(Testimony of Nelson Delgado)
Mr. Delgado.
Yes; very seldom did he pass an inspection without getting gigged for one thing or another.
Mr. Liebeler.
With respect to his rifle?
Mr. Delgado.
With respect to his rifle. He didn't spend as much time as the rest of us did in the armory cleaning it up. He would, when he was told to. Otherwise, he wouldn't come out by himself to clean it. He was basically a man that complained quite frequently.
Mr. Liebeler.
Do you think he complained more than the other Marines?
Mr. Delgado.
Well, yes; a little bit more. Anything, anything that they told him to do, he found a way to argue it to a point where both him and the man giving him the order both got disgusted and mad at each other, and while the rest of us were working, he's arguing with the man in charge. For him there was always another way of doing things, an easier way for him to get something done.
Mr. Liebeler.
He didn't take too well to orders that were given to him?
Mr. Delgado.
No; he didn't.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you ever notice that he responded better if he were asked to do something instead of ordered to do something?
Mr. Delgado.
Right.
Mr. Liebeler.
Would you say that?
Mr. Delgado.
Yes; well, that's what I worked with him. I never called him Lee or Harvey or Oswald. It was always Oz.
Mr. Liebeler.
Oz.
Mr. Delgado.
Ozzie. I would say, "Oz, how about taking care of the bathroom today?" Fine, he would do it. But as far as somebody from the outside saying, "All right, Oswald, I want you to take and police up that area"--"Why? Why do I have to do it? Why are you always telling me to do it?" Well, it was an order, he actually had to do it, but he didn't understand it like that.
Mr. Liebeler.
How long were you and Oswald stationed together at Santa Ana?
Mr. Delgado.
Basically there were 11 months, from January to the date of my discharge or the date that he took off. He got discharged before I did.
Mr. Liebeler.
August or September 1959, approximately?
Mr. Delgado.
1959, right.
Mr. Liebeler.
And when were you discharged?
Mr. Delgado.
I was discharged November 2, 1960--1959.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did Oswald tell you that he had been overseas prior to the time he came to Santa Aria?
Mr. Delgado.
No; he didn't tell me has was overseas. I got that from the fellows who knew him overseas, Atsugi, Japan, and he was with the Marine Air Control Squadron, I believe it was, at Atsugi. There was a couple of guys stationed with him.
Mr. Liebeler.
Do you remember their names?
Mr. Delgado.
No; I don't. I think one of them was Dijonovich. There was two of them stationed with him overseas.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you ever learn whether Oswald had been any place else overseas other than Atsugi?
Mr. Delgado.
No.
Mr. Liebeler.
You never heard that he was stationed in the Philippines for a while?
Mr. Delgado.
No; not that.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you know whether any of these other men that had been stationed overseas with Oswald had been to the Philippines?
Mr. Delgado.
No; if they went on a problem from there and got aboard a small carrier, they probably may have taken him, say, to Hawaii or the Philippines or Guam, something like that, for maneuvers, or Okinawa.
Mr. Liebeler.
But you had no knowledge of it at the time?
Mr. Delgado.
No.
Mr. Liebeler.
You were about to tell us, before I went into this question of how long you and Oswald were together, about the rifle practice that you engaged in. Would you tell us about that in as much detail as you can remember?
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