The testimony of Hal Priddy, Jr., was taken at 5:05 p.m., on March 31,
1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building,
Bryan and Erway Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Leon D. Hubert, Jr.,
assistant counsel of the President’s Commission.
Mr. HUBERT. This is the deposition of Mr. Hal Priddy [spelling]
P-r-i-d-d-y, Jr. Mr. Priddy, my name is Leon Hubert. I am a member
of the advisory staff of the General Counsel of the President’s
Commission. Under the Provision of Executive Order 11130, dated
November 29, 1963, Joint Resolution of Congress 137, and rules of
procedure adopted by the Commission in conformance with the Executive
order and the joint resolution I have been authorized to take the sworn
deposition from you, Mr. Priddy, as the former employee of the O’Neal
Funeral Home.
I state to you now that the general nature of the Commission’s inquiry
is to ascertain and evaluate and report upon the facts relating to the
assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent violent death of
Lee Oswald.
I state to you now, Mr. Priddy, that the nature of the inquiry is
to determine the facts you know about the death of Oswald and any
other facts you may know about the general inquiry. In particular the
ambulance call at the O’Neal Funeral Home. Now, you have appeared
here today by virtue of a general request made by Mr. J. Lee Rankin,
General Counsel for the President’s Commission, addressed to the O’Neal
Funeral Home, and asked them to produce certain documents and witnesses
relevant to those documents and other matters, I take it that you have
not, yourself, received a copy of that letter?
Mr. PRIDDY. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Let me say that under the rules of the Commission, any
witnesses--any witness is entitled to a 3-day written notice prior to
the taking of his deposition, but the rules also provide that a witness
may also waive the 3-day notice if he sees fit, and I ask you now if
you are willing to waive the 3-day notice?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you stand and be sworn. Do you solemnly swear to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. PRIDDY. I do.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you please state your full name?
Mr. PRIDDY. Hal Arthur Priddy, Jr.
Mr. HUBERT. Your age?
Mr. PRIDDY. Twenty-five.
Mr. HUBERT. Your residence?
Mr. PRIDDY. 1857 Swan.
Mr. HUBERT. And your present occupation?
Mr. PRIDDY. Salesman for Shaw Jewelers.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, on November 24, 1963, which was the Sunday after the
assassination of President Kennedy, where were you employed?
Mr. PRIDDY. O’Neal Funeral Home.
Mr. HUBERT. In what capacity?
Mr. PRIDDY. I was the rider. I was riding with Mike, but I just
relieved----
Mr. HUBERT. You were riding with Mike whom?
Mr. PRIDDY. Mike Hardin, and I just relieved the dispatcher, and he had
taken my place.
Mr. HUBERT. Who was the dispatcher?
Mr. PRIDDY. Wayne Wolfe.
Mr. HUBERT. So, that you were acting as dispatcher around, say 11 or
11:30?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. At the O’Neal Funeral Home?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What are your duties as dispatcher?
Mr. PRIDDY. Well, we receive incoming calls from the police department
and in turn dispatch them to the various funeral homes in their
district, you know----
Mr. HUBERT. You mean the O’Neal Funeral Home dispatches them, they
receive calls from the police office and dispatch these calls to the
various funeral----
Mr. PRIDDY. You see, we have a direct line from the police department.
All they do is pick up a phone and it rings and we have a direct line
to the Dudley Hughes Funeral Home and to the Camp Funeral Home, so that
if the call is in their area that way the ambulance will get there
quicker, you know, than O’Neal’s having to drive clear across town.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, O’Neal’s is sort of central for all
ambulance calls----
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Which come to you from the police and in turn are sent out
by you to the appropriate funeral home operating an ambulance?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. And I assume that you send the ambulance which is closest
to where it is needed?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. All right, now, do you recall having received a call from
the police shortly after 11 o’clock on the 24th of November 1963?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir; I was dispatching at the time, and one of the
other funeral homes called and told me. I was waiting for the call when
they told me that they were going to have to have an ambulance down at
the----
Mr. HUBERT. You what? You were waiting for the call?
Mr. PRIDDY. Yes, sir; you see. One of the funeral homes had, you know,
it was on live TV, and they had seen it, and they picked up their
direct line.
Mr. HUBERT. To you?
Mr. PRIDDY. And told me.
Mr. HUBERT. Told you what?
Mr. PRIDDY. That we were probably going to need an ambulance, that
there was a disturbance down at city hall, so, I was waiting for the
call when it came in.
Mr. HUBERT. I show you a document marked for identification as Hardin
Exhibit No. 5125, and ask if your handwriting appears on that document?