I said, "Lee, don't tell me what to do. I cannot write the book now,
because, Honey, you are alive and back."
But, at the time, I had no way of knowing whether my son was living or
dead, and I planned to write the book.
"But don't tell me what to do. It has nothing to do with you and
Marina. It is my life, because of your defection."
He said, "Mother, I tell you you are not to write the book. They could
kill her and her family."
That was in the presence of my son Robert Oswald and his wife.
Mr. RANKIN. Can you tell us about what date that was?
Mrs. OSWALD. Let's see. Lee arrived in New York on June 13, and--now,
I have a letter stating, from Lee, that he is arriving in New York on
June 13th. However, he plans to go to Washington for a day or two. So
I have no way of knowing, Mr. Rankin, whether he came straight from
New York to my son's home, or if he stayed in New York and came to
Washington a few days.
But I have the letter stating that.
But I have no way of knowing.
Mr. RANKIN. Was this conversation within about a week of the time that
he came back?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, approximately. That is correct.
So I stayed in Fort Worth 2 or 3 days. I did not live at Robert's home.
I rented a motel. In fact, the lady of the mother I was taking care
of paid my motel expenses while I was in Fort Worth. But I went there
every day.
While I was there--Marina is a pharmacist. I have a medical book, and
Lee was saying that he was losing his hair, and how he had become bald,
because of the cold weather in Texas.
So I got the medical book, looking up baldness, and the treatment for
baldness, and Marina came by and she read the prescriptions.
So I said, "Lee, she reads English," and he said, "Mother, that is
Latin, of course, that is universal."
So because it was a medical conversation, Lee said he had an operation
while in the Soviet Union on his throat.
I am sorry--but all of the confusion of myself being there and the
daughter-in-law, the Russian girl--that was never gone into. That is
all I know.
But that was also said in the presence of my son Robert--that he had an
operation on his throat while in the Soviet Union.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he say when that was?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir; that was all that was said.
As I say, with all the confusion of Marina, we were so thrilled with
Marina, with the children and all, there was quite a bit of confusion.
Now, I left, and I went back to Crowell on my job.
While I was in Robert's home, Lee immediately was out job-hunting. And
I felt very bad about that, because they had come 10,000 miles by ship,
by plane, and by train, which was an awfully hard trip with a young
baby, and I thought he should at least have a week or two before he
would look for work.
But I want you to know that immediately Lee was out looking for work.
And this is the time that Lee had gone to the public stenographer, made
the statement that he was writing a book.
You probably have that information. It was highly publicized.
I, myself, gave him the $10 that he gave the public stenographer.
I bought Marina clothes, and brought clothes to her while at my
daughter-in-law's house, bought diapers for the baby. And Marina had
more clothes when she arrived in the States than I now have.
So what I am trying to state is as we go further into the story, it has
been stated that my son neglected Marina, and that she didn't have any
clothes. The Russian people have stated that all throughout Texas in
the papers. And that is not true. I happen to know, because I, myself,
bought Marina three dresses. And my daughter-in-law bought dresses, and
my daughter-in-law's sister, which I would like to have as a witness,
bought clothes for Marina. So there is this conflicting testimony.
Mr. RANKIN. What daughter-in-law was that?
Mrs. OSWALD. Robert's wife. And Robert's wife's sister, who is a
schoolteacher, bought clothes for Marina.
Mr. RANKIN. Is she married?
Mrs. OSWALD. No. She is a schoolteacher. She is single.
So that story there is incorrect.
So then I went back to Crowell, Tex., and I was not satisfied in my
mind because the way they lived. They only had a two-bedroom house. As
you know. Robert has two children. And there was another couple with
another child.
So Lee immediately began looking for work.
So I decided that I would quit this job and help the children all I
could. So I did. I gave notice. And I came to Fort Worth, and I rented
an apartment at the Rotary Apartments, which is on West 7th and Summit.
And Lee and Marina then came to live with me.
Mr. RANKIN. How long did they stay at Robert's?
Mrs. OSWALD. They stayed at Robert's approximately 2 or 3 weeks, sir.
So then they came to live with me.
While there, I said to Lee--I am ahead of my story.
Lee and Marina had sent me wonderful gifts, and I have the gifts,
from Russia. A box of tea, very fine tea, a Russian scarf, pure linen
napkins, embroidered with my initial, a box of candy for Christmas that
has a Russian Santa Claus on it.
I said to Lee. "Lee, I want to know one thing. Why is it you decided to
return back to the United States when you had a job in Russia, and as
far as I know you seemed to be pretty well off, because of the gifts
that you have sent me. And you are married to a Russian girl, and she
would be better off in her homeland than here. I want to know."
He said, "Mother, not even Marina knows why I have returned to the
United States."
And that is all the information I ever got out of my son.
"Not even Marina knows why I have returned to the United States."
Mr. RANKIN. How did you get along when you were there together with
Marina and your son?
Mrs. OSWALD. Well, that was a very happy month, Mr. Rankin. Marina
was very happy. She had the best home, I believe, that she had ever
had. And Lee--I was taking Lee out to work every morning, looking for
work, through the unemployment commission, and ads in the paper. And
I was taking care of the baby and doing the cooking, and Marina was
helping clean up. And she would wash the dishes. And Lee and Marina
would go for long walks every afternoon, and I would take care of the
baby. Marina would sing around the house, and watch the television and
comment on different programs, programs that she had seen in Russia.
She knew--there was a picture with Gregory Peck, and she said, "Mama, I
know Gregory Peck."
And she was singing Santa Lucia.
And here again in my stupidity, I said to Lee, "Lee, she knows English,
she is singing Santa Lucia."