Fred Crisman
Fred Lee Crisman (July 22, 1919 – December 10, 1975) was a fighter pilot and later educator from Tacoma, Washington known for claims of paranormal events and ties to 20th century conspiracies.
[4][5] In April 1946, Crisman served as representative of the Washington state bureau of veterans' affairs when he called for safety inspections of some used cars.
[14] In November 1946, Crisman, then described as a special investigator for the bureau, gave a speech about mental illness in returning servicemen to the Kiwanis club at the Hotel Winthrop.
The May 1946 issue, for example, included purportedly-true fringe adventures by Richard Sharpe Shaver, the fiction of Dorothy & John de Courcy written in the style of Shaver, a defense of the religions of Tibet by Millen Cooke, the fiction of Robert Moore Williams, an allegedly-true eyewitness account of unidentified objects in the skies by Dirk Wylie, and other genre-blurring texts.
[17][18] In June 1946, Amazing Stories published a pseudonymous letter by Crisman in which he claimed to have battled "mysterious and evil" underground creatures to free himself from a cave in what is now northern Pakistan during World War II.
[1] Wrote Crisman: I flew my last combat mission on May 26 [1945] when I was shot up over Bassein and ditched my ship in Ramaree Roads off Chedubs Island.
Crisman continued "It makes me mad to see it all go, while people I thought were in the 'know' grovel and back up before a gang of international brigands whose only difference from the Nazis is the cut of their uniforms.
[35] In 1960, Crisman's civics class authored a letter to the editor on the Caryl Chessman death penalty case, arguing "Has the time come when the United States takes orders from other countries?
[37] In 1964, Crisman began teaching in the Turner school district, and it was reported his book on "Industrial Recruiting" had been accepted for publication.
[39] On February 21, 1966, Crisman was suspended and later dismissed from his teaching position at Cascade High on a charge of insubordination and "creating a secret society".
[42] In 1966, an FBI informant claimed that Crisman had transported $100,000 in cash to California, was doing business as a psychologist, and was suspected of operating a diploma mill.
[43] In July 1966, Fate Magazine ran an ad for the "Western Division of the Parapsychological Society" inviting new members to join by contacting "F. Lee Crisman, PhD".
[47][48] On October 31, 1968, a grand jury in New Orleans issued a subpoena for Fred Lee Crisman in connection with the investigation into the John F. Kennedy assassination.
District attorney Jim Garrison issued a press release, writing: Mr. Crisman has been engaged in undercover activity for a part of the industrial warfare complex for years.
Our information indicates that since the early 1960s he has made many trips to the New Orleans and Dallas areas in connection with his undercover work for that part of the warfare industry engaged in the manufacture of what is termed, in military language, a "hardware"—meaning those weapons sold to the U.S. government which are uniquely large and expensive.
[1][52] By January 9, 1969, Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorist Richard E. Sprague was privately accusing Crisman of being one of the three tramps.
[53] Starting on August 1, 1968, Crisman hosted a radio talk show under the pseudonym "Jon Gold" on station KAYE.
[54] Crismann authored a pamphlet, under his radio name Jon Gold, titled "What to do until Sanity Returns" which he advertised on his show.
The book was described by reviewer Michael Sullivan as a "weird, politically slanted rant" that manages to "tie corruption in Tacoma to everything from communist infiltrators to the Kennedy assassination".
Crisman's behavior was the subject of extensive discussion, with one witness arguing his playing of "Nazi war songs" had jeopardized the station's licence.
[58][59] Citizens opposed to KAYE discussed the stations promotion of the antisemitic conspiracy theories and presented transcripts of Crisman making anti-black comments.
[60] One listener reported that "she heard a KAYE broadcast of the Jon Gold Show in which reference was made by a caller to getting rid of Rowlands in the manner which President John Kennedy and his brother were disposed of".
[73] In April 1975, True Magazine published a photo of Crisman, speculating he was one of the "three hobos" of JFK conspiracy lore.
[54][76] At his death, it was noted that Crisman was a graduate of Willamette University with degrees in political science, history, and education and psychology.
[4] From 1976 to 1985, conspiracy author Richard E. Sprague's fringe book The Taking of America 1-2-3 named Crisman as a grassy knoll shooter.
[77] In 1977, controversial district attorney Jim Garrison claimed that Crisman was one of the "Three Tramps" arrested by Dallas police as well as being a Bishop of the Universal Life Church.
Garrison theorized: "I suggest the only reasonable conclusion is that he [Crisman] was (and probably is, if still around), an operative at a deep cover level in a long-range, clandestine, intelligence mission directly (in terms of our national intelligence paranoia) related to maintaining national security... Crisman emerges as an operative at a supervisory level ... acquired by the apparatus to carry out the menial jobs that are needed to push a current mission forward, a middle man—in the final analysis—between the mechanics who eliminate, and the handy men, who otherwise support a termination mission, on one hand, and the distant, far removed, deep submerged command level on the other.
In flashback to 1946, the film introduces Raymond Palmer, the editor of Unbelievable Tales Magazine, as Crisman recounts an adventurous story of being shot down over the Bay of Bengal during the Second World War.
When Crisman witnesses the Deros torture a victim, he pulls out a pistol, firing it while screaming "Die, you Space Nazi Monsters!".
Promotional material described the film emerging after "a group of talented folks asked the question 'Why hasn't Fred Crisman had a movie yet?
