The testimony of Edward E. Pierce was taken at 2 p.m., on April 1,
1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building,
Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Leon D. Hubert, assistant
counsel of the President’s Commission.
Mr. HUBERT. Mr. Pierce, my name is Leon Hubert. I am a member of the
advisory staff of the General Counsel on the President’s Commission.
Under the provisions of Executive Order 11130, dated November 29, 1963,
a joint resolution of Congress No. 137, and the rules of procedure
adopted by the President’s Commission in conformance with the Executive
order and 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 facts
relating to the assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent
and violent death of Lee Harvey Oswald.
In particular as to you, Mr. Pierce, the nature of the inquiry today
is to determine what facts you know about the death of Oswald and any
other pertinent facts you may know about the general inquiry and the
physical setup of the police department and the municipal building.
Mr. PIERCE. All right.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, Mr. Pierce, I think you have appeared here today as a
result of an informal request made for you to come here.
Mr. PIERCE. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Under the rules cf the Commission, you are actually
entitled to a 3-day written notice before the taking of this
deposition, but the rules also provide that you may waive that if you
wish, and I must ask you first of all, do you waive the 3-day written
notice to which you are normally entitled, and----
Mr. PIERCE. Sure.
Mr. HUBERT. You are ready to go ahead right now?
Mr. PIERCE. Sure. Didn’t even know that I have a choice. In fact, it
is quite fortunate that it came on this day. I am ready, and much
prefer, as I expected this was the time I--and to put it another way, I
don’t need the other 3 days. It is, I understand, for people who have
business appointments or other things and maybe they would, but that is
not the case.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you stand and raise your right hand. 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. PIERCE. I do.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you tell me your full name?
Mr. PIERCE. Edward Eugene Pierce.
Mr. HUBERT. What is your age, sir?
Mr. PIERCE. 45.
Mr. HUBERT. And your residence?
Mr. PIERCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What is your residence? Where do you live?
Mr. PIERCE. I thought you said, “Resident,” sir. 1726 Michigan.
Mr. HUBERT. What is your occupation, sir?
Mr. PIERCE. Building and maintenance employee at the city hall.
Mr. HUBERT. How long have you been so employed?
Mr. PIERCE. 5 years, almost exactly.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, were you on duty in the city hall and police building
on Sunday, November 24?
Mr. PIERCE. That’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. What time did you come on duty?
Mr. PIERCE. 7 o’clock.
Mr. HUBERT. What time did you leave?
Mr. PIERCE. Almost exactly 3 o’clock, 5 or 6 or 8 minutes, probably,
after 3, because after 3 o’clock I was no more on duty, as far duty,
which is 3 o’clock, and as far as my actual building, I wanted to look
around and see what was taking place, so, probably 7 or 8 minutes after
3 when I actually drove out of the basement area.
Mr. HUBERT. What were your duties, functions and responsibilities in
your position on that day while you were on duty with respect to both
buildings, to wit, the municipal building and the police building?
Mr. PIERCE. You covered a lot of ground there. To actually be one-half
percent accurate, I would nearly need the civil service breakdown of
that job responsibility, because you covered all of it. Well, for all
practical purposes, the operation of the city hall and its maintenance
is a 24-hour a day operation. Consequently, we have three shifts--and
they have to use some of the personnel, too, as building engineers,
see. If they want one of us they page the building engineer. Actually,
we aren’t the building engineers. We are merely responsible for the
building maintenance and operation of the two buildings, which are
joined together on a 24-hour a day basis.