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

Then there is an insert I have difficulty in reading.

"Which service, then, can qualify to launch a coup in the U.S.A.? Small size, a permanent hard core of officers and few bases as necessary. Only one outfit fits that description, and the U.S. Marine Corps is a rightwing-infiltrated organization of dire potential consequences to the freedom of the United States. I agree with former President Truman when he said that 'The Marine Corps should be abolished.'"

That indicates some of his thinking.

The Chairman. We will just take a short break.

(Brief recess.)

The Chairman. The Commission will be in order.

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 106 for identification is a notebook.

Mrs. Oswald. This is my book, some poems by——

Mr. Thorne. It contains handwriting in Russian.

Mr. Rankin. How did you happen to write that, Mrs. Oswald?

Mrs. Oswald. I simply liked these verses. I did not have a book of poems. And I made a copy.

Mr. Rankin. I offer in evidence Exhibit 106.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 106, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 107 contains a small piece of cardboard with some writing in Russian on it.

Mrs. Oswald. This is Lee's pass from the factory.

Mr. Rankin. I offer in evidence Exhibit 107.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 107, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 108 is an original one sheet of paper, with handwriting in ink, in Russian, on one page.

Mrs. Oswald. These are the lyrics of a popular song.

Mr. Rankin. A Russian popular song?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. This is Armenian—an Armenian popular song.

Mr. Rankin. I offer in evidence Exhibit 108.

The Chairman. It is admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 108, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 109 is one sheet with handwriting in ink on both sides, an original.

Mrs. Oswald. This was simply my recollection of some song lyrics and the names of some songs that people had asked me.

Mr. Rankin. I offer Exhibit 109.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 109, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 110 is a yellow legal sized sheet with handwriting in Russian which seems to be interpreted in English below it, together with a little stamp. I can explain the stamp. It says FBI Laboratory.

Mrs. Oswald. This is when George Bouhe was giving me lessons. I translated from Russian into English—not very successfully—my first lessons.

Mr. Rankin. I offer Exhibit 110.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 110, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. When was it that George Bouhe was teaching you English and you wrote this out?

Mrs. Oswald. This was in July 1962. I don't remember when I arrived—in '62 or '61.

Mr. Rankin. Is the handwriting in Exhibit 110 in the Russian as well as the English in your handwriting?

Mrs. Oswald. No. The Russian is written by Bouhe, and the English is written by me.

Mr. Rankin. Did you make the translation from the Russian into the English by yourself?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, I had to study English.

Mr. Rankin. Did you have a dictionary to work with?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. So you were taking a Russian-English dictionary and trying to convert the Russian words that he wrote out into English, is that right?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 111 is a book written in Russian, a pocket book.

Mrs. Oswald. This is my book.

Mr. Rankin. Do you notice some of the letters are cut out of that book, Exhibit 111?

Mrs. Oswald. Letters?

I see that for the first time.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know who did that?

Mrs. Oswald. Probably Lee was working, but I never saw that. I don't know what he did that for.

Mr. Rankin. You never saw him while he was working with that?

Mrs. Oswald. No. I would have shown him if I had seen him doing that to my book.

Mr. Rankin. You know sometimes messages are made up by cutting out letters that way and putting them together to make words.

Mrs. Oswald. I read about it.

Mr. Rankin. You have never seen him do that?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. I offer Exhibit 111.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 111, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 112 is an apparent application—an applicant's driving record.

Mrs. Oswald. I have never seen this.

Mr. Thorne. It is in English.

Mr. Rankin. That is not your driving record, then?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. You don't know whether it was your husband's?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't know.

Mr. Thorne. May I clarify the exhibit? It is an application for a Texas driver's license. Standard form application.

Mr. Rankin. We offer in evidence Exhibit 112.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 112, and received in evidence.)

Mrs. Oswald. It is quite possible that Lee prepared that, because Ruth Paine insisted on Lee's obtaining a license.

Mr. Rankin. Did you hear her insist?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. She said it would be good to have.

Mr. Rankin. And when was that?

Mrs. Oswald. October or November.

Mr. Rankin. 1962?

Mrs. Oswald. '63.

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 113 is a driver's handbook published by the State of Texas.

Mrs. Oswald. We had this book for quite some time. George Bouhe had given that to Lee if he at some time would try to learn how to drive.

Mr. Rankin. I offer in evidence Exhibit 113.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 113, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. Was your husband able to drive a car?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, I think that he knew how. Ruth taught him how.

Mr. Rankin. Did he have a driver's license that you know of?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

This is a Russian camera of Lee's—binoculars.

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 114 is a leather case containing a pair of binoculars.

Mr. Rankin. Do you remember having seen those binoculars, known as Exhibit 114, before?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. We had binoculars in Russia because we liked to look through them at a park.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether your husband used them in connection with the Walker incident?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't know.

Mr. Rankin. He never said anything about that?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. We offer in evidence Exhibit 114.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The article referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 114, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Thorne. Exhibit 115 is a box containing a stamping kit.

Mrs. Oswald. That is Lee's. When he was busy with his Cuba, he used it.

Mr. Rankin. You mean when he was working on the Fair Play for Cuba, he used this?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. I offer in evidence Exhibit 115.

The Chairman. It may be admitted.

(The article referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 115, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. How did he use that kit in Exhibit 115 in connection with his Fair Play for Cuba campaign?

Mrs. Oswald. He had leaflets for which he assembled letters and printed his address.

Mr. Rankin. And he used this kit largely to stamp the address on the letters?

Mrs. Oswald. Not letters, but leaflets.

Mr. Rankin. He stamped the address on the leaflets?

Mrs. Oswald. Handbills, rather.

Yes.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall whether he stamped his name on the handbills, too?