2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

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19JUL1967

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: Ramparts: John Garrett UNDERHILL Jr:,
			Samuel George CUMMINGS, and
			INTERARMCO

Ramparts of June 1967, Vol. 5, No. 12, pp. 28-29, contains the following passages about Subjects:

	“The day after the assassination, Gary Underhill left Washington in a hurry. Late in the evening he showed up at the home of friends in New Jersey. He was very agitated. A small clique within the CIA was responsible for the assassination, he confided, and he was afraid for his life and probably would have to leave the country. Less than six months later Underhill was found shot to death in his Washington apartment. The coroner ruled it a suicide.

	“J. Garret Underhill had been an intelligence agent during World War II and was a recognized authority on limited warfare and small arms. A researcher and writer on military affairs, he was on a first-name basis with many of the top brass in the Pentagon. He was also on intimate terms with a number of high-ranking CIA officials—he was one of the Agency’s ‘un-people’ who perform special assignments. At one time he had been a friend of Samuel Cummings of Interarmco, the arms broker that numbers among its customers the CIA and, ironically, Klein’s Sporting Goods of Chicago, from whence sic the mail-order Carcano allegedly was purchased by Oswald.

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**John F. Kennedy Assassination Records**

* **Gary Underhill**: 
	+ Died on May 8, 1964
	+ Was a pictorial journalist for Life from 1938-1942
	+ Served in MIS during World War II and later worked with the CIA
	+ Had connections to Samuel Cummings and Interarmco
* **Samuel George Cummings**: 
	+ Worked with the CIA, providing information on arms and military equipment
	+ Was involved in buying foreign weapons for the CIA
	+ Became principal of International Armament Corporation (Interarmco) in 1954
	+ Had dealings with the FBI and other government agencies
* **John Garrett Underhill Jr.**: 
	+ Died on May 8, 1964
	+ Was a friend of Samuel Cummings and had connections to Interarmco
	+ Had a story about the CIA being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy
* **Interarmco**:
	+ A company that bought and sold foreign weapons for the CIA
	+ Had dealings with the FBI and other government agencies
	+ Was involved in supplying arms to resistance elements behind the Iron Curtain
* **CIA connections**: 
	+ The CIA had connections to Underhill, Cummings, and Interarmco
	+ The agency worked with them on various projects, including buying foreign weapons and providing information on military equipment

**Events and Dates**:

* May 8, 1964: Gary Underhill dies
* 1938-1942: Underhill works as a pictorial journalist for Life
* July 1943: Underhill is ordered to active duty with MIS during World War II
* 1954: Samuel Cummings becomes principal of International Armament Corporation (Interarmco)
* January 1962: The Rome periodical Vie Nuove states that Cummings was hired by the CIA as an expert in arms and ballistics
* December 1962: The Office of Security recommends against Cummings due to his questionable activities
* June 1965: An Interagency Source Register memo states that there is no current operational interest in Underhill or Cummings
* February 1966: Agency reports cite Cummings trying to procure military equipment from Commandant Bloc countries on behalf of DIA
* May 1967: Agency reports state that Cummings showed a BND representative a copy of the order for a T-54 tank, which originated with DIA

JFK Declassified Files

104-10170-10145.pdf

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