TESTIMONY OF THOMAS PARROTT
Agency: SSCIA
Originator: SSCIA
To: PARROTT, THOMAS
Document date: 7/10/75
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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Date: 10/05/93

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JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : SSCIA

RECORD NUMBER : 157-10002-10153

RECORDS SERIES :

TRANSCRIPT

AGENCY FILE NUMBER : R-506

Released under the John

F. Kennedy

Assassination Records

Collection Act of 1992

144 USC 2107 Notel.

Case#:NT 53244 Date:

06-13-2017

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : SSCIA

FROM

TO :

TITLE :

TESTIMONY OF THOMAS PARROTT

DATE: 07/10/75

PAGES : 89

SUBJECTS :

PARROTT, THOMAS

OPERATION MONGOOSE

5412 COMMITTEE

MAFIA

CASTRO

ASSASSINATION

LUMUMBA

LANSDALE

HARVEY

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION

RESTRICTIONS : REFERRED

CURRENT STATUS : P

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 09/30/93

OPENING CRITERIA :

COMMENTS :

Box 256

Folder 5

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

HH 53244 DocId: 32281993

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Phone (Area 202) 544-6000

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PAUL

WARD

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IN 53211 DocId:32281993 Page 2

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TESTIMONY: OF THOMAS A. PARROTT

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Mr. Schwarz. Would you state your name and address for

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the record, please?

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ME. Parrote. Thomas a Parrott Este street Need 54

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Washington, D.C.

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Mr. Schwarz. Now Mr. Parrott, when did you first become

associated with the CIA?

Mr. Parrott. In 1949, September of 1949.

Mr. Schwarz. And briefly, what was your career at the

Agency until you assumed a position in connection with the

so-called Special Group?

Mr. Parrott. Well, I started out in the Office of Policy

Coordination, which was a euphemism for, I guess, the Dirty

Tricks Department. My first job was as a Deputy to Colonel

Thomas Betts, who was in charge of planning. I did that for

about a year or so and then I became the Chief of the Operations

Staff of OPC. I moved from that to Deputy Director of the

Soviet Division at a time when as soon as they had merged with

OPC and the action arm at OSO, the secret intelligence arm,

they put these together in 1952 and I was the Deputy Chief of

the Soviet Division at that time. I did that for two and a half

years. I moved to Frankfurt as the Chief of Frankfurt base.

I came back from there in 1957 and was assigned as the so-called

Board Assistant to Allen Dulles for the Operations Coordinating

Board.

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discussed or attempted, as a matter of principle no official

records were kept of planning, of approvals or of implementation.

The few written records that do exist are either largely

tangential to the main events of were put on paper from

memory years after.

"William Harvey has retained skeletal notes of his

activities during the years in question and they are our best

source of dates, "" DI. Edward Gunn of the Office of Medical

Services has a record of whom he met and when, and cryptic

* (A)

references to the subject discussed. May trianter) of TSD

10965 13

has a record of two or three dates that are pertinent, and so

forth. "

Mr. Parrott. This all has to do with assassination.

Senator Baker. Yes.

Mr. Parrott. And your question is --

Senator Baker. Do you have any information that would

confirm or dispute that appraisal, that the efforts, the

planning and the implementation of efforts to assassinate

Castro were not committed to paper, and because of the extreme

sensitivity of operations, and it was a matter of principle

that no official records were kept?

MI. Parrott. I have no direct knowledge. I assume that

probably is true. All I can say again is the records that

I was responsible for did not include this but not because

they were too sensitive but because it wasn't said.

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N4. Supply Drops - Cuba

Gen. Cabell explained that the Pinar de Rio supply mission had

not taken place because of the absence of specified communication

from the DZ, and the Escambray operation had been canceled because

of weather.

He said that these missions are still planned, and assumed

_ that the Group had no objections. The members so signified.

N5. U-2, Cuba

Gen. Cabell said that the photographic coverage on the first

flight had been only about 50%, because of cloud cover. He continued

that we are analyzing the exact results on a priority basis and that

some time after the middle of next week we should be in a position to

make recommendations for the missions required to extend the coverage.

Mr. Gray commented somewhat wryly that this was all right with

him since he "would certainly not be available to discuss anything of

this kind before the middle of next week." The other members appeared

to have the same reaction.

V6. Policy Consideration Re Cuban Exiles

MI. Gray said that Assistant Attorrey Gencral Yeagley had spoken

to him after his meeting with Col. King and Messis. Esterline and

Holman. He nad

said that the information given to him by the Cli

representatives, and the arrangements for future coordination if

necessary, were entirely satisfactory to him. He had stated, however,

that a problem remains with respect to action the FBI should take;

that is, the FBI needs guidance in its handling of Cuban exile groups

other than those under the direction of CLA.

The Group agreed that the best way to attack this problem would

be to have Mr. Yeagley attend next weck's Special Group mecting and

discuss the matter at first hand. Mr. Parrott was asked to make

arrangements for this.

7. Value of Cuba to the USSR as a Base Vis-a-vis

Cape Canaveral

Mr. Parrott gave Mr. Merchant ihe gist of the OSI mcmorandum

The White dood vinice

1975

Lillum

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