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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VIII - Page 5« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Edward Voebel)

Mr. Voebel.
most of the other kids. He had the sort of personality that I could like. He was the type of boy that I could like, and if he had not changed at all, I probably still would have the same feeling for Lee Oswald, at least more so than for the Neumeyer brothers. Of course, as you say, people do change, and I don't know how I would have felt about Lee as we both grew older. I lost contact with Lee years ago.
Mr. Jenner.
Would you describe the Neumeyer brothers as roustabouts?
Mr. Voebel.
Yes; they were ruffians, real punk-type guys. At least, that was my impression of them.
Mr. Jenner.
Well, that's what I want, your impression. Would you say there were other boys of the type of the Neumeyer brothers at Beauregard School while you were attending there?
Mr. Voebel.
Oh, yes; I would say most of them seemed to be troublemakers. In fact, it was almost impossible to go to school at that time without brushing against somebody or getting involved in a fight sooner or later. You take me, I am not a fighter, but I had to fight at that school.
Mr. Jenner.
You did?
Mr. Voebel.
Yes; it was almost impossible to get along with the type of characters that were going to that school at that time.
Mr. Jenner.
So this particular incident, when Lee had this fight, that in your opinion is no indication that the boy was a rabble rouser or inclined to get into fights; is that right? Your impression was just the opposite of that; isn't that true?
Mr. Voebel.
Well, no; I will say this; I would back down from a fight a lot quicker that Lee would. Now, he wouldn't start any fights, but if you wanted to start one with him, he was going to make sure that he ended it, or you were going to really have one, because he wasn't going to take anything from anybody. I mean, people could call me names and I might just brush that off, but not Lee. You couldn't do that with Lee.
Mr. Jenner.
Would you say he was unusually quick to take offense?
Mr. Voebel.
Well, I didn't know him to be that way. He could have been, now, but I wouldn't go that strong with it. All I'm saying is that if you picked on Lee, you had a fight on your hands. He wouldn't go out of his way to avoid it.
Mr. Jenner.
All I'm asking you is what your impression was, and I don't want you to speculate as to what might have been. Do you think he was a person to take offense at anything on the spur of the minute, so to speak?
Mr. Voebel.
Well, like I said, he didn't take anything from anybody.
Mr. Jenner.
Was this a coeducational school?
Mr. Voebel.
Right.
Mr. Jenner.
High school or junior high?
Mr. Voebel.
Junior high school, but it just had been changed. It was a grammar school, and it had just been changed to a junior high, and when it changed to a junior high, it seemed to draw a lot of bad characters. As time went on, it might have slacked off; I don't know how it is now, but living right near there and seeing the kids come home now very often, I think they have gotten worse, because now they have got gang wars and things like that.
Mr. Jenner.
You still live close to the school?
Mr. Voebel.
. Yes; and I know they have gang wars in this cemetery near there, and there was this guy that I believe was pushing narcotics, pushing dope. I tried working with the police department for a long time to get this guy out there. I believe he was pushing dope, but it was hard to pin him down. I worked almost 2 months with the narcotics people, but he was too slick for us. He just disappeared. He was there for about a year, and then he disappeared.
Mr. Jenner.
Are you familiar with the Warren Easton School?
Mr. Voebel.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
Did you go to Warren Easton?
Mr. Voebel.
No; I went to Fortier.
Mr. Jenner.
Warren Easton is a senior high school; right?
Mr. Voebel.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
Is it somewhere close to Beauregard?
Mr. Voebel.
Oh, about 6 or 8 blocks away, I would say.
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