Umbrella Man: Suspicious

[Richard Smith]

Do you really think JFK would see an umbrella in the crowd and think to himself this is a "reminder" of the "umbrellas of air cover" at the Bay of Pigs?

What I think is irrelevant ......

We are in agreement on this point.

[Jerry Freeman]

I suspect that he may not be "quite right"

After seeing reply 33...I am inclined to agree.

[Richard Smith]

This was a professional hit with teams. When Joe Smith ran up the grassy knoll he encountered a Secret Service agent who wasn't assigned behind the picket fence. These teams had roles and assignments and a spotter to make this went smoothly. It's amateur hour the way you think the Assassination went down.

Again, a "spotter" for what?  It seems like if someone was trying to pull off an assassination in broad daylight they would try to be as inconspicuous as possible instead of waving an umbrella around and drawing attention to themselves.  That's ridiculous.  JFK (the target) was clearly visible in an open car to anyone (the whole point of the motorcade through Dallas) and the motorcade made a lot of noise as it approached.  No "spotter" would be required to signal anything. 

[Walt Cakebread]

I don't think it would have occurred to JFK in a million years that the pumping umbrella represented his refusal to provide air cover for the Bay of Pigs invasion force.

It is debatable that JFK refused to provide air cover. The story is much more complex than most history books paint it as being. It should be noted that the initial reports on the first air strike said it had been mostly successful, that it had destroyed almost all of Castro's air force--those reports were false. But, perhaps with these reports in mind, and concerned about plausible deniability and the uproar that the first raid had caused, President Kennedy probably felt it was both safe and prudent to cancel the second air attack. Nevertheless, when subsequent events proved that the first raid had not destroyed enough of Castro's air power, Kennedy reauthorized a second air strike. It was scheduled for Sunday night, April 17. Unfortunately, there was a thick cloud cover that night, which made it impossible to carry out the raid. Moreover, after it became apparent that too many of Castro's planes had survived, JFK authorized the B-26s to bomb at will, and on the afternoon of the invasion one bombing raid destroyed an entire battalion of Castro's forces.

It is debatable that JFK refused to provide air cover.

Yes, I agree....And I don't believe that JFK ever told the CIA handlers that he would provide air cover for the brigade, but the CIA handlers lied to the Cuban exiles and told them that JFK would provide air cover for them....     

The story is much more complex than most history books paint it as being.

Totally agree, Mr Griffith....

And it's the subject for a different thread.... But I believe the bottom line is: ....The Cubans believed there CIA handlers and believed that JFK had promised them an "air umbrella" to prevent Castro's air force from attacking them.   Of course Castro's lone fighter plane strafed them at will and many of the brigade were killed....  Those Cubans blamed JFK for reneging on his promise ( non existent) and they hated him.

I'd really like to tie this into the red rings on the windows of the TSBD and the waving of the umbrella just before JFK was murdered...... But as you've said, it's a very complex story and it would require a complete book the size of the WR ....

[Paul J Cummings]

Again, a "spotter" for what?  It seems like if someone was trying to pull off an assassination in broad daylight they would try to be as inconspicuous as possible instead of waving an umbrella around and drawing attention to themselves.  That's ridiculous.  JFK (the target) was clearly visible in an open car to anyone (the whole point of the motorcade through Dallas) and the motorcade made a lot of noise as it approached.  No "spotter" would be required to signal anything.

AGAIN I'm talking about Dark Complected Man. His fist raised to let spotters know he was still alive. Spotters see the signal and communicate to others it's still on. So the shooters are going to know from different areas of the target zone if he was mortally hit? Instead they continue to shoot until mission is aborted.

[Walt Cakebread]

It is debatable that JFK refused to provide air cover.

Yes, I agree....And I don't believe that JFK ever told the CIA handlers that he would provide air cover for the brigade, but the CIA handlers lied to the Cuban exiles and told them that JFK would provide air cover for them....     

The story is much more complex than most history books paint it as being.

Totally agree, Mr Griffith....

And it's the subject for a different thread.... But I believe the bottom line is: ....The Cubans believed there CIA handlers and believed that JFK had promised them an "air umbrella" to prevent Castro's air force from attacking them.   Of course Castro's lone fighter plane strafed them at will and many of the brigade were killed....  Those Cubans blamed JFK for reneging on his promise ( non existent) and they hated him.

I'd really like to tie this into the red rings on the windows of the TSBD and the waving of the umbrella just before JFK was murdered...... But as you've said, it's a very complex story and it would require a complete book the size of the WR ....

Mr Griffith, I feel that you've got a very good "feel" for what happened in Dallas on 11-22-63.  And the blame can't be pinned on any one group.    There were many factions who hated JFK for various reasons and trying to pin the blame on any one group is an exercise in futility .....  But nobody could have pulled of the coup if they didn't have the backing of J. Edgar Hoover and LBJ.

[Joe Elliott]

All that is gold does not glitter. But all those who wander with false claims are lost.

What does that have to do with the Umbrella Man?
. . .

It refers to Griffith’s avatar, a photograph of the actor Viggo Mortensen playing Aragorn, a character in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. J. R. R. Tolkien’s poem about Aragon starts with:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;

[Jerry Freeman]

Don't forget the theme of the thread....Suspicious.
As usual...the lone shooter people become skeptics in reverse.
And...I doubt that 'testimony' of Witt was ever read by these guys.

But the chances that someone [the only known one in Dallas] sets out with an umbrella to heckle... and winds up standing right next to the limo just as Kennedy gets his head blown off must be astounding. Then he just "drifts along" for years with [utter] disinterest in the events of the man he had set off to heckle.... 

Yeah...What is so sinister about that?