Well it looks like Kennedy and Hoover are getting quite close with each other if they're on a first name basis now.😉 But really though their relationship may not be as strained as it was IOTL with this alternate assassination and the necessity of the FBI and Justice Department working together.
Something Serious Has Happened on Air Force One (a Tl/story by Geon)
- Thread starter Geon
- Start date
J. Edgar Hoover and a Kennedy getting along? This truly is my favorite TL.
Has anyone else noticed that between Robert Kennedy being involved in the investigation, and Dr. Rose being the one who did the ballistics on the bullets during the deaths of President Johnson and O'Donnell but was also the guy smack in the center of the massacre, that someone needs to call out just how many people so close to these events are in control of the investigations and chains of evidence.
Oh don't worry, I'm sure someone will before too long if only to score some points for the upcoming presidential race.
Chapter Thirteen (contd.) Requests
Geon
Donor
Montgomery, Alabama, A private home; 1:30 p.m. E.S.T.:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was finishing up lunch. He had been staying with a group of well-wishers and supporters in Montgomery for the past two days following the memorial service at Grace Baptist Church.
Dr. King had decided to prolong his stay in Montgomery not only to take time to visit the families of the victims of the church bombing but also to try and speak with some of the Civil Rights movement in the area that had started sounding more and more radical in their pronouncements. At present they were stopping short of actively advocating violence but the Grace Baptist Church bombing and the news that civil rights legislation on a national level was being delayed had caused many in the movement to start considering more radical ideas.
King was concerned. Everything hinged on keeping their demonstrations peaceful. Violence only begets more violence. And that would be disastrous for everyone. At all costs the movement had to stay peaceful.
In the meantime, Dr. King was smiling as he read the account in the newspaper of one Minnie May Ewell. She was the older sister of one of the women who had died in the bombing. On the third page of the newspaper was a story about the older woman with a picture of her holding an open picnic basket with a freshly baked apple pie inside.
Minnie May had gone to the jail where the young man who had been the driver for the bombing was being held. A group of reporters happened to be there at the time trying to get more information on the investigation. Both they and the police were surprised when this elderly woman had simply walked in and asked to see the prisoner.
After an hour of argument, during which the police discovered how formidable Minnie May could be, she was allowed back to see the prisoner. The young man, Billy Robert McKay, was quite surprised and moved to see the elderly woman whom he remembered seeing at the memorial service.
Minnie May gave the pie to the young man and talked with him for half an hour. When she left the reporters asked her why she had done this for the man who had confessed to being a part of the incident that had killed her sister.
Minnie May had replied, “The good Lord laid this on my heart that this young man needed a friend. If one of my boys were in jail, I know I would want them to know they had a friend who cared about what happened to them. This poor boy don’t have no parents to speak of and just fell in with the wrong type of people. At the memorial service I said I forgave him. And this is the way I make what I said there real!”
Martin Luther King, Jr. smiled as he read the story. Bless you Minnie May we need more people like you.
Dr. King’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the front door.
The head of the house Dr. King was staying in went to the door and opened it to find a young white man standing there dressed in a suit and tie. Given the neighborhood Dr. King was staying in this young man stood out like the proverbial sore thumb.
“Is Dr. King here,” the young man asked, “I have a message for him.”
The young man handed an envelope to the man who Dr. King was staying with. After examining and opening the envelope the head of the house invited the young man in.
With a look of surprise on his face the head of the home came back into the kitchen and handed the letter in the envelope to Dr. King.
The letter, neatly typed on official Alabama state stationary said:
Dr. Martin Luther King,
I would like to meet with you at your convenience to discuss certain recent events in this area. You may set the time and place of our meeting, but I would prefer it would be kept as discrete as possible for both our sakes. Please let this young man who is one of my aides know when and where it would be convenient to meet.
Sincerely,
Governor George Wallace of the State of Alabama
“Now what do you think of that, said Dr. King to his surprised hosts?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was finishing up lunch. He had been staying with a group of well-wishers and supporters in Montgomery for the past two days following the memorial service at Grace Baptist Church.
Dr. King had decided to prolong his stay in Montgomery not only to take time to visit the families of the victims of the church bombing but also to try and speak with some of the Civil Rights movement in the area that had started sounding more and more radical in their pronouncements. At present they were stopping short of actively advocating violence but the Grace Baptist Church bombing and the news that civil rights legislation on a national level was being delayed had caused many in the movement to start considering more radical ideas.
King was concerned. Everything hinged on keeping their demonstrations peaceful. Violence only begets more violence. And that would be disastrous for everyone. At all costs the movement had to stay peaceful.
In the meantime, Dr. King was smiling as he read the account in the newspaper of one Minnie May Ewell. She was the older sister of one of the women who had died in the bombing. On the third page of the newspaper was a story about the older woman with a picture of her holding an open picnic basket with a freshly baked apple pie inside.
Minnie May had gone to the jail where the young man who had been the driver for the bombing was being held. A group of reporters happened to be there at the time trying to get more information on the investigation. Both they and the police were surprised when this elderly woman had simply walked in and asked to see the prisoner.
After an hour of argument, during which the police discovered how formidable Minnie May could be, she was allowed back to see the prisoner. The young man, Billy Robert McKay, was quite surprised and moved to see the elderly woman whom he remembered seeing at the memorial service.
Minnie May gave the pie to the young man and talked with him for half an hour. When she left the reporters asked her why she had done this for the man who had confessed to being a part of the incident that had killed her sister.
Minnie May had replied, “The good Lord laid this on my heart that this young man needed a friend. If one of my boys were in jail, I know I would want them to know they had a friend who cared about what happened to them. This poor boy don’t have no parents to speak of and just fell in with the wrong type of people. At the memorial service I said I forgave him. And this is the way I make what I said there real!”
Martin Luther King, Jr. smiled as he read the story. Bless you Minnie May we need more people like you.
Dr. King’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the front door.
The head of the house Dr. King was staying in went to the door and opened it to find a young white man standing there dressed in a suit and tie. Given the neighborhood Dr. King was staying in this young man stood out like the proverbial sore thumb.
“Is Dr. King here,” the young man asked, “I have a message for him.”
The young man handed an envelope to the man who Dr. King was staying with. After examining and opening the envelope the head of the house invited the young man in.
With a look of surprise on his face the head of the home came back into the kitchen and handed the letter in the envelope to Dr. King.
The letter, neatly typed on official Alabama state stationary said:
Dr. Martin Luther King,
I would like to meet with you at your convenience to discuss certain recent events in this area. You may set the time and place of our meeting, but I would prefer it would be kept as discrete as possible for both our sakes. Please let this young man who is one of my aides know when and where it would be convenient to meet.
Sincerely,
Governor George Wallace of the State of Alabama
“Now what do you think of that, said Dr. King to his surprised hosts?
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Either Wallace is making a play to win over the African American votes because McCormack has delayed the Civil Rights Act and acting like he’s on their side or he has become a Born Again Christian early.
Former, if I had to guess.
Especially since the South is already facing some issues after Dallas, and then some jackwagons blew up a church.
I'm always on the edge of my seat with these MLK Jr. updates thinking that out of no where he's just gonna be assassinated 5 years early.
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I think there was a post that had something from an interview with him ITTL that said it was from 1970 so…
True, but I can't help feeling that his death is just around the corner, even though it is confirmed that he makes to at least 1970.
Chapter Thirteen (contd.) A Times Editorial
Geon
Donor
Excerpt from an editorial in the New York Times; December 10th, 1963:
“Since the beginning of this whole nightmare the criminal investigation into the deaths of President Kennedy, Vice President Johnson, and Kenneth O’Donnell has frankly featured a series of bungling moves by both the F.B.I., the Dallas Police Department, and the Justice Department.
“It is time for an investigation of the investigators.
“Why is so much evidence being kept from the public? Why is R.F.K., who has such an active and personal stake in this still involved as head of this investigation? Why are neither the Dallas Police nor the Secret Service being forthright about what happened on Air Force One?”
“Such secrecy does not bode well for the future. The American Government must continue to be transparent if it is to remain credible in the eyes of its citizens. The best way to do that is for the Federal government to ‘come clean’ as much as possible about what it knows happened on Air Force One. Likewise, the Dallas Police Department needs to also be clear about what it really knows.”
“It is past time that an independent investigator be appointed to investigate all of this. Already so much evidence has been concealed or possibly altered that some of what actually happened on Air Force One may never be known.”
“Since the beginning of this whole nightmare the criminal investigation into the deaths of President Kennedy, Vice President Johnson, and Kenneth O’Donnell has frankly featured a series of bungling moves by both the F.B.I., the Dallas Police Department, and the Justice Department.
“It is time for an investigation of the investigators.
“Why is so much evidence being kept from the public? Why is R.F.K., who has such an active and personal stake in this still involved as head of this investigation? Why are neither the Dallas Police nor the Secret Service being forthright about what happened on Air Force One?”
“Such secrecy does not bode well for the future. The American Government must continue to be transparent if it is to remain credible in the eyes of its citizens. The best way to do that is for the Federal government to ‘come clean’ as much as possible about what it knows happened on Air Force One. Likewise, the Dallas Police Department needs to also be clear about what it really knows.”
“It is past time that an independent investigator be appointed to investigate all of this. Already so much evidence has been concealed or possibly altered that some of what actually happened on Air Force One may never be known.”
Yeah, after the incident on AF1, Dr. Rose should not have been involved in autopsies of victims related to it, and he and his superiors should have known that. It puts any evidence he found or touched (like the bodies) into question.
EDIT: It also puts the honesty and trustworthiness of him and his superiors into question, since they didn't order him off the case, and he didn't recuse himself on his own.
EDIT: It also puts the honesty and trustworthiness of him and his superiors into question, since they didn't order him off the case, and he didn't recuse himself on his own.
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Geon
Donor
Agreed. But, frankly, the federal government already has one major headache because of Dr. Rose (the incident on AF-1), they didn't want a second.
If — that’s a big “if”— Wallace and King can reach what I think can reasonably be called a political settlement on the issue of race in 1963 or 1964, the ripple effects across the Gulf Coast states is potentially profound. I think it’s accurate to say moderation and liberalization came in the Upper South (and Georgia) first and then spread southernly.
Perhaps that doesn’t work out Wallace only makes Alabama a plus one to Georgia. I’m an optimist, perhaps too much of one, on race issues in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama but I do believe a conversion back to form for George Wallace prior to his final bid for the governorship would contribute positively to the political situation in the Gulf.
Perhaps that doesn’t work out Wallace only makes Alabama a plus one to Georgia. I’m an optimist, perhaps too much of one, on race issues in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama but I do believe a conversion back to form for George Wallace prior to his final bid for the governorship would contribute positively to the political situation in the Gulf.
Chapter Fourteen - Meetings and Discoveries
Geon
Donor
Chapter Fourteen: Meetings and Discoveries
Dallas, Texas, City Hall, The Mayor’s Office, 9:00 a.m.:
Mayor Earle Cabell was meeting again with the leaders of the Union of Police and Firefighters. Mayor Cabell took the threat by the police and firemen of Dallas to strike if the 25 Dallas police officers went on trial very seriously. If that happened, he knew it would be a major disaster for the city in more ways than one. And so, for the past two days he had been meeting with union representatives to try and find a solution.
So far, they had not found one.
Cabell shook his head, “Chris Murchison, Jr. was on the phone with me last night. He warned me that if there were a strike it would cause some fans to stay away from home games out of concern for their families’ personal safety. And that means he might have to cancel any remaining home games for the Cowboys. He’s also hinted strongly that if there is a strike it could be the impetus for him to uproot his team and move it. The recent incidents where the Cowboys have been openly booed as they came on the field in some of their games up north is also entering his thinking. This strike could cost this city their football team.”
It was clear the union members were concerned about what they had just heard. Some of them nodded. Then one of them spoke up, “Mister Mayor, we do sympathize. Understand please, we are not blaming you for this mess. We know you weren’t involved in the arrests. And we know you have a solid record supporting the Dallas police and fire departments. But this is a matter of justice.”
The representative continued, “Our people both police and fire personnel need to know that they can do their jobs without the federal government constantly peeking over their shoulders. They need to know that their every decision, many times a life-or-death decision isn’t going to land them in jail because some federal bureaucrat didn’t think a I or t were properly crossed.”
“You know this isn’t about a simple bureaucratic mix-up. It’s about the death of Vice President Johnson and presidential aide Ken O’Donnell,” responded the mayor.
“Yes, under circumstances that are clouded at best,” responded the union representative. From what we’ve learned the Federal government has so far got very few answers about what happened on that plane. Yet their willing to arrest over two dozen good men, including police chief Jesse Curry, and destroy their careers based on hearsay evidence. This is a witch hunt by a government that looks like it is trying to find scapegoats for their own ineptitude,” declared the representative his voice rising slightly in anger.
“One of your own, Daniel Bradley, has admitted to panicking. You have his resignation note where he admits to his gun accidentally discharging,” the mayor said calmly.
“And we acknowledge that fact,” another of the representatives replied. “And if Bradley is found which we hope he will be then hopefully he can shed light on this whole situation. But in the meantime, you have men whose only crime was following Texas law being held for a crime we don’t even know if they were a part of.”
The union representative who had just spoken shook his head. “I am sorry Mister Mayor; believe me we want to avoid a strike as much as you do. We’re not unmindful of what problems a strike might cause for this city and for you personally. But as I said this is a matter of justice.
The mayor took a moment to collect his thoughts then said, “Gentlemen, you should know, that after our initial meeting on this situation I called Governor Connally to let him know what was happening here and to ask him to put pressure on Washington to reverse its decision to prosecute these officers. Governor Connally suggested that if there is a strike, I fire every individual that refuses to return to work. I told him flatly that I would not do that! I want you to know that is one promise I intend to keep. If you decide on this – and I hope and pray that you reconsider this, I will not fire anyone who takes part in this strike.”
The union representatives clearly were shocked both at the mayor’s honesty with them and the governor’s suggestion. After a moment one of them said, “Mister Mayor we appreciate both your honesty with us and your willingness to support us. Again, let me emphasize we don’t want this strike if it can be avoided but the only way, we see it can be avoided is if somehow, we can convince the Federal government to release the officers it presently has in custody.”
One of the representatives spoke up and said, “Maybe it’s time for a show of solidarity here. Would you be willing to stand with us if we sent a letter to Governor Connally signed by you, members of this union, and members of the Dallas City Council?”
After a moments thought Mayor Cabell replied, “Why not go one better? What if we not only had the letter signed by the Council and yourselves, but also by all the members of the Dallas Police and Fire Departments and their families? And we send it not only to the governor, but also to the state legislature, to our representatives in Congress, our Senators, and to the President? And finally, we send a copy of it to every newspaper in Texas to be published.”
The Union representatives nodded. “Good idea!” One of them exclaimed. There were murmurs of approval from the others.
“Of course,” the leader of the group cautioned, “This may not change anything Mayor Cabell. But I will say you’ve just earned a great deal of good will with this Union; I can tell you.!”
“Thank you, gentlemen, I sincerely hope we can work together to avoid the worst happening come mid-January,” the mayor said hopeful that this was a breakthrough that would save Dallas and possibly his own career.
The union representatives left the mayor’s office a few minutes later, but the news the mayor had given them regarding the governor’s suggestion, that strikers be fired had struck a nerve.
Later in the day the leader of the Union of Dallas Police Officers and Firefighters would issue a statement which would appear next day in the Dallas Morning News.
UNION OF POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS CASTIGATES GOVERNOR CONNALLY FOR THREAT TO FIRE POTENTIAL STRIKERS; UNION LEADERS SAY THEY WILL ENDORSE WALLACE FOR PRESIDENT!