Rankin. Did he ever talk about reenlisting into the Marines after he returned?
Mrs. Oswald. Well, when Lee returned he was with me 3 days, and then, of course, he went over to visit Robert's house. So actually we didn't talk. I was trying to find a home. And I didn't think he would go. I was hoping that Lee would not go on the ship and work. I was hoping he would stay home. We were interrupted before. When he said to me about, that he wanted to work on a ship in the import and export business, I started to tell you I agreed with him. And this is how you have to do—particularly when you are a woman. A father could tell the man, "You are not going to do this." But I went along with that. And then the next day I said, "Lee, why don't you stay," and I went into that—"until I settle my claim, and I can babysit and we can get along." He said, "No, my mind is made up. If I stay, we will both be in these circumstances." So on the third day—I knew he wanted to do this, but I didn't think he was going to do it for a month or two. But on the third day he came with his suitcase in the room and he said, "Mother, I am off." So since his mind was made up, I told him goodby.
Mr. Rankin. He said nothing about reenlisting in the Marines?
Mrs. Oswald. No, the three days he was home. That was the conversation, about him going on a ship. I saw his passport. And his passport was stamped "import and export" on his passport.
Mr. Rankin. Did it say anything about Soviet Russia on it?
Mrs. Oswald. No. What I am saying is that I saw the passport with big writing "export and import." I think it was blue. I did not read the passport, because Lee was there, but I happened to see the passport, "export and import" stamped.
Whether he had another passport, I do not know. I didn't ask. I am saying this—and God knows I am telling you the truth. I am just this type person. It is because of my life.
Mr. Rankin. Did you know that he spoke Russian at that time, when he had this passport?
Mrs. Oswald. No, sir; I did not know. The only time I knew that he spoke Russian is what came out in the news. But when I really knew was Lee's application for the Albert Schweitzer College. Shall we go into that—the application?
Mr. Rankin. Yes.
Mrs. Oswald. Now, the first that I knew—no, I am wrong. It is not the first I knew. I had received a letter from Lee while in the Marines before he knew of my trouble, stating that he was accepted by the Albert Schweitzer College. And that letter was in the sea bag that I told you about, that I do not have.
Mr. Dulles. Would you give us the date of that letter?
Mrs. Oswald. The other letter would have been—let's see. Lee was told in July about my trouble. And the other letter I would say would be about May or June. This is March 22. I received this in care of Lee. And you see, sir, I have a lot of addresses, because I am now living in these homes.
Mr. Dulles. '57 or '58?
Mrs. Oswald. 1960.
Let's see now. Then I heard from the State Department in 1961.
"Due to a number of circumstances, we found ourselves forced to make a slight change in the arrival and departure dates of the third term. The first lecture will be held on Tuesday afternoon 16.00 o'clock, April 19, instead of taking place on the 21st with the arrival day on the 20th. It will mean that the students arrive either on the evening of Monday, the 18th, or before noon on April 19th. This change, however, makes it possible to end the term on the weekend of July 2. We hope that you will still be able to fit this change of dates into your travel plan. Should it not be possible for you to arrive on the earlier date we, of course, understand the difficulty. In the latter case, please drop us a line."
So that is how I knew that Lee—I opened his mail. I didn't know whether my son was living or dead, sir. And that is how I knew—I won't go into all this. He made a deposit. I have all of this for you.
He made a deposit. And this is my copies to them.
Now, one thing I have forgotten.
While at the State Department, the State Department told me that Lee had gone to Finland before Russia. And I did not know that.
Now, Lee had applied at a college in Finland, evidently, because on the application it states such a fact. I did not know, because the paper just said he arrived in Russia—until I went to the State Department.
So what I am trying to say—I may be forgetting a lot of important things, because I am just now remembering what the State Department told me.
I don't think I am forgetting too much.
But, after all, I am going through a whole life, and it is very hard.
This is Lee's original application, that you cannot possibly have had. This is the only application there is. So this is something new for you gentlemen. I am not going to go through it all, because you have a copy. But I am going to show you the thinking of this young man.
"Special interests: Religious, vocational, literary, sports, and hobbies. Philosophy, psychology, ideology, football, baseball, tennis, stamp collecting"—Lee had a stamp collecting book. "Nature of private reading: Jack London, Darwin, Norman Vincent Peale, scientific books, philosophy, and so on."
Representative Ford. That is an application to where?
Mrs. Oswald. This is an original application for the Albert Schweitzer School.
"Active part taken in organizations. Student body movement in school for control of juvenile delinquency, member YMCA, and AYA association."
I don't know what that is.
Mr. Rankin. Where did you get this copy?
Mrs. Oswald. I had contacted Congressman Jim Wright, that has helped me—helped me to locate Lee through the State Department. But Mr. Jim Wright was not successful.
I was successful because of my trip to Washington, as you know.
And from the trip to Washington, I went to the building where Mr. Jim Wright worked, and I went in to tell the secretary about the trip to Washington. And that I had heard from Lee.
Well, I had information here that Lee had paid a deposit. So I had written the school and asked if we were entitled to the return of the deposit, since he didn't show up. But I did not get an answer.
So Mr. Wright's secretary said that, "Mrs. Oswald, I will write and see what we can do."
So she wrote, and then they sent the application and everything back to Jim Wright's office. And that is how I got the application.
Mr. Doyle. They may be interested in knowing where the college is.
Mrs. Oswald. It is in Switzerland. Albert Schweitzer College, Chur Walden, Graubuenen, Switzerland. "Application Form. High School. Completed high school by correspondence."
I have that. His original correspondence in the service—completed high school.
Mr. Rankin. Is that part of his Marine work—he finished high school that way?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir.
"January '58, Passing 65 on scale of 100 B plus. College: None."
And
