JFK Assassination System Date: 10/7/201 Identification Form Agency Information AGENCY: HSCA RECORD NUMBER:  180-10103-10493 RECORD SERIES: NUMBERED FILES AGENCY FILENUMBER: 014615 Document Information ORIGINATOR: HSCA FROM: HUFF, LARRY CECIL TO: TITLE: DEPOSITION OF LARRY CECIL HUFF DATE: 05/09/1978 PAGES: 28 SUBJECTS : HUFF, LARRY CECIL, TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE USMC OSWALD, LEE, PRE-RUSSIAN PERIOD, MILITARY SERVICE DOCUMENT TYPE: DEPOSITION CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified RESTRICTIONS: Open in Full CURRENT STATUS: Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 08/12/1993 OPENING CRITERIA : COMMENTS: Box 261. v9.1 1 Docld: 3272760435 Page 1
Stenographic Transcript Of HEARINGS . - 014615 SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DEPOSITION OF LARRY CECIL HUFF Spokane, Washington. May 9, 1978 O Alderson Reporting Company, Inc. - $00 Seventh St., S. W. Washington, D. C. 554-2345 Docld: 322760435 Page 2? °
10 ll @ 7 38 a 4 15 16 WW 18 DoclId: 322760435 Page 3 BR BR -UNTTED STATES. OF AMERICA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS DEPOSITION OF LARRY CECIL HUFF, a witness produced, sworn, and examined on Tuesday,. the 9th of May, in the year of our Lord 1978, between the hours of 8 o'clock in the forenoon and 6 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, in the Federal District Court, 920 West Riverside, in the City of Spokane and State of Washington, before the Select Committee on Assassinations, House of Representatives of the United States of America. APPEARANCES: For the Committee: SURELL BRADY, Staff Counsel, Select Committee on Assassinations, U. S. House of Representatives, -Washington, D. C.- CLARENCE DAY, Investigator, Select Committee on Assassinations, U. S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
| LARRY CECIL HUFF. of. lawful’ age, ‘being produced, sworn, and examined on the part of the Committee, deposeth and saith: MS. BRADY: I have a few introductory remarks and . then we'll go into the questions. ‘First of all, for the record, I would like the record to indicate that I, -Surell Brady, have been designa- ted by the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U. S. House of Representatives, pursuant to House Resolution 222 - and Committee Rule 4 to depose witnesses for the Committee. Let the record also reflect that the witness, Lar- ry Huff, H-u-f-f, is appearing voluntarily; that he has been sworn by Federal Judge Marshall Neill, and agrees ‘voluntar- ily to be deposed. Mr. Huff has been advised by me that he has the right to have counsel present at the deposition and that Mr. Huff has voluntarily waived the right to the presence of ‘counsel. | Is that correct, Mr. “Hurt? THE WITNESS: | That is true. MS. BRADY: Mr. Huff has already stated that he will speal freely and accurately. about matters covered by the deposition and that he is under no restriction that “would prevent him from answering questions fully and accur- | ately or with any intent to deceive or withhold information. DoclId: 322760435 Page 4
Docld: 322760435 Page 5 rules? rules? Q is that correct, Mr. Huff? “is WLINESS: Correct. Ms. BRADY: I have also advised Mr. Huff that on. ; completion of his deposition, a copy will be furnished to him free of charge by the Select ‘Committee on Assassinations. Mr. Huff, have you been provided a copy of our THE WITNESS: Yes, I have. MS. BRADY: Do you have any questions about those ~ THE WITNESS: Now DIRECT EXAMINATION By MS. BRADY: sll right, Mr. Huff, if we could just get back- ground information for you. First of all, your full name and date of birth. A. a A Q -> OF z O. Larry Cecil Huff. ~~ Your date of birth. 3 August "31. What is your present home address? "_ Post Office Box 69, Pinehurst, Idaho. - What is your spouse's full. name? Gloria Deane Huff. . oe What is your present profession or occupation? Retired United States Marine Corps.
Q A. Q 8 DoclId: 322760435 Page 6 rp Pe Fr Pe. eS . Q A, Q tion? — a A a | What were the dates of your military service? li- August "4g to 1. July 1970. Mat was your military identification number? : 1098 664, | | What is your Social Security number? 534 26.3430. | Did there come a time, Mr. Huff, when you contact- ed the Select Committee on Assassinations because you: had information that you wished to provide the Committee? Yes; through my wife's correspondence. -, Do you know when your wife made that contact to ‘the Committee? Approximately one year ago. "Approximately May of 1977, is that correct? Yes, What was the subject about which you had informa- In due regards. to transporting a team of CID men from the Marine Corps from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, to the Far East for the purpose of getting a background file on Lee Harvey Oswald. Was that in connection with the assassination of President Kennedy? Yes, ma' am. In November of 1963 what was your military assign-
ment and where. were you stationed? AL "November 19, 1963, I was stationed at Kaneohe Bay, ‘Hawaii; Marine (Corps Air Station. I was a navigator. a You were a navigator? | A I was a navigator at that time. . Q What was your full rank at that. time? A “I will have to ‘look that up ‘pecause--I think I was a gunnery sergeant. I was a. staff sergeant at. that time. Q . Now, Mr. Huff, what document have you referred to to recollect what your rank was? 7 A My promotion from the Commander of the. Marine Corps, which was dated 1 December 1959. a Who ‘was. the signing commanding officer? A ~ Colonel H. P. Hure, H-u-f-f. | Q Was he any relation to you? A No. : an Q But he was your commanding officer at that time? AL. Yes, ma'am. | That was dated in Iwakuni, Japan. Q Did there come a time when you received an assign- ment relative to the assassination of President Kennedy? TA | Would you repeat that question? Q While you were stationed in Hawaii did you receive [| any assignment about the assassination of President Kennedy DoclId: 322760435 Page 7
10 ll . e 13 . 1“ 15 16 “7 18 & © 8B BS DoclId: 32260435 FP or about Lee Harvey Oswald? A 1 “was, ‘as navigator was, assigned to take some CID men to the Far East in regards to Lee Harvey Oswald. Q Do you know when you received that assignment or _ roughly when you received it? e ‘A -On or about 14 December 1963. Q Now, you are referring to a document to refresh your recollection about that assignment. What is that book you are using? | | A . That is an aviator's flight log. . Q May I see it, please? A Yes, ‘ma'an. Q.. .Is this a book which you maintained? A Yes, ma'am. — a And are all of these handwritten notations in your handwriting? A ‘Yes, ma'am. Q Did you maintain these notations for all of your flights? | A Yes, ma'am. | Q And is it correct that in this log book you show a notation for ecemDer 1963 for the 14th of December? A, Yes, ma‘tam.. ° Q And would you read the notation there, and indi- cate what it means? ti]
10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18. DoclId: 322760435 Pa 7 OA It shows the month, December; year, 1963; day, the 14th; the model of the aircraft, which is a C-54-T; the ser- ial number of the aircraft, 50855; departing Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, for Wake Island; aboard the plane was chief warrant officer Morgan, the pilot; the duration of the flight to Wake Island was 11.1 hours; and the flight continues on into Tachikawa, Japan; and aboard the same aircraft, the same | pilot, and myself as navigator. This is where we let the CID team depart, debark, our aircraft. - Q And where was that? A - Tachikawa Air Force Base, Japan. Q Where is Tachikawa in relation to Atsuki, Japan? A Just a short distance; it is in the general vi- Q So was Tachikawa the closest landing field? A Yes, I would say that it was. Right, it seemed closer than Tokyo International. Q Do you remember when you received these orders? AI would have received these orders the day prior to departing Kaneohe Bay. | Q Was that the normal procedure for your flights? A Yes; it is called operational orders signed by the commanding officer to send us on a flight. Q And who was that commanding officer, if you recall?
10 ll 14 15 .16 17 18 ® & 8 BS - 4 A. The commanding officer was a Major Rice. I do have a piece of paper with his name on it. . Well, I thought I had a piece of paper which had his name on it. He was a major. He was the commanding of- ficer of it. | Q  MThat's all right. Were they written orders? A. Oh, yes, they were written. They were typed or- ders, is that what you mean by written? Q Yes. A Yes, typed orders, and he had his signature, to send us on the flight. | | Q And that is the way you always received orders? | A Except in emergencies; sometimes we didn't have time to get orders and we. just went out, but this particular case we were on orders. — | \ Q@ . Where do the orders from Commander Rice originate, do you know? } A. Where did they originate; they come down from Con- - mand, which would be Fleet Marine Corps, Pacific, Camp Smith. Q And who was the commander of the Fleet at that time? | | A, Lieutenant General.Carson A. Roberts. Q Do you know for a fact that that these orders or-. DoclId: 322760435 Page 10
10 n @ 13 14 15 16 17 18 yp fF 8 RB iginated with Lieutenant General Roberts or if they were from Washington? | | A I don't know for a fact but it is my conclusion that they came from Headquarters, Marine Corps. I didn't see the actual dispatch from Headquarters, Marine Corps, to Commanding. General Fleet Marine Corps, Pacific. Q Now, the CID men you transported for the investi- gation, had you flown with them before? | | A Not to the best of my knowledge. QQ Do you know or do you remember now any of their names? A No, ma'am, I don't. Q Approximately how many were there? A Ten ‘to twelve. Q But they were investigators from CID? . A That's right. a Was this assignment, to transport the CID inves- tigators, a normal part of your duties or was it an unusual assignment? _ | A Usually we transported Commanding General Fleet Marine Corps, Pacific. That was my reason for being atMarine Corps Station, Kaneche, but there. were other times when they would send us out on special missions. Q Who were some of the other members of the crew be- sides yourself. ‘and Commander Morgan? DoclId: 322760435 Page 11
10. A The only two that I can remember at the present time are the radio operator, which is Ralph, Re, K. Fall, Feecl-1, and Roy E. Gibson. Roy Gibson was also a naviga- tor. | . Q . Were you instructed to perform a particular task for that flight? | - | | | A Not other than to navigate the Plane to its des-_ a | | a Were you informed of the purpose of the flight? A ‘With conversation with. the passengers aboard the aircraft is the only way I was “informed. - -Q And what did that, conversation tell you? A «iit just told us that we were taking them out to the Far East to investigate the doings of Lee Harvey Oswald while he was stationed at Atsuki, Japan. | a Did you receive any type of briefing before the mission? os A No, never, . Q During the flight, did you receive any information about Oswald's conriection ‘to the military? — A On the return flight-—this is on a different date, but not « on the flight going to- the Far Bast. . a _ at that time; on the return flight, what informa- tion did you get about Oswald and the military? A °I read ‘the final report made up by the CID men, DoclId: 322760435 Page 12
10 11 14 15 16 17 18 g SF B RK 12 A Yes, matam, I would say it was the same crew as we only had two aircraft at Hawaii, and we always flew to- gether the same. Q And what was the identification on the return flight on the plane? A On the return flight it was a VC-54-P; serial num- ber, 90392; and Captain Kruse, K-r-u-s-e, was the plane commander on that particular flight. Q And was it the same group of CID investigators returning? - | A Yes, ma'am. Q At that time, on the return flight, did you have any conversations with the CID investigators about their investigation in Japan? | A Just ordinary talk, you know, ask how they went, how things went for them, you know, and-- Q (Interrupting) Was it your understanding they had spent the entire time in Japan investigating Lee Harvey Os- wald? A Yes, ma'am. Q And did they give you any other information about ' their investigation or the conclusions they came to? A I read their’ report for the conclusions they came to. Q How long was that report? DoclId: 322760435 Page 14
10 11 © 13 14 15 16 17 18 & F 8B BS 13 A Approximately 20 pages. Q Where were you when you read it? A. Aboard the aircraft in flight. Q Did the report have any classifications or mark- ings on it? A. Yes, ma'am; secret, classified secret, and it was for Marine Corps eyes only. Q Was it typed on handwritten? A, It was typed, it was a finished product. Q And what are your recollections from that record that you read? oA My recollection is it was their conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald was not capable of performing an assassi- nation on his own. Q Do you remember what details the report went into or how they conducted the investigation? A This was his psychological make-up, it was their believe that he was just not the type that-~- Q (Interrupting) If you recall,..did the report con- tain interviews of people who had known Oswald? A. Military people and civilian people around the area, yes, ma'am. Q Was it unusual that you would have been able to read that report on the return flight? A. No, ma'am. Docld: 32260435 Page 15
10 ll 14 15. 16 17 18 DoclId: 322760435 FP ge hy was. it not. unusual? | a r had a secret ‘clearance, and I. coula always: see the reports laying around on ‘the type of’ flights that I aia. - a Did everyone on. that at sisgkt have ‘a. ‘secret clear : ance, to your. knowledge? A Yes. . | a “When. did you receive your. secret clearence? A ‘I have that here with: me, too. : | | tt was dated 5 March 1956. a and where were you at that time? A. I was stationed at Cherry Point, ‘North Carolina. °Q. JRi Right now , you are referring toa document for that information. What is that document? von Certificate of Clearance for Handling Classified Material. Q . And is there a commanding officer's signature? A No. There is a By Direction of James C. Lindsey . signature. That is the man who approved the clearance. a “Was the fact of. this flight classified? A ; all flights and movements of personnel are con- sidered classified in the military. Q Is there any other information from that report that you can ‘recall at: this time? ~A No, ma! am. Q |. - about how long were you reading. it? 16
10 11 12 e 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 & = B B DoclId: 322760435 FP e 15 A Being a slow reader, at least a half hour. Q Have you seen that report since? A. No, ma'am. | Q And to the best of your recollection, that was ap- proximately December of 1963 when you were reading it? A Yes. Q Did you ever see the report or hear anything more about it after that flight? A No, ma'am. Q Do you have any knowledge as to how it was stored or where after the investigation? A Due to my military career, I would say it was either stored at Camp Smith, Hawaii, in the Intelligence Division, or sent on to Commandant Marine Corps, Washington, D. C. Q You have identified the members of the investiga- tion team as.being CID. Were any other intelligence per- sonnel along? | A Not to the best of my knowledge; all CID come un- der Intelligence Division. | Q Were there any Naval Intelligence officers? A No, ma'am. Q Did you receive any type of debriefing after that investigation flight? | A No, we never had debriefings on these types of 17
10 11 r 13 14 15 16 17 18 16 flights, never had any debriefings. Q Were you ever instructed to keep the contents of the reports secret or to keep the fact of the flight secret? A No. It is just common knowledge to keep it se- cret. Q Because of the clearance? A Yes. Q Did you ever hear of another investigation about Lee Harvey Oswald or the assassination by the military? A | Yes; I was talking to Master Gunnery Sergeant George Moffett at El Toro, California, which is a Marine Corps station, and he informed me that they were sending a flight to Dallas, Texas. | And this date, according to my log book, when I was in California, was November 23, 1965. : W And wny did you have occasion to speak to George Moffett, what was your relationship to him? A Well, George Moffett was the senior navigator at Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. I happened to be in El Toro at the time when the President was assassinated, and the next day I left for Hawaii. And I had the conversation about the assassination and he said, he told me, that they were sending a team from Camp Pendleton and El Toro to Dal- las. Q Was he to be part of that team? DoclId: 322760435 Page 13
a7 | oe To the best of my knowledge, he was-—ch, part of ; the: team. itself, investigating ‘team, no, ma' am. 2 a a 7 What were his responsibilities 1 with, that investi- gation? = | a A He, again, also was the navigator ‘for the air- - craft. ' 7 . _ | a Did you ever speak to George Moffett again about | that investigation? : | A Not to the best of my knowledge, though it could have been in general conversation. — Q From your later conversation. with George Moffett, - do you know. if the investigation | in Dallas took place? A .- To the best of my knowledge, through hearsay, | through George, it definitely took place, yes., | Q Did you ever hear any report, or see any report about that investigation? | | ra ‘No, ma'am. |. Q- Do you know what conclusions ‘that investigation reached? _ . | | A No, ma'am: “ Q You havé: explained that your normal assignment was navigator for transport. flights, is that correct? ry Yes, ma'am. .” | a From which office did you usually receive orders? Ff OA ‘Usually we got. our. orders from Marine Corps, DoclId: 322760435 Page 19
10 ll 14 15 “16 17 18 BR FS B RB DoclId: 322760435 Pa 20 Q And what was the nature of Iwakuni Base, was that a classified base? A. It was partially classified, yes. It was a secret base. Q Did most people on the base need a secret clear- ance? A Yes. Q Were there any normal, nonclassified units at Iwakuni? A Yes, there was three fighter squadrons of Marines, yes, that was not classified at that time. Q To your knowledge, were they the only nonclassi- fied units at Iwakuni? | A Well, other than your Headquarters and Command, yes. Q Was there a hospital at Iwakuni? A Yes. Q Did that hospital service military personnel who did not have secret classifications? A Yes. Q Were they flown in from other areas? A No, not to the best of my knowledge. Are you speaking of wounded men? Q Or men with any type of illness requiring hospital- ization. 22
10 ou M 16 ow 18 Be BOR A No, usually ‘they were shipped. out to Yokohama | Naval Base where you have a hospital, not: at. Iwa. a | ‘From the time that you were stationed at Iwakuni or later at ‘Camp Smith’ were you aware of the work being done at Atsuki, Japan, by the military? | A. Yes. . a” And. do you know the nature of. that work? A ‘Yess. ‘Atsuki ‘is a naval air ‘station. " mey had a U-2 stationed there on the east side of the campb. Q “Was all work related to the u-2 classified as far as you knew? | | | kh Yes, ma'am, all work was classified, yes, ma'am. a - Po the best of your knowledge, was radar work con- ~ nected with ‘the U-2 classified? . A “Most certainly, yes, oleasified. a Mp. Huff, you have kept ‘personal log books of. your flights. What other type of records are maintained for the military flights that you | participated in? A. ‘Well, there isa master log on. every flight, mil- itary aircraft, that is ever taken. Q Where is that log maintained? A It is maintained in the operations office of each | individual squadron and then, in turn, it is sent to the chief of: naval operations for their records. Q So an original | or a copy would have been main- Docld: 322760435 Page 23
10 11 °e 13 14 15 -16 17 18 ge fF B RB Docld: 322760435 Pa 22 tained at Camp Smith for. your flights? A The original for my particular flights were kept at Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe; not Camp Smith. Q And how were those logs listed, were they listed by pilot names, by flight numbers or how? A It had the serial number of the aircraft, the duration of the flight, the CO from point of departure to the first point of landing; time en route, day flight, night flight, and the names, serial numbers of all crew members aboard that flight. Q To the best of your knowledge, were those master logs ever destroyed periodically? A No, they are not. They are kept on file with CNO, chief of naval operations. Q Mr. Huff, how long were you stationed in Kaneohe, until what year? | A ‘Until Viet Nam broke out, and I will have to look at my log book. We were the first outfit in Viet Nam after the police action or whatever you want to call it started in force. | As the first Marine Brigade was stationed in Kane- che, also, when we first go in at Da Nang, Viet Nam, and that would have been March 1965, that I went to Viet Nam. Q And how long were you in Viet Nam? 24
23 ot . OA I was in there a short period of time. My: step ry _.father died and, qT was transferred back ‘to Spokene here um 3 | til determination: of his death, and then I was transferred 4 } to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. | | 5 Q _ Excuse me, when was your step father’ s- death, 6 roughly, if you know the date or year? 7 . a an In the fall of 1965 or spring of 1966. 8 |. Q and what was your next assignnent after that? 9 | A ‘Marine Air Station, El Toro, California. | 10 7 Qa. . And how: long were you there? ~ | | nu] A Until the rest of my time in the Marine Corps. “d, of. course, flew in ‘and out. of the Far. East, Da Nang, Viet & ‘Nam; I spent there one month, I got 31 months. combat pay in 14 Viet Nam: 1S a “na when did vss vette aio military? _ 16 A 1 guly 1970. | ; u Q . And that was an honorable discharge? 18 A Yes. | - 19 » That is hanging up on the wall at home. I didn't * bring it. You don't need a copy of that, do you? 21 Q “No, that's fine. @ 2 | “are 4 there any other questions or areas that you 23 feel we should have covered about the investigation that 4 | you have participated in? | 25 A I feel in my own mind this report and/or the re- Docld: 322760435 Page 25
24 1 port from the Dallas investigating team would show that Lee @ 2 Harvey Oswald was not acting alone, by himself. It was a 3 very good, well detailed investigation by the Marine Corps 4 CID. 5 || Q Are there any other areas you wish us to cover 6 this morning or anything else you want to add? 7 A No, ma'am, not to the best of my knowledge. 8 MS. BRADY: This will conclude the deposition. 9 (Thereupon the parties and the witness waived the 10 - examination of the deposition by the witness, the read- ll ing of the deposition by or to the witness, and also 12 waived the signing thereof by the witness.) 14 15 16 17 18 gz F 8 B DoclId: 322760435 Pa 26
- 10 ll e 13 14 15 16 17 18 ge fF 8 B DoclId: 322760435 Pa . 25. United States of America, ) , ( State of Washington, ) ss. ( City of Spokane. ) I, Marshall N. Neill, do certify that, pursuant to notice, there came before me, in the Federal District Court, 920 West Riverside, in Spokane, State of Washington, Larry Cecil Huff, who was by me duly sworn to testify the whole truth of his knowledge touching the matter herein; that he was examined and his examination at the time reduced to Stenomask recording by Karl Fuss and that such examina- tion has been correctly transcribed and is fully and accur- ately set forth in the 24 preceding pages; that the deposi~ tion is a true record of the testimony given by the witness, that signature of the witness to his foregoing deposition was waived before me by the respective parties; that said deposition was taken on the day, between the hours and at the place in that behalf aforesaid, and that said deposition is now herewith returned. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand at my office Spokane, Washington, this day of 1978. 27
10 ll 13 14 15 16 17 18 ‘ & 26 United States of America, ) State of Washington, ss. ) ( City of Spokane. ) - I, Karl Fuss, do certify that I accurately and correctly reported in Stenomask the complete proceedings had in the taking of the deposition of Larry Cecil Huff and have accurately and correctly transcribed the same in the preced- ing 24 pages. Karl Fuss, Court Reporter Docld:32260435 Pade 28
LOUIS STOKES, CHIO, CHAIRMAN RICHARDSON PREYER, N.C. SAMUEL, 1. DEVINE, OHIO WALTER £. FAUNTROY, D.C. STEWART B. MC KINNEY, CONM, YVONNE BRATHWAITE BURKE, cCAUIP. CHARLES THONE, NEBR. . CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, CONN, HAROLD 5S. SAWYER, MICH. . . Moro. FUTHUIAN, IND. Select Committee on Assassinations ROBERT W, EDGAR, PA. (0m 225-0028 GS. House of Representatives 3331 HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING, ANNEX 2 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 I, Larry Cecil Huff, have received a copy of the transcript of my deposition before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives which was taken in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington at Spokane, Washington on May 9, 1978. I have read the transcript and it contains a true and accurate statement of my testimony in the deposition. have no additions or corrections to make to the transcript. Signed: — Date: _ Docld: 322760435 Page 29. |. ee ee ee ee ewer ore