A PUBLIC APPEAL TO WALT BROWN: Release Jay Harrison's Archive

[Peter Lemkin]

I have no dog in this fight and haven't followed the issue close enough other than to know that various DPF members have been unhappy enough about the situation to begin and continue the current thread. That said, did folks here read Walt's response to Charles Drago (who is obviously ex-DPF) in Walt's autobio? I recall there is another reference to the controversy in his book too, but the following was the one I returned to and found at short notice. This is from somewhere within the final quarter of WALT'S JOURNEY - Appendix IV of his big Chronology. There are several other pages elsewhere in that volume that go into Joan Mellen's dealings with Walt and his with her.

The second paragraph of Walt Brown's mess-age, and the following expansion of that, is false and misrepresents what Charles wanted and was trying to say or have done. Completely! If Brown has been in the research community as long as he has and didn't know who C. Drago was, or couldn't quickly find out, he's been with his head up his ass all this time - for he neither researched [sic] who Drago was nor what he had actually proposed and why. Drago was also totally suspicious of Ollie Curme - in fact, he some parallels in Curme's and Brown's possible motives.

What most do not know is that Brown was FBI - and some of his actions make some, including me, wonder if he isn't still.....

Not only did he refuse me [after an agreement] to see the Plumlee-related materials, he forbade me to purchase his Chronology.

He has LOTS of explaining to do, IMO. He broke promises to many more persons than I have permission to mention; pulled some very suspicious/unethical 'moves' other than with me - again most of them I'm bound by confidentiality on - but a few know and all of them are quite upset at what he did in each of these events [which seem to all lean toward foiling transparency/forwarding of information/research - more like stifling it and/or keeping to himself - if there is a difference]. At some point these very important things will be able to be told, I hope; but now is not that time. He once even said he'd rather see Harrison's archives destroyed before he'd let anyone see them.

At best, he seems unbalanced - at worst.......

[Drew Phipps]

The Mary Ferrell Collection has been made public. So at least that part of what Drago called for has been accomplished. Many other collections of material have been donated to universities and/or made public. Brown appears to be obsessed about money, as he has framed both his custody of the records and the possibility of making them public in just those terms.

I am happy that most research collections have ultimately found their way to a university.

[Tom Bowden]

Thanks for that. It sounds logical until one realizes that Joan Mellen was quite able to find very important new information within what was there. She repeated this to me on several occasions, at several points in her work with these files/materials. Yes, she also said they were not easy to use. It seems counter-intuitive to use a genealogy system - but this can not be changed. I'm aware of many side stories and side aspects of J's research which I have been asked not to be made public - so I can not. But from what I know and what Joan reported [and others I can't name] there still resides much important information - even if in a very difficult format.

I am not suggesting that there is not some good information in his system. It is just not that easy to get out. I suspect Joan was able to get information more easily because we prepared some notebooks particular to Wallace and Jay had a copy of them. I sincerely doubt she found new information but that is a discussion between Joan and I.

[Peter Lemkin]

The Mary Ferrell Collection has been made public. So at least that part of what Drago called for has been accomplished. Many other collections of material have been donated to universities and/or made public. Brown appears to be obsessed about money, as he has framed both his custody of the records and the possibility of making them public in just those terms.

I am happy that most research collections have ultimately found their way to a university.

Sorry, not correct! You also would need to look at what CD said, and when he said it. Some known and important things that belonged to MF [semi-spook that she was, as well as a researcher - she was keeping notes on who was researching what, and acting as a gatekeeper too] have not appeared on the MFF site, and the gobbling up of her collection by a multi-millionaire who had no previous interest in the JFK assassination was to CD [and others] more suspicious than altruism or philanthropy. While everyone recognizes the huge benefit of the MFF website, CD named specific important items of MF's that have never appeared - we have, yes, tons of government files, but not some other things.