President's Commission on the Assassination of - The Warren Commission (Complete Edition)

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. McKenzie. May I ask a question right there, please?

Mr. Jenner. Yes.

Mr. McKenzie. Mr. Oswald, your testimony is from the best of your knowledge, is that correct, insofar as any contact with the Paines or Mrs. Paine is concerned?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. McKenzie. And if the Paines have contacted Marina Oswald or if Marina Oswald has contacted the Paines, do you or do you not know of any such contact?

Mr. Oswald. I am not aware of any such contact.

Mr. McKenzie. All right, sir. Proceed.

Mr. Jenner. I direct your attention to the month of October, 1962 for a moment. Were you aware that your sister-in-law Marina was living with Elena Hall at that time?

Mr. Oswald. October, 1962, sir?

Mr. Jenner. Yes.

Mr. Oswald. One moment, please.

No, sir. I was not aware of that.

Mr. Jenner. Were you aware of where your brother Lee was living in the month of October, 1962?

Mr. Oswald. Only to the city in which he was living.

Mr. Jenner. And what city was that?

Mr. Oswald. Dallas, Tex., sir. If I might ask, sir, can you fix the date in October, 1962 when Marina Oswald was reported living with Mrs. Hall?

Mr. Jenner. No, I can't at the moment. But neither Marina nor your brother was residing in Fort Worth at that time?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir, they were not.

Mr. Jenner. From your previous testimony I gather that you did not know the whereabouts of your brother Lee other than that it was, you supposed, somewhere in Dallas?

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

If I might make one correction, sir.

Mr. Jenner. All right.

Mr. Oswald. Referring to the postcard received from Lee Oswald post dated October 10, 1962 in Dallas, Tex., I recall receiving this two days after he had moved from Fort Worth, Tex., so it would be the first part of October of 1962 they were residing in Fort Worth, Tex.

Mr. Jenner, All right, with the exception of that.

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner. I take it you are not in the habit of retaining personal correspondence you receive from others?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I am not.

Mr. Jenner. I think you have explained why you retained the particular correspondence that you produced for us, that it was from your brother while he was in Russia.

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. And after he returned you received some correspondence and you retained that as well.

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. Did the somewhat abrupt change in the attitude of your brother Lee toward the United States come as a surprise to you?

Mr. Oswald. You are referring to the period in 1959?

Mr. Jenner. I am.

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; it did.

Mr. Jenner. That is the letters of May 5 and May 31 and those that followed. But that change, and his desire to return to the United States, did come as a surprise to you, is that correct, sir?

Mr. McKenzie. Are you asking about his return to the United States or his going to Russia?

Mr. Jenner. No, sir, his return to the United States, his change of attitude.

Mr. Oswald. It was quite a surprise to me that he wished to return to the United States from Russia.

Mr. Jenner. Was the change in attitude toward the United States as expressed first in the letters of November 8 and November 26, 1959, and then the series of letters that commenced in the spring of 1961 a surprise to you?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not a surprise to me.

Mr. Jenner. Would you explain both of your answers.

Mr. Oswald. There, sir, I felt like in the due course he would certainly change his mind and opinion of the U.S.S.R., and I felt very strongly that after a period of so many months or a year or two that he would change his mind and return to the United States.

Mr. Jenner. Now, prior to your brother's leaving Russia to return to the United States, that is actually a day or two before, if not the day before they left Minsk for Moscow, in May of 1962, your brother Lee outlined his projected route by return to the United States. He spoke in that letter of leaving from England and arriving in New Orleans.

Mr. Oswald. I beg your pardon, sir?

Mr. Jenner. There is a difference in the route actually taken. Did you ever discuss with Lee why that change in route occurred? Are you seeking that May letter?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I am.

Mr. Jenner. It is probably the 22d of May and that is Exhibit 318.

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I have the letter before me. You are referring to the letter of May 22, 1962?

Mr. Jenner. Well, it would appear from the notation handed to me. Is there any discussion in that letter about the route of his return, projected return, to the United States?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; there is.

Mr. Jenner. What does it say, please?

Mr. Oswald. "Well, we have finally gotten the word from the U.S. Embassy and shall leave for Moscow tomorrow. We will be 10 to 14 days in Moscow and then leave for England where we shall board a ship for America. The transatlantic trip will take another two weeks or so."

Mr. Jenner. Now, the fact is that they did go to Moscow and then to Holland, and boarded a ship at Holland, and as you say touched England and then went directly to the United States.

Did you ever discuss with your brother that change in route?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not. And I did fail to read further on down where it does refer to, as he put it, "will actually arrive in America probably in New Orleans."

Mr. Jenner. He actually arrived in New York City.

Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.

Mr. Jenner. That subject matter was never discussed by you with him?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not.

Mr. Jenner. Or by him in your presence?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not.

Mr. Jenner. Or by Marina?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Jenner. With you or in your presence?

Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not.

Mr. Jenner. Have you related, during the course of the day and yesterday, called our attention to all of the correspondence between yourself and your brother from the time of his return to the United States in June of 1962 to and through November 22, 1963?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; I have.

Mr. Jenner. According to our records you and your wife, Vada, or either or both of you, had the following contacts with the FBI during the lifetime of your brother Lee. I direct your attention first, to the possibility of refreshing your recollection, to the date of April 27, 1960.

Were you interviewed by an FBI agent on that day, and would the name Fain serve to refresh your recollection on that score?

Mr. Oswald. It certainly does, sir. I cannot recall the date of our interview or our conversation.

Mr. Jenner. This would be in the spring, let us say, of 1960. I have given you the date. Does that sound right to you, April 27, 1960.

Mr. Oswald. It sounds approximately right, sir, because I do recall I just started my employment with the Acme Brick Company in Fort Worth on the 18th of April, 1960.

I do not believe that it was that close to my date of employment with the Acme Brick Company. I feel like it would have been perhaps 20 or 30 days later.

Mr. Jenner. All right.

Subject to that, do you recall the interview, is the name familiar to you as being the gentleman who interviewed you?

Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; that is correct.

Mr. Jenner. And what inquiries did Mr. Fain make of you? What subject matter, first.

Mr. Oswald. He was inquiring as to whether or not I had heard from my brother Lee Harvey Oswald recently, I believe that is the way it was put.

Mr. Jenner. Did he at that time inquire of you on the subject matter of your brother's defection?

Mr. Oswald. Not to my remembrance, sir.