The testimony of Guy F. Rose was taken at 3 p.m., on April 8, 1964, in
the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building, Bryan and
Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Joseph A. Ball, assistant counsel
of the President's Commission.
Mr. BALL. Will you please hold up your right hand to be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before
the Commission will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. ROSE. I do.
Mr. BALL. Will you state your name, now, please?
Mr. ROSE. G. F. Rose, 714 Hall Road, Seagoville.
Mr. BALL. What is your business?
Mr. ROSE. I am a police officer, a detective assigned to the homicide
and robbery bureau.
Mr. BALL. How long have you been with the Dallas Police Department?
Mr. ROSE. Ten years.
Mr. BALL. Where were you born?
Mr. ROSE. I was born in Grannis, Ark.
Mr. BALL. And where did you go to school?
Mr. ROSE. I finished high school in Grand Prairie High School and
attended grade school at Shady Grove Independent School District
between Irving and Grand Prairie.
Mr. BALL. And what have you done since then?
Mr. ROSE. Well, after I finished high school I went to work for a
construction company as a timekeeper and worked until I was 21. Then I
went on the police department.
Mr. BALL. You have been on the police department ever since you were 21
years old?
Mr. ROSE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. That was what year?
Mr. ROSE. It was in 1954.
Mr. BALL. On the 22d of November 1963, were you on duty?
Mr. ROSE. I went on duty shortly after the assassination. At the time
of the assassination I was not on duty.
Mr. BALL. Did somebody call you and ask you to come on duty?
Mr. ROSE. No; I came in just as soon as I heard of the shooting--I came
on to work.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go to work?
Mr. ROSE. I reported to the homicide office. It's room 317 at the city
hall.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go then?
Mr. ROSE. There were some people in the office from the Book Depository
and we talked to a few of them and then in just a few minutes they
brought in Lee Oswald and I talked to him for a few minutes.
Mr. BALL. What did you say to him or did he say to you?
Mr. ROSE. Well, the first thing I asked him was what his name was and
he told me it was Hidell.
Mr. BALL. Did he tell you it was Hidell?
Mr. ROSE. Yes; he did.
Mr. BALL. He didn't tell you it was Oswald?
Mr. ROSE. No; he didn't, not right then--he did later. In a minute--I
found two cards--I found a card that said "A. Hidell." And I found
another card that said "Lee Oswald" on it, and I asked him which of
the two was his correct name. He wouldn't tell me at the time, he just
said, "You find out." And then in just a few minutes Captain Fritz came
in and he told me to get two men and go to Irving and search his house.
Mr. BALL. Now, when he first came in there--you said that he said his
name was "Hidell"?
Mr. ROSE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Was that before you saw the two cards?
Mr. ROSE. Yes; it was.
Mr. BALL. Before you saw the cards?
Mr. ROSE. Yes; it was.
Mr. BALL. Did he give you his first name?
Mr. ROSE. He just said "Hidell"; I remember he just gave me the last
name of "Hidell".
Mr. BALL. And then you found two or three cards on him?
Mr. ROSE. Yes; we did.
Mr. BALL. Did you search him?
Mr. ROSE. He had already been searched and someone had his billfold. I
don't know whether it was the patrolman who brought him in that had it
or not.
Mr. BALL. And the contents of the billfold supposedly were before you?
Mr. ROSE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Were you sitting down?
Mr. ROSE. No; I was standing in the interrogation room.
Mr. BALL. Where was he--was he standing too?
Mr. ROSE. No; he was sitting in the chair.
Mr. BALL. Was he handcuffed?
Mr. ROSE. Yes; he was.
Mr. BALL. Were the handcuffs behind or in front of him?
Mr. ROSE. I believe they were behind him--I don't remember for sure.
Mr. BALL. Who else was present at that time?
Mr. ROSE. Detective Stovall, he was my partner, and I believe both
uniformed men were present--two of the uniformed men were present.
Mr. BALL. The ones who brought him in?
Mr. ROSE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Do you know their names?
Mr. ROSE. I don't remember--I did see McDonald and I did talk to him,
but I don't remember whether he was the one that was standing right
there at the time or not.
Mr. BALL. After you saw the cards, you asked him which one was his true
name?
Mr. ROSE. Yes; I did.
Mr. BALL. What did he say?