Mr. ROMACK. I take it back, I was going to Tech when the war broke out,
and went to East Texas State after the war.
Mr. BELIN. When the war broke out, what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. I went into the Navy.
Mr. BELIN. What did you do in the Navy?
Mr. ROMACK. I was in the Amphibious, on the Aleutian Islands, and took
boot training in San Diego.
I went to the Aleutian Islands and came back and went to Pearl Harbor
and stayed out there for 9 months, and boarded an LST and went through
the campaigns of the Philippines and Okinawa and Japan and then
returned back home.
Mr. BELIN. When did you get back to the States?
Mr. ROMACK. March 1946.
Mr. BELIN. I was stationed in Japan right after the last war. Where
were you stationed?
Mr. ROMACK. I was on this LST in Pearl Harbor.
Mr. BELIN. Were you in Japan after the war?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, I was there during the time the Treaty was signed. We
were in the, I forget the name, we were riding typhoons. We rode out
eight of them, and our ship came back without the two side doors. All
we had was the big ramp.
Mr. BELIN. That must have been quite a voyage back?
Mr. ROMACK. They were taking water in the port and bailing it over in
the back.
Mr. BELIN. When you got back to the States, what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. Went to St. Louis and bought me an automobile, and just I
was a boy. I was the boy about 6 months, I would say.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. Then I entered school, East Texas State Teachers College.
Mr. BELIN. You went there about a year?
Mr. ROMACK. Approximately a year, I would say, yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do after that?
Mr. ROMACK. I got married once along the route, and I was married about
30 days.
Then I came to Dallas in 1947. I guess it was 1947, or 1948, I forget
just when I did come to Dallas. It was along in there.
Mr. BELIN. And you have been in Dallas ever since?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. By the way, were you honorably discharged?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes; I surely was.
Mr. BELIN. What did you do when you got to Dallas?
Mr. ROMACK. I went to work with a motor freight carrier. They are known
as ICX today. They were Miller & Miller Motor Freight at the time.
Mr. BELIN. What did you do for them?
Mr. ROMACK. Drove a truck.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you do that?
Mr. ROMACK. Approximately a year.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. Went back to East Texas, and my home, and piddled around
for a short while.
Then I came back to Dallas. And what did I do along in there? In 1949,
I went to work for the Cotton Belt Railroad.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you stay with them?
Mr. ROMACK. Until April, I believe, of 1955. I know it was in 1955.
Mr. BELIN. What did you generally do when you were with the Cotton Belt?
Mr. ROMACK. I did all the railroad work during that time. I mean, I
have been a billing clerk, and I have been a foreman, and I have been
checker, and assistant foreman, warehouse foreman, and I worked out in
the yards, and did quite a few jobs.
Mr. BELIN. You left them in 1955, and then what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. Went to work with--a friend wanted me to go to work with
him in a service station, Conoco Service Station.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you stay there?
Mr. ROMACK. Stayed there a year, approximately.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. Then I went to work with Strickland Transportation Co. as a
dock foreman.
Mr. BELIN. How long were you with them?
Mr. ROMACK. Oh, I would say 6 or 7 months.
Mr. BELIN. Then what?
Mr. ROMACK. Then I went to work with an air freight concern out here at
Love Field Drive, driving a truck, delivering air freight and picking
up air freight for, I would say, 7 or 8 months there, maybe.
Mr. BELIN. Then what?
Mr. ROMACK. Then I hired out with the Coordinating Transportation Co.
Mr. BELIN. Coordinated Transportation Co.?
Mr. ROMACK. Right, which that is where I am at today.
Mr. BELIN. What have you been doing for them?
Mr. ROMACK. Driving mostly your big van trailer-truck and bobtail
trucks and pickup and delivery service.
Mr. BELIN. Where were you around the noon hour of November 22, 1963?
Mr. ROMACK. I was on lunch period, just piddling around out north by
east, I would say, from the Texas School Book Depository Building.
Mr. BELIN. You were standing around Houston Street?
Mr. ROMACK. It would be just about where Houston would intersect, but
the street was under construction at the time. They didn't have it,
which they still don't have it opened up for through traffic.
Mr. BELIN. Were you standing with anyone?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, Lee and Mr. Rackley, we walked out there together
originally to start with. We were kind of piddling around, and I kind
of walked off ahead of him.
Mr. BELIN. Was that George W. Rackley you were referring to?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Is he also known as "Pop" Rackley?
Mr. ROMACK. Right.
Mr. BELIN. You said you started walking away. Where did you walk?
Mr. ROMACK. Toward the School Book Depository Building.
Mr. BELIN. Along what street did you walk?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, it wouldn't be no street at the time.
Mr. BELIN. Well, if there would be a street?
Mr. ROMACK. I guess it would be just about, I don't know whether they
are going to split Ross and Houston Street up.
Mr. BELIN. Would you be looking at at Houston Street?
Mr. ROMACK. More or less. I would be looking at Houston Street; yes,
sir.
Mr. BELIN. All right, and what happened as you were walking?
Mr. ROMACK. I heard these three rifle shots sound out.
Mr. BELIN. Did you know they were rifle shots?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir; I did. I go elk hunting in Colorado every year in
October, and I just came back from this trip, and I am pretty familiar
with a rifle shot.
Mr. BELIN. How many did you hear?
Mr. ROMACK. Three.
Mr. BELIN. Where did they sound like they came from?
Mr. ROMACK. It sounded, I guess, like it came from that building, but
it wasn't on my side of the building.
Mr. BELIN. Did it sound like it was up high or low?
Mr. ROMACK. I would say they were high. I have never been asked that
question, but it did sound like they were running out high, I would
say, and the wind was blowing a little bit from the south that day, I
can remember.
Mr. BELIN. The wind was blowing into your face as you walked, or was it
blowing from your back, sir?
Mr. ROMACK. It was blowing into my face.
Mr. BELIN. Into your face.
How far were you from the School Book Depository Building when you
heard the shots?
Mr. ROMACK. Oh, I probably was 125 yards. 100 to 125 yards, I would say.
Mr. BELIN. Would that be from the nearest corner of the building or
from the front of Elm Street?
Mr. ROMACK. From the nearest corner of the building.
Mr. BELIN. From the northeast corner of the building?
Mr. ROMACK. Right.
Mr. BELIN. How close did the shots sound like they came together?
Mr. ROMACK. Oh, they happened pretty fast. I would say maybe 3 or 4
seconds apart.
Mr. BELIN. Were they equally spaced, or did one sound like it was
closer than another one in time?
Mr. ROMACK. It sounded like to me that they were evenly spaced. They
rang out pretty fast.
Mr. BELIN. Have you ever operated a bolt action rifle?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Do you own one?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Did it sound like the shots were faster than it could be
operated with a bolt action rifle?
Mr. ROMACK. No, sir.
Mr. BELIN. What kind of rifle do you have now, by the way?
Mr. ROMACK. I have a--it is a--I can't answer that really.
Mr. BELIN. What caliber?
Mr. ROMACK. It is a 30-06.
Mr. BELIN. 30-06 rifle?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, it is. And it is an old World War I mechanism. It is
either an Enfleld or a Springfield.
Mr. BELIN. Bolt action?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. You heard those rifle shots, and you think you could shoot
your rifle accurately as fast as you heard those shots?
Mr. ROMACK. I don't, wouldn't think that I would be that good a shot;
no, sir; because I shot at an elk four times and I hit him everywhere
and missed him one time out of four.
Mr. BELIN. How far was it?
Mr. ROMACK. He was, I would say, 350 to 500 yards away. He was quite a
distance.
Mr. BELIN. Maybe I should have asked the question this way. Suppose he
was 100 yards away or else 50 yards?
Mr. ROMACK. I would be more accurate with my shooting, I sure would.
Mr. BELIN. If he were, say, from 40 to 75 yards away, or not an elk, a
person, do you think you could shoot 40 to 75 yards away accurately as
quickly as you heard those rifle sounds?
Mr. ROMACK. I wouldn't say I could; no, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Do you think an accurate rifleman could?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Well, you heard the shots, and then what did you do?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, I knew something was wrong. I mean, I could sense
that within my own self.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Mr. ROMACK. And I looked up and I felt kind of chilly looking down
towards the--which I am facing the Houston entrance, and I looked
down toward where all the people were standing along, the motorcade
was passing by, and just immediately after I heard the shots, I saw a
policeman running north towards me. He was running to look to see if
somebody was running out of the back of this building.
Mr. BELIN. What building?
Mr. ROMACK. Texas School Book Depository Building. And he didn't stay
but just, oh, he was just there to check and he runs back.
Well, sensing that something is wrong, I automatically take over
watching the building for the man.
Mr. BELIN. What part of the building were you watching?
Mr. ROMACK. The back part.
Mr. BELIN. Could you see that back dock in the back part?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, I mean, they got it sealed off. I could see as much
as anyone could see.
Mr. BELIN. Could you see--there are some stairs that go up to the back
dock, aren't there?
Mr. ROMACK. Right here.
Mr. BELIN. You are pointing to a first floor plan of the Texas School
Book Depository?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Did you watch those stairs?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you watch them after you saw the policeman
leave?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, I watched them all the time until someone arrived,
and the only time I did take my back off, turn my back to the building
was Sam Pate with his KBOX news, he arrived before any of the police or
anyone.
Mr. BELIN. Is that KBOX?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Is that a radio or television station?
Mr. ROMACK. It is a radio station.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you take your eyes off then?
Mr. ROMACK. He was driving up and they were having a little high--the
city has a piece of wood that they use to stop traffic coming through,
and I'd taken that so he could come through, drive his truck.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you leave your post?
Mr. ROMACK. I didn't leave. That was right there, even closer than what
we were. But all I did was let that down for him, and then we----
Mr. BELIN. Would that have taken less than a minute?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Less than 30 seconds, do you know?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. How long did you stay after that watching that back door?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, we were all there watching it then.
Mr. BELIN. How long a period of time?
Mr. ROMACK. Pardon?
Mr. BELIN. Did you see a policeman go up there?
Mr. ROMACK. I saw policemen up in there. I didn't see anyone come up
the back. They came in the front, all--most of them.
Mr. BELIN. Did you see any employees walk up the back way?
Mr. ROMACK. There was two other gentlemen which I never said anything
about, that taken over. They were FBI or something standing right here
at the very entrance, and just stood there.
Mr. BELIN. You are pointing again to the back stairway that leads up
from the street to the dock on the north side of the building?
Mr. ROMACK. Right.
Mr. BELIN. See anyone else?
Mr. ROMACK. No, sir; other than all the motorcycle officers and squad
cars. They started coming in, I would say, in 4 minutes from the time
that this happened. They were swarming the building, which naturally I
quit watching anything particular.
Mr. BELIN. In other words, about 4 minutes after the shots came you
quit watching it? Would that be accurate, or not?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, I would say somewhere in the neighborhood of 5
minutes, 4 or 5 minutes. That would probably be true. I stayed there,
but I wasn't particularly watching.
Mr. BELIN. In other words, then as I understand your testimony, you
said that from about the time of the shots until about 5 minutes after
the shots, you watched the back door of the building?
Mr. ROMACK. Right.
Mr. BELIN. What is the fact as to whether or not you saw anyone leave
the building?
Mr. ROMACK. They wasn't anyone left the building.
Mr. BELIN. What is the fact as to whether or not you saw anyone enter
the building other than a police officer?
Mr. ROMACK. No one entered while I was standing there.
Mr. BELIN. Did you see anybody running down the street near you at all?
Mr. ROMACK. No, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Where were you standing? How far were you from this stairway
going to this Houston Street dock?
Mr. ROMACK. Well, after this KBOX--you are asking prior to before he
got there?
Mr. BELIN. Before KBOX got there first?
Mr. ROMACK. I would say I moved between 75 yards.
Mr. BELIN. 75 yards of the northeast corner of the building?
Mr. ROMACK. 75 yards of the northeast corner of the building.
Mr. BELIN. After KBOX got there?
Mr. ROMACK. He got to about, I would say, maybe 35 yards to the
building, or 40. That is where he parked his car.
Mr. BELIN. How long did he stay, KBOX?
Mr. ROMACK. Oh. I would say 35 or 40 minutes. Then I went and called my
wife and was telling her the sad news, and then I went back and stayed
again. I ended up laying off work. I didn't even work that afternoon.
Mr. BELIN. Did you ever contact the FBI?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. When did you do that?
Mr. ROMACK. It was on a Saturday night after I got in from work.
Mr. BELIN. What month was it?
Mr. ROMACK. It was this past month.
Mr. BELIN. You mean March?
Mr. ROMACK. Right.
Mr. BELIN. What caused you to contact the FBI in March?
Mr. ROMACK. I was trying to pinpoint the day that I must have come in
from work. It was on the weekend that I'd come home, and there was a
paper up in the left-hand corner.
Mr. BELIN. You mean the newspaper?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Dallas newspaper?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Which one, do you know, offhand?
Mr. ROMACK. Herald, the paper that I take.
Mr. BELIN. What did you see in the paper?
Mr. ROMACK. I saw an article that was written by a guy, which I have
been concerned about this thing all the way through, the assassination
and I got to reading it, and it is a story that just don't jibe with
about me sitting there and watching the building. It just kind of upset
me to know there is some monkey just hatched up such a story.
Mr. BELIN. What is the story that you read that you got concerned about?
Mr. ROMACK. About a guy seeing a rifle drawn in from the building above
him, and he also seen the people as the shots were being fired, and he
also seen some character running toward me with an overcoat on which
was brown or gray or blue, and he heard 4 shots.
Mr. BELIN. Let me ask you this. Do you remember what page of the paper
this was on?
Mr. ROMACK. It was on the headlines. I don't mean the headlines. It was
on the front page in the left corner of the page.
Mr. BELIN. Now you say something concerned you about the article. Was
it the fact that he said he saw a rifle there that concerned you?
Mr. ROMACK. No, sir; the fact that he was running somebody over me, and
that is what I was out there doing. That is what I was doing. I was
watching.
Mr. BELIN. You mean the portion of the article that concerned you was
that someone said that someone else was running?
Mr. ROMACK. Towards Pacific Street.
Mr. BELIN. Towards Pacific Street from the direction of the School Book
Depository?
Mr. ROMACK. That is the way the article read, sir.
Mr. BELIN. What did you tell the FBI when you called them?
Mr. ROMACK. I told them, tried to tell them about the same thing that I
am telling you right now today.
Mr. BELIN. Have I ever mentioned before, by the way, or talked to you
before this morning?
Mr. ROMACK. No, sir.
Mr. BELIN. What is the fact as to whether or not as soon as we met, you
came in here and we started taking your deposition immediately?
Mr. ROMACK. Right. Unless you called me last Saturday. I don't remember
who called me.
Mr. BELIN. Well, on Saturday, what did someone do, call you and tell
you to come down here?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Did that person talk to you about the facts that we were
talking about now?
Mr. ROMACK. No, sir.
Mr. BELIN. It wasn't I, just for the record. I believe it was the
Secret Service that called you, but I am not sure.
Mr. ROMACK. It was.
Mr. BELIN. Now, I understand your testimony correctly, what you are
stating is that you don't believe anyone ran out of the building
towards you, at least within the first 5 minutes after the shots?
Mr. ROMACK. Right.
Mr. BELIN. You don't think anyone went out of the building during the
first 5 minutes after the shots?
Mr. ROMACK. That is true.
Mr. BELIN. Is there anything else, any other information you have that
you feel might be helpful to the investigation of the assassination?
Mr. ROMACK. I can't think of anything, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Well, we want to thank you very much for taking the time
to come down here. We appreciate your cooperation, and certainly your
cooperation particularly in volunteering to call the FBI to contact
them for this information.
Mr. ROMACK. Well, I felt that--I called an attorney that I know and
talked to him about the deal before I called the FBI, and I told him
I wasn't doing this for a publicity thing. It was something I just
didn't, after reading that article, it kind of upset me, and he said he
felt it was my duty to call the FBI and let them know.
And that is when I went ahead and made my statement.
Mr. BELIN. Now, Mr. Romack, you have the right, if you want, to come
back down here after these notes of the court reporter are typed, to
read the typewritten transcript and sign it, or you can waive reading
it and signing it and just have her send it directly to Washington,
whatever you want to do. It makes no difference with us.
Mr. ROMACK. I will waive.
Mr. BELIN. You want to waive it then?
Mr. ROMACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Again we want to thank you very much.
Mr. ROMACK. You are quite welcome.