D132

                               Memorandum

                            From: Doug Horne

                                  Subject:

                           OSWALD'S DD1173 ID CARD

                                  MEMORANDUM


                  August 7, 1996 (Revised February 20, 1997)

To:         Jeremy Gunn

cc:         David Marwell, Tim Wray, Christopher Barger, Brian Rosen, Joan
            Zimmerman, Joe Freeman

From:       Doug Horne

Subject:    Oswald's DD 1173 I.D. Card

In August, 1995 the author was asked to study the article in the 11/22/92
Houston Post by Ray and Mary La Fontaine entitled: "Oswald I.D. Card May
Be Missing Link." This article, centered around the issuance to Oswald of
a "Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card" (DD Form 1173)
upon his discharge from the Marine Corps, was to be treated as a lead in
the search for possible assassination-related documents, or for documents
which would enhance the historical understanding of the assassination.
Another goal was to clarify, to the extent possible, all circumstances
surrounding the issuance of that I.D. card to Oswald through study of
government documents.

The La Fontaine article on the DD Form 1173 identification card (hereafter
referred to as the DD 1173) and a Paul Hoch 3/8/93 "Echoes of Conspiracy"
newsletter (pages 5-7) were the starting points for the author's research
in August-September 1995. Subsequent to initial ARRB study of this issue
in 1995, in 1996 the La Fontaines published their book Oswald Talked: The
New Evidence in the JFK Assassination (Pelican); the DD 1173 issue is
dealt with at length on pages 65-90, and on pages 390-391. Although the La
Fontaine's book (with expanded treatment of this subject far beyond their
1992 newspaper article) had not been published when the author conducted
his initial research, this memo will nevertheless provide tentative
findings regarding some of the La Fontaine's conclusions about the
circumstances under which the card was issued by comparing findings from
the the author's research with leads provided in the La Fontaine's
11/22/92 Houston Post article, and their 1996 book.


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