Mr. LIEBELER. Late July or early August would it be, or some time in
August of 1963?
Mr. BLALOCK. August would be the closest I could get. I don't remember
the exact date.
Mr. LIEBELER. Tell me the conversation that you and Philip had with
Bringuier when you went into the store.
Mr. BLALOCK. Oh, we entered the store and Philip introduced me to
Carlos, and I told him--I saw the funds Philip had collected for
him, and I told him I was curious about what it was for, and then he
explained for me how the organization worked and told me he received
the funds from people in New Orleans and sent it to Florida, and that
was his total business, and he explained that Communism was where the
kids are supposed to tell everything on their parents, to obey the
State and not their parents.
Mr. LIEBELER. Present at this conversation were just you and Philip and
Carlos? Is that right?
Mr. BLALOCK. No; there was another man--must have worked at the store.
He was present.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you know what his name was?
Mr. BLALOCK. No, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. Now while you were there in the store, did you notice
anybody else present?
Mr. BLALOCK. Well, a man from a moving company or some trucking company
came in. He had a radio that needed to be fixed, a broken radio, and
Lee Harvey Oswald came in.
Mr. LIEBELER. Tell us, to the best of your recollection, the things
that happened as far as Oswald was concerned.
Mr. BLALOCK. He walked up to us and leaned against the desk and
listened to the conversation. Then he started asking questions about
the organization, and we were talking about guerrilla warfare, just in
case the country got in war how young students could help, something in
that nature, and then he started--then Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald, asked
Carlos Bringuier all about the organization and what part it played in
the main movement in Florida.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did they say anything else? Was there more to the
conversation?
Mr. BLALOCK. Let's see.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did this man who walked up introduce himself by name?
Mr. BLALOCK. I believe so, but I don't remember what name he gave.
Mr. LIEBELER. Are you now convinced that he was Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir. I know his face. I recognized his face.
Mr. LIEBELER. But you don't remember that he mentioned the name Lee
Harvey Oswald at that time?
Mr. BLALOCK. No.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did Oswald say anything about having been a Marine?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir; he did, and he explained that he took training
in guerrilla warfare, and he told us how to blow up bridges, derail
trains, make zip guns, make homemade gunpowder.
Mr. LIEBELER. He told you about this in detail?
Mr. BLALOCK. He told us how to blow up the Huey P. Long Bridge.
Mr. LIEBELER. Tell us just what he told you about that. I know you
can't remember the exact words, but you can remember the substance of
the conversation. We want you to tell us about it.
Mr. BLALOCK. He told us to put powder charges at each end of the bridge
from the foundation to where the foundation meets the suspension part,
and to blow that part up and the center part of the bridge would
collapse.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he talk about any other aspect of guerrilla warfare
that you can remember?
Mr. BLALOCK. He said that if you don't have the materials you need
always available, you had to do without stuff.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he give any specific example of that?
Mr. BLALOCK. Gunpowder, high explosives.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he tell you how to do without gunpowder in these
activities?
Mr. BLALOCK. He told us how to derail a train without gunpowder.
Mr. LIEBELER. What did he say about that?
Mr. BLALOCK. He said put a chain around the railroad track and lock it
to the track with a lock.
Mr. LIEBELER. And then when the train hit the chain it would derail the
train?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he say that he knew how to make gunpowder?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir; he told us the formula, and I--saltpeter and
nitrate--some formula--I don't remember.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he say anything about guns?
Mr. BLALOCK. About zip guns, how to make them out of tubing and a
plunger.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he say something to the effect that he knew all about
guns?
Mr. BLALOCK. No; he told us he had a manual that explained all about
guns, a Marine manual, and that he had training in guns, trained with
guns.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember anything else that he said?
Mr. BLALOCK. Not right offhand.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he talk to Bringuier about helping Bringuier in
this organization, or just what was the general context of this
conversation? Was this just a general discussion of guerrilla warfare,
or did it relate to the activities of Bringuier's anti-Castro
organization? What can you remember?
Mr. BLALOCK. He just asked him about the anti-Castro organization
and asked him to explain it to him, and he said he was interested
in finding out how it operated. He didn't say he wanted to join it:
He just said he was interested in it. Oh, and Bringuier gave him
literature, a Cuban newspaper and leaflets or booklets.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was there any discussion of politics?
Mr. BLALOCK. Not to my recollection.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was there any mention of President Kennedy?
Mr. BLALOCK. No, sir. I couldn't say for sure there was no mention of
President Kennedy. I don't think there was.
Mr. LIEBELER. What did you think of Oswald?
Mr. BLALOCK. He seemed like a very intelligent man to me, well spoken,
looked well dressed, well groomed.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you think anything else about him, or is that about
it?
Mr. BLALOCK. That is the impression that I got right at the moment.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he say anything about Florida?
Mr. BLALOCK. Just mentioned the Cuban anti-Castro organization there.
Mr. LIEBELER. What did he say about that?
Mr. BLALOCK. I don't remember exactly, but I think he said he had been
there and he had looked into it. I couldn't say for sure on that.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did he mention the name of the organization?
Mr. BLALOCK. No, sir. No, I don't recall any name.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember being interviewed about this subject by
an FBI agent?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir; I do, during the Christmas holidays.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember his name?
Mr. BLALOCK. No, sir; I don't. All I know is a Lieutenant or something
like that.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you think you would remember his name if I mentioned
it to you?
Mr. BLALOCK. I might, or my mother might. She was present.
Mr. LIEBELER. Your mother was present when you were interviewed by the
FBI?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes.
Mr. LIEBELER. Would it refresh your recollection if I told you that the
report that I have of the interview that you had with the FBI agent
indicates that the man's name was Kevin J. Herrigan?
Mr. BLALOCK. Herrigan? No. No; I don't remember that name.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember talking to the FBI agent about Oswald's
remark concerning having been to Florida?
Mr. BLALOCK. No, sir; I don't remember what I told the FBI agent. I
don't remember anything about Oswald saying--only that I think he said
he had been there.
Mr. LIEBELER. Well, the report that I have here says that you seemed
to remember Oswald mentioning something about having recently visited
something called the Casa Nostra, C-a-s-a N-o-s-t-r-a. Do you remember
saying anything about that to the FBI man?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir; I remember mentioning the organization, but I
couldn't remember the name. That organization was mentioned in the
conversation with Carlos Bringuier and Harvey Oswald.
Mr. LIEBELER. It was?
Mr. BLALOCK. I believe so.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember that it was Oswald who mentioned it?
Mr. BLALOCK. I don't remember which one mentioned it first.
Mr. LIEBELER. And it was mentioned as being a Cuban organization in
Florida? Is that your recollection?
Mr. BLALOCK. Yes, sir; I think that is the name they mentioned. It
could be something similar. I know I got this Mafia name mixed up with
a Cuban organization name.
Mr. LIEBELER. Well, you know that that name that I just mentioned, Casa
Nostra, is very similar to the Cosa Nostra. Do you think you may have
been confused at the time you talked with him?
Mr. BLALOCK. Well, I meant the Cuban organization. I may have said the
Mafia, the Cosa Nostra.
Mr. LIEBELER. You may have used that name?