On 7/20/2015 8:46 PM, Bud wrote:
From 1995. You may not recognize the poster's name, because he was
still using his old alias.
If you are clever and know how to use TRACEROUTE you may be able to
figure out what name he is using here.
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From:
dcst...@crl.com (David Stager)
Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy.jfk
Subject: OSWALD, David Ferrie and the Civil Air Patrol
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 23:39:44 GMT
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OSWALD, DAVID FERRIE AND THE CIVIL AIR PATROL
While he lived in New Orleans, Oswald became a member of the Civil Air
Patrol there. He had joined the student aviation organization at the age
of 15 and attended CAP meetings for an unknown period of trine, generally
believed to have been relatively brief. In her testimony before the
Warren Commission, Marguerite Oswald stated that her son Lee "joined the
Civil Air Patrol" at "age 15 1/2 or so" and attended CAP meetings with a
high school classmate, Edward Voebel. The Warren Commission Report touched
only briefly on Oswald's CAP involvement, noting in appendix XIII that,
"He was briefly a member of the Civil Air Patrol, and considered joining
an organization of high school students interested in astronomy."
Oswald's involvement with the CAP in New Orleans became the subject of
intense controversy, speculation and investigation within several days of
President Kennedy's assassination and has continued to attract attention
since then. The central question has been whether Oswald may have met and
known David W. Ferrie during that period. Ferrie was a private
investigator and pilot in New Orleans who has been widely regarded as one
of the more "mysterious" persons to figure in the investigation of
President Kennedy's death. Ferrie was briefly the subject of investigation
by the FBI, New Orleans District Attorney's Office, and Secret Service
during the week following the President's murder. Later Ferrie also became
subject of the controversial investigation by New Orleans District
Attorney Jim Garrison during 1967- 69 that led to an abortive prosecution.
This in turn led to serious charges against Garrison for the questionable
and careless nature of his investigation. The brief FBI and Secret Service
investigations of Ferrie had not focused to any significant degree on
Ferrie's background and working associations, while the subsequent
Garrison investigation focused exclusively on Ferrie's personal
associations with Cuban exiles and purported links to the CIA. They left
largely untouched important aspects of Ferrie's background, in particular
his activities and associations during 1963, at which time he was employed
by Carlos Marcello's attorney, G. Wray Gill. Ferrie's investigative work
for Marcello had brought him into close personal association with the
organized crime leader.
The allegation that Oswald had been associated with Ferrie -- and that
Ferrie may somehow have been involved with Oswald in the President's
murder--was first set forth by a colleague of Ferrie's in New Orleans.
Jack S. Martin, a sometime private investigator and friend of Ferrie's,
notified various investigators during the days immediately following the
assassination that he suspected may have aided Oswald in the crime. Martin
had known Ferrie for over 2 years and had visited him occasionally at the
office of Carlos Marcello's attorney, where Ferrie worked as an
investigator. On November 24, 1963, Martin contacted New Orleans District
attorney Herman Kohlman to advise that he suspected Ferrie may have known
Oswald for some time and that Ferrie, years earlier, may have been
Oswald's instructor in the Civil Air Patrol.
On November 25, Martin was interviewed by FBI Agent Regis Kennedy in New
Orleans and provided further information. He stated that he had informed
several people in the news media of his information about Ferrie and
Oswald and that he thought had once seen a photograph of Oswald and other
CAP members when he once visited Ferrie's home. Martin stated that he had
heard on television that Oswald had in fact belonged to the New Orleans
CAP and thus began to think that Ferrie had probably known him. According
to the FBI reports of his interview, Martin went on to voice other
suspicions about Ferrie:
Martin stated that he observed in Ferrie's home a number foreign made
firearms and it is his opinion that Ferrie could have taught Oswald how to
purchase a foreign made possibly have purchased the gun that was shown on
television. He advised that he saw similar type weapons at Ferrie's home
when he visited there 2 years ago.
Martin further informed the FBI that he believed Ferrie was an "amateur
hypnotist" who may have been capable of hypnotizing Oswald. Further,
Ferrie had once told him about a young friend who had witnessed an alleged
"crime against nature" that Ferrie had committed, a young man who had left
New Orleans "and subsequently joined the U.S. Marine Corps." Martin stated
that when he heard on television that Oswald had been a Marine, he began
to suspect that he was the young man Ferrie had referred to. Martin
cautioned, however that this might have only been a coincidence. Martin
further told the FBI of Ferrie's past history of homosexual arrests,
stating that "Ferrie is a completely disreputable person, a notorious sex
deviate with a brilliant mind. Further, Martin "suspected him of being
capable of committing any type crime." Martin had concluded by stating
that he felt that Ferrie's possible association with Lee Oswald should be
the subject of close examination as he personally believed that he could
be implicated in the killing of President John F. Kennedy.
The introduction of David Ferrie as a "suspect" or target of investigation
in the Kennedy assassination case was to result in the development of a
number of areas of information, allegations and evidence. The FBI
undertook a brief investigation into the question of whether Lee Oswald
had known Ferrie in the Civil Air Patrol. interviewing several former CAP
members, but did not make any final determination. In an interview with
FBI agents in New Orleans on November 25, 1963, Ferrie denied he had ever
had contact with Oswald in the CAP. He said he had served as a commandant
of the CAP from 1953 to 1955 and that his unit had met at New Orleans
Lakefront Airport. While his CAP cadets were instructed in the use of
rifles, he had not participated in that training. According to the FBI
report of his interview, Ferrie "stated that he does not know Lee Harvey
Oswald and to the best of his knowledge Oswald was never a member of the
CAP Squadron in New Orleans during the period he was with the group." The
FBI report continued:
Ferrie said that to the best of his knowledge he does not know any
individual named Lee Harvey Oswald nor has he ever known the individual
represented by photograph presented to him as that of Lee Harvey Oswald in
the CAP, in any business connection or in any social capacity.
Ferrie upon viewing the photograph stated that the profile view of the
photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald has a very vague familiarity to him but
the full face and full length photographs of Oswald are not familiar to
him.
Ferrie went on to state that he was in fact acquainted with Martin, who
first made the allegations about Ferrie and Oswald. He had known Martin
as a private investigator for over 8 years, and that Martin had "attempted
to insert himself" into Ferrie's "personal affairs." Ferrie further stated
that Martin had once been diagnosed as a "paranoid" in the psychiatric
ward of a local hospital. He had thrown Martin out of the office of
Marcello's attorney earlier that year, and Martin resented him for that
act. The FBI report stated:
[Ferrie] stated that Martin began visiting him at the office of Attorney
G. Wray Gill and that Mr. Gill did not want Martin hanging around his
office. Ferrie claimed that in June of 1963 he put Martin out of Mr.
Gill's office in an undiplomatic manner and that since that time Martin
has bedeviled him in every manner possible.
The FBI and Secret Service investigation into the possibility that
Oswald and Ferrie had been associated in the Civil Air Patrol came to an
end a few days after the allegations were first reported. A Secret Service
report concluded that "information furnished by Jack S. Martin to the
effect that David William Ferrie associated with Lee Harvey Oswald at New
Orleans and trained Oswald in the use of a rifle" was "without
foundation." It stated further that "Jack S. Martin, who has the
appearance of being an alcoholic, has the reputation of furnishing
incorrect information to law enforcement officers, attorneys, etc." It
also said that on November 26, 1963, the FBI had informed the Service that
Martin had "admitted to FBI agents" that his alleged information about
Ferrie and Oswald was "a figment of his imagination and that he had made
up the story after reading the newspaper and watching television."
Actually the FBI had overstated the content of its interview with Martin
on November 26, when they reported it to the Secret Service. As noted
earlier, Martin himself had cautioned the FBI that he had no evidence to
support his suspicions and noted that his information was just that:
suspicions that he thought merited investigation.
The Secret Service report also stated that Martin, during an interview
with Secret Service agents, had acknowledged he did not have any specific
details to back up his suspicions. Martin had admitted to being a heavy
drinker and stated that he may have exaggerated his information and "told
his story as though it was based on facts." The Secret Service report
concluded by stating, "In view the above, this phase of the investigation
involving William David Ferrie will be considered closed."
On November 28, 1963, in a Teletype to the Director and the Dallas
office the New Orleans FBI office reported that the investigation of
Martin's allegations was being concluded and noted that "all allegations
against Ferrie stem from Jack S. Martin who was previously confined to the
psychiatric ward of Charity Hospital, New Orleans, for character disorder.
Martin is well known to New Orleans office and is considered thoroughly
unreliable." The November 28, 1963, FBI Teletype also set forth additional
information obtained during second interview with Ferrie from earlier that
day. In it, Ferrie had again denied that he had ever had any contact with
Oswald. The FBI report of the interview noted, however:
David William Ferrie reinterviewed today and advised at time of Bay of
Pigs invasion of Cuba he was very much embarrassed and concerned over lack
of air cover provided and severely criticized President Kennedy, both in
public and private. Ferrie stated he has never made any statement that
President Kennedy should be killed with any intention to do so and has
never at any time outlined any plan or made any statement how this could
be done or who should do it. Ferrie said he is very outspoken and may
have used an offhand or colloquial expression, "He ought to be shot" in
expressing his feelings concerning Cuban situation. Ferrie said he has
also been critical of any President riding in open car and has stated
anyone could hide in the bushes and shoot a President.
Two weeks later, Ferrie furnished an additional statement to FBI agent
Regis Kennedy of the New Orleans office. He disclosed that he had
conducted CAP sessions at New Orleans Moisant Airport in addition to
Lakefront Airport, as he had stated earlier:
In 1955, or thereabouts, I assisted, for a time, the Moisant Squadron
of Civil Air Patrol, at Moisant Airport, New Orleans, La, though I cannot
establish through personal records or recollection the exact dates of this
connection. I have no records or recollection, to my knowledge, to show
that Lee Harvey Oswald was, or was not, a member of this particular unit
of the Civil Air Patrol. To my best knowledge and belief do not know Lee
Harvey Oswald, and have no personal recollection of ever having met him.
If I did ever meet him it was very casual and to my best recollection have
definitely not seen him in recent years.
The committee undertook an extensive examination of Lee Harvey Oswald's
involvement in the Civil Air Patrol and sought to determine whether Oswald
did in fact have any contact with Ferrie during that period. The committee
believed that the possibility that Oswald and Ferrie may. have been in
contact during that period presented significant questions that needed to
be resolved. A number of areas of information regarding possible
associations between Oswald and Ferrie in 1963 had been developed by the
committee, information that the committee believed to be of important
evidentiary value. For example, the committee developed new information
about Ferrie's various activities on behalf of Carlos Marcello in 1963,
and his personal contact with the Mafia leader during the fall of that
year.
During the brief investigation in 1963 conducted by the FBI, Secret
Service, and New Orleans district attorney's office of allegations that
Oswald might have been associated with Ferrie, another witness had
provided information similar to that of Martin. Edward Voebel was a former
classmate of Oswald's who had attended the CAP meetings with Oswald.
Voebel, whom the Warren Commission had established was Oswald's closest
friend during his teenage years in New Orleans, had attended Beauregard
High School with Oswald and had actually been the friend who first
accompanied Oswald to the CAP meetings. The Warren Commission itself used
Voebel's Commission testimony as a primary source of information on
Oswald's adolescent years.
Speaking of Voebel, Mrs. Marguerite Oswald told the Warren Commission,
"This young man and Lee were very friendly; he and Lee joined the Civil
Air Patrol together, and he often came to the house." Oswald's cousin,
Marilyn Murret, further told the Commission that Voebel was "the only one"
of Oswald's classmates whom he was close to and that Voebel "got him to
join the Civil Air Patrol, in which he was very interested."
On November 25, 1963, at the same time that Martin's allegations about
Ferrie and Oswald were being investigated, Voebel was interviewed by the
FBI. He stated that he had become a close friend of Oswald during the
period 1954-55, and that they used to play pool together after school at a
poolroom next to Oswald's home in Exchange Alley. Oswald seemed to be a
typical teenage boy during the period of their friendship. Voebel said
that reports that Oswald was already "studying Communism" were a "lot of
baloney" -- Oswald commonly read "paperback trash."
During this first interview with FBI agents, Voebel spoke of his
involvement in the CAP with Oswald:
Voebel stated that he and Oswald were members of the Civil Air Patrol
in New Orleans with Capt. Dave Ferrie during the time they were in school.
Voebel at this time seemed to indicate clearly that there had probably
been contact between Ferrie and Oswald in the CAP. He became uncertain
about such contact during the course of a second interview with FBI agents
later that same day, November 25, 1963. Then he stated that he had
persuaded Oswald to attend the meetings of his CAP unit at Moisant Airport
in 1955. Oswald had "attended two or three drills and possibly four
drills at the most." Voebel further stated that it was difficult to
recall how often Oswald was the CAP meetings because "Oswald had a knack
for being. there and not being noticed." The CAP unit met once or twice a
week and included 20 to 25 members, some of whom were girls. According to
the FBI report of this second interview:
Voebel stated that he could not recall if Capt. Dave Ferrie was
commander of the unit at the time Oswald attended meetings or whether
Oswald attended meetings prior to Captain Ferrie taking command.
Voebel stated that Ferrie was commander of his CAP unit during part of
1955, but that he could not recall precisely when or if it was during the
same period that Oswald attended the meetings. Voebel recalled that
Captain Ferrie was "very intelligent," reportedly held several degrees and
was then a pilot for Eastern Airlines. He said that Oswald quit attending
the Moisant Airport CAP meetings sometime after being enrolled as a member
because another' CAP unit (at New Orleans Lakefront Airport) would be
closer to home. Voebel further told the FBI that Ferrie had once taken
his CAP unit on an overnight "bivouac" in which Ferrie had instructed the
cadets to bring along rifles for shooting practice. Voebel did not believe
Oswald had participated in this outing. The FBI report noted that Voebel
received "a crank-type telephone call" during the course of the interview,
and had mentioned that he "had also been frightened" by a person who came
to his home earlier claiming to be a news reporter. This man disturbed him
and had "acted very suspicious?
An FBI Teletype from the New Orleans office to Director Edgar Hoover on
November 26, 1963, summarized that "Voebel was unable to recall if Oswald
attended meetings under command of Ferrie or with previous commander."
On November 27, 1963, 5 days after President Kennedy's murder, Voebel
was also interviewed by New Orleans Police Department officers. In a
report of this interview, prepared for P.J. Trosclair, Jr., of the
department, it was noted that Voebel believed Oswald had attended the
Moisant CAP meetings for "only about 1 month." During the course of this
police interview, however, Voebel also stated that while he could not be
sure, he thought that Oswald may once have attended a party given by.
Ferrie during their involvement with the CAP. According to the report:
Voebel stated that he believed Oswald attended a party (not sure)
at the home of David Ferrie (captain) right after the members of
the CAP received their stripes.
Voebel did not elaborate on this event. Two days later, on November 29,
1963, in an internal FBI memorandum from Assistant
Director Alex Rosen to Associate Director Alan Belmont, Voebel's account
of his CAP involvement was again summarized:
Edward Voebel, on interview, said he had been a member of the CAP, New
Orleans, for approximately 1 year, 1955-56. David William Ferrie took
over as commander of the CAP unit during this time. Voebel took Oswald
to one of the meetings and stated Oswald attended several meetings
possibly four meetings at the most.
On April 7, 1964, the testimony of Edward Voebel was taken by Warren
Commission senior counsel Albert Jenner in New Orleans. While the Warren
Commission had not actively investigated t e possibility of an association
between Oswald and Ferrie, Ferrie's name came up briefly when Voebel was
questioned about Oswald's activities with the CAP. Voebel recalled that he
had first become a friend of Oswald's when he witnessed him being beaten
up one day after high school. Two brothers who had earlier gotten into
fistfight with Oswald had sent a friend of theirs to beat him up. Voebel
noted that their school "seemed to draw a lot of bad characters" and that
"it was almost impossible to go to school without brushing against
somebody or getting involved in a fight." In his testimony, Voebel stated
that Oswald had attended "two or three meetings" of the CAP and "bought a
uniform and everything, and seemed to be very interested at the outset?
Toward the end of his testimony, Voebel was asked if he could recall who
had headed their CAP unit at that time:
Mr. JENNER. Who was the majordomo of the CAP unit that you attended ?
Mr. VOEBEL. I think it was Captain Ferrie. I think he was there when
Lee attended one of these meetings, but I'm not sure of that. Now that I
think of it, I don't think Captain Ferrie was there at that time but he
might have been. That isn't too clear to me.
The committee sought to locate Edward Voebel to take his testimony, but
learned from his father, Sidney Voebel of New Orleans, that his son had
died in 1971. Sidney Voebel could not recall what his son had told him
regarding his past contacts with Oswald and Ferrie. While stating that he
doesn't "have any proof," Voebel said he believed that the circumstances
surrounding his son's death were "mysterious." He had "died suddenly from
a blood clot" at the age of 31 when he suffered an attack of pneumonia.
The committee found that the incomplete and disorderly state the
registration and membership records of the New Orleans Civil Air Patrol
did not permit a clear determination of Oswald and Ferrie's respective
periods of involvement with the organization. In an interview with the FBI
on November 25, 1963, Alvin Meister, a commander the New Orleans CAP,
stated that the CAP cadet files were kept for only 1 year after a cadet
terminated his service. In an FBI interview that same day, a former
executive officer of the CAP noted another difficulty in trying to
reconstruct the membership records from the period of time in which Oswald
had been involved. Harold Tool then of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's
Office, informed the FBI that "most of the records of the squadron were
stolen in late 1960."
In an FBI interview on November 27, 1963, another CAP executive was able
to supply partial information regarding Oswald's involvement. Joseph
Ehrlicker told FBI agents that while he was unable to find a CAP
application by Oswald, he was able to locate a record indicating that
"Oswald was enrolled as a CAP cadet on July 27, 1955, at which time he was
given Serial No. 084965." Oswald was then enrolled in the cadet squadron
st Moisant Airport. The records did not indicate when Oswald left the CAP
unit. Also with regard to David Ferrie:
Ehrlicker was able to determine that Ferrie's first period as Squadron
Commander was terminated December 31, 1954. He was working at Moisant
Airport at this time. It was later found out that Ferrie subsequent to
this date was working with the squadron at Moisant without official
connection with the CAP. As of late 1955 he was no longer with the
squadron.
As can be seen from the fragmented CAP membership documentation provided
by Ehrlicker, Ferrie was involved with the Moisant CAP unit (in an
apparently unofficial capacity) for an uncertain period of time between
December 31, 1954, and "late 1955?' The same CAP documentation indicated
that Oswald had been involved in the same CAP unit in the summer of 1955,
having officially enrolled on July 27, 1955. Thus, while the CAP
documentation available in 1963 did not permit a conclusive determination,
the records themselves lent substantial credence to the possibility that
Oswald and Ferrie had been involved in the same CAP unit during the same
period of time. While Ferrie stated during his November 25, 1963, FBI
interview, that he had been a commander of the Lakefront Airport CAP unit
it was not until December 10, 1963, when he provided another statement to
the Bureau, that he said he had also worked with the Moisant Airport CAP.
During the course of its investigation of Oswald's involvement with the
CAP and his possible contact with Ferrie, the committee interviewed
O'Sullivan, a former high school classmate and friend of Oswald who had
also been involved with Oswald and Voebel in the CAP. Fred O'Sullivan had
originally suggested to Oswald and Voebel that they might enjoy attending
CAP meetings and asked them to participate m his squadron. O'Sullivan's
past involvement with Oswald in the CAP unit first came to the attention
of the FBI on November 25, 1963, when New Orleans Assistant District
Attorney Herman Kohlman informed FBI Agent Regis Kennedy that "An unknown
police officer had told the Intelligence Division of the New Orleans
Police Department that he was in the Civil Air Patrol with Lee Harvey
Oswald and that Ferrie knew Oswald?' Later that day, the FBI was able to
identify Fred O'Sullivan of the New Orleans Police Department Vice Squad
as the classmate. In an interview with Bureau agents that day, O'Sullivan
stated that he had persuaded his classmates, Lee Oswald and Ed Voebel, to
attend his CAP squadron meetings at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
Oswald and Voebel had come "to one or two meetings, but did not join."
O'Sullivan stated that Oswald thought the Lakefront CAP location was too
far away and decided to attend the Moisant Airport CAP squadron instead.
O'Sullivan told the FBI that Ferrie "was Squadron Commander" at the
"approximate time" that Oswald came to the Lakefront CAP meetings. He
added, however, that he "could not say for certain that Oswald ever met
Ferrie" at the time. He further stated that Ferrie himself also
subsequently began working with the other CAP unit at Moisant Airport.
In a second FBI interview, on November 26, 1963, O'Sullivan further
advised that Ferrie might have had contact with Oswald at the Moisant
Airport CAP. According to the FBI report of this interview, "Ferrie
transferred and assumed command of the CAP at Moisant Airport at about the
same time O'Sullivan thought Oswald might have joined." O'Sullivan further
informed the Bureau that he had only recently learned of Ferrie's
homosexual background. He also noted that Ferrie "had acquired a
reputation for being able to hypnotize people," and that he had once
hypnotized a man following one of the CAP meetings.
In an interview with the committee on October 17, 1978, O'Sullivan
repeated the account of his contacts with Oswald and Ferrie that he had
provided the FBI in 1963. Now a security director for Hilton Hotels, he
stated that he could not say with certainty that he ever saw Oswald and
Ferrie together, although. he believed they probably did in fact attend
the CAP meetings during the same period. In an interview on December 15,
1978, O'Sullivan again told the committee that while "Ferrie ran the unit
then, and Oswald came a couple, or a few times," he could not recall any
more specific information about the matter.
In another interview with the committee on December 9, 1978, another
former CAP member recalled Oswald's participation in the New Orleans unit.
Collin Hamer, now an official of the New Orleans Public Library, stated
that he had attended "about ten or twelve meetings" of the CAP unit during
which Oswald was also present. Hamer knew both Oswald and Voebel and said
that Oswald had begun attending the CAP meetings sometime around the
summer of 1955. He stated that the 10 or 12 meetings that Oswald attended
were held at the Eastern Airlines hangar at Moisant Airport. He further
stated that Oswald had attended the meetings for roughly 2 months, during
which the unit usually met twice a week, on Friday nights and Sunday
afternoons. Hamer commented that he had never been interviewed by the FBI
following the assassination of President Kennedy. According to Hamer,
David Ferrie had been present during the CAP meetings that Oswald
attended: "Ferrie was at all the meetings during the time Lee and I were
involved in CAP. He didn't always do the teaching, but he was always
there." Hamer told the committee that Oswald "was a real quiet kid" and
that Ferrie "treated Oswald just like the rest of us. He was just the
teacher so to speak." Hamer further stated, "I don't know anything about
whether or not Ferrie and Oswald had any contact outside of the CAP. All I
know is that Oswald was in our unit for about 2 months, and Ferrie ran it
during that time." Hamer further recalled that Ferrie was "a tough
commander" who became irritated if the cadets "goofed around at all."
Hamer also recalled calling Oswald's home on one occasion to make sure
that Oswald was going to attend a CAP meeting. Hamer did not know why
Oswald left the CAP unit. Hamer also told the committee that he was aware
that some CAP cadets had "hung around" at Ferrie's house and engaged in
outside activities with him. He did not know if Oswald ever had such
contact with Ferrie. Finally, Hammer said that he, himself, had become an
adjutant of the CAP unit several years later and "weeded out a lot of the
old files then," but did not recall handling any files on Oswald.
The committee also interviewed a former commander of the Moisant Airport
CAP squadron, Mrs. Gladys Durr. Mrs. Durr had been interviewed by the FBI
on November 25, 1963. In that interview, she advised that she had assumed
command of the CAP unit in October or December 1955, which would have been
several months after the CAP records indicated Oswald left. Mrs. Durr
stated that she did not recall knowing Lee Oswald, but that David Ferrie
had been "expelled" from the CAP squadron "at about the time" she joined
it. While Mrs. Durr became commander of the squadron subsequent to the
time when Oswald was a member, her recollection that Ferrie was still
active in the unit until late 1955 would indicate that he probably was in
fact with the unit during the period that Lee Oswald was in it. The
available records indicate that Oswald was enrolled as a cadet on July.
27, 1955, and his CAP colleagues generally recalled him being active in
the unit for a couple of months. Thus, with Ferrie's lengthy involvement
in the CAP ending (temporarily) in late 1955, according to Commander Durr,
the likelihood of Ferrie's service with the CAP unit during Oswald's
membership in the summer of 1955 seems logical.
In her committee interview, Mrs. Durr stated that while she did not know
Oswald, she could recall other cadets remembering that he attended the
meetings. She further recalled that Ferrie had originally conducted CAP
classes at New Orleans Lakefront Airport, but had then begun teaching at
Moisant Airport where she was commander. She said Ferrie was a magnetic
and intelligent man who had a strong following among the cadets. He also
had a reputation for having bad moral character, and on one occasion some
CAP cadets had become drunk at his home and engaged in various activities
in the nude. Mrs. Durr stated that such incidents were what led to Ferrie
being expelled from that particular CAP unit.
The committee interviewed another former commander of the New Orleans
CAP, John Irion, active with the group from 1955 to 1959. Irion, a
management and public relations consultant, worked closely with Ferrie
during their years with the CAP. The two were personal friends for over 10
years, and Irion once testified on Ferrie's behalf during a legal
proceeding against him. Irion, Ferrie, and the mayor of New Orleans were
once photographed together a CAP photograph later published by the New
Orleans Times Picayune.. Irion recalled that Ferrie was a "dynamic" leader
known for his intelligence. He recalled being introduced by Ferrie to
Carlos Marcello's attorney, G. Wray Gill, on more than one occasion. Irion
told the committee that he recalled Lee Oswald going through "basic
training" with the CAP during the period in which he and Ferrie were with
the New Orleans squadron, but he could not recall any specific personal
contact between Oswald and Ferrie. He believed that contact was highly
probable during that period. Irion stated that he did not recall Oswald
continuing with the CAP for a significant length of time following his
participation in the unit's "basic training." Irion said he was never
questioned by the FBI during the investigation of President Kennedy's
death.
The committee was able to locate and interview Anthony Atzenhoffer, who
had served as the platoon sergeant for the Moisant Airport CAP squadron in
late 1954 and 1955. Atzenhoffer recalled helping coordinate the small CAP
unit at Moisant and noted that his duties had included calling the roll at
meetings and handling registration matters. He told the committee that
Ferrie was an instructor at the Moisant CAP meetings during this period.
Ferrie had taken him on his first airplane flight and kept his small
private plane in a hangar at the Moisant Airport. Atzenhoffer recalled
attending a party with Ferrie and other CAP cadets during that period; the
party may have been at Ferrie's house. He also recalled that Ferrie once
tried to recruit his CAP cadets in the squadron to participate in some
kind of medical experiment.
Additionally, Atzenhoffer told the committee that Oswald was active in the
CAP unit during the period. He recalled Oswald's membership in the
squadron and described him as being a quiet young man. He could not,
however, remember any specific details regarding Oswald's participation in
the unit or specific contact between Oswald and Ferrie, although he
believed both were involved in the CAP unit at the same time. Atzenhoffer
stated: "I can't recall seeing the two of them together. I don't have that
detailed of a memory. But I'm sure they were there together at the same
time." Atzenhoffer said that he could not recall any more specific
information and added: "I can't say that I know anything about Ferrie and
Oswald being together anywhere else, except at the CAP meetings."
The committee also interviewed George Boesch, another former CAP member
in New Orleans who worked with Ferrie during that period. Boesch, now a
member of the New Orleans Fire department, had worked with Ferrie in the
New Orleans Lakefront Airport squadron of the CAP. He once accompanied
Ferrie to a national competition match of the CAP and had traveled with
him elsewhere. He, too., recalled Ferrie as highly intelligent and of
good moral character, a man devoted to teaching flying to young men.
Boesch told the committee that he accompanied Ferrie when Ferrie left the
Lakefront squadron and began teaching the CAP squadron at Moisant Airport.
He and Ferrie helped reorganize the Moisant CAP program, which by then
also included female cadets. Boesch also remembered Lee Oswald attending
the CAP meetings at Moisant during the period when he and Ferrie were
there. He could recall Oswald being there for 2 to 3 months while Ferrie
was the instructor. Boesch stated that there were usually not more than
15 cadets at these CAP meetings and that Oswald was relatively quiet.
Boesch did not recall anything in particular about the relationship
between Oswald and Ferrie, anything unusual; he did not know of any other
contact between them. Boesch stated that he was not familiar with Ferrie's
personal life and was unaware of his activities outside the CAP.
The committee also interviewed Jerry Paradis, the former recruit
instructor of the New Orleans Lakefront CAP unit. In confirming that
Oswald had attended the Lakefront squadron meetings (in addition to the
Moisant CAP meetings), Paradis corroborated the accounts of other Oswald
colleagues in the CAP. Paradis, now a corporate attorney, told the
committee that Oswald attended the Lakefront CAP meetings for several
weeks or several months. During the period that he had served as recruit
instructor, Paradis could recall that Oswald came to "at least 10 or 15
meetings," attending the CAP sessions "quite a few times." Oswald was a
quiet person and rarely discussed anything with him other than CAP
business and instructions.
Interestingly, when Ferrie was interviewed by FBI agents on November 25,
1963, in the aftermath of President Kennedy's murder, he recommended
Paradis as a CAP member who would be able to verify whether Oswald had
ever been involved in the CAP unit headed by Ferrie. Ferrie told the FBI
agents that he had never known Oswald and that other witnesses could
confirm that Oswald had never attended CAP meetings during the period that
Ferrie was active with the group. According to the report of his FBI
interview, Ferrie stated that "during the period he was commander of the
squadron, Jerry C. Paradis was the recruit instructor and took all the
squadron recruits through their training? Ferrie supplied the Bureau with
the home and business addresses of Paradis, so as to aid the agents in
interviewing him.
In his interview with the committee on December 15, 1978, Paradis stated
that he had never been contacted or interviewed by, the FBI about his past
involvement in the CAP with Oswald and Ferrie. He also stated that no
other investigators had ever interviewed him. Paradis told the committee
that Oswald had attended numerous CAP meetings at which Ferrie had been
the instructor. Ferrie "was always there" during the period in which
Oswald attended the Lakefront squadron. Paradis repeated that he believed
there were "at least 10 or 15 meetings" during which Oswald and Ferrie
were present. He told the committee, "Oswald and Ferrie were in the unit
together. I know they were there because I was there." Further, "I
specifically remember Oswald. I can remember him clearly, and Ferrie was
heading the unit then. I'm not saying that they may have been there
together, I'm saying it is a certainty." Paradis noted that he and Ferrie
were good friends and he had always respected Ferrie, even though Ferrie
was somewhat "unusual." Paradis stated that he had no knowledge of any
relationship between Oswald and Ferrie outside of the CAP meetings and did
not recall anything unusual about their contact at the meetings.. He
recalled that Ferrie was a "fairly stern, but generally likable"
instructor. Paradis also stated that Ferrie and others from the Lakefront
CAP unit sometimes participated in the Moisant CAP squadron meetings and
that Ferrie later left the Lakefront unit to instruct at Moisant
full-time. Paradis recalled that he had been surprised that he was not
interviewed by the FBI following the President's assassination, stating,
"I sure could have told them when Oswald and Ferrie were in the CAP. I
could have given them what they wanted?' Paradis further told the
committee that he did not believe the personal contact between Ferrie and
Oswald "mean[t] anything really," and that he never believed that Ferrie
"was a bad guy or anything like that."