I said, "Yes. I thought I had protection last night. I woke up 4 o'clock in the morning with all the lights lit, getting papers together and cleaning the house." Because the telephone started to ring consistently.
I would have never done that if I would have known I didn't have protection. I was leaving myself wide open.
So he said, "Well, is your attorney in town?"
I said, "No, he is not."
He said, "May I suggest this, Mrs. Oswald"—first, he said, "What do you intend to do with the papers?"
I said, "The papers will stay with me."
He said, "Is your attorney in there?"
I said, "No, sir, he is an out of town attorney."
He said, "May I suggest this. May we get a large brown envelope and put sealing wax on it, and you put the papers in our safety deposit vault."
I said, "No, sir, those papers do not leave my hands. I have had an understanding with Mr. J. Lee Rankin that the papers were going to stay with me, and that I would have complete surveillance while the papers were in my home. Now, Mr. Sorrels, I want that surveillance. I am very uneasy."
He said, "Mrs. Oswald"—this was approximately 10 o'clock in the morning—"Mrs. Oswald, I will not be able to have anyone there before 1 o'clock."
I said, "That is just fine."
Mr. Mike Howard came out at 1 o'clock. We did some errands. I had to buy some luggage, and a few little things for the trip. Then we had supper. And at 5:30 we picked up the papers, because on Friday in Fort Worth, Tex., the bank opens from 4 to 6—on Friday evening. So we picked up the papers before 6 o'clock.
Now, I thought I had protection that night. I had protection that night until 12 o'clock. And then I understand that the Fort Worth police were circling the neighborhood.
Now, that is not complete protection.
I am a government witness, with important papers. And Mr. Rankin had—I requested protection—suppose someone had come to the door, or just shot through my home? The police circling three or four blocks away is not complete protection.
So Saturday morning I wanted to go out to breakfast. I kept opening the door and looking through the windows. And I never did see any men circling the neighborhood. There was nobody around. At 10:30 this morning I was still doing that. And by the way, a police car passed by and I hailed him and asked him if he could check in the neighborhood for the Secret Service, if they were circling the neighborhood—because I want to put my garbage out, and I needed to go out, didn't have breakfast. He said he didn't know what the Secret Service looked like, and he offered to come to the back and put the garbage out for me, which this Fort Worth policeman did.
So at 11 o'clock I called Mr. Mike Howard's home. His wife answered the phone.
I said, "I am very uneasy. I don't have protection. I have been looking for Secret Service men all morning."
I was going out on the porch—I was opening the screen door and going out on the porch. There is a school ground opposite my house. And nobody ever came. I was not under protection.
So she said, "Mrs. Oswald, they have their orders."
I said, "Well, where is Mr. Howard?"
She said, "He is on his way to your home."
This was Saturday, at approximately 11:45. Well, I have it written down. 11:45.
So Mr. Mike Howard when I told him that I was stranded, and could not go out to breakfast, and there was things I needed to do, he realized I was very upset, and I had a legitimate complaint, and he realized I was on my way to Washington.
So in my home he called Mr. Sorrels, who is a special agent in charge of the Secret Service and Mr. Sorrels was not at home. He talked to his daughter. And he said, "It is most important. Would you have him call me?"
So he sat in my home and waited for the call. About half an hour later Mr. Sorrels called.
He said, "Mr. Sorrels. I want to know what to do on this particular case?"
And there was some conversation back and forth. And it went on back and forth conversation.
So I said, "I am getting very upset about not knowing the entire conversation. I want to tell Mr. Sorrels that if he doesn't have the authority, to give me complete protection, I want to know the man over him, so I can get complete protection."
Mr. Mike Howard said, "He heard you, Mrs. Oswald."
So I don't know what went on on the other end of the line.
But Mr. Mike Howard was on the spot.
He said, "Well, Mr. Sorrels, it is this way. She is going to Washington, and Mrs. Oswald wants to go here and wants to go there. And if we are not around to take her, she will certainly complain when she gets to Washington."
So I am assuming now—I am speculating, like everybody else—that Mr. Sorrels probably could have said, "Well, let her think she has protection," because Mr. Mike Howard had to come back in front of me, to his superior, and say, "That is no good. She might want to go some place, so we have to be here. I want to know what to do."
And then I got protection.
Now, isn't that peculiar—that I am a witness, with important papers, and supposed to be under surveillance, and I am not getting protection?
I would like to know the answer to these things. And Mr. Rankin himself called Mr. Sorrels.
Mr. Rankin. I talked to Mr. Kelley.
Mrs. Oswald. I am sorry—but I knew you had placed a call, because Mr. Sorrels called me and said you had placed a call.
So why didn't I have complete protection?
There is a lot of "why's." There are a lot of "why's" that have to be answered.
Now, the man last night that met me at the airport—there were two Secret Service men. One of the NBC men, I think it is—I am not quite sure—was at the station. He asked me questions, and he knows about all of this, because he was in Fort Worth, Tex.
I would know his name if you would say it. Dave Benoski, I believe it is.
But he asked me a question. He said, "Mrs. Oswald, have you seen your daughter-in-law?"
I said, "No, I have not seen my daughter-in-law since Thanksgiving Day."
"Well, is it the Secret Service who have kept you from seeing your daughter-in-law?"
And I said, "Yes, it is the Secret Service who has kept me from seeing my daughter-in-law."
Which, to me, is a fact.
So in the car, with your two Secret Service agents, one was Mr. Brown and one was—I am very bad about names—he said, "Mrs. Oswald, what makes you want to blame the Secret Service? The time to have blamed the Secret Service was when it happened."
And I said, "I did blame the Secret Service when it happened. I made a report in Fort Worth, Tex., about that."
And I said, "The question was asked me." I answered him truthfully, "Yes, that the Secret Service have kept me from my daughter-in-law."
So he said, "Well, has it occurred to you that your daughter-in-law doesn't want to see you?"
And I said, "She made the statement in Washington, the first time I have known of that, from my daughter-in-law's lips, that she did not want to see me."
And Mr. Sorrels never told me.
Now, again, I don't believe this Secret Service man had the right to quiz me like he did. I was very upset. Mr. Doyle can verify the fact. When he came to the hotel I was on the verge of tears, because of this quizzing.
The point