Mr. Ely. Did you find out about his attempt to get a hardship discharge through observation of his papers, or did he mention it to you?
Mr. Donovan. I have no idea. I don't recall seeing any papers. Just word around the squadron.
Mr. Ely. Would you have any idea of how long in advance of his actual discharge you or others heard about the fact that he was trying to get a discharge?
Mr. Donovan. I do not recall.
Mr. Ely. Did he ever discuss with you the reasons for the discharge?
Mr. Donovan. I don't recall if he ever discussed them or not. I did know that his mother needed help. And, at that time, I recall that I believed he was a sole surviving son. Since that date I have read that he has a brother. At that time, as I recall, I believed him to be an only son, and his mother needed help.
Mr. Ely. Did you observe on the part of Oswald anything that could be termed mental instability?
Mr. Donovan. No; except that he had an extreme passion for this field of foreign affairs—or at least in his discussions with me—and they might have been limited to me, I don't know. But it is unusual when anyone is solely interested in one given thing.
Mr. Ely. During discussions of foreign affairs, did he get visibly angry, did he raise his voice?
Mr. Donovan. No; he never raised his voice, but he could become passionate in the defense of a point, and become quite enthusiastic in trying to get you to see what he saw.