L. Fletcher Prouty
Encyclopedia
Leroy Fletcher Prouty served as Chief of Special Operations
for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
under President John F. Kennedy
. A former colonel
in the United States Air Force
he retired from military service to become a banker, and subsequently became a critic of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the covert activities of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) about which he had considerable insider knowledge. He was the person who inspired the character "Mr. X" in Oliver Stone
's movie JFK
.
in Pine Camp, New York
. He transferred to the United States Army Air Forces
in 1942 earning his Pilot's wings in November. He arrived in British West Africa
in February 1943 as a pilot with Air Transport Command.
In the summer of 1943 he was the personal pilot of General Omar Bradley
, General John C. H. Lee
and General C. R. Smith
(Founder and President – American Airlines
), among others. He flew the U.S. Geological Survey Team in Saudi Arabia
, October 1943, to confirm oil discoveries in preparation for the Cairo Conference
. He was assigned to special duties at the Cairo Conference
and the Tehran Conference
November–December 1943. He flew Chiang Kai-shek
's Chinese delegation (T. V. Soong
's delegates) to Tehran
.
An important mission he was involved in was the evacuation of the British commandos made famous by the novel Guns of Navarone
involved in the Battle of Leros
from Leros
to Palestine
. In 1945 he transferred to Southwest Pacific and flew in New Guinea
, Leyte
and was on Okinawa at the end of war. He landed near Tokyo
at the time of their surrender with the first three planes carrying General Douglas MacArthur
's bodyguard troops. He flew out with American POWs.
to Yale University
, where he also taught, to begin the first USAF ROTC program. From 1950–52 he transferred to Colorado Springs to establish Air Defense Command. From 1952–54 he was assigned to Korean War duties in Japan where he served as Military Manager for Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) during the US Occupation.
From 1955–1964 he was assigned to U.S. Air Force Headquarters where he directed the creation of an Air Force worldwide system for "Military Support of the Clandestine Operations of the CIA", as required by a new National Security Council Directive, 5412 of March, 1954. As a result of a CIA Commendation for this work he was awarded the Legion of Merit
by the US Air Force, and was promoted to Colonel being assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
With the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency
by Secretary McNamara and the abolishment of the OSO, he was transferred to the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to create a similar, worldwide office and was the Chief of Special Operations, with the Joint Staff all during 1962–1963. He received orders to travel as the Military Escort officer for a group of VIPs who were being flown to the South Pole, November 10–28, 1963, to activate a nuclear power plant for heat, light and sea water desalination at the United States Navy
Base at McMurdo Sound
, Antarctica.
Retiring as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force in 1964 he was awarded one of the first three Joint Chiefs of Staff Commendation Medals by General Maxwell D. Taylor
, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
during the 1970s, and a director of the National Railroad Foundation and Museum. Prouty authored books including The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World
and JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy
and numerous articles on railroads including the entries on Railroad Engineering and Foreign Railroad Technology for McGraw-Hill
's encyclopedias.
Prouty served as an advisor to Oliver Stone
's movie JFK
and was the inspiration for the mysterious "X", played by Donald Sutherland
, who assists Jim Garrison
in the movie. Although that scene was fiction, Garrison and Prouty did meet in person some years after the events depicted in the film.
, the U-2 incident
, the Vietnam War
, and the John F. Kennedy assassination
. Prouty has written that he believes Kennedy's assassination was a coup d'etat
, and that there is a secret, global "power elite" at work to direct world events.
Prouty subscribed to the theory that oil is not derived from fossils but from carbon deposits deep within the Earth (abiogenic petroleum origin
theory).
Prouty said that "it would not surprise me if this was a Secret Team
operation" in response to the death of Princess Diana
.
Prouty asserted that World War II could easily have been concluded with neither the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki nor the invasion of Japan whose obviation was the ostensible justification for those bombings.
Prouty presented "a quartet of the greatest propaganda schemes ever put forth by man" that included Darwin's theory of evolution and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
While working for the Church of Scientology
, Prouty told Scientology leaders that L. Ron Hubbard
's military discharge papers were "sheep dipped," meaning two sets of government records were created documenting Hubbard's service. The claim came to light when a Lawrence Wright
expose' on the subject revealed that official government documents contained no mention of any injury suffered by Hubbard during his service, injuries Hubbard claimed were later healed through Dianetics
. Prouty's assertion is of particular importance to Scientologists; had there been no injury to Hubbard, a cure of such injuries by use of Dianetics would have been impossible, and thus the foundational claim of Scientology would be undermined.
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
under President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. A former colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
he retired from military service to become a banker, and subsequently became a critic of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the covert activities of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) about which he had considerable insider knowledge. He was the person who inspired the character "Mr. X" in Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's movie JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
.
Education
Prouty was a graduate of Massachusetts State College in 1941 with a Bachelor's degree. He later graduated from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking in 1968.World War II
He began his military career with the 4th Armored DivisionU.S. 4th Armored Division
The 4th Armored Division of the United States Army was an armored division that compiled a distinguished career in the European theater of World War II. Unlike many other World War II U.S. armored divisions, the 4th never adopted an official divisional nickname or slogan...
in Pine Camp, New York
Fort Drum
Fort Drum is a United States Army base in New York near the Canadian border.Fort Drum may also refer to:*Fort Drum, Florida, a nearly-uninhabited town in the United States*Fort Drum , Philippines...
. He transferred to the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
in 1942 earning his Pilot's wings in November. He arrived in British West Africa
British West Africa
British West Africa was the collective name for British colonies in West Africa during the colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or more specifically those comprised in a formal colonial administrative entity...
in February 1943 as a pilot with Air Transport Command.
In the summer of 1943 he was the personal pilot of General Omar Bradley
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley was a senior U.S. Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army in the United States Army...
, General John C. H. Lee
John C. H. Lee
John Clifford Hodges Lee was a US Army General. He graduated 12th out of 103 graduates from the United States Military Academy in 1909.He served in World War I, World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General....
and General C. R. Smith
C. R. Smith
Cyrus Rowlett Smith , known throughout his life as C. R. Smith, was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974. He was also United States Secretary of Commerce for a brief period under President Lyndon B...
(Founder and President – American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
), among others. He flew the U.S. Geological Survey Team in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, October 1943, to confirm oil discoveries in preparation for the Cairo Conference
Cairo Conference
The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...
. He was assigned to special duties at the Cairo Conference
Cairo Conference
The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...
and the Tehran Conference
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
November–December 1943. He flew Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's Chinese delegation (T. V. Soong
T. V. Soong
Soong Tse-ven or Soong Tzu-wen , was a prominent businessman and politician in the early 20th century Republic of China. His father was Charlie Soong and his siblings were the Soong sisters. His Christian name was Paul, but he is generally known in English as T. V. Soong. As brother to the three...
's delegates) to Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
An important mission he was involved in was the evacuation of the British commandos made famous by the novel Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone (novel)
The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean that was made into a critically acclaimed film in 1961...
involved in the Battle of Leros
Battle of Leros
The Battle of Leros was the central event of the Dodecanese Campaign of the Second World War, and is widely used as an alternate name for the whole campaign. Leros was occupied by British forces on 15 September 1943...
from Leros
Leros
Leros is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies 317 km from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 11-hour ferry ride . Leros is part of the Kalymnos peripheral unit...
to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. In 1945 he transferred to Southwest Pacific and flew in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
and was on Okinawa at the end of war. He landed near Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
at the time of their surrender with the first three planes carrying General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
's bodyguard troops. He flew out with American POWs.
Post-war years
Between 1946–49 he was assigned by the U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he also taught, to begin the first USAF ROTC program. From 1950–52 he transferred to Colorado Springs to establish Air Defense Command. From 1952–54 he was assigned to Korean War duties in Japan where he served as Military Manager for Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) during the US Occupation.
From 1955–1964 he was assigned to U.S. Air Force Headquarters where he directed the creation of an Air Force worldwide system for "Military Support of the Clandestine Operations of the CIA", as required by a new National Security Council Directive, 5412 of March, 1954. As a result of a CIA Commendation for this work he was awarded the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
by the US Air Force, and was promoted to Colonel being assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
With the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
by Secretary McNamara and the abolishment of the OSO, he was transferred to the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to create a similar, worldwide office and was the Chief of Special Operations, with the Joint Staff all during 1962–1963. He received orders to travel as the Military Escort officer for a group of VIPs who were being flown to the South Pole, November 10–28, 1963, to activate a nuclear power plant for heat, light and sea water desalination at the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Base at McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound
The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...
, Antarctica.
Retiring as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force in 1964 he was awarded one of the first three Joint Chiefs of Staff Commendation Medals by General Maxwell D. Taylor
Maxwell D. Taylor
General Maxwell Davenport "Max" Taylor was an United States Army four star general and diplomat of the mid-20th century, who served as the fifth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after having been appointed by the President of the United States John F...
, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Post retirement
He was a Senior Director of Public Affairs for AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
during the 1970s, and a director of the National Railroad Foundation and Museum. Prouty authored books including The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World
The Secret Team
The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World is a book by L. Fletcher Prouty, a former colonel in the US Air Force, first published in 1973...
and JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy
JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy
JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy is a book by L. Fletcher Prouty who was a Washington insider for nearly 20 years. Made famous for being the origin of the anonymous "Mr. X", played by Donald Sutherland in the Oliver Stone movie JFK , who asks Jim Garrison to...
and numerous articles on railroads including the entries on Railroad Engineering and Foreign Railroad Technology for McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
's encyclopedias.
Prouty served as an advisor to Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's movie JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
and was the inspiration for the mysterious "X", played by Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
, who assists Jim Garrison
Jim Garrison
Earling Carothers "Jim" Garrison — who changed his first name to Jim in the early 1960s — was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy...
in the movie. Although that scene was fiction, Garrison and Prouty did meet in person some years after the events depicted in the film.
Controversial claims
As a critic of the CIA, Prouty pointed out its influence in global matters, outside the realm of U.S. congressional and government oversight. His works detail the formation and development of the CIA, the origins of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the U-2 incident
U-2 Crisis of 1960
The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on May 1, 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union.The United States government at...
, the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. Prouty has written that he believes Kennedy's assassination was a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, and that there is a secret, global "power elite" at work to direct world events.
Prouty subscribed to the theory that oil is not derived from fossils but from carbon deposits deep within the Earth (abiogenic petroleum origin
Abiogenic petroleum origin
Abiogenic petroleum origin is a largely abandoned hypothesis that was proposed as an alternative to theory of biological petroleum origin. It was relatively popular in the past, but it went largely forgotten at the end of the 20th century after it failed to predict the location of new wells.The...
theory).
Prouty said that "it would not surprise me if this was a Secret Team
Secret Team
The Secret Team, or ST, is a phrase coined by L. Fletcher Prouty in 1973, alleging a covert alliance between the United States' military, intelligence, and private sectors to influence political decisions.-Origins:...
operation" in response to the death of Princess Diana
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales conspiracy theories
Although the initial French investigation found that Diana, Princess of Wales had died as a result of an accident, a number of researchers, and others, including most notably Mohammed Al-Fayed and the Daily Express have persistently raised conspiracy theories that she was assassinated...
.
Prouty asserted that World War II could easily have been concluded with neither the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki nor the invasion of Japan whose obviation was the ostensible justification for those bombings.
Prouty presented "a quartet of the greatest propaganda schemes ever put forth by man" that included Darwin's theory of evolution and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
While working for the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, Prouty told Scientology leaders that L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
's military discharge papers were "sheep dipped," meaning two sets of government records were created documenting Hubbard's service. The claim came to light when a Lawrence Wright
Lawrence Wright
Lawrence Wright is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, screenwriter, staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, and fellow at the Center for Law and Security at the New York University School of Law...
expose' on the subject revealed that official government documents contained no mention of any injury suffered by Hubbard during his service, injuries Hubbard claimed were later healed through Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
. Prouty's assertion is of particular importance to Scientologists; had there been no injury to Hubbard, a cure of such injuries by use of Dianetics would have been impossible, and thus the foundational claim of Scientology would be undermined.
External links
- Arlington Cemetery's Biography
- L. Fletcher Prouty Fearless Truth Teller, or Crackpot?
- "The Guns of Dallas" by L. Fletcher Prouty