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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VIII - Page 287« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Daniel Patrick Powers)

Mr. Powers.
Harvey Oswald. There was some relationship there in the Civil War type of thing. I'm not sure what it was.
Mr. Jenner.
During your period of association with him and knowledge of him, did he have a reputation of being an odd- ball of any kind?
Mr. Powers.
Well, I think the term is loosely taken.
Mr. Jenner.
Yes.
Mr. Powers.
Odd-ball, which is attributed to his characteristics that he did have.
Mr. Jenner.
There might have been a lot of odd-balls in the Marines.
Mr. Powers.
There are a lot of odd-balls in the Marines; let's say there are a lot of odd-balls everywhere.
Mr. Jenner.
But nothing occurred that would lead you to describe him as an odd-ball?
Mr. Powers.
Well, he was different. You could use it---what an odd-ball means to you and what an odd-ball means to myself and to everyone, it's different.
Mr. Jenner.
Well, I'm trying to go along with you; he was different.
Mr. Powers.
He was a different individual, I would say, than the normal personality that you would see in the Marine Corps because he was--which I previously stated, I think--he was a quiet--if you want to call it--a reserved individual that had feminine characteristics, that to me, he was shy, so to speak, and a lot of times you felt sorry because the rest of the guys were most of the time picking on him; this goes back to the Ozzie Rabbit incident.
And he was somewhat the frail, little puppy in the litter. At least, this was the opinion I think they got from him, and maybe he fell right into this image all along through the Marine Corps; maybe it just followed him. And maybe---physically, like I say, he was not an impressive specimen, at that time he wasn't, that the Marine Corps tries to portray is one of the big-type individualists, and he didn't fall into that, and consequently he was an odd-ball from the Marine Corps' own definition of what a Marine is supposed to--ideally supposed to be.
Mr. Jenner.
Was he argumentatively inclined?
Mr. Powers.
Somewhat. I wouldn't say he was---he just took the opposite side of the argument, but I think that he was possibly more intelligent than most of the individuals that were in the Marine Corps--well, I wouldn't say possibly; I would say he appeared to be more intelligent than most of them.
Mr. Jenner.
Are you drawing the distinction between when you say "intelligence," education and the development of intelligence?
Mr. Powers.
Let's say his capacity, and he appeared to be better developed, even not knowing what his educational background was at the time. At least, his diction and his knowledge of different subjects appeared to be more advanced than some of the other people in the group or in the groups that he was in.
Mr. Jenner.
Do you think there might have been any resentment on that account?
Mr. Powers.
There may have been, I suppose, the frail--maybe he portrayed that image---frail, know-it-all, studious type of person. And, of course, some of the individuals--this is maybe why they were in the Marine Corps, to get away from the type of individual Or scholastic problems or school.
Mr. Jenner.
Do you have any impression as to what kind of a marksman he was?
Mr. Powers.
I don't know; he was not in my platoon. At least, I don't think he was. I don't have any conscious recollection of him there, but all marines train to shoot the rifle proficiently, and the pistol and the Browning automatic rifle.
Mr. Jenner.
Was there any scuttlebutt that he was an officer hater?
Mr. Powers.
No.
Mr. Jenner.
Did he evidence, as far as you recall, any impatience with people who appeared not to have the command of any particular subject that he had?
Mr. Powers.
I don't know; maybe not more so than anything else. He had the patience to teach me chess, but then again, you would sit there and pondering
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