Mr. POWERS. That's correct, sir.
Mr. JENNER. What was your reporting date at El Toro?
Mr. POWERS. My reporting date at El Toro was 2400, 12 July 1957.
Mr. JENNER. Do you have any recollection of what Oswald did during the
intervening period, that is, this leave period?
Mr. POWERS. No; I do not. Except possibly there was something that was
stuck in my mind: we were on the ship going overseas, he mentioned
Texas and his mother. That's all that I can recollect.
Mr. JENNER. So that he might have visited his mother in Texas?
Mr. POWERS. It stays in my mind of Texas and his mother. Whether this
is truly true or not, it sticks there. And what the relationship was, I
don't know, or if he did visit her or when, I'm not sure. I think I was
under the opinion that he was from Texas. He used to say--I want to say
Dallas, but I'm not sure again if that is planted----
Mr. JENNER. Fort Worth?
Mr. POWERS. Yes; maybe it was Fort Worth, but it was some place in
Texas, but I can't say for sure with everything going; again I don't
know.
Mr. JENNER. Did he say anything during these periods or thereafter of
having been a boy in New Orleans up to his high school period, having
lived for a while in Texas?
Mr. POWERS. Now, Texas and New Orleans are not associated in my mind.
New Orleans, this is where he used to go on weekends; this is where he
used to go quite a bit when he was in Mississippi. But as far as, let's
say, hometown, or home State, it was in my mind; it stuck it was Texas,
but there was no relationship between both of them other than this is
where he went.
Mr. JENNER. How long did you remain at El Toro?
Mr. POWERS. We arrived the 12th of July in El Toro, Calif. This is when
I reported in. Now, when I actually went overseas, it was in the August
draft, I don't--to be truthful, I can't say when I went overseas. It
was sometime in August, around the first of August.
Mr. JENNER. Could it have been the middle of August, August 15th?
Mr. POWERS. It's possible. I cannot say for sure.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Mr. POWERS. I have no record of when I did actually.
Mr. JENNER. All right. Assuming that was the date, you were at El Toro
approximately a month then?
Mr. POWERS. That's correct; yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And what was your classification there?
Mr. POWERS. How do you mean "classification"?
Mr. JENNER. Well, our records show that Oswald was classified as a
replacement trainee.
Mr. POWERS. That's probably what I was, too, a replacement trainee for
overseas.
Mr. JENNER. What was Oswald's response or attitude toward higher
authority?
Mr. POWERS. Up to this particular period of time, I don't think he
showed any attitude or response to higher authority other than he was
like the rest of the trainees, if you want to call it that; he did what
he was told and that was it.
I think his aggressive attitude came after he was away from his initial
exposure to the Marine Corps-type discipline.
Mr. JENNER. Were you with him during that period of time?
Mr. POWERS. I was with him overseas. Well, he was actually in the same
unit as I was until I came home, and this is where I noticed that he
had started to be more aggressive, and outgoing in his manner. In other
words, he took on a new personality, and now he was Oswald the man
rather than Oswald the rabbit.
Mr. JENNER. This was after you boys got overseas?
Mr. POWERS. Yes; I think so. I think--this is when I noticed--it can
be safe to say that he did start to have more incidents of where he
would stand for his own rights if there were rights to be had. In other
words, he was going to take everything that came, and he wasn't going
to let anybody else get what he could have.
Mr. JENNER. Do you remember anything in the particular incident that
you think might be helpful to the Commission during that 1-month period
of time that you were at El Toro?
Mr. POWERS. At this particular time, I have no memory of the individual
at all. It seems to me that he reported in after I did, I think, and
this is where again something is in my mind of Texas. He said he was in
Texas for this period of time, and him coming--being there first--the
most we got into--I think we got into an August draft, and I don't
think he was in the same draft that I was in. I think I reported in and
got in the July draft.
Now, again, I'm not sure on this, but it seems to me that he was in a
different draft than I was, and we were all in the same barracks to
start, and then they separate you in these replacements drafts, and
again it's in my mind when he reported in or possibly he came in late
off his leave, he took an extra week or something.
It might be in my mind, I can't say for sure, but it still remains
there, that he was in Texas or Texas was the area he was visiting or he
took his leave in.
Mr. JENNER. Well, then, you were--you boys were shipped out from El
Toro?
Mr. POWERS. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. For overseas?
Mr. POWERS. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Was he on the same ship?
Mr. POWERS. Well, he must have been in the same draft; he was on the
same ship.
Mr. JENNER. From what port did you sail?
Mr. POWERS. In my--we left from San Diego.
Mr. JENNER. Do you remember the name of the ship?
Mr. POWERS. No; I don't remember the name of the ship.
Mr. JENNER. Would it refresh your recollection if I uttered the name
Bexar, B-e-x-a-r; would that mean anything to you?
Mr. POWERS. I think possibly, yes; I think it was on the Peter boats
and Mike boats.
Mr. JENNER. What is a Mike boat?
Mr. POWERS. These are the terms given to these landing crafts.
Mr. JENNER. That were on the ship itself?
Mr. POWERS. Yes; they're running over the ship; they're used for
loading and unloading of supplies and running back and forth while
we're on the harbor, taking people off leave and from.
Mr. JENNER. Now, your embarkation was--would you check your orders, the
21st of August, am I correct?
Mr. POWERS. I'm not sure. From here I don't have any orders.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Mr. POWERS. I think these orders are all in the group orders, and they
are not given to individuals as such.
Mr. JENNER. I see. All right. You went from San Diego to what port,
what foreign port?
Mr. POWERS. Yokohama. Again, I'm not sure. I think it was Yokohama.
Mr. JENNER. Yokosuka rather than Yokohama?
Mr. POWERS. Yes; there is two of them right in the same proximity.
Yokosuka is probably the right one. I'm not sure now.
Mr. JENNER. What was the military base?
Mr. POWERS. That we reported to?
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mr. POWERS. Atsugi.
Mr. JENNER. A-t-s-u-g-i?
Mr. POWERS. That's correct.
Mr. JENNER. And that is the Marine base?
Mr. POWERS. Navy base with Marine squadrons flying out of it, but it's
primary mission is a Navy base.
Mr. JENNER. Now, were these same boys, Bandoni, Brereton, Camarata,
yourself, Schrand, and Oswald, were you still a group?
Mr. POWERS. I don't think Bandoni was part of the group; no. He must
have been because I have pictures. I don't think that he----
Mr. JENNER. By the way, do you have pictures of--any pictures of these
taken during the course of your time in the Marines which Oswald
appears in?
Mr. POWERS. Just the one picture that I have of him appearing is a
class-type photo when we got out of Keesler Air Force Base, and it
shows Marine and Air Force personnel that graduated.
I have never run across any pictures of him of barracks life or
anything like that.
Going back to your original question: Brereton was on it, and Camarata
and Schrand--maybe Schrand came later, I can't say for sure. But Oswald
and myself, but I think that Bandoni went on the east coast, but
Brereton went to Iwakuni, which is another Air Force--rather Marine
base, and Camarata went down to a helicopter base somewhere in Japan,
down in the harbor somewhere. I used to call him on the phone once in a
while and talk to him.
And Brereton, I think--no, by gosh, maybe Bandoni was down at--no, that
was Mike Cainey. We were flying between the Philippines, and if he
would stop in at Iwakuni, I would stop in and see Mike.
Mr. JENNER. Where?
Mr. POWERS. Iwakun, this is a base in the lower part of Japan.