Colonel FOLSOM. No score is recorded. It is merely to familiarize the
people with the operation of the weapon.
Mr. ELY. When you speak of ratings of sharpshooter and marksman, is it
correct that the scale runs--marksman is the lowest, sharpshooter the
next highest, and expert would be the highest category?
Colonel FOLSOM. That is correct.
Mr. ELY. Turning now to page 7 of the exhibit, which is titled
"Military and Civilian Occupational Specialties and Education," I see
hereabout halfway down the left column abbreviations for the courses
taken by Oswald, first while he was at Jacksonville, and then while he
was at Keesler Air Force Base. Could you tell us the meanings of these
two abbreviations?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes; at Jacksonville he was undergoing instruction in
aviation fundamentals school, course "P." And at Keesler Air Force
Base, he was undergoing a course of instruction in air control and
warning operator's course. Both of these courses were of 6 weeks'
duration.
Mr. ELY. I am a little curious about Keesler Air Force Base. Is that
under the auspices of the Air Force rather than the Marine Corps?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes; it is an Air Force School.
Mr. ELY. And do people from all branches of the service get trained
there?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes; we have cross training with all the other services.
Mr. ELY. All right. Now, moving further down page 7, we have the record
of a Russian examination taken by Oswald on February 25, 1959. Could
you explain to us what sort of test this was, and what the scores
achieved by Oswald mean?
Colonel FOLSOM. The test form was Department of the Army, Adjutant
General's Office, PRT-157. This is merely the test series designation.
Now, under "understands" the scoring was minus 5, which means that
he got five more wrong than right. The "P" in parentheses indicates
"poor." Under reading he achieved a score of 4, which is low. This,
again, is shown by the "P" in parentheses for "poor."
Mr. ELY. This 4 means he got four more questions right than wrong?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct.
And under "writes" he achieved a score of 3, with "P" in parentheses,
and this indicates he got three more right than he did wrong.
His total score was 2, with a "P" in parentheses meaning that overall
he got two more right than wrong, and his rating was poor throughout.
Mr. ELY. Page 7 also summarizes the results of the battery of
classification and aptitude tests taken by Oswald upon his entry into
the Marine Corps, specifically on October 30, 1956. This battery was
composed of six examinations.
Oswald's scores I see range from as low as 92 to as high as 125.
Could you, Colonel, tell us about these six categories, what they are,
and what Oswald's scores in each of them means?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes. I will take this in sequence.
The "RV" indicates reading and vocabulary, and the score, Roman numeral
II-125 indicates that he was in the second category. Categories
throughout the test battery run from I to IV, with IV being the highest.
The abbreviation "AC"--arithmetical computation--and the score Roman
numeral III-108, indicates that he dropped into the third class.
"AR" is arithmetical computation, Roman numeral III-90, indicates that
he was at the bottom of the Grade 3 in this area.
"PA" indicates pattern analysis, Roman numeral III-94 indicates that he
was the bottom portion of the third group in this category.
Now, these four areas are grouped into a general classification test
score, the abbreviation "GCT" represents that definition. And as a
result of Oswald's composite scores, he was graded as a Grade 3, Roman
III-103. At that time, the Marine Corps average, I believe, was 107.
Mr. ELY. Would you explain the one designated "RCT"?
Colonel FOLSOM. The abbreviation "RCT" is--represents radio code test.
There are three scores in this, ranging from one to three, with one
being the highest. The minimum, or the range in Grade III is from 90 to
109. As Oswald achieved 92, he was in the bottom, practically, of Group
III.
Mr. ELY. Which is the lowest group.
Colonel FOLSOM. Which is the lowest.
Mr. ELY. Now, directing your attention to page 8, which is a summary
court memorandum: this relates, I believe, to his first court-martial,
and in general is self-explanatory. I want, however, to ask you about
one sentence which to me seems to be in error.
According to the notation made here on page 8, under the title
"Convening Authorities Action Dated," it states that that part of
Oswald's sentence confining him at hard labor for 20 days would be
suspended "for 6 months at which time, unless the suspension is sooner
vacated, the sentence to confinement at hard labor for 20 days will be
remitted without further action."
However, turning our attention down to Section 11, page 8, it was
noted that on June 27, 1958, which would be the time of his second
court-martial, "Confinement at hard labor for 28 days vacated on June
27, 1958."
So the way it is worded it says that the confinement would be vacated.
Am I correct in assuming, Colonel, that what it really means to say is
that the suspension of the sentence was vacated?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct.
However, there appears to be an error here, since the original sentence
was for 20 days, and not 28 days, as shown under the subject entry.
Mr. ELY. Right.
So I suppose we have a typographical error, substituting 28 for 20 and
we also have a misleading sentence in that it implies that the sentence
was vacated rather than that the suspension of the sentence was vacated.
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct.
Mr. ELY. However, Colonel, what did happen is that when he was
court-martialed the second time, they then sentenced him to both the
sentence for the second court-martial and at that time gave him the
sentence that he received in connection with the first court-martial?
Colonel FOLSOM. Well, that portion of it--unexecuted portion of the
first sentence.
Mr. ELY. That is correct. Thank you.
On page 9 of the exhibit we have some records relating to the second
court-martial. At this point, again, I think the page is in general
self-explanatory. However, under the section marked "Findings" on each
charge, and specifications, there is the notation that on Charge II he
was found not guilty, and then it goes on to say, "On specification of"
Charge I. Am I correct in thinking that is a typographical error and
that it should be that on the specification of Charge II, he was found
not guilty?
Colonel FOLSOM. That is correct.
Mr. ELY. So the record should read, on page 9, that Oswald was found
guilty on Charge I, which was a violation of Article 117 of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. Similarly he was found guilty on the
specification under Charge I, which was wrongfully using provoking
words to a staff noncommissioned officer. However, on Charge II,
which was a violation of Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military
Justice, he was found not guilty, and he was similarly found not guilty
on the specification of that charge which was assaulting a staff
noncommissioned officer by pouring a drink on him.
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct.
Mr. ELY. Turning now to page 10 of the exhibit, the title of which
is "Administrative Remarks" I note entries dated April 14, 1958,
indicating that a request for an extension of Oswald's overseas tour
had been received and approved.
Must such a request come from the marine whose overseas tour is
involved?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes. This must be a voluntary request from the
individual concerned.
Mr. ELY. In other words, then, Oswald wanted to stay overseas longer
than he was scheduled to have been over there?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes.
Mr. ELY. I note, also, on page 10 that this extension which had been
approved was later canceled, on July 13, 1958.
Is there any way of determining from this record what the reason for
this cancellation was?
Colonel FOLSOM. No; other than knowledge of the system, which indicates
that the local commander withdrew his approval of the extension as a
result of the disciplinary action.
Mr. ELY. So we might guess that because this followed his second
court-martial, that was the reason?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes; and it followed it very closely.
Mr. ELY. Now, we will move all the way over to page 26, and I want to
ask you about only one entry here--actually it is two entries relating
to one event.
On January 19, 1959, the record discloses that Oswald departed El Toro
for Yuma, Arizona, and that on January 26, 1959, he returned to El Toro
from Yuma.
Is there any way of telling from this record for what purpose he went
to Yuma?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes. The record shows that he departed MCS, MCAS,
El Toro, for ADEX, 1-59, which is a designation for an air defense
exercise, the first one held during 1959.
Mr. ELY. Turning to page 27, I just want to clear up one detail that
might be confusing to somebody who has been in the Army rather than in
the Marine Corps.
It is here noted that Oswald was, at least for part of his career,
private, first class, and at the same time his pay grade was "E-2". Am
I correct in asserting that in the Marine Corps a private is an E-1, a
private first class is an E-2, your E-3 is a lance corporal, and your
E-4 is a corporal?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct. This is under the new rank structure.
Mr. ELY. Turning now to page 36 of Folsom Deposition Exhibit 1, I
want to ask you about only one abbreviation here. This is one that is
indicated for both the periods June 27, 1958 through June 30, 1959 and
July 1, 1958 through July 24, 1958. It is an abbreviated CNF SSCM. What
does that stand for?
Colonel FOLSOM. Confined, serving sentence--it should be summary
court-martial, but let me look at the record.
Mr. ELY. You mean there should be three "S's"?
Colonel FOLSOM. I just want to be sure somebody didn't goof and ring a
special in here.
Yes--serving sentence, summary court-martial.
Mr. ELY. Turning now to page 106 of the exhibit, we have here a
document relating to the high school level general educational
development tests which were taken by Oswald on March 23, 1959. Page
106 reports the scores received by Oswald on each of these five tests,
and also converts each score into a so-called United States percentile.
However, it does not make clear what the five areas in which Oswald was
tested were. Could you tell us what they are?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes. The high school "GED" test covers five areas. One,
English literature; two, English composition; three, social sciences;
four, physical sciences; five, mathematics.
Mr. ELY. Is it the case that those five that you have just read off
were read in the same order as they are numbered on the score sheet?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes. The battery is administered in the sequence in
which it appears on the report.
Mr. ELY. And am I correct in asserting that on this test Oswald
received a rating of satisfactory?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct. I believe USAFI rates as satisfactory
or unsatisfactory.
Mr. ELY. Right.
Well, that is not entirely clear. We have a rating code printed in the
lower right-hand corner.
Colonel FOLSOM. Well, they have two passing ones--satisfactory, and "D"
with distinction, and "U", unsatisfactory.
Mr. ELY. So he could have received a higher rating than he did?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is correct.
Mr. ELY. Finally for this document, turning to page 120, we have a
rather imposing score sheet which relates Oswald's scores while he was
in training at Jacksonville, Florida. Could you explain the meaning of
these numbers insofar as you can?
Colonel FOLSOM. Well, the first column indicates the number of hours
devoted to the subject. In the first instance, 37 hours to mathematics,
two examinations were given, he achieved a score of 67 on the first and
54 on the second.
The last--the next column indicates his average score for that subject.
Twenty-five hours physics, score, 75 and 77.
Mr. ELY. Excuse me. Do you know whether those scores you just read are
on a scale of 100?
Colonel FOLSOM. I do not know. But from the mathematics I would assume
they are, particularly since they say that 62 is a passing score.
Mr. ELY. I see.
Now, getting back again to the column which is second from the right,
which you say represents his average. It is his average on the previous
test carried out to three digits without the decimal point.
Colonel FOLSOM. That is correct. This report was prepared on an
electric accounting machine, and is a little difficult to interpret.
Mr. ELY. Yes. But I do see that that makes sense in terms of the
individual scores.
Colonel FOLSOM. Do you want to go through all of these?
Mr. ELY. No; I don't think that will be necessary, now that you have
explained the principle by which the scores are recorded.
Colonel FOLSOM. Under the heading "Indoctrination Test Scores" this is
a test, an Army test battery, which in this instance was administered
by the Marine Corps at a Navy installation. It consists of a reading
and vocabulary, arithmetic computation, arithmetical reasoning, and
pattern analysis. The "GC" is an abbreviation for "GCT".
These are raw scores.
Mr. ELY. The ones designated RV, AC, AR, and PA?
Colonel FOLSOM. And the scores indicated are raw scores, which
converted to the Marine Corps scoring on the general classification
test shows that Oswald achieved a score of 105 on this test battery,
and a score of 106 on the Marine Corps test batter. So the correlation
is quite close.
The column headed "B" indicates year of birth. And the "G" column
indicates the number of years of schooling--in this case, nine.
Mr. ELY. All right.
Colonel, I would finally like to show you a document which has already
been introduced in evidence before the Commission in connection with
the testimony of Marguerite Oswald. It is, therefore, designated
Exhibit 239.
This exhibit is a photostatic copy.
Could you tell us, Colonel, of what it is a photostatic copy?
Colonel FOLSOM. It is a Photostatic copy of the U.S. Marine Corps
Scorebook for use with the U.S. Rifle, Caliber 30 M-1.
Now, this scorebook is issued to each individual at each time they are
sent on the rifle range for qualification or requalification.
They are maintained by the individual and are used to provide the
individual with a record of the idiosyncracies of the weapon, and the
weather on the day that the entries are made. This is referred to in
the Marine Corps as the zero of the rifle, because the sight settings
are individual characteristics of the particular rifle used. That is,
he may--this rifle may require a half a point more windage under the
same wind velocity than another rifle, and that the scale by yards may
require adjustment depending upon the range that is being fired.
Mr. ELY. This book, then, is used by the individual Marine prior to his
firing for record in order that he can zero his weapon so that he will
do well on his record firing?
Colonel FOLSOM. This is the purpose. And it should be maintained even
on the day that he fires for record.
In this particular record, it would appear that the entries were rather
limited. As a matter of fact, it was not adequately maintained for the
purpose for which it was designed.
Mr. ELY. Is it possible, Colonel, to tell anything from this scorebook,
assuming for the moment that it was accurately maintained, concerning
the marksmanship of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Colonel FOLSOM. Well, yes. But very generally. For instance, at
200 yards slow fire--on Tuesday, at 200 yards slow fire, offhand
position----
Mr. ELY. You are referring, are you not, to the page designated 22 in
Oswald's scorebook?
Colonel FOLSOM. Right--well, 22 as opposed to 23. He got out in the
three ring, which is not good. They should be able to keep them--all 10
shots within the four ring.
Mr. ELY. And even if his weapon needed a great deal of adjustment in
terms of elevation or windage, he still would have a closer group than
that if he were a good shot?
Colonel FOLSOM. Yes. As a matter of fact, at 200 yards, people should
get a score of between 48 and 50 in the offhand position.
Mr. ELY. And what was his score?
Colonel FOLSOM. Well, total shown on page 22 would be--he got a score
of 34 out of a possible 50 on Tuesday, as shown on page 22 of his
record book.
On Wednesday, he got a score of 38, improved four points.
Do you want to compute these?
Mr. ELY. I don't see any point in doing this page by page.
I just wonder, after having looked through the whole scorebook, if we
could fairly say that all that it proves is that at this stage of his
career he was not a particularly outstanding shot.
Colonel FOLSOM. No, no, he was not. His scorebook indicates--as a
matter of fact--that he did well at one or two ranges in order to
achieve the two points over the minimum score for sharpshooter.
Mr. ELY. In other words, he had a good day the day he fired for
qualification?
Colonel FOLSOM. I would say so.
Mr. ELY. Well, Colonel, as far as I can see, that is all the testimony
that we need from you with regard to these records. No doubt there are
ambiguities in the records which I have not caught. I have asked you
about the ones that seemed most confusing to me.
Can you think of anything else that you would like to add for the
record?
Colonel FOLSOM. No; I believe that the record is rather complete. There
are no missing documents from this official record. The photostatic
copy contains everything that is in the original record.
And I do not believe that there are any discrepancies, other than those
clerical errors which have been noted on such items as the summary
court-martial records.
Mr. ELY. But you cannot think of any errors which we did not mention
during your testimony today?
Colonel FOLSOM. No; I do not.
Mr. ELY. All right.
In that case, Colonel, on behalf of the Commission, I want to thank you
very much for giving your testimony. It has been very helpful.