Josiah Thompson - Who Was the Umbrella Man?

[Duncan MacRae]

[Joe Mannix]

I believe that UM signaled Dal-Tex shooter that limo was turning onto Houston from Main and then indicated if more shots were required.
If one shot had killed JFK after limo turned onto Elm, the invasion of Cuba would've occurred. And Alec James Hidell, a Russian spy impersonating former US Marine Lee H. Oswald, would have been blamed for the assassination. A dead Russian spy that is. Likely killed by JD Tippit or another Dallas cop minutes after the assassination.

It's nice to be back - Joe

[Charles Collins]

I believe that UM signaled Dal-Tex shooter that limo was turning onto Houston from Main and then indicated if more shots were required.
If one shot had killed JFK after limo turned onto Elm, the invasion of Cuba would've occurred. And Alec James Hidell, a Russian spy impersonating former US Marine Lee H. Oswald, would have been blamed for the assassination. A dead Russian spy that is. Likely killed by JD Tippit or another Dallas cop minutes after the assassination.

It's nice to be back - Joe

Exactly where in the Dal-Tex building do you claim the shooter is located? How do you think TUM signaled him?

[Joe Mannix]

2nd floor window. Dal-Tex Bldg provided easiest shot once limo straightened out on Elm. The too-wide turn by Greer, as described by witnesses, jostled occupants. Shooter missed JFK's head and hit JBC.


UM opened umbrella and held it up when limo turned onto Houston. Shooter had no view of turn from Dal-Tex Bldg. Just my opinion, based on nearly 50 years of study and thought.

[Zeon Mason]

And coupled with the coincidence of a mafia guy, Jim Braden, seen in Daltex bldg on the 3rd floor carrying a brief case…and

Braden lied about where he was  during the assignation ( parole officer refuted his story).

There’s some issue though if the 2nd floor level of Daltex bldg. brown is high enough to clear the windshield of the SS car following close behind JFK limo

That’s why there was once some serious discussion about a potential “hole” in a 3rd story window which may or may not be a broken glass pane.

The LNs, namely John Mytton, seemed to have debunked the idea of it being a hole and since there’s been no more detailed 3d modeling of how the shooter would be positioned to shoot thru this hole then the idea sort of faded away.

It seemed, (to me at least) at the time ,  like a very plausible theory  because  of how straight a shot down Elm st. it would be and the coincidence of Braden seen on the 3rd floor with briefcase just before the shooting?

[Dan O'meara]

I like Thompson's observation that studying anything closely enough reveals a "quantum" world of weirdness. Details that seem inexplicable and somehow sinister emerge and the Umbrella Man is one such detail. The infamous Umbrella Man turns out to be nothing more than an insurance salesman making a gesture of protest against JFK using the umbrella.
However, when we look closer, the weirdness reemerges.
Three times in his HSCA testimony, Witt confirms the following sequence of events:

He is sat on the grass near the Grassy Knoll waiting for the motorcade.
He becomes aware of the motorcade after it has turned onto Elm Street.
He gets up and starts to walk towards the sidewalk, raising his umbrella as he walks.
The umbrella obscures his view of the approaching motorcade and by the time he has raised it he sees the following:

"...there was the car stopping, the screeching of tires, the jamming on of brakes, motorcycle patrolman right there beside
one of the cars. One car ran upon the President's car and a man jumped off and jumped on the back. These were the scenes that
unfolded as I reached the point to where I was seeing things."

However, Willis and Betzner pics show the UM in position with his umbrella raised way before the moment Witt claims in his testimony.
The UM is in a position to see both JFK and JBC reacting to being shot and everything else up to and including the head shot.
Is Witt lying about this?
The photographic evidence would certainly suggest he is.
And why didn't the HSCA highlight this inconsistency in his account?

[Dan O'meara]

Another slightly weird thing about Umbrella Man.
The Weigman pic is taken a matter of seconds after the head shot, perhaps no more than six seconds.
In the red circle I believe we can see UM and the DCM already sat down.



It doesn't really mean anything, it just seems a bit weird to me.
In his testimony Witt gives the impression that it takes him a bit of time to get his head around what's going on before sitting down but the Weigman pic indicates he did it immediately. He also states it is some time before he is joined by the other man but this would appear not to be the case.

[Royell Storing]

Another slightly weird thing about Umbrella Man.
The Weigman pic is taken a matter of seconds after the head shot, perhaps no more than six seconds.
In the red circle I believe we can see UM and the DCM already sat down.



It doesn't really mean anything, it just seems a bit weird to me.
In his testimony Witt gives the impression that it takes him a bit of time to get his hand around what's going on before sitting down but the Weigman pic indicates he did it immediately. He also states it is some time before he is joined by the other man but this would appear not to be the case.

    The assumption above is that this Wiegman still frame was shot only seconds after the Kill Shot. The Wiegman Film for over 30 years was ballyhoo'd as being filmed "continuously". This "continuous" claim was eventually was proven to be BOGUS. The reason this still frame was pushed as being shot just seconds after the Kill Shot, was due to the JFK Limo or Queen Mary being captured going under the Triple Underpass. Any timeline of more than a few seconds after the Kill Shot would then bolster the JFK Limo Stop issue.