[404-10515-10040] ‘" MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: Garrison and the » Kennedy Assassination: ‘Pacific operation). . to combat infantry duty in the Southwest Pacific; he was not used by OSS. -—, “William Clarens WOOD Jr., ‘alias William BOXLEY, 2ol- 834272 ; Reference: CI/REA Memorandum No. 9, Subject: Garrison “and the Kennedy Assassination, 5 June 1968, paragraph i9c A. Summary William Clarens WOOD Jr. was employed by CLA as a contract instructor, in clandestine opcrations from March 1931 when he arrived in Tune March 1952, when he had a nervous breakdown resulting from family problems’ and alcoholism. Sent back to Headquarters, he served as an instructor in OTR from May 1952 to January 1953, when his resignation was requested, again because of heavy drinking. During or. before July 1968 Garrison, who knew that WOOD had been a CIA employce, hired him as an investigator assigned to Garrison's . "investigation" ofthe Kennedy assassination. In December 1968, however, Garrison's office announced that WOOD had been fired because it had been ascertained that he was then active asa CIA 'bperative’’. Later j . December. WOOD made two telephone calls to his former chief in ; t _ ee requesting contact and instructions. The case is being referred ‘B. Summary of Earlier Events I. William ‘Clarens WOOD Jr., born 1l7 August 1920 in Shreveport, Louisiana, was approved in November 1944 for overseas employment by OSS in an assignment as a newspaperman (printing chief ina Central This approval was withdrawn on 23 December 1944, however, becanse of non-concurrence by OG/AAF. He was then assigned In February” 1945 he, visited the Honolulu Office of OSS and claimed that
he had been recruited by OSS while he was attending infantey School - at Fort Benning. in October 1944, He stated that his services were to -S have: been used to originate and conduct ‘radio, programs in the. CBI : theater, , that: ‘he had been. investigated by ‘Dunn and: Bradstreet,: ‘and that . “in the course ‘of ‘a long distance telephone: ‘call to the OSS Personnel Procurement. Office he had-been told ‘that: ‘OSS ‘could, not'use him at that - time But that he should:keep: in: touch. The. ‘interviewing. ‘officer in. | “Honolulu | conimented in his ‘report to Security Officer,: oss Headquatters, that the Dunn and Bradstreet leak should.be noted and that. WOOD ‘certainly knew more. about OSS than. any other potential recruit whom the interviewer had ever seen. ‘On 13 December 1950 Subject was given a Co ert Security Clearance for use as a staff agent and was assigned to- \s Chief stin March | Instructor of Clandestine Operations, He arrivéd at hi 1951, and two months later his dependents Were issued travel clearances “to. join ‘him. In ‘March 1952. he suffered-a nervous breakdown and was ‘retufned to- Agency Headquarters for medical observation. The medical conclusion, was, that the breakdown had resulted from: family troubles and ove rindaulgence in alcohol, In May 1952. WOOD’ was assigned to OTR. .a8 an instructor. in the Operations Couraec, In October 1952 his étatus . was. converted to that of a state employee, and he was assigned to: OTR as a GS-11 instructor, ; 3. In December 1952 an Agency guard found woop lying « ona * sidewalk near Temporary Eye Building. He was bleeding from the mouth. There was no evidence of foul play. At his own request he was. taken to Emergency Hospital.. In January 1953 he failed to report for duty. Agency represematives went to his residence, the Lafayette Hotel, and found him under the influence of alcohol. He was requested to report: for duty the next day, but the hotel doctor had him removed to Gallinger Hospital because of continued intoxication, Subject's resignation was ‘requested on 19 January 1953 and became effective 27 January 1953. 4. On ll July 1953 Subject telephoned the Security Office from . Dallas, Texas. He said that he would undergo brain surgery on 13 July ~ at Baylor Hospital, Dallas. He asked that-an Agency representative be present. | Arrangements were made to ensure that anything wooD said under anaesthesia would remain confidential. . WOOD was given - sodium pentothol, but no surgery (except a spinal tap) was performed. ‘in his hospital room, to which he had-been returned from the operating room, WOOD said that.he had served overseas with the CLA and had
seen many people killed, "The CLAtare a , bunch of dirty. cut-throats, and iT wouldn't be a bit surprised if they acnt one of their men to ent mine, . They think they are -smart, but one of theac days in.the near: future { wili show them who is the smartest, They have about 100 ‘GS-14's walking around with their heads shaped like eggs. wee have. - been a failure but after I get well I arm going to go back to school and _ get my degree 3 and fight the CIA with evecything that a can, | ue oe 5. A report | of 30 April 1957 from the FBI office in Dallas, Texas, “noted that Subject | had telephoried from Midland, Texas, to a Chinese intelligence officer in Formosa, WOOD said that he had: formerly been employed by-the CIA, He offered to help the officer “with things I know", He then telephoned Lubbock, Texas, and spoke to a person believed to “be his wife, He told her- that he had spoken with Chiang Kai- Chek's chief of intelligence and that "if thia thing gocs through", she and the baby - would receive from $700 to $1000 a month. 6, In February 1967 the Domestic Contact Service in Dallas requested clearance to use Subject and reported that he had not had'a drink in nine and a half years, tion and the information that: WOOD was again drinking heavily were forwarded to the DCS, which then dropped him asa potential, source, at 7. On 18 January 1968 Ron OSTROW of the Lous Angeles Times, ‘called the A/DCL and relayed a Los Angeles query about a former GC CLA _ agent, William BOXLEY, ‘who was an investigator for Jim Garrison, The A/DCI replied, “no comment," 8. In April 1968 Paul ROTHERMEL, security officer for Hunt oil Company, Texas, said that he -had been visited by.a Bill WOOD who was conducting investigations in Dallas for Jim Garrison under the alias of Bill BOXLEY, WOOD was making inquiries about the CIA and its - Operations, [t was further reported that WOOD was well known in - Houston and that his connection r with Garrison was no secret, 9, On 12 July 1968 the New York Times (p. C35) carried an article headlined "Garrison Claims Foreign SPY py Link'', The article includes the following: "Over the telephone, Mr. Garrison also introduced an investigator for his office, Bill Boxley, as a former — -On 3 March 1967 derogatory FBI informa-
* . Central Intelligence: Agency. instructor in the ‘clandestine Operations department'. He said he had found ‘Mr. Boxley __ while. seeking a ‘tnan who chad been with the, intelligence agency ‘but-still cared about the: United States. ' "Mr.. Bosley then said-his real-name-was William C.. ‘Wood; he was forty-eight years old, originally from Texas; he had worked 10 year’ as a newspaper reporter -< last on The Denver Post from: 1948 to 1950; he had been with the - intelligence agency two to five years in the. 1950's ove rseas ‘and in Washington and had ‘used ag many as 10 different names in operations with the agency?." 10. The basic facts about WOOD were provided to the FBI by CSCI 316/02725-68 of 15 July.1968. Additional. relevant information was requested. The Bureau replied on 18 July .1968 that the "Berkeley Barb", published by the Underground Press":Syndicate, had stated in its issue of 29 December, 1967 -+ 4 January 1968 that Bill BOXLEY, . an investigator for Garrison, had verified a Mafia plot to kill Garrison. il. The New Orleans Times-Picay une of 10 December 1968. “ carried the following: ; "The office of Orleans Parish District Attorney Jim Garrison Monday announced the removal of a member of the staff investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy because of alleged involvement with the CLA. " "William Boxley was fired after evidence recently developed by the District Attorney's staff indicated current activity by him as an operative of the Central Intelligence Agency,' the office said. , * , "Boxley's initial service with the CIA was in Washington, D. C., where he served for years as an active agent for ‘what was then termed the Department of Covert Activity’, according to the office. "The office said federal intelligence efforts to interfere . with the investigation into President Kennedy's a88assination have been occurrizig since ghe beginning of the inquiry'." € .
12. The New Orleans Times- ~Piseyune of R2 December 1968 included the followi ing item: ; ; —_ "Garrison also commented. on William Boxley, ; an investigator he fired on Monday because, Garrison said, -he was an operative, ‘of the: Central Intelligence Agency. ; ; "tHe was not only a CIA agent, ' said the DA, ' but he was one on a. very high level’. Asked what proof his office developed, Garrison said it concerned material that Boxley had put in written form, "Boxley, contacted in Austin, Tex., told the. Times-Picayune on Wednesday that he has not been involved with the CLA or any federal agency since 1952. He said he believed Garri ison ‘has béen genuinely misled’. about his CIA involvement, adding: ‘Iam sure he believes as strongly in this (his alleged CIA involvement) as he once believed in me." Boxley said he would cooperate completely with Garrison's office in returning to it material he still has in his possession. — ‘Boxley said the only written material he ever provided Garrison's ofiice was a description of how various intelligence age ncies } Ope rate. . Boxley said he was ‘really sud! over his firing by Garrison, but added that he believed no one could convince Garrison that he was not an agent of the CIA," C. Current Developments | - 13. .On 27 December 1968 Dr. Stephen Aldrich of DD/S and T informed the Office of Security that at 1600 hours on 27 December he had-received a telephone call frém Subject, who had becn his subordinate in |: CURKA called Dr. Aldrich, who supplied the following additional information:
a. WOOD said that he was calling froma pay. phone in a Sears Roebuck store in Dallas. He -provided a home telephone numbe r, which we have not deen able , to. verify, and he believes that this telephone is bugged. _ b. WOOD had found the telephone number of Dr. Aldrich in the directory, His only previous call was made in'1966, when he reguested a recommendation for _& newspaper job for which he was applying, Dr. -Aldrich referred him to Personnel. me c.. Subject told Dr. Aldrich on 27 December that he had information which he urgently wanted to communicate to CIA. He sounded upset. co _ 14. C/CI/R&A advised Dr. Aldrich that if Subject telephoned _ ‘again, he should be told that his call had: been referred ‘to the proper. authorities. Because of the information reported above; “there was a possibility of provocation. | ; ; a 15, In the mid-afternoon of 28 December 1968 Subject again telephoned Dr. Aldrich from an-unknown location. He asked whether someone would be in touch with him. Dr. Aldrich said that Subject's information had been relayed to those responsible and that he had no information about future contact. Subject said that he was not trying to involve Dr. Aldrich but that he did have information‘to relay. He sounded less frightened than on his previous call. He suggested that whoever called or visited him Should icentifs himself by referring to information held in common (i.é., to | sure of-the identities of the prospective employers and feared ‘provocation, presumably from Garrison's office.: Apparently he believes that the FBI is monitoring his home telephone. 16. Ttis our intent to ask the Bureau to relay this information to its office in Dallas and’to instruct an FBI representative to call "upon Subject and request elucidation, because such information n 1951-1952). .Out of a job, WOOD had received two or three offers of ‘employment but was not
as Subject may thave, if any, is within the Bureau! 8 jurisdiction rather. than, that of this Agency. Donovan E.-Pratt. DC/CI/REA Distribution: Orig - pet : ae . - Executive - Comptroller . 1 le . General Counsel 1 - A/DCI: l - Office of Security 1 ~ Director, Domestic ‘Contact Service 1 -C/Cl, DC/CL I - RID/ Files, 201-834272 1. CURKA chrono 1 = DP Garrison. file-