Guilty by Innocence
The U.S. government does screw up the lives of innocent Americans. Sometimes it's necessary, but sometimes it's way overdone and not unlike some of the things you've seen in the movies.
I know this now for a fact. It was presented to me last week in a simple but startling way.
My wife Nancy and I were in Las Vegas, in part to visit a former high school classmate and his wife. We had a lot of catching up to do, having just re-established contact at a high school reunion a couple of years ago.
Over dinner, my friend told a story that sounds like it's right out the movies, but it's true. Not just because I know and can vouch for my classmate, but because it was documented by the media from coast and coast, although you may not have heard the story.
George and Valerie Hilton lived a relatively quiet life until 1995. George was and still is a collector and trader of military memorabilia and surplus, with an honorable military background. He managed to acquire one of the largest collections of military uniforms in the world, and to make a long story short, became one of the leading wardrobe suppliers in the country to film studios, renting huge numbers of uniforms for the filming of movies involving war, and battles, and troops. He even found himself getting bit parts in some movies simply because he happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Becoming dissatisfied with living in Hollywood, George and Valerie eventually moved to Kingman, Arizona. They liked the area, and George had sold a lot of surplus stuff to people there, so the move seemed logical and comfortble. They bought a convenience store type of place so George could continue his business and kept the part that sold gas open as well. They knew the locals through their business, as many would stop for gas and the army surplus fans came in to shop in the store.
Things went well until the spring of 1995, when one young man who came and went at George and Valerie's store drove up in his truck just before they opened to fill up his tank, as he had "a long way to go," as he explained before he said goodbye and took off.
His name was Timothy McVeigh.
When the word got out that the person responsible for the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City had lived near Kingman, the national media descended with a shark's appetite on the city. And when it was learned that McVeigh--like many others--had frequented George Hilton's place, where army surplus goods were available, the media had a veritable feeding frenzy. George and Valerie had nothing to hide, so they spoke freely.
That caught the attention of the FBI, since the Kingman area was one of the areas of the county where militia groups were known to hold "training" and meetings, and such. George and Valerie were questioned relentlessly about their "relationship" with McVeigh, the same questions being asked over and over and over again. They were subpoened
The problem was there was no relationship. The Oklahoma bomber happened to buy gas at their place. Period, end of story.
But the stereotyped movie plots of the FBI's investigations that make them out to be the bad guys were'nt just plots in this case. Strange cars and vans followed George and Valerie, whether they traveled together or individually. When one of the FBI agents denied driving a certain type of white car, George smiled and pointed to the white car across the street where a couple of his fellow agents were getting out to come talk with him.
Phone taps? Yes. Easy to prove. George intentionally told a friend on the phone that he would meet him at a certain out of the way place at a certain time just to see what would happen. At the time of the "meeting," a number of out-of-town vehicles were waiting for them--George had called the FBI's bluff!
Eventually the "investigation" quieted down, but not until after the story starring George and Valerie Hilton had been in 33 newspapers and all major television media. They took it well, thinking the the notoriety/publicity would generate a little more business for them from curiosity seekers.
Wrong call. Their business dropped off. The month after their 15 minutes of fame, their total business income was $55.
And some time later, Valerie tried to use the Freedom of Information Act to take a look at the files on her and George, only to be told that the files were still open and therefore, she could not have access to them.
I know there's a lingering bitterness that will never go away, but my friends have enough guts, smarts, and integrity to have not let the intrusion become an obsession. They're not afraid to talk about their story in as straightforward a way as I hope I've presented it here.
George and Valerie Hilton - just a couple of ordinary folks who were guilty by innocence. And so far, no apologies from the FBI or anyone else in government.
Listen Here for the audio version of today's George Blog.
The U.S. government does screw up the lives of innocent Americans. Sometimes it's necessary, but sometimes it's way overdone and not unlike some of the things you've seen in the movies.
I know this now for a fact. It was presented to me last week in a simple but startling way.
My wife Nancy and I were in Las Vegas, in part to visit a former high school classmate and his wife. We had a lot of catching up to do, having just re-established contact at a high school reunion a couple of years ago.
Over dinner, my friend told a story that sounds like it's right out the movies, but it's true. Not just because I know and can vouch for my classmate, but because it was documented by the media from coast and coast, although you may not have heard the story.
George and Valerie Hilton lived a relatively quiet life until 1995. George was and still is a collector and trader of military memorabilia and surplus, with an honorable military background. He managed to acquire one of the largest collections of military uniforms in the world, and to make a long story short, became one of the leading wardrobe suppliers in the country to film studios, renting huge numbers of uniforms for the filming of movies involving war, and battles, and troops. He even found himself getting bit parts in some movies simply because he happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Becoming dissatisfied with living in Hollywood, George and Valerie eventually moved to Kingman, Arizona. They liked the area, and George had sold a lot of surplus stuff to people there, so the move seemed logical and comfortble. They bought a convenience store type of place so George could continue his business and kept the part that sold gas open as well. They knew the locals through their business, as many would stop for gas and the army surplus fans came in to shop in the store.
Things went well until the spring of 1995, when one young man who came and went at George and Valerie's store drove up in his truck just before they opened to fill up his tank, as he had "a long way to go," as he explained before he said goodbye and took off.
His name was Timothy McVeigh.
When the word got out that the person responsible for the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City had lived near Kingman, the national media descended with a shark's appetite on the city. And when it was learned that McVeigh--like many others--had frequented George Hilton's place, where army surplus goods were available, the media had a veritable feeding frenzy. George and Valerie had nothing to hide, so they spoke freely.
That caught the attention of the FBI, since the Kingman area was one of the areas of the county where militia groups were known to hold "training" and meetings, and such. George and Valerie were questioned relentlessly about their "relationship" with McVeigh, the same questions being asked over and over and over again. They were subpoened
The problem was there was no relationship. The Oklahoma bomber happened to buy gas at their place. Period, end of story.
But the stereotyped movie plots of the FBI's investigations that make them out to be the bad guys were'nt just plots in this case. Strange cars and vans followed George and Valerie, whether they traveled together or individually. When one of the FBI agents denied driving a certain type of white car, George smiled and pointed to the white car across the street where a couple of his fellow agents were getting out to come talk with him.
Phone taps? Yes. Easy to prove. George intentionally told a friend on the phone that he would meet him at a certain out of the way place at a certain time just to see what would happen. At the time of the "meeting," a number of out-of-town vehicles were waiting for them--George had called the FBI's bluff!
Eventually the "investigation" quieted down, but not until after the story starring George and Valerie Hilton had been in 33 newspapers and all major television media. They took it well, thinking the the notoriety/publicity would generate a little more business for them from curiosity seekers.
Wrong call. Their business dropped off. The month after their 15 minutes of fame, their total business income was $55.
And some time later, Valerie tried to use the Freedom of Information Act to take a look at the files on her and George, only to be told that the files were still open and therefore, she could not have access to them.
I know there's a lingering bitterness that will never go away, but my friends have enough guts, smarts, and integrity to have not let the intrusion become an obsession. They're not afraid to talk about their story in as straightforward a way as I hope I've presented it here.
George and Valerie Hilton - just a couple of ordinary folks who were guilty by innocence. And so far, no apologies from the FBI or anyone else in government.
Listen Here for the audio version of today's George Blog.
posted by George Woods | 4:00 AM
1 Comments:
It sounds like your friends have the rare ability to be comfortable with the truth. That is a quality that is in short supply and sorely missed in this country.
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