These are simply different types of work. But one is not any higher
than the other--not because one is a type of management and the other
is not. If someone prepared a prescription and I checked it, that was
no different from the other work. There is a difference, of course, but
not in the sense of a grade of service.
Mr. RANKIN. I offer in evidence Exhibit 22.
The CHAIRMAN. It may be admitted and take the next number.
(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 22, and
received in evidence.)
Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Chairman, I ask leave at this time to substitute
photostatic copies of any documentary evidence offered, and photographs
of any physical evidence, with the understanding that the originals
will be held subject to the further order of the Commission.
The CHAIRMAN. Very well. That may be done.
Mr. RANKIN. Were you aware of your husband's concern about being
prosecuted with regard to his returning to the United States?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, he told me about it. He told me about it, that
perhaps he might even be arrested.
Mr. RANKIN. Was he fearful of prosecution by the Soviet Union or by the
United States?
Mrs. OSWALD. The United States.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall any time that the Soviet authorities visited
your husband while you were trying to go to the United States?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. What was the occasion for your traveling to Kharkov in 1961?
Mrs. OSWALD. My mother's sister lives there, and she had invited me to
come there for a rest because I was on vacation.
Mr. RANKIN. Did anyone go with you?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. How long did you stay?
Mrs. OSWALD. Three weeks, I think.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you write to your husband while you were gone?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Was your aunt's name Mikhilova?
Mrs. OSWALD. Mikhilova, yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Was there any reason why you took this vacation alone and
not with your husband?
Mrs. OSWALD. He was working at that time. He didn't have a vacation. He
wanted to go with me, but he could not.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know what delayed your departure to the United
States?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. There was some correspondence with the Embassy about your
husband returning alone. Did you ever discuss that?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. What did he say about that, and what did you say?
Mrs. OSWALD. He said that if he did go alone, he feared that they would
not permit me to leave, and that he would, therefore, wait for me.
Mr. RANKIN. What did you say?
Mrs. OSWALD. I thanked him for the fact that he wanted to wait for me.
Mr. RANKIN. Where did you stay in Moscow when you went there about your
visa?
Mrs. OSWALD. At first, we stopped at the Hotel Ostamkino. And then we
moved to the Hotel Berlin, formerly Savoy.
Mr. RANKIN. How long were you there on that trip?
Mrs. OSWALD. I think about 10 days, perhaps a little longer.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever have any status in the armed forces of the
Soviet Union?
Mrs. OSWALD. No. But all medical workers, military, are obligated--all
medical workers have a military obligation. In the event of a war, we
would be in first place.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever learn from your husband how he paid his
expenses in Moscow for the period prior to the time you went to Minsk?
Mrs. OSWALD. No.
Mr. RANKIN. I hand you Exhibit 23 and ask you if that is a booklet that
records your military status.
Mrs. OSWALD. I didn't work. It is simply that I was obligated. There is
an indication there "non-Party member".
Mr. RANKIN. I offer in evidence Exhibit 23.
The CHAIRMAN. It may be received.
(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 23, and
received in evidence.)
Mr. RANKIN. As I understand you, you did not serve in the armed forces
of the Soviet Union, but because of your ability as a pharmacist, you
were obligated, if the call was ever extended to you, is that right?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, that is correct.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know any reason why your husband was permitted to
stay in the Soviet Union when he first came there?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't know.