Warren Commission (10 of 26): Hearings Vol. X (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (10 of 26): Hearings Vol. X (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Let me see, there was an incident about a Russian newspaper deal--I
was working at my desk one time and I looked over and it was probably
a slack time in our business, and I looked over and Lee was reading a
newspaper, and I could see--it was from a distance of about 8 to 10
feet, I suppose, something like that, and it was just far enough away
that I could see it was not a usual newspaper, and I asked him what he
was reading, and he said, "A Russian newspaper." I said, "A what?" And
he said, "A Russian newspaper." I said, "Let's see it, and he brought
it over and I said something like "What is the action on this?" And
he said, "I studied Russian in Korea." This fit in with his previous
statement when we employed him about being in Korea, when he was a
marine, and he said, "I like to keep up--keep in practice being able
to read the Russian language and study it or something to that effect,
and I said, "Well, Lee, I wouldn't bring anything like that down here
again, because some people might not take kindly to your reading
anything like that."
Mr. JENNER. Did you ask him the source of this newspaper?
Mr. GRAEF. No; no.
Mr. JENNER. Whether it was printed in Russia or whether he had
subscribed to it?
Mr. GRAEF. It seems to me it was the "Crocodile." Now, it might not
have been, but it just seems to me at the time that it was, but, of
course, that too didn't seem particularly odd to me because a great
many people in the country are studying that language these days and
the fact that he had been a marine and been in Korea, according to the
report, it seemed reasonably plausible that he would have learned that
language, or studied it and to me, certainly, of course, I know how
people are and that there might be some--he might be making trouble for
himself by causing suspicion and so forth, by having that newspaper or
at least running around with it, flaunting it, we'll say.
Mr. JENNER. When did this occur with respect to his period of
employment--this incident?
Mr. GRAEF. I can't really say for sure, but it must have been about the
fourth or fifth month that he was there.
Mr. JENNER. Was it a factor in his ultimate discharge?
Mr. GRAEF. Let me say that didn't help. Taken with the other--his
personality, his not being able to do the job the way he should--when
I say, "His personality," I mean the friction between the other
employees. I didn't--it didn't actually weigh heavily, but it didn't
do his case any good, let's put it that way. I didn't fire him
specifically because he had the newspaper in his hand.
Mr. JENNER. Now, I put words in your mouth that he was discharged?
Mr. GRAEF. Yes; he was discharged.
Mr. JENNER. Did you discuss this with him?
Mr. GRAEF. I did.
Mr. JENNER. Would you tell us about that, please?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account