A collection of photo illustrated war and post war vignettes, short stories, war nightmares, war poetry and travel writing by a Vietnam combat medic. Site includes war related videos and documents. There is some harsh language.
Not long after sending a FOIA request to the National Archives and Records Administration, Medic received a phone call from an archive technician. The conversation was brief and informative:
“Sir, do you happen to know his social security number?”
“No.”
“Is he currently alive?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have his current address?”
“He’s incarcerated. Wait a moment while I go online. Here you go, he’s in Coleman II United States Penitentary in Sumterville, Florida. Would you like his prison number?”
” Yes.”
“021820-748. How about his date of birth?”
“We have that. Is this person deceased?”
“Like I said, he’s incarcerated. Haven’t you heard of him?”
“Who?”
“The guy you’re calling about. His name is James Joseph Bulger. He was a notorious Boston mobster. He was on the lam for 16 years. The FBI finally caught him and his girlfriend two years ago. It was in the papers. It was on TV.”
“I haven’t heard of him. How do you spell his name?”
“B U L G E R. First name James, middle name Joseph. Junior. His nickname is Whitey. You never heard of him?”
“How do you spell Whitey?” ________________
James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger, Jr., September 3, 1929) October 30, 2018 was an American former organized crime boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston. Arrested at 14 for armed robbery and forgery, Bulger spent time at a juvenile reformatory; not long after he joined the Air Force in April 1948, where, as the files indicate, his criminal character continued to show. After basic training he was stationed as an aircraft mechanic, first at the Smoky Hill Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas, then in Idaho. He spent time in the stockade for several assaults, and was arrested by Air Force police in 1950 for going AWOL. He received an honorable discharge in 1952 and returned to Massachusetts.
In 1956 Bulger served his first prison sentence in federal prison in Atlanta Penitentiary for armed robbery and truck hijacking. He later told mobster Kevin Weeks,that while there, he was involved in the MK-ULTRA program, the goal of which was to research mind-control drugs for the Central Intelligence Agency. For 18 months Bulger and 18 other inmates, all of whom had volunteered in return for lessened sentences, were given LSD and other drugs. Bulger later complained that he and the other inmates had been “recruited by deception” and that they were told they were helping to find “a cure for schizophrenia”. He described his experience as “nightmarish” and said it took him “to the depths of insanity.”
He was transferred from Atlanta to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1959 and became a close friend of Clarence Carnes, “The Choctaw Kid”. In 1962 he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary and, in 1963, to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. His third petition for parole, in 1965, was granted after he had served nine years in prison. He would not be arrested again, let alone spend a day in jail, for 46 years.
According to the FBI, Bulger served as an FBI informant beginning in 1975. Due to media pressure, and after being tipped off by his former FBI handler about a pending RICO indictment, Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding in 1994. For 16 years, he remained at large. For 12 of those years, Bulger was on the FBI Most Wanted list. On June 22, 2011, Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were arrested in Santa Monica, California. Bulger was 81 years old at the time of his arrest.
On June 12, 2013, Bulger went on trial for 32 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and weapons charges, including complicity in 19 murders. On August 12, 2013, he was found guilty on 31 counts, including both racketeering charges, and was found to have been involved in 11 murders. On November 14, 2013, James “Whitey” Bulger was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years for his crimes.
Bulger was transferred to several facilities in October 2018; first to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma and then to the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton,West Virginia. Wheelchair bound, the 89 year old Bulger was found dead on October 30, 2018. According to The New York Times, he was killed by inmates within hours of his arrival at Hazelton. His death certificate cites the cause of death as “blunt force injuries of the head.”
Greig, 59, was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping Bulger escape capture and identity fraud. In 2016 an additional twenty one months was added for contempt of court. ______________________
James “Whitey” Bulger
Not long after sending a FOIA request to the National Archives and Records Administration, Medic received a phone call from an archive technician. The conversation was brief and informative:
“Sir, do you happen to know his social security number?”
“No.”
“Is he currently alive?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have his current address?”
“He’s incarcerated. Wait a moment while I go online. Here you go, he’s in Coleman II United States Penitentary in Sumterville, Florida. Would you like his prison number?”
” Yes.”
“021820-748. How about his date of birth?”
“We have that. Is this person deceased?”
“Like I said, he’s incarcerated. Haven’t you heard of him?”
“Who?”
“The guy you’re calling about. His name is James Joseph Bulger. He was a notorious Boston mobster. He was on the lam for 16 years. The FBI finally caught him and his girlfriend two years ago. It was in the papers. It was on TV.”
“I haven’t heard of him. How do you spell his name?”
“B U L G E R. First name James, middle name Joseph. Junior. His nickname is Whitey. You never heard of him?”
“How do you spell Whitey?”
________________
James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger, Jr., September 3, 1929) October 30, 2018 was an American former organized crime boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston. Arrested at 14 for armed robbery and forgery, Bulger spent time at a juvenile reformatory; not long after he joined the Air Force in April 1948, where, as the files indicate, his criminal character continued to show. After basic training he was stationed as an aircraft mechanic, first at the Smoky Hill Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas, then in Idaho. He spent time in the stockade for several assaults, and was arrested by Air Force police in 1950 for going AWOL. He received an honorable discharge in 1952 and returned to Massachusetts.
Medic has divided Bulger’s Official Military Personnel File into thirteen groups: group 1, group 2, group 3, group 4, group 5, group 6, group 7, group 8, group 9, group 10, group 11, group 12, group 13.
In 1956 Bulger served his first prison sentence in federal prison in Atlanta Penitentiary for armed robbery and truck hijacking. He later told mobster Kevin Weeks,that while there, he was involved in the MK-ULTRA program, the goal of which was to research mind-control drugs for the Central Intelligence Agency. For 18 months Bulger and 18 other inmates, all of whom had volunteered in return for lessened sentences, were given LSD and other drugs. Bulger later complained that he and the other inmates had been “recruited by deception” and that they were told they were helping to find “a cure for schizophrenia”. He described his experience as “nightmarish” and said it took him “to the depths of insanity.”
He was transferred from Atlanta to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1959 and became a close friend of Clarence Carnes, “The Choctaw Kid”. In 1962 he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary and, in 1963, to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. His third petition for parole, in 1965, was granted after he had served nine years in prison. He would not be arrested again, let alone spend a day in jail, for 46 years.
According to the FBI, Bulger served as an FBI informant beginning in 1975. Due to media pressure, and after being tipped off by his former FBI handler about a pending RICO indictment, Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding in 1994. For 16 years, he remained at large. For 12 of those years, Bulger was on the FBI Most Wanted list. On June 22, 2011, Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were arrested in Santa Monica, California. Bulger was 81 years old at the time of his arrest.
On June 12, 2013, Bulger went on trial for 32 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and weapons charges, including complicity in 19 murders. On August 12, 2013, he was found guilty on 31 counts, including both racketeering charges, and was found to have been involved in 11 murders. On November 14, 2013, James “Whitey” Bulger was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years for his crimes.
Bulger was transferred to several facilities in October 2018; first to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma and then to the United States Penitentiary, Hazelton,West Virginia. Wheelchair bound, the 89 year old Bulger was found dead on October 30, 2018. According to The New York Times, he was killed by inmates within hours of his arrival at Hazelton. His death certificate cites the cause of death as “blunt force injuries of the head.”
Greig, 59, was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping Bulger escape capture and identity fraud. In 2016 an additional twenty one months was added for contempt of court.
______________________
James Whitey Bulger / Wikipedia
‘Whitey’ Bulger’s Death Probe Finds Prison Move Was Widely Known / Bloomberg
Judge Dismisses Wrongful Death Case / New York Times
Look out to Bulger murder sentenced / The Guardian
Second inmate sentenced in beating of Whitey Bulger / New York Times
Former hit man sentenced to 25 years in prison killing of Whitey Bulger / The Guardian