Michael Calder presents this second installment regarding the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.The original format is preserved (with the permission of the parties involved) for clarity--as well as to demonstrate how a case is advanced through consultation between researchers involved.MICHAEL CALDER Pt. 2Michael,Feel free to pass along your request to Paul concerning theunidentified RFK campaign aide. I'll let you do that as you see fit.I can't tell for sure who it is that RFK is speaking to in the mainkitchen at 12-Midnight during that particular instant that you arereferring to... but I think it's probably Fred Dutton. Look closelyat the scene at
http://rfkproject.homestead.com/42.html and youshould see someone shorter coming up behind Bill Barry in that mainkitchen. We only see the top of the person's head for just an instantbut it looks to me like the top of Dutton's head (who we see veryclearly in that scene only a few moments later). But what I think isprobably going on there is that Dutton has now entered the mainkitchen, has walked up behind Barry and said something... promptingboth Barry and RFK to turn back to Dutton and speak briefly with him.Unfortunately because of where Sal Folino's video-relay camera islocated at that point, and the particular angle and Rosey Grier'slarge body, it's very difficult to know with 100% accuracy. But Isuspect the person being consulted with at that point is probablyDutton, just prior to RFK's walk from the main kitchen to the ballroomto deliver his victory speech.You asked a question about Joe Dolan. Paul may have a picture ofJoseph F. Dolan somewhere, I don't have a still-picture of him myself. I have CBS TV live coverage video footage that shows Joe Dolan on theday of RFK's funeral. It shows Dolan, and I believe his wife Martha,as they are arriving at the rail station in Washington DC on their wayto Arlington. You can't get a really good fix on him in thatparticular CBS video that shows him walking through the train station. So it would be nice to get a picture of Joe Dolan as he looked duringthe late 1960s. Dolan, by the way, passed away in the fall of 2008.Let me correct you on something. You mentioned something about Ueckerbeing there with Minasian in the main kitchen during RFK's 12-Midnightwalk to the Embassy Room to make his victory speech. No. Uecker wasnot there with the group at that time. Uecker did not start walkingwith RFK until 15 minutes later, after the victory speech.Now, as you probably noticed, there is an RFK aide seen inhttp://rfkproject.homestead.com/42.html who is walking ahead of theSenator along with Uno and Minasian. I have been under the impressionthat this particular man (wearing eyeglassed) was probably DickDrayne, who died in 1987 at age 49, making him about 30 years old in1968. However if he is not Drayne then perhaps he is Joe Dolan orsome other aide. It would be nice to get a 100% identification ofthis particular aide, just for purposes of keeping the names and facesstraight.Getting back to the Unidentified RFK Campaign Aide who spoke onstageto Karl Uecker...Yes, like you, I myself would like to eventually find out the name ofthis unidentified RFK campaign aide who spoke briefly to Karl Ueckeron the stage shortly before Uecker directed the Senator to the goldcurtain behind the stage. I think it would be good to know his nameand whatever else we can find out about him. So I'm definitelyinterested in this person.However, at this point, I am inclined to regard him as more thanlikely an innocent person who was not involved in any nefarious. I'mcertainly open to reviewing any new evidence that might come alongindicating otherwise. But until there is such evidence, myinclination at this point is to assume that he was more than likely aloyal Kennedy man and a law-abiding citizen.To me, it seems very likely that what transpired on that stage wasentirely innocent...I believe we know from statements made by Fred Dutton, Bill Barry andUno Timanson (or Thimansson) -- and rare NBC film footage shot duringRFK's speech seems to bear this out -- that while the victory speechwas in progress, the three of them discussed onstage where RFK wouldgo after his speech was concluded... and Barry and Uno left the stageto check out the kitchen pantry and Colonial Room then returned andreported back to Dutton.From that, Dutton apparently finalized a decision to take RFK to theColonial Room for a press conference with the "writing press"immediately after his speech. We have him on tape verbalizing thisfact to someone moments after RFK's speech. I discovered thisrecording featuring Dutton's voice in 2005, having ordered it fromPacifica Radio at that time... Dutton's voice was picked up by a boommic held by Gerald Zelinger at the east end of the stage... in filmand videotape footage, we can see Zelinger's boom mic in that locationin the moments after the speech and we know from some KTLA TVvideotape that, moments later, Dutton reaches the central location ofthe stage, where Barry is, after Dutton has come over from the eastend.So what I believe is this (just my personal opinion)...Dutton communicated his decision to both Barry and Uno at the east endof the stage just before RFK concluded his speech. Barry then movedover to a more central location on the stage.When the speech concluded, Uno left the stage by exiting down the eaststeps and walked over to a ballroom service door that accessed theback corridor immediately outside the kitchen pantry. I'm assumingUno probably stayed at that service door, in anticipation that Barrywould take RFK to that door and then Uno would lead the Kennedy partythrough the kitchen pantry to the Colonial Room.Meantime, Dutton communicated to someone (we don't know to whom he wasspeaking but it would not have been Uno or Barry) that they wereplanning to go to a press conference next. Dutton may have beensaying this to George Plimpton or to Rafer Johnson, since both of themwere also at the east end of the stage. But we can't know for surewho Dutton was recorded saying this to.In any case, I believe that after Paul Schrade left his position onthe stage leave the platform via the east steps (at Jesse Unruh'sdirection), Bill Barry then moved into Paul's position on the stageand began speaking with the Unidentified RFK Aide.Having just been told by Dutton that RFK should next go to a pressconference in the Colonial Room, Barry then communicated this decisionto the Unidentified RFK Aide. Now I don't know that for a fact, ofcourse... this is merely my interpretation and my opinion. Icertainly could be wrong.But it's also my opinion that when the Unidentified RFK Aide thenwalked over to Karl Uecker, the aide communicated the gist of Barry'sdirective to Uecker. I don't know what else would make sense for himto be telling Uecker at that point, having just walked over from hisconversation with Barry. Clearly he says something to Uecker, as wecan see in the NBC TV live color coverage and the CBS TV live colorcoverage (videos that I linked footage everyone to last night). Whatelse would he be saying to Uecker? And to further strengthen myscenario, what does Uecker do immediately after the aide speaks intohis ear... he immediately moves forward to flag down RFK and directhim to the gold curtain.Barry and Uecker had the same general idea, which was to take RFK tothe Colonial Room for the press conference just as Dutton wanted. Butthey had different ideas as to the route to take. I think it's clearthat Barry's idea was to take RFK off the east end of the stage (thesame end were Paul went when he left the stage) and get to theColonial Room that way. But Uecker's idea was to take RFK off therear of the stage, through the gold curtain, and get to the ColonialRoom that way. Same objective but different ideas as to how to getthere.I don't know at this point what to make of the theory that Ueckerlater said someone told him in the back corridor to turn to the rightand go to the Colonial Room (or words to that effect). It may wellhave happened... or Uecker's broken English may have communicatedsomething that has been misunderstood. I'm not sure which is the caseand I plan to review the Uecker recordings I have to try to figurethat out. I'm not back at my condo where I can do that but I plan todo it when I'm next at my condo.It's entirely possible that Uno -- from his vantage point at theballroom northside service door -- might have noticed RFK leaving thestage through the gold curtain and wondered why RFK had left that way. Uno might have been expecting RFK to leave by going off the east endof the stage and may have wondered whether RFK was heading off in thewrong direction, perhaps to the stairway that accessed the lowerballrooms. Perhaps out of such a concern, Uno might have then walkeddown the back corridor to the stage door and, when Uecker and RFK wentout that door, perhaps Uno uttered something to Uecker just to makeabsolutely sure that Uecker would take RFK to the Colonial Room asDutton had directed. I don't know. It's possible.But my bottom line here is that what transpired was likely a veryinnocent situation. A simple matter of loyal Kennedy aides andhardworking hotel staffers trying very innocently to get a candidatefrom one location to another location. Sometimes such things gosmoothly. Sometimes a glitch occurs.As I see it... in this particular case, the glitch that I believeoccurred may have been a costly one. Because, as I see it, the glitchled to Bill Barry, Rosey Grier and Rafer Johnson being lost behind asRFK moved out too far in front of them... at the worst possiblemoment... when two people were waiting in the kitchen pantry with gunsto kill RFK: Sirhan and Cesar.Looking forward to receiving the package you have sent me. I'll letyou know when it gets here.Brad_______________________Brad,Ask Paul Schrade to show a printout of the photo of the Unidentifiedman to Uno T. Ask Uno if this man was upstairs in the 5th floorsuites and if this man enjoined in the discussion of Kennedy's nextstop after the speech. Did the man argue against going to the floorbelow after the speech. Ask Uno if this man spoke to him while onstage and if in fact this man told Uno to order Minassian to haveUecker take RFK out the back door. Then ask if this man followed RFKout the back door and had a short discussion with RFK which resultedin the change in direction. It is Uno T who after the decision ismade by the "Kennedy people" who tells Minassian to go to the ColonialRoom. Also, if this guy is an advance man Uno may have interactedwith him the Sunday night before at the shindig. RFK is not going tomake any public appearance without his advance men.Go to the scene where Ethel is talking to Rafer Johnson at theeleveator. While Bill Barry is apparently making a security check,RFK listens impatiently but politely to the conversation. He thenmoves closer and speaks to Rafer himself. Next, he moves deeper intothe room and is apparently speaking to someone whom we can't see for along time. RFK then turns and starts walking forward and Uno andMinassian and Uecker scramble to keep in front. As the line thins outwe see the mystery man walking but his location puts him about wherethe man Kennedy was talking to but we couldn't see might have beenstanding. If this guy was conferring with RFK, he may be an advanceman.If this man is an advance man/CIA, Bruno may have delegated hisauthority to him just before he left the hotel for his flight from LAand made sure RFK and others knew about this delegation. If he is CIAhe is telling Fred Dutton to forget what was agreed upon upstairs andtake Kennedy through the pantry to the Colonial Room. He then tellsthe hotel staff to take Kennedy through the back door and quickly movehim towards the colonial room. At the same time he purposely fails toinform Dutton and Bill Barry trying to separate RFK from his securitypeople.Do you have a photograph of Joe Dolan? M