The testimony of George R. Phenix was taken at 3:40 p.m., on April 16,
1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building,
Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Leon D. Hubert, Jr.,
assistant counsel of the President’s Commission.
Mr. HUBERT. Mr. Phenix, my name is Leon Hubert. I am a member of the
advisory staff of the General Counsel of the President’s Commission
on the Assassination of President Kennedy. Under the provisions
of Executive Order 11130, dated November 29, 1963, and the Joint
Resolution of the Congress, No. 137, and the rules of procedure adopted
by the Commission in conformance with the Executive order and the joint
resolution, I have been authorized to take a sworn deposition from you.
I state to you now that the general nature of the Commission’s inquiry
is to ascertain, evaluate, and report upon the facts relating to the
assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent violent death
of Lee Harvey Oswald. In particular as to you, Mr. Phenix, the nature
of the inquiry today is to determine all the facts you know about the
death of Oswald and any other pertinent facts you may know about the
general inquiry and the activities of Jack Ruby.
Mr. Phenix, I think you appeared here as a result of a written request
addressed to you by Mr. J. Lee Rankin, who is the General Counsel of
the President’s Commission.
Mr. PHENIX. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. And I ask you now, you received that written request more
than 3 days ago?
Mr. PHENIX. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you rise and be sworn? Do you solemnly swear the
testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. PHENIX. I do.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you please state your name?
Mr. PHENIX. George R. Phenix.
Mr. HUBERT. And your age?
Mr. PHENIX. Twenty-five.
Mr. HUBERT. Where do you live?
Mr. PHENIX. 2550 Klondike.
Mr. HUBERT. What is your occupation?
Mr. PHENIX. I am a reporter--cameraman.
Mr. HUBERT. What station?
Mr. PHENIX. KRLD.
Mr. HUBERT. That’s a Dallas station?
Mr. PHENIX. Right.
Mr. HUBERT. How long have you been so employed?
Mr. PHENIX. Since the middle of October.
Mr. HUBERT. What was your occupation prior to that time?
Mr. PHENIX. Reporter for the magazine Texas Municipal League, an
organization of Texas towns and city of the magazine--Austin.
Mr. HUBERT. Are you a college graduate?
Mr. PHENIX. No; doggone it--no. I lack three courses. I have been in
college for a long time.
Mr. HUBERT. Where did you study?
Mr. PHENIX. Texas Tech and Texas University--journalism and advertising.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you on duty with KRLD on November 24, 1963?
Mr. PHENIX. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What function were you performing on that day with
reference to your occupation?
Mr. PHENIX. My assignment was to cover Oswald as they brought him out
from the police department, cover him, and just to get film on it.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, you were to operate a film camera and you
had nothing to do with the television part of it at all?
Mr. PHENIX. None at all.
Mr. HUBERT. Did KRLD have television machines down there?
Mr. PHENIX. Right--we had a live camera set up there.
Mr. HUBERT. But your operation was not in connection with that?
Mr. PHENIX. No--there are really two distinct operations--they are a
production crew, the same crew that handles a TV show in the studio,
and I don’t even know how to operate their cameras.
Mr. HUBERT. What you were operating was a hand camera, is that correct?
Mr. PHENIX. Well, it’s a little larger than a hand camera but generally
it is operated on a battery pack.
Mr. HUBERT. Perhaps for the record you might, if you can, give the
technical description of the camera you were using that day.
Mr. PHENIX. Well, it’s an Auricon, 16 mm. sound camera and it is
equipped with a 400-foot magazine, operated--a hand camera is normally
hand wound--this is power driven by a battery, and it had a microphone
and it was braced on a unipod, a single pole.
Mr. HUBERT. It is held by the hand and balanced that way?
Mr. PHENIX. By the hand when it is on a unipod. Normally it is usually
either on a tripod or a shoulder harness and it weighs about 40 pounds
I imagine.
Mr. HUBERT. Well, on the 24th of November how were you operating it--on
a tripod?
Mr. PHENIX. On a unipod--on a unipod.
Mr. HUBERT. By that, I take it it is a single stick, is it not?
Mr. PHENIX. Right.
Mr. HUBERT. It is adjustable for distance from the ground?
Mr. PHENIX. Yes, sir--I believe there are three adjustments you can
make.
Mr. HUBERT. It serves to steady the camera?
Mr. PHENIX. Right.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, Mr. Phenix, I have shown you two documents which I am
now going to mark for identification as follows, to wit: The first one
I am marking, “Dallas, Tex., April 16, 1964, as number 5328, Deposition
of George R. Phenix,” and I am signing my name below that. That
contains one page. It purports to be an interview of you on November
24, 1963, by FBI Agents Lee and Barrett [spelling] B-a-r-r-e-t-t.