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

Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, is this the photostatic copy of the letter about his booking passage?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Rankin. You read the original?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Rankin. And this material on the bottom is just your own writing?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. This was in this book. That is my writing at the bottom.

Mr. Rankin. The letter I was referring to is Exhibit 200.

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir, it is this letter.

Mr. Rankin. We offer in evidence Exhibit 200.

The Chairman. Admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 200 and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. Now, this one starting, "Dear Mother, received your letter, and so forth"—that is the one about the Marines, when he was asking you about getting out of the service and your need, and so forth?

Mrs. Oswald. This is the letter which shows the different character of the boy that the newspapers are making of him—when I wrote and told him I had sold my furniture, and that my compensation and medical was stopped, immediately my son sends a special delivery letter, and that is the letter "received your letter, was very unhappy. I have contacted the Red Cross, and they will contact you." This is a nice boy to do this immediately, when he finds his mother is in trouble. He is not a louse, like the papers have been making him out. He might have some bad points, but so do all of us.

Mr. Rankin. We will ask the reporter to mark this.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 201 for identification.)

Mr. Rankin. Exhibit 201 is the letter you are just referring to?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Rankin. We offer in evidence Exhibit 201.

The Chairman. Admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 201 and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. Then, Mrs. Oswald, the other one that you received from Russia, with the check and the little note from your son Lee is the one I am showing you?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Rankin. Will you mark that as Exhibit 202?

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 202 for identification.)

Mr. Rankin. We offer in evidence Exhibit 202 and ask leave to substitute a copy.

The Chairman. Admitted.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 202 and received in evidence.)

Mrs. Oswald. I have followed up that request and sent the $20 bill in an envelope. And I have all of this. But I am not going to go through all this paper. You will have all of this.

Mr. Dulles. Did that get through—just as a matter of curiosity.

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, that is what I am going to tell you. So I put a $20 bill immediately in an envelope and sent it to Lee. And then after I thought about it, I thought of a foreign money order. And gentlemen I have all this in black and white for you, and this gentleman will copy and have it—everything I am saying. So then I went to the bank and I got a foreign money order for $25, and I sent it to Lee. It all went air mail. But it came back about 2 months later, Mr. Dulles—the $20 bill I got back in cash and the Chase National Bank foreign money order, that check came back in cash. I will have that proof for you. I understand it comes back by boat, and that is why it took so long.

So I had no way of knowing that my contact with my son was successful. I didn't know until about 2 months later he had not received my money. And by that time—well, I didn't know where he was, because I came to Washington in January of 1961, had a conference with Mr. Boster—Mr. Stanfield——

Mr. Rankin. Did you think he was a Russian agent at this time?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir; I did not think he was a Russian agent.

Representative Ford. I thought you answered in response to a question I asked, when you thought he was an agent, you said when he defected.

Mrs. Oswald. I might have said defected to Russia. No, sir; I never thought Lee was a Russian agent.

Representative Ford. I meant an agent of the United States. It is my recollection that you said when he defected to the Soviet Union, you then thought he was an American agent.

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, that is right. That is correct.

Mr. Rankin. What else caused you to think he was an American agent?

Mrs. Oswald. All right. I might be letting things out the way I am going. And I am very unhappy about this. Had I started with his childhood I could have worked up to age 15 very peacefully, and you would have gotten everything. I hope I am not forgetting anything important. But now we have letters from the State Department.

Well, my trip to Washington has to come before the letters to the State Department, sir. So I am in conference with the three men. I showed them the letter from the—the application from the Albert Schweitzer College, and Lee's mail had been coming to my home. I didn't know whether he was living or dead. I did not want to mail these papers. So I made a personal trip to Washington.

I arrived at Washington 8 o'clock in the morning. I took a train, and borrowed money on an insurance policy I have, which I have proof. I had a bank account of $36, which I drew out and bought a pair of shoes. I have all that in proof, sir, the date that I left for the train. I was 3 nights and 2 days on the train, or 2 days and 3 nights. Anyhow, I took a coach and sat up.

I arrived at the station 8 o'clock in the morning and I called the White House. A Negro man was on the switchboard, and he said the offices were not open yet, they did not open until 9 o'clock. He asked if I would leave my number. I asked to speak to the President. And he said the offices were not open yet. I said, "Well, I have just arrived here from Fort Worth, Tex., and I will call back at 9 o'clock."

So I called back at 9 o'clock. Everybody was just gracious to me over the phone. Said that President Kennedy was in a conference, and they would be happy to take any message. I asked to speak to Secretary Rusk, and they connected me with that office. And his young lady said he was in a conference, but anything she could do for me. I said, "Yes. I have come to town about a son of mine who is lost in Russia. I do want to speak—I would like personally to speak to Secretary Rusk." So she got off the line a few minutes. Whether she gave him the message or what I do not know. She came back and said, "Mrs. Oswald, Mr. Rusk"—so evidently she handed him a note—and Mr. Boster was on the line—"that you talk to Mr. Boster, who is special officer in charge of Soviet Union affairs"—if I am correct. And Mr. Boster was on the line. I told him who I was. He said, "Yes, I am familiar with the case, Mrs. Oswald." He said, "Will an 11 o'clock appointment be all right with you?" This is 9 o'clock in the morning. So I said—this is quite an interesting story—I said, "Mr. Boster that would be fine. But I would rather not talk with you." I didn't know who Mr. Boster was. I said, "I would rather talk with Secretary of State Rusk. However, if I am unsuccessful in talking with him, then I will keep my appointment with you."

So I asked Mr. Boster—I said, "Mr. Boster, would you please recommend a hotel that would be reasonable?" He said, "I don't know how reasonable, Mrs. Oswald, but I recommend the Washington Hotel. It will be near the State Department and convenient to you."

So I went to the Washington Hotel. And as we know, gentlemen, there were nothing but men. They asked me if I had reservation. I said, "No, I didn't, but Mr. Boster of the State Department recommended that I come here." So they fixed me up with a room. I took a bath and dressed. I went to the appointment—because this is 9:30, I am on the phone, and I had to take a cab to the hotel. I arrived at Mr. Boster's office at 10:30.

But before arriving at Mr. Boster's office. I stopped at a telephone in the corridor, and I called Dean Rusk's office again, because I didn't want to see Mr. Boster, and I asked to speak to Dean Rusk. And the young lady said, "Mrs. Oswald, talk to Mr. Boster. At least it is a start."