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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VIII - Page 82« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Philip Eugene Vinson)

Mr. Vinson.
No; because that was not when I was in the second grade, or in the same school with him. I believe that was in the fourth grade. Maybe the third.
Mr. Liebeler.
The scene is not familiar to you and does not appear to be near the Lily B. Clayton School?
Mr. Vinson.
No; it doesn't.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you talk to Jackson personally in connection with this article?
Mr. Vinson.
Yes.
Mr. Liebeler.
You told him essentially what you have told us and what he has reported to you as having said on page 68-B? In the article, is that correct?
Mr. Vinson.
Yes. Excuse me, could you ask me that again I am not sure I understand.
Mr. Liebeler.
You told him essentially what you have told us and what he has reported you as having said on page 68-B, in the article, is that correct?
Mr. Vinson.
What he reported to me as having said is taken from the story that I wrote in the Star Telegram.
Mr. Liebeler.
You did not tell him this personally?
Mr. Vinson.
I did tell him in effect in my own words, but rather than use what I told him, I don't know why, for some reason he just quoted from my story. He didn't attribute that statement to the story. However, I noticed-----
Mr. Liebeler.
But it is a direct quote of what you had said in your story in the Fort Worth Star?
Mr. Vinson.
I believe the story is slightly changed toward the end of the paragraph. Let me look at it. Where it says according to our code, I believe the wording was, "According to the code of us 7- and 8-year olds being in Lee's gang was a high honor." I believe that is about the only big change.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you have any other conversations with Jackson about Oswald other than what we have discussed here about Oswald?
Mr. Vinson.
Well, about what I knew of Oswald?
Mr. Liebeler.
Yes.
Mr. Vinson.
Well, one day he came by the office in Arlington and talked to me for about an hour, and I told him what I have told you about what I remembered about Oswald, and then I gave him the information that I had gathered about some other people who possibly had pictures. And this was something else I was getting around to. I did talk to some of the people named in this story, in Fort Worth, in an attempt to get some pictures, and he went to---went ahead and contacted them anyway after I had already talked to them. He was a little more persistent than I was, and it is his story and his job, and I was just doing it in my spare time, but I didn't get too far in locating any pictures, and he decided to go ahead and try a little harder with some of the people that I had already talked to. One of whom was Nick Ruggieri, who at that time, or at the time Oswald came to high school, was B-team football coach at Arlington Heights High School, and Oswald had come out for football. Now this is not what Ruggieri told me. This is what Jackson told me and what I have read in the story.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you talk to Ruggieri?
Mr. Vinson.
Yes; I did.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you discuss this with him?
Mr. Vinson.
Yes. And he told me he barely remembered the kid, something to that effect. He said he had come out for a few days and just didn't show up after awhile. There is something in the story I think, that gives that and I think it quotes another coach who said he quoted Oswald as saying it was a free country, or something, that he didn't have to run sprints, if he didn't want to, or something to that effect.
Mr. Liebeler.
When you talked to Ruggieri, he didn't mention anything about that, did he?
Mr. Vinson.
No; he didn't. He just brushed it aside very hurriedly. He didn't remember much about it except he had come out for the B-team and he had disappeared after a few days.
Mr. Liebeler.
On page 72, of the article, Ruggieri is quoted as saying, "I
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