FORT WORTH, DALLAS, NEW ORLEANS
Oswald had originally indicated that he and his family would stay with his mother in Vernon, Tex.[A13-824] His decision to stay with Robert Oswald in Fort Worth apparently had been prompted by his brother’s invitation in a letter to him in Russia.[A13-825] Oswald listed only his brother as a relative on an “Intake Interview” form which he prepared for the New York Department of Welfare.[A13-826]
Robert took his wife and children to Love Field, the Dallas airport, to meet Lee and Marina and their baby, June Lee.[A13-827] He testified that the most noticeable change in his brother’s appearance was that he had become rather bald; he seemed also to be somewhat thinner than he had been in 1959. Robert thought that his brother had picked up “something of an accent” but, except for these changes was “the same boy” whom he had known before.[A13-828] Lee commented on the absence of newspaper reporters and seemed to Robert to be disappointed that none had appeared.[A13-829] Later on, Lee was anxious to avoid publicity.[A13-830]
Robert drove the Oswalds to his home at 7313 Davenport Street.[A13-831] For a few days, Lee seemed tense,[A13-832] but the brothers got along well,[A13-833] and to Robert it was “more or less * * * [as if Lee] had not been to Russia”; they were “just together again.”[A13-834] They did not discuss politics, according to Robert because of a “tacit agreement” between them.[A13-835] Lee indicated to his brother that he hoped to have his undesirable discharge from the Marines corrected.[A13-836] Robert and his wife “took to Marina and June,” and enjoyed showing Marina “things that she had never seen before.”[A13-837] Marina rested and took care of her baby, and when she could, helped in the household.[A13-838] She testified that, apart from a trip to the library, Lee spent about a week “merely talking.”[A13-839]
On June 18, 4 days after he arrived in Fort Worth, Oswald went to the office of Mrs. Pauline Virginia Bates, a public stenographer whose name he had found in the telephone directory,[A13-840] and asked her to type a manuscript from the “scraps of paper,” on which he had recorded his impressions of the Soviet Union.[A13-841] Intrigued by his tale that he had just returned from the Soviet Union and had smuggled his notes out of that country, she agreed to type the notes for $1 per page or $2 an hour, 50 cents less than her usual hourly rate.[A13-842] On that day and the succeeding 2 days, Mrs. Bates spent 8 hours typing for Oswald while he remained in her office helping her with the notes and translating portions of them which were in Russian.[A13-843] At the end of each session he collected his notes and as much of the manuscript as she had done and took them away with him.[A13-844] On June 20, he gave Mrs. Bates $10 for the 10 completed pages; he told her that he had no more money and refused to accept her offer to postpone payment or continue the work for nothing.[A13-845]
Oswald told Mrs. Bates that there was an engineer in Fort Worth who wanted to help him publish his notes.[A13-846] On June 19,[A13-847] he had called Peter Gregory, a petroleum engineer who was born in Siberia and taught Russian at the Fort Worth Public Library as a “civic enterprise.”[A13-848] He asked if Gregory could give him a letter testifying to his ability to read and speak Russian, so that he could obtain work as an interpreter or translator. Gregory suggested that Oswald come to his office, where Gregory opened a Russian book at random and asked Oswald to read from it. Oswald read well, and Gregory gave him the letter he wanted.[A13-849] Gregory and Oswald had lunch together and discussed Oswald’s life in the Soviet Union,[A13-850] but, according to Gregory’s testimony, nothing was said about publishing Oswald’s manuscript.[A13-851] About a week later, Gregory and his son Paul, a college student, visited the Oswalds at Robert Oswald’s home and arranged for Marina to give Paul lessons in Russian during the summer.[A13-852]
On June 26, Oswald was interviewed by FBI agents in Fort Worth.[A13-853] One of the agents who interviewed him described him as tense and “drawn up”; he said that Oswald “exhibited an arrogant attitude * * * and [was] inclined to be just a little insolent.”[A13-854] Oswald declined to say why he had gone to Russia, saying that he refused to “relive the past.”[A13-855] He said that he had not attempted to obtain Soviet citizenship, had not been approached by Soviet officials for information about his experiences in the Marines, and had not offered them such information. Marina’s Soviet passport required her to notify the Soviet Embassy in Washington of her address in this country, and Oswald told the agents that he planned to contact the Embassy for this purpose within a few days.[A13-856] He promised to notify the FBI if he were contacted by Soviet agents “under suspicious circumstances or otherwise.”[A13-857] Oswald told his brother about the interview, saying that it had been “just fine.”[A13-858]
Oswald and his family remained with Robert for about a month.[A13-859] While they were there his mother moved to Fort Worth from Crowell, Tex.,[A13-860] and, sometime in July they moved into her apartment at 1501 West Seventh Street.[A13-861] Mrs. Oswald testified that she had visited them at Robert’s house in June[A13-862] and moved to Fort Worth because she thought that the house was too crowded and wanted to help them.[A13-863] Mrs. Oswald described the period when her son and his family lived with her as “a very happy month”; according to her testimony, she and her son and daughter-in-law got along well. She mentioned that she not only helped Marina keep house and care for the baby but also aided her son in his efforts to find employment.[A13-864] Marina testified, however, that Lee did not get along well with his mother and that he decided after several weeks that they should move to their own apartment.[A13-865] He did not file a change-of-address card at the post office when the family moved to West Seventh Street, as he did when they made their next move,[A13-866] so he may have contemplated from the beginning that they would stay with his mother for only a short while. Around the middle of August,[A13-867] the Oswalds moved to a one-bedroom furnished apartment at 2703 Mercedes Street, for which they paid $59.50 in advance for 1 month’s rent.[A13-868]
In the third week in July, Oswald had obtained a job as a sheet metal worker with the Louv-R-Pak Division of the Leslie Welding Co.,[A13-869] a manufacturer of louvers and ventilators,[A13-870] to which he had been referred by the Texas Employment Commission.[A13-871] On his application for employment, filled out several days before, he wrote falsely that he had had experience as a sheet metal worker and machinist in the Marines and had been honorably discharged.[A13-872] He usually worked 8 or 9 hours a day, for which he was paid $1.25 an hour.[A13-873] Marina testified that Oswald did not like his work,[A13-874] but he was regarded as a good employee[A13-875] and remained with the company until October, when he quit.[A13-876] On the job, he kept to himself and was considered uncommunicative.[A13-877]
Mrs. Oswald visited her son and his family at their apartment and tried to help them get settled; she testified that she bought some clothes for Marina and a highchair for the baby but that Oswald told her that he did not want her to buy “things for his wife that he himself could not buy.”[A13-878] Finally, Oswald apparently decided that he did not want his mother to visit the apartment anymore and he became incensed when his wife permitted her to visit despite his instructions.[A13-879] After he moved to Dallas in October, Oswald did not see his mother or communicate with her in any way until she came to see him after the assassination.[A13-880] Witnesses have described the Mercedes Street apartment as “decrepit” and very poorly furnished;[A13-881] there was no telephone service.[A13-882] Acquaintances observed that Marina and the baby were poorly clothed, that the Oswalds had little food, and that at first there was not a bed for the baby.[A13-883]
On August 16, the FBI again interviewed Oswald. This interview took place in the back seat of a car in front of his home and covered substantially the same material as the previous interview. Oswald again denied having made any deal with representatives of the Soviet Union. He protested his undesirable discharge from the Marines, and stated that his wife was registered at the Soviet Embassy. He still refused to discuss why he had gone to the Soviet Union, but he was less hostile than he had been during the previous interview.[A13-884] According to his wife, however, he was very upset by the interest the FBI showed in him.[A13-885]
The Oswalds became acquainted with a growing number of people of the Russian-speaking community in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, who were tied together socially by a common origin, language, and religion. The group was not restricted to people from Russia but was composed primarily of people from Eastern European countries.[A13-886] The Oswalds’ initial contact with this group was through Peter Gregory. Marina gave conversational Russian lessons to Paul Gregory 2 days a week during August and early September, for which she was paid $35. Most of the lessons took place at the Mercedes Street apartment and Oswald was generally present.[A13-887] In addition, Paul Gregory occasionally took the Oswalds shopping; after they became friendly, he had a number of discussions with Oswald, some of them politically oriented.[A13-888]
Sometime around August 25, Peter Gregory invited the Oswalds and several members of the Russian community to his house for dinner. One of the guests was George Bouhe, a Dallas accountant and a leader of the Russian community. He was very interested in meeting and conversing with Marina, because she had spent much of her life in Leningrad, which was his birthplace.[A13-889] Also present was Mrs. Anna Meller, the Russian-born wife of a Dallas department store employee.[A13-890] Near the end of August, the Oswalds met Declan Ford, a consulting geologist in the Dallas area, and his Russian-born wife at Mrs. Meller’s home. The Oswalds were also introduced to Mrs. Elena Hall, who was born in Tehran, Iran, of Russian parentage. She worked in a dental laboratory and at this time was divorced from her former husband John Hall, whom she subsequently remarried. In order to obtain dental aid for Marina, George Bouhe had brought her to Mrs. Hall’s house.[A13-891] In early September, the Oswalds met Alexander Kleinlerer, another member of the Russian group, who was then courting Mrs. Hall.[A13-892] Mrs. Max Clark was introduced to Marina during this period by George Bouhe and Anna Meller. Max Clark met the Oswalds at a later time.[A13-893] At about the same time, they were visited by George De Mohrenschildt, a petroleum engineer born in Russia,[A13-894] who had heard of them from one of the Russian-speaking group.[A13-895] Later on, the Oswalds met his wife, Jeanne, and his daughter and son-in-law, Gary and Alexandra Taylor.[A13-896]
Most of the members of the Russian community were interested in the Oswalds not only because they needed help, but also because they could provide the latest information about what was happening in Russia.[A13-897] Some members of the group were at first apprehensive about them because the apparent ease with which they had left Russia seemed suspicious.[A13-898] Nevertheless, many of the group provided small amounts of money, groceries, clothing, and furniture for the Oswalds; George Bouhe, Anna Meller, and Elena Hall were the primary contributors, although others provided help in the form of transportation and groceries.[A13-899] These acquaintances occasionally visited the Oswalds, and the Oswalds in turn visited some of them in Dallas.[A13-900]
It was evident that Oswald did not appreciate the help of the Russian community.[A13-901] At least once he flew into a rage and shouted that he did not need any of the things that people were giving to him.[A13-902] Some felt that he resented the gifts because he could not give his wife what the others were providing;[A13-903] he apparently was critical of them also because he felt that they were overly concerned with improving themselves economically.[A13-904]
Oswald became increasingly unpopular with his Russian-speaking acquaintances, partly because of his resentment of their assistance.[A13-905] Alexander Kleinlerer stated that none of them cared for Oswald “because of his political philosophy, his criticism of the United States, his apparent lack of interest in anyone but himself and because of his treatment of Marina.”[A13-906] Some of them believed that Oswald was mentally disturbed.[A13-907] However, they felt sorry for Marina and the child and continued to help.[A13-908]
On a weekend afternoon early in October, the Oswalds were visited by his mother and a number of people from the Russian community, including George Bouhe, Anna Meller, the Halls, the De Mohrenschildts, and the Taylors.[A13-909] Oswald had apparently decided to look for a new job, and discussed his lack of job prospects and the fact that his rent was overdue.[A13-910] He was advised to seek employment in the Dallas area.[A13-911] Elena Hall invited Marina to move into her house in Fort Worth until Oswald found a job in Dallas. She accepted the proposal, and Mrs. Hall moved Marina, her daughter June, and the Oswalds’ few household goods in a pickup truck belonging to the dental laboratory where she was employed.[A13-912]
Oswald worked at the Leslie Welding Co. on Monday, October 8, but failed to appear on the following day. He was already in Dallas.[A13-913] He falsely told his wife that he had been discharged,[A13-914] and told George Bouhe that the job had been a temporary one.[A13-915] Sometime later, the company received an undated letter from him stating that he had “moved permanently to Dallas,” and asking that the wages due him be forwarded to him at box 2915 in Dallas.[A13-916] He did not tell his mother that he was leaving Fort Worth.[A13-917]
While they were in Fort Worth, the Oswalds were having marital problems.[A13-918] Several people noted that Marina had a blackened eye when they visited her at the Mercedes Street apartment.[A13-919] She told her mother-in-law and George Bouhe that her husband had struck her, but said to Anna Meller that she had walked into a door.[A13-920] It seems clear that Oswald had in fact hit her.[A13-921] People observed friction between the Oswalds on various occasions,[A13-922] although their disputes became more apparent later. Marina has written that this was a difficult period for them and that her husband was “very irritable” and sometimes some completely trivial thing would “drive him into a rage.”[A13-923]
She testified that:
* * * immediately after coming to the United States Lee changed. I did not know him as such a man in Russia. * * * He helped me as before, but he became a little more of a recluse * * * He was very irritable, sometimes for a trifle * * *[A13-924]
She has denied, however, that their separation was the result of quarrels between them.[A13-925]
Marina spent the first few weeks after Oswald’s departure at Elena Hall’s house in Fort Worth, except for a brief stay at Gary Taylor’s house in Dallas after one of her appointments at the Baylor Dental Clinic.[A13-926] While she was in Dallas, Mrs. De Mohrenschildt brought her to the clinic on October 8, October 10, and October 15;[A13-927] George Bouhe had given Mrs. De Mohrenschildt the money to cover the expense of Marina’s dental care.[A13-928]
Even before Oswald went to Dallas, some of his acquaintances were helping him in his effort to find a job there.[A13-929] George De Mohrenschildt directed him to Samuel B. Ballen, a Dallas financial consultant, but no employment resulted.[A13-930] George Bouhe recommended that Oswald go to the Texas Employment Commission in Dallas; and Anna Meller had her husband ask Mrs. Helen Cunningham, a counselor in the clerical and sales division of the Dallas office of the employment commission, to help Oswald find a job.[A13-931] Oswald first came into the office of the employment commission on October 9. He was reluctant to accept industrial employment, and was placed in the clerical category and turned over to Mrs. Cunningham for counseling. He indicated that he had an interest in writing. The results of general aptitude tests which he had taken at the Fort Worth employment office had been transmitted to the Dallas office, and indicated that he had some aptitude in this direction and for clerical work. It was noted on his application form that he had “outstanding verbal-clerical potential.” He demonstrated ability to perform many skilled and semi-skilled jobs, and there was some indication that he could do college work. Mrs. Cunningham gave him three special tests: for general clerical work, work as an insurance claims examiner, and drafting work. He scored high on all three. His application form indicated that he did not have a driver’s license, and noted: “well-groomed and spoken, business suit, alert replies—expresses self extremely well.” He told Mrs. Cunningham that he hoped to develop qualifications for responsible junior executive employment by a work-study program at a local college but that this must be delayed because of his immediate financial needs and responsibilities.[A13-932]
Mrs. Cunningham concluded that although Oswald would be classified for clerical work, she should try to get him any available job, since he badly needed money. He was referred to an architect for an opening as a messenger but was not hired. On October 11, he was referred to Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall Co., a graphic arts company, in response to a call from John Graef, head of the photographic department of the company, who had told the employment commission that he needed a photoprint trainee. Oswald was enthusiastic about his prospects and apparently made a good impression; Graef picked him over several other applicants.[A13-933] On the following day he began working in his new position as a trainee making prints of advertising material. He worked a 40-hour week at approximately $1.35 per hour; his take-home pay varied from $49 to $74 a week.[A13-934] According to his wife, “he liked his work very much.”[A13-935]
Oswald moved into the YMCA on October 15, and stayed there until October 19, paying $2.25 a night.[A13-936] He had used the Taylors’ address and telephone number as a place where he could be reached,[A13-937] but on October 9 had also rented post office box 2915 under his own name at the main post office on Ervay Street.[A13-938] On October 10, he filed a change-of-address form indicating that mail for 2703 Mercedes Street should be forwarded to the box.[A13-939] Marina has written that Oswald wrote her letters and telephoned her during the separation.[A13-940]
On October 16, Mrs Hall brought Marina and June to Dallas to have June baptized. Marina apparently did this surreptitiously, because her husband opposed baptism; they did not contact him in Dallas, but left birthday gifts for him at the Taylors. Oswald did not appear very disturbed when he found out about the baptism.[A13-941]
Two days later, Mrs. Hall had an automobile accident and went to the hospital, where she remained until October 26; Marina remained in the Hall house. Mrs. Max Clark and Alexander Kleinlerer, a friend of Mrs. Hall, checked up to make sure that she was getting along without too much trouble.[A13-942] After Oswald left the YMCA on October 19, he moved to a room or apartment somewhere in Dallas,[A13-943] which has not been located.[A13-944] It seems likely, however, that during that time he spent several weekends with Marina at the Hall house.[A13-945]
Four days after Mrs. Hall returned from the hospital, she left for New York to visit friends. By the time she returned, Marina had moved to a three-room apartment at 604 Elsbeth Street in Dallas, which Oswald had rented on Saturday, November 3;[A13-946] the landlady stated that he had looked at the apartment about a week before. The monthly rent was $68, in addition to which he had to pay several dollars a month for utilities. He paid the rent plus a $5 deposit on November 3,[A13-947] but probably spent that night with Marina at the Hall house. On Sunday the Taylors helped the Oswalds move their belongings to the Elsbeth Street apartment with a rented trailer.[A13-948] Oswald had asked Kleinlerer to help them move, and Kleinlerer also was present when they departed.[A13-949]
Soon after the Oswalds were reunited, their marital difficulties started again. While they were moving to Elsbeth Street, Kleinlerer noticed that Oswald slapped his wife for not having the zipper on her dress completely closed.[A13-950] They argued over his refusal to allow her to smoke.[A13-951] There was a quarrel also when he told the landlady that Marina was from Czechoslovakia; he was angered when Marina, who disapproved of this deception, told the landlady the truth.[A13-952]
Although several people tried to help Marina improve her scanty knowledge of English, Oswald discouraged this,[A13-953] perhaps because he wanted to keep up his Russian.[A13-954] Some witnesses testified that she commented about his sexual abilities.[A13-955] He apparently continued to beat her, and once she suggested to George De Mohrenschildt that she should “get away” from Oswald. When De Mohrenschildt criticized Oswald’s conduct, Oswald replied, “It is my business.”[A13-956] Marina testified that when they moved into the Elsbeth Street apartment, her husband became “nervous and irritable” and was very angry over “trifles.”[A13-957] She said that it was sometimes her fault that he beat her,[A13-958] for example when she wrote to an old boyfriend in Russia that she wished she had married him; the letter was returned for postage due, and Oswald read it.[A13-959]
Because of this quarreling, a few of their acquaintances felt that Marina would be better off alone. George Bouhe offered to help her if she promised to leave Oswald permanently.[A13-960] Finally, in early November, Marina, helped by the De Mohrenschildts, moved into Anna Meller’s house with the intention not to return to Oswald. He was apparently quite upset and did not want Marina to leave him.[A13-961]
Oswald did not visit his wife at Anna Meller’s house,[A13-962] and for a short time did not even know where she was.[A13-963] According to Marina, he called her after she moved and they met at De Mohrenschildt’s house. He asked her to return home. She insisted that he stop quarreling and that he change his ways. He said that he could not change. Marina would not agree to return home with him and he left.[A13-964]
Marina was uncomfortable at the Meller house, where there was very little room. She moved to Katherine Ford’s house[A13-965] where she apparently stayed from November 11 to 17. She indicated that she had decided never to return to her husband;[A13-966] it was Mrs. Ford’s impression that Marina was going to stay at other people’s houses until a permanent place could be found for her.[A13-967] When Mr. Ford returned from a business trip on November 17, Marina and June moved to the home of Mrs. Frank Ray, where they spent the day. Mrs. Ray, the wife of a Dallas advertising man, was also of Russian origin. Since Mrs. Ray had no baby bed, Marina returned to the Fords that evening. On the next day, however, Marina moved her belongings to the Rays’ house. That same day, Oswald called and asked to visit his wife, whom he had called and written. Mr. Ray picked him up and took him to Marina.[A13-968]
Marina testified that at this meeting Oswald professed his love for her. She stated: “I saw him cry * * * [he] begged me to come back, asked my forgiveness, and promised that he would try to improve, if only I would come back.”[A13-969] On another occasion she said: “* * * he cried and you know a woman’s heart—I went back to him. He said he didn’t care to live if I did not return.”[A13-970] That same day she decided to return to him. Mr. Ray packed her belongings and took her back to the Elsbeth Street apartment.[A13-971]
Members of the Russian community who had taken care of Marina so that she would not have to live with Oswald felt that their efforts had been in vain. George Bouhe was so irritated that he never again tried to help either of the Oswalds.[A13-972] Contacts between them and members of the Russian community diminished markedly.[A13-973] Oswald did not care for most of these people and made his feelings apparent.[A13-974] Even the De Mohrenschildts, whom he liked most, saw much less of them.[A13-975] Lydia Dymitruk, another Russian born woman in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, testified that she saw the Oswalds on only one occasion, and did not care to see them again. She drove Marina and June, who had a high fever, to the hospital; Oswald told the hospital that he was unemployed in order to avoid paying for June’s treatment and later left Mrs. Dymitruk without thanking her.[A13-976] Mrs. Ford testified that Marina had told her that she contemplated suicide during this period because Oswald was treating her badly and she had no friends; she felt that she had “no way out.”[A13-977] Marina acknowledged to the Commission that she had had such thoughts.[A13-978]
In an effort to renew family ties, Robert Oswald wrote to Lee and John Pic on November 17, inviting them and their families to Thanksgiving dinner. Lee accepted the invitation. He and Marina traveled to Fort Worth by bus on Thanksgiving Day, and John Pic and Robert met them at the station.[A13-979] Pic had not seen his half-brother for 10 years. He observed, as many others have also attested, that Lee seemed to be a good father and to take an active interest in June.[A13-980] After dinner, Marina phoned Paul Gregory, who later drove the Oswalds to his house for sandwiches and then took them to the bus station for the return trip to Dallas.[A13-981] Thereafter, Robert spoke to his brother once by telephone and received a post card and a letter from him, but he eventually lost contact with Lee and did not see him again until after the assassination.[A13-982]
Despite his disillusionment with Soviet life, Oswald kept up his interest in Russia. He wrote to the Soviet Embassy in Washington for information on how to subscribe to Russian periodicals and for “any periodicals or bulletins which you may put out for the benefit of your citizens living, for a time, in the U.S.A.”[A13-983] He subsequently subscribed to several Russian journals.[A13-984] In December 1962, the Soviet Embassy received a card in Russian, signed “Marina and Lee Oswald,” which conveyed New Year’s greetings and wishes for “health, success and all of the best” to the employees at the Embassy.[A13-985] The Oswalds continued to correspond with acquaintances in Russia.[A13-986]
Soon after his return to this country, Oswald had started to correspond with the Communist Party, U.S.A., and the Socialist Workers Party. He subscribed to the Worker in August 1962.[A13-987] He wrote for additional literature from these organizations, and attempted to join the Socialist Workers Party, which, however, had no branch in Texas.[A13-988] He sent samples of his photographic work to the Socialist Workers Party, the Worker, and the Hall-Davis Defense Committee, and offered to aid them in printing and photographic work in connection with posters; these offers were not accepted.[A13-989]
He continued to read a great deal on a variety of subjects.[A13-990] George Bouhe testified that Oswald’s fare consisted of books by Marx, Lenin, “and similar things.”[A13-991] Marina said that he read books of a historical nature, including H. G. Wells’ two volume “Outline of History,” and biographies of Hitler, Kennedy, and Khrushchev.[A13-992]
Despite the Oswalds’ break with the Russian community, De Mohrenschildt, knowing that they would be alone during the Christmas season, asked the Fords whether he could bring the Oswalds to a party celebrating the Russian Christmas at the Fords’ home; the Fords assented. The party was attended by many members of the Russian community.[A13-993] Oswald spoke at length with Yaeko Okui, a Japanese woman who had been brought to the party by Lev Aronson, first cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra;[A13-994] she told Federal investigators that she never saw Oswald again.[A13-995] The Oswalds were not invited to three other Russian Christmas season gatherings which occurred during the next few days.[A13-996]
Marina visited the De Mohrenschildts several times after Christmas.[A13-997] They invited both Lee and Marina to a small dinner party in February 1963; also present were Everett Glover, a chemist employed in Dallas, and his roommate Volkmar Schmidt.[A13-998] On February 22, Glover had a gathering at his house, one of the purposes of which was to permit his friends, many of whom were studying Russian, to meet the Oswalds.[A13-999] They were the objects of much attention.[A13-1000] Marina conversed at length with another guest named Ruth Paine, who had recently separated from her husband, Michael Paine, a research engineer at the Bell Helicopter plant in Fort Worth. Mrs. Paine, who was studying Russian, obtained Marina’s address[A13-1001] and shortly thereafter wrote Marina asking to see her. Marina responded by inviting Mrs. Paine to visit her.[A13-1002]
The Oswalds moved out of their Elsbeth Street apartment on March 3, 1963, to an upstairs apartment several blocks away at 214 West Neely Street. Oswald inquired about the apartment in response to a “For Rent” sign; the rent was $60 per month, not including utilities,[A13-1003] They moved without assistance, carrying their belongings in their hands and in a baby stroller.[A13-1004] Marina preferred the Neely Street apartment because it had a porch and was, she felt, more suitable for June.[A13-1005]
Aware of Oswald’s difficulties in obtaining employment, George Bouhe had advised him as early as October 1962 to attend a night school in Dallas.[A13-1006] On January 14, Oswald enrolled in a typing course in the night school of Crozier Technical High School, and started attending on January 28. The class ran from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesday, and Thursdays. Although Oswald reviewed a typing textbook at home, he attended the course irregularly and stopped going altogether on about March 28.[A13-1007]
Ruth Paine and Marina started to exchange visits in March. Mrs. Paine invited the Oswalds for dinner, and on April 20 she took them on a picnic. When Oswald was not present, the two women frequently discussed their respective marital problems, and Marina disclosed to Mrs. Paine that she was pregnant.[A13-1008] Marina wrote of these meetings:
One day we were invited to a friend’s house, where I met Ruth Paine, who was studying Russian here in America and wanted to improve her conversational knowledge. We began to see each other. Ruth would come to see me with her children. This was very good for both me and for June. She was growing up alone and becoming terribly wild, so the company of other children was good for her. Sometimes we went out on picnics at a nearby lake. Lee loved to fish, and we would look and rejoice if he caught a little fish. Several times we went to visit Ruth who lived in Irving.[A13-1009]
Using the name of A. J. Hidell, Oswald had ordered a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver from Los Angeles on a form which he dated January 27. On March 12, he ordered a rifle from Klein’s Sporting Goods in Chicago under the name of A. Hidell.[A13-1010] Oswald used the name “Alek James Hidell” on identification cards which he probably produced at Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall. One of his fellow employees taught him various photographic techniques, which he could have used to prepare not only these cards, but also the samples of his work which he sent to various organizations.[A13-1011]
Both weapons were shipped on March 20.[A13-1012] Oswald kept the rifle in a small storeroom at the Neely Street apartment. He spent long periods of time in the storeroom, which he told Marina she was not to enter.[A13-1013] He told her that he intended to use the rifle for hunting[A13-1014] and that he practiced with it. She saw him leave with it once, and clean it several times.[A13-1015] He also posed for two pictures, taken by Marina in the backyard of the Neely apartment, in which he held his rifle and copies of the Worker and the Militant and the revolver was strapped to his belt. He gave one of the pictures to his wife and asked her to keep it for June.[A13-1016]
Over the weekend of March 9-10, Oswald photographed the alley which runs behind the home of Gen. Edwin Walker, and probably at about the same time he photographed the rear of Walker’s home and a nearby railroad track and right-of-way.[A13-1017] He prepared and studied a notebook in which he outlined a plan to shoot General Walker, and he looked at bus schedules.[A13-1018] He went to the Walker residence on the evening of April 6 or 7, planning to make his attack. However, he changed his plans, hid his rifle nearby, and determined to act on the following Wednesday, April 10, when a nearby church was planning a meeting which, Oswald reasoned, would create a diversion that would help him escape.[A13-1019] On Wednesday, Oswald left a note for Marina telling her what to do if he were apprehended. He retrieved his rifle and fired at Walker, but the bullet narrowly missed Walker’s head. Oswald secreted his rifle again and took the bus home.[A13-1020]
When Oswald told Marina what he had done, she became angry and made him promise never to repeat such an act. She testified that she kept his letter, intending to give it to the authorities if he repeated his attempt. He told Marina that he was sorry he had missed Walker and said that the shooting of Walker would have been analogous to an assassination of Hitler.[A13-1021] Several days later, the De Mohrenschildts visited the Oswalds, bringing an Easter present for June. During the visit, Jeanne De Mohrenschildt saw the rifle and told her husband about it. Without any knowledge of the truth, De Mohrenschildt jokingly intimated that Oswald was the one who had shot at Walker. Oswald apparently concluded that Marina had told De Mohrenschildt of his role in the attempt and was visibly shaken.[A13-1022]
On April 6, Oswald was dropped by Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall because, in his supervisor’s opinion, he could not do the work, although he was trying; in addition, he did not get along with his fellow employees.[A13-1023] The fact that he brought a Russian newspaper to work may also have been of some significance.[A13-1024] Marina testified that her husband, who had always worried about his job security at Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall,[A13-1025] was quite upset by the loss of his job since he had liked the work.[A13-1026]
Oswald again resorted to the Texas Employment Commission.[A13-1027] On April 8, he informed the Commission that he was seeking employment but was referred to no employers. He stated that he had been laid off at Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall due to lack of work.[A13-1028] On April 12, he made a claim for unemployment benefits; 4 days later the commission mailed him a determination disapproving his claim because of insufficient wage credits.[A13-1029]
For a while after the Oswalds moved into the Neely Street apartment they got along well,[A13-1030] but they soon began to quarrel.[A13-1031] Oswald was apparently still preventing Marina from learning English,[A13-1032] and there is some indication that he continued to beat her.[A13-1033] Since February, he had been urging her to return to Russia.[A13-1034] Marina wrote several letters to the Russian Embassy requesting a visa to return to Russia;[A13-1035] she testified, however, that Oswald forced her to write them, and that she never wanted to return to Russia.[A13-1036]
When Ruth Paine visited the Oswalds at their apartment on April 24, she was surprised to learn that Oswald was packed and ready to leave for New Orleans by bus. He explained that he had been unable to find employment in or around Dallas, and that Marina had suggested that he go to New Orleans since he had been born there.[A13-1037] Marina has testified that the real reason behind her suggestion was that she wanted to get him out of town because of the Walker incident.[A13-1038] Mrs. Paine offered to drive Marina to New Orleans at a later date, and also to have Marina and June stay with her rather than at the apartment in the meantime. Oswald helped the women pack Mrs. Paine’s car, and the two women moved everything from the Neely Street apartment to the Paine house in Irving.[A13-1039]
When he arrived at the bus station in New Orleans, Oswald telephoned his aunt, Lillian Murret, to ask if he could stay at her home at 757 French Street while he looked for employment. She had been unaware that he had returned from Russia or that he was married and had a child and was surprised to hear from him. She said that she did not have room to accommodate three guests, but that since he was alone he was welcome.[A13-1040]
Oswald had been born in New Orleans, and on his return showed great interest in finding out what had happened to the other members of his father’s family. He visited the cemetery where his father was buried and called all the Oswalds in the telephone book. By this method he located one relative, Mrs. Hazel Oswald of Metairie, La., the widow of William Stout Oswald, his father’s brother. He visited her at her home; she gave him a picture of his father and told him that as far as she knew the rest of the family was dead.[A13-1041]
On April 26, Oswald began his search for employment. He went to the employment office of the Louisiana Department of Labor and stated that he was qualified as a commercial photographer, shipping clerk, or “darkroom man.” The interviewer noted on Oswald’s application card: “Will travel on limited basis. Will relocate. Min. $1.25 hr. Neat. Suit. Tie. Polite.”[A13-1042] Although the employment commission made a few referrals, Oswald relied primarily upon newspaper advertisements, and applied for a number of positions.[A13-1043] Mrs. Murret testified that he would spend the day job hunting, return to her home for supper, watch television, and go to bed.[A13-1044]
On April 29, he filed a request for reconsideration of the employment commission’s disapproval of his unemployment compensation claim. His complaint that he had not been credited for his employment at Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall was ruled valid on May 8, and he was granted maximum benefits of $369, payable at the rate of $33 per week. He filed interstate claims on May 7 and 15, and received $33 in response to the latter; the former claim was filed before the expiration of the prescribed waiting period.[A13-1045] Not only had Oswald in fact been working since May 10, but he included on his claim sheet, as concerns with which he had sought work, fictitious employers and employers whom he apparently had not contacted.[A13-1046]
Oswald wrote to Marina: “All is well. I am living with Aunt Lillian. She has very kindly taken us in. I am now looking for work. When I find it I will write you.”[A13-1047] And on May 3, he wrote to Marina and Ruth Paine: “Girls, I still have not found work, but I receive money from the unemployment office in the amount 15 to 20 dollars. They were mistaken in the Dallas office when they refused, but I straightened everything out. Uncle ‘Dyuz’ offered me a loan of $200.00 if needed. Great, eh?!”[A13-1048]
On May 9, responding to a newspaper advertisement, Oswald completed an application for employment with William B. Reily Co., Inc., at 640 Magazine Street, an enterprise engaged in the roasting, grinding, canning, bagging, and sale of coffee. On his application form, Oswald listed as references in addition to John Murret, “Sgt. Robert Hidell” and “Lieut. J. Evans,” both apparently fictitious names.[A13-1049] His application was approved and he began work on May 10, at the rate of $1.50 per hour. His task was the lubrication of the company’s machinery.[A13-1050] Oswald did not enjoy this work,[A13-1051] and told his wife and Mrs. Paine that he was working in commercial photography.[A13-1052]
Also on May 9, Oswald obtained an apartment at 4905 Magazine Street with the help of Myrtle Evans, who had known him when he was a child. The rent was $65 a month. Oswald moved in on May 10,[A13-1053] after telephoning Marina on the ninth and asking her to come to New Orleans. Ruth Paine testified that the invitation elated Marina: “Papa nas lubet”—“Daddy loves us,” she repeated again and again. Mrs. Paine drove Marina and June to New Orleans; they left Dallas on May 10, spent the night in Shreveport, and arrived on the 11th. Mrs. Paine stayed with the Oswalds for 3 days; the three of them, with June and Mrs. Paine’s children, toured the French Quarter. On May 14, Mrs. Paine left New Orleans to return to her home.[A13-1054]
The Murrets and the Oswalds exchanged visits from time to time; Marina testified that the Murrets were very good to them.[A13-1055] Mrs. Murret’s daughter, Marilyn, took the Oswalds on an outing.[A13-1056] But, according to Marina’s testimony, aside from Ruth Paine and Ruth Kloepfer and her daughters, the Murrets were the only social visitors the Oswalds had.[A13-1057] Ruth Kloepfer was a clerk of the Quaker Meeting in New Orleans whom Ruth Paine had written in the hope that she might know some Russian-speaking people who could visit Marina. Mrs. Kloepfer herself visited the Oswalds but made no attempt to direct any Russian-speaking people to them.[A13-1058]
On July 19, Oswald was dismissed by Reily because of inefficiency and inattention to his work. He had spent many of his working hours next door at the Crescent City Garage, where he read gun magazines and discussed guns with one of the owners, Adrian Alba.[A13-1059] On the following Monday, July 22, Oswald again visited the Louisiana employment office to seek new employment and file a claim for unemployment compensation. Thereafter, he collected unemployment compensation weekly and, although apparently making some effort to obtain another job, again listed a number of fictitious job applications on his unemployment compensation claim forms.[A13-1060] He soon gave up his search for employment, and began to spend his days at home reading.[A13-1061] He received another setback on July 25, when he was notified that in response to the request for review which he had made in 1962, his undesirable discharge from the Marine Corps had been affirmed.[A13-1062]
During this period, Oswald began to evidence thoughts of returning to the Soviet Union or going to Cuba. On June 24 he applied for a new passport, which he received on the following day.[A13-1063] Apparently at Oswald’s request,[A13-1064] Marina wrote to the Russian Embassy, expressing a desire to return to Russia and indicating that she would be accompanied by her husband. She explained that she wanted to return because of family problems, including the impending birth of her second child.[A13-1065] Accompanying her letter was a letter written by Oswald dated July 1, in which he asked the Embassy to rush an entrance visa for his wife and requested that his visa be considered separately.[A13-1066] Marina believed that Oswald was really planning to go only to Cuba.[A13-1067] She testified that “his basic desire was to get to Cuba by any means, and that all the rest of it was window dressing for that purpose.”[A13-1068]
During the early days of the New Orleans period, the Oswalds’ marriage was more harmonious than it had been previously. Marina wrote:
* * * our family life in New Orleans was more peaceful. Lee took great satisfaction in showing me the city where he was born. We often went to the beach, the zoo, and the park. Lee liked to go and hunt crabs. It is true, that he was not very pleased with his job * * * We did not have very much money, and the birth of a new child involved new expenses * * * As before, Lee spent a great deal of time reading.[A13-1069]
Marina testified, however, that after they had been in New Orleans for a while, Oswald became depressed and that she once found him alone in the dark crying.[A13-1070] She wrote to Ruth Paine that his “love” had ceased soon after Mrs. Paine had left New Orleans.[A13-1071] Mrs. Paine testified, however, that she had noticed friction between the Oswalds before she left.[A13-1072] On July 11, Mrs. Paine wrote Marina that if Oswald did not wish to live with her any more and preferred that she return to the Soviet Union, she could live at the Paines’ house. Although Mrs. Paine had long entertained this idea, this was the first time she explicitly made the invitation. She renewed the invitation on July 12, and again on July 14; she attempted to overcome any feeling which Marina might have that she would be a burden by stating that Marina could help with the housework and help her learn Russian, and that she would also provide a tax advantage.[A13-1073]
Marina replied that she had previously raised the subject of a separation and that it had led to arguments. She stated that she was happy and that for a considerable period of time Oswald had been good to her. She attributed this improved attitude to the fact that he was anticipating their second child. Marina turned down Mrs. Paine’s invitation but said that she would take advantage of it if things became worse.[A13-1074] Mrs. Paine replied that she was taking a trip north to visit her parents and would visit Marina in New Orleans about September 18. She also suggested that Marina come to her house for the birth of the baby.[A13-1075]
On July 6, Eugene Murret, a cousin of Oswald who was studying to be a Jesuit Priest in Mobile, Ala., wrote and asked if Oswald could come to Mobile and speak at the Jesuit House of Studies about “contemporary Russia and the practice of Communism there.” Oswald accepted, and on July 27 he and his family, joined by some of the Murrets, traveled to Mobile; Charles Murret paid the expenses. Oswald spoke concerning his observations in Russia and conducted a question and answer period; he impressed his listeners as articulate. He indicated that he had become disillusioned during his stay in Russia, and that in his opinion the best political system would be one which combined the best points of capitalism and communism.[A13-1076] While he left his listeners with the impression that he was an atheist, he avoided a direct discussion of religion. The group returned to New Orleans on July 28.[A13-1077]
In late May and early June, Oswald had apparently begun to formulate plans for creating a New Orleans branch of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Using the name “Lee Osborne” he ordered a number of printed circulars demanding “Hands off Cuba” in large letters, and application forms and membership cards for the proposed chapter.[A13-1078] On August 5, he visited a store managed by Carlos Bringuier, a Cuban refugee and avid opponent of Castro and the New Orleans delegate of the Cuban student directorate. Oswald indicated an interest in joining the struggle against Castro. He told Bringuier that he had been a marine and was trained in guerrilla warfare, and that he was willing not only to train Cubans to fight Castro but also to join the fight himself. The next day Oswald returned to the store and left his “Guidebook for Marines” for Bringuier.[A13-1079]
On August 9, Bringuier saw Oswald passing out Fair Play for Cuba leaflets. Bringuier and his companions became angry and a dispute resulted. Oswald and the three Cuban exiles were arrested for disturbing the peace.[A13-1080] Oswald spent the night in jail and was interviewed the next day by a lieutenant of the New Orleans Police Department. At Oswald’s request, an FBI agent also interviewed him. Oswald maintained that he was a member of the New Orleans branch of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee which, he claimed, had 35 members. He stated also that he had been in touch with the president of that organization, A. J. Hidell.[A13-1081] Oswald was in fact the only member of the “New Orleans branch,” which had never been chartered by the National Fair Play for Cuba Committee.[A13-1082] Later that day Oswald was released on bail, and 2 days later he pleaded guilty to the charges against him and paid a $10 fine. The charges against the Cuban exiles were dismissed.[A13-1083] Marina testified that the arrest upset Lee and that he “became less active, he cooled off a little” after it.[A13-1084]
On August 16, Oswald, assisted by at least one other person who was a hired helper, again passed out Fair Play for Cuba literature, this time in front of the International Trade Mart. That night, television newscasts ran pictures of Oswald’s activities.[A13-1085] (This hindered Oswald’s subsequent attempts to obtain employment in New Orleans.)[A13-1086] Bringuier sent one of his friends to Oswald’s home to pose as a Castro sympathizer and attempt to obtain information about Oswald, but Oswald apparently saw through the ruse.[A13-1087]
William Stuckey, a radio broadcaster with a program called “Latin Listening Post,” had long been looking for a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee to appear on his program. He learned about Oswald from Bringuier, and visited Oswald on August 17. Later that day, Stuckey recorded an interview with Oswald which was cut to about 5 minutes and played back on the show that evening.[A13-1088] Two days later, Stuckey asked the news director of the station if he could run the entire tape, but the director felt that a debate with a local opponent of Castro would be of greater public interest. Consequently, Stuckey arranged for a debate between Oswald and Bringuier on a 25-minute daily public affairs program called “Conversation Carte Blanche,” which took place on August 21.[A13-1089] Oswald defended the Castro regime and discussed Marxism. He was put on the defensive when his defection to Russia was brought up,[A13-1090] and Stuckey later testified that he thought that the program had finished the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans.[A13-1091] However, Stuckey also testified that Oswald seemed to be a clean-cut and intelligent person who conducted himself very well during the interviews and debates.[A13-1092]
Oswald wrote several times to V. T. Lee, then national director of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, telling him, sometimes in exaggerated terms, of his activities.[A13-1093] He wrote also to the Communist Party and asked whether, in view of his prior defection, he should “continue to fight, handicapped as it were, by * * * [his] past record, [and] compete with anti-progressive forces, above-ground or * * * should always remain in the background, i.e., underground.” [A13-1094] The Party replied that “often it is advisable for some people to remain in the background, not underground.” [A13-1095] And although Oswald wrote four letters to V. T. Lee during the summer,[A13-1096] there is no evidence that Oswald heard from him after May 29.
Ruth Paine arrived in New Orleans on September 20, and spent three nights with the Oswalds. During this stay, Mrs. Paine found relations between them much improved. Nonetheless, it was decided that Marina would go back with her to Irving for the birth of the baby. Marina and Mrs. Paine toured Bourbon Street while Oswald stayed home and did some packing for Marina’s return to Texas.[A13-1097] On Sunday, September 22, Oswald and Mrs. Paine finished loading the station wagon with the Oswalds’ household belongings.[A13-1098]