Excerpts from The Zenith Secret

EXCERPTS FROM THE ZENITH SECRET - BRADLEY AYERS 

The Zenith Secret – A CIA Insider Exposes the Secret War Against Cuba and the Plot that Killed the Kennedy Brothers, by Bradley E. Ayers (Vox Pop/Drench Kiss Media Corportation, 1022 Corelyou Road, Brooklyn, NY 11218. [www.voxpopnet.net]

A somewhat expanded and updated version of Bradley E. Ayers' "The War That Never Was" (Bobbs-Merrell, 1976), The Zenith Secret takes it's name from the Zenith Technical Enterprises, the cover company for the CIA's Miami, Florida, JMWAVE station at a remote part of the University of Miami campus. 

Please note there were items – ie. The name Gordon Campbell, - taken out of the Bobbs-Merrell “War that Never Was” edition that are now included in “The Zenith Secret.” Also note that William Harvey worked at Bobbs-Merrell after leaving CIA and the company maintained offices in the Texas School Book Depository.

As acknowledged by the CIA, since Ayers was a military officers assigned to covert work at the CIA and not a CIA officer, he did not sign a CIA secrecy oath and therefore his published work did not have to be vetted by the CIA's Publication Review Board (PRB), which did review and apparently approve other recently published books about William Harvey and by E. Howard Hunt.

I'm sure it is just a coincidence that both Harvey's biographer Bayard Stockton and Hunt both died of natural causes after completing their manuscripts but before their books were published.

So it is quite fitting and safe that Bradley Ayers would be holed up in a wilderness cabin with his dogs, and without a computer or contact with anyone other than his New York attorney, leaving us with book to ponder. And there is much to ponder if you can get past the small type, typos and errors that have Ayers threatening to sue his Vox Pop for going to print before he approved it.

Unlike Vox Pop, a radical, alternative coffeeshop/publishing operation run out of Brooklyn, New York, Bobbs-Merrill is a mainstream company. In 1973, Ayers' manuscript was reviewed by the managing editor, Tom Gervasi.

"Unbeknownst to me," writes Ayers, "…upon retirement from the CIA, bill Harvey went to work for Bobbs-Merrill. Apparently my manuscript was intercepted and the book's contents carefully reviewed by the agency and some of its entities. For the next two and a half years, I made revisions and rewrites of the manuscript at the suggestion of Gervasi. The pattern was one of whittling away at those parts that were the most sensitive or potentially embarrassing to the agency. Gervasi explained that Bobbs-Merrill could not accept the libel risks that portions of the book presented. One of the requirements set by Gervasi was that I change all the names of the major figures. Also excised was text on David Morales, and Ferrie's presence at JM/WAVE….just getting the book into print was better than no book at all."

BK N otes: I remember reading "The War that Never Was," and sharing Ayers' feelings that the operations he was connected with at JMWAVE were somehow connected to the assassination of President Kennedy, but it was hard to put a finger on exactly what that point was.

For Bradley E. Ayers, "The chain of events that lead me to [US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Special Operations] Colonel Bond's office....began in the spring of 1963. I had held the rank of captain, and as a senior officer in this grade, nearing promotion to major, I was serving as the executive officer of the Army Ranger Training Camp at Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida….The mission of the Ranger Camp was to train volunteer officers and non-commissioned officers in the techniques of clandestine jungle and swamp operations for small units….Lt. Col. Hakala,…commanded the camp…on a sunny April day I made my move and requested a transfer."

Assigned to Colonel Bond, Special Warfare Section, Pentagon, tested by Lt. Colonel Garrett, and placed under General Rosson, deputy chief of staff, Special Warfare, Ayers was paired with Major Roderick, an engineer officer and demolitions expert.

They were ordered to stop saluting and transferred in civilian clothes to the Cuban Operations Center in the basement of the CIA HQ at Langley, Virginia, "We were first taken to a plush first floor office and introduced to the head of the Cuban desk, Mr. Des Fitzgerald,…then escorted to an adjacent office and introduced to Mr. William Harvey and Mr. James O'Connell, both of whom exhibited an unmistakable air of authority."

Flown to Florida, they were met by Bob Wall, assistant chief of operations at the station. "He went on to explain that the Miami headquarters was covered under a civilian corporation known as Zenith Technical Enterprises. The station, or 'company,' was located on the University of Miami's South Campus, adjacent to the abandoned Richmond Naval Air Station, which had been developed by the Navy during World War II as a dirigible base. A hurricane had devastated the immense hangers, and only girders and concrete foundations remained. The airfield was still intact but not open for use, except covertly by the agency….."

Officially attached to the U.S. Army Support Group, "…we met the station chief, Ted Shackley…I saw that they had missed no detail in setting up the false front Zenith Technical Enterprises. There were phony sales and production charts on the walls and businesses licenses from the state and federal governments….Shackley…welcomed us with poise, a Harvard air, and a Bostonian accent…His polished but informal manner put us at ease while his cool professionalism instilled confidence and respect….The station had separate, distinct departments: personnel… intelligence ….operations… logistics… cover…security…maritime….communications…real estate….A separate branch had been set up, to develop training programs for all Cubans and foreign volunteers because of the need for competent agents."

"Bob Wall discussed the control the president's Special Group exercised over all operational activities. The station developed plans for operations and recruited, trained, and equipped Cuban exiles to accomplish specific missions….I was given the fictitious identity of Daniel B. Williams, a former military pilot employed by Paragon Air Service,…a legally chartered Delaware Corporation..."

"One of Bob's 'outside' agents took us to the Homestead marina where we met Rip Robertson, a former Marine. We'd already heard stories about the tall, rawboned man, his daring escapades at the Bay of Pigs, and, more recently, with his Cuban commando group. Rip, in his mid-forties, was a contract employee of fairly long standing with the CIA. Almost everyone held him in high esteem. Like Dave Morales, nicknamed 'the Big Indian' (a.k.a. El Indio), to whom he was directly responsible, Rip was said to be stubborn, independent, and jealously protective of his men…."

"…Rip filled us in on the details of the V-20 boats used in the commando strikes. Their 20 foot V-shaped hulls had been extensively modified and reinforced, at a cost of more than $30,000 each. They were made of double-thick fiberglass to withstand the beating of high speeds on the open seas and to damage from coral and objects submerged in shallow water. Armor plating was embedded in the fiberglass to protect the fuel tanks and the occupants. Plastic foam and rubber, installed in critical places, added protection against the bullets and afforded the crew some cushioning within the open cockpit. Equipped with twin 'souped up' hundred horsepower Greymarine inboard engines with retractable outdrives, the boats could travel 35 miles per hour while using no more than 75 percent of their full power….I recalled Bob telling us that the 'company' was searching for better, stronger craft, and was trying to improve the performance of the V-20…."

BK notes: Unknown to Bradley Ayers, at least until the November 1, 1963 New York Times ran a photo of the Rex on its front page, was the fact that the CIA ship was owned by Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua, "one of the godfathers of the Bay of Pigs" and contracted to the Belcher Oil Company and "leased" as a cover to Collins Radio, of Richardson, Texas. Also unknown to Ayers is the fact that Collins collaborated with the CIA in Operation Paperclip, and utilized one of the former Nazi scientists in developing the swift boats for Cuban commandos in conjunction with General Dynamics. Like automobiles and planes, the boats used by the anti-Castro commandos left a paper trail that leads to the government and corporate defense contractors who participated in these operations.

Brad Ayers: "It took us about 40 minutes to reach Elliot Key…The CIA rented or purchased dwellings for agents' use and were considered safe and secure after being checked for outside surveillance….In one corner of the main room the Cubans had created a small shrine in memory of the men who had been killed or lost on earlier missions…."

"Training did not begin until mid-morning…The class was presented quite informally, in Spanish, by Rip's personal assistant, a Cuban named Felix….Rip showed us their newest piece of equipment, an item called a silent outboard motor which was about 50 percent quieter than the standard outboard. The Navy had developed it for underwater demolition missions…and were not available through civilian channels,…made by the Johnson Company…"

"Under temporary cover as a real estate broker and developer, I began to search for a training area….I was able to narrow down the possibilities to three general areas: upper Key Largo, including Lingerman Key and the 'Pirate's Lair' island safehouse owned by the University of Miami, the Old Card Sound Road area on the west side of upper Key Largo, and the Dynamite Pier area opposite and east of it; the Flamingo-Cape Sable area on the southernmost edge of the Everglades National Park."

At a social gathering at Key Biscayne, "After chatting for a few minutes, Colonel Bond….introduced me to some of the guests. I shook hands with Mr. Harvey and Mr. O'Connell. Both addressed me by my first name. There were several people I recognized from Zenith….I met Mr. Hunt, one of the few present there who looked the part of the classic intellectual espionage type. With Hunt was a Cuban introduced as Mr. Artime. I spotted Mr. Fitzgerald and he acknowledged me with a nod of his head. Colonel Bond told me it was Richard Helms, head of CIA covert operations, standing next to him. Relaxing from the Manhattans, I laughed, realizing that most of the people looked gentle and conservative. Yet when they pulled a string, men lived or died. These men around me were guiding our national policy toward Cuba."

"Suddenly there was a stir of activity near the courtyard door. The reception line was breaking up. Apparently the VIPs, whoever they were, were leaving. As they passed through the living room, they talked amiably with some of the guests. One man, his back to me, caught my eye. He was younger than the rest, and his full head of hair was conspicuously longer, reaching his collar. He was slim, with a wiry, catlike stance. He wore a sports coat and loose, baggy slacks. His hands were thrust into his pockets and his shoulders slumped forward, casual, almost sloppy. There was something about him I remembered from somewhere….It was Robert Kennedy, the president's brother, the attorney general! I wedged my way even closer, and as he began to walk toward the front door, I thrust out my hand, Robert Kennedy shook it, smiling warmly."

"Good to see you."

"It wasn't every day that one met the attorney general of the United States….I believed that President Kennedy's promise to the Bay of Pigs survivors was more than just an effort to pacify the exiles. There was something special going on. I was thrilled to have some small part of it."

"I threw myself into preparing the new training program with gusto after that,… Larry would continue to teach basic weapons, use of compass, land navigation, and other miscellaneous subjects,…Walter, a training instructor and Rudy would continue to teach tradecraft,…Theoretically, after these two phases of basic paramilitary instruction, the volunteer would have enough fundamental knowledge to go into the field. These exiles, whose primary function involved handling larger boats and engines, such as the V-20, would receive specialized training during this concluding period. Ideally, a team would complete training and shortly thereafter embark on a mission while still somewhere near peak."

"…It was summer now and the heat and mosquitoes were even more intense. Jose Clark and I had to devise and construct all of our own charts and training aids. I would sketch them out….Jose would then translate them to Spanish…Dewey, a former Navy warrant officer, was responsible for the small boat training. He had been working with two to five man infiltration teams for nearly a year….Before leaving for the Keys, I stopped by the station to pick up a few supplies. There was a note on my desk. I was to see Gordon Campbell, the deputy chief of station, before leaving. I'd never met him….Shackley's secretary Maggy told me to go to the second floor of the old barracks, a floor above my own office in the training branch. I'd never been in that area of the building."

"…Campbell's office was well-decorated, with all sorts of Zenith Technical Enterprise corporate plaques…his secretary buzzed him to my arrival and I was escorted into his plush office. Campbell came around his desk, introduced himself, and shook my hand. I judged his age to be around 40 and he appeared to be in robust physical condition. Dressed as if he had just come off the golf course, tanned, clean shaven, with trim build, balding blond hair, and penetrating blue eyes, he greeted me cordially. I liked him immediately."

"My good friend Ed Roderick….was coming for dinner….Rod had been drinking before he got to the house that night. In fact, he confided, he and the recently arrived Colonel Rosselli were working on a plan to ambush Fidel Castro and had been on a weekend binge together. They'd become close friends as they spent time together; their drinking friendship was a natural extension of their on-duty relationship."

"…He told me Rosselli had high level Mafia and Havana connections….The last American attempts to penetrate with larger craft such as the Rex and Leda had ended in disaster….In the future, Rod said, operations hoped to rely on smaller, faster, lightly armed boats that could make it all the way across the Florida Straights…Several new V-20s had been developed with a fuel capacity sufficient to assure at least a one way crossing of the straights…."

"About 30 minutes before we were scheduled to sail, two fish delivery trucks pulled into the warehouse, and, after the overhead doors rolled closed, men began jumping out. It was the commando team, previously hidden somewhere in Tampa. I was surprised to see familiar faces among the team and to be greeted again by my old friend Julio from the Point Mary safehouse…Martinez and Julio gave the commandos their ship bulleting assignments…..we were turning eastward off the Dry Tortugas and heading toward Cay Sal. Julio the commando team leader, had lived in the Isabela area and knew the…surrounding terrain…."

"…Bosch, with non-attributable CIA support, had a base of operations and a safehouse just north of Key West, near Oceanside Marina. He kept his boats there…a big, old decaying two-story stucco mansion a short distance from the marina….The V-20s were docked at the marina and could be brought around to the canal for lading. On arrival I was delighted to find my old friend Julio Fernandez the man in charge…."

BK notes: Now the name Fernandez might be as common as Smith or Kelly, but those familiar with JFK assassination lure know the name very well. It was on the evening of the assassination, November 22, 1963, that Clare Booth Luce received a telephone call from Fernandez. In the summer of 1963 she wrote an article about her sponsorship of an anti-Castro Cuban exile commando boat team, lead by Fernandez. Now with the President's murder, Fernandez told her that his group had information on Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin. Also recall the extended search House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) investigator Gaeton Fonzi spent in pursuit of Julio Fernandez, who Clare Booth Luce later told him was probably a "war name," and not his real name, causing Fonzi to give up the search, despite the evidence of a real person by that name.

BEA: "The only way I could maintain the secure contact with Gorden Campbell, Karl and Tony was to go ashore to the pay phone at Black Point. This was annoying because the trip back and forth by boat across lower Biscayne Bay took nearly two hours…."

"I felt an urgency to discuss the leadership aspect of the mission early on with Mr. Campbell. I tried on several occassions, when going ashore for supplies, to contact him by phone at his private number. Each time his secretary said he was traveling and unavailable. So, I decided to talk to Karl about the problem, for whatever it might be worth. By this time I had the impression that Karl was very much involved in the Elliot Key project and all it entailed. Campbell had placed no restrictions on what I might discuss with his right-hand man."

"My trip across the bay was faster than usual, and I arrived at the restaurant near the Coral Castle ahead of our scheduled meeting. I saw Karl, Dave Morales, Rosselli, and Mr. Phillips sitting at a table near the back of the room. When I saw all but Karl leave, three to the same car, I went back to meet him. Over a beer, I told him of my concerns about the of the Elliot Key group and asked him to discuss my observations with Campbell. Karl was pretty savvy and agreed. On my way back to Black Point I pondered Karl's apparent familiarity with the principal staff at JM/WAVE as I had observed it. I was impressed. Karl was obviously more than the typical logistics gofer."

"Karl was not Cuban. By speech and appearance he was European, possibly Belgium or French, but he spoke excellent English with an accent. He appeared in his mid-20s, with slightly balding dark hair, and a trim, muscular build at about 6' tall. I never learned his last name and I suspect Karl was an alias."

"Gordon Campbell gave me several Miami-Homestead area phone contact numbers to use for secure communications with him or Karl. One number I tried was answered by a women with the greeting, 'Mr. Bishop's office.' I concluded I'd either dialed incorrectly or Campbell had given me the number by mistake, or I may have erred in recording it when he gave it to me. However, several times when talking casually with Maggy, she dropped the name Bishop when referring to Campbell. I didn't know what to make of it, but I ceased using that number for the contact with Mr. Campbell."

"When the Dallas Police brought Lee Harvey Oswald forth for transfer to another holding facility,…It was the first time I had seen Oswald close-up. When I saw him, my breath caught in my throat and a chill ran up my spine. Oswald was a 'dead ringer' for Karl, Campbell's right-hand man who was assisting me with the Elliot Key operation. The resemblance was quite incredible and I thought it very strange."

"A man in civilian clothes met me at the chain link gate in front of the operations building….he introduced himself and flashed his bag identifying himself as an Air Force accident investigator. He wanted to talk to me about what I had witnessed that day. We went into a small room near the pilot's lounge and I told him exactly what I observed."

"When I was finished, he went into his briefcase and presented me with a prepared statement, essentially confirming that I had seen Karl, identified only as a contract employee of some petroleum research firm in Texas I had never heard of before. The statement simply said I had observed Karl fall from the helicopter in the course of a classified training reconnaissance mission."

"A second area of significance was Karl's identity and death. I could not put out of my mind his extraordinary resemblance to Lee Harvey Oswald. The more I learned about Oswald, the more he and Karl seemed alike – not only in physical appearance, but also in speech, and from the little I saw of Oswald on TV before Ruby killed hi, his mannerisms. With all that was becoming known about Oswald's alleged activities in the period leading up to the assassination of the president, the possibility of someone posing as Lee Harvey Oswald had to be considered. And why was Karl eliminated? Could it be that he knew too much?" 

Elliot Key - Everglades National Preserve - Junction of Tamiami Trail and Highway 27
30 miles in Walloos Glades Hunting Camp
Case officer: Gordon Campbell.
Karl – Gordon Campbell's "Outside Man" for logistics.
Elliot Key Safe House – Training Base - Southern Tip of Elliot Key.
Tony Sforza – commando team contact man

BEA: "The only way I could maintain the secure contact with Gorden Campbell, Karl and Tony was to go ashore to the pay phone at Black Point. This was annoying because the trip back and forth by boat across lower Biscayne Bay took nearly two hours…."

"I felt an urgency to discuss the leadership aspect of the mission early on with Mr. Campbell. I tried on several occassions, when going ashore for supplies, to contact him by phone at his private number. Each time his secretary said he was traveling and unavailable. So, I decided to talk to Karl about the problem, for whatever it might be worth. By this time I had the impression that Karl was very much involved in the Elliot Key project and all it entailed. Campbell had placed no restrictions on what I might discuss with his right-hand man."

"My trip across the bay was faster than usual, and I arrived at the restaurant near the Coral Castle ahead of our scheduled meeting. I saw Karl, Dave Morales, Rosselli, and Mr. Phillips sitting at a table near the back of the room. When I saw all but Karl leave, three to the same car, I went back to meet him. Over a beer, I told him of my concerns about the of the Elliot Key group and asked him to discuss my observations with Campbell....." 

The meeting is happening during the time BEA says he was working on a special mission for GC and "Karl," which involved training two six man teams at the Elliot Key safe house, a very remote training area. The mission, to be led by Tony Sforza, involved the attack on a strategic target - an oil refinary near the coast, but never came off.

Because of their remote location, communication with JM/WAVE was via pay phone or visits. BEA says that the CIA kept a single engine Cessna at the Miami HQ, which flew over and dropped a roll of tissue paper that contained a message: "NOVEMBER 22, 1963 PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHOT BY AN ASSASSIN. SUSPEND ALL ACTIVITY. KEEP MEN ON ISLAND. COME ASHORE WITHOUT DELAY. GORDON."

"Gordon Campbell and Karl had all but disappeared during this period and the Elliot Key operation, for which I had been responsible, was placed under the control of training branch. Cal had departed for a new assignment in Washington at the CIA "farm" in Virginia. Rudy temporarily assumed duties as chief of training....Eventually, an old CIA training officer, Ernie Sparks, arrived and took over as chief of the branch. Cal, his predecessor, had been the consumate professional...Ernie was well known in CIA circles for his gruff, flaboyant character."

"Ernie dressed in Western style, with cowboy boots, jeans, and an open colared riding shirt. Often he would have a big revolver holstered at his side...nicknamed 'Sitting Bull,' while serving as a training officer in Guatemala, preparing Cuban exile Brigade 2506 for the Bay of Pigs..."

"The order to disband came first to the commando groups that were hidden around southern Florida. Gordon Campbell asked me to meet him for dinner at Black Caesar's Forge. This would be our first face to face meeting since well before the assassination... Campbell was at a table near the rear of the lower level dining room. He greated me cordially, asked about my family and, for a few minutes, made small talk as we ordered our meal. Something about Campbell had changed. I had never seen this smooth, polished man ill at ease. But this night, he seemed edgy, a worried look on his face, and his hands shook a bit as he lit a cigarette. Desite his troubled appearance, speaking to me, he was his usual matter-of-fact, unemotional self, a man who was never out of control."

"Campbell explained major foreign policy changes had been made by President Johnson, and the paramilitary effort developed by the CIA under the previous administration was being phased out. The commando group I was responsible for woujld be given a security debriefing and be terminated with one month's pay in advance. Administrative help would be terminated in the same fashion and sent home. All equipment would be removed, and the safehouse would be thoroughly 'swept' for security items, documents, and so on. I had one week to get the job done. Then I was to return to the training branch to supervise the closedown of other training camps. Were there any questions?" 

 ANOTHER GORDON CAMPBELL
Gordon Campbell
Captain, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

Captain Gordon Campbell, United States Navy (Ret.) died December 5, 2000. His ashes will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery. Born on October 1, 1905 in Washington, D.C. he grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, Fort Stevens, Georgia., and other Army Posts.

After prepping at Merion Institute in Alabama, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1926. He served on surface ships and submarines, his last command being the heavy cruiser USS Columbus. After retirement from the Navy in 1956 he was employed at Wright Machinery Co. until 1963. He is survived by his wife Addo S. Campbell, daughter, Jayne C. Byal of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.

Posted: 14 October 2001 Updated: 20 November 2005

Jeff Morley and David Talbot learned that the JMWAVE Gordon Campbell died in 1962.

GORDON CAMPBELL – (Bradley Ayers, The Zenith Secret)  p.38:

On Monday I went to the station early, hoping to get a good start on my after-action report. I was beginning to organize my thoughts about the mission….Ted Shackley wanted as few people as possible to know about my trip to Cuba. I asked his secretary Maggy, who else might see my after-action report. I was most concerned about David Morales' reaction to my critical observations…. 'Dave is away in Mexico. Possibly Gordon will see it.'"

"I knew she was referring to Gordon Campbell, the deputy chief of station, who I had not met yet."     -

p. 45: "Before leaving for the Keys, I stopped by the station to pick up a few supplies. There was a note on my desk. I was to see Gordon Campbell, the deputy chief of station before leaving. I'd never met him. What the hell? I thought. Campbell's office was in the building next to Ted Shackley's. But when I got there, Maggy told me to go to the second floor of the old barracks, a floor above my own office in the training branch. I'd never been in that area of the building."

"I walked back to my building and went upstairs. Campbell's office was well-decorated, with all sorts of Zenith Technical Enterprises corporate plaques, alleged product displays, photos and mementoes. His secretary buzzed him on my arrival and I was escorted into his plush office."

"Campbell came around his desk, introduced himself, and shook my hand. I judged his age to be around 40 and he appeared in robust physical condition. Dressed as if he had just come off the golf course, tanned, clean shaven, with a trim build, balding blond hair, and penetrating blue eyes, he greeted me cordially. I liked him immediately."

" 'I've been wanting to meet you and welcome you to the station. I'm sorry it's taken so long. I want to tell you we appreciate what you're working on. I also read your after action report and I think you know what needs to be done.'"

"I told him I'd do my best and we exchanged a few thoughts about the exile training program. As I left his office, he told me to be careful and that he would be seeing me again."

p. 56: "I attended both briefings. All the branch chiefs were there aw well as Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Harvey from Washington accompanied by Ted Shackley and Campbell. David Morales introduced Mr. David Phillips who was identified as a coordinator for the new initiatives with the exile organizations."

p. 80 : "On the way down US 1, I stopped at the Green Turtle Inn in Islamorada for a bowl of soup. It was early afternoon and most of the lunch crowd had left. But near the back of the restaurant, seated at a large circular table, were Dave Morales, Mr. Harvey, Gordon Campbell, Mr. Phillips, and another man, possibly Rosselli, whose back was turned on me. They apparently had stopped for lunch and drinks. I don't know if they recognized me or not. As was the practice in such situations, within the agency, there was no acknowledgement, either way. Discretely, I got my soup to go and quickly left. It was the first time I had ever seen the station hierarchy in the Keys and out of their air-conditioned offices. It was encouraging., maybe something big was in the offing. I thought."

p. 86: "…We were going to a meeting place in the Everglades….We pulled into a truck stop at the junction of Tamiami Trail and Hightway 27, and another man – a Cuban who I had never seen before – checked the license of the car and climbed in. No one spoke as we drove down the long, slightly traveled highway and eventually turned onto a dirt road bordered by canal. After about a mile, the driver pulled over. An airboat was waiting in the canal, and in moments we were noisily skimming across the saw grass as dusk settled over the glades…..After nearly 30 minutes of travel across open swampland and deep canals, we turned under some overhanging trees and pulled up to a small dock behind another airboat. A sign on the rotting timbers read 'Waloos Glades Hunting Camp – No Tresspassing.' It was nearly dark, but I could see two small Quonsets with lights burning in the windows. Some men were standing around a campfire in the middle of the clearing, and in its flickering light I could see two helicopter parked in the shadows. One was a military Bell H-13 with the identification numbers taped over, and the other was a civilian chopper with the name West Palm Beach air service on the tail rotor boom."

"We walked to the fire and a young man handed us cups of coffee. I had never seen the men before. Soon the door to one of the Quonsets swung open and four men emerged. As they moved into the circle of firelight I recognized Gordon Campbell. I had seen him only a few times since my brief meeting with him, but had been impressed with his polished, slightly flamboyant executive manner. I caught my breath at the appearance of the second man. It was the attorney general, Robert Kennedy."

"The four men talked in low voices for a few minutes, and then the attorney general came over and shook hands with each of us, wishing us good luck and God's speed on our mission."

"Hell, I didn't even know what my mission was. His white teeth flashed and sparkled, and I felt a strange sense of strength and resolve when he grasped my hand. Then he and one of the Cubans went to the civilian helicopter, an din minutes it took off. Now I understood the need for extra secrecy. If the president felt strongly enough to send his brother, something very big was being planned."

"When the helicopter was gone, the deputy chief of station came over….he said, 'The reason we've got you here and the reason for all the secrecy is that we just got the green light from upstairs to go ahead on some missions we've been planning for some time.'"

"We entered the Quonset….Campbell closed the door behind us and turned to face me. 'We're very pleased with the way you've handled the training setup for the station so far, and we've made that known to your people at the Pentagon. We know it hasn't been easy for you and your family….You'll be happy to know that the Special Group has finally given us permission to use two-man submarines to strike Castro's ships in the harbors. Some of your UDT people will be involved in that. And next week Rip's boys are going to Elgin for parachute training, so an airborne commando raid may not be far off. But right now we've got the go-ahead to hit one of the major oil refineries from on the island. All we've got to do is get a commando force in shape to do the job."

" 'We want you to take a commando force of 12 men and give them six weeks of the toughest, most realistic training you can. We want you to teach them survival and get them physically toughened up. Then we want you to run some exercises for them, and finally, wet up a rehearsal for the actual raid, and do it over and over until they have it down blindfolded. During this six weeks we want you to eat, sleep, and live this mission with the Cubans, 24 hours a day. We want them ready to go by mid-December."

"….We've got a house on the south end of Elliot Key that's never been used…you can run the training from there…..You'll have to keep up with your regular duties in addition to working with this commando group. Again, no one is to know that. David is sometimes a little bit difficult, so you'll deal directly with me on anything you need. Use the telephone, and we'll meet away from the station. After you get set, I'll give you a complete scenario for the mission and as much data as we have on the target itself."

"…. 'My outside man, Karl, will help you with logistics. Take the deliveries and carry the items to the island yourself. Order as little as you have to from logistics, and buy all your own food….Here's the safehouse key and $1,000 to get things moving….'"

"Campbell introduced me to Tony Sforza, the commando team contact man, and Karl…."

p. 92:  "I felt an urgency to discuss the leadership aspect of the mission early on with Mr. Campbell....So I decided to talk to Karl about the problem…Campbell had placed no restrictions on what I might discuss with his right-hand man."

"My trip across the bay was faster than usual, and I arrived at the restaurant near the Coral Castle ahead of our scheduled meeting. I saw Karl, Dave Morales, Rosselli, and Mr. Phillips sitting at a table near the back of the room. When I saw all but Karl leave, three to the same car, I went back to meet him. Over a beer, I told him of my observations with Campbell. Karl was pretty savvy and agreed. On the way back to Black Point I pondered Karl's apparent familiarity with the principal staff at JM/WAVE as I had observed it. I was impressed. Karl was obviously something more than the typical logistics gofer."

p. 93 :  "I stole a few hours extra sleep the next morning, then went out to Coconut Grove, where I was to meet Gordon Campbell. He and his wife lived on a yacht moored at the Dinner Key marina. I walked down a long concrete pier, past sleek, expensive cruisers, and finally found Gordon's boat. Both he and his wife – an attractive bikini-clad silver-haired women – were well into their Sunday afternoon martinis."

"As he mixed me a drink, he asked, 'What do you think of the men? How do they look – morale, interest - you know, guts for the job?'"

"'They look very good so far,' I replied, 'but there's one big problem, the commandos have no real leader. The team is split into two distinct, separate groups of five and six men each…and they seem to want to stay that way. As long as I give orders, there's no problem, but when they're on their own, the so-called leader makes suggestions and the other two follow only if they feel like it. It's too loose to be effective under pressure.'"

" 'Goddamnit, if a leader is a problem, then you find one! The case officer for these boys will be down from Washington in a few weeks. He's been with the Cuban desk studying the situation and he's well-read. Porter is young but he knows his stuff. I've assured him you'd have the team ready to go.'"

"Had I heard right? Somebody who worked behind a desk at Langley was suddenly going to appear on the scene and take over where I left off? Just like that? I'd train them and someone else would step in and simply 'assume' control? I started to say something, but caught myself. This was something totally beyond my control, and no good would come from an argument with Campbell at this point. I took a big swallow of my drink. 'I'll continue to do my best on the leadership situation. Gordon, I can assure you that having a leader would make my own work easier. More importantly, these are good men, and they deserve a good leader."

"The anger passed from his face and he mixed us both another drink. 'All right, let's go below. I have the charts and photos and we'll go over the mission from beginning to end."

"For the better part of the next two hours we pored over refinery blueprints and incredibly detailed U-2 photos and recently smuggled-out snapshots of the target. The time schedule was set in the familiar D-day, H-hour military terminology, and Campbell would not tell me when the raid would be conducted. We had to be ready to go anytime after the first of December. He wanted at least two rehearsals competed by then, and there was little time left."

"Our discussion terminated when Mrs. Campbell came down to the gallery carrying drinks for all of us. She chided us for spending the 'glorious Sunday afternoon' talking business, and threw her heavily oiled, deeply tanned body into her husband's lap. Her obvious attention seeking embarrassed me, so I drank quickly, thanked Gordon, and said I'd contact him."

"It wasn't until I'd left the yacht that I realized Campbell hadn't given me the exact location of the refinery; he's said only that it was on the south central coast of Cuba. It probably had been intentional, I concluded, but I had enough data to get well into advanced training and preliminary rehearsals anyway."

"The mission was a big one, all right, and tough. In a very complex, precisely timed raid, the commandos would destroy the fuel storage tanks, dock, and ship-to-shore product-transfer pipelines of the refinery. As I drove home, I reviewed the details Gordon had given me. Two fishing trawlers would be used as mother ships for three V-20s. At a shallow water point about a mile from the target, one boat would land and the team would go ashore, under cover of darkness. The other two boats would wait offshore, among the mangroves, for completion of the first phase of the mission."

"The landed commando team would move down the shore to the pier that supported the pipeline. They would kill the guards on the pier, and then eliminate the watchman in the small tin shack at the end of the pier. This accomplished, they would signal the other two V-20s to come to the end of the pier, where the boats would be tied until the mission was completed."

"The landed commando team would move down the shore to the pier and around the refinery yard fence to a position behind a low hill that was about eleven hundred yards from the brightly illuminated crackling towers and processing facilities. Two 81mm mortars would be set up; from an observation position on high ground; their fire would be guided into the refinery proper. White phosphorous ordinance would be used, in the hope that the cracking towers would catch fire immediately and the surrounding fuel storage tanks would explode. Approximately twenty mortar round would be fired into the refinery."

"Meanwhile, time-activated demolition charges would be fastened to the pipeline pier, and 'clams' (round TNT charges with magnetic devices to hold them to metal objects) would be attached to the transfer pipeline. By the time the entire commando force withdrew, the refinery would be engulfed in flames."

"As the two V-20s pulled away, the timer would activate, and the pier and the pipeline would explode behind them. The commandos would return to the trawlers waiting several miles offshore. Another time-activated explosive would destroy the beached V-20."

p. 99: "Communications between Elliott Key and the mainland had been a problem from the beginning….The only way I could maintain secure contact with Gordon Campbell, Karl, and Tony was to go ashore to the pay phone at Black Point…..Sometimes I'd go for days without contact…On other occasions I'd get word that Campbell and Karl were out of the area and was given no idea when they might return my call…."

p. 102: "….I immediately recognized the plane as the single-engine Cessna based at the CIA headquarters in Miami. As it flew overhead, a white object was released directly over the old house. It was a roll of toilet tissue, streaming as it fell. It landed only a few feet away….The center tube of the tissue role had been closed with masking tape, and the word 'OPEN' had been scrawled on the side with black marking pencil. Hastily, I opened up the tube and pulled out the paper inside. It was Campbell's printing:

NOVEMBER 22 1963

PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHOT BY AN ASSASSIN. SUSPEND ALL ACTIIVTY. KEEP MEN ON ISLAND. COME ASHORE WITHOUT DELAY.

GORDON

p. 104 :"More than a month after the assassination that I spoke with Mr. Campbell about the Elliot Key commandos. He directed me to hold off any additional rehearsals but to go on training at a reduced pace."

p. 105: "Gordon Campbell and Karl had all but disappeared during this period and the Elliot Key operation, for which I had been responsible, was placed under control of the training branch. Cal had departed for anew assignment in Washington at the CIA 'farm' in Virginia. Rudy temporarily assumed duties as chief of training….Eventually, and old CIA training officer, Ernie Sparks, arrived and took over as chief of branch….Ernie dressed in Western style, with cowboy boots, jeans and open collared riding shirt. Often he would have a big revolver holstered at his side. He was about 50, with gray hair, a droopy mustache, ruddy complexion, and piercing blue eyes. He was portly but muscular. He could have been a Wild West movie character. He had been nicknamed 'Sitting Bull' while serving as a training officer in Guatemala, preparing Cuban exile Brigade 2506 for the Bay of Pigs invasion. As the time went by I learned he had a penchant for booze, women and sports cars….."

p. 181 : "…The cover office, staffed with full-time secretaries and decorated to appear as a typical business headquarters. Shackley would never be there, but either Clines or Campbell would when it was useful to present Zenith Technical Enterprise's face to the world. The Maritime Branch was located in the same building, and for that reason, it was most convenient for Campbell, who was running that branch, to man the cover office….and I found it interesting in Fonzi's book there was no mention of Campbell. Campbell was identified in Deadly Secrets, however. This would become a matter of significance in my future work."

Memorandum from Christopher Barger to Tim Wray (undated):

The purpose of this memo is to give you background on who Brad Ayers is and the story he tells. His story is accepted to differing degrees, depending on who one talks to, but the basics of his story check out, according to our research.

Ayers was an infantry officer in the U.S. Army during the early 1960's, specializing in paramilitary training. In early 1963, (records checks indicate it was in early April) Ayers was "loaned" by the Army to the CIA, which assigned him to the JMWAVE station. Ayers' job was to train Cuban exiles and prepare them for an invasion of Cuba. This much of his story is borne out by checks of his military and CIA files.

From here, the veracity of Ayers' claims are less easy to discern. He claims to have seen many figures at JMWAVE who were not there, according to the official record; these include Johnny Roselli and William Harvey (former Task Force W /SAS chief for CIA, who was removed from that position by Kennedy after Harvey overstepped his authority after the Missile Crisis). Ayers also claims to have gone on several raiding missions with his proteges, and to have come under fire from Castro's forces in the summer of 1963. This is significant because according to the official record, all government sanctioned action against Castro had ceased by that point.

Ayers says that many of his colleagues at the JMWAVE station built up a strong resentment of President Kennedy, and says that he believes several of them to have played roles in the assassination. Foremost among these, he says, was David Morales, the operations officer for CIA in Miami.

The HSCA interviewed Ayers, and performed searches for his records. In doing so, they discovered five sealed envelopes in his file, which HSCA staff was not allowed access to. The envelopes have ben the source of some speculation among those in the research community who believe Ayers' story.

On May 12, I interviewed Ayers at his home outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. At that point, the questions were based on information obtained from open sources only, as few of the staff had their clearances yet.