Mr. Oliver. But it turned out to be that.
Mr. Jenner. The only point I am making, Doctor, is that you will notice in the article that what Captain Cloy says is not what you state in your speech he said, but rather that before the assassination his special unit had been rehearsing for the anticipated possible funeral of President Hoover who was then ill.
Mr. Oliver. That is right. He said, “We were in a state of readiness and had just finished a funeral rehearsal because there was grave concern for President Hoover’s health”.
Mr. Jenner. That is not rehearsal for a funeral of President Kennedy a week in advance either of the funeral or of the assassination, is it?
Mr. Oliver. Capt. Richard C. Cloy states that the conduct of the President’s funeral is in accordance with orders that cover 160 pages. He implies——
Mr. Jenner. Those are standing orders.
Mr. Oliver. Presumably, and he implies that all funerals are conducted in the same way. And he goes on to speak of difficulties that his men encountered and how they performed, and that although his command was ready for the state funeral, the actual site of the burial was not known until the day before the ceremony, and so on. The point I was making was that the show was a rehearsed show, and I do not believe that I say that on——
Mr. Jenner. I think if you will read it again, sir, there is a clear implication, if not express statement on your part, that his unit began to rehearse for the funeral a week ahead. Would you read that sentence again, or that series of clauses?
Mr. Oliver. Yes; “The headquarters detachment of our Army under orders from McNamara’s office began to rehearse for the funeral more than a week before the assassination.”
Mr. Jenner. Yes; now, that clear implication is that the unit was rehearsing for President Kennedy’s funeral because they knew there was going to be a funeral.