John McAdams: Exploring his research 5 years on

[Gerry Down]

Today marks 5 years since the passing of John McAdams. For the past week I’ve been reading his book JFK Assassination Logic to see what nuggets of info were in that book. Here is a sample of some of the key points I got from reading his book. The page numbers referred to are from the paperback edition of the book:

Stringer first said he took the photos - It is often said that during the ARRB, Stringer said he did not take some of the photos taken during the autopsy. However McAdams points out that in 1966 Stringer signed a statement saying he had examined all the photos and that they were the ones he took. Page 25.

LHO tried to get a quote for car insurance – Apparently he did this at a place opposite 1026 north Beckley. Page 33.

Dorothy Kilgallens lame “interview” of Ruby -  McAdams points out that Kilgallen simply leaned over the railing during Rubys trial and exchanged a few words with him and then claimed this as an “interview”. Page 105

Joseph Milteer named the assassin - Milteer named a Jack Brown as the likely shooter of JFK. This name is omitted by CTers who mention Milteer as it doesn’t gel with a scenario where Milteer was describing the upcoming assassination in Dallas. Page 115

The giant grassy knoll shooter on the Nix film – The “classic gunman” as seen on the Nix film is only an illusion as the rifle would have to be 9 feet off the ground if it were an image of a gunman. Page 123.

LHOs “quick visa” in Hilsinki was issued by the soviets, not the US – This therefore would damage the notion that LHO was a false defector unless one thinks the CIA asked the USSR to give LHO a quick visa to get into the USSR. Page 139.

Garrison ridiculed Julia Ann Mercers credibility – In her early accounts, she never mentions LHO in relation to the stalled truck. Years later, she identifies him as one of those associated with the stalled truck. Garrison ridiculed her as having identified LHO in relation to the truck. Page 156.

LHO listed Hidell as someone who could receive mail at his New Orleans PO box – This is relevant because there is debate as to whether LHO listed Hidell as someone who could receive mail at the Dallas PO box where the rifle was picked up. Whether Hidell was listed at the Dallas Po box is a moot point because Hidell was listed on LHOs New Orleans PO box, tying LHO to the Hidell alias. Page 159.

The non-existent contradiction in relation to the rifle palm print – CTers make a big point about how J.C. Day said there was a palm print on the rifle while the FBI later said there was no palm print there. This seems like a key contradiction. McAdams points out that J.C. Day lifted the print, therefore it was no longer there when the FBI examined the rifle. Therefore there is no contradiction. Page 160.

Rusty Livingstones photos matched the trigger guard print to LHO – Rusty Livingstone had stored away pictures of the trigger guard print that the FBI did not have access to when they assessed the trigger guard print. These photos gave a clearer image of the print than the FBI had access to. These photos were later examined and a match was found between this print and LHO. Page 161.

Another eyewitness who confirms LHO sent a BY photo to The Militant – Gus Russo names one eyewitness in his book, but McAdams mentions that another researcher named Hal Verb sourced another individual at The Militant who confirmed that LHO did indeed send a BY photo to them. Page 162.

The non-existent chin line in the BY photo – While in DPD custody, LHO claimed the chin line in the BY photo proved it was a forgery. This chin line however only appears in poor copies of the photo. The chin line does not appear in the original negative. Page 163.

The well-oiled rifle – CTers say that if the rifle was well oil (as it was described as being) how come there was no oil residue on the inside of the bag or the blanket. It turns out that “well oiled” in rifle terms means that the firing pin is well oiled, not that the whole rifle is lathered in oil. Page 168

We no longer have the original of the Nov 9th letter LHO sent to the USSR embassy – McAdams states this, but doesn’t say why. Apparently all we have now are copies of it. Page 174.

The CIA considered suing Novell and Norton during the Garrison trial - The CIA considered suing Gorden Novell and Donald Norton for claiming they were connected to the CIA but decided against it. Considering the amount of attention this would put on Novell and Norton, this would appear to suggest that they really were not connected to the CIA, otherwise the CIA would not dare try to sue them. Page 208

Earl Rose put inaccurate dots on LHO autopsy sheet just like Boswell – Much has been made of how low Boswell put the dot for the entry wound on JFKs back on the face sheet. Boswell said these facesheets were not meant to be accurate but simply schematic in nature. It turns out the esteemed Earl Rose also put inaccurate wound locations on LHOs face sheet confirming that the placement of wound locations on these sheets by pathologists was only schematic in nature. Page 220.

[John Corbett]

I was a regular contributor on John's forum (alt.assassination.jfk) for 13 years prior to his sudden death. Since it was a moderated group, posts had to be approved by one of the moderators before it would show up. When I first started posting there, John had several co-moderators who could have approved posts, but by that time, he was the only one.When John passed, that effectively killed that forum. There was an unmoderated forum at the time (alt.conspiracy.jfk) where you could post anything without it being pre-approved and there were a number of people who posted to both groups. I didn't often visit that group but it was there that I learned of John's sudden passing.

I continued to post on the unmoderated group for awhile but I think it was shortly thereafter that Google did away with google groups so that killed everything. I had quit JFKA discussions cold turkey until a few months ago I discovered this forum and got drawn back into the debate. While the forums have changed, not much about the debate has changed. The arguments I see getting posted here are pretty much the same ones I saw on the old Prodigy network back in 1991. The more things change...

[Benjamin Cole]

GD---

I traded e-mails with JM, I think about 13 years ago.

I asked him, "Based on my review of the Z-film, it appears Gov. JBC made a 180-degree turn in his seat after being shot through the chest, if one holds to the SBT. Does that hold water?"

JM was very civil, and emailed back to the effect, "That is what happened."

I remain unconvinced, but that is what forums and discussions are for.

BTW, I appreciate this forum, and its moderator, for not repressing unpopular views.

[John Corbett]

GD---

I traded e-mails with JM, I think about 13 years ago.

I asked him, "Based on my review of the Z-film, it appears Gov. JBC made a 180-degree turn in his seat after being shot through the chest, if one holds to the SBT. Does that hold water?"

JM was very civil, and emailed back to the effect, "That is what happened."

I remain unconvinced, but that is what forums and discussions are for.

BTW, I appreciate this forum, and its moderator, for not repressing unpopular views.

Before I even got to John's reply, that is exactly what I was thinking. I was going to type that same reply.

[Benjamin Cole]

JC--

Thanks for your comments.

I guess we are different pages on this one, and that's fine, that is what a forum is for.