Mr. Donovan.

he did his job well. I don't recall anything coming up that he could not handle.

Mr. Ely.

In acting as crew chief, do you think he demonstrated leadership qualities?

Mr. Donovan.

I don't think he was a leader.

Mr. Ely.

However, is it fair to say that any reservations you have about his ability as a leader were not sufficient to make you decide never to use him as a crew chief again?

Mr. Donovan.

I would not hesitate to use him as a crew chief.

Mr. Ely.

When the other men in the unit found out that Oswald was in the process of getting a hardship discharge, did they make any offers to help, other than the ones you have mentioned concerning transportation?

Mr. Donovan.

I recall that I offered to help him any way I could, including financially. And you can talk to Sergeant Brown, but I believe that Sergeant Brown helped him, or offered to help him.

Mr. Ely.

Did he accept these offers?

Mr. Donovan.

He did not from me, and to the best of my knowledge he did not from anyone.

Mr. Ely.

Did he give a reason for refusing them?

Mr. Donovan.

He didn't need the help.

Mr. Ely.

Did you find out about his attempt to get a hardship discharge through observation of his papers, or did he mention it to you?

Mr. Donovan.

I have no idea. I don't recall seeing any papers. Just word around the squadron.

Mr. Ely.

Would you have any idea of how long in advance of his actual discharge you or others heard about the fact that he was trying to get a discharge?

Mr. Donovan.

I do not recall.

Mr. Ely.

Did he ever discuss with you the reasons for the discharge?

Mr. Donovan.

I don't recall if he ever discussed them or not. I did know that his mother needed help. And, at that time, I recall that I believed he was a sole surviving son. Since that date I have read that he has a brother. At that time, as I recall, I believed him to be an only son, and his mother needed help.

Mr. Ely.

Did you observe on the part of Oswald anything that could be termed mental instability?

Mr. Donovan.

No; except that he had an extreme passion for this field of foreign affairs---or at least in his discussions with me and they might have been limited to me, I don't know. But it is unusual when anyone is solely interested in one given thing.

Mr. Ely.

During discussions of foreign affairs, did he get visibly angry, did he raise his voice?

Mr. Donovan.

No; he never raised his voice, but he could become passionate in the defense of a point, and become quite enthusiastic in trying to get you to see what he saw.

Mr. Ely.

But he always retained physical control of himself, in terms of pounding the table, screaming?

Mr. Donovan.

Oh, yes; I don't believe he became any more physically worked up than people we talk with every day.

Mr. Ely.

Did you observe Oswald to complain about the Marine Corps any more than the average Marine complains about the Marine Corps?

Mr. Donovan.

No; he stuck in my mind in that respect only because he was particularly opposed to the recognition promotion program. Most guys complain about having to stand so many inspections, having to clean up the barracks so many times, having to go on KP so many times, et cetera.
I don't recall those complaints from him. They may have come. The complaint he had was that the Marine Corps did not recognize his ability to to be in a position of command. I recall that on several instances I encouraged him to pursue this, and put in for NCO leadership school, if he felt he had the qualities, or to go out, get a commission, and come back in, and try to do his best in that way.

Mr. Ely.

Do you know whether he ever took an OCS qualification exam?