Garry Underhill was born in Brooklyn on 7th August 1915. He graduated from Harvard in 1937, and during the Second World War, he served with the Military Intelligence Service (6 July 1943 to May 1946). After leaving the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) he worked on specific projects for the Central Intelligence Agency. He was also the military affairs editor for Life Magazine.
Underhill was a CIA unperson with a “confidential” security clearance who contracted with the CIA. He was on a first-name basis with top Pentagon officials.
His accusations have never been proven.
After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Underhill told his friend, Charlene Fitzsimmons, that he was convinced that members of the CIA had killed Kennedy. He also said: “Oswald is a patsy. They set him up. It’s too much. The bastards have done something outrageous. They’ve killed the President! I’ve been listening and hearing things. I couldn’t believe they’d get away with it, but they did!”
Underhill believed there was a connection between Executive Action, Fidel Castro, and the death of Kennedy: “They tried it in Cuba, and they couldn’t get away with it. Right after the Bay of Pigs. But Kennedy wouldn’t let them do it. And now he’d gotten wind of this, and he was really going to blow the whistle on them. And they killed him!”
Underhill told friends he feared for his life: “I know who they are. That’s the problem. They know I know. That’s why I’m here. I can’t stay in New York.”
Garry Underhill was found dead on 8th May 1964. He had been shot in the head, and it was officially ruled that he had committed suicide. However, in his book Destiny Betrayed, James DiEugenio claimed that the bullet entered the right-handed Underhill’s head behind the left ear. Some friends accepted the death as a suicide, indicating their belief that he had been troubled by personal problems and under the care of a psychiatrist.
The Gun Runners
The JFK file, dated July 19, 1967, included more information on Samuel George Cummings, who was the operator of Interarms, the weapons company that Underhill believed was connected to the murder. The file states that the CIA owned Interarms before Cummings bought it in 1958.
Cummings was known to be very difficult to control.
When Underhill fled DC the day after Kennedy was killed, he spoke with friends in New Jersey. They claimed Underhill was “sober but badly shook.” They said that he had always been “perfectly rational and objective,” but they didn’t take him seriously at first because they “couldn’t believe that the CIA could contain a corrupt element every bit as ruthless – and more efficient – as the mafia.”
The Connection to Oswald’s Gun
According to the JFK file, Cummings sold arms to the CIA and to “Klein’s Sporting Goods of Chicago,” where it is claimed that Oswald purchased the rifle. According to Newsweek, this was also stated in the 2021 memo that former President Joe Biden released.
Oswald used a Carcano Model 91/38 rifle purchased by mail order from Klein’s Sporting Goods in Chicago. He bought it through a mail-order ad in the February 1963 issue of American Rifleman magazine.
This memo contained new information: Newsweek reported that Interarms and Interarmco were first owned by the agency, which hired Cummings as a chief agent before he took control over the two companies.
The memo states, “On 17 August 1954 Cummings became the principal agent of the CIA-owned companies known as International Armament Corporation and Interarmco Lt… in 1958 Cummings assumed sole ownership of International Armament Corp, of and Interarmco.”
Cummings continued his lucrative arms deals throughout his life and was known as cunning. He sold arms to both sides of warring nations.
Cummings died on April 29, 1998, at age 71. Soon after, his daughter was charged with murdering her lover. She allegedly shot him to death. Susan Cummings was found guilty. She had pleaded self-defense, was sentenced to 60 days in prison, and served 51 days. She paid a $2500 fine.
One can understand why Underhill would be suspicious, but we don’t have the evidence. He is dead, the gun runners are dead, and we will probably have to wait until we get to the pearly gates to find out if Cummings had a role. However, we don’t have all the documents yet. Also, the CIA probably destroyed key records or put false information in files to distract us.
The entire seven pages on Garry Underhill in the JFK file
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