Mr. LEECH. Yes, we did.
THE CHAIRMAN. I will not be able to be here at all times today because
we have, we are hearing arguments in the Court at 10 o'clock and I must
leave to be there, but Mr. Dulles anticipates being here all day so in
my absence he will conduct hearings.
Congressman Ford has some unfinished business at the Congress as I have
at the Court so he probably will not be here all through the day.
Mr. Martin, will you please rise and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear in this proceeding before the Commission to tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. MARTIN. I do.
Mr. LEECH. Your Honor, who are these other gentlemen here. I haven't
been introduced to them.
The CHAIRMAN. This is Mr. Charles Rhyne, who represents the American
Bar Association.
Mr. LEECH. Former president of the American Bar Association?
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, and Mr. Murray who is also in the Public Defender's
office of the District of Columbia.
Mr. RANKIN. He represents Mr. Walter Craig, too.
The CHAIRMAN. He and Mr. Rhyne represent Mr. Walter Craig.
Mr. LEECH. Who is that?
Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Craig is the President of the Bar Association and was
asked to act in order to protect or advise the Commission as to any
interests of Lee H. Oswald because of--you probably saw the notice in
the paper and so forth.
Mr. LEECH. You represent the man from Arizona?
Mr. RHYNE. Walter E. Craig, President of the American Bar Association.
Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Storey is the representative of the Attorney General of
Texas.
Mr. LEECH. He is Dean of the Southern Methodist Law School.
Mr. RANKIN. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Of course, this is Professor Redlich of our staff. And
this is the reporter.
All right, Mr. Rankin will conduct the examination.
Will you proceed, Mr. Rankin?
Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Leech, does the reporter have your full name?
Mr. LEECH. Yes, sir; he does.
Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Martin, will you tell us your name, please?
Mr. MARTIN. James Herbert Martin.
Mr. RANKIN. Where do you live?
Mr. MARTIN. Dallas, Tex.
Mr. RANKIN. How long have you lived there?
Mr. MARTIN. Since 1956.
Mr. RANKIN. What is your occupation?
Mr. MARTIN. Hotel executive.
Mr. RANKIN. Are you now connected with the Six Flags Motel?
Mr. MARTIN. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Were you at one time?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. And during what period?
Mr. MARTIN. From May of 1962 until January 1, 1964.
Mr. RANKIN. What was your position with that institution?
Mr. MARTIN. Resident manager.
Mr. RANKIN. While you were at the Six Flags Inn, did you become
acquainted with Marina Oswald?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. About when was the first time that you met her?
Mr. MARTIN. I guess it was November 24.
Mr. RANKIN. Of what year?
Mr. MARTIN. 1963.
Mr. RANKIN. And will you tell us how that acquaintance started?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, I was called by the Tarrant County sheriff on Sunday.
Mr. RANKIN. Who was that?
Mr. MARTIN. Lew Evans.
Mr. RANKIN. Yes.
Mr. MARTIN. About 11 o'clock in the morning, and they wanted a room
where they could question the Oswald family. I told them they could
have it, and about four o'clock, I guess, four or four-thirty, I don't
know the exact time they came in with the whole family, and we gave
them several rooms to accommodate the family.
Mr. RANKIN. Were you introduced to Marina Oswald at that time?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, I don't believe I was ever really introduced to her.
Mr. RANKIN. How did you come to know her then?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, just through association.
Mr. RANKIN. I see. Did you know the county sheriff before that?
Mr. MARTIN. Vaguely, not to any great extent.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know of any particular reason why he chose your
establishment?
Mr. MARTIN. Because of the central location between Dallas and Fort
Worth and the isolation of it.
Mr. RANKIN. At that time who came to stay with you at the Six Flags
Inn, Marina and some of her family?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, Marina and the two children and Robert and Marguerite
Oswald.
Mr. RANKIN. Did they have several suites there?
Mr. MARTIN. They had one room, well, one suite, room 423 and 424 and
then we gave them two other rooms for the Secret Service.
Mr. RANKIN. Did anyone make arrangements with you besides the county
sheriff about how this would be handled?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, Secret Service.
Mr. RANKIN. Who, for the Secret Service?
Mr. MARTIN. Let's see, Charles Kunkel, and Howard--I can't remember his
first name.
Mr. RANKIN. Secret Service man?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Where was this arrangement made?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, down in the room in the suite.
Mr. RANKIN. There at the Six Flags Inn?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. And the three of you were there together, were you?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, there were also Arlington police officers and several
other Secret Service men.
Mr. RANKIN. Who participated in the conversation?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, I don't know who else was in the conversation. It was
primarily between Kunkel and Howard and myself.
Mr. RANKIN. What was said in regard to this arrangement at that time?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, they said that they would need these rooms to
accommodate the family and they had no idea how long they would need it.
Mr. RANKIN. Was anything said about the price and who would make
payment?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes. They said that the Government would take care of the
room rate on it.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you have to submit this matter to any of your superiors
or did you make the decision at that time?
Mr. MARTIN. No, I made the decision.
Mr. RANKIN. Had you had any prior dealings with the Secret Service
people before that?
Mr. MARTIN. No.
Mr. RANKIN. How long did Marguerite Oswald stay there?
Mr. MARTIN. I believe she left on Friday.
Mr. RANKIN. What day?
Mr. MARTIN. Or maybe Thursday. Would be the 28th or 29th, I am not
certain as to the exact date.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall any incidents where Marguerite Oswald sought
to leave prior to the Thursday or Friday that she left?
Mr. MARTIN. No, I don't recall anything like that.
Mr. RANKIN. Have you ever assisted the local police officers in any
other way at your Six Flags Inn before that?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. In a general way what was the nature of that assistance.
Mr. MARTIN. Well, of course, I can't recall any specific instances. I
know we cooperate with the law enforcement officers in anything they
have to ask us, and we cooperate with them, giving them information. I
don't know of any particular incidents other than----
Mr. RANKIN. Would you describe briefly just where these rooms were
in your Inn and where the Secret Service were compared with Marina
Oswald's rooms?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, Marina Oswald was in Rooms 423 and 424, which were
connecting rooms, and the rooms faced away from the entrance to the
motel. And then the Secret Service had 422 and 421 also. They were
rooms next door to it, but not connecting.
Mr. RANKIN. After Marina first came there did the Secret Service have
someone on duty while she was at the Six Flags?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. All the time?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall who that was?
Mr. MARTIN. Let's see--well, I remember his first name now, Mike
Howard, and Charles Kunkel, Lee Gopadze was there part of the time.
They seemed to change quite frequently.
Mr. RANKIN. Did they have someone there 24 hours of the day?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. During this early period did you ever talk to Marina?
Mr. MARTIN. No, except to say hello.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know whether she talked English much at that time?
Mr. MARTIN. From all appearances, she didn't.
Mr. RANKIN. Did anyone visit you while she was there at the Six Flags
during this early period that you recall?
Mr. MARTIN. Not to my knowledge other than the FBI.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you invite Marina and her family to come to your home
for Thanksgiving?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Will you tell us how that happened?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, it just happened. I don't know, I think I asked
Robert if he would like to come out for dinner, Thanksgiving dinner.
They weren't going to have a very happy Thanksgiving, and living in
those rooms was pretty cramped.
Mr. RANKIN. When was this that you asked Robert?
Mr. MARTIN. I believe on Wednesday.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you include Robert and his wife as well as Marina and
her family in the invitation?
Mr. MARTIN. Well, Robert's wife wasn't there, but I included Robert. He
came out to the house also.
Mr. RANKIN. Did Marina then come to your house for Thanksgiving?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Who all came at that time?
Mr. MARTIN. Let's see, there were Marina and June Lee, and Robert,
Charlie Kunkel, and one Arlington police officer. I don't recall his
name.
Mr. RANKIN. What time of the day did they come?
Mr. MARTIN. I believe it was 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you invite Marguerite Oswald to Thanksgiving dinner at
that time, too?
Mr. MARTIN. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you say anything to her about it?
Mr. MARTIN. No. As I recall I just asked, I believe I just asked Robert
if they would like to come, they were welcome if they would like to
come.
Mr. RANKIN. You mean by that that you included Marguerite Oswald in
your invitation?
Mr. MARTIN. I don't think I named her. I don't know if she had left by
then.
Mr. RANKIN. You didn't deliberately exclude her from the invitation?
Mr. MARTIN. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Then did you at some time discuss with Marina the
possibility of her staying at your home rather than at the Six Flags
Inn?
Mr. MARTIN. No, I discussed it with Secret Service first.
Mr. RANKIN. When was that?
Mr. MARTIN. Thursday or Friday.
Mr. RANKIN. Before this Thanksgiving dinner or afterwards?
Mr. MARTIN. I don't recall. I know the Secret Service made a statement
that they were quite concerned as to where Marina would go after she
left the Inn. They had no place to put her and they had no idea where
she was going to go.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall when they made that statement?
Mr. MARTIN. No, it was Wednesday or Thursday.
Mr. RANKIN. At that time did you say anything about that?
Mr. MARTIN. I told them that if they couldn't find any place for her
that I would be glad to take them into my home.
Mr. RANKIN. Was anything said about what compensation you would receive
for that?
Mr. MARTIN. No. There was no compensation considered.
Mr. RANKIN. You didn't suggest any and they didn't, is that right?
Mr. MARTIN. That is correct.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you discuss that idea with Marina at all?