Mr. Jenner. Would you show me where in that clipping it says in any respect whatsoever that Captain Cloy made the statement that he and his unit were rehearsing for the funeral of President Kennedy a week in advance of the assassination?
Mr. Oliver. My first knowledge of the rehearsal came from a letter that I received from someone in Arlington, or Alexandria, informing me that the Army had rehearsed the funeral more than a week before the funeral, I think, I cannot be sure.
Mr. Jenner. The funeral was on Monday, the 25th of November.
Mr. Oliver. And I would not say that I discounted the letter. I appreciated it, as I appreciate all efforts to give me information. On the other hand, I did not follow it up partly because I was very busy, and partly because I thought it entirely possible that what had been witnessed was some other Army exercise that could easily have been mistaken for a rehearsal of the funeral.
Consequently, I put it aside, and I am afraid I really dropped it from my mind until I received this clipping from the Clarion-Ledger a number of days after it had been published. I wouldn’t want to say how many now.
Mr. Jenner. But you had it prior to your speech at the Santa Ana Valley High School?
Mr. Oliver. Oh, yes; quite some time before that.
Mr. Jenner. And before you prepared the speech, part of which you have read?
Mr. Oliver. That is right. And that confirmed the statement that a funeral had been rehearsed.
Mr. Jenner. Yes; but not President Kennedy’s.