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

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, that is correct. The President is the President. In my opinion, he never wanted to overthrow him. At least he never showed me that. He never indicated that he didn't want that President.

Mr. Rankin. Did you observe that his acts on November 21st the evening before the assassination, were anything like they were the evening before the Walker incident?

Mrs. Oswald. Absolutely nothing in common.

Mr. Rankin. Did he say anything at all that would indicate he was contemplating the assassination?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Did he discuss the television programs he saw that evening with you?

Mrs. Oswald. He was looking at TV by himself. I was busy in the kitchen. At one time when we were—when I was together with him they showed some sort of war films, from World War II. And he watched them with interest.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall films that he saw called "Suddenly," and "We were Strangers" that involved assassinations?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't remember the names of these films. If you would remind me of the contents, perhaps I would know.

Mr. Rankin. Well, "Suddenly," was about the assassination of a president, and the other was about the assassination of a Cuban dictator.

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, Lee saw those films.

Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you that he had seen them?

Mrs. Oswald. I was with him when he watched them.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall about when this was with reference to the date of the assassination?

Mrs. Oswald. It seems that this was before Rachel's birth.

Mr. Rankin. Weeks or months? Can you recall that?

Mrs. Oswald. Several days. Some five days.

Mr. Rankin. Did you discuss the films after you had seen them with your husband?

Mrs. Oswald. One film about the assassination of the president in Cuba, which I had seen together with him, he said that this was a fictitious situation, but that the content of the film was similar to the actual situation which existed in Cuba, meaning the revolution in Cuba.

Mr. Rankin. Did either of you comment on either film being like the attempt on Walker's life?

Mrs. Oswald. No. I didn't watch the other film.

Mr. Rankin. Was anything said by your husband about how easy an assassination could be committed like that?

Mrs. Oswald. No. I only know that he watched the film with interest, but I didn't like it.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall anything else he said about either of these films?

Mrs. Oswald. Nothing else. He didn't tell me anything else. He talked to Ruth a few words. Perhaps she knows more.

Mr. Rankin. By Ruth, you mean Mrs. Paine?

Mrs. Oswald. They spoke in English.

Yes.

Mr. Rankin. And did Mrs. Paine tell you what he said to her at that time?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall your husband saying at any time after he saw the film about the Cuban assassination that this was the old-fashioned way of assassination?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall anything being said by your husband at any time about Governor Connally?

Mrs. Oswald. Well, while we were still in Russia, and Connally at that time was Secretary of the Navy, Lee wrote him a letter in which he asked Connally to help him obtain a good character reference because at the end of his Army service he had a good characteristic—honorable discharge—but that it had been changed after it became known he had gone to Russia.

Mr. Rankin. Had it been changed to undesirable discharge, as you understand it?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. Then we received a letter from Connally in which he said that he had turned the matter over to the responsible authorities. That was all in Russia.

But here it seems he had written again to that organization with a request to review. But he said from time to time that these are bureaucrats, and he was dissatisfied.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know when he wrote again?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Was that letter written from New Orleans?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't know. I only know about the fact, but when and how, I don't know.

Mr. Rankin. Did your husband say anything to you to indicate he had a dislike for Governor Connally?

Mrs. Oswald. Here he didn't say anything.

But while we were in Russia he spoke well of him. It seems to me that Connally was running for Governor and Lee said that when he would return to the United States he would vote for him.

Mr. Rankin. That is all that you remember that he said about Governor Connally then?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. With regard to the Walker incident, you said that your husband seemed disturbed for several weeks. Did you notice anything of that kind with regard to the day prior to the assassination?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. On November 22, the day of the assassination, you said your husband got up and got his breakfast. Did you get up at all before he left?

Mrs. Oswald. No. I woke up before him, and I then went to the kitchen to see whether he had had breakfast or not—whether he had already left for work. But the coffee pot was cold and Lee was not there.

And when I met Ruth that morning, I asked her whether Lee had had coffee or not, and she said probably, perhaps he had made himself some instant coffee.

But probably he hadn't had any breakfast that morning.

Mr. Rankin. Then did he say anything to you that morning at all, or did he get up and go without speaking to you?

Mrs. Oswald. He told me to take as much money as I needed and to buy everything, and said goodbye, and that is all.

After the police had already come, I noticed that Lee had left his wedding ring.

Mr. Rankin. You didn't observe that that morning when your husband had left, did you?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know approximately what time your husband left that morning?

Mrs. Oswald. I have written it there, but I have now forgotten whether it was seven or eight. But a quarter to eight—I don't know. I have now forgotten.

Mr. Rankin. What time was he due for work?

Mrs. Oswald. He was due at work at 8 or 8:30. At 7:15 he was already gone.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether he rode with Wesley Frazier that morning?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't know. I didn't hear him leave.

Mr. Rankin. Did you ever see a paper bag or cover for the rifle at the Paine's residence or garage?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Did you ever see a bag at any time?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Where did your husband have his lunch? Did he take a sandwich to the depository, or did he go home to his rooming house for lunch? Do you know?

Mrs. Oswald. He usually took sandwiches to lunch. But I don't know whether he would go home or not.

Mr. Rankin. Had your husband ever left his wedding ring at home that way before?

Mrs. Oswald. At one time while he was still at Fort Worth, it was inconvenient for him to work with his wedding ring on and he would remove it, but at work—he would not leave it at home. His wedding ring was rather wide, and it bothered him.

I don't know now. He would take it off at work.

Mr. Rankin. Then this is the first time during your married life that he had ever left it at home where you live?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether your husband carried any package with him when he left the house on November 22nd?

Mrs. Oswald. I think that he had a package with his lunch. But a small package.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether he had any package like a rifle in some container?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. What did you do the rest of the morning, after you got up on November 22d?

Mrs. Oswald. When I got up the television set was on, and I knew that Kennedy was coming. Ruth had gone to the doctor with her children and she left the television set on for me. And I watched television all morning, even without having dressed. She was running around in her pajamas and watching television with me.