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

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, also. Why is it all torn?

Mr. Rankin. We are advised it was when he was hurt, they cut into some of these.

Do you recall whether or not he was wearing Exhibit—the shirt that I point to now, the morning of the 22d of November—Exhibit 150?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, it was a dark shirt.

Mr. Rankin. You think that was the one?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. I call your attention to Exhibit 156. Is that a pair of his pants?

Mrs. Oswald. These are his work pants.

Mr. Rankin. And 157?

Mrs. Oswald. Also work pants. These are all work pants.

Mr. Rankin. 158?

Mrs. Oswald. Why were both of those cut? I don't understand.

Mr. Rankin. I have not been informed, but I will try to find out for you.

Mrs. Oswald. It is not necessary.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall which of the pants he was wearing on the morning of November 22, 1963?

Mrs. Oswald. I think the gray ones, but I am not sure, because it was dark in the room, and I paid no attention to what pants he put on.

Mr. Rankin. By the gray ones, you are referring to what I point to as Exhibit 157, is that right?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. Can you tell us about Exhibit 159, a sweater?

Mrs. Oswald. That was my gift to Lee, a sweater.

Mr. Rankin. 160?

Mrs. Oswald. That is Lee's shirt.

Mr. Rankin. 161?

Mrs. Oswald. This is a pullover sweater. This is his pullover sweater.

Mr. Rankin. 162?

Mrs. Oswald. That is Lee's—an old shirt.

Mr. Rankin. Sort of a jacket?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. 163?

Mrs. Oswald. Also.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall which one of the sweaters or jackets he was wearing on the morning of November 22, 1963?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't remember.

Mr. Rankin. When was the last time that you saw this jacket, Exhibit 163?

Mrs. Oswald. I don't remember.

Mr. Rankin. Do you remember seeing it on the morning of November 22, 1963?

Mrs. Oswald. The thing is that I saw Lee in the room, and I didn't see him getting dressed in the room. That is why it is difficult for me to say. But I told him to put on something warm on the way to work.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall whether the jacket, Exhibit 163, is something that he put on in your presence at any time that day?

Mrs. Oswald. Not in my presence.

Mr. Rankin. And you didn't observe it on him at any time, then?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. Rankin. Is it possible that Exhibit 163 was worn by him that morning without your knowing about it?

Mrs. Oswald. Quite possible.

Mr. Rankin. Now, at the time you saw him at the Dallas jail, can you tell us what clothing of any that are on this desk he was wearing at that time?

Mrs. Oswald. None of these. He had on a white T-shirt. What trousers he was wearing, I could not tell, because I only saw him through a window.

Mr. Rankin. Would you examine the collar on the shirt?

Mrs. Oswald. This is Lee's shirt.

Mr. Rankin. It has a mark "Brent long tail sanforized."

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, I know this shirt. I gave it to him. The sweater is also his.

Mr. Rankin. Do you recall any of these clothes that your husband was wearing when he came home Thursday night, November 21, 1963?

Mrs. Oswald. On Thursday I think he wore this shirt.

Mr. Rankin. Is that Exhibit 150?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. Do you remember anything else he was wearing at that time?

Mrs. Oswald. It seems he had that jacket, also.

Mr. Rankin. Exhibit 162?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes.

Mr. Rankin. And the pants, Exhibit 157?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. But I am not sure. This is as much as I can remember.

Mr. Rankin. Thank you.

Mr. Thorne. I identify this photograph, which is marked Exhibit 164 as being a true photograph of the shirt displayed to Mrs. Oswald, and recognized by her as being a shirt that she gave to Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. Rankin. I offer all of the Exhibits, Nos. 146 to 164, inclusive.

The Chairman. They may be admitted.

(The articles referred to were marked Commission Exhibit Nos. 146 to 164, inclusive, and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, do you remember any information or documents under your control or in your possession which would relate to or shed any light on the matters we have been examining which you have not presented here?

Mrs. Oswald. I have nothing else. Everything has been taken from me.

Mr. Rankin. Some of the Commissioners have a question or two, or a few questions. If you will permit them, they would like to address them to you.

Representative Boggs. Mrs. Oswald, this question has already been asked you, but I would like to ask it again.

I gather that you have reached the conclusion in your own mind that your husband killed President Kennedy.

Mrs. Oswald. Regretfully, yes.

Representative Boggs. During the weeks and months prior to the assassination—and I think this question has also been asked—did you ever at any time hear your late husband express any hostility towards President Kennedy?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Representative Boggs. What motive would you ascribe to your husband in killing President Kennedy?

Mrs. Oswald. As I saw the documents that were being read to me, I came to the conclusion that he wanted in any—by any means, good or bad, to get into history. But now that I have heard a part of the translation of some of the documents, I think that there was some political foundation to it, a foundation of which I am not aware.

Representative Boggs. By that, do you mean that your husband acted in concert with someone else?

Mrs. Oswald. No, only alone.

Representative Boggs. You are convinced that his action was his action alone, that he was influenced by no one else?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, I am convinced.

Representative Boggs. Did you consider your husband a Communist?

Mrs. Oswald. He told me when we were in New Orleans that he was a Communist, but I didn't believe him, because I said, "What kind of a Communist are you if you don't like the Communists in Russia?"

Representative Boggs. Did he like the Communists in the United States?

Mrs. Oswald. He considered them to be on a higher level and more conscious than the Communists in Russia.

Representative Boggs. Did you consider your husband a normal man in the usual sense of the term?

Mrs. Oswald. He was always a normal man, but where it concerned his ideas, and he did not introduce me to his ideas, I did not consider him normal.

Representative Boggs. Maybe I used the wrong terminology. Did you consider him mentally sound?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes; he was smart and capable. Only he did not use his capabilities in the proper direction. He was not deprived of reason—he was not a man deprived of reason.

Representative Boggs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

The Chairman. Senator Cooper, did you have any questions to ask?

Mrs. Oswald. No one knows the truth, no one can read someone else's thoughts, as I could not read Lee's thoughts. But that is only my opinion.

Senator Cooper. Mrs. Oswald, some of the questions that I ask you you may have answered—because I have been out at times.

I believe you have stated that your husband at times expressed opposition to or dislike of the United States or of its political or economic system, is that correct?

Mrs. Oswald. As far as I know, he expressed more dissatisfaction with economic policy, because as to the political matters he did not enlighten me as to his political thoughts.

Senator Cooper. Did he ever suggest to you or to anyone in your presence that the economic system of the United States should be changed, and did he suggest any means for changing it?

Mrs. Oswald. He never proposed that, but from his conversations it followed that it would be necessary to change it. But he didn't propose any methods.