Warren Commission (13 of 26): Hearings Vol. XIII (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (13 of 26): Hearings Vol. XIII (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. HUBERT. Now, before I go any further, I should like the record to
show that Mr. Fred B. Smith----
Mr. SMITH. Deputy General Counsel, United States Treasury Department.
Mr. HUBERT. Is present--in what capacity?
Mr. SMITH. I guess observer on behalf of the Secretary of Treasury.
Mr. HUBERT. And Mr. Burt Griffin, also a member of the staff of the
General Counsel of the President’s Commission, is also present.
Now, Mr. Sorrels, I would like for you to state to us the general
background, your history, sort of a biographical sketch, if you will,
starting off with your education and on to date.
Mr. SORRELS. I was born in Red River County, Tex., on a farm, September
16, 1901; later moved to a little town nearby called Bogata, Tex. I
lived there until 1916, when my family moved to El Paso, Tex. I resided
there until 1935.
I went to El Paso High School and after graduation attended Draughon’s
Business College, taking typing and shorthand and bookkeeping. I then
went to work for a small wholesale grocery, worked there for only a
short time, and then went to work for a brick company, worked there a
very short time, and then obtained employment as a clerk in the office
of Bureau of Narcotics, Treasury Department, in El Paso, Texas.
Mr. HUBERT. What year was that, sir?
Mr. SORRELS. That was in 1922. I worked there for about a year and
went back to the brick company. I was only there a short time when
I learned of a clerical position in the office of the United States
Secret Service at El Paso. I later was employed in that position on
July 6, 1923. That was a two-man office, and I began very shortly after
employment there assisting and helping in investigative work.
In 1926, the special agent in charge was transferred from there, and
prior to that time I had been appointed as what was known at that time
as an operative, which is comparable to our special agent of today. He
transferred from there to Dallas about July of 1926, and I was left
as acting agent in charge of that office. In October that “acting”
was removed, and I continued there in the capacity of agent in charge
until 1935, when I was transferred to Dallas as special agent in charge
there. In 1936 I was transferred to New Orleans as acting supervising
agent of a newly created setup whereby the States of Texas, Louisiana,
and Mississippi were in what was known at that time as the Tenth
District.
In 1938, the headquarters office was moved from New Orleans to Houston.
In 1941 it was moved from Houston to Dallas. Subsequent to that time,
the organization of the 15 supervising agents was abandoned, and each
office reported direct into the headquarters office in Washington,
excepting a very few that were known as resident agency officers.
I have continued in that capacity as special agent in charge of the
Dallas district, and am so employed at the present time.
Mr. HUBERT. So that you have been special agent in charge actually of
the Dallas district since 1938.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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