On March 25, 1977, Richard H. Freeman, Texas Instruments, Semi-Conductor Building, Richardson, Texas, telephone number 238-4965, home address 2573 Sheli, Frisco, Texas, telephone 377-9456, telephonically advised Special Agent [REDACTED] that he knew sign language and has communicated with Virgil E. Hoffman, a deaf mute who is employed at his building at Texas Instruments. Mr. Hoffman communicated with him by the use of sign language and Hoffman was concerned that the FBI perhaps did not fully understand what he was trying to communicate. Hoffman communicated the following information to Mr. Freeman:

Hoffman was watching the motorcade of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, at Dallas, Texas. Hoffman was standing on Stemmons Freeway watching the presidential motorcade, looking in an easterly direction when the motorcade sped away and headed north on Stemmons Freeway. Hoffman communicated that this must have been right after President Kennedy was shot. Hoffman saw two men, one with a rifle and one with a handgun, behind a wooden fence, approximately six feet in height, at this moment. This fence is located on the same side of Elm Street as the Texas School Book Depository building but closer to Stemmons Freeway. Since he is deaf, he naturally could not hear any shots but thought he saw a puff of smoke in the vicinity of where the two men were standing. As soon as he saw the motorcade speed away and saw the puff of smoke in the vicinity of the two men, the man with the rifle looked like he was breaking the rifle down by removing the barrel from the stock and placing it in some dark type of suitcase that the other man was holding. The two men then ran north on the railroad tracks by actually running on the tracks. Hoffman was standing approximately 75 yards from this fence. This fence was at approximately the same height or level as the ground floor of the Texas School Book Depository building.

RE:	ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT
	JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY

Both men were white males, both dressed in some type of white suits, and both wore ties. He was too far away to furnish a more detailed description. There were no other people in his area of observation, nor in the area where the two men were standing behind the fence.

On March 28, 1977, Richard H. Freeman, Texas Instruments, Richardson, Texas, was telephonically contacted by Special Agent [REDACTED] and was requested to contact Mr. Hoffman in an effort to communicate with him and to advise him if he could come to the Dallas FBI Office in order to make a personal visit to the area of Stemmons Freeway from where he observed the presidential motorcade on November 22, 1963.

On March 28, 1977, Virgil E. Hoffman accompanied Special Agent [REDACTED] to Stemmons Freeway, also known as Interstate Highway 35 North, Dallas, Texas.

Hoffman communicated that he was driving a 1962 Ford Falcon on November 22, 1963. He parked his car on the west shoulder of Stemmons Freeway at the northbound lane near the Texas and Pacific Railroad overpass that crosses Stemmons Freeway. He could not see the presidential motorcade as it was proceeding west on Elm Street toward the Triple Underpass. He saw the motorcade speed up as it emerged on Stemmons Freeway heading north. His line of vision was due east looking from Stemmons Freeway toward the Texas School Book Depository building. The two men he saw were behind the wooden fence above the grassy knoll north of Elm Street and just before the Triple Underpass. He indicated he saw smoke in that vicinity and saw the man with the rifle disassembling the rifle near some type of railroad track control box located close to the railroad tracks. Both men ran north on the railroad tracks.

He tried to get the attention of a Dallas policeman who was standing on the railroad overpass that crosses Stemmons Freeway, but since he could not yell, he could not communicate with the policeman. He drove his car north on Stemmons Freeway after the motorcade passed him in an effort to find the two men, but he lost sight of them.

Special Agent [REDACTED] took color photographs from the area of Stemmons Freeway where Mr. Hoffman was watching the presidential motorcade on November 22, 1963. Photographs were also taken of the area north of the grassy knoll where the wooden fence is located, and the area adjacent to it, which is now primarily used as a parking lot. The distance from where Mr. Hoffman was viewing the motorcade on Stemmons Freeway to the area behind the wooden fence is estimated at approximately 280 (105) yards, with the elevation being approximately the same height as the first floor of the Texas School Book Depository building.

Photographs were taken with a Bessler Topcon camera, using Kodak Vericolor II, Type S film, with a distance setting of infinitive, f Stop 14, and film speed 1/125 of a second.

Udo H. Specht