PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
_County of Orange, ss_:
I, Paul Edward Murphy, 1706 South Evergreen Street, Apartment C, Santa
Ana, California, being first duly sworn, depose and say:
That I served in the United States Marine Corps from June, 1956, to
September, 1959. I was stationed at Atsugi, Japan, and thereafter at
Santa Ana, California, with Lee Harvey Oswald.
The unit which was stationed at Atsugi spent four to six weeks in
Okinawa late in 1957. It also spent some time in the Philippines, where
it was at times at bases at Subic Bay and Cubi Point. Another trip took
it to Corregidor.
Oswald was self-contained and withdrawn. He complained about orders he
had received from superiors, but followed them.
Although Oswald did not normally expound to me his political or
ideological views, I am of the opinion that he was generally in
sympathy with Castro.
One night in the barracks in Japan, I heard a shot in an adjoining
cubicle. I rushed into the cubicle to find Oswald sitting on a foot
locker looking at a wound in his arm. When I asked what had happened,
Oswald very unemotionally replied, "I believe I shot myself". Oswald
was at that time in possession of a small calibre pistol which he was
not authorized to possess.
While at Santa Ana, Oswald had a subscription to a newspaper printed
in English which I believe was titled either "The Worker" or "The
Socialist Worker." Members of the unit saw copies of this paper as
they passed through the mailroom; when the paper was identified as
being directed to Oswald, few were surprised. I do not recall Oswald's
receiving other literature of a Socialist nature.
I remember that Oswald could speak a little Russian, even when he was
overseas. I have no recollection of his studying either Spanish or
German.
Oswald was proficient at his assigned job, but he was below average
in the areas of discipline and military courtesy. He was, however,
personally quite neat.
Although Oswald drank, he did not drink excessively. His temperament
was such that he would push companions to the verge of fighting him,
but seldom, if ever, actually took the step of engaging in a fight.
It is my opinion that Oswald was of average intelligence. He read a
great deal at the library at Atsugi. I do not recall what sort of books
he read. He also went to the movies a great deal. I have no specific
recollection of his appreciation of classical music, although I
remember that Oswald--like everyone else--watched Dick Clark's American
Bandstand on television. Oswald also played chess.