He said, "No, there is no extraditing"--that was his words.
So, I wrote Mr. Carro a letter explaining that I was taking--Lee and I
were going to New Orleans, and Lee had cousins his age in New Orleans,
and I thought the child would be better off amongst his own family. And
the judge had recommended that if we could possibly leave New York that
it would be better for Lee. And I wrote Mr. Carro the letter, sir. I
did not flee New York. I had the decency to write him a letter. And the
Big Brother is the one that recommended this.
Now, that is what I know of the New York.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you remember the name of the Big Brother?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir; I do not know the name of the Big Brother. But
from the newspaper accounts, they know the name. The Big Brother stated
how clean the apartment was, and how nice we were.
Mr. RANKIN. And then you went to New Orleans, did you?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, sir. Then we went to New Orleans. And we stayed at
my sister's house, 757 French Street, and immediately Lee enrolled
in--let's get back to this. This is in Fort Worth, Tex. Lee attended
the Ridglea West School and graduated--was promoted to junior high in
1952. In 1952 is when we went to New York. Now, we are in New Orleans.
Lee was immediately enrolled in Beauregard School in New Orleans, La.,
upon arriving in New Orleans. And here is his certificate of promotion
to high school. And they have stated that his attendance was very
good. He just missed 9 days, I think, out of the whole term, which is
considered very good.
Mr. RANKIN. How was he as a student in New Orleans?
Mrs. OSWALD. C grades. He was promoted, or he wouldn't have C grades.
So that is two certificates there.
Then I have another certificate. He went to--no, I would not have the
certain, and then from the promotion he was promoted to the Warren
Easton High School. And that is the school that Lee wrote the note--am
I correct?
Mr. RANKIN. Yes. It is already in evidence. He wrote and said you were
going to San Diego, and it was not your note at all. He signed your
name.
Mrs. OSWALD. That is right. And then, as you know, Robert was
discharged from the Marines, and Robert did not want to live in New
Orleans. So there again--so we could be a family--and this young boy,
who was the youngest, could be with a brother. I moved back to Fort
Worth, sir, because Robert was in Fort Worth so we could be a family
again. However, I moved in July, and Lee joined the Marines in October.
So we were just there a few months.
Lee attended Arlington High School there. And when we came back to
Fort Worth, Tex., the school did not know what to do with Lee. Lee, I
think, was approximately 2 weeks entering the school. He was too far
advanced from the New Orleans and New York schools, and not advanced
enough--let's see if I can explain this right--according to his age.
He was too old to be in the junior, or vice versa. But I do know, and
I have witnesses to this, that Lee could not immediately enter school.
They had to have a conference, a board conference, because of Lee's
curriculum from school. They didn't know which school to place him in.
Mr. RANKIN. How did he get along with you? Did you get along well
together?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. Lee was a very quiet and studious boy. None of my
children gave me any trouble, thank God. We have no police record, sir,
or anything like that. And the children were always more or less home.
And particularly Lee. Lee would go to the movies, and things like that.
He was a normal boy. But when he was home, he was most happy. And I am
of this disposition.
He could keep himself occupied--reading and when he watched a football
game on television, he would have the score pad, and things of that
sort. And so he was quite happy in his own way.
Now, here is something very important.
While in New Orleans, in order to go to Arlington Heights school,
which is one of the ritziest schools in New Orleans, all the wealthy
people go there, and we happened to live in the vicinity--Lee wanted a
two-wheel bicycle, sir, and I bought him one. So when school opened,
Lee went to school on a two-wheel bicycle. Can you picture this. A
16-1/2-year-old boy going to school on a bicycle, when all the other
children had their own cars? Just picture this. My children never did
want anything, and particularly Lee.
Mr. RANKIN. How did he get along with his brothers?
Mrs. OSWALD. Well, now, at this time he didn't know too much about his
brothers. John Edward had been in the service since age 17, so it has
been a number of years, other than leaves. And Robert had just finished
his 3-year hitch. So you see the brothers have had nothing to do with
Lee since age 13 actually--otherwise than visits. Because when Robert
came back, then Lee joined the Marines.
Now, this is the U.S. Marine Corps acceptance. And it says "I am
very pleased to notify you that your son, Lee Harvey Oswald, has
successfully passed the mental, moral, and physical examinations," and
so forth. My son was a marine. And I understand a very important marine.
He was in electronics. I have read--one of the marines that was with
him said when he defected to Russia they had to change the system. He
must have had a real responsible position, if Lee defected to Russia,
and all the systems had to be changed. I don't know if this is correct.
But this man made the statement, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he have any courts-martial that you knew about while he
was in the Marines?
Mrs. OSWALD. I did not know until what came out in the paper. And I
have discussed that with several high officials, marines, and so on and
so forth. A lot of men, they tell me, carry a gun. And if you did curse
an officer, that is done sometimes, too--that is not anything criminal.
I mean we all get provoked at some particular time. I am not taking
up for the boy. I don't know what happened. But I know I myself would
be guilty of that, if someone pushed me, that I may curse him. And I
am sure it is done quite often. And I understand that Lee slashed his
wrist. I find that from the paper.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you know anything about that? How that happened?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir--otherwise than what I know in the paper. I do not
know, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. What about a man that was killed, that was one of his
buddies in the Marines?
Did you ever know anything about that?
Mrs. OSWALD. No. This is the first time I have heard about that. I
haven't even read that in the paper. I did not know about that. If I
can help you in any way--his picture in the Marines--there are names of
the men on the back. I do not know what they mean. But the names of the
men are on the back of picture, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. When was it that he slashed his wrist--in the Marine
Corps?
Mrs. OSWALD. I understand when he was in Moscow--is that correct? I do
not know otherwise from what I read in the paper. These things, how
could I know.
Representative FORD. May I see that picture?
Mr. RANKIN. In the Soviet Union?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. And that is why, too, it has been stated that he
was possibly an agent, to show, when the Russians would not give him
citizenship, he slashed his wrist, to show that he did not want to
return back to the United States, and forced the Russians to keep him
there. That has been stated.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever know that he shot himself while he was in the
Marines?
Mrs. OSWALD. I read that in the paper.
Mr. RANKIN. He never told you that?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir. And I read in the paper that it could have been
an accident.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you know anything about how good a shot he was? Did he
ever tell you that?
Mrs. OSWALD. Lee came home with a trophy, but it is a Marine
trophy--may I have that please, I need a number. It is not on this. We
have another picture. But it had Lee Harvey Oswald. But it was given
not to him, but to the platoon. And he was very, very proud of it.
Lee was very proud of his Marine hitch, because every time he came on
leave, that is all he talked about. That I know. And I am the only one
that knows this.
Mr. RANKIN. Was that trophy with regard to marksmanship?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. Now, Marina would have that. I gave that to Lee and
Marina when they returned from Russia, and the Marine book that Lee was
so proud of, and the baby book that I had all these years. And I think
it was in regard to marksmanship.
Now, I have Lee's--they are copying all of this, Mr. Doyle--Lee's
shooting record. I have that, sir. I have anything you want. It was
left in his sea bag. And all of this was left in Lee's sea bag.
This is a picture of Lee with his marines, and, it is a special, I
think he was doing special work there. I am not familiar--I wasn't
told that. But it is different than the other picture. Lee went to
many, many a school, gentlemen. He went to the Marine Air Force Base
in Biloxi, Mississippi, to schooling. He went to Jacksonville and some
others. I remarked, "Your brothers were not sent from here to there
like you were." Lee was in Japan, Lee was in Corregidor, Lee was in the
Philippines, and Lee was in Formosa. That has not been publicly stated.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know what schooling he had at these various places?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir. I would think that it was special schooling.
Mr. RANKIN. He never told you?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir. But the other brothers didn't have that type
schooling. And I even remarked about it.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you ever hear your son say anything for or against
President Kennedy?
Mrs. OSWALD. While Marina and Lee were in my home that month, and I had
a television----
Mr. RANKIN. About what time was that?
Mrs. OSWALD. This was July, 1962--when they stayed the month with me.
Yes, they were delighted with President Kennedy, both.
Mr. RANKIN. What did they say about him?
Mrs. OSWALD. Nothing political--just "Like President Kennedy." He was
telling Marina about President Kennedy. "I like President Kennedy"--"I
like, too."
My son has never said anything to me politically about anyone. My
son loved the Marines, and loved his work and has never, never said
anything against--the only time I questioned my son was ask him why he
decided to come home, and he said, "Not even Marina knows that."
That was the one question I wanted to know, because of the many things
that they sent me from Russia, as I have previously stated. That was
the only thing. So that satisfied me.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you know anything about his guns--what guns he had?
Mrs. OSWALD. Oh, this is very important, and I am glad you brought this
up. This is the part in New Orleans that I forgot about.
While Lee was working for Tujague & Co. he started to have a bank
account, and it was in a Homestead. I do not know the name, but it was
on Canal Street, 900 or 100 block of Canal Street, because it was even
with Exchange Place. And he started to save his money. The purpose of
saving his money was to go on a tour with a young group. He was working
for a steamship place as a mess engineer so he was going around to all
of these seagoing trips. And I saw the brochure. It was sponsored by
very prominent people. There was nothing wrong with it. If he wanted
to go, that was all right--could go on this. So he started to save his
money to go. However, this was in January--you want the date?
Mr. RANKIN. Yes.
Mrs. OSWALD. Are we in 1955 in New Orleans? Yes. No, 1956 this would
be. January, 1956--Lee took his money out of the Homestead, which was
approximately $150, or something like that. And Lee Harvey Oswald
bought an electric football machine--cost approximately $10. He bought
a bow and arrow set--maybe about $6 or $7. And he bought a gun. Now, I
don't know about guns. I was going to say BB gun, but I will not say it
was a BB gun--but Robert Oswald will know--or a rifle. But it was not
an expensive gun. He was just 16 1/2 years old. And I am of the opinion
if he bought a real gun, I would have had to sign or something. I may
be wrong. But anyhow it was a gun to go squirrel hunting or rabbit
hunting. I will identify it like that. And then we can go into it
further.
And he paid $35 on a coat for me. And the very first job that--the very
first pay that Lee got from this job from Tujague sir, he came home
with a bird cage on a stand that had a planter. It had the ivy in the
planter, it had the parakeet, and it had a complete set of food for
the parakeet. His very first pay. And then he paid his room and board.
I kept this bird cage--the stand was collapsible--all these years, in
the back of my car, and put it up, no matter where I was on a case, and
had the bird up until about 2 years ago--no, I had the bird, and gave
it to Lee when they came back from Russia. What has become of it I do
not know. I gave the bird and bird cage to Lee and Marina when they
came back from Russia. I am trying to give you the picture of this boy.
Would you ask me some more questions, please? It is awful hard for me
to remember everything.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you remember any other guns he had?
Mrs. OSWALD. No, sir. This is the only gun that I have known Lee to
have.
Mr. RANKIN. Now, about Officer Tippit.
Mrs. OSWALD. Let me finish about Robert and his gun. This is important
to you.
When we came to New Orleans, I worked at Washer Bros., in New
Orleans--transferred from--Goldrings in New Orleans is Washer Bros. in
Fort Worth, Tex. So I worked at Washer Bros. Lee came into the place I
worked one day with the gun and wanted me to sign a paper so he could
sell the gun. Well, I was indignant that he came where I was working
with a gun. I said, "Lee, we will talk about it later." And several of
the salesladies thought that I brushed him off real fast. Well, now,
Robert bought that gun from Lee, and gave Lee $10 for the gun. It was
3 months we were living in New Orleans. So Robert gave Lee $10 for
the gun. And Robert used to go hunting with it at his mother-in-law's
house. I have stated they live in the country and they go rabbit and
squirrel hunting. Robert would know about the gun, the type gun and
everything. I do not know.
Mr. RANKIN. You have told us all you know about the gun?
Mrs. OSWALD. That is all I know about the gun. And Robert bought the
gun from Lee, gave him $10.
Mr. RANKIN. You haven't told us whether you thought your son killed
Officer Tippit.
Mrs. OSWALD. I strictly do not believe that Lee killed Officer Tippit.
Mr. RANKIN. Can you tell us why?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. I am sorry to have to elaborate so, but this, as you
know, is very important.
Mr. Lane and myself are investigating, with hundreds of investigators.
I have over 1,500 letters. We have reporters and people investigating
for us, that are not satisfied with the whole case. And Mr. Lane has a
lot of affidavits. I cannot say what Mr. Lane has. But he is doing a
very good job about this. And we have come to the conclusion that Lee
is not guilty of Officer Tippit.
Now, I gave you a picture yesterday--you might have it there, I don't
know, Mr. Rankin--that could possibly be Marina and the child. We
have found out that the Book Depository Building--Mr. Lane has this
information--it is owned by the city of Dallas--I should not go into
that, I don't know. He has all of this information. Or it is a lease.
It is government-owned some way or other. I should not say. Mr. Lane
has all of this. We have been investigating night and day.
The CHAIRMAN. Well, we have the picture, Mrs. Oswald.
Mrs. OSWALD. All right. On the picture, then--and I have talked to
Mr. Doyle about this--you might think I am crazy to say so. The first
thing I saw in this picture--this picture was sent to me by a woman
with a letter telling me to look at the picture carefully. I did not
read the letter. I did not want her opinion, or other people's opinion
about this picture. We have a lot of comments about this picture. I
immediately looked at the picture when I opened it. The first thing
I saw was my son Lee and Marina and the child. Then when I called
this woman long distance. I said, "You want to know what I saw in the
picture?" and I told her. She says, "No, that is not what I see."
Representative FORD. Did you say your first reaction was that you saw
Lee, Marina and the child?
Mrs. OSWALD. That was my first reaction. And, if I am correct--I don't
say I am correct--but if I am correct, this would be the solution. Lee
was escorted out of the building. Kennedy is shot now--I will have
to show you the picture. He has passed the window where Lee's rifle
is supposed to be. And he is shot in the neck. He has passed this
particular part. He is shot in the neck. And then this man that I think
is Lee--and I wish I could swear to it, but I am fully convinced--is
being escorted out of the building and could be escorted--I am
speculating, sir--I have no proof of this. I wish I did. Could be
escorted out of the building by a policeman.
Mr. RANKIN. Is the picture you are looking at the one you referred to?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, sir, it is--Exhibit 203.
Mr. RANKIN. That is Exhibit 203?
Mrs. OSWALD. Now, this is who I think Lee is.