were received in evidence.)
Mr. JENNER. All right, thank you, sir.
AFFIDAVIT OF B. M. PATTERSON
The following affidavit was executed by B. M. Patterson on August 26,
1964.
AFFIDAVIT
PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
I, B. M. Patterson, being duly sworn, depose as follows:
I now reside at Apartment 201, Habana Apartments, 1607 North Carroll,
Dallas, Texas. On January 22, 1964, I was residing at 4635 Hartford
Street, Dallas, Texas, and was then employed by Wyatt’s Cafeteria, 2647
Lancaster, Dallas, Texas.
On January 22, 1964, I was interviewed by Special Agents John T. Kesler
and Vernon Mitchem of the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning
what I had seen on November 22, 1963, as it related to Lee Harvey
Oswald, the shooting of Dallas Police Officer, J. D. Tippit, and the
assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I have been shown the written report of the results of this
interview by Special Agents John T. Kesler and Vernon Mitchem of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, on January 22, 1964.[C] While this
transcription is basically and materially correct, I desire to make the
following clarifications in regard to the contents of this report. This
modification pertains to the second sentence of paragraph two. I choose
to have the second referenced sentence changed to read as follows:
“A minute or so later, they observed a white male, approximately thirty
years of age, running south on Patton Avenue, carrying a revolver in
his hand and was obviously trying to reload it. He stopped still and
then reloaded the gun.”
In regard to the last paragraph of this report, I do not at this late
date specifically recall having been exhibited a photograph of Lee
Harvey Oswald, at the time of the interview of January 22, 1964, and
desire that this paragraph be deleted as an official reporting of that
interview.
I have read this written report and with the exception of the
aforementioned, notations, it reveals a correct report of what I saw on
November 22, 1963.
Signed this 26th day of August 1964.
(S) B. M. Patterson,
B. M. PATTERSON.
[C] This report was labeled B. M. Patterson Exhibit A.
AFFIDAVIT OF B. M. PATTERSON
The following affidavit was executed by B. M. Patterson on September 7,
1964.
AFFIDAVIT
PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
I, B. M. PATTERSON, being duly sworn, depose as follows:
I now reside at Apartment 201, Habana Apartments, 1607 North Carroll,
Dallas, Texas. On August 25 and 26, 1964, I was residing at this same
address and was employed at Holly Southwest, Inc., 5606 Dyer, Dallas,
Texas.
On August 25 and 26, 1964, I was interviewed by Special Agent Richard
J. Burnett of the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning what I had
witnessed on November 22, 1963 as it related to Lee Harvey Oswald, the
shooting of Dallas Police Officer J. D. Tippit, and the assassination
of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I have been shown the account of my interviews with Special Agent
Richard J. Burnett as put in written form in regards to the interviews
of August 25 and 26, 1964.[D] I have read this written report and it
represents a correct report of what I saw on November 22, 1963, as
well as my identification of photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald as the
individual I had seen on that date.
Signed this 7th day of September 1964.
(S) B. M. Patterson,
B. M. PATTERSON.
[D] This report was labeled B. M. Patterson Exhibit B.
AFFIDAVIT OF ARTHUR MANDELLA
The following affidavit was executed by Arthur Mandella on September
17, 1964.
AFFIDAVIT
PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, _ss_:
I, Arthur Mandella, being first duly sworn, depose and say:
1. This affidavit is made in connection with testimony I gave to the
Commission on an earlier date.
2. I have compared the photograph, Commission Exhibit No. 658, with
a lift of the palmprint, Commission Exhibit No. 637; the photograph,
Commission Exhibit No. 655, with a piece of cardboard, Commission
Exhibit No. 649; the photograph, Commission Exhibit No. 659, with a
home-made paper bag, Commission Exhibit No. 142; before the and the
photograph, Commission Exhibit No. 656, with the cardboard carton,
Commission Exhibit No. 641. As a result of this comparison, I have
determined that the respective photographs, which I had earlier
testified were photographs of the prints of Lee Harvey Oswald, are
accurate photographs of prints from the objects, Commission Exhibit
Nos. 637, 649, 142, and 641, and that the prints on Commission Exhibit
Nos. 637, 649, 142, and 641, are the prints of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Signed this 17th day of September 1964, at Washington, D.C.
(S) Det. Arthur Mandella NYCPD,
ARTHUR MANDELLA.
TESTIMONY OF JOHN F. GALLAGHER
The testimony of John F. Gallagher was taken at 10 a.m., on September
15, 1964, at 200 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D.C., by Mr. Norman
Redlich, assistant counsel of the President’s Commission.
Mr. REDLICH. The purpose of this deposition is to take the testimony
of Mr. John F. Gallagher. Mr. Gallagher, before we start I would like
to advise you that under the rules of this Commission you are entitled
to 3 days’ notice prior to your testimony. You have not had 3 days’
notice. However, you are also free to waive that notice if you wish.
Are you willing to testify this morning?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I am, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. It is customary to administer an oath, so would you stand?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I do.
Mr. REDLICH. For the record, would you state your name?
Mr. GALLAGHER. My name is John F. Gallagher.
Mr. REDLICH. Mr. Gallagher, what is your occupation?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I am a special agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, presently assigned to the Physics and Chemistry Section
of the FBI Laboratory.
Mr. REDLICH. How long have you been with the FBI?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I have been with the FBI approximately 18 years.
Mr. REDLICH. Very briefly, what has been the nature of your affiliation
with the FBI?
Mr. GALLAGHER. The greater part of that 18 years I have been assigned
to the FBI Laboratory, and in particular to the Physics and Chemistry
Section. I work in the spectrographic unit of the FBI Laboratory.
Mr. REDLICH. And this is what you have been doing for the greater
portion of your 18 years with the FBI?
Mr. GALLAGHER. That is correct.
Mr. REDLICH. What is your educational background, Mr. Gallagher?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I graduated from Boston College with a bachelor of
science degree in 1939, and I returned for 2 years on a fellowship to
obtain a master of science degree.
When I entered the military service I was sent for a 9-month
course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in meteorology.
Following my discharge from the Army, I joined the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. I received special agents’ training, and have taken
specialized courses during my period in the FBI, one of which was
a course in neutron activation analysis at the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory--correction--at Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, from
September 24 to October 5, 1962.
Mr. REDLICH. Are you familiar with a technique of analysis which is
called neutron activation analysis?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir; I am familiar with the technique known as
neutron activation analysis.
Mr. REDLICH. Could you describe briefly, without reference to the
specific evidence that is under investigation here, the nature of this
technique?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Neutron activation analysis involves subjecting small
samples to a beam of sub-atomic particles known as neutrons. Elements
within the sample having been bombarded by neutrons are transformed in
many instances to radioactive atoms. These radioactive atoms will decay
and emit characteristic radiations. By studying the emitted radiations,
one can determine and trace quantities of elements in specimens.
Mr. REDLICH. This is a technique whereby certain elements are made
radioactive as a result of being bombarded by neutrons; is that correct?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. This enables you to isolate certain elements for purposes
of analysis; is that correct? Let me rephrase the question: Does this
enable you to determine the presence of certain elements for purposes
of analysis?
Mr. GALLAGHER. This enables you to determine and to measure the
quantity of certain elements in a given specimen.
Mr. REDLICH. What is the advantage of the neutron activation technique
over other methods of determining the presence of certain elements?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Well, this method of analysis, because of its extreme
sensitivity, offers a great advantage over more conventional
procedures. Furthermore, chemical treatments of your samples subsequent
to activation do not distort your results by contamination. If an
acid, for example, is added to a specimen after irradiation which is
under study for the presence of antimony, and the acid itself contains
antimony, it will not contain a radioactive form of antimony, and this
is the form which is measured during the analysis.
Mr. REDLICH. Has neutron activation analysis been used in criminal
investigation work, to your knowledge, Mr. Gallagher?
Mr. GALLAGHER. It has been used in criminal investigative work.
Mr. REDLICH. Could you, for the sake of the record, give me a few
examples of the types of situations in which it has been used--without
reference to any particular case?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Neutron activation analysis has been used to determine
the arsenic content in hair, urine, and fingernail scrapings, in a
suspected arsenic-poisoning case.
Mr. REDLICH. Has it been--is it used as a method of determining whether
or not a person has fired a weapon?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I do know that this technique has been used to attempt
to determine if an individual has fired a weapon.
Mr. REDLICH. Do you believe that it is a technique which could be used
under certain conditions to determine whether or not a person has fired
a weapon?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I do believe that it is a technique which can be used to
determined if a person has fired a weapon or handled a recently fired
weapon.
Mr. REDLICH. Have you yourself, Mr. Gallagher, ever testified in court
with regard to the results of a neutron activation analysis?
Mr. GALLAGHER. No, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. Now let us turn, Mr. Gallagher, to the specific
investigation that we are concerned with in this inquiry. Are you
familiar with any neutron activation analyses which were conducted in
connection with the assassination of President Kennedy?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. Could you describe what they were?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Neutron activation analyses were conducted at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn., on the paraffin casts from the
right hand, the left hand, and the right cheek of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr. REDLICH. May I interrupt you there, Mr. Gallagher? Your
determination that these were the casts from the right and left hand
and right cheek of Lee Harvey Oswald was based upon information given
to you and is not based upon your own personal knowledge; isn’t that
correct?
Mr. GALLAGHER. It is based upon knowledge which I obtained from an
official Bureau report.
Mr. REDLICH. The record would indicate that these casts were made
in Dallas, and were made in connection with tests performed by the
Dallas police. And then subsequently they were forwarded to the FBI
in Washington. That is our understanding of the manner in which the
casts were made and placed into the possession of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Do you have any information to the contrary?
Mr. GALLAGHER. It is my understanding that Dr. Morton Mason, Director
of Dallas City-County Criminal Investigation Laboratory made and
processed the paraffin casts.
Mr. REDLICH. Now, would you proceed?
Mr. GALLAGHER. The paraffin casts were analyzed by neutron activation
analyses to determine if these casts from Oswald, which were made,
chemically treated, and subsequently washed by investigators in the
Dallas area, bear any deposits which could be associated with the rifle
cartridges found in the Texas School Book Depository Building.
Mr. REDLICH. Do you know why the casts had been chemically treated in
Dallas?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Reportedly, these casts were chemically treated for the
presence of nitrates.
Mr. REDLICH. This is what is popularly referred to as the paraffin test?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes; it has been popularly referred to as the paraffin
test.
Mr. REDLICH. And your testimony is that these casts had been washed by
the time they reached your possession; is that correct?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. Would you continue?
Mr. GALLAGHER. The deposits found on the paraffin casts from the hands
and cheek of Oswald could not be specifically associated with the
rifle cartridges. The casts from Oswald bore elements--namely, barium
and antimony--which were present in the powder residues from both the
rifle, and revolver cartridges. No characteristic elements were found
by neutron activation analysis of the residues which could be used to
distinguish the rifle from the revolver cartridges. In view of the fact
that the paraffin casts were not made until after the reported firing
and handling of the fired revolver, no significance could be attached
to the residues found on the casts other than the conclusion that the
barium and antimony in these residues are present in amounts greater
than found on the hands of an individual who has not recently fired or
handled a recently fired weapon.
Mr. REDLICH. You mentioned in your answer, Mr. Gallagher, that the
elements which you found present on the paraffin casts, which were
also present on the spent cartridges found at the Texas School Book
Depository, were the elements barium and antimony; is that correct?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. In your opinion, what is the source of the elements barium
and antimony on these cartridges?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Barium and antimony are residues left from the spent
primers in the cartridges.
Mr. REDLICH. The primer being the portion of the cartridge which
ignites the principal explosive substance in the cartridge; is that
correct?
Mr. GALLAGHER. The primer is that portion of the cartridge which is----
Mr. REDLICH. If I may interrupt--which is initially struck by the
firing pin?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Which is struck by the firing pin, and detonates to
initiate the explosive charge in the cartridge itself.
Mr. REDLICH. Now, are the elements barium and antimony found in most
primer residues?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Barium and antimony are found in most primer residues;
yes.
Mr. REDLICH. Did you determine whether barium and antimony are present
in the Western Cartridge Co. ammunition which was found on the sixth
floor of the Texas School Book Depository?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I did, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. And did you find that barium and antimony are, in fact,
found in ammunition of that manufacturer?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes.
Mr. REDLICH. Did you also determine whether the elements barium and
antimony are found in the .38 caliber ammunition manufactured by
Remington Peters and Winchester Western, which was the ammunition used
in the shooting of officer Tippit?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes; I did.
Mr. REDLICH. And did you find that the elements barium and antimony
were, in fact, present in this type of ammunition?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes; I did.
Mr. REDLICH. With regard to the rifle cartridges, did you examine the
cartridges which were actually found on the sixth floor of the Texas
School Book Depository?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes; I did.
Mr. REDLICH. And did you determine that the elements barium and
antimony were present on those particular cartridges?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes; I did.
Mr. REDLICH. Are you able to give us your opinion as to the possible
effect of the washing of the paraffin casts on the analysis which you
performed? Let me rephrase the question. Did the fact that these casts
were washed prior to the neutron activation test materially alter, in
your opinion, the results of the neutron activation analysis?
Mr. GALLAGHER. I can say that the washing did not remove all the
antimony and barium.
Mr. REDLICH. In your opinion, would the washing of these paraffin casts
remove substantial amounts of the elements barium and antimony if they
were present on those casts?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Chemical treatment and washing will remove portions of
the barium and antimony from these casts. This was determined from test
casts which were studied in connection with these analyses. But it did
not remove all the barium and antimony.
Mr. REDLICH. Can you describe exactly what you did with these paraffin
casts in order to perform a neutron activation analysis?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Do you want me to tell who I worked with here?
Mr. REDLICH. Yes.
Mr. GALLAGHER. These casts were taken to the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and there, with a Dr. Frank F. Dyer,
and Mr. J. F. Emery, work was performed on these casts. The casts were
studied under a binocular microscope. The surface of the casts were
scraped. These paraffin scrapings were put into a small container which
was then placed in a pneumatic tube and sent into the heart of the
research reactor to be bombarded by neutrons for a 3-minute period. The
neutron flux was 6 times 10 to the 13th neutrons per square centimeter
per second. After the 3 minutes were up, the container with its
contents was discharged from the reactor.
The gamma ray spectrum was studied. And then chemical tests were made
to precipitate barium and also to precipitate the antimony. The barium
and antimony were quantitatively determined.
Mr. REDLICH. You stated in your answer that----
Mr. GALLAGHER. Correction. Were quantitatively determined by studying
the gamma rays emitted by the barium isotope 139 and the antimony
isotope 122.
Mr. REDLICH. Now, according to your testimony, you determined that
the elements barium and antimony were present in the hand casts in an
amount greater than would be expected in the case of a person who had
not fired a revolver.
Mr. GALLAGHER. Fired or handled a recently fired weapon.
Mr. REDLICH. Confining ourselves for the moment to the hand casts, does
such a conclusion enable you to state that the person from whose hands
these cases were made had in fact fired a revolver? The question I am
asking you, Mr. Gallagher, is one designed to determine the extent to
which the neutron activation technique is able to result in definitive
judgments. Your initial answer was that the elements barium and
antimony were present in these casts in an amount greater than would
be expected from a person who had not either fired a weapon or handled
a recently fired weapon. Are you able to, on the basis of this, make a
judgment as to whether in fact the person from whose hands these casts
were made had in your opinion fired a revolver, or handled a fired
revolver?
Do you understand my question, before you attempt to answer it?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Well, first of all I reported that there was more on the
hands than would be found on the hands of a normal individual who had
not fired or handled a recently fired weapon. Now, I don’t quite get
the point of your question.
Mr. REDLICH. The point of my question is whether you are able, on the
basis of this analysis, to express an opinion as to whether the person
from whose hands these casts were made had fired a weapon.
Mr. GALLAGHER. It is my opinion that the person from whom these casts
were removed may have either handled a fired weapon, or fired a weapon.
Mr. REDLICH. I would like to introduce into the record a letter which I
have marked Gallagher Exhibit No. 1.
(Gallagher Exhibit No. 1 was marked for identification.)
Mr. REDLICH. This is a letter from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to J.
Lee Rankin, general counsel of this Commission. Are you familiar with
the contents of this letter, Mr. Gallagher?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. You will note that this letter indicates a variety of
substances which contain the element barium, the element antimony, and
substances which contain the elements barium and antimony.
The last question I asked you, Mr. Gallagher, was whether you could
make a judgment as to whether a person from whose hands these casts
were made had fired a weapon or handled a fired weapon, and you
indicated that on the basis of these tests you could make such a
judgment.
The question I now ask you is in light of the contents of the letter
which has been designated as Gallagher Exhibit No. 1, are you able to
isolate the source of the elements barium and antimony which you found
on the hand casts as coming from the primer residues rather than from
the substances which are described in Gallagher Exhibit No. 1?
Mr. GALLAGHER. It is true that there are common commercial products
which contain barium and which contain antimony.
Mr. REDLICH. And which contain barium and antimony together?
Mr. GALLAGHER. And also which contain barium and antimony together.
However, before these elements can contaminate the hands or
person--hands or body of an individual--they must be accessible so
they can adhere by mechanical adhesion to the individual. Under normal
circumstances, most of the ingredients mentioned in Exhibit No. 1----
Mr. REDLICH. Excuse me--could you refer to that as Gallagher Exhibit
No. 1?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Gallagher Exhibit No. 1, is not normally in the form
which will permit contamination by this mechanical adhesion.
Mr. REDLICH. Are you generally familiar with the test which is commonly
referred to as the paraffin test, which tests paraffin casts for
nitrate residues?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes, sir.
Mr. REDLICH. As I understand it, Mr. Gallagher, one of the reasons why
this test is considered unreliable for purposes of determining whether
or not someone has fired a weapon is the fact that the elements which
react with the reagents in the paraffin test are found in a variety of
common substances. Is that correct?
Mr. GALLAGHER. The diphenylamine or the diphenylbenzidine tests are
not specific. They react with many ingredients and for this reason the
results obtained from such tests are difficult to interpret.
Mr. REDLICH. And when I asked you to evaluate the results of the
neutron activation test performed on the hand casts in the light of the
contents of Gallagher Exhibit No. 1, do I understand your answer to be
that in the case of the neutron activation analysis it is possible to
make a valid determination as to the presence of the elements barium
and antimony, notwithstanding the fact that the elements barium and
antimony are found in common substances and not merely found in primer
residues.
Mr. GALLAGHER. The determination of barium and antimony by neutron
activation analysis is specific. Although there are commercial products
which contain the elements barium and antimony, these components
in many of these commercial products are not as available for
contaminating purposes as are nitrates and oxidizing agents detected by
the diphenylamine or diphenylbenzidine tests.
Mr. REDLICH. So that the differences between the neutron activation
analysis and the paraffin test for nitrate residues relate both to the
question of the availability of the nitrates and oxidizing agents in
the paraffin test as compared to the barium and antimony in the neutron
activation analysis, and also to the fact that in the paraffin test for
nitrate residues, the result is not necessarily specific as to nitrate
residues, whereas in the neutron activation analysis for the presence
of the elements barium and antimony, the results are specific to the
elements barium and antimony. Is that a correct statement?
Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes. And furthermore, in Gallagher Exhibit No. 1, it
says that paint, for example, contains both barium and antimony--this
does not mean that every sample of paint contains barium and antimony.
And so it is with the other items mentioned in Gallagher Exhibit No. 1.