MY INFAMOUS CONTACT WITH WILLIAM MANCHESTER

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MY INFAMOUS CONTACT WITH WILLIAM MANCHESTER

By Vince Palamara

Due to "popular" demand, here is the short story of my contact with "Death of a President" author William Manchester (also briefly recounted in my book "The Third Alternative---Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service and the JFK Murder" and in Walt Brown's "Treachery in Dallas" [p.338]):

I phoned Mr. Manchester in August 1993 and had an approx. 15 minute conversation with the gentleman. I told him that I was calling for two reasons: 1) to see if it was at all possible to obtain copies of his original steno notes and/ or tape recordings and 2) see exactly what---or WHO---was his specific source for the following found on pp. 37-38 of his book [1988 edition]---"Kennedy grew weary of seeing bodyguards roosting behind him every time he turned around, and in Tampa on November 18 [1963], just four days before his death, he dryly asked Agent Floyd Boring to 'keep those Ivy League charlatans off the back of the car.'Boring wasn't offended. There had been no animosity in the remark" [You see, Boring was not interviewed for the book---as my two interviews with him AND the book's Sources section strangely confirms---and Boring and MANY of his colleagues unequivocally denied that JFK EVER said such a thing, in Tampa, Dallas, or anywhere else for that matter (see my book, conferences presentations, and numerous articles)].

In regard to #1, Manchester told me "All those notes are under seal and won't be released in my [Palamara's]lifetime; quite frankly, most people would write to me instead of call" (he was obviously miffed right off the bat---shades of Dr. Humes' anger with Aguilar!). He continued, "I don't deal with your ilk...all those men [Secret Service agents] are all dead now"---oh, really? First off, how he knew which stripe of "ilk" I was is a mystery. Second, they're all dead?! At the time of my phone call to him, Blaine, Foster, Hill, Johns, Kinney, Peterson,Sorrels, Warner, Wells, and Youngblood---all agents he actually DID speak to---and many, many more he did NOT speak to were and still are very much alive and kicking (Kinney, Sorrels, Youngblood, and Peterson HAVE since passed on).

In regard to #2, Manchester's ire was up and running: "Look, all those men are dead now...[pause]...all my working materials are under seal." Great answer to my question, huh?

Here's what I think happened: Manchester saw the Secret Service reports given to the WC and now available at 18 H 803-809 (remember, Manchester said that "Chief Justice Earl Warren appointed me an exofficio member of his commissioninvestigating the assassination and provided me with an office in Washington's VFW building, where the commission met and WHERE COPIES OF REPORTS AND DEPOSITIONS WERE MADE AVAILABLE TO ME" [emphasis added; p. xix]) and used some "literary license" on pp. 37-38 of his book. The other alternative is that he got the fraudelent info. from Emory roberts, an agent he spoke to who passed away in the late '60's who I have tremendous misgivings about, to put it mildly.

The reports in question, sent only by request of the WC exactly 5 months after the assassination, were allegedly authored by agents Behn, Boring, Roberts, Ready, and Hill.SAIC Behn unequivocally denied to me on 9/27/92 that President Kennedy ever made such claims (in direct contradiction to this report [which carried Behn's STAMP PAD signature and does NOT read like the way he spoke, either to me, to the JFK Library, or even on the Air Force One radio tapes]). Boring, on two different occasions, also unequivocally denied to me that JFK ever told the agents to get off the rear of the limousine or ever interfered with the Secret Service in any way (again, in contradiction to HIS alleged report which mentions the Florida trip---where agents DID ride on the rear of the limo---and the Italy trip, where, again, agents DID ride on the rear of the limo, as newly-found film from the JFK Library reveals [I showed this at COPA 96 and LANCER 97]). Roberts' report only deals with the Florida trip---Boring was allegedly his source for this presidential "desire"; that's it (and you know what I think of Roberts AND Boring [see Kelin's Lancer conference wrap-up]!). Ready, the agent assigned to JFK's side of the car on 11/22/63 but who never rode on the rear of the limo, also deals with the Florida trip, using Boring as his source again. However, to make matters even worse, Ready WASN'T EVEN ON THIS TRIP. Finally, Clint Hill's report was the most honest of the five:

"I, Special Agent Clinton J. Hill, never personally was requested by President John F. Kennedy not to ride on the rear of the Presidential automobile. I DID RECEIVE INFORMATION PASSED VERBALLY FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES OF THE WHITE HOUSE DETAIL OF THE SECRET SERVICE TO AGENTS ASSIGNED TO THAT DETAIL THAT PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAD MADE SUCH REQUESTS. I DO NOT KNOW FROM WHOM I RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION.

It was general knowledge on the White House Detail, however, that President Kennedy has asked Special Agent in Charge Gerald A. Behn, not to have Special Agents ride on the rear of the Presidential Automobile [which Behn denied to me and which is NOT borne out by the many films/ photos from 1963 alone]. NO WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS WERE EVER DISTRIBUTED.

I was informed that on November 18, 1963, in Tampa, Florida, President Kennedy had requested through Assisitant Special Agent in Charge Floyd M. Boring that Special Agents remove themselves from the rear of the Presidential automobile. I WAS NOT ON THIS SPECIFIC TRIP WITH THE WHITE HOUSE DETAIL AND RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S RETURN TO WASHINGTON, D.C. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN BE- WEEN NOVEMBER 19, 1963, AND NOVEMBER 21, 1963 [NOTE TIME FRAME!]. I DO NOT KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHO ADVISED ME OF THIS REQUEST BY THE PRESIDENT" (emphasis added)

However, Hill "disobeyed" this alleged presidential edict by mounting the rear of the limo approx. FOUR different times in Dallas on 11/22/63. Also, although Hill claimed twice that he did not know specifically who gave him this info. between 11/19 and 11/21/63, he told the WC's Arlen Specter THE specific source, contradicting his report for the second time:

ASAIC Floyd M. Boring! [2 H 137; see also my book]

And, as we know, Behn, Boring, Kinney, Powers, Youngblood, Godfrey, Bouck, Norris, Bolden, Lilley, Martineau, Underwood, Stoughton, and Lawton [who rode on the rear of the limo on 11/18/63] denied that JFK EVER interfered with the Secret Service, inc. ordering the men off the limo, taking off the bubbletop, depleting the motorcycles (and not having them ride beside him), getting rid of the press from close proximity (inc. the photographers, Stoughton/ Knudsen, or the press busses), slowing down his car, changing motorcade routes, etc. etc. etc.

I'm sick to death of writers like Posner, Manchester, Bishop, the authors of the Warren Report AND the HSCA Report making excuses for these actions that took away the life of our president. The Late Jim Bishop followed the identical path of his predecessor Manchester in tactics, the WC and the HSCA damned with glowing praise (if that makes any sense), and Posner...look for the next issue of JFK/ Deep Politics Quarterly---'nuff said.