In the spring, Oswald applied to Albert Schweitzer College in Churwalden, Switzerland, for admission to the spring term in 1960; the application is dated March 19.[A13-440] Schweitzer is a small school, which specializes in courses in religion, ethics, science, and literature. He claimed a proficiency in Russian equal to 1 year of schooling[A13-441] and that he had completed high school by correspondence with an average grade of 85 percent.[A13-442] He listed philosophy, psychology, ideology, football, baseball, tennis and stamp-collecting as special interests, and writing short stories “on contemporary American life” as his vocational interest.[A13-443] Jack London, Charles Darwin, and Norman Vincent Peale were listed as favorite authors.[A13-444] He claimed membership in the YMCA and the “A.Y.H. Association,” and said that he had participated in a “student body movement in school” for the control of juvenile delinquency.[A13-445] Asked to give a general statement of his reasons for wanting to attend the college, he wrote:
In order to aquire a fuller understanding of that subject which interest me most, Philosophy. To meet with Europeans who can broaden my scope of understanding. To receive formal Education by Instructers of high standing and character. To broaden my knowlege of German and to live in a healty climate and Good moral atmosphere.[A13-446]
On the basis of these representations, Oswald’s application was approved by the college.[A13-447] He enclosed a registration fee of $25 in a letter dated June 19, in which he said that he was “looking forward to a fine stay.”[A13-448] Few of the other marines seem to have known about this application. He told Delgado, however, that he planned to attend a Swiss school to study psychology, and Delgado knew that some application had been made.[A13-449] Another marine, Richard Call, also knew something of his plans.[A13-450]
Oswald was obligated to serve on active duty until December 7, 1959 (the date having been adjusted to compensate for the period of confinement),[A13-451] On August 17, he submitted a request for a dependency discharge, on the ground that his mother needed his support.[A13-452] The request was accompanied by an affidavit of Mrs. Oswald and corroborating affidavits from an attorney, a doctor, and two friends, attesting that she had been injured at work in December 1958, and was unable to support herself.[A13-453] Oswald had previously made a voluntary allotment of part of his salary to his mother, under which arrangement she received $40 in August, and had submitted an application for a “Q” allotment (dependency allowance) in her behalf of $91.30; one payment of the “Q” allotment, for the month of August, was made in September.[A13-454] On August 28, the Wing Hardship or Dependency Discharge Board recommended that Oswald’s request for a discharge be approved;[A13-455] approval followed shortly.[A13-456] On September 4, he was transferred from MACS-9 to the H. & H. Squadron,[A13-457] and on September 11, he was released from active duty and transferred to the Marine Corps Reserve, in which he was expected to serve until December 8, 1962.[A13-458] He was assigned to the Marine Air Reserve Training Command at the Naval Air Station in Glenview, Ill.[A13-459]
Almost exactly 1 year later, on September 13, 1960, Oswald was given an “undesirable discharge” from the Marine Corps Reserve,[A13-460] based on:
reliable information which indicated that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship with the intentions of becoming a permanent citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Further, that petitioner brought discredit to the Marine Corps through adverse newspaper publicity, which was generated by the foregoing action, and had thereby, in the opinion of his commanding officer, proved himself unfit for retention in the naval service.[A13-461]
SOVIET UNION
On September 4, the day on which he was transferred out of MACS-9 in preparation for his discharge, Oswald had applied for a passport at the Superior Court of Santa Ana, Calif. His application stated that he planned to leave the United States on September 21 to attend the Albert Schweitzer College and the University of Turku in Finland, and to travel in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, and Russia.[A13-462] The passport was routinely issued 6 days later.[A13-463]
Oswald went directly home after his discharge, and arrived in Fort Worth by September 14.[A13-464] He told his mother that he intended to get a job on a ship or possibly in the “export-import business.”[A13-465] If he stayed in Fort Worth, he said, he would be able to earn only about $30 per week; on a ship, he would earn “big money” and be able to send substantial amounts home.[A13-466] Three days after he arrived in Fort Worth, he left for New Orleans.[A13-467] While he was in Fort Worth he had registered his dependency discharge and entry into the Marine Reserve at the Fort Worth Selective Service Board,[A13-468] and visited his brother Robert and his family.[A13-469] He also gave his mother $100.[A13-470]
On September 17, Oswald spoke with a representative of Travel Consultants, Inc., a New Orleans travel bureau; he filled out a “Passenger Immigration Questionnaire,” on which he gave his occupation as “shipping export agent” and said that he would be abroad for 2 months on a pleasure trip. He booked passage from New Orleans to Le Havre, France, on a freighter, the SS Marion Lykes, scheduled to sail on September 18, for which he paid $220.75.[A13-471] On the evening of September 17, he registered at the Liberty Hotel.[A13-472]