Ask the Scholar

Page 14 of 160
I can add historical knowledge about this page.

Page image

Page 14

OCR

(1) AFPIDAVIT name is Kerry Wendell Thornley. I presently reside in Atlanta, Ny Georgia. My mailing address is Box 827, Atlanta 30301. I am employed as a part-time student assistant at Georgia State University. 1/6 In the spring of 1959, while stationed in Marine Air Control Squadron 9 at an outpost of El Toro Marine Base, Santa Ana, California, I became aquainted with another young Marine in the same outfit named Lee Harvey Oswald. My Warren Commission testimony relating to this period can be found in volume 11 of the 26 volumes which supplement the Warren Report. In October of 1959, while serving in Marine Air Control Squadron 1, Atsugi Naval Air Station, Atsugi, Japan, I read in the newspaper that my former aquaintance, Lee Oswald, had walked into the American Embassy in Moscow, turned in his passport, and announced his intent- ion of taking up residence in the Soviet Union. I thereupon decided to write a novel about a young Marine who becomes disillusioned with the United States as a result of his overseas tour of duty in the Marine Corps and in the end defects to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The title I chose for this first novel attempt was The Idle Warriors. During the brief period of time that I had known Oswald, he seemed genuinely disillusioned with the United States and claimed to believe that the Russians had a better system. He had just been overseas in Marine Air Control Squadron 1. Now that I was overseas, and serving in the same outfit in which he had served previous to meeting me, I was also becoming disillusioned with the United States and coming more and more to feel that I could understand his apparent defection to the Soviet Union. As Oswald had been, I became an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy and of the Marine Corps in particular. As Oswald had done, I began to disobey orders and ridicule my military superiors. And as had Oswald, I began espousing Marxist doctrines. Moreover, I boasted that I was writing "a poor man's Ugly American" which would "blow the lid off" the situation resulting from peacetime stationing of troops in the Far East. Looking back, I feel that both Oswald and I must have been put under surveillance by the Office of Naval Intelligence during our periods of active duty in the Marine Corps. The Cold War was raging *Since beginning this statement I have vacated my student assistantship at GSU.

Page data

Page
14
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
2390cb794bae1afa
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
7564934
Core
doc
Type
document
DTO data
{
    "id": "7564934",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7564934",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Thornley, Kerry",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7564934",
    "collections": [
        "John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection",
        "Papers of Jim Garrison"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0038.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0038.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0038.jpg",
    "imageCount": 160,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
{
    "localId": "7564934",
    "label": "Thornley, Kerry",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7564934"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "7564934",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7564934",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Thornley, Kerry",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7564934",
    "collections": [
        "John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection",
        "Papers of Jim Garrison"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0038.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0038.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0038.jpg",
    "imageCount": 160,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}
Document source extras
{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7564934",
    "naId": 7564934,
    "levelOfDescription": "fileUnit",
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 14,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/5649/7564934/content/arcmedia/dc-metro/jfkco/641323/jfk-garrison-159/jfk-garrison-159-0004.jpg",
    "mediaId": "2390cb794bae1afa",
    "ocrText": "(1)\nAFPIDAVIT\nname is Kerry Wendell Thornley. I presently reside in\nAtlanta, Ny Georgia. My mailing address is Box 827, Atlanta 30301.\nI am employed as a part-time student assistant at Georgia State\nUniversity. 1/6\nIn the spring of 1959, while stationed in Marine Air Control\nSquadron 9 at an outpost of El Toro Marine Base, Santa Ana,\nCalifornia, I became aquainted with another young Marine in the\nsame outfit named Lee Harvey Oswald.\nMy Warren Commission testimony relating to this period can be\nfound in volume 11 of the 26 volumes which supplement the Warren\nReport.\nIn October of 1959, while serving in Marine Air Control Squadron\n1, Atsugi Naval Air Station, Atsugi, Japan, I read in the newspaper\nthat my former aquaintance, Lee Oswald, had walked into the American\nEmbassy in Moscow, turned in his passport, and announced his intent-\nion of taking up residence in the Soviet Union.\nI thereupon decided to write a novel about a young Marine who\nbecomes disillusioned with the United States as a result of his\noverseas tour of duty in the Marine Corps and in the end defects\nto the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The title I chose for\nthis first novel attempt was The Idle Warriors.\nDuring the brief period of time that I had known Oswald, he\nseemed genuinely disillusioned with the United States and claimed\nto believe that the Russians had a better system. He had just\nbeen overseas in Marine Air Control Squadron 1. Now that I was\noverseas, and serving in the same outfit in which he had served\nprevious to meeting me, I was also becoming disillusioned with\nthe United States and coming more and more to feel that I could\nunderstand his apparent defection to the Soviet Union.\nAs Oswald had been, I became an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign\npolicy and of the Marine Corps in particular. As Oswald had done,\nI began to disobey orders and ridicule my military superiors. And\nas had Oswald, I began espousing Marxist doctrines. Moreover, I\nboasted that I was writing \"a poor man's Ugly American\" which would\n\"blow the lid off\" the situation resulting from peacetime stationing\nof troops in the Far East.\nLooking back, I feel that both Oswald and I must have been put\nunder surveillance by the Office of Naval Intelligence during our\nperiods of active duty in the Marine Corps. The Cold War was raging\n*Since beginning this statement I have\nvacated my student assistantship at GSU."
}