I googled my great grandfather and found him in the Warren Commission Report

About three years ago, while living in my grandmother's house in Dallas, I was reading a giant scrapbook that my great grandfather put together. He thoroughly documented his life from grade school to his late 60s. He was an actor, musician and a colonel in WWII. He was deeply involved in the creation and operation of the Dallas City-County Civil Defense and Emergency Preparedness Commission in the 1950s and 1960s. I guess you could call him a "right-winger" of those days as he appeared on television and in other venues speaking about the threat of communism in the United States.

I decided to google his name, and oh boy, was I surprised by what I found. He was mentioned twice, by two separate witnesses, in the Warren Commission Report. No one in my family knew about this, whatsoever. Specifically, I found his name within the Mary Ferrell Foundation's JFK Assassination archives. In the documents, he is said to have been involved in funding or obtaining approval for the "Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas," full-page advertisement that appeared in the Dallas Morning News on November 22, 1963, the day President Kennedy was shot. The commission investigated the advertisement because of its eery timing and because the advertisement cited "The American Fact-Finding Committee," which didn't exist, and a man named Bernard Weissman, who lived in Dallas about a week and definitely could not afford a full-page advertisement in the Dallas Morning News.

Much like the rest of the Warren Commission's inquiries, a conclusion on the matter never came to fruition. At first, I was kind of suspicious of my great grandfather. Why would he keep this a secret from the family? Then, I found out that the portion of the Warren Commission in which he was named was not released until the mid-'90s. He passed away in the early '80s. So, he never even knew about it.

For the record, I am told by my grandmother that my great grandfather was friends with General Walker, the man whom Oswald reportedly tried to assassinate in the summer of 1963. It also appears that he may have been connected to the John Birch Society.

Finding information about your ancestor on the internet that they didn't even know about is a weird feeling. But it didn't stop there.

My grandfather, the son of my great grandfather mentioned above, was in the insurance business in Dallas. He passed away before I discovered my great grandfather in the Warren Commission report, but not before telling his children and grandchildren about his odd connection to the JFK assassination. He provided insurance coverage to the O'Neil Funeral Home. Those researching the JFK assassination will recall that Mr. O'Neil provided the casket that carried JFK's body from Parkland Hospital in Dallas to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland for that "second autopsy."

My grandfather's insurance company reimbursed Mr. O'Neil's funeral home for the loss of the casket. But my grandfather never knew (what would later be released in documents) that the government paid off Mr. O'Neil for the casket. For those who haven't read all the JFK assassination archives, Mr. O'Neil REALLY wanted that casket back. He wanted to display it as a memorial to JFK and the US government was not having it.

What became of the casket? Years later, the military drilled holes into it and dropped it out of an airplane into the ocean. This is fact.

I've never reported this information anywhere or to anyone in any official capacity. I do not wish to be identified publicly, which is why I am withholding my great grandfather's name here.

I share this experience because I think it's interesting. That is all.

My final thought:

Google your ancestors.

Thanks for sharing your very interesting family history. While I am sure most will likely beg to know the full name - for authenticity or curiosity, I can understand your wishes for privacy on a forum site. I never knew about the military drilling holes in that coffin and dumping it in the ocean. What a piece of history! Thanks again for the brilliant recollection and best of wishes from north of the border.

reply to post by TruthLover557


I can't believe what they did with the casket. How stupid.

I did Google my ancestors. We're all losers.

reply to post by TruthLover557


Wow, that is really fascinating stuff. I never heard that about the casket. Is there any kind of conspiracy connection about that, or was it just so that no one would be able to put it on display?

Normally I would take your advice and Google my ancestors. But I don't want to pass any more specifics to the Great Satan than I have up to now; nor to give them anything more to pass through to the NSA.

But thanks for bringing this here anyway....

reply to post by TruthLover557


Actually I believe that 3 Businessmen paid for the ad. They called themselves "THE AMERICAN FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE". The chairman's initials were BS. Wont say his name in case he was you relative.
Their mission was an attack, of sorts, on Kennedy's Presidency.

I also want to express that this was a historical event, and is know by the most basic Kennedy researcher. So if you are want to remain anonymous I would delete this thread..

VeniVidi
reply to post by TruthLover557

 

Actually I believe that 3 Businessmen paid for the ad. They called themselves "THE AMERICAN FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE". The chairman's initials were BS. Wont say his name in case he was you relative.
Their mission was an attack, of sorts, on Kennedy's Presidency.

I also want to express that this was a historical event, and is know by the most basic Kennedy researcher. So if you are want to remain anonymous I would delete this thread..

edit on 9/24/2013 by VeniVidi because: (no reason given)

Are you trying to clarify something you feel I neglected in my OP?

Do you think I am unaware this was a historical event? Do you think I am simply reiterating something already known by "the most basic Kennedy researcher," and thus wasting everyone's time?

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I feel like you are belittling my post for no reason.

No, BS are not my great grandfather's initials.

My anonymity is not the point. I already gave enough information to figure out who my great grandfather was. But I don't think anyone really cares enough to hunt down his name in the archives that you have to pay the Mary Ferrell Foundation just to read. And that's just fine with me. While I realize ATS is a valuable source of ideas and new information, at this time, I am unsure I would be offering my great grandfather the dignity he deserves by posting his name in this light in this forum.

reply to post by TruthLover557


Awesome share, what a real treasure.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I feel like you are belittling my post for no reason.

reply to post by TruthLover557


Actually I think your post is very interesting, and was not in any way belittling it. I was more concerned with your privacy.

I've never reported this information anywhere or to anyone in any official capacity. I do not wish to be identified publicly, which is why I am withholding my great grandfather's name here.

reply to post by VeniVidi


Thanks for your reply. I was a bit emotional last night and am sorry for getting defensive. In hindsight, my response to you was out of line. I sincerely appreciate all reactions to the thread, including yours.

reply to post by TruthLover557


No problem. I was very interested in what was done to JFK's transport coffin. I have researched the assassination for many years, and I have never heard of this. I find it very curious. Seems like there are a lot of things, that our Government does not want people to see, that ends up at the bottom of the Ocean.

reply to post by VeniVidi


Here is a link to the records that detail the disposition of the casket, if you're interested.

www.aarclibrary.org...

reply to post by TruthLover557


Very interesting. Kennedy was a Navy Man. It would not surprise me if he was still in the Casket (Just a no-evidence statement) as it sank to the bottom of the Ocean. Burial at sea. I can think of lots of reasons why some may not want anyone to ever have access to JFKs body. I just don't understand why they went to all this trouble for an empty casket. Why not just burn or 100 other ways to destroy it. To take it to sea and sink it is strange indeed.

TruthLover557

I already gave enough information to figure out who my great grandfather was. But I don't think anyone really cares enough to hunt down his name in the archives that you have to pay the Mary Ferrell Foundation just to read. And that's just fine with me.

I can't even find anything on me on Google. Much less my great grandfather. Do you ever use the ancestry sites you have to pay for? Is there loads of information on generations and generations in your family name? Is it worth to pay? Sorry, not trying to derail.

Anybody know?

very interesting find on your ancestor and it's connection to one of our nation's most horrific events. you must feel a little weird, right?

something of the same recently occuured with me. few months ago, i found out that my now late, much older cousin's was one of the first psychiatrists to interview jeffery dahmer for the state of wisconsin. feel the same, weird!

Interesting story...but how does one Google their ancestors..?

reply to post by blackthorne



I recently learned that my wife's brother is married to Jeffry Dahmers Cousin. She knew him when they were young, but had not had any contact with him for years.

Sorry, I did not mean to derail this. I think the OP's topic is very important...

No worries about derailing.

Blackthorne, definitely a weird feeling indeed.

Soloprotocol, if you know the full name of an ancestor, enter the name into Google's search box in between two quotation marks. My great grandfather was a colonel, so I found more when I put "Col." before his name.

Mugen, I've visited ancestry sites a few times, but never as a paying customer. I think if you have a rather unique last name and know a little bit about your family history, you could probably find something new relating to your family, but I don't know for sure. But the search results for common and unique last names are typically overwhelming in size and probably require a substantial amount of time to rifle through.

VeniVidi, I agree with you regarding the grandiose way in which the government got rid of the casket. I believe the idea of dropping the casket at sea originated with JFK's brother Robert Kennedy. It's hard to say whether the casket had evidence that could have substantiated claims that Kennedy was shot in a way that differs from the government's official report. I'm positive, however, that if the casket had remained in existence and somehow made its way out of the official JFK-evidence storage room, many people would seek to examine it for themselves. Burning it would have been way easier. Strange all around ...

I might as well add here that my uncle is good friends with the son of one of the Parkland Hospital doctors who examined Kennedy's wounds immediately after the assassination. All of these connections are simply due to the fact that my mother's family called Dallas home for many years.

reply to post by TruthLover557

I believe the idea of dropping the casket at sea originated with JFK's brother Robert Kennedy

Probably what happened, but I sure remember the controversy between Bobby and LBJ. LBJ swore that it was Bobbie's idea to take the Oath of Office on the Plane before leaving Dallas, whereas, Bobbie says it was LBJ's idea. Anyway will research it a little.

this are some serious connections your great grand father had... maybe something will shed a new light on the case

reply to post by TruthLover557


Here is a website that I have just discovered "Documents relating to disposition of JFK casket"

On June 1, 1999, the National Archives released this fascinating set of documents relating to the "sea burial" of the ceremonial casket used to transport President Kennedy's body from Dallas to Washington on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. The casket was dropped into 9000 feet of water off the coast of Maryland from a military airplane in early 1966.

LINK

There are numerous Documents relating to this on the Website including Newspaper Archives. Going to be an interesting read..