Mrs. OSWALD. Excuse me. At least when I found out that Lee had shot at
the President, for me this was surprising. And I didn't believe it.
I didn't believe for a long time that Lee had done that. That he had
wanted to kill Kennedy--because perhaps Walker was there again, perhaps
he wanted to kill him.
Mr. RANKIN. Why did you not believe this?
Mrs. OSWALD. Because I had never heard anything bad about Kennedy from
Lee. And he never had anything against him.
Mr. RANKIN. But you also say that he never said anything about him.
Mrs. OSWALD. He read articles which were favorable.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he say he approved of those articles?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, he didn't say anything. Perhaps he did reach his own
conclusions reading these articles, but he didn't tell me about them.
Mr. RANKIN. So apparently he didn't indicate any approval or
disapproval as far as he was concerned, of President Kennedy?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, that is correct. The President is the President. In
my opinion, he never wanted to overthrow him. At least he never showed
me that. He never indicated that he didn't want that President.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you observe that his acts on November 21st the evening
before the assassination, were anything like they were the evening
before the Walker incident?
Mrs. OSWALD. Absolutely nothing in common.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he say anything at all that would indicate he was
contemplating the assassination?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he discuss the television programs he saw that evening
with you?
Mrs. OSWALD. He was looking at TV by himself. I was busy in the
kitchen. At one time when we were--when I was together with him they
showed some sort of war films, from World War II. And he watched them
with interest.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall films that he saw called "Suddenly," and "We
were Strangers" that involved assassinations?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't remember the names of these films. If you would
remind me of the contents, perhaps I would know.
Mr. RANKIN. Well, "Suddenly," was about the assassination of a
president, and the other was about the assassination of a Cuban
dictator.
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, Lee saw those films.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he tell you that he had seen them?
Mrs. OSWALD. I was with him when he watched them.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall about when this was with reference to the
date of the assassination?
Mrs. OSWALD. It seems that this was before Rachel's birth.
Mr. RANKIN. Weeks or months? Can you recall that?
Mrs. OSWALD. Several days. Some five days.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you discuss the films after you had seen them with your
husband?
Mrs. OSWALD. One film about the assassination of the president in Cuba,
which I had seen together with him, he said that this was a fictitious
situation, but that the content of the film was similar to the actual
situation which existed in Cuba, meaning the revolution in Cuba.
Mr. RANKIN. Did either of you comment on either film being like the
attempt on Walker's life?
Mrs. OSWALD. No. I didn't watch the other film.
Mr. RANKIN. Was anything said by your husband about how easy an
assassination could be committed like that?
Mrs. OSWALD. No. I only know that he watched the film with interest,
but I didn't like it.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall anything else he said about either of these
films?
Mrs. OSWALD. Nothing else. He didn't tell me anything else. He talked
to Ruth a few words. Perhaps she knows more.
Mr. RANKIN. By Ruth, you mean Mrs. Paine?
Mrs. OSWALD. They spoke in English.
Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. And did Mrs. Paine tell you what he said to her at that
time?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall your husband saying at any time after he saw
the film about the Cuban assassination that this was the old-fashioned
way of assassination?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall anything being said by your husband at any
time about Governor Connally?
Mrs. OSWALD. Well, while we were still in Russia, and Connally at that
time was Secretary of the Navy, Lee wrote him a letter in which he
asked Connally to help him obtain a good character reference because
at the end of his Army service he had a good characteristic--honorable
discharge--but that it had been changed after it became known he had
gone to Russia.
Mr. RANKIN. Had it been changed to undesirable discharge, as you
understand it?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. Then we received a letter from Connally in which he
said that he had turned the matter over to the responsible authorities.
That was all in Russia.
But here it seems he had written again to that organization with
a request to review. But he said from time to time that these are
bureaucrats, and he was dissatisfied.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know when he wrote again?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Was that letter written from New Orleans?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't know. I only know about the fact, but when and
how, I don't know.
Mr. RANKIN. Did your husband say anything to you to indicate he had a
dislike for Governor Connally?
Mrs. OSWALD. Here he didn't say anything.
But while we were in Russia he spoke well of him. It seems to me that
Connally was running for Governor and Lee said that when he would
return to the United States he would vote for him.
Mr. RANKIN. That is all that you remember that he said about Governor
Connally then?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. With regard to the Walker incident, you said that your
husband seemed disturbed for several weeks. Did you notice anything of
that kind with regard to the day prior to the assassination?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. On November 22, the day of the assassination, you said your
husband got up and got his breakfast. Did you get up at all before he
left?
Mrs. OSWALD. No. I woke up before him, and I then went to the kitchen
to see whether he had had breakfast or not--whether he had already left
for work. But the coffee pot was cold and Lee was not there.
And when I met Ruth that morning, I asked her whether Lee had had
coffee or not, and she said probably, perhaps he had made himself some
instant coffee.
But probably he hadn't had any breakfast that morning.
Mr. RANKIN. Then did he say anything to you that morning at all, or did
he get up and go without speaking to you?
Mrs. OSWALD. He told me to take as much money as I needed and to buy
everything, and said goodbye, and that is all.
After the police had already come, I noticed that Lee had left his
wedding ring.
Mr. RANKIN. You didn't observe that that morning when your husband had
left, did you?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know approximately what time your husband left that
morning?
Mrs. OSWALD. I have written it there, but I have now forgotten whether
it was seven or eight. But a quarter to eight--I don't know. I have now
forgotten.
Mr. RANKIN. What time was he due for work?
Mrs. OSWALD. He was due at work at 8 or 8:30. At 7:15 he was already
gone.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know whether he rode with Wesley Frazier that
morning?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't know. I didn't hear him leave.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever see a paper bag or cover for the rifle at the
Paine's residence or garage?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever see a bag at any time?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. Where did your husband have his lunch? Did he take a
sandwich to the depository, or did he go home to his rooming house for
lunch? Do you know?
Mrs. OSWALD. He usually took sandwiches to lunch. But I don't know
whether he would go home or not.
Mr. RANKIN. Had your husband ever left his wedding ring at home that
way before?
Mrs. OSWALD. At one time while he was still at Fort Worth, it was
inconvenient for him to work with his wedding ring on and he would
remove it, but at work--he would not leave it at home. His wedding ring
was rather wide, and it bothered him.