appian Way.
He will play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham, who allegedly was an FBI informant who infiltrated Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello's inner circle. The book claims that Marcello confessed to Van Laningham that he ordered Kennedy's assassination.
Kennedy was shot in 1963 while riding in a motorcade through Dallas with his wife Jackie. The Toronto Sun said the movie may be released in 2013 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination.
Variety said the book includes information from declassified FBI files from the National Archives. It also includes information from FBI and Secret Service files that show more than a dozen of the crime boss's associates and family members were questioned or arrested by authorities in connection with the murder.
Variety said this will be the first time that Marcello was the subject of a feature film. While he was not included in the 1964 Warren Report, a 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations said he and mobster Santo Trafficante "had the motive, means and opportunity" to commit the act.
The book was written by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann. Waldron will retain documentary film and TV rights to the book, which also connects the Mafia with Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and Watergate.
DiCaprio, who last starred in "Inception," is preparing to play the late FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in a biography directed by Clint Eastwood, Movies Online reported.
see also
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/news/article_1600273.php/DiCaprio-engaged-in-JFK-Secrecy
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118027763?refCatId=13
http://www.moviesonline.ca/2010/11/dicaprio-to-investigate-jfk-assassination/
EXCELLENT review of "The Kennedy Detail": no one is buying it, Blaine...but they're sure BUYING ($$) it!
1 star out of 5 Disappointed, November 22, 2010
By FIJake - See all my reviewsThis review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)
I was very disappointed in this book. I bought the book based on the tag line "agents break their silence". The author writes in a creepy third-person vernacular. I thought the author's condescending and dismissive tone toward the various alternate conspiracy theories (including the House Subcomittee on Assasinations which found a conspiracy was 'probable') was very self-serving. The author appears to not grasp that the 'Oswald as lone gunman' and its attendant 'magic bullet' and inability for anyone to duplicate Oswald's alledged markmanship is also just a 'theory'. Of course, any viable conspiracy account would compound the degree of failure of the Secret Service to not identify the threat.
I was particularly disappointed with the lack of detail regarding witness testimony in Dealey Plaza, detail surrounding the autopsy, the custody chain and evidence collected from the limosine and follow car after they left Parkland Hospital.
Maybe most troubling for me was the authors admission that agents originally lied about the President demanding that they not ride on the limo which may hae protected him from the line of fire. The author's apparent 'justification' for the lying was that the agents didn't want any blame put on Kennedy himself for their failure to protect him. But if the SS agents lied about that, IMO, it begs the question about what else they may have lied about. The author repeats testimony that Kennedy said, "get those charlatan ivy leaguers off the car"... If true, that is a puzzling statement. Could his use of the term 'charlatan' mean that he questioned their credentials???
The bottom line for me is that I wanted much more detail and just don't feel I got it.
By FIJake - See all my reviewsThis review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)
I was very disappointed in this book. I bought the book based on the tag line "agents break their silence". The author writes in a creepy third-person vernacular. I thought the author's condescending and dismissive tone toward the various alternate conspiracy theories (including the House Subcomittee on Assasinations which found a conspiracy was 'probable') was very self-serving. The author appears to not grasp that the 'Oswald as lone gunman' and its attendant 'magic bullet' and inability for anyone to duplicate Oswald's alledged markmanship is also just a 'theory'. Of course, any viable conspiracy account would compound the degree of failure of the Secret Service to not identify the threat.
I was particularly disappointed with the lack of detail regarding witness testimony in Dealey Plaza, detail surrounding the autopsy, the custody chain and evidence collected from the limosine and follow car after they left Parkland Hospital.
Maybe most troubling for me was the authors admission that agents originally lied about the President demanding that they not ride on the limo which may hae protected him from the line of fire. The author's apparent 'justification' for the lying was that the agents didn't want any blame put on Kennedy himself for their failure to protect him. But if the SS agents lied about that, IMO, it begs the question about what else they may have lied about. The author repeats testimony that Kennedy said, "get those charlatan ivy leaguers off the car"... If true, that is a puzzling statement. Could his use of the term 'charlatan' mean that he questioned their credentials???
The bottom line for me is that I wanted much more detail and just don't feel I got it.
Vince Palamara mentioned in major Vancouver Sun review of The Kennedy Detail!
http://www.vancouversun.com/Kennedy+keepers+reveal/3858819/story.html
Kennedy's keepers reveal all
Retired U.S. Secret Service agents tell tales of protecting JFK's family
By Melanie Jackson, Special to the Sun November 20, 2010
The Kenedy Detail
By Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
Simon and Schuster, 448 pages, $32
The U.S. Secret Service agents saw right away that their new president was going to be trouble. His predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, had acknowledged crowds with a mere nod. John F. Kennedy waded right into them.
After the 1960 U.S. election, an agent urged Kennedy to come away from an impromptu crush of well-wishers.
"Either Kennedy didn't hear him over the noise of the crowd or he was choosing to ignore his strong suggestion . . . Kennedy seemed as if he truly wanted to meet the people and greet each one of them directly."
As retired agent Gerald Blaine recounts in The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence, the charismatic, outgoing president was particularly eager to be accessible in 1963, with a close election looming the next year. "If I don't mingle with people, I couldn't get elected dogcatcher," he told the U.S. Secret Service a week before the fatal trip to Dallas. During motorcades, JFK became impatient with agents' practice of standing on the running boards and on specially attached steps at the back of his limo. In a much-quoted directive, he ordered the "Ivy League charlatans" to drop back to the car behind.
Clint Hill was the agent of Zapruder-video fame who jumped on the presidential limo after JFK was shot on Nov. 22, 1963. Jacqueline Kennedy was crawling over the trunk, dazedly trying to retrieve part of her husband's skull. Hill pushed Jackie back into the seat and shielded both her and the dying president -- admittedly after the fact, and this is what haunts him. "If I had reacted just a little bit quicker," he agonized in a 1975 interview with 60 Minutes.
But, as anyone reading The Kennedy Detail can't help thinking, there was little Hill or anyone else could have done, given JFK's instructions. Blaine relates how Hill, assigned to protect Jackie, felt uneasy being stuck in the car behind:
"He moved his head constantly: his eyes scanning along the left side of the road, up ahead, and then back again, the pink hat always within his gaze. She was no more than five yards ahead of him, but she might as well have been on the other side of Dallas. I shouldn't be this far away. I should be on the back of that limousine."
The conspiracy theorists, or CTs as they refer to themselves online, have seized on the revelation about JFK's keep-your-distance directive. Blaine is lying, they claim. The agents were in on the assassination! It's all part of the decades-long coverup by: the Central Intelligence Agency; Lyndon Johnson, JFK's vice-president who succeeded him; or any number of other evil plotters. If you're of a masochistic bent, Google the name "Vince Palamara" and be blog-hectored on the "deceit" contained in The Kennedy Detail.
If you're interested in John F. Kennedy and his family, though, read Blaine's engagingly written book for the agents' memories. Jackie, for example, loved smoking, but felt it inappropriate for the public to see her puffing away. So, when she and Hill were driving somewhere, she would hand him the cigarette as soon as they reached their destination. And she was not amused the day loud crunching sounds reached her ears: Hill had run over a turtle.
Another time, an agent let young Caroline and her buddies wander away from a park playground. The kids thought it'd be fun to overturn a rock -- only to discover a diamondback rattlesnake coiling for a strike. The agent briskly shot it.
The children were thrilled, but the agent was convinced Jackie would have him fired. Enter Caroline's nanny. Maud Shaw quietly convinced Caroline it would be better not to upset her parents by telling them. The little girl stayed mum -- one can only wish the CTs would do the same.
Melanie Jackson keeps her own evil plotters fictional. Her latest novel, for young adults, is Fast Slide, published by Orca.
Kennedy's keepers reveal all
Retired U.S. Secret Service agents tell tales of protecting JFK's family
By Melanie Jackson, Special to the Sun November 20, 2010
The Kenedy Detail
By Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
Simon and Schuster, 448 pages, $32
The U.S. Secret Service agents saw right away that their new president was going to be trouble. His predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, had acknowledged crowds with a mere nod. John F. Kennedy waded right into them.
After the 1960 U.S. election, an agent urged Kennedy to come away from an impromptu crush of well-wishers.
"Either Kennedy didn't hear him over the noise of the crowd or he was choosing to ignore his strong suggestion . . . Kennedy seemed as if he truly wanted to meet the people and greet each one of them directly."
As retired agent Gerald Blaine recounts in The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence, the charismatic, outgoing president was particularly eager to be accessible in 1963, with a close election looming the next year. "If I don't mingle with people, I couldn't get elected dogcatcher," he told the U.S. Secret Service a week before the fatal trip to Dallas. During motorcades, JFK became impatient with agents' practice of standing on the running boards and on specially attached steps at the back of his limo. In a much-quoted directive, he ordered the "Ivy League charlatans" to drop back to the car behind.
Clint Hill was the agent of Zapruder-video fame who jumped on the presidential limo after JFK was shot on Nov. 22, 1963. Jacqueline Kennedy was crawling over the trunk, dazedly trying to retrieve part of her husband's skull. Hill pushed Jackie back into the seat and shielded both her and the dying president -- admittedly after the fact, and this is what haunts him. "If I had reacted just a little bit quicker," he agonized in a 1975 interview with 60 Minutes.
But, as anyone reading The Kennedy Detail can't help thinking, there was little Hill or anyone else could have done, given JFK's instructions. Blaine relates how Hill, assigned to protect Jackie, felt uneasy being stuck in the car behind:
"He moved his head constantly: his eyes scanning along the left side of the road, up ahead, and then back again, the pink hat always within his gaze. She was no more than five yards ahead of him, but she might as well have been on the other side of Dallas. I shouldn't be this far away. I should be on the back of that limousine."
The conspiracy theorists, or CTs as they refer to themselves online, have seized on the revelation about JFK's keep-your-distance directive. Blaine is lying, they claim. The agents were in on the assassination! It's all part of the decades-long coverup by: the Central Intelligence Agency; Lyndon Johnson, JFK's vice-president who succeeded him; or any number of other evil plotters. If you're of a masochistic bent, Google the name "Vince Palamara" and be blog-hectored on the "deceit" contained in The Kennedy Detail.
If you're interested in John F. Kennedy and his family, though, read Blaine's engagingly written book for the agents' memories. Jackie, for example, loved smoking, but felt it inappropriate for the public to see her puffing away. So, when she and Hill were driving somewhere, she would hand him the cigarette as soon as they reached their destination. And she was not amused the day loud crunching sounds reached her ears: Hill had run over a turtle.
Another time, an agent let young Caroline and her buddies wander away from a park playground. The kids thought it'd be fun to overturn a rock -- only to discover a diamondback rattlesnake coiling for a strike. The agent briskly shot it.
The children were thrilled, but the agent was convinced Jackie would have him fired. Enter Caroline's nanny. Maud Shaw quietly convinced Caroline it would be better not to upset her parents by telling them. The little girl stayed mum -- one can only wish the CTs would do the same.
Melanie Jackson keeps her own evil plotters fictional. Her latest novel, for young adults, is Fast Slide, published by Orca.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The official mythology maintained?
The official mythology maintained?
Author Ken Gormley, writing about the decision by Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr to compel the testimony of agents assigned to the Presidential Protection Detail in the Monica Lewinsky/Whitewater matter and the Secret Service's opposition to it, describes meetings initiated by the then-new director of the USSS, Lew Marletti, concerned in part that presidents might exclude USSS agents from their proximity if they felt that their private discussions might be subpoenaed. In this context, the author had no axes to grind or points to prove about the Kennedy assassination, and may be considered to be presenting facts as presented to him, and not toward advancing an agenda vis-a-vis JFK, and should be forgiven himself for any errors in fact presented:
Clint Hill in The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr pp423-25, on copyright 2010, said:
Merletti gave a highly classified PowerPoint presentation about the dangers presented if Secret Service agents were pushed away from a president for any reason - including lack of trust. ... The most powerful aspect of Merletti's presentation was rarely seen footage regarding the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, and Kennedy's trip the previous week to Tampa. In photos of the Florida trip, dated November 18, 1963, one could observe sharp images of Secret Service agents kneeling on the rear bumper of the president's limousine, scanning the crowd and buildings, maintaining a location within an arm's length of President Kennedy's position in the back seat.
In the haunting film clips that Merletti now showed of President Kennedy being shot in Dallas, the Secret Service agents were missing from the car's bumper. Only Agent Clint Hill knew all of the tragic details, and he since had gone into seclusion and did not speak publicly about that day.
Yet the story was well known within the Secret Service. Lew Merletti took a chance and reached out to Hill, who had settled in Northern Virginia, seeking Hill's guidance on the Starr matter. Agent Hill, a handsome man with deep furrows of mental stress on his face, had retired early from the service as a result of neurological and psychological problems. The former agent did not hesitate to share his views with the director; he still remembered those events of November 1963 too vividly.
Hill technically had been assigned to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who was riding in thhe left rear seat of the presidential limousine. The crowds were so large that spectators were "swarming up on top of the car." To deal with the cluster around the motorcade, the driver "ran the [limo] closer to the left-hand side of the street ... to keep the people away from the president." Agent Hill's sixth sense was telegraphing that something was wrong. Yet just after the Tampa trip, President Kennedy had directed all Secret Service agents to stay off the running board on the rear bumper, complaining that it created the appearance to the public that there was "somebody or something between them and him."
Disobeying the president's orders, Agent Hill had climbed onto the left side of the bumper, scanning the crowds and buildings, and then jumped off, returning to the follow-up car. The motorcade turned left. In an instant that would forever haunt him, Hill heard a shot ring out from behind, followed by the echo of two more gunshots.
By the time Agent Hill could scramble onto the back of the limousine, Mrs. Kennedy was crawling onto the trunk in her pink suit. Even as she hoisted Hill up [!], the agent knew it was too late. "It was a bloody mess," he recalled decades later, his voice cracking. "I mean - the president's head, the third shot hit him in the head just above the right ear, kind of. Took out a piece of his skull about the size of my palm and scooped out a whole mass of brain matter. Now, that stuff was all over the car, inside the car. Blood, white brain matter, portions of bone and skull. And everybody was covered with it." The former agent, becoming unglued as he recounted the story even forty years later, took a deep breath and continued: "What I meant by telling Lew [Merletti] about the scene ... Here was the president of the United States, who we were sworn to protect. And we failed. At least those of us who were assigned that day to that mission were not able to fulfill our responsibility."
What continued to torment Agent Hill as he replayed these images in his head, decades later, was the fact that he'd been pushed away. "if we had been inproximity, where we should have been," he explained, "... the event would not have happened as it did." Had hill been allowed to do his job, a human shield would have been formed between the unseen shooter and President Kennedy, creating a near-impossible shot. ....
With the lights in the converence room still dimmed, Merletti cut to a rarely seen television interview with Clint Hill by Mike Wallace, filmed in the 1970s, after Hill's premature retirement from the Secret Service. The forty-three-year-old Hill chain-smoked cigarettes and choked up with emotion as he spoke of failing to protect the president that day in Dallas and of allowing himself to be pushed away by the president. "It was my fault," said Hill, crying as he stared into the camera. "I'll live with that till my grave."
Describing another meeting on the same subject, attended by all former USSS directors and AICs of the PPD at Merletti's behest, Gormley wrote:
Clint Hill in The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr p427, on copyright 2010, said:
... When the next hand rose, the room fell silent; all eyes were focused on former special agent Clint Hill. A rugged, tough-looking man with a deep look of sadness and concern in his eyes, Hill had experienced many personal difficulties after that fateful day in Dallas, when he had been instructed to protect the First Family and watched President Kennedy murdered in cold blood just feet away from him. "He was only recently coming back into the family of the Secret Service, coming back into the fold," Merletti recalled, "because he had felt for years that he failed." Merletti quickly added: "He didn't realize that we held him as a hero. But we did. He did everything right that day in Dallas. He was prevented from doing his job by the president."
Author Ken Gormley, writing about the decision by Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr to compel the testimony of agents assigned to the Presidential Protection Detail in the Monica Lewinsky/Whitewater matter and the Secret Service's opposition to it, describes meetings initiated by the then-new director of the USSS, Lew Marletti, concerned in part that presidents might exclude USSS agents from their proximity if they felt that their private discussions might be subpoenaed. In this context, the author had no axes to grind or points to prove about the Kennedy assassination, and may be considered to be presenting facts as presented to him, and not toward advancing an agenda vis-a-vis JFK, and should be forgiven himself for any errors in fact presented:
Clint Hill in The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr pp423-25, on copyright 2010, said:
Merletti gave a highly classified PowerPoint presentation about the dangers presented if Secret Service agents were pushed away from a president for any reason - including lack of trust. ... The most powerful aspect of Merletti's presentation was rarely seen footage regarding the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, and Kennedy's trip the previous week to Tampa. In photos of the Florida trip, dated November 18, 1963, one could observe sharp images of Secret Service agents kneeling on the rear bumper of the president's limousine, scanning the crowd and buildings, maintaining a location within an arm's length of President Kennedy's position in the back seat.
In the haunting film clips that Merletti now showed of President Kennedy being shot in Dallas, the Secret Service agents were missing from the car's bumper. Only Agent Clint Hill knew all of the tragic details, and he since had gone into seclusion and did not speak publicly about that day.
Yet the story was well known within the Secret Service. Lew Merletti took a chance and reached out to Hill, who had settled in Northern Virginia, seeking Hill's guidance on the Starr matter. Agent Hill, a handsome man with deep furrows of mental stress on his face, had retired early from the service as a result of neurological and psychological problems. The former agent did not hesitate to share his views with the director; he still remembered those events of November 1963 too vividly.
Hill technically had been assigned to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who was riding in thhe left rear seat of the presidential limousine. The crowds were so large that spectators were "swarming up on top of the car." To deal with the cluster around the motorcade, the driver "ran the [limo] closer to the left-hand side of the street ... to keep the people away from the president." Agent Hill's sixth sense was telegraphing that something was wrong. Yet just after the Tampa trip, President Kennedy had directed all Secret Service agents to stay off the running board on the rear bumper, complaining that it created the appearance to the public that there was "somebody or something between them and him."
Disobeying the president's orders, Agent Hill had climbed onto the left side of the bumper, scanning the crowds and buildings, and then jumped off, returning to the follow-up car. The motorcade turned left. In an instant that would forever haunt him, Hill heard a shot ring out from behind, followed by the echo of two more gunshots.
By the time Agent Hill could scramble onto the back of the limousine, Mrs. Kennedy was crawling onto the trunk in her pink suit. Even as she hoisted Hill up [!], the agent knew it was too late. "It was a bloody mess," he recalled decades later, his voice cracking. "I mean - the president's head, the third shot hit him in the head just above the right ear, kind of. Took out a piece of his skull about the size of my palm and scooped out a whole mass of brain matter. Now, that stuff was all over the car, inside the car. Blood, white brain matter, portions of bone and skull. And everybody was covered with it." The former agent, becoming unglued as he recounted the story even forty years later, took a deep breath and continued: "What I meant by telling Lew [Merletti] about the scene ... Here was the president of the United States, who we were sworn to protect. And we failed. At least those of us who were assigned that day to that mission were not able to fulfill our responsibility."
What continued to torment Agent Hill as he replayed these images in his head, decades later, was the fact that he'd been pushed away. "if we had been inproximity, where we should have been," he explained, "... the event would not have happened as it did." Had hill been allowed to do his job, a human shield would have been formed between the unseen shooter and President Kennedy, creating a near-impossible shot. ....
With the lights in the converence room still dimmed, Merletti cut to a rarely seen television interview with Clint Hill by Mike Wallace, filmed in the 1970s, after Hill's premature retirement from the Secret Service. The forty-three-year-old Hill chain-smoked cigarettes and choked up with emotion as he spoke of failing to protect the president that day in Dallas and of allowing himself to be pushed away by the president. "It was my fault," said Hill, crying as he stared into the camera. "I'll live with that till my grave."
Describing another meeting on the same subject, attended by all former USSS directors and AICs of the PPD at Merletti's behest, Gormley wrote:
Clint Hill in The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr p427, on copyright 2010, said:
... When the next hand rose, the room fell silent; all eyes were focused on former special agent Clint Hill. A rugged, tough-looking man with a deep look of sadness and concern in his eyes, Hill had experienced many personal difficulties after that fateful day in Dallas, when he had been instructed to protect the First Family and watched President Kennedy murdered in cold blood just feet away from him. "He was only recently coming back into the family of the Secret Service, coming back into the fold," Merletti recalled, "because he had felt for years that he failed." Merletti quickly added: "He didn't realize that we held him as a hero. But we did. He did everything right that day in Dallas. He was prevented from doing his job by the president."
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
"I salute Vince Palamara, a "Rabid Dog of the Internet" :)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
I salute Vince Palamara, a "Rabid Dog of the Internet"
Vince Palamara takes Simon Barret to task for his review of "The Kennedy Detail." Barrret bitches back at a Mr. Palamaro. What kind of reviewer can't even spell a name right? What a Schmuck!
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!
Posted by Joseph Backes at 5:07 AM
VIA HIS OWN BLOG
Justice For Kennedy
A blog about the JFK assassination and other political crimes.
http://justiceforkennedy.blogspot.com
I salute Vince Palamara, a "Rabid Dog of the Internet"
Vince Palamara takes Simon Barret to task for his review of "The Kennedy Detail." Barrret bitches back at a Mr. Palamaro. What kind of reviewer can't even spell a name right? What a Schmuck!
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!
Posted by Joseph Backes at 5:07 AM
VIA HIS OWN BLOG
Justice For Kennedy
A blog about the JFK assassination and other political crimes.
http://justiceforkennedy.blogspot.com
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!
(this is somewhat funny)
http://www.bloggernews.net/125523
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!Posted on November 8th, 2010 by Simon Barrett in Op-edRead 181 times.I have just published a review of The Kennedy Detail, a book penned by Gerald Blaine. He was part of the Secret Service team tasked with protecting the well being of President John F. Kennedy. Needless to say it was a job had had an unhappy ending.
It did not seem to be appropriate to sully a book review with internet scuttlebutt, but I do think that the subject needs addressing. When I was offered a galley of The Kennedy Detail I published a short article on the subject. I had read only a few pages, and made no editorial comments, merely that the book was being published.
Within 24 hours I heard from the ’self proclaimed’ expert on JFK and the Secret Service, some guy named Vince Palamaro. A gentleman who was not even born when the JFK story unfolded. His claim to fame seems to stem from some Discovery Channel documentary that calls him an expert. Hell, watch any documentary on any subject, the people are always billed as experts! There would be little reason in announcing the fact that our next guest knows next to nothing on the subject!
I take great umbrage when someone tries to include preconceptions in any book, music, DVD, or whatever I am planning to review. Unlike other reviewers I do not search out what others think. I review the material as I see it, and how it effects me. This, I am sure puts me in the minority, but it is the way I work.
I am a reviewer, not a critic, I read a book, and talk about the enjoyment factor. Yes, in the case of a factual book I look for the facts. But I am old enough to understand that everyone has their own ‘pain threshold’ on what they wish to put in print. I am sure that there are many aspects of the JFK story that Gerald Blaine opted to leave out.
I have a good friend who has a bestseller in his brain, but he will not put pen to paper because of the harm that it might cause to the famous Hollywood families involved.
Is he wrong? NO!!!!! My friend will never share certain confidences with the world. Gerald Blaine obviously is cut from the same cloth.
This Vince Palamara on the other hand is a man on what can only be viewed as a witch hunt. Move on Vince! Take some time out and smell the roses! Oh and while you are doing that, why not create a web site that takes less than 5 minutes to load? I would give the URL but that would be a huge disservice to my readers, no-one wants to have high speed internet emulate dial up!
As we near the 50th anniversary of the events in Dealey Plaza it is increasingly unlikely that the truth will ever be revealed. What we can however do is take the little bits of information and put them in the patchwork.
Leaving comments such as:
Vince Palamara said,
in November 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm edit
Vince Palamara is not just a ‘researcher’: he has appeared on the History Channel (and dvd), in over 55 books, in a government report, and has interviewed over 80 former agents, including Blaine and many who died before his book came out. There is value in “The Kennedy Detail”, but there is also selected fiction.
Gives me a gag reflex. I don’t give a damn that you have been on the History Channel, so have many other people. I have not kept a count of the number of books that I have been mentioned in, I am sure it is less than 55, but who is counting? Who cares? I also seem to recall that this Vince guy was the one that talked about The Kennedy Detail being written in the third party voice, oops.
I will state once again, I’m a book reviewer, I enjoy reading peoples books, I enjoy books about JFK, but unlike some, I am not obsessed with the story. I read many books on many subjects, I keep an open mind. The Kennedy Detail is not a tell all book, it is merely the story of the events as seen through one mans eyes.
Take your war to someplace that cares. Me, well I about to review a really fun childrens book. The story line is wonderful, and the pictures are well done, they match the age group that the author is aiming at. In fact it might be some good therapy for Vince Palamara and the rest of his merry band of obsessives, to do something similar.
Simon Barrett
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!Posted on November 8th, 2010 by Simon Barrett in Op-edRead 183 times.I have just published a review of The Kennedy Detail, a book penned by Gerald Blaine. He was part of the Secret Service team tasked with protecting the well being of President John F. Kennedy. Needless to say it was a job had had an unhappy ending.
It did not seem to be appropriate to sully a book review with internet scuttlebutt, but I do think that the subject needs addressing. When I was offered a galley of The Kennedy Detail I published a short article on the subject. I had read only a few pages, and made no editorial comments, merely that the book was being published.
Within 24 hours I heard from the ’self proclaimed’ expert on JFK and the Secret Service, some guy named Vince Palamaro. A gentleman who was not even born when the JFK story unfolded. His claim to fame seems to stem from some Discovery Channel documentary that calls him an expert. Hell, watch any documentary on any subject, the people are always billed as experts! There would be little reason in announcing the fact that our next guest knows next to nothing on the subject!
I take great umbrage when someone tries to include preconceptions in any book, music, DVD, or whatever I am planning to review. Unlike other reviewers I do not search out what others think. I review the material as I see it, and how it effects me. This, I am sure puts me in the minority, but it is the way I work.
I am a reviewer, not a critic, I read a book, and talk about the enjoyment factor. Yes, in the case of a factual book I look for the facts. But I am old enough to understand that everyone has their own ‘pain threshold’ on what they wish to put in print. I am sure that there are many aspects of the JFK story that Gerald Blaine opted to leave out.
I have a good friend who has a bestseller in his brain, but he will not put pen to paper because of the harm that it might cause to the famous Hollywood families involved.
Is he wrong? NO!!!!! My friend will never share certain confidences with the world. Gerald Blaine obviously is cut from the same cloth.
This Vince Palamara on the other hand is a man on what can only be viewed as a witch hunt. Move on Vince! Take some time out and smell the roses! Oh and while you are doing that, why not create a web site that takes less than 5 minutes to load? I would give the URL but that would be a huge disservice to my readers, no-one wants to have high speed internet emulate dial up!
As we near the 50th anniversary of the events in Dealey Plaza it is increasingly unlikely that the truth will ever be revealed. What we can however do is take the little bits of information and put them in the patchwork.
Leaving comments such as:
Vince Palamara said,
in November 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm edit
Vince Palamara is not just a ‘researcher’: he has appeared on the History Channel (and dvd), in over 55 books, in a government report, and has interviewed over 80 former agents, including Blaine and many who died before his book came out. There is value in “The Kennedy Detail”, but there is also selected fiction.
Gives me a gag reflex. I don’t give a damn that you have been on the History Channel, so have many other people. I have not kept a count of the number of books that I have been mentioned in, I am sure it is less than 55, but who is counting? Who cares? I also seem to recall that this Vince guy was the one that talked about The Kennedy Detail being written in the third party voice, oops.
I will state once again, I’m a book reviewer, I enjoy reading peoples books, I enjoy books about JFK, but unlike some, I am not obsessed with the story. I read many books on many subjects, I keep an open mind. The Kennedy Detail is not a tell all book, it is merely the story of the events as seen through one mans eyes.
Take your war to someplace that cares. Me, well I about to review a really fun childrens book. The story line is wonderful, and the pictures are well done, they match the age group that the author is aiming at. In fact it might be some good therapy for Vince Palamara and the rest of his merry band of obsessives, to do something similar.
Simon Barrett
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Loading ...1 user commented in " The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet! " Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback Vince Palamara said,in November 9th, 2010 at 12:08 pm No problemo-the “war” is over, my friend. :O)
We were just stating that “The Kennedy Detail”, while a fine book in some respects, is NOT to be trusted as THE final word on the JFK era Secret Service and the assassination; that’s all. I have interviewed close to 80 former agents (including Blaine) and many of them told me facts in contradiction to what is being espoused in Blaine’s book. No “theories”; heck, you can have Oswald acting alone and no conspiracy-if the agents wouldn’t have blamed JFK and did their jobs, the man would have lived. Thanks for your blogs and this forum- much appreciated. Take care. Vince Palamara and “the rest of his merry band of obsessives” :O)
http://www.bloggernews.net/125523
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!Posted on November 8th, 2010 by Simon Barrett in Op-edRead 181 times.I have just published a review of The Kennedy Detail, a book penned by Gerald Blaine. He was part of the Secret Service team tasked with protecting the well being of President John F. Kennedy. Needless to say it was a job had had an unhappy ending.
It did not seem to be appropriate to sully a book review with internet scuttlebutt, but I do think that the subject needs addressing. When I was offered a galley of The Kennedy Detail I published a short article on the subject. I had read only a few pages, and made no editorial comments, merely that the book was being published.
Within 24 hours I heard from the ’self proclaimed’ expert on JFK and the Secret Service, some guy named Vince Palamaro. A gentleman who was not even born when the JFK story unfolded. His claim to fame seems to stem from some Discovery Channel documentary that calls him an expert. Hell, watch any documentary on any subject, the people are always billed as experts! There would be little reason in announcing the fact that our next guest knows next to nothing on the subject!
I take great umbrage when someone tries to include preconceptions in any book, music, DVD, or whatever I am planning to review. Unlike other reviewers I do not search out what others think. I review the material as I see it, and how it effects me. This, I am sure puts me in the minority, but it is the way I work.
I am a reviewer, not a critic, I read a book, and talk about the enjoyment factor. Yes, in the case of a factual book I look for the facts. But I am old enough to understand that everyone has their own ‘pain threshold’ on what they wish to put in print. I am sure that there are many aspects of the JFK story that Gerald Blaine opted to leave out.
I have a good friend who has a bestseller in his brain, but he will not put pen to paper because of the harm that it might cause to the famous Hollywood families involved.
Is he wrong? NO!!!!! My friend will never share certain confidences with the world. Gerald Blaine obviously is cut from the same cloth.
This Vince Palamara on the other hand is a man on what can only be viewed as a witch hunt. Move on Vince! Take some time out and smell the roses! Oh and while you are doing that, why not create a web site that takes less than 5 minutes to load? I would give the URL but that would be a huge disservice to my readers, no-one wants to have high speed internet emulate dial up!
As we near the 50th anniversary of the events in Dealey Plaza it is increasingly unlikely that the truth will ever be revealed. What we can however do is take the little bits of information and put them in the patchwork.
Leaving comments such as:
Vince Palamara said,
in November 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm edit
Vince Palamara is not just a ‘researcher’: he has appeared on the History Channel (and dvd), in over 55 books, in a government report, and has interviewed over 80 former agents, including Blaine and many who died before his book came out. There is value in “The Kennedy Detail”, but there is also selected fiction.
Gives me a gag reflex. I don’t give a damn that you have been on the History Channel, so have many other people. I have not kept a count of the number of books that I have been mentioned in, I am sure it is less than 55, but who is counting? Who cares? I also seem to recall that this Vince guy was the one that talked about The Kennedy Detail being written in the third party voice, oops.
I will state once again, I’m a book reviewer, I enjoy reading peoples books, I enjoy books about JFK, but unlike some, I am not obsessed with the story. I read many books on many subjects, I keep an open mind. The Kennedy Detail is not a tell all book, it is merely the story of the events as seen through one mans eyes.
Take your war to someplace that cares. Me, well I about to review a really fun childrens book. The story line is wonderful, and the pictures are well done, they match the age group that the author is aiming at. In fact it might be some good therapy for Vince Palamara and the rest of his merry band of obsessives, to do something similar.
Simon Barrett
The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet!Posted on November 8th, 2010 by Simon Barrett in Op-edRead 183 times.I have just published a review of The Kennedy Detail, a book penned by Gerald Blaine. He was part of the Secret Service team tasked with protecting the well being of President John F. Kennedy. Needless to say it was a job had had an unhappy ending.
It did not seem to be appropriate to sully a book review with internet scuttlebutt, but I do think that the subject needs addressing. When I was offered a galley of The Kennedy Detail I published a short article on the subject. I had read only a few pages, and made no editorial comments, merely that the book was being published.
Within 24 hours I heard from the ’self proclaimed’ expert on JFK and the Secret Service, some guy named Vince Palamaro. A gentleman who was not even born when the JFK story unfolded. His claim to fame seems to stem from some Discovery Channel documentary that calls him an expert. Hell, watch any documentary on any subject, the people are always billed as experts! There would be little reason in announcing the fact that our next guest knows next to nothing on the subject!
I take great umbrage when someone tries to include preconceptions in any book, music, DVD, or whatever I am planning to review. Unlike other reviewers I do not search out what others think. I review the material as I see it, and how it effects me. This, I am sure puts me in the minority, but it is the way I work.
I am a reviewer, not a critic, I read a book, and talk about the enjoyment factor. Yes, in the case of a factual book I look for the facts. But I am old enough to understand that everyone has their own ‘pain threshold’ on what they wish to put in print. I am sure that there are many aspects of the JFK story that Gerald Blaine opted to leave out.
I have a good friend who has a bestseller in his brain, but he will not put pen to paper because of the harm that it might cause to the famous Hollywood families involved.
Is he wrong? NO!!!!! My friend will never share certain confidences with the world. Gerald Blaine obviously is cut from the same cloth.
This Vince Palamara on the other hand is a man on what can only be viewed as a witch hunt. Move on Vince! Take some time out and smell the roses! Oh and while you are doing that, why not create a web site that takes less than 5 minutes to load? I would give the URL but that would be a huge disservice to my readers, no-one wants to have high speed internet emulate dial up!
As we near the 50th anniversary of the events in Dealey Plaza it is increasingly unlikely that the truth will ever be revealed. What we can however do is take the little bits of information and put them in the patchwork.
Leaving comments such as:
Vince Palamara said,
in November 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm edit
Vince Palamara is not just a ‘researcher’: he has appeared on the History Channel (and dvd), in over 55 books, in a government report, and has interviewed over 80 former agents, including Blaine and many who died before his book came out. There is value in “The Kennedy Detail”, but there is also selected fiction.
Gives me a gag reflex. I don’t give a damn that you have been on the History Channel, so have many other people. I have not kept a count of the number of books that I have been mentioned in, I am sure it is less than 55, but who is counting? Who cares? I also seem to recall that this Vince guy was the one that talked about The Kennedy Detail being written in the third party voice, oops.
I will state once again, I’m a book reviewer, I enjoy reading peoples books, I enjoy books about JFK, but unlike some, I am not obsessed with the story. I read many books on many subjects, I keep an open mind. The Kennedy Detail is not a tell all book, it is merely the story of the events as seen through one mans eyes.
Take your war to someplace that cares. Me, well I about to review a really fun childrens book. The story line is wonderful, and the pictures are well done, they match the age group that the author is aiming at. In fact it might be some good therapy for Vince Palamara and the rest of his merry band of obsessives, to do something similar.
Simon Barrett
Let Others Know About This Post These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Click Below To Rate This Post:
(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
Loading ...1 user commented in " The Kennedy Detail - The Rabid Dogs Of The Internet! " Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback Vince Palamara said,in November 9th, 2010 at 12:08 pm No problemo-the “war” is over, my friend. :O)
We were just stating that “The Kennedy Detail”, while a fine book in some respects, is NOT to be trusted as THE final word on the JFK era Secret Service and the assassination; that’s all. I have interviewed close to 80 former agents (including Blaine) and many of them told me facts in contradiction to what is being espoused in Blaine’s book. No “theories”; heck, you can have Oswald acting alone and no conspiracy-if the agents wouldn’t have blamed JFK and did their jobs, the man would have lived. Thanks for your blogs and this forum- much appreciated. Take care. Vince Palamara and “the rest of his merry band of obsessives” :O)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Simon Barrett on The Kennedy Detail (+Vince Palamara, etc)
http://www.bloggernews.net/125485
Coming Soon: The Kennedy DetailPosted on November 2nd, 2010 by Simon Barrett in Literary NewsRead 420 times.
There are few people fifty and older who can not remember with clarity where they were on November/22 1963. I had just turned 8 years old, I had never even visited America, my world was a small village in the north of England. but I remember watching a news flash on the family black and white TV, “President Kennedy has been assassinated” the well spoken BBC announcer told us all.
I had never even heard of Dallas, and indeed it would be three decades before I visited the city. But even at the tender age of 8 I realized that the news I had just heard was profoundly disturbing.
Over the intervening years I have read many JFK books, I have watched watched more documentaries on the subject than most people. I have been entertained and appalled by some of the conspiracy theories. Magic bullets, the Grassy Knoll, the reload time of the bolt action riffle used, been there, done that!
Do not get me wrong, this is not an obsession, it is just a subject that I find interesting, As we approach the 47th anniversary of that black day in Dealey Plaza it is clear that this is one puzzle that may never be solved.
Some books and documentaries on the subject of JFK would be more accurately labeled as Fiction or Fantasy, occasionally one does however have genuine historical significance. A chance to add another piece to the jig saw puzzle. We may well be on the verge of such a book.
The Simon & Shuster publishing company are about to publish The Kennedy Detail. Authored by Gerald Blain with the help of Lisa McGubbin it takes us inside the very small and very private world of the Secret Service detail assigned to protect President Kennedy. Gerald Blaine was one of the very select and numerically small group of agents tasked with his safety.
S&S have been keeping this book very close to their chests. Although it is slated for release today, it was only yesterday that I received a Galley for it!
I have only read about 70 pages, but I know a quality book when I see one, this will be on the must have list for anyone interested in the JFK story.
My review of the book will be coming soon!
For those of you that want to be first in line, you can order from Amazon. OK, back to reading….
Simon Barrett
Let Others Know About This Post These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Click Below To Rate This Post:
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...3 users commented in " Coming Soon: The Kennedy Detail " Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback Vince Palamara said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm Very well written propaganda, more like it. “The Kennedy Detail”, while with some merit, seeks to blame JFK for his own death, which most people find repugnant. President Kennedy was a very nice man, never interfered with the actions of the Secret Service, and never ordered them off the car. I base this on many interviews with many members of the Kennedy Detail, Blaine included. This book was written to counter my research.
Tom Del Toro said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 4:43 pm I have to agree with with Vince Palamara in his assessment of the book. Seems Gerald Blaine is something of a coward, too: keeps deleting Mr. Palamara’s blogs. Why? Could it be Mr. Palamara has information contrary to the wisful thinking found in “The Kennedy Detail”, perhaps?
Audrey Cromwell said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 pm Vince Palamara is the REAL authority on the Secret Service, not Blaine, a nobody agent who can’t even get his facts right
http://www.bloggernews.net/125521
Book Review: The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbinPosted on November 8th, 2010 by Simon Barrett in All News, Book Reviews, ReviewsRead 217 times.
There is little doubt in my mind that if of you were to ask a group of fifty people to name the two biggest conspiracies of the 20th century most would cite the assassination of President John F Kennedy, and the happenings at Roswell/Area 51. Both events illicit huge amounts of heated discussion.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but I am a person with a keen interest in the JFK story, I am old enough to remember the events, although too young at the time to have grasped their true significance.
Over the years I have read many books on the events of November/22 in Dealey Plaza, some have been scholarly and well researched, others have been written by ‘wingnuts’ espousing theories that only a fellow wingnut could love!
Rarely does a Kennedy book cause any serious level of controversy. People read them and just move on. That is not true of The Kennedy Detail. Within 24 hours of posting a harmless article about the upcoming release I had messages from JFK ‘researchers’ that were mainly negative.
So what makes The Kennedy Detail such a controversial book? At face value it would seem to be the ideal companion for and collector or historian. It is not a rehash of the many books before, it is the telling of the story through the eyes of Gerald Blaine. Blaine was part of the elite secret service detail tasked with keeping the president out of harms way.
This viewpoint of the JFK assassination is not one that I had read before.
In retrospect I now understand the frustration from the researchers that contacted me, but I do feel they are completely off the mark. Gerald Blaine is not trying to rewrite history, he is telling his story, the way he remembers it. The Kennedy Detail for me was more of an autobiography than an analysis of the events.
There is an old saying about history, there are always three versions, there is mine, there is yours, and then there is the truth, which is somewhere in between. Read Don Brackens excellent book Words Of War for concrete evidence of this. Gerald Blaine is like every other author writing what I call ‘living history’, they are his recollections, they are his feelings, and they form a very important part of the mosaic surrounding the assassination of JFK and the fall out that followed.
Certainly he is very soft on criticism of the Warren Commission, but surely that should come as no surprise. And most certainly he avoids treading in the mire of JFK’s supposed womanizing world, but again, this is not surprising. Gerald Blaine as part of the presidents personal security team swore an oath of allegiance to JFK. It is clear that even after 47 years Gerald Blaine keeps that oath. I admire him for doing so.
I enjoyed The Kennedy Detail a great deal, for me it revealed a side of the story that I had never heard. It puts a face on those Trench Coated, Black Suited, White Shirted, Aviator Sunglasses wearing and generally unsmiling gentleman that protect our presidents.
Kudos to Gerald Blaine! I did notice that The Kennedy Detail is moving faster than a snipers bullet up the Amazon Bestseller list, so if you know someone that is interested in the JFK story this would make a perfect addition to their collection. You can order your copy by clicking on the Amazon link above.
Simon Barrett
Let Others Know About This Post These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Click Below To Rate This Post:
(2 votes, average: 2.5 out of 5)
Loading ...1 user commented in " Book Review: The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin " Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback Vince Palamara said,in November 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm Vince Palamara is not just a ‘researcher’: he has appeared on the History Channel (and dvd), in over 55 books, in a government report, and has interviewed over 80 former agents, including Blaine and many who died before his book came out. There is value in “The Kennedy Detail”, but there is also selected fiction.
Steven Tramonelli said,in November 8th, 2010 at 5:46 pm Blaine blames the victim in his book. Who cares whether Oswald acted alone or not. The point is-JFK did not order the agents to do anything and Blaine and Co. KNOW this.
Steven Tramonelli said,in November 8th, 2010 at 5:51 pm P.S. “Climbing up the best-sellers list”? More like bombing and diving. Not even in the top 200 (let alone the top 10-50: true best-sellers) and already half off. Next…
Dave Moran said,in November 8th, 2010 at 6:01 pm Gerald Blaine owes EVERYTHING to Vince Palamara~if it wasn’t for his anger towards Palamara’s research, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE WROTE HIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!
Coming Soon: The Kennedy DetailPosted on November 2nd, 2010 by Simon Barrett in Literary NewsRead 420 times.
There are few people fifty and older who can not remember with clarity where they were on November/22 1963. I had just turned 8 years old, I had never even visited America, my world was a small village in the north of England. but I remember watching a news flash on the family black and white TV, “President Kennedy has been assassinated” the well spoken BBC announcer told us all.
I had never even heard of Dallas, and indeed it would be three decades before I visited the city. But even at the tender age of 8 I realized that the news I had just heard was profoundly disturbing.
Over the intervening years I have read many JFK books, I have watched watched more documentaries on the subject than most people. I have been entertained and appalled by some of the conspiracy theories. Magic bullets, the Grassy Knoll, the reload time of the bolt action riffle used, been there, done that!
Do not get me wrong, this is not an obsession, it is just a subject that I find interesting, As we approach the 47th anniversary of that black day in Dealey Plaza it is clear that this is one puzzle that may never be solved.
Some books and documentaries on the subject of JFK would be more accurately labeled as Fiction or Fantasy, occasionally one does however have genuine historical significance. A chance to add another piece to the jig saw puzzle. We may well be on the verge of such a book.
The Simon & Shuster publishing company are about to publish The Kennedy Detail. Authored by Gerald Blain with the help of Lisa McGubbin it takes us inside the very small and very private world of the Secret Service detail assigned to protect President Kennedy. Gerald Blaine was one of the very select and numerically small group of agents tasked with his safety.
S&S have been keeping this book very close to their chests. Although it is slated for release today, it was only yesterday that I received a Galley for it!
I have only read about 70 pages, but I know a quality book when I see one, this will be on the must have list for anyone interested in the JFK story.
My review of the book will be coming soon!
For those of you that want to be first in line, you can order from Amazon. OK, back to reading….
Simon Barrett
Let Others Know About This Post These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Click Below To Rate This Post:
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...3 users commented in " Coming Soon: The Kennedy Detail " Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback Vince Palamara said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm Very well written propaganda, more like it. “The Kennedy Detail”, while with some merit, seeks to blame JFK for his own death, which most people find repugnant. President Kennedy was a very nice man, never interfered with the actions of the Secret Service, and never ordered them off the car. I base this on many interviews with many members of the Kennedy Detail, Blaine included. This book was written to counter my research.
Tom Del Toro said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 4:43 pm I have to agree with with Vince Palamara in his assessment of the book. Seems Gerald Blaine is something of a coward, too: keeps deleting Mr. Palamara’s blogs. Why? Could it be Mr. Palamara has information contrary to the wisful thinking found in “The Kennedy Detail”, perhaps?
Audrey Cromwell said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 pm Vince Palamara is the REAL authority on the Secret Service, not Blaine, a nobody agent who can’t even get his facts right
http://www.bloggernews.net/125521
Book Review: The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbinPosted on November 8th, 2010 by Simon Barrett in All News, Book Reviews, ReviewsRead 217 times.
There is little doubt in my mind that if of you were to ask a group of fifty people to name the two biggest conspiracies of the 20th century most would cite the assassination of President John F Kennedy, and the happenings at Roswell/Area 51. Both events illicit huge amounts of heated discussion.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but I am a person with a keen interest in the JFK story, I am old enough to remember the events, although too young at the time to have grasped their true significance.
Over the years I have read many books on the events of November/22 in Dealey Plaza, some have been scholarly and well researched, others have been written by ‘wingnuts’ espousing theories that only a fellow wingnut could love!
Rarely does a Kennedy book cause any serious level of controversy. People read them and just move on. That is not true of The Kennedy Detail. Within 24 hours of posting a harmless article about the upcoming release I had messages from JFK ‘researchers’ that were mainly negative.
So what makes The Kennedy Detail such a controversial book? At face value it would seem to be the ideal companion for and collector or historian. It is not a rehash of the many books before, it is the telling of the story through the eyes of Gerald Blaine. Blaine was part of the elite secret service detail tasked with keeping the president out of harms way.
This viewpoint of the JFK assassination is not one that I had read before.
In retrospect I now understand the frustration from the researchers that contacted me, but I do feel they are completely off the mark. Gerald Blaine is not trying to rewrite history, he is telling his story, the way he remembers it. The Kennedy Detail for me was more of an autobiography than an analysis of the events.
There is an old saying about history, there are always three versions, there is mine, there is yours, and then there is the truth, which is somewhere in between. Read Don Brackens excellent book Words Of War for concrete evidence of this. Gerald Blaine is like every other author writing what I call ‘living history’, they are his recollections, they are his feelings, and they form a very important part of the mosaic surrounding the assassination of JFK and the fall out that followed.
Certainly he is very soft on criticism of the Warren Commission, but surely that should come as no surprise. And most certainly he avoids treading in the mire of JFK’s supposed womanizing world, but again, this is not surprising. Gerald Blaine as part of the presidents personal security team swore an oath of allegiance to JFK. It is clear that even after 47 years Gerald Blaine keeps that oath. I admire him for doing so.
I enjoyed The Kennedy Detail a great deal, for me it revealed a side of the story that I had never heard. It puts a face on those Trench Coated, Black Suited, White Shirted, Aviator Sunglasses wearing and generally unsmiling gentleman that protect our presidents.
Kudos to Gerald Blaine! I did notice that The Kennedy Detail is moving faster than a snipers bullet up the Amazon Bestseller list, so if you know someone that is interested in the JFK story this would make a perfect addition to their collection. You can order your copy by clicking on the Amazon link above.
Simon Barrett
Let Others Know About This Post These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Click Below To Rate This Post:
(2 votes, average: 2.5 out of 5)
Loading ...1 user commented in " Book Review: The Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin " Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback Vince Palamara said,in November 8th, 2010 at 5:44 pm Vince Palamara is not just a ‘researcher’: he has appeared on the History Channel (and dvd), in over 55 books, in a government report, and has interviewed over 80 former agents, including Blaine and many who died before his book came out. There is value in “The Kennedy Detail”, but there is also selected fiction.
Steven Tramonelli said,in November 8th, 2010 at 5:46 pm Blaine blames the victim in his book. Who cares whether Oswald acted alone or not. The point is-JFK did not order the agents to do anything and Blaine and Co. KNOW this.
Steven Tramonelli said,in November 8th, 2010 at 5:51 pm P.S. “Climbing up the best-sellers list”? More like bombing and diving. Not even in the top 200 (let alone the top 10-50: true best-sellers) and already half off. Next…
Dave Moran said,in November 8th, 2010 at 6:01 pm Gerald Blaine owes EVERYTHING to Vince Palamara~if it wasn’t for his anger towards Palamara’s research, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE WROTE HIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!
Agent Abraham Bolden weighs in on "The Kennedy Detail"!
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars The coverup continues, November 6, 2010
By Fmr. Agent Abraham Bolden - This review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)
I just finished reading the 448 page "Cover Your Ass" book by agent Blaine. As a former Secret Service Agent and the first African American to be appointed to the White House Detail, I was dismayed at the continued attempts by former agents to deny culpability in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The attack upon my credibility in the book, "The Kennedy Detail" was expected; but I was hoping that the former Kennedy body guards would show a modicum of contriteness in the book instead of trying to blame Kennedy's assassination on the President himself. Unlike the general reading public, I was an agent during the critical period on November 22, 1963. In my book, "The Echo from Dealey Plaza", I relate to the public what I saw while serving on the white house detail and the disrespect and hatred towards the President that I heard expressed by some of my fellow agents.
Although, Blaine refers my claims of racism in the secret service white house detail in 1961 as being unfounded, on page 25 of my book, I document by secret service file memo 3-11-602-111 the stark racism that prevented me from carrying out my protective responsibilities in Miami Florida. Mr. Blaine also states in his "cya" book that Agent Faison, who was the first African American permanently, assigned to the White House Detail in 1963 took issue with my "unbelievable" charges of racism in the secret service. If there was no racism in the secret service in 1963 then how is it that just eight years ago, 57 African American Agents filed a class action suit, (that is still pending in federal district court) charging overt racism by the agency.(see [...])?
Blaine and other agents can feed the public with the "cya" account of the secret service actions during the Kennedy area but I was there and was a witness to the incompetence, laxity of certain agents surrounding the president, the drinking and cavalier attitude among many of the agents on the detail, the references to President Kennedy as being a Ni---r lover and their disdain for his stand for racial justice and equal opportunity for All Americans. I was present among a few agents who were discussing the protection of President Kennedy in which the statement was made that if an attempt were made on the life of the President, they would take no action.
Blaine states in his book that I said that I discussed the conduct of my fellow agents on the detail with Chief James Rowley. I make no such claim. On page 45 of The Echo from Dealey Plaza, I specifically state that I discussed the problems of Kennedy's protection with Chief U. E. Baughman. I did not go to Rowley because I knew that he already knew of the conduct of the agents and would do nothing about it.
As far as agents being forbidden to ride on the special running boards of the presidential vehicle, that rumor was not circulated until "after" the assassination of the president. There was no official memorandum or other notification of such an order advising agents of this change in protective policy. This rumor is no more than a scandalous assertion put forth by agents who failed in their duty to properly protect the President of these United States.
Lastly, Blaine derides me concerning the Kennedy investigations that took place in Chicago during November, 1963; however, he has no knowledge of the chicanery that took place in the Chicago office of the secret service during that time. Unlike Blaine, I was there. I was there when in early November, 1963 the Chicago office of the secret service investigated a character named Echevarria. Echevarria stated that President Kennedy was about to be assassinated. I heard the investigating agent dictating the reports in early November, 1963. The investigation took place prior to the assassination in Dallas. On the afternoon of November 26, 1963, Inspector Kelly, SAIC James Burke,and representatives of the FBI had a meeting in the Chicago office of the secret service. Kelly and Burke were the lead investigators representing the secret service in Dallas prior to the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. The Echevarria investigation took place during the first two weeks in November. I was there in the office when the reports that had already been dictated by the investigating agents and typed by the secretaries were rounded up and banded in a single stack in the office of SAIC Martineau. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these collected investigative reports were dictated by the agents PRIOR to the assassination of Kennedy. However, after Kelly and Burke ended their conference, these same reports were restructured and the dates of the investigation were changed to indicate that the Echevarria investigation was conducted AFTER the assassination and had reference to the concern for the protection of President Johnson as Blaine claims in his "CYA" book. I was there. I know what happened and Blaine may fool the general public, but he can't fool me.
Blaine refers to me as the convicted felon and uses that phrase in an attempt to discredit me and my autobiography, The Echo from Dealey Plaza. I may well be a convicted felon but I sleep well at night knowing that I did everything that I could do to save the life of President Kennedy. Can the agents standing on the running board of the follow-up car in Dallas, Texas and watching the president's head blown to pieces, say the same thing? I doubt it. They know the truth too.
1.0 out of 5 stars The coverup continues, November 6, 2010
By Fmr. Agent Abraham Bolden - This review is from: The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence (Hardcover)
I just finished reading the 448 page "Cover Your Ass" book by agent Blaine. As a former Secret Service Agent and the first African American to be appointed to the White House Detail, I was dismayed at the continued attempts by former agents to deny culpability in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The attack upon my credibility in the book, "The Kennedy Detail" was expected; but I was hoping that the former Kennedy body guards would show a modicum of contriteness in the book instead of trying to blame Kennedy's assassination on the President himself. Unlike the general reading public, I was an agent during the critical period on November 22, 1963. In my book, "The Echo from Dealey Plaza", I relate to the public what I saw while serving on the white house detail and the disrespect and hatred towards the President that I heard expressed by some of my fellow agents.
Although, Blaine refers my claims of racism in the secret service white house detail in 1961 as being unfounded, on page 25 of my book, I document by secret service file memo 3-11-602-111 the stark racism that prevented me from carrying out my protective responsibilities in Miami Florida. Mr. Blaine also states in his "cya" book that Agent Faison, who was the first African American permanently, assigned to the White House Detail in 1963 took issue with my "unbelievable" charges of racism in the secret service. If there was no racism in the secret service in 1963 then how is it that just eight years ago, 57 African American Agents filed a class action suit, (that is still pending in federal district court) charging overt racism by the agency.(see [...])?
Blaine and other agents can feed the public with the "cya" account of the secret service actions during the Kennedy area but I was there and was a witness to the incompetence, laxity of certain agents surrounding the president, the drinking and cavalier attitude among many of the agents on the detail, the references to President Kennedy as being a Ni---r lover and their disdain for his stand for racial justice and equal opportunity for All Americans. I was present among a few agents who were discussing the protection of President Kennedy in which the statement was made that if an attempt were made on the life of the President, they would take no action.
Blaine states in his book that I said that I discussed the conduct of my fellow agents on the detail with Chief James Rowley. I make no such claim. On page 45 of The Echo from Dealey Plaza, I specifically state that I discussed the problems of Kennedy's protection with Chief U. E. Baughman. I did not go to Rowley because I knew that he already knew of the conduct of the agents and would do nothing about it.
As far as agents being forbidden to ride on the special running boards of the presidential vehicle, that rumor was not circulated until "after" the assassination of the president. There was no official memorandum or other notification of such an order advising agents of this change in protective policy. This rumor is no more than a scandalous assertion put forth by agents who failed in their duty to properly protect the President of these United States.
Lastly, Blaine derides me concerning the Kennedy investigations that took place in Chicago during November, 1963; however, he has no knowledge of the chicanery that took place in the Chicago office of the secret service during that time. Unlike Blaine, I was there. I was there when in early November, 1963 the Chicago office of the secret service investigated a character named Echevarria. Echevarria stated that President Kennedy was about to be assassinated. I heard the investigating agent dictating the reports in early November, 1963. The investigation took place prior to the assassination in Dallas. On the afternoon of November 26, 1963, Inspector Kelly, SAIC James Burke,and representatives of the FBI had a meeting in the Chicago office of the secret service. Kelly and Burke were the lead investigators representing the secret service in Dallas prior to the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. The Echevarria investigation took place during the first two weeks in November. I was there in the office when the reports that had already been dictated by the investigating agents and typed by the secretaries were rounded up and banded in a single stack in the office of SAIC Martineau. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these collected investigative reports were dictated by the agents PRIOR to the assassination of Kennedy. However, after Kelly and Burke ended their conference, these same reports were restructured and the dates of the investigation were changed to indicate that the Echevarria investigation was conducted AFTER the assassination and had reference to the concern for the protection of President Johnson as Blaine claims in his "CYA" book. I was there. I know what happened and Blaine may fool the general public, but he can't fool me.
Blaine refers to me as the convicted felon and uses that phrase in an attempt to discredit me and my autobiography, The Echo from Dealey Plaza. I may well be a convicted felon but I sleep well at night knowing that I did everything that I could do to save the life of President Kennedy. Can the agents standing on the running board of the follow-up car in Dallas, Texas and watching the president's head blown to pieces, say the same thing? I doubt it. They know the truth too.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
What "code" would the NON SECRET SERVICE AGENTS have been following, Mr. Blaine?
"The Kennedy Detail" takes poetic license regarding some crucial matters. For one, there was NO morning-of-JFK's-funeral meeting with Chief Rowley OTHER than to discuss the security for Jackie's walk to St. Matthews Cathedral. Everyone from this 47-year-old meeting---other than Blaine--- is conveniently dead and there is no documentation for this meeting to discuss JFK's alleged comments ("order") to remove the agents in Tampa on 11/18/63, used as a very lame excuse for why the agents weren't there on 11/22/63 (as agent Win Lawson said, there were no standing orders for the agents to stay off the back of the car and the matter never came to his attention---so much for the advance agents getting wind of these "orders"). Many agents and NON AGENTS (a crucial distinction Blaine doesn't get) have denied that JFK ever interfered with the Secret Service (what "code" would the NON SECRET SERVICE AGENTS have been following, Mr. Blaine?). In addition, Blaine makes a big deal about CE1025, the 5 reports submitted to Chief Rowley in April 1964 (only because the Warren Commission asked) regarding any statements JFK may have made regarding agents being on the rear of his car. Besides the fact that two of the agents---SAIC Behn & ASAIC Boring---denied the substance of their reports to the self-described "Secret Service expert" Blaine seeks to denigrate in "The Kennedy Detail", these reports were NOT just released in 1992, as Blaine alleges, but have been available since 1964, when the Warren Commission released their 26 volumes of hearings and exhibits for sale and library holdings. If that weren't enough, many major newspapers (such as The New York Times) and massive best-selling books (such as Jim Bishop's "The Day Kennedy Was Shot") made a great issue out of these after-the-fact reports; nothing whatsoever hidden there (and the aforementioned "Secret Service expert" [unnamed: Vince Palamara] has discussed these reports many times, as have others). As for the supposed Rybka misidentification, Rybka's family and a couple former agents were fooled, as well (especially considering the fact that both Emory Roberts and Win Lawson 'mistakenly' placed Rybka IN the follow-up car in their reports, only to 'correct' the record later). This also does not address the fact that Emory Roberts can clearly be seen rising in his seat and, using hand gestures, tells the agents (whether Rybka or, as Blaine states, Don Lawton) to fall back from the car, the agent raises his hands several times in response, Paul Landis makes room for the agent in the follow-up car, and the agents and aides in the follow-up car, without smiling, follow the agents' seeming perplexed reaction as the cars move on without him. Finally, with regard to the figurative "back stabbing" (not intended) Blaine states the "Secret Service expert" made with regard to documenting what the former agents said, keep in mind: if there was NO record, WHO would choose to believe what was said to a total stranger (especially over the word of former agents)? In the vernacular of today, "it is what it is": the former agents---AND NON AGENTS---said what they said and wrote what they wrote.
With that in mind, "The Kennedy Detail" is a book I recommend everyone buy and read---some very good information and photos, written by a good and honorable man who is obviously a very good and caring friend of his former comrades in arms, who, with a few noteable exceptions, are equally good and honorable men who were just doing their jobs and following orders when JFK was killed.
With that in mind, "The Kennedy Detail" is a book I recommend everyone buy and read---some very good information and photos, written by a good and honorable man who is obviously a very good and caring friend of his former comrades in arms, who, with a few noteable exceptions, are equally good and honorable men who were just doing their jobs and following orders when JFK was killed.
"The Kennedy Detail": more commentary (from others)
http://www.bloggernews.net/125485
3 users commented in " Coming Soon: The Kennedy Detail "
Vince Palamara said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm Very well written propaganda, more like it. “The Kennedy Detail”, while with some merit, seeks to blame JFK for his own death, which most people find repugnant. President Kennedy was a very nice man, never interfered with the actions of the Secret Service, and never ordered them off the car. I base this on many interviews with many members of the Kennedy Detail, Blaine included. This book was written to counter my research.
Tom Del Toro said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 4:43 pm I have to agree with with Vince Palamara in his assessment of the book. Seems Gerald Blaine is something of a coward, too: keeps deleting Mr. Palamara’s blogs. Why? Could it be Mr. Palamara has information contrary to the wisful thinking found in “The Kennedy Detail”, perhaps?
Audrey Cromwell said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 pm Vince Palamara is the REAL authority on the Secret Service, not Blaine, a nobody agent who can’t even get his facts right
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http://books.simonandschuster.com/Kennedy-Detail/Gerald-Blaine/9781439192962
Product Reviews
Kennedy Detail
Average Customer Rating: 1.6 out of 5
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Review 1 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 3 out of 5
Written By: ripperthejack
( hawaii )
NON SECRET SERVICE AGENTS" what about their "code" Date: November 3, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
""The Kennedy Detail" takes poetic license regarding some crucial matters. For one, there was NO morning-of-JFK's-funeral meeting with Chief Rowley OTHER than to discuss the security for Jackie's walk to St. Matthews Cathedral. Everyone from this 47-year-old meeting---other than Blaine--- is conveniently dead and there is no documentation for this meeting to discuss JFK's alleged comments ("order") to remove the agents in Tampa on 11/18/63, used as a very lame excuse for why the agents weren't there on 11/22/63 (as agent Win Lawson said, there were no standing orders for the agents to stay off the back of the car and the matter never came to his attention---so much for the advance agents getting wind of these "orders"). Many agents and NON AGENTS (a crucial distinction Blaine doesn't get) have denied that JFK ever interfered with the Secret Service (what "code" would the NON SECRET SERVICE AGENTS have been following, Mr. Blaine?). In addition, Blaine makes a big deal about CE1025, the 5 reports submitted to Chief Rowley in April 1964 (only because the Warren Commission asked) regarding any statements JFK may have made regarding agents being on the rear of his car. Besides the fact that two of the agents---SAIC Behn & ASAIC Boring---denied the substance of their reports to the self-described "Secret Service expert" Blaine seeks to denigrate in "The Kennedy Detail", these reports were NOT just released in 1992, as Blaine alleges, but have been available since 1964, when the Warren Commission released their 26 volumes of hearings and exhibits for sale and library holdings. If that weren't enough, many major newspapers (such as The New York Times) and massive best-selling books (such as Jim Bishop's "The Day Kennedy Was Shot") made a great issue out of these after-the-fact reports; nothing whatsoever hidden there (and the aforementioned "Secret Service expert" [unnamed: Vince Palamara] has discussed these reports many times, as have others). As for the supposed Rybka misidentification, Rybka's family and a couple former agents were fooled, as well (especially considering the fact that both Emory Roberts and Win Lawson 'mistakenly' placed Rybka IN the follow-up car in their reports, only to 'correct' the record later). This also does not address the fact that Emory Roberts can clearly be seen rising in his seat and, using hand gestures, tells the agents (whether Rybka or, as Blaine states, Don Lawton) to fall back from the car, the agent raises his hands several times in response, Paul Landis makes room for the agent in the follow-up car, and the agents and aides in the follow-up car, without smiling, follow the agents' seeming perplexed reaction as the cars move on without him. Finally, with regard to the figurative "back stabbing" (not intended) Blaine states the "Secret Service expert" made with regard to documenting what the former agents said, keep in mind: if there was NO record, WHO would choose to believe what was said to a total stranger (especially over the word of former agents)? In the vernacular of today, "it is what it is": the former agents---AND NON AGENTS---said what they said and wrote what they wrote.
With that in mind, "The Kennedy Detail" is a book I recommend everyone buy and read---some very good information and photos, written by a good and honorable man who is obviously a very good and caring friend of his former comrades in arms, who, with a few noteable exceptions, are equally good and honorable men who were just doing their jobs and following orders when JFK was killed."
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Review 2 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 1 out of 5
Written By: PitcherinSeries
( Florida )
The Ultimate Revision Date: November 2, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"When compared and contrasted with their prior protective actions, the Kennedy detail's actions and inaction that created the uniquely insecure operation in Dallas on 11/22/63 is enough to undermine this work. Strangely, the Secret Service destroyed their records as the ARRB was drafting a request for them.
If what appears to be a blatant dereliction of duty is not enough to at least raise the possibility of criminally negligent homicide, ask yourself this question: How is it possible--statistically or otherwise--that every single highly trained protective agent on Elm Street during the 6-8 seconds of gunfire on 11/22/63 could have possibly all failed simultaneously? Are we to believe that Kennedy forbade agents from leaping on to his body protecting him as they immediately did with Johnson at the sound of the first shots? No way.
Fred Newcomb, Perry Adams, Vince Palamara, and many others have thoroughly documented a strong case against the Secret Service for complicity in the murder of JFK. In Volumes IV and V of his work, Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government's Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK (Volume 4), AARB researcher Doug Horne points to William Greer as a possible assassin. As sensational and tired as this theory may sound, not a single individual has explained why high quality versions of the Zapruder film show this agent turn rapidly in his seat and move his hands and arms in a manner that makes it appear as though he is shooting Kennedy. Dan Robertson claims to have corrected the location of Greer's weapon in his book Definitive Proof: The Secret Service Murder of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Equally disturbing are the myriad of claims of how Greer slowed or stopped the limo at nearly the exact moment Robertson claims he is shooting Kennedy--are these two pieces of the crime fitting together?
Equally disturbing are the violent actions of the Secret Service at Parkland. More than one commentator has stated that the agents protected JFK's corpse far more aggressively as they were stealing it from the local coroner, who was merely trying to maintain the chain of evidence, than they had just moments before.
Why are there corroborating reports that Greer stayed with JFK's corpse without interruption so long after the shooting instead of staying with the limo? Why are there reports that he locked JFK's clothing in his locker in the White House garage? Why in the heck were the Secret Service in charge of all of these matters at all? Why did so much evidence--body, limo, forensic tissues, x-rays, autopsy photos, clothing--wind up in the possession of the Secret Service at White House of JFK's successor within just fifteen hours of the crime?
Also, why are there reports that none of the agents were reprimanded? Why were some given positions of greater responsibility?
In the face of all of this information and by blaming JFK, this book serves as the ultimate revision of the exact cause of the death--the failure of the US Secret Service to perform has they had consistently on prior occasions. Perhaps as some researchers and authors have suggested, Dallas was uniquely insecure because that is exactly what was required to remove an independent chief executive who could not be easily manipulated by the military and intelligence apparatus.
We should all look forward to the long overdue release of "Murder From Within" before we take the word of those who blame their failure on the victim. Personally, I feel that "The Kennedy Detail" is a sickening and despicable work--the Discovery Channel program will no doubt follow suit."
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Review 3 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 1 out of 5
Written By: thesetiredeyes
( Billings, Montana )
Not true Date: November 2, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"The proposition that the President was somehow vicariously responsible for his own assassination in that he ALLEGEDLY told his Secret Service Agents to back off normal procedures in respect of his safety is beyond the pale and typical of the mistruths that have been the hallmark of the assassination investigation UNOFFICIAL one should stress all the way along. I suppose if one accepts this scenario then one must also accept that Kennedy told his Agents to ignore ALL normal procedures including not positioning themselves in tall overlooking buildings, not placing themselves between the crowd and the President either on the car or running alongside,driving the limousine at a slower speed on Elm St, not identifying Dealy Plaza itself as an obvious hazard to the Presidents safety, in short a complete and utter failure on all and every count and we are supposed to believe that Kennedy ordered all this. Kennedy may have been many things but a fool I doubt particularly where his and his wifes safety was concerned especially when death threats had been noted and where the South at that time could be aptly termed a clear and present danger to kennedy. This was the only time this lack of security took place during the whole of Kennedys term, the question is why and who engineered it. I am afraid this is a poor attempt to alter history next Hoover and Johnson will come back from the grave and tell us they had clean skins in the assassination when all reasonable half intelligent people clearly see their respective culpable actions or non action in the case of Hoover. The research by serious observers has moved on down the road much much too far for this fairy tale to be taken even half seriously."
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Review 4 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 1 out of 5
Written By: trueststar
( New York, NY )
More mainstream disinformation Date: November 2, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"The Kennedy Detail" is inacurate and self-serving fluff, and merely another in a long series of attempts to distort the truth about what really happened on November 22, 1963. For those of us who have studied the JFK assassination in some depth, one of the few indisputable facts about that day is the complete lack of response on the part of President Kennedy's Secret Service detail. The fact remains that, if the Secret Service agents had been doing their job, John F. Kennedy would not have died in Dealey Plaza.
Vince Palamara is THE expert on the Secret Service's performance, or lack thereof, the day of the assassination. It is a sad indictment of our mainstream press that pablum like this, or "Case Closed," or Vincent Bugliosi's magnus ridiculotus, gets published and massively marketed, while Palamara's ground breaking research remains available for free online, due to the generosity of the author.
Deapite these perpetual efforts to promote the impossible official fairy tale, the public remains largely unconvinced. In the case of this book, we have now reached the height of absurdity, as the victim (JFK) is now being blamed for his own murder. This is incredible gall on the part of the author, to say the least. I would urge anyone interested in the real truth about the way the Secret Service performed in Dallas that day to read Vince Palamara's online work.
Those expecting answers to the numerous questions about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, will most certainly not find them in this book."
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Review 5 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 2 out of 5
Written By: Anonymous
( Telluride, CO )
The Kennedy Detail blames JFK Date: November 1, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"As the leading civilian authority on the Secret Service, especially regarding the JFK/ LBJ era, and as someone who interviewed and/ or corresponded with close to 80 former agents between 1990-2006 (roughly double the number of former agents interviewed for this book), I was, needless to say, very much interested in what former agent and author Gerald Blaine (a nice gentleman I spoke to twice and corresponded with several times via e-mail), along with co-author Lisa McCubbin and fellow former agent Clint Hill (a very close friend of Blaine's to whom I had sent a 22-page letter to and spoke to very briefly and who also wrote the Foreword), had to say about President Kennedy and the tragic events of November 22, 1963, when the Secret Service failed in the worst way, costing the nation the life of our President. As a total stranger and an outsider, my contacts with the former agents were very much in the "cross examination" mode (often eliciting begrudging, not-too-friendly responses), while, as a trusted insider, it is fair to say that Blaine's contacts would be of the "direct/ friendly examination" variety. This dichotomy will become important for a number of reasons.
I am as certain as a human being can be that it was my lengthy letter to Clint Hill that led to the genesis of this book----I sent it in June of 2005 and received a very cantankerous "non-reply" when I phoned the gentleman this same time period. Also, during this very same time period, as Blaine admitted to the Daily Sentinel's Bob Silbernagel for his 5/23/10 article, Blaine began contacting as many living former agents who served President Kennedy for his book as he could (it is important to note that I also made contacts with Mr. Blaine during this time period, as well). Why am I so certain that my letter was a catalyst? As an ardent critic of the Secret Service's performance in Dallas (going much further than the two government "investigations", the Warren Commission and the HSCA), I sent Mr. Hill, in effect, a "Cliff Notes" version of my research for my own book ("Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President"), spelling out why I came to be certain that fellow former agents Floyd Boring (the number two agent on the Kennedy Detail and the Secret Service planner of the Texas trip), Shift Leader Emory Roberts (the commander of the agents in the follow-up car in Dallas), and William Greer (the driver of JFK's limousine on 11/22/63) were grossly negligent before, during, and after JFK was assassinated. Judging by Mr. Hill's "response" (or lack thereof), my attempt to address my concerns did not go over very well, to put it mildly.
As it bears directly on "The Kennedy Detail" , just what specifically are my concerns? Simply put: many of these former agents (and several White House aides), including several who passed away years before this book was even a thought, such as the number one agent on the Kennedy Detail, Gerald Behn; one of the three Shift Leaders, Arthur Godfrey; the number two agent on LBJ's detail (who ALSO had protected JFK), Rufus Youngblood; Sam Kinney, the driver of the follow-up car in Dallas; Robert Bouck, the Special-Agent-In-Charge of the Protective Research Section; Frank Stoner of the Protective Research Section; Maurice Martineau, the Acting-Special- Agent- In- Charge of the Chicago Office who protected JFK from '61-'63 whenever he came to the area; John Norris of the Uniformed Division; Dave Powers, the former curator of the JFK Library who rode in the follow-up car many times, including on 11/22/63; author Helen O'Donnell, daughter of the late Ken O'Donnell, JFK's Chief of Staff (based on her memory and her father's many audio tapes); and many others, told me, in no uncertain terms, that President Kennedy was a very nice man, NEVER interfered with the actions of the Secret Service, and, most importantly, DID NOT ORDER THE AGENTS OFF HIS CAR (nor did O'Donnell, as verified by the aforementioned Helen O'Donnell, Art Godfrey, and Sam Kinney and, by extension, Dave Powers)! With regard to the Tampa, FL trip of 11/18/63, not only do many existing films and photos all along the long motorcade route depict agents on the rear of JFK's car, Congressman Sam Gibbons, who RODE IN THE CAR WITH JFK, told me that he heard no such order from JFK for the agents to be removed in the first place AND that the agents rode the rear bumper all the way. Surprisingly, the number two agent, Floyd Boring (who passed away 2/1/08 and to whom I spoke to twice and corresponded with once), told me the same thing: namely, that the "Get-The-Ivy-League-Charlatans-Off-The-Limo" tale (first told by the late author William Manchester, who had interviewed Gerald Blaine, Clint Hill, and Emory Roberts, but not Boring) is false---Boring never said that to him, never spoke to Manchester in any case, the tale is not true, and that, once again, JFK was a very nice man, very cooperative with the Secret Service, and never interfered with their actions at all! Agents of the Kennedy Detail who conveyed similar knowledge to myself---that JFK never interfered with their actions--- were Walt Coughlin, Winston Lawson (the lead advance agent for Dallas), Don Lawton (who rode on the rear of the car 11/18/63), Abe Bolden, Robert Lilley, Frank Yeager, Gerald O'Rourke, Sam Sulliman, Vince Mroz (now deceased), Larry Newman, and, quite surprisingly, Gerald Blaine himself, a little over a year before he began writing his book!
Although very well written, along with some nice photographs, as well, "The Kennedy Detail" is really a thinly veiled attempt to rewrite history (a la Gerald Posner and Vince Bugliosi, who believe 11/22/63 was the act of a single lone man) and absolve the agents of their collective survivor's guilt (and to counter the prolific writings of a certain reviewer). In the eyes of those from "The Kennedy Detail", the assassination was the act of TWO "lone men": Oswald, who pulled the trigger, and JFK, who set himself up as the target. Simply put: President Kennedy WAS indeed a very nice man, did not interfere with the actions of the Secret Service, did not order the agents off his limousine (in Tampa, in Dallas, or elsewhere), and did not have his staff convey any anti-security sentiments, either. The sheer force and power of what these men all told me, a complete stranger, in correspondence and on the phone, is all the more strong because, not only did they have a vested interest to protect themselves, the vast majority believe that Oswald acted alone and that all official "stories" are correct. Floyd Boring, as agency planner of the fateful trip, in spite of what he forcefully stated to me, did indeed convey the exaggerated---some would say false--notion that JFK had asked that the agents remove themselves from the car 4 short days before Dallas, taking it upon himself to tell several Dallas agents, depending on who you choose to believe, either as an "anecdote" of alleged presidential kindness and consideration in not wanting to have the agents "over exert" themselves (what Boring told the ARRB's Doug Horne in 1996) or a strict "presidential admonition" to stay off the car (as Clint Hill conveyed to the Warren Commission's Arlen Specter, under oath, in 1964). In addition, the motorcycle escort was reduced to (as the HSCA put it) a "uniquely insecure" smaller formation for Dallas, allegedly because, as Boring told the ARRB (and as Win Lawson, assigned to the Dallas trip by Boring [and who would have been merely following orders], told the Warren Commission under oath), JFK allegedly didn't like alot of noise from motorcycles, although he had no problem in countless prior motorcades, including that very same morning in Fort Worth and the day before in San Antonio and Houston. Emory Roberts ordered an agent back from JFK's limo at Love Field (as this reviewer discovered back in 1991 and had popularized for the first time back in 1995 and, again, in 2003 on The History Channel, long before this clip became something of an internet sensation), recalled an agent during the shooting and, as Sam Kinney told me, ordered the men on the follow-up car not to move! For his part, Bill Greer slowed the President's car down during the shooting, twice looked back at JFK, and disobeyed Roy Kellerman's order to get out line (and denied all of this to the Warren Commission). Coupled with several---many?---of the agent's stated anger about JFK's private life (as stated to author Seymour Hersh, among others), these actions, inactions, and feelings are cause for concern.
That said, the vast majority of these men (Blaine included) are honorable former government employees that were merely following orders on that fateful day in Dallas. In light of the work of this reviewer, future pensions, professional and personal reputations, and so forth, "The Kennedy Detail" makes perfect sense. After the reviewer's letter to Clint Hill, it truly WAS "a book that HAD to be written"."
3 users commented in " Coming Soon: The Kennedy Detail "
Vince Palamara said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm Very well written propaganda, more like it. “The Kennedy Detail”, while with some merit, seeks to blame JFK for his own death, which most people find repugnant. President Kennedy was a very nice man, never interfered with the actions of the Secret Service, and never ordered them off the car. I base this on many interviews with many members of the Kennedy Detail, Blaine included. This book was written to counter my research.
Tom Del Toro said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 4:43 pm I have to agree with with Vince Palamara in his assessment of the book. Seems Gerald Blaine is something of a coward, too: keeps deleting Mr. Palamara’s blogs. Why? Could it be Mr. Palamara has information contrary to the wisful thinking found in “The Kennedy Detail”, perhaps?
Audrey Cromwell said,in November 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 pm Vince Palamara is the REAL authority on the Secret Service, not Blaine, a nobody agent who can’t even get his facts right
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http://books.simonandschuster.com/Kennedy-Detail/Gerald-Blaine/9781439192962
Product Reviews
Kennedy Detail
Average Customer Rating: 1.6 out of 5
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Customer Reviews for Kennedy Detail Choose a sort order Featured Reviews First Expert Reviews First Staff Reviews First Top Contributors First Date - Newest First Date - Oldest First Rating - High to Low Rating - Low to High Helpfulness - High to Low Helpfulness - Low to High Length - Long to Short Length - Short to Long
Review 1 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 3 out of 5
Written By: ripperthejack
( hawaii )
NON SECRET SERVICE AGENTS" what about their "code" Date: November 3, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
""The Kennedy Detail" takes poetic license regarding some crucial matters. For one, there was NO morning-of-JFK's-funeral meeting with Chief Rowley OTHER than to discuss the security for Jackie's walk to St. Matthews Cathedral. Everyone from this 47-year-old meeting---other than Blaine--- is conveniently dead and there is no documentation for this meeting to discuss JFK's alleged comments ("order") to remove the agents in Tampa on 11/18/63, used as a very lame excuse for why the agents weren't there on 11/22/63 (as agent Win Lawson said, there were no standing orders for the agents to stay off the back of the car and the matter never came to his attention---so much for the advance agents getting wind of these "orders"). Many agents and NON AGENTS (a crucial distinction Blaine doesn't get) have denied that JFK ever interfered with the Secret Service (what "code" would the NON SECRET SERVICE AGENTS have been following, Mr. Blaine?). In addition, Blaine makes a big deal about CE1025, the 5 reports submitted to Chief Rowley in April 1964 (only because the Warren Commission asked) regarding any statements JFK may have made regarding agents being on the rear of his car. Besides the fact that two of the agents---SAIC Behn & ASAIC Boring---denied the substance of their reports to the self-described "Secret Service expert" Blaine seeks to denigrate in "The Kennedy Detail", these reports were NOT just released in 1992, as Blaine alleges, but have been available since 1964, when the Warren Commission released their 26 volumes of hearings and exhibits for sale and library holdings. If that weren't enough, many major newspapers (such as The New York Times) and massive best-selling books (such as Jim Bishop's "The Day Kennedy Was Shot") made a great issue out of these after-the-fact reports; nothing whatsoever hidden there (and the aforementioned "Secret Service expert" [unnamed: Vince Palamara] has discussed these reports many times, as have others). As for the supposed Rybka misidentification, Rybka's family and a couple former agents were fooled, as well (especially considering the fact that both Emory Roberts and Win Lawson 'mistakenly' placed Rybka IN the follow-up car in their reports, only to 'correct' the record later). This also does not address the fact that Emory Roberts can clearly be seen rising in his seat and, using hand gestures, tells the agents (whether Rybka or, as Blaine states, Don Lawton) to fall back from the car, the agent raises his hands several times in response, Paul Landis makes room for the agent in the follow-up car, and the agents and aides in the follow-up car, without smiling, follow the agents' seeming perplexed reaction as the cars move on without him. Finally, with regard to the figurative "back stabbing" (not intended) Blaine states the "Secret Service expert" made with regard to documenting what the former agents said, keep in mind: if there was NO record, WHO would choose to believe what was said to a total stranger (especially over the word of former agents)? In the vernacular of today, "it is what it is": the former agents---AND NON AGENTS---said what they said and wrote what they wrote.
With that in mind, "The Kennedy Detail" is a book I recommend everyone buy and read---some very good information and photos, written by a good and honorable man who is obviously a very good and caring friend of his former comrades in arms, who, with a few noteable exceptions, are equally good and honorable men who were just doing their jobs and following orders when JFK was killed."
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Review 2 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 1 out of 5
Written By: PitcherinSeries
( Florida )
The Ultimate Revision Date: November 2, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"When compared and contrasted with their prior protective actions, the Kennedy detail's actions and inaction that created the uniquely insecure operation in Dallas on 11/22/63 is enough to undermine this work. Strangely, the Secret Service destroyed their records as the ARRB was drafting a request for them.
If what appears to be a blatant dereliction of duty is not enough to at least raise the possibility of criminally negligent homicide, ask yourself this question: How is it possible--statistically or otherwise--that every single highly trained protective agent on Elm Street during the 6-8 seconds of gunfire on 11/22/63 could have possibly all failed simultaneously? Are we to believe that Kennedy forbade agents from leaping on to his body protecting him as they immediately did with Johnson at the sound of the first shots? No way.
Fred Newcomb, Perry Adams, Vince Palamara, and many others have thoroughly documented a strong case against the Secret Service for complicity in the murder of JFK. In Volumes IV and V of his work, Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government's Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK (Volume 4), AARB researcher Doug Horne points to William Greer as a possible assassin. As sensational and tired as this theory may sound, not a single individual has explained why high quality versions of the Zapruder film show this agent turn rapidly in his seat and move his hands and arms in a manner that makes it appear as though he is shooting Kennedy. Dan Robertson claims to have corrected the location of Greer's weapon in his book Definitive Proof: The Secret Service Murder of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Equally disturbing are the myriad of claims of how Greer slowed or stopped the limo at nearly the exact moment Robertson claims he is shooting Kennedy--are these two pieces of the crime fitting together?
Equally disturbing are the violent actions of the Secret Service at Parkland. More than one commentator has stated that the agents protected JFK's corpse far more aggressively as they were stealing it from the local coroner, who was merely trying to maintain the chain of evidence, than they had just moments before.
Why are there corroborating reports that Greer stayed with JFK's corpse without interruption so long after the shooting instead of staying with the limo? Why are there reports that he locked JFK's clothing in his locker in the White House garage? Why in the heck were the Secret Service in charge of all of these matters at all? Why did so much evidence--body, limo, forensic tissues, x-rays, autopsy photos, clothing--wind up in the possession of the Secret Service at White House of JFK's successor within just fifteen hours of the crime?
Also, why are there reports that none of the agents were reprimanded? Why were some given positions of greater responsibility?
In the face of all of this information and by blaming JFK, this book serves as the ultimate revision of the exact cause of the death--the failure of the US Secret Service to perform has they had consistently on prior occasions. Perhaps as some researchers and authors have suggested, Dallas was uniquely insecure because that is exactly what was required to remove an independent chief executive who could not be easily manipulated by the military and intelligence apparatus.
We should all look forward to the long overdue release of "Murder From Within" before we take the word of those who blame their failure on the victim. Personally, I feel that "The Kennedy Detail" is a sickening and despicable work--the Discovery Channel program will no doubt follow suit."
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Review 3 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 1 out of 5
Written By: thesetiredeyes
( Billings, Montana )
Not true Date: November 2, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"The proposition that the President was somehow vicariously responsible for his own assassination in that he ALLEGEDLY told his Secret Service Agents to back off normal procedures in respect of his safety is beyond the pale and typical of the mistruths that have been the hallmark of the assassination investigation UNOFFICIAL one should stress all the way along. I suppose if one accepts this scenario then one must also accept that Kennedy told his Agents to ignore ALL normal procedures including not positioning themselves in tall overlooking buildings, not placing themselves between the crowd and the President either on the car or running alongside,driving the limousine at a slower speed on Elm St, not identifying Dealy Plaza itself as an obvious hazard to the Presidents safety, in short a complete and utter failure on all and every count and we are supposed to believe that Kennedy ordered all this. Kennedy may have been many things but a fool I doubt particularly where his and his wifes safety was concerned especially when death threats had been noted and where the South at that time could be aptly termed a clear and present danger to kennedy. This was the only time this lack of security took place during the whole of Kennedys term, the question is why and who engineered it. I am afraid this is a poor attempt to alter history next Hoover and Johnson will come back from the grave and tell us they had clean skins in the assassination when all reasonable half intelligent people clearly see their respective culpable actions or non action in the case of Hoover. The research by serious observers has moved on down the road much much too far for this fairy tale to be taken even half seriously."
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Review 4 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 1 out of 5
Written By: trueststar
( New York, NY )
More mainstream disinformation Date: November 2, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"The Kennedy Detail" is inacurate and self-serving fluff, and merely another in a long series of attempts to distort the truth about what really happened on November 22, 1963. For those of us who have studied the JFK assassination in some depth, one of the few indisputable facts about that day is the complete lack of response on the part of President Kennedy's Secret Service detail. The fact remains that, if the Secret Service agents had been doing their job, John F. Kennedy would not have died in Dealey Plaza.
Vince Palamara is THE expert on the Secret Service's performance, or lack thereof, the day of the assassination. It is a sad indictment of our mainstream press that pablum like this, or "Case Closed," or Vincent Bugliosi's magnus ridiculotus, gets published and massively marketed, while Palamara's ground breaking research remains available for free online, due to the generosity of the author.
Deapite these perpetual efforts to promote the impossible official fairy tale, the public remains largely unconvinced. In the case of this book, we have now reached the height of absurdity, as the victim (JFK) is now being blamed for his own murder. This is incredible gall on the part of the author, to say the least. I would urge anyone interested in the real truth about the way the Secret Service performed in Dallas that day to read Vince Palamara's online work.
Those expecting answers to the numerous questions about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, will most certainly not find them in this book."
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Review 5 for Kennedy Detail
Overall Rating 2 out of 5
Written By: Anonymous
( Telluride, CO )
The Kennedy Detail blames JFK Date: November 1, 2010
This review is for the Print format.
"As the leading civilian authority on the Secret Service, especially regarding the JFK/ LBJ era, and as someone who interviewed and/ or corresponded with close to 80 former agents between 1990-2006 (roughly double the number of former agents interviewed for this book), I was, needless to say, very much interested in what former agent and author Gerald Blaine (a nice gentleman I spoke to twice and corresponded with several times via e-mail), along with co-author Lisa McCubbin and fellow former agent Clint Hill (a very close friend of Blaine's to whom I had sent a 22-page letter to and spoke to very briefly and who also wrote the Foreword), had to say about President Kennedy and the tragic events of November 22, 1963, when the Secret Service failed in the worst way, costing the nation the life of our President. As a total stranger and an outsider, my contacts with the former agents were very much in the "cross examination" mode (often eliciting begrudging, not-too-friendly responses), while, as a trusted insider, it is fair to say that Blaine's contacts would be of the "direct/ friendly examination" variety. This dichotomy will become important for a number of reasons.
I am as certain as a human being can be that it was my lengthy letter to Clint Hill that led to the genesis of this book----I sent it in June of 2005 and received a very cantankerous "non-reply" when I phoned the gentleman this same time period. Also, during this very same time period, as Blaine admitted to the Daily Sentinel's Bob Silbernagel for his 5/23/10 article, Blaine began contacting as many living former agents who served President Kennedy for his book as he could (it is important to note that I also made contacts with Mr. Blaine during this time period, as well). Why am I so certain that my letter was a catalyst? As an ardent critic of the Secret Service's performance in Dallas (going much further than the two government "investigations", the Warren Commission and the HSCA), I sent Mr. Hill, in effect, a "Cliff Notes" version of my research for my own book ("Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President"), spelling out why I came to be certain that fellow former agents Floyd Boring (the number two agent on the Kennedy Detail and the Secret Service planner of the Texas trip), Shift Leader Emory Roberts (the commander of the agents in the follow-up car in Dallas), and William Greer (the driver of JFK's limousine on 11/22/63) were grossly negligent before, during, and after JFK was assassinated. Judging by Mr. Hill's "response" (or lack thereof), my attempt to address my concerns did not go over very well, to put it mildly.
As it bears directly on "The Kennedy Detail" , just what specifically are my concerns? Simply put: many of these former agents (and several White House aides), including several who passed away years before this book was even a thought, such as the number one agent on the Kennedy Detail, Gerald Behn; one of the three Shift Leaders, Arthur Godfrey; the number two agent on LBJ's detail (who ALSO had protected JFK), Rufus Youngblood; Sam Kinney, the driver of the follow-up car in Dallas; Robert Bouck, the Special-Agent-In-Charge of the Protective Research Section; Frank Stoner of the Protective Research Section; Maurice Martineau, the Acting-Special- Agent- In- Charge of the Chicago Office who protected JFK from '61-'63 whenever he came to the area; John Norris of the Uniformed Division; Dave Powers, the former curator of the JFK Library who rode in the follow-up car many times, including on 11/22/63; author Helen O'Donnell, daughter of the late Ken O'Donnell, JFK's Chief of Staff (based on her memory and her father's many audio tapes); and many others, told me, in no uncertain terms, that President Kennedy was a very nice man, NEVER interfered with the actions of the Secret Service, and, most importantly, DID NOT ORDER THE AGENTS OFF HIS CAR (nor did O'Donnell, as verified by the aforementioned Helen O'Donnell, Art Godfrey, and Sam Kinney and, by extension, Dave Powers)! With regard to the Tampa, FL trip of 11/18/63, not only do many existing films and photos all along the long motorcade route depict agents on the rear of JFK's car, Congressman Sam Gibbons, who RODE IN THE CAR WITH JFK, told me that he heard no such order from JFK for the agents to be removed in the first place AND that the agents rode the rear bumper all the way. Surprisingly, the number two agent, Floyd Boring (who passed away 2/1/08 and to whom I spoke to twice and corresponded with once), told me the same thing: namely, that the "Get-The-Ivy-League-Charlatans-Off-The-Limo" tale (first told by the late author William Manchester, who had interviewed Gerald Blaine, Clint Hill, and Emory Roberts, but not Boring) is false---Boring never said that to him, never spoke to Manchester in any case, the tale is not true, and that, once again, JFK was a very nice man, very cooperative with the Secret Service, and never interfered with their actions at all! Agents of the Kennedy Detail who conveyed similar knowledge to myself---that JFK never interfered with their actions--- were Walt Coughlin, Winston Lawson (the lead advance agent for Dallas), Don Lawton (who rode on the rear of the car 11/18/63), Abe Bolden, Robert Lilley, Frank Yeager, Gerald O'Rourke, Sam Sulliman, Vince Mroz (now deceased), Larry Newman, and, quite surprisingly, Gerald Blaine himself, a little over a year before he began writing his book!
Although very well written, along with some nice photographs, as well, "The Kennedy Detail" is really a thinly veiled attempt to rewrite history (a la Gerald Posner and Vince Bugliosi, who believe 11/22/63 was the act of a single lone man) and absolve the agents of their collective survivor's guilt (and to counter the prolific writings of a certain reviewer). In the eyes of those from "The Kennedy Detail", the assassination was the act of TWO "lone men": Oswald, who pulled the trigger, and JFK, who set himself up as the target. Simply put: President Kennedy WAS indeed a very nice man, did not interfere with the actions of the Secret Service, did not order the agents off his limousine (in Tampa, in Dallas, or elsewhere), and did not have his staff convey any anti-security sentiments, either. The sheer force and power of what these men all told me, a complete stranger, in correspondence and on the phone, is all the more strong because, not only did they have a vested interest to protect themselves, the vast majority believe that Oswald acted alone and that all official "stories" are correct. Floyd Boring, as agency planner of the fateful trip, in spite of what he forcefully stated to me, did indeed convey the exaggerated---some would say false--notion that JFK had asked that the agents remove themselves from the car 4 short days before Dallas, taking it upon himself to tell several Dallas agents, depending on who you choose to believe, either as an "anecdote" of alleged presidential kindness and consideration in not wanting to have the agents "over exert" themselves (what Boring told the ARRB's Doug Horne in 1996) or a strict "presidential admonition" to stay off the car (as Clint Hill conveyed to the Warren Commission's Arlen Specter, under oath, in 1964). In addition, the motorcycle escort was reduced to (as the HSCA put it) a "uniquely insecure" smaller formation for Dallas, allegedly because, as Boring told the ARRB (and as Win Lawson, assigned to the Dallas trip by Boring [and who would have been merely following orders], told the Warren Commission under oath), JFK allegedly didn't like alot of noise from motorcycles, although he had no problem in countless prior motorcades, including that very same morning in Fort Worth and the day before in San Antonio and Houston. Emory Roberts ordered an agent back from JFK's limo at Love Field (as this reviewer discovered back in 1991 and had popularized for the first time back in 1995 and, again, in 2003 on The History Channel, long before this clip became something of an internet sensation), recalled an agent during the shooting and, as Sam Kinney told me, ordered the men on the follow-up car not to move! For his part, Bill Greer slowed the President's car down during the shooting, twice looked back at JFK, and disobeyed Roy Kellerman's order to get out line (and denied all of this to the Warren Commission). Coupled with several---many?---of the agent's stated anger about JFK's private life (as stated to author Seymour Hersh, among others), these actions, inactions, and feelings are cause for concern.
That said, the vast majority of these men (Blaine included) are honorable former government employees that were merely following orders on that fateful day in Dallas. In light of the work of this reviewer, future pensions, professional and personal reputations, and so forth, "The Kennedy Detail" makes perfect sense. After the reviewer's letter to Clint Hill, it truly WAS "a book that HAD to be written"."
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