Mr. Jenner.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 1032 for identification.)

Mr. Weissman.

Yes; I did receive this letter, Exhibit No. 1032, from Larrie, about the 29th of October.

Mr. Jenner.

And, gentlemen of the Commission, this is a letter dated, as the witness has stated---it is addressed to, "Dear Bernie and Bill," and I assume Bill is----

Mr. Weissman.

Bill Burley.

Mr. Jenner.

He was then staying with you in New York?

Mr. Weissman.

Right.

Mr. Jenner.

And it is signed Larrie. By the way, do you have the original of this letter with you?

Mr. Weissman.

I don't think so. Let me see. No; as a matter of fact, I believe the situation was when I gave the letter to the FBI, they asked me if I needed it back right away, and I said no--I didn't see any value in it, frankly. And then I spoke with Mr. Reedy, the agent who had conducted the investigation at the FBI headquarters in New York, and he said, "Do you want the letter?" And I said, "I don't particularly need it," and I don't recall if I ever got it back.

Mr. Jenner.

All right. But the document which has been marked with an exhibit number is a true and correct copy of the letter you received from Larrie Schmidt?

Mr. Weissman.

It seems to be; yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, in that letter, there is a reference to CUSA in capital letters. What is CUSA, what was CUSA? What was its genesis?

Mr. Weissman.

Well, CUSA, the letters stand for Conservatism USA, for lack of a better name. Larrie had originally rounded this himself--as far as I know he had originally rounded this himself in Munich some time in 1961.

Mr. Jenner.

You mean it was a concept of his?

Mr. Weissman.

I don't know if it was his. But I was led to believe the concept was his; and when I became associated with him, almost a year after he had started to develop this organization----

Mr. Jenner.

And while you were still in the Army?

Mr. Weissman.

While I was still in the Army; right.

Representative Boggs.

What was your rank in the Army?

Mr. Weissman.

Private. first class.

Representative Boggs.

That is when you completed your service?

Mr. Weissman.

Yes; at the time I was pfc, also.

Representative Boggs.

How long were you in the Army?

Mr. Weissman.

Two years.

Representative Boggs.

When you were separated you were private, first class?

Mr. Weissman.

That is right. Here is how it came about. I had been in the field on an Army training test. And I had been discussing just political views, foreign policy especially.

Mr. Dulles.

Is this Germany, now?

Mr. Weissman.

Yes; this is Germany.

Mr. Jenner.

Who was the overall commander in Germany at that time?

Mr. Weissman.

The overall commander?

Mr. Jenner.

Was General Walker one of the commanders at that time?

Mr. Weissman.

No; he had been removed at that time. In any case, he would have been about 60 or 70 miles--he was based in Landshut, Germany.
In any case, I was on this army training test with my company, MP Company, and I was talking to the company clerk--he had a book. We just got onto a discussion of politics, just generally. And I expounded some views on foreign policy, and where I agreed or disagreed. And I went into some great detail. And he said, "Gee, if I didn't know better I would say it is Larrie speaking." And I said, "What do you mean?"
And he went into this CUSA organization. He was at that time a partner in CUSA. It was sot up as a business.

Representative Boggs.

What does CUSA mean?

Mr. Weissman.

Conservatism USA.

Representative Boggs.

What was Mr. Schmidt's rank?