[leadpenny]

Something else about the John Birch Society:

One of the first things JFK did after taking office was to approve the firing and forced retirement of MG Edwin A. Walker as the CG of the 24th ID in Augsburg. That happened in April 61. The story is well documented in the Army Times of the period and other publications. Walker was in line for his third star and a Corps Command in Texas when he was relieved of command for "preaching pro-blue" (anti-Red). Supposedly, what was going on in the command was that he was requiring all officers and non-coms to review John Birch Society material. The story first broke in the tabloid The Overseas Weekly.
Eventually, Walker ended up in the Dallas area and so hating JFK that he refused to accept his retirement check for a year. Almost exactly two years after he was relieved, a bullet missed his head by about a foot as he was doing his taxes in April 63. The official story is that Oswald fired the shot to prove something. Some believe his "handlers" were testing his trustworthiness. I've read some accounts that puts Walker and Oswald (or someone with an Oswald ID) at the same meetings or gatherings in the months leading up to Nov 22nd.

[LaurieB]

I remember reading about the Walker incident (probably from more then one book in my library). Until your post, I hadn't given Walker a second thought. It's amazing the things that present themselves as being connected through these threads and they spark new interest in me every time I see them. Thank you for that info.