Mr. HUBERT. I mean, what work have you done?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. A number of things--should I go through them?
Mr. HUBERT. Yes; just briefly.
Mr. ARMSTRONG. I was--right after I left school, I was caddymaster at
River Hills golf course. I left there and went to--well, I had a job at
Vick’s Cafeteria in the Republic Bank Building--no, no--I’m sorry, it
was Wilson’s Cafeteria, and then Vick’s Restaurant; then Vinson Still.
Mr. HUBERT. Is Vinson Still a corporation or individual?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. It was a corporation.
Mr. HUBERT. What kind of work did you do then?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Cut stainless steel--I mean--filled orders of stainless
steel and magnesium--cut magnesium. I started out as a porter.
Mr. HUBERT. All right, continue.
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Then, I did a prison stretch for marihuana for 3 years.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you convicted in State court?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. State court.
Mr. HUBERT. In Dallas?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. When were you convicted?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. 1958.
Mr. HUBERT. And you were sentenced to how many years in prison?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Five.
Mr. HUBERT. How many did you actually serve?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Three.
Mr. HUBERT. That was on a charge of possession? Possession and sale of
marihuana?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you remember the date of your release?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. The date was March 18, 1961.
Mr. HUBERT. Was that on a parole situation?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No; that was discharged.
Mr. HUBERT. That was what?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Discharge.
Mr. HUBERT. How was the time reduced then from 5 years to approximately
3?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, in this State you do 3 years or do 5.
Mr. HUBERT. You mean for good time and so forth?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, for good time you can reduce some of that time.
Mr. HUBERT. The point is, that when you left the prison you were not on
probation?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. I was not on probation. When I came back I started to
work at the Holiday Hills Apartments, belonging to the Hunt Oil Co.,
and Bowman Real Estate, I think it was.
Mr. HUBERT. That’s in Dallas here?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. In Dallas.
Mr. HUBERT. What kind of work did you do then?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, I was a maintenance man out there.
Mr. HUBERT. At the Holiday Hills Apartments?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. That’s owned by the Hunt Oil Co.?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. What is the Bowman Real Estate?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, he was the one that built it, I think he built it
and sold it for half interest or something.
Mr. HUBERT. What Hunt is that in the Hunt Oil Co.?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. It’s H. L. Hunt Co.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know Mr. Hunt?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know a man by the name of Lamar Hunt?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. I have seen him--I don’t know him.
Mr. HUBERT. Is that the same man as H. L. Hunt Oil Co.?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. That’s the same man--he was in charge, and when I left
the Holiday Hills----
Mr. HUBERT. Well, before you leave the Holiday Hills and Hunt Oil Co.,
you say that you have seen a Mr. Hunt, but have not talked to him?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No, sir; I have never talked to him.
Mr. HUBERT. And that one you saw was H. L. Hunt?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No, no--it was Lamar, and a few of his brothers, a
couple of his brothers, I think it was--it was on the 4th of July or a
Labor Day, I don’t know which one it was, I don’t recall, and they had
a party out there.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know the relationship between Lamar Hunt and H. L.
Hunt?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What is that?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Father and son.
Mr. HUBERT. But you never met H. L. Hunt?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. But you have seen him?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Who employed you over there?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. A Mrs. Pierson was the manager. I dropped in one
afternoon for a job and she gave me the opportunity to work there for a
week to see if I did a good job, so she hired me.
Mr. HUBERT. When you were employed by this lady to work for the Holiday
Hills Apartments, did they know you had been in the penitentiary?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No.
Mr. HUBERT. How long after you left the penitentiary did you apply and
receive the job?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Let’s see, it was sometime during the summer of 1961.
Mr. HUBERT. About the middle of the summer, you mean?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. I’m pretty sure--I think it was about the middle of the
summer.
Mr. HUBERT. What did you do in the meantime, between March when you
left the penitentiary?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, I mostly just picked up odd jobs trying to make a
buck, just odd jobs, whatever I could find to do.
Mr. HUBERT. Have you kept out of trouble ever since?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes. I have an application in for full pardon,
recommended by Mr. “Bill” Decker himself.
Mr. HUBERT. By Mr. who?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. The sheriff.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know the sheriff?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. How did you come to know him?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, mostly through--I’ve seen him more times through
going down to visit Jack, because you had to go through Mr. Decker.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you know Mr. Decker prior to the time that Oswald was
killed?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Not too well--well, no, in a way I did and in a way I
didn’t.
Mr. HUBERT. Well, explain that, please.
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Back when I was a caddymaster at River Hills golf course
someone broke in it out there and I was picked up on investigation,
which someone else testified to later that they had did it.
Mr. HUBERT. At first they thought you had done it?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes--that’s when I first met Mr. Decker.
Mr. HUBERT. How often did you see him after you left the penitentiary
and until the shooting of Oswald?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, I only saw him--let’s see--we will come back to
about January 1962--I had got a job at Marilyn Belt Factory just across
from the county jail, and I used to see Mr. Decker, you know, I used to
pass him on the street there and I would always speak to him, which he
always would speak back, which he would always speak back to everyone
who speaks to him whether he knows them or not, and I guess I saw him
10 or 15 times.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you ever in his office?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Not until after the slaying of Lee Oswald, the one time
was for the investigation.
Mr. HUBERT. So, in other words, after you left the penitentiary your
acquaintance with Sheriff Decker amounted to nothing more than seeing
him on the streets and saying “hello?”
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. You never conversed with him?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you have any reason to believe he knew your name?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. No, he didn’t know my name until after the slaying.
Mr. HUBERT. Can you tell us why he has agreed now to support your
application for a pardon?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Well, I believe that Mr. Decker did some investigating
on me and when I went in to ask him, he went through the procedure
of having my record checked, since I have been out, and before he
recommended me.
Mr. HUBERT. Tell me, in connection with the application for a pardon,
is it necessary to get the approval of the sheriff?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. It is necessary to get the approval of some officer.
Mr. HUBERT. And you chose the sheriff?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. And I chose the sheriff. I was either going to choose
the sheriff or Mr. Gilmore, the head of the vice squad. He has been in
the club lots of times.
Mr. HUBERT. What is his name?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Gilbert--I don’t know whether he’s in charge of the vice
squad for the city or not, but he is around and he has been to the
club, checking in like he does, like policemen do, and he got to--he
would always speak to me when he come in and he was always very nice
and I was always very nice to him and I’m pretty sure he had some
checking done on me, too.
Mr. HUBERT. But, in any case, you chose Sheriff Decker?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. But I chose one of the two of them because I didn’t know
anybody else to approach--any other officers.
Mr. HUBERT. All right, I think we had left off with our analysis of
your employment since you left the penitentiary, that you had worked
for the Holiday Hills Apartments--how long did you work for them?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Oh, about 8 or 9 months--it wasn’t too long.
Mr. HUBERT. And that employment began, in the summer of 1961?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Yes, and it ended a little before Christmas--I think it
was around the 1st of December.
Mr. HUBERT. Of 1961?
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Of 1961.
Mr. HUBERT. Well, it would hardly have been 9 months.
Mr. ARMSTRONG. I believe that’s right--I imagine.
Mr. HUBERT. You think then, you actually began to work with them
probably in May or June of 1961?