TESTIMONY OF DANNY G. ARCE

The testimony of Danny G. Arce was taken at 2:15 p.m., on April 7, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building, Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Messrs. Joseph A. Ball and Samuel A. Stern, assistant counsel of the President's Commission.
Mr. BALL. Will you stand up and raise your right hand?
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. State your name, please.
Mr. ARCE. Danny Garcia Arce.
Mr. BALL. Where do you live?
Mr. ARCE. 1502 Bennett Avenue.
Mr. BALL. Will you tell me something about yourself, where you were born and where you went to school?
Mr. ARCE. I was born here in Dallas and I went to Stephen F. Foster Elementary school and Alex W. Spence Junior High and Crozier Tech.
Mr. BALL. Then what did you do?
Mr. ARCE. Well, I quit school and found a job and worked.
Mr. BALL. Where did you find a job?
Mr. ARCE.. The first job, well, you don't want---
Mr. BALL. No; Just in general.
Mr. ARCE. Oh, I worked as a cook, short order cook and busboy, and just odd jobs at this Rubenstein place on Hall Rubenstein and Sons. I haven't had too many jobs.
Mr. BALL. What is Rubenstein and Son, a restaurant?
Mr. ARCE. No; kind of an oyster place; they pack them and send them out, I guess.
Mr. BALL. What else have you done?
Mr. ARCE. That's about all.
Mr. BALL. When did you go to work for the Texas School Book Depository?
Mr. ARCE. I started in September---September, I believe, the 6th, September 6th.
Mr. BALL. Of what year?
Mr. ARCE. 1963.
Mr. BALL. You received a letter from the Commission asking you to appear here, didn't you?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You understand the purpose of the investigation?
Mr. ARCE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. To determine the facts surrounding the assassination of the President, President Kennedy.
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You started to work in September 1963, this last September?
Mr. ARCE. Yes; last September.
Mr. BALL. What kind of work were you employed to do?
Mr. ARCE. Order filler.
Mr. BALL. What building did you work in?
Mr. ARCE. At the warehouse.
Mr. BALL. At Houston and Elm?
Mr. ARCE. No; that's on----
Mr. BALL. Which is this?

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Mr. ARCE. That's the one behind it; directly behind the Texas School Book Depository at Elm and Houston.
Mr. BALL. You worked there most of the time as an order filler?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever work over at the building at 411 Elm?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir; they were short of help up there and they sent me and the other bey down there.
Mr. BALL. Who is the other boy?
Mr. ARCE. Bonnie Ray Williams.
Mr. BALL. They sent you out to do what?
Mr. ARCE. Help lay out a floor on the sixth floor.
Mr. BALL. What date did they send you down there?
Mr. ARCE. Sir, I don't remember.
Mr. BALL. October?
Mr. ARCE. I know I had been there about 4 weeks when all that happened; I believe 4 or 5 weeks. I am not too sure about that.
Mr. BALL. You mean 4 or 5 weeks before November 22, 1963?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Were you laying floor at that time?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir; we laid floor on the fifth and then we were on the sixth when this happened.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever meet a fellow named Lee Oswald?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, he worked with us and he didn't associate with us too much. He was kind of quiet. He didn't like to talk too much to us or anything.
Mr. BALL. You say he worked with you; did he work laying floors?
Mr. ARCE. No, he was an order filler; he just worked the same place.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him on the sixth floor?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, quite a few times.
Mr. BALL.. Ever see him on the first floor?
Mr. ARCE.. Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever eat lunch with him?
Mr. ARCE. We all eat lunch together in this little domino room. We play dominoes and eat our lunch. He might walk in and lay around with us and he would walk out. He didn't stay in there too long. I guess he didn't like crowds.
Mr. BALL. On the 22d of November, what time did you go to work?
Mr. ARCE. We start at eight but I believe I was a little late.
Mr. BALL. You went to work on what floor?
Mr. ARCE. Sixth
Mr. BALL. Did you work there all morning?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What time did you get off work?
Mr. ARCE. That day?
Mr. BALL. At noon for your lunch hour or your lunch period?
Mr. ARCE. What time we left down for lunch?
Mr. BALL. Yes.
Mr. ARCE. We usually leave down about 5 to 12, something around there.
Mr. BALL. How did you go down stairs?
Mr ARCE. By the elevator.
Mr. BALL. Did you have sort of a race that day, do you remember?
Mr ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Tell me about it.
Mr. ARCE. Well, me and Bonnie Ray and, I am not too sure, I believe it was Billy Lovelady, were on the same elevator, and Charles Givens and the other guys were on the other one and we were racing down.
Mr. BALL. Which elevator were you on?
Mr. ARCE. We have two of them that go up, the same deal and I was on the one facing east. There's an east and a west elevator and I was in the one facing east.
Mr. BALL. Did you see Lee Oswald or hear him speak on the way down?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, he was up there and I believe someone asked if he wanted to go down.
Mr. BALL. He was there---on what floor?

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Mr. ARCE. That's what I'm not too sure; I believe he was on five or the sixth floor. I am not too sure but we were going down and I believe he was on the fifth; I am not too sure.
Mr. BALL. What did you hear?
Mr. ARCE. He said "You all close the door on the elevator, I will be down," or somethin'. I didn't pay too much attention. He said to leave the elevator come down.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him around there after that?
Mr. ARCE. No, I didn't see him around after that.
Mr. BALL. Did you have lunch?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Where?
Mr. ARCE. In that little domino room there.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go after that?
Mr. ARCE. I went outside.
Mr. BALL. With whom?
Mr. ARCE. With Billy Lovelady and Mr. Shelley and I was out there with Junior.
Mr. BALL. Who is Junior?
Mr. ARCE. I don't know his real name; I just know him by Junior.
Mr. BALL. Was Bonnie Ray Williams ever out there with you?
Mr. ARCE. No, he stayed upstairs with Hank. Junior stayed up there but he was down a little while and I guess he went upstairs.
Mr. BALL. What about Givens?
Mr. ARCE. He was down there with Shields, I guess---I mean Melvin---no, Carl, that's who he was with.
Mr. BALL. What about Jack Dougherty?
Mr. ARCE. He was on all floors; I couldn't tell you where he was.
Mr. BALL. Was he outside?
Mr. ARCE. No, he was eating lunch; me and Jack Dougherty, same time.
Mr. BALL. Dougherty ate his lunch?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he go outdoors after lunch? I don't know; I didn't see him. Who went outdoors with you? Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady; Carl was out there and Charles. You stood there how long before the parade came along?
Mr. ARCE. I am not too sure; it was about 10 minutes, somewhere. around there. I am not too sure about that.
Mr. BALL. Did you see the President go by?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, I did. I seen him when he turned the corner and when he went down that underpass thing and I heard them shots and I couldn't see anything. There was a lot of people.
Mr. BALL. Where were you standing when you heard the shots?
Mr. ARCE. I was standing in front of the Texas School Book Depository. I was on that grassy area part in front.
Mr. BALL. You were not on the sidewalk?
Mr. ARCE. No, I was on the sidewalk, then I walked up to the grass to get a higher view. and still couldn't see.
Mr. BALL. Did you hear shots?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. How many?
Mr. ARCE. Three.
Mr. BALL. Where did you make out the direction of the sound?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, I thought they came from the railroad tracks to the west of the Texas School Book Depository.
Mr. BALL. When you were on the grass, were you south where you were? Where were you with reference to the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository?
Mr. ARCE. I was down to the west side, a little more to the west.
Mr. BALL. Were you west of the building itself?

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Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. You were not in front of the building?
Mr. ARCE. I was directly in front, but then I walked a few steps down to the west side.
Mr. BALL. Where were you with reference to the west wall of the building?
Mr. ARCE. Oh, I was way far from it. I was across the street, I mean.
Mr. BALL. What do you mean "across the street"?
Mr. ARCE. Well, there's a little sidewalk right across the street and there's some grass and things up there and that's where I was at. I couldn't tell you exactly where I was, see, it's hard to explain.
Mr. BALL. Well, you say you were not in front of the building?
Mr. ARCE. Well, not directly, not in front; I was across the street.
Mr. BALL. And were you west of the west wall of the building?
Mr. ARCE. Well, I was, well the building--
Mr. BALL. I understand but you were to the south of the building. You had to be south of the building, didn't you?
Mr. ARCE. Well, I was south but I was, well, I guess you could say I was in front of the building but not directly in front, well, I don't know how to explain it.
Mr. BALL. Who was standing with you?
Mr. ARCE. Well, I walked away from the other guys because they were all in front of the building and I went across the street to get a closer view.
Mr. BALL. You walked which direction?
Mr. ARCE. I just--right across the street.
Mr. BALL. Right across Elm Street?
Mr. ARCE. Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL. The part of Elm that dead ends there?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. You crossed that and went on to the grassy part?
Mr. ARCE. Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL. Now, it sounded to you that the shots came from what direction?
Mr. ARCE. From the tracks on the west deal.
Mr. BALL. How many shots did you hear?
Mr. ARCE. Three
Mr. BALL. Did you look back at the building?
Mr. ARCE. No, I didn't think they came from there. I just looked directly to the railroad tracks and all the people started running up there and I just ran along with them.
Mr. BALL. Did you go up to the railroad tracks?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Did you see anything up there?
Mr. ARCE. No, and they told us go back there and I went back inside the building.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go then?
Mr. ARCE. Back inside the building.
Mr. BALL. How long did you stay in there?
Mr. ARCE. Oh, about 15 minutes and they took us down to city hall to make statements out.
Mr. BALL. Then you made out your statement?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir; to the Police Department.
Mr. BALL. Well, just 1 minute, let's see---
Mr. ARCE. I helped this old man, this gentleman in there.
Mr. BALL. You saw an old man?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Where?
Mr. ARCE. Right in front of the Texas School Book Depository.
Mr. BALL. When?
Mr. ARCE. Right, you know, it was before it happened; I don't know.
Mr. BALL. How long before the President went by?
Mr. ARCE. I don't know. I think it was about 10 minutes, some place around there, 15 minutes; I'm not too sure.
Mr. BALL. What about the old man; what was noticeable about him?

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Mr. ARCE. Well, he said he had kidney trouble, could I direct him to the men's room and I said I would and I helped him up the steps and walked him into the restroom and I opened the door for him and that's when I went inside to eat my lunch and then I seen him walk out.
Mr. BALL. Did you see him talk to anyone in there?
Mr. ARCE. No; he went straight out.
Mr. BALL. Was he in a car?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah, after I went outside I seen him driving out in a black car.
Mr. BALL. He drove away?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him again?
Mr. ARCE. No, never seen him again.
Mr. BALL. Just 1 minute, I want to show you a picture. I show you Commission Exhibit No. 369. I show you this picture. See this man in this picture?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Recognize him?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, that's Billy Lovelady.
Mr. BALL. Just to identify it clearly, the man on the steps---well, you see the man on the steps, do you not?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. He is a white man, isn't he?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And you see his picture just above the picture of two colored people, is that correct; would you describe it like that?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. I am not going to mark this purposely because other witnesses have to see it.
Mr. ARCE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did you say that is Billy Lovelady?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, that is Billy Lovelady.
Mr. BALL. Now, there is only one face that is clearly shown within the entrance-way of the Texas School Book Depository Building, isn't there?
Mr. ARCE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And only one face of a person who is standing on the steps of the Depository Building entrance?
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. And that one man you see there---
Mr. ARCE. Yes, that's Billy Lovelady.
Mr. BALL. When you came to work that morning, Danny---
Mr. ARCE. Yeah.
Mr. BALL. Was Oswald there at the time?
Mr. ARCE. I believe I seen him once that morning on the first floor, some place around there. I'm not too sure.
Mr. BALL. But did you see him go into the building?
Mr. ARCE. No, sir; I didn't.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see him have in his possession any paper bag or sack that day?
Mr. ARCE. No, sir; I didn't see him.
Mr. BALL. This will be written up and you will have an opportunity to read it and sign it if you wish or you can waive signature. Which do you wish? If you waive signature, you don't have to come back. Which do you prefer? Do either one.
Mr. ARCE. I don't understand too well.
Mr. BALL. She writes this up. Then if you wish, you can come in, read it over and, if there are any changes to be made, you make them and you swear to it before this young lady, who is a notary public, or you can waive signature and we will send it on to the Commission.
Mr. ARCE. I guess you all could send it on to the Commission.
Mr. BALL. And you waive signature?
Mr. ARCE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Thanks very much for coming in.

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