Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. THORNLEY. I think I have covered all physical characteristics. His
shoes were always unshined. As I mentioned, he walked around with the
bill of his cap down over his eyes and you got the impression that he
was doing this so he wouldn't have to look at anything around him.
Mr. JENNER. And he was doing that so that he would not be assigned
additional work or----
Mr. THORNLEY. No; he was just doing that--this was just an attempt, I
think, on his part, to blot out the military so he wouldn't have to
look at it; he wouldn't have to think about it. In fact, I think he
made a comment to that effect at one time; that when he had his bill of
his cap over his eyes so he would see as little as possible, because he
didn't like what he had to look at.
He had, as I remember, he had a sense of humor, and I can only think of
a couple of examples of it. I have only been able to think of a couple
of examples of it over the past few months, but I have a strong general
impression in my mind that there were more examples that I just don't
remember.
Mr. JENNER. Well, you draw on your recollection as best you can and
you just keep telling us now in your own words and I will try to not
interrupt you too much.
Mr. THORNLEY. All right. One example was, that I remember--of course,
it was well known in the outfit that, or popularly believed that Oswald
had Communist sympathies----
Mr. JENNER. You didn't share that view?
Mr. THORNLEY. Not as much as some did, and while this was popularly
believed, I mention this as kind of a framework for the significance of
Oswald's comment: Master Sergeant Spar, our section chief, jumped up
on the fender one day and said, "All right, everybody gather around,"
and Oswald said in a very thick Russian accent, "Ah ha, collective farm
lecture," in a very delighted tone.
This brought him laughs at the time, and he had gotten me to read
"1984," as I mentioned earlier, and this was one of his favorites----
Mr. JENNER. Tell me what "1984" was.
Mr. THORNLEY. This was a book about--it is a projection into the
future, supposed to take place in 1984 in England under a complete
police state. It is, I would say, an anti-utopian novel, by George
Orwell, a criticism of English socialism and what it might lead
to, based upon Orwell's experiences with communism and nazism, his
observations about a society in which a mythical leader called Big
Brother dominates everybody's life. Where there are television cameras
on every individual at all times watching his every act, where sex is
practically outlawed, where the world is perpetually at war, three big
police states constantly at war with one another, and where thought
police keep every, all of the citizens in line. Oswald would often
compare the Marine Corps with the system of government outlined in
"1984."
I remember one day we were loading equipment----
Mr. JENNER. By way of protest against the Marine Corps?
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