OSWALD, DAVID FERRIE AND THE CIVIL AIR PATROL

 While he lived in New Orleans, Oswald became a member of the Civil Air
Patrol there.  He had joined the student aviation organization at the
age of 15 and attended CAP meetings for an unknown period of trine,
generally believed to have been relatively brief.  In her testimony
before the Warren Commission, Marguerite Oswald stated that her son Lee
"joined the Civil Air Patrol" at "age 15 1/2 or so" and attended CAP
meetings with a high school classmate, Edward Voebel. The Warren
Commission Report touched only briefly on Oswald's CAP involvement,
noting in appendix XIII that, "He was briefly a member of the Civil Air
Patrol, and considered joining an organization of high school students
interested in astronomy."

 Oswald's involvement with the CAP in New Orleans became the subject of
intense controversy, speculation and investigation within several days
of President Kennedy's assassination and has continued to attract
attention since then. The central question has been whether Oswald may
have met and known David W. Ferrie during that period. Ferrie was a
private investigator and pilot in New Orleans who has been widely
regarded as one of the more "mysterious" persons to figure in the
investigation of President Kennedy's death. Ferrie was briefly the
subject of investigation by the FBI, New Orleans District Attorney's
Office, and Secret Service during the week following the President's
murder. Later Ferrie also became subject of the controversial
investigation by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison during 1967-
69 that led to an abortive prosecution. This in turn led to serious
charges against Garrison for the questionable and careless nature of his
investigation. The brief FBI and Secret Service investigations of Ferrie
had not focused to any significant degree on Ferrie's background and
working associations, while the subsequent Garrison investigation
focused exclusively on Ferrie's personal associations with Cuban exiles
and purported links to the CIA. They left largely untouched important
aspects of Ferrie's background, in particular his activities and
associations during 1963, at which time he was employed by Carlos
Marcello's attorney, G. Wray Gill. Ferrie's investigative work for
Marcello had brought him into close personal association with the
organized crime leader.

 The allegation that Oswald had been associated with Ferrie -- and that
Ferrie may somehow have been involved with Oswald in the President's
murder--was first set forth by a colleague of Ferrie's in New Orleans.
Jack S. Martin, a sometime private investigator and friend of Ferrie's,
notified various investigators during the days immediately following the
assassination that he suspected may have aided Oswald in the crime.
Martin had known Ferrie for over 2 years and had visited him
occasionally at the office of Carlos Marcello's attorney, where Ferrie
worked as an investigator. On November 24, 1963, Martin contacted New
Orleans District attorney Herman Kohlman to advise that he suspected
Ferrie may have known Oswald for some time and that Ferrie, years
earlier, may have been Oswald's instructor in the Civil Air Patrol.

 On November 25, Martin was interviewed by FBI Agent Regis Kennedy in
New Orleans and provided further information.  He stated that he had
informed several people in the news media of his information about
Ferrie and Oswald and that he thought had once seen a photograph of
Oswald and other CAP members when he once visited Ferrie's home.  Martin
stated that he had heard on television that Oswald had in fact belonged
to the New Orleans CAP and thus began to think that Ferrie had probably
known him. According to the FBI reports of his interview, Martin went on
to voice other suspicions about Ferrie:

 Martin stated that he observed in Ferrie's home a number foreign made
firearms and it is his opinion that Ferrie could have taught Oswald how
to purchase a foreign made possibly have purchased the gun that was
shown on television. He advised that he saw similar type weapons at
Ferrie's home when he visited there 2 years ago.

Martin further informed the FBI that he believed Ferrie was an "amateur
hypnotist" who may have been capable of hypnotizing Oswald.  Further,
Ferrie had once told him about a young friend who had witnessed an
alleged "crime against nature" that Ferrie had committed, a young man
who had left New Orleans "and subsequently joined the U.S. Marine
Corps." Martin stated that when he heard on television that Oswald had
been a Marine, he began to suspect that he was the young man Ferrie had
referred to. Martin cautioned, however that this might have only been a
coincidence.  Martin further told the FBI of Ferrie's past history of
homosexual arrests,  stating that "Ferrie is a completely disreputable
person, a notorious sex deviate with a brilliant mind.  Further, Martin
"suspected him of being capable of committing any type crime."  Martin
had concluded by stating  that he felt that Ferrie's possible
association with Lee Oswald should be the subject of close examination
as he personally believed that he could be implicated in the killing of
President John F. Kennedy.

The introduction of David Ferrie as a "suspect" or target of
investigation in the Kennedy assassination case was to result in the
development of a number of areas of information, allegations and
evidence. The FBI undertook a brief investigation into the question of
whether Lee Oswald had known Ferrie in the Civil Air Patrol.
interviewing several former CAP members, but did not make any final
determination. In an interview with FBI agents in New Orleans on
November 25, 1963, Ferrie denied he had ever had contact with Oswald in
the CAP.  He said he had served as a commandant of the CAP from 1953 to
1955 and that his unit had met at New Orleans Lakefront Airport. While
his CAP cadets were instructed in the use of rifles, he had not
participated in that training.  Ac. cording to the FBI report of his
interview, Ferrie "stated that he does not know Lee Harvey Oswald and to
the best of his knowledge Oswald was never a member of the CAP Squadron
in New Orleans during the period he was with the group." The FBI report
continued:

 Ferrie said that to the best of his knowledge he does not know any
individual named Lee Harvey Oswald nor has he ever known the individual
represented by photograph presented to him as that of Lee Harvey Oswald
in the CAP, in any business connection or in any' social capacity.

 Ferrie upon viewing the photograph stated that the profile view of the
photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald has a very vague familiarity to him but
the full face and full length photographs of Oswald are not familiar to
him.

Ferrie went on to state that he was in fact acquainted with Martin, who
first made the allegations about Ferrie and Oswald.  He had known Martin
as a private investigator for over B years, and that Martin had
"attempted to insert himself" into Ferrie's "personal affairs." Ferrie
further stated that Martin had once been diagnosed as a "paranoid" in
the psychiatric ward of a local hospital.  He had thrown Martin out of
the office of Marcello's attorney earlier that year, and Martin resented
him for that act.  The FBI report stated:

 [Ferrie] stated that Martin began visiting him at the office of
Attorney G. Wray Gill and that Mr. Gill did not want Martin hanging
around his office. Ferrie claimed that in June of 1963 he put Martin out
of Mr. Gilles office in an undiplomatic manner and that since that time
Martin has bedeviled him in every manner possible.

 The FBI and Secret Service investigation into the possibility that
Oswald and Ferrie had been associated in the Civil Air Patrol came to an
end a few days after the allegations were first reported. A Secret
Service report concluded that "information furnished by Jack S. Martin
to the effect that David William Ferrie associated with Lee Harvey
Oswald at New Orleans and trained Oswald in the use of a rifle" was
"without foundation."  It stated further that "Jack S. Martin, who has
the appearance of being an alcoholic, has the reputation of furnishing
incorrect information to law enforcement officers, attorneys, etc." It
also said that on November 26, 1963, the FBI had informed the Service
that Martin had "admitted to FBI agents" that his alleged information
about Ferrie and Oswald was "a figment of his imagination and that he
had made up the story after reading the newspaper and watching
television." Actually the FBI had over stated the content of its
interview with Martin on November 26, when they reported it to the
Secret Service.  As noted earlier, Martin himself had cautioned the FBI
that he had no evidence to support his suspicions and noted that his
information was just that: suspicious that he thought merited
investigation.

 The Secret Service report also stated that Martin, during an interview
with Secret Service agents, had acknowledged he did not have any
specific details to back up his suspicions.  Martin had admitted to
being a heavy drinker and stated that he may have exaggerated his
information and "told his story as though it was based on facts."  The
Secret Service report concluded by stating, "In view the above, this
phase of the investigation involving William David Ferrie will be
considered closed."

 On November 28, 1963, in a Teletype to the Director and the Dallas
office the New Orleans FBI office reported that the investigation of
Martin's allegations was being concluded and noted that "all allegations
against Ferrie stem from Jack S. Martin who was previously confined to
the psychiatric ward of Charity Hospital, New Orleans, for character
disorder. Martin is well known to New Orleans office and is considered
thoroughly unreliable." The November 28, 1963, FBI Teletype also set
forth additional information obtained during second interview with
Ferrie from earlier that day.  In it, Ferrie had again denied that he
had ever had any contact with Oswald.  The FBI report of the interview
noted, however:

  David William Ferrie reinterviewed today and advised at time of Bay of
Pigs invasion of Cuba he was very much embarrassed and concerned over
lack of air cover provided and severely criticized President Kennedy,
both in public and private. Ferrie stated he has never made any
statement that President Kennedy should be killed with any intention to
do so and has never at any time outlined any plan or made any statement
how this could be done or who should do it.  Ferrie said he is very
outspoken and may have used an offhand or colloquial expression, "He
ought to be shot" in expressing his feelings concerning Cuban situation.
Ferrie said he has also been critical of any President riding in open
car and has stated anyone could hide in the bushes and shoot a
President.

 Two weeks later, Ferrie furnished an additional statement to FBI agent
Regis Kennedy of the New Orleans office.  He disclosed that he had
conducted CAP sessions at New Orleans Moisant Airport in addition to
Lakefront Airport, as he had stated earlier:

  In 1955, or thereabouts, I assisted, for a time, the Moisant Squadron
of Civil Air Patrol, at Moisant Airport, New Orleans, La, though I
cannot establish through personal records or recollection the exact
dates of this connection. I have no records or recollection, to my
knowledge, to show that Lee Harvey Oswald was, or was not, a member of
this particular unit of the Civil Air Patrol. To my best knowledge and
belief do not know Lee Harvey Oswald, and have no personal recollection
of ever having met him. If I did ever meet him it was very casual and to
my best recollection have definitely not seen him in recent years.

 The committee undertook an extensive examination of Lee Harvey Oswald's
involvement in the Civil Air Patrol and sought to determine whether
Oswald did in fact have any contact with Ferrie during that period. The
committee believed that the possibility that Oswald and Ferrie may. have
been in contact during that period presented significant questions that
needed to be resolved. A number of areas of information regarding
possible associations between Oswald and Ferrie in 1963 had been
developed by the committee, information that the committee believed to
be of important evidentiary value. For example, the committee developed
new information about Ferrie's various activities on behalf of Carlos
Marcello in 1963, and his personal contact with the Mafia leader during
the fall of that year.

 During the brief investigation in 1963 conducted by the FBI, Secret
Service, and New Orleans district attorney's office of allegations that
Oswald might have been associated with Ferrie, another witness had
provided information similar to that of Martin. Edward Voebel was a
former classmate of Oswald's who had attended the CAP meetings with
Oswald. Voebel, whom the Warren Commission had established was Oswald's
closest friend during his teenage years in New Orleans, had attended
Beauregard High School with Oswald and had actually been the friend who
first accompanied Oswald to the CAP meetings.  The Warren Commission
itself used Voebel's Commission testimony as a primary source of
information on Oswald's adolescent years.

 Speaking of Voebel, Mrs. Marguerite Oswald told the Warren Commission,
"This young man and Lee were very friendly; he and Lee joined the Civil
Air Patrol together. And he often came to the house."  Oswald's cousin,
Marilyn Murret, further told the Commission that Voebel was "the only
one" of Oswald's classmates whom he was close to and that Voebel "got
him to join the Civil Air Patrol, in which he was very interested."

 On November 25, 1963, at the same time that Martin's allegations about
Ferrie and Oswald were being investigated, Voebel was interviewed by the
FBI.  He stated that he had become a close friend of Oswald during the
period 1954-55, and that they used to play pool together after school at
a poolroom next to Oswald's home in Exchange Alley.  Oswald seemed to be
a typical teenage boy during the period of their friendship. Voebel said
that reports that Oswald was already "studying Communism" were a "lot of
baloney" -- Oswald commonly read "paperback trash."

 During this first interview with FBI agents, Voebel spoke of his
involvement in the CAP with Oswald:

  Voebel stated that he and Oswald were members of the Civil Air Patrol
in New Orleans with Capt. Dave Ferrie during the time they were in
school.  Voebel at this time seemed to indicate clearly that there had
probably been contact between Ferrie and Oswald in the CAP. He became
uncertain about such contact during the course of a second interview
with FBI agents later that same day, November 25, 1963.  Then he stated
that he had persuaded Oswald to attend the meetings of his CAP unit at
Moisant Airport in 1955.  Oswald had "attended two or three drills and
possibly four drills at the most."  Voebel further stated that it was
difficult to recall how often Oswald was the CAP meetings because
"Oswald had a knack for being. there and not being noticed." The CAP
unit met once or twice a week and included 20 to 25 members, some of
whom were girls.  According to the FBI report of this second interview:

  Voebel stated that he could not recall if Capt. Dave Ferrie was
commander of the unit at the time Oswald attended meetings or whether
Oswald attended meetings prior to Captain Ferrie taking command.

 Voebel stated that Ferrie was commander of his CAP unit during part of
1955, but that he could not recall precisely when or if it was during
the same period that Oswald attended the meetings. Voebel recalled that
Captain Ferrie was "very intelligent," reportedly held several degrees
and was then a pilot for Eastern Airlines.  He said that Oswald quit
attending the Moisant Airport CAP meetings sometime after being enrolled
as a member because another' CAP unit (at New Orleans Lakefront Airport)
would be closer to home.  Voebel further told the FBI that Ferrie had
once taken his CAP unit on an overnight "bivouac" in which Ferrie had
instructed the cadets to bring along rifles for shooting practice.
Voebel did not believe Oswald had participated in this outing. The FBI
report noted that Voebel received "a crank-type telephone call" during
the course of the interview, and had mentioned that he "had also been
frightened" by a person who came to his home earlier claiming to be a
news reporter. This man disturbed him and had "acted very suspicious?
 An FBI Teletype from the New Orleans office to Director Edgar Hoover on
November 26, 1963, summarized that "Voebel was unable to recall if
Oswald attended meetings under command of Ferrie or with previous
commander."

 On November 27, 1963, 5 days after President Kennedy's murder, Voebel
was also interviewed by New Orleans Police Department officers.  In a
report of this interview, prepared for P.J. Trosclair, Jr., of the
department, it was noted that Voebel believed Oswald had attended the
Moisant CAP meetings for "only about 1 month."  During the course of
this police interview, however, Voebel also stated that while he could
not be sure, he thought that Oswald may once have attended a party given
by. Ferrie during their involvement with the CAP.  According to the
report:

  Voebel stated that he believed Oswald attended a party (not sure)
 at the home of David Ferrie (captain) right after the members of
 the CAP received their stripes.

Voebel did not elaborate on this event. Two days later, on November 29,
1963, in an internal FBI memorandum from Assistant

Director Alex Rosen to Associate Director Alan Belmont, Voebel's account
of his CAP involvement was again summarized:

  Edward Voebel, on interview, said he had been a member of the CAP, New
Orleans, for approximately 1 year, 1955-56. David William Ferrie took
over as commander of the CAP unit during this time. Voebel took Oswald
to one of the meetings and stated Oswald attended several meetings
possibly four meetings at the most.

 On April 7, 1964, the testimony of Edward Voebel was taken by Warren
Commission senior counsel Albert Jenner in New Orleans.  While the
Warren Commission had not actively investigated t e possibility of an
association between Oswald and Ferrie, Ferrie's name came up briefly
when Voebel was questioned about Oswald's activities with the CAP.
Voebel recalled that he had first become a friend of Oswald's when he
witnessed him being beaten up one day after high school.  Two brothers
who had earlier gotten into fistfight with Oswald had sent a friend of
theirs to beat him up.  Voebel noted that their school "seemed to draw a
lot of bad characters" and that "it was almost impossible to go to
school without brushing against somebody or getting involved in a
fight." In his testimony, Voebel stated that Oswald had attended "two or
three meetings" of the CAP and "bought a uniform and everything, and
seemed to be very interested at the outset?

 Toward the end of his testimony, Voebel was asked if he could recall
who had headed their CAP unit at that time:

 Mr. JENNER. Who was the majordomo of the CAP unit that you attended ?
 Mr. VOEBEL. I think it was Captain Ferrie. I think he was there when
Lee attended one of these meetings, but I'm not sure of that. Now that I
think of it, I don't think Captain Ferrie was there at that time but he
might have been. That isn't too clear to me.

 The committee sought to locate Edward Voebel to take his testimony, but
learned from his father, Sidney Voebel of New Orleans, that his son had
died in 1971.  Sidney Voebel could not recall what his son had told him
regarding his past contacts with Oswald and Ferrie. While stating that
he doesn't "have any proof," Voebel said he believed that the
circumstances surrounding his son's death were "mysterious." He had
"died suddenly from a blood clot" at the age of 31 when he suffered an
attack of pneumonia.   The committee found that the incomplete and
disorderly state the registration and membership records of the New
Orleans Civil Air Patrol did not permit a clear determination of Oswald
and Ferrie's respective periods of involvement with the organization. In
an interview with the FBI on November 25, 1963, Alvin Meister, a
commander the New Orleans CAP, stated that the CAP cadet files were kept
for only 1 year after a cadet terminated his service.  In an FBI
interview that same day, a former executive officer of the CAP noted
another difficulty in trying to reconstruct the membership records from
the period of time in which Oswald had been involved.  Harold Tool then
of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office, informed the FBI that "most
of the records of the squadron were stolen in late 1960."

 In an FBI interview on November 27, 1963, another CAP executive was
able to supply partial information regarding Oswald's involvement.
Joseph Ehrlicker told FBI agents that while he was unable to find a CAP
application by Oswald, he was able to locate a record indicating that
"Oswald was enrolled as a CAP cadet on July 27, 1955, at which time he
was given Serial No. 084965." Oswald was then enrolled in the cadet
squadron st Moisant Airport. The records did not indicate when Oswald
left the CAP unit. Also with regard to David Ferrie:

  Ehrlicker was able to determine that Ferrie's first period as Squadron
Commander was terminated December 31, 1954. He was working at Moisant
Airport at this time. It was later found out that Ferrie subsequent to
this date was working with the squadron at Moisant without official
connection with the CAP. As of late 1955 he was no longer with the
squadron.

 As can be seen from the fragmented CAP membership documentation
provided by Ehrlicker, Ferrie was involved with the Moisant CAP unit (in
an apparently unofficial capacity) for an uncertain period of time
between December 31, 1954, and "late 1955?'  The same CAP documentation
indicated that Oswald had been involved in the same CAP unit in the
summer of 1955, having officially enrolled on July 27, 1955.  Thus,
while the CAP documentation available in 1963 did not permit a
conclusive determination, the records themselves lent substantial
credence to the possibility that Oswald and Ferrie had been involved in
the same CAP unit during the same period of time.  While Ferrie stated
during his November 25, 1963, FBI interview, that he had been a
commander of the Lakefront Airport CAP unit it was not until December
10, 1963, when he provided another statement to the Bureau, that he said
he had also worked with the Moisant Airport CAP.

 During the course of its investigation of Oswald's involvement with the
CAP and his possible contact with Ferrie, the committee interviewed
O'Sullivan, a former high school classmate and friend of Oswald who had
also been involved with Oswald and Voebel in the CAP.  Fred O'Sullivan
had originally suggested to Oswald and Voebel that they might enjoy
attending CAP meetings and asked them to participate m his squadron.
O'Sullivan's past involvement with Oswald in the CAP unit first came to
the attention of the FBI on November 25, 1963, when New Orleans
Assistant District Attorney Herman Kohlman informed FBI Agent Regis
Kennedy that "An unknown police officer had told the Intelligence
Division of the New Orleans Police Department that he was in the Civil
Air Patrol with Lee Harvey Oswald and that Ferrie knew Oswald?'  Later
that day, the FBI was able to identify Fred O'Sullivan of the New
Orleans Police Department Vice Squad as the classmate.  In an interview
with Bureau agents that day, O'Sullivan stated that he had persuaded his
classmates, Lee Oswald and Ed Voebel, to attend his CAP squadron
meetings at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.  Oswald and Voebel had
come "to one or two meetings, but did not join." O'Sullivan stated that
Oswald thought the Lakefront CAP location was too far away and decided
to attend the Moisant Airport CAP squadron instead. O'Sullivan told the
FBI that Ferrie "was Squadron Commander" at the "approximate time" that
Oswald came to the Lakefront CAP meetings. He added, however, that he
"could not say for certain that Oswald ever met Ferrie" at the time.  He
further stated that Ferrie himself also subsequently began working with
the other CAP unit at Moisant Airport.

 In a second FBI interview, on November 26, 1963, O'Sullivan further
advised that Ferrie might have had contact with Oswald at the Moisant
Airport CAP.  According to the FBI report of this interview, "Ferrie
transferred and assumed command of the CAP at Moisant Airport at about
the same time O'Sullivan thought Oswald might have joined." O'Sullivan
further informed the Bureau that he had only recently learned of
Ferrie's homosexual background.  He also noted that Ferrie "had acquired
a reputation for being able to hypnotize people," and that he had once
hypnotized a man following one of the CAP meetings.

 In an interview with the committee on October 17, 1978, O'Sullivan
repeated the account of his contacts with Oswald and Ferrie that he had
provided the FBI in 1963.  Now a security director for Hilton Hotels, he
stated that he could not say with certainty that he ever saw Oswald and
Ferrie together, although. he believed they probably did in fact attend
the CAP meetings during the same period.  In an interview on December
15, 1978, O'Sullivan again told the committee that while "Ferrie ran the
unit then, and Oswald came a couple, or a few times," he could not
recall any more specific information about the matter.

 In another interview with the committee on December 9, 1978, another
former CAP member recalled Oswald's participation in the New Orleans
unit. Collin Hamer, now an official of the New Orleans Public Library,
stated that he had attended "about ten or twelve meetings" of the CAP
unit during which Oswald was also present.  Hamer knew both Oswald and
Voebel and said that Oswald had begun attending the CAP meetings
sometime around the summer of 1955.  He stated that the 10 or 12
meetings that Oswald attended were held at the Eastern Airlines hangar
at Moisant Airport.  He further stated that Oswald had attended the
meetings for roughly 2 months,  during which the unit usually met twice
a week, on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Hamer commented that he
had never been interviewed by the FBI following the assassination of
President Kennedy. According to Hamer, David Ferrie had been present
during the CAP meetings that Oswald attended: "Ferrie was at all the
meetings during the time Lee and I were involved in CAP. He didn't
always do the teaching, but he was always there."  Hamer told the
committee that Oswald "was a real quiet kid" and that Ferrie "treated
Oswald just like the rest of us. He was just the teacher so to speak."
Hamer further stated, "I don't know anything about whether or not Ferrie
and Oswald had any contact outside of the CAP. All I know is that Oswald
was in our unit for about 2 months, and Ferrie ran it during that time."
Hamer further recalled that Ferrie was "a tough commander" who became
irritated if the cadets "goofed around at all." Hamer also recalled
calling Oswald's home on one occasion to make sure that Oswald was going
to attend a CAP meeting.  Hamer did not know why Oswald left the CAP
unit.  Hamer also told the committee that he was aware that some CAP
cadets had "hung around" at Ferrie's house and engaged in outside
activities with him.  He did not know if Oswald ever had such contact
with Ferrie.  Finally, Hammer said that he, himself, had become an
adjutant of the CAP unit several years later and "weeded out a lot of
the old files then," but did not recall handling any files on Oswald.

 The committee also interviewed a former commander of the Moisant
Airport CAP squadron, Mrs. Gladys Durr.  Mrs. Durr had been interviewed
by the FBI on November 25, 1963.  In that interview, she advised that
she had assumed command of the CAP unit in October or December 1955,
which would have been several months after the CAP records indicated
Oswald left.  Mrs. Durr stated that she did not recall knowing Lee
Oswald, but that David Ferrie had been "expelled" from the CAP squadron
"at about the time" she joined it.  While Mrs. Durr became commander of
the squadron subsequent to the time when Oswald was a member, her
recollection that Ferrie was still active in the unit until late 1955
would indicate that he probably was in fact with the unit during the
period that Lee Oswald was in it. The available records indicate that
Oswald was enrolled as a cadet on July. 27, 1955, and his CAP colleagues
generally recalled him being active in the unit for a couple of months.
Thus, with Ferrie's lengthy involvement in the CAP ending (temporarily)
in late 1955, according to Commander Durr, the likelihood of Ferrie's
service with the CAP unit during Oswald's membership in the summer of
1955 seems logical.

 In her committee interview, Mrs. Durr stated that while she did not
know Oswald, she could recall other cadets remembering that he attended
the meetings. She further recalled that Ferrie had originally conducted
CAP classes at New Orleans Lakefront Airport, but had then begun
teaching at Moisant Airport where she was commander. She said Ferrie was
a magnetic and intelligent man who had a strong following among the
cadets.  He also had a reputation for having bad moral character, and on
one occasion some CAP cadets had become drunk at his home and engaged in
various activities in the nude.  Mrs. Durr stated that such incidents
were what led to Ferrie being expelled from that particular CAP unit.

 The committee interviewed another former commander of the New Orleans
CAP, John Irion, active with the group from 1955 to 1959. Irion, a
management and public relations consultant, worked closely with Ferrie
during their years with the CAP. The two were personal friends for over
10 years, and Irion once testified on Ferrie's behalf during a legal
proceeding against him.  Irion, Ferrie, and the mayor of New Orleans
were once photographed together a CAP photograph later published by the
New Orleans Times Picayune.. Irion recalled that Ferrie was a "dynamic"
leader known for his intelligence.  He recalled being introduced by
Ferrie to Carlos Marcello's attorney, G. Wray Gill, on more than one
occasion. Irion told the committee that he recalled Lee Oswald going
through "basic training" with the CAP during the period in which he and
Ferrie were with the New Orleans squadron, but he could not recall any
specific personal contact between Oswald and Ferrie.  He believed that
contact was highly probable during that period.  Irion stated that he
did not recall Oswald continuing with the CAP for a significant length
of time following his participation in the unit's "basic training."
Irion said he was never questioned by the FBI during the investigation
of President Kennedy's death.
 The committee was able to locate and interview Anthony Atzenhoffer, who
had served as the platoon sergeant for the Moisant Airport CAP squadron
in late 1954 and 1955. Atzenhoffer recalled helping coordinate the small
CAP unit at Moisant and noted that his duties had included calling the
roll at meetings and handling registration matters. He told the
committee that Ferrie was an instructor at the Moisant CAP meetings
during this period.  Ferrie had taken him on his first airplane flight
and kept his small private plane in a hangar at the Moisant Airport.
Atzenhoffer recalled attending a party with Ferrie and other CAP cadets
during that period; the party may have been at Ferrie's house. He also
recalled that Ferrie once tried to recruit his CAP cadets in the
squadron to participate in some kind of medical experiment.
Additionally, Atzenhoffer told the committee that Oswald was active in
the CAP unit during the period.  He recalled Oswald's membership in the
squadron and described him as being a quiet young man. He could not,
however, remember any specific details regarding Oswald's participation
in the unit or specific contact between Oswald and Ferrie, although he
believed both were involved in the CAP unit at the same time.
Atzenhoffer stated: "I can't recall seeing the two of them together. I
don't have that detailed of a memory. But I'm sure they were there
together at the same time."  Atzenhoffer said that he could not recall
any more specific information and added: "I can't say that I know
anything about Ferrie and Oswald being together anywhere else, except at
the CAP meetings."

 The committee also interviewed George Boesch, another former CAP member
in New Orleans who worked with Ferrie during that period.  Boesch, now a
member of the New Orleans Fire department, had worked with Ferrie in the
New Orleans Lakefront Airport squadron of the CAP. He once accompanied
Ferrie to a national competition match of the CAP and had traveled with
him elsewhere.  He, too., recalled Ferrie as highly intelligent and of
good moral character, a man devoted to teaching flying to young men.
Boesch told the committee that he accompanied Ferrie when Ferrie left
the Lakefront squadron and began teaching the CAP squadron at Moisant
Airport.  He and Ferrie helped reorganize the Moisant CAP program, which
by then also included female cadets.  Boesch also remembered Lee Oswald
attending the CAP meetings at Moisant during the period when he and
Ferrie were there.  He could recall Oswald being there for 2 to 3 months
while Ferrie was the instructor.  Boesch stated that there were usually
not more than 15 cadets at these CAP meetings and that Oswald was
relatively quiet. Boesch did not recall anything in particular about the
relationship between Oswald and Ferrie, anything unusual; he did not
know of any other contact between them. Boesch stated that he was not
familiar with Ferrie's personal life and was unaware of his activities
outside the CAP.

 The committee also interviewed Jerry Paradis, the former recruit
instructor of the New Orleans Lakefront CAP unit.  In confirming that
Oswald had attended the Lakefront squadron meetings (in addition to the
Moisant CAP meetings), Paradis corroborated the accounts of other Oswald
colleagues in the CAP.  Paradis, now a corporate attorney, told the
committee that Oswald attended the Lakefront CAP meetings for several
weeks or several months.  During the period that he had served as
recruit instructor, Paradis could recall that Oswald came to "at least
10 or 15 meetings," attending the CAP sessions "quite a few times."
Oswald was a quiet person and rarely discussed anything with him other
than CAP business and instructions.

 Interestingly, when Ferrie was interviewed by FBI agents on November
25, 1963, in the aftermath of President Kennedy's murder, he recommended
Paradis as a CAP member who would be able to verify whether Oswald had
ever been involved in the CAP unit headed by Ferrie.  Ferrie told the
FBI agents that he had never known Oswald and that other witnesses could
confirm that Oswald had never attended CAP meetings during the period
that Ferrie was active with the group.  According to the report of his
FBI interview, Ferrie stated that "during the period he was commander of
the squadron, Jerry C. Paradis was the recruit instructor and took all
the squadron recruits through their training?  Ferrie supplied the
Bureau with the home and business addresses of Paradis, so as to aid the
agents in interviewing him.

 In his interview with the committee on December 15, 1978, Paradis
stated that he had never been contacted or interviewed by, the FBI about
his past involvement in the CAP with Oswald and Ferrie. He also stated
that no other investigators had ever interviewed him.  Paradis told the
committee that Oswald had attended numerous CAP meetings at which Ferrie
had been the instructor.  Ferrie "was always there" during the period in
which Oswald attended the Lakefront squadron. Paradis repeated that he
believed there were "at least 10 or 15 meetings" during which Oswald and
Ferrie were present.  He told the committee, "Oswald and Ferrie were in
the unit together. I know they were there because I was there."
Further, "I specifically remember Oswald. I can remember him clearly,
and Ferrie was heading the unit then. I'm not saying that they may have
been there together, I'm saying it is a certainty."  Paradis noted that
he and Ferrie were good friends and he had always respected Ferrie, even
though Ferrie was somewhat "unusual."  Paradis stated that he had no
knowledge of any relationship between Oswald and Ferrie outside of the
CAP meetings and did not recall anything unusual about their contact at
the meetings.. He recalled that Ferrie was a "fairly stern, but
generally likable" instructor.  Paradis also stated that Ferrie and
others from the Lakefront CAP unit sometimes participated in the Moisant
CAP squadron meetings and that Ferrie later left the Lakefront unit to
instruct at Moisant full-time. Paradis recalled that he had been
surprised that he was not interviewed by the FBI following the
President's assassination, stating, "I sure could have told them when
Oswald and Ferrie were in the CAP. I could have given them what they
wanted?'  Paradis further told the committee that he did not believe the
personal contact between Ferrie and Oswald "mean[t] anything really,"
and that he never believed that Ferrie "was a bad guy or anything like
that."