Mr. OSWALD. 1964.
Mr. JENNER. May I inquire of you, Mr. McKenzie, whether you have seen
the original of the document of which this purports to be a Xerox copy?
Mr. McKENZIE. I have not, sir. But I have seen a duplicate copy, an
original copy.
Mr. JENNER. A duplicate executed copy?
Mr. McKENZIE. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. That was furnished to you by whom?
Mr. McKENZIE. By Marina N. Oswald.
Mr. JENNER. And this is a photostatic copy of what, with respect to an
original, carbon copy or otherwise?
Mr. McKENZIE. It is a photocopy of a carbon copy.
Mr. JENNER. And have you personally seen the carbon copy of which this
is a photo?
Mr. McKENZIE. Yes, sir; I have.
Mr. JENNER. And is the document now identified as Commission Exhibit
No. 279 in the same condition now as it was when you first saw it?
Mr. McKENZIE. Exactly.
Mr. JENNER. And to the best of your recollection, is it a duplicate of
the original?
Mr. McKENZIE. Yes, sir.
The next exhibit is Commission Exhibit No. 280 entitled "The Oswald
Trust," and bearing a heading, "The State of Texas, County of Dallas,
Know all men by these presents," and it is a trust agreement dated
December 30, 1963, by and between Marina Nikolaevna Oswald "a widow,
hereinafter called grantor, and John M. Thorne and James H. Martin of
Dallas County, Texas, co-trustees, hereinafter called the trustee" in
which it describes certain funds described on Schedule A attached to
this exhibit, which consists of some six pages, plus the Schedule A,
Schedule A describing the trust funds as cash, $25,000. And I might
add, in my opinion, Mr. Jenner, for whatever it may be worth, that this
trust grants to John Thorne and James Martin purportedly grants unto
those two men as co-trustees absolute discretion as to the distribution
of the trust funds.
In fact, on page 2 it says, "as the trustee shall in either case in its
uncontrolled discretion deem advisable."
Mr. DULLES. Who is the beneficiary of this trust?
Mr. McKENZIE. Marina Oswald and her children, in the discretion of John
Thorne and James Martin.
Representative FORD. Is that $25,000 the same $25,000 referred to in a
previous exhibit?
Mr. McKENZIE. Mr. Ford, I presume so. But that is only a presumption on
my part. I do not know.
I might further add, for the benefit of counsel and the Commission,
that Marina Oswald has informed me, and I think Robert Oswald can
testify as to this, which I leave to your discretion, that at no time
have these, up until February 14--have these----
Mr. JENNER. 1964?
Mr. McKENZIE. 1964--have these exhibits, numbered consecutively
from 276 through 280, been read to her in Russian. And at the time
of execution, they were not interpreted, nor did they show of the
contents--what the contents were, except as explained to her in English.
Mr. JENNER. Mr. McKenzie, the document is identified as Commission
Exhibit No. 280, directing your attention to page 5, has blanks for
signatures, and names of grantor and co-trustees under those lines.
Could I ask you whether you have seen the original of this document?
Mr. McKENZIE. I have not, sir. I have seen a copy.
Mr. JENNER. An executed copy?
Mr. McKENZIE. To the best of my recollection, it was an executed copy,
yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And from what source did you obtain or was the document
exhibited to you?
Mr. McKENZIE. The document was given to me by Marina Oswald.
Mr. JENNER. And you observed that it was executed?
Mr. McKENZIE. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. By the persons whose names appear on page 5 of the Exhibit
280?
Mr. McKENZIE. Yes, sir.
I have made these exhibits available to the Commission for whatever
purpose they may serve the Commission, and for no other purpose.
Mr. DULLES. Yes. I think we might want to reserve on that until the
whole Commission can get together. We want to examine everything within
the mandate we have been given by the President. We don't want to go
afield, quite naturally. And we cannot tell at this stage what bearing
these particular papers might have. So I think I would like to reserve
judgment on these.
Mr. McKENZIE. Well, Mr. Dulles, I made that statement in view of that
fact. I felt that that would be true.
Mr. JENNER. Mr. McKenzie, for the purpose of our record, would you
be offended if we had you sworn, so you could then state that the
statements you have made to the Commission are true and correct?
Mr. McKENZIE. I would not be offended in any way.
Mr. DULLES. Do you, Mr. McKenzie, swear that what you have stated, is
the full truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. McKENZIE. I do, Mr. Dulles.
Mr. JENNER. Mr. Chairman, I offer in evidence as Commission Exhibits
276 through 280, inclusive, the documents that have been so identified.
Mr. DULLES. They may be accepted.
(The documents referred to were marked Commission Exhibits Nos. 276
through 280, inclusive, for identification, and received in evidence.)
Mr. DULLES. I wish to state, in accepting these documents, the
Commission does not want to pass on or assume any responsibility with
respect to the financial or other arrangements described in these
documents.
Mr. JENNER. I sought to identify them, Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen, and
to tender them in evidence because of events of the past few days, and
to confirm Mr. McKenzie's authority to speak on behalf of Mr. Oswald.
Mr. DULLES. Very well.
Mr. JENNER. At the recess, Mr. Oswald, we were dealing with--excuse me.
We were dealing with the period of time that you and your mother and
your two brothers lived in Benbrook, Tex. This brought us through the
summer of 1948, I believe.
Am I correct?
Mr. OSWALD. That is correct, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Mr. Liebeler has determined that the divorce of Mr. Ekdahl
and your mother took place in 1948. We cannot give you the month and
the day in 1948, but it was during the year 1948.
We had reached the point in which you related to us that, I believe,
following the divorce of Mr. Ekdahl and your mother, she purchased a
small home.
Mr. OSWALD. That is correct.
Mr. JENNER. And refresh my recollection, please--was that in Benbrook,
Tex.?
Mr. OSWALD. That was in Benbrook, Tex.
Mr. JENNER. Have we reached a point now at which your brother, Lee, had
entered elementary school?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; we have.
Mr. JENNER. And you boys have now terminated your attendance at the
military academy?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, that is correct.
Mr. JENNER. And would you please relate what elementary school you and
your brother, John, attended, and Lee, if he attended the same school?
Mr. OSWALD. Prior to the school year of 1948-49, we moved to Ewing
Street, 7408 Ewing Street, within the limits of the city of Fort Worth.
Mr. JENNER. Was the home that had been purchased in Benbrook, Tex.,
sold?
Mr. OSWALD. I would say yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Well, you state that you would say. Is that your best
information?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir.
I am not aware of any transactions in regards to the selling of that
home or anything. Since we did move, and she did purchase this home on
7408 Ewing Street, in Fort Worth, I would assume that she did sell the
house at Benbrook, because she didn't rent it, and we no longer went
out there. I feel sure she did sell it.
Mr. JENNER. Did I understand you to say that your mother purchased a
home at 7408 Ewing?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; that is correct.
Mr. JENNER. Would you, in very short compass, tell us the physical
characteristics of that home?
Mr. OSWALD. It was a two bedroom, asbestos siding, with an attached
garage, red roof, small porch on the front, and an average sized lot.
Mr. JENNER. These homes you have been describing all have, as I recall
it--have either attached garage or separate garages.
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir--with the exception of the home there in Benbrook
that my mother purchased after the divorce from Mr. Ekdahl--it did not
have a garage, and I did not recall a garage at the native stone house
in Benbrook.
Mr. JENNER. The purpose of my inquiry was, did the family have an
automobile?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Was that true when you lived in Louisiana?
Mr. OSWALD. To my best recollection on that--my father did have, at the
time of his death, either a 1937 or 1938 Chevrolet. I believe my mother
sold it after his death. I believe she did not own an automobile in New
Orleans, when we were at the Bethlehem Orphan Home.
Mr. JENNER. Were you boys interested in automobiles, as most young
teenagers are?
Mr. OSWALD. I think so, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Tinker around with them, drive them?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Both you and your brother John?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Later on, in later years, did your brother Lee--was he
likewise interested in automobiles, did he tinker with them?
Mr. OSWALD. Not to my knowledge, sir, did he tinker with them. Even
though I can recall a couple of occasions with automobiles that I
owned that he would assist me in any repairs I might be making on the
automobile at that time.
Mr. JENNER. Well, I have in mind his interest now. Was he a good driver?
Mr. OSWALD. To my knowledge, he did not drive.
Mr. JENNER. He did not drive at all?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; he did not.
Mr. JENNER. Did you ever see him drive an automobile?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; I did not. On two or three occasions in later
years, I offered to teach him to drive.
Mr. JENNER. You recall this specifically now, do you? Would you relate
to the Commission this course of events in his life--a young man who
never did learn, at least to your knowledge, to drive an automobile?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; that is correct.
The first occasion that I recall that I offered to Lee to teach him how
to drive--at that time, I owned a '56 Chevrolet. I had married, and I
was residing at 7313 Davenport, Fort Worth, Tex., a home which I had
purchased. And Lee was home on leave.
Mr. JENNER. Give us the time, please, as closely as you can.
Mr. OSWALD. This would be some time in 1958.
Mr. JENNER. He was then in the Marine Corps?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; that is correct.
Mr. JENNER. And he was home on leave?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; that is correct.
Mr. JENNER. State the circumstances, will you please?
Mr. OSWALD. With relation to my offer to teach him how to drive?
Mr. JENNER. Yes. How did that come about?
Mr. OSWALD. Well, he was spending a day, or part of a day over at our
house. We were going to the grocery store or something--Lee and I. As
I backed out of the driveway, I recall saying something to him, or he
brought it up, or something--about wanting to learn how to drive.