[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

counter-balance some of the positive statements about Oswald by Thornley so soon after
the assassination.
In the book, Thornley recounted his experiences with Oswald while the two were
stationed at the Marine Air Control Squadron 9 in El Toro, California in 1959. At first,
Thornley wondered why everyone picked on Oswald, but came to see that Private
Oswald sought to keep “fresh” the view of him “as a poor, persecuted soul.” Oswald
thought himself “the most important man in the unit” and the hostility of others seemed
to provide him with reassurance that he was “a unique somebody.” 323 According to
Thornley, during their first meeting, Oswald proclaimed himself both an atheist and a
believer in Communism, which he described as his religion. Thornley was also an atheist
with an interest in politics and literature, and the two struck up an acquaintance in which
they would discuss their opinions. The Marine Corps in the 1950’s apparently was a
bastion of individualism and offered opportunities for philosophical discussion. Oswald,
in fact, recommended Thornley read George Orwell’s classic indictment of a totalitarian
society, 1984. Because of this, Thornley suspected Oswald’s Marxism was a put-on:
when the author read about Oswald’s defection to the Soviet Union later, he was
surprised and thought Oswald must have been sincere after all. In fact, Thornley told the
Warren Commission that “Everything Oswald has ever done has surprised me.” 324
In the Marine Corps, Thornley described an Oswald different from the Warren
Commission portrait of the “lone nut assassin:” Thornley’s Oswald was a jokester who
323 Thornley, 19.
324 Thornley, 109.
146