The testimony of Allison G. Folsom, Lt. Col., USMC, was taken at 1:15
p.m., on May 1, 1964, at 200 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D.C., by
Mr. John Hart Ely, member of the staff of the President's Commission.
Mr. ELY. Colonel, would you please stand up and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Colonel FOLSOM. I do.
Mr. ELY. My name is John Ely. I am a member of the legal staff of the
President's Commission investigating the assassination of President
Kennedy.
Staff members have been authorized to take the testimony of witnesses
by the Commission pursuant to authority granted to the Commission
by Executive Order No. 11130, dated November 29, 1963, and Joint
Resolution of Congress No. 137.
Under the Commission rules for the taking of testimony, each witness
is to be provided with a copy of the Executive order and of the joint
resolution and a copy of the rules that the Commission has adopted
governing the taking of testimony from witnesses. I have provided you
with these documents, is that correct?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is true.
Mr. ELY. Under the Commission's rules for the taking of testimony, each
witness is entitled to 3 days' notice before he is required to come in
and give testimony.
You did not have 3 days' notice. However, each witness can waive that
notice requirement if he wishes, and I assume that your presence here
indicates you are willing to waive that notice requirement.
Colonel FOLSOM. It is waived.
Mr. ELY. Would you state your full name, please?
Colonel FOLSOM. Lt. Col. Allison G. Folsom, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps.
Mr. ELY. What is your job in the Marine Corps, sir?
Colonel FOLSOM. My primary duty is head, Records Branch, Personnel
Department, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.
Mr. ELY. How long have you held this position?
Colonel FOLSOM. Approximately 3 years.
Mr. ELY. Could you give us something of an idea of your
background--what you did before you entered the Marine Corps?
Colonel FOLSOM. I was a student.
Mr. ELY. And how long have you been in the Marine Corps?
Colonel FOLSOM. I entered active duty in the Marine Corps 5 August 1935.
Mr. ELY. Prior to the assassination of President Kennedy, had you ever
heard the name Lee Harvey Oswald?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes.
Mr. ELY. Could you tell us in what connection that was?
Colonel FOLSOM. It was in connection with his record, which was
requested by the Discipline Branch of Headquarters, Marine Corps, and
they advised me of his renunciation, I would guess, of his citizenship,
and the fact that they were trying to effect his discharge.
Mr. ELY. I see. And that is the first time you had ever heard of him?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes, sir.
Mr. ELY. Did you ever meet the man?
Colonel FOLSOM. No.
Mr. ELY. All right. The primary reason that we have called you here,
colonel, is not because of any contact which you have had with Oswald,
but because of your position. We have here Oswald's Marine records, and
we would like you to help us interpret some of the abbreviations, test
scores and things like that.
Let me show you this document, which we will mark Folsom Deposition
Exhibit No. 1, and ask you if you can tell us what it is.
(The document referred to was marked Folsom Deposition Exhibit No. 1
for identification.)
Colonel FOLSOM. It represents a photostatic copy of the official record
held by the Marine Corps of Lee Harvey Oswald, former marine.
Mr. ELY. Our procedure now will be to go through the document which you
have just identified. I have numbered the pages of this document in the
upper right-hand corner.
We will ask you to explain things as we come to them. Starting on page
1 of Exhibit No. 1, first I wonder if you might tell us what Oswald's
scores here under the category of Physical Profile mean.
Colonel FOLSOM. Well, the classification of "A" indicates that there
were no physical defects at the time he was examined--the date, 24
October 1956, I assume, was upon his enlistment.
Mr. ELY. Yes; moving down the left side of page 1, we have the
abbreviation "PEBD." Will you tell us what that stands for?
Colonel FOLSOM. Pay entry base date.
Mr. ELY. I note that the pay entry base date on Oswald's record has
been changed from 24 October 1956 to 8 December 1956. Why would this be?
Colonel FOLSOM. That is correct. This was changed to reflect time lost
due to misconduct, confinement, or intemperate use of drugs or alcohol.
In this instance it was days lost due to confinement.
Mr. ELY. Also on page 1 it is noted that Oswald was a "UQ" class
swimmer. What does that stand for?
Colonel FOLSOM. Unqualified.
Mr. ELY. Finally on page 1, at the bottom, there is written in the fact
that among the documents inserted in the record are some relating to
"SA" action.
Colonel FOLSOM. Supervisory authority action in a court-martial.
Mr. ELY. I show you now page 3 of this exhibit. Could you tell us
generally what this page of the record is.
Colonel FOLSOM. Page 3 of the Marine Corps Enlisted Service Record
constitutes a record of primary duty assignments, the organization
to which the individual was attached, with the dates, and also shows
conduct and proficiency markings.
Mr. ELY. In connection with these conduct and proficiency markings,
could you tell us what the scale is on which these grades are assigned?
Colonel FOLSOM. The Marine Corps marks on a scale of from 0 to 5.0.
Mr. ELY. 5.0 is the maximum grade?
Colonel FOLSOM. That is correct.
Mr. ELY. And what would be the minimum satisfactory grade? Is there no
minimum?
Colonel FOLSOM. No; there is none as such, because the markings are
averaged at the end of the enlistment, and in accordance with existing
regulations, the numerical quality of the markings determine the
difference in the character of discharge between honorable and under
honorable conditions.
Mr. ELY. Do you know what the minimum average for an honorable
discharge would be?
Colonel FOLSOM. I believe--was the question under honorable conditions?
Mr. ELY. Well, what would be the minimum for an honorable discharge?
Colonel FOLSOM. 4.0.
Mr. ELY. All right.
Now, I would like to take up some of these abbreviations specifically.
I think the easiest way to designate this would be to go down the
various columns on this page. Now, the column on the extreme left is
labeled "organization." I shall ask you about the ones which I think
might be unclear to somebody looking at this exhibit. There is an
abbreviation here, after Oswald left Jacksonville, he was transferred
to a unit abbreviated CASCO HQBN HQMC. Would you tell us what that
stands for?
Colonel FOLSOM. That indicates he was attached to the Casual Company,
Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, at that time.