Mr. JENNER. That Mr. Fain was quite courteous in his inquiries of Vada?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes. He inquired over the phone as to whether or not we had
recently heard from Lee, and was there any indication about how his
efforts to return to the United States were progressing from that end.
Mr. DULLES. How did it happen he called upon your wife, rather than
you; were you away at that time, away on business or what?
Mr. OSWALD. I don't believe I was, sir. I do believe Mr. Fain was
courteous enough perhaps not to call me at my office, and it was of
such a nature that he felt like perhaps my wife could certainly answer
whether or not we had heard from him recently.
Mr. DULLES. I see.
Mr JENNER. Did she report to you as to whether any understanding had
been made by her, that she or you or both of you would advise the FBI
as soon as you had information as to when he might return to the United
States?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir, I do not recall that.
Mr. JENNER. You don't recall her reporting that to you?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir, I do not.
Mr. JENNER. You had already agreed with Mr. Fain back in September,
1961, to keep him advised of the comings and goings of your brother in
any event, did you not?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir, I do not believe it was my intentions, nor do I
believe I conveyed it to Mr. Fain at that time, that I would, as soon
as I did have notice that when, or approximately when, he was going to
arrive, that I would notify them. This was certainly not my intention
then. It perhaps didn't even occur to me at that time.
Mr. JENNER. Did you say anything to Mrs. Oswald, Mrs. Vada Oswald, when
she stated she had agreed to keep the FBI advised, or to advise the FBI
when you and she or either of you was further notified as to the time,
if any, of your brother Lee's return to the United States?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir, my wife did not advise me that she made any type
of statement to Mr. Fain of that effect. So, I certainly did not advise
her to what we would do or convey to the FBI when we did have knowledge
of it.
Mr. JENNER. To the best of your recollection then there was no
discussion on that particular phase of your brother's presence in
Russia on the occasion you are now testifying about?
Mr. OSWALD. That is correct, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Now, you adverted to two occasions when the FBI interviewed
your wife. Was the second one June 26, 1962, or thereabouts?
In other words, approximately five weeks later?
Mr. OSWALD. The date was June 26, 1962, sir?
Mr. JENNER. Yes, sir.
Mr. OSWALD. I believe that would be correct, sir, or approximately
correct.
Mr. JENNER. Did you have a conversation with Mrs. Vada Oswald on that
subject and did she make a report to you of any kind?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir, I believe this is the occasion that either Mr.
Fain or some other agent called the house in Fort Worth, Tex., and
requested my wife to pass on to Lee Harvey Oswald that they would like
to see him at their office in Fort Worth, Tex., for an interview.
This is the only other time my wife ever conveyed to me that the FBI
had called the home and spoke to her, nothing else was said about it.
Mr. DULLES. This was about a month after his return, wasn't it?
Mr. OSWALD. Approximately 2 weeks.
Mr. JENNER. Was there any discussion on this particular occasion
between you and your wife on the subject of her not advising the FBI of
your brother's arrival in the United States?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir, there was not.
Mr. JENNER. No discussion on that subject at all?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir, not at all.
Mr. JENNER. Did she report to you that she had stated to Mr. Fain that
your brother Lee and his wife Marina and their child had come to Fort
Worth and were living with you and with her?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; she did not state that to me.
Mr. JENNER. Would you give again the full conversation?
Mr. OSWALD. On that date of June 26, 1962?
Mr. JENNER. Yes, between yourself and your wife Vada.
Mr. McKENZIE. To the best of your recollection.
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mr. OSWALD. To the best of my recollection, the full text of my
conversation with my wife was that Mr. Fain or some other member of
the FBI Bureau in Fort Worth, Tex., had called and spoke to her and
requested that she pass on to Lee Harvey Oswald that they would like to
speak to him at their office in Fort Worth, Tex. I would not say this
was part of the conversation, I would assume at that time, as I would
assume now, that perhaps he asked her was Lee and his family there.
If you know my wife, she didn't lie to Mr. Fain or any other FBI agent,
and she said he was, and perhaps this prompted the request. I might say
this, sir. If they did not know that Lee Harvey Oswald had returned in
June, until June 26, 1962, somebody was asleep on the job.
Mr. JENNER. I would perhaps be inclined to agree with that, sir. But
as far as your conversation with your wife Vada is concerned, she said
nothing that she had advised the FBI that--she had discussed with Mr.
Fain the fact that she had not advised the FBI of your brother Lee's
return.
Mr. OSWALD. That is correct, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Now, do you recall an interview with the FBI, or they with
you, on August 14, 1962 or thereabouts in Fort Worth?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir, and I recall that this was by telephone at the
general office of the Acme Brick Company and outside of my office as I
was leaving the office to go to lunch that day.
The telephone call came through and I took it in another office and
spoke to Mr. Fain briefly. He inquired----
Mr. JENNER. He identified himself as Mr. Fain?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. JENNER. Had you become acquainted with his telephone voice at least
by that time?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, I had.
Mr. JENNER. And that voice was the voice that you identified at that
time as that of Mr. Fain?
Mr. OSWALD. That is correct, sir.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
What did he say and what did you say?
Mr. OSWALD. He inquired as to where Lee was living at at that time and
to the best of my recollection my reply to him was that I did not know
the house number. I knew the street not by name but by locale and I
gave him this location.
Mr. JENNER. Would you please tell me what you said to him?
Mr. OSWALD. That to the best of my recollection, that this duplex was
located across the street from the side of Montgomery Ward located on
West 7th Street in Fort Worth, Tex., approximately three or four blocks
from West 7th Street.
Mr. McKENZIE. Mr. Chairman, you have greatly inconvenienced yourself
this evening and accommodated both myself and Mr. Oswald for which we
thank you.
However, it is now 16 or 17 minutes of 8 o'clock in the evening, and
Mr. Oswald has been testifying here for, to the best way I can----
Mr. DULLES. It will be 12 hours pretty soon, 11 hours.
Mr. McKENZIE. Approximately 11 hours and by the same token Mr. Jenner
has been questioning him for a like period of time, with the exception
of the few questions you have asked and the few questions I have asked,
and I submit maybe we should start again in the morning.
And I likewise say that he is perfectly willing to go forward but I do
know that you have plans and if we can meet----
Mr. DULLES. We will have to do it tomorrow.
Mr. McKENZIE. We can be here at 8:30, if it will suit the
Commission's----
(Discussion off the record.)
Mr. DULLES. 9:30 tomorrow morning.
And we will adjourn at 11 o'clock, come hell or high water.
(Whereupon, at 7:45 p.m., the President's Commission recessed.)
_Saturday, February 22, 1964_