Jenner. Disenchanted.
Mr. Oswald. Disenchanted with the Russian way of life?
Mr. Jenner. Yes.
Mr. Oswald. When I received his first letter from Russia after a year or so of silence——
Mr. Jenner. Give the date of the letter.
There is a break between December 17, 1959 and May 5, 1961.
Is it the letter of May 5 of 1961?
Mr. Oswald. I am referring to the letter of May 5, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. All right. It is Commission Exhibit 299.
Mr. Oswald. It indicated to me, whether it so states in there or not, because he did start writing again that he was in fact disenchanted with the Russian way of life.
Mr. Jenner. This is the first letter you received after Lee had gone to Minsk, is it not?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. And it is the first letter you received following the undated letter of, in December, 1959, but that you have noted was received on the 17th of December, 1959.
Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.
Mr. Jenner. I take it then the subsequent letters heightened your impression of suspicion that he was becoming—either was completely or was becoming, disenchanted with Russia.
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, in his letter it certainly doesn't indicate that he was, but it was my opinion at that time and still is that he was then——
Mr. Jenner. After you had read that letter, meaning the letter of May 5, 1961, which is Commission Exhibit 299, you felt that, or you had the reaction that, he was becoming disenchanted with Russia?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct, sir.
Mr. Jenner. And that was later confirmed by subsequent letters in which he expressly stated——
Mr. McKenzie. Disenchantment.
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
(Discussion off the record.)
Mr. Jenner. There appears to be on some of the envelopes now in evidence some stamps. They are in Russian but they may indicate that they are stamps placed upon those envelopes by a censor, and we will now undertake to investigate that circumstance.
Mr. McKenzie. Would you like for me to tell you which ones?
Mr. Jenner. If you will give me the dates I will recite the exhibit numbers.
Mr. McKenzie. It is June 26, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. That is Commission Exhibit No. 300.
Mr. McKenzie. August 21, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. Is the envelope dated August 21?
Mr. McKenzie. Yes.
Mr. Jenner. Would you see if that contains a one-page letter; oh, yes, August 21, that is Commission Exhibit No. 303.
You need not do it.
Mr. McKenzie. And September 10, 1961.
Mr. Jenner. That is Commission Exhibit No. 305.
Mr. McKenzie. And I call the Commission's attention particularly to the word stamped on the envelope "recommende" for whatever it means.
Mr. Dulles. That is French.
Mr. Jenner. Would you please relate, Mr. Oswald, Marina's ability to speak or understand English at the time that she and your brother returned from Russia in June of 1962?
Mr. Oswald. Her ability to understand was far less than her ability to speak English words. I spoke to her on the telephone the night of June 13, 1962 from New York City, to my residence in Fort Worth, Tex., and her statement to me at that time was, "Hello, Robert." I replied but no answer, and Lee took the telephone over again.
Mr. Jenner. During the month they lived in your home, were you better able to form an opinion as to her ability to speak and understand English?
Mr. Oswald. I believe the best way to establish the degree of what she understood in English at that time and her ability to speak the English language would be very, very, very small, if anything at all.
Mr. Jenner. As to her facility in that regard—did her facility in that regard become better as the months and years wore on?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner. Was there any discussion which you overheard or with you, respecting her undertaking to study, learn to speak, English?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; she most certainly wanted to learn to speak English at the time, and she was staying at my home in Fort Worth, Tex., and prior to their departure from Fort Worth, Tex., to Dallas, Tex., in the winter of 1962.
Mr. Jenner. What was your brother's attitude with respect to her desires in that respect?
Mr. Oswald. I do not recall him stating his desires in that respect either pro or con.
Mr. Jenner. You have no impressions on the subject either way?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir. I might have an impression, pardon me, that he wanted her particularly at the time we were staying, they were staying at my home in Fort Worth, Tex., to learn English.
Mr. Jenner. That was expressed in your presence during that period of time by him?
Mr. Oswald. Not in so many words, sir. It was perhaps implied, and he left me with the impression that he wanted her to learn English at that time or as soon as she possibly could, and I might add that on a number of occasions during the visit at my home in Fort Worth, Tex., that my daughter Cathy, with her childhood language in 1961, which would establish her age at 4 years old, would talk to her and it appeared that she would gather more English from Cathy than she would the adults in the family.
Mr. Jenner. Did the State Department or any agency of the United States, get in touch with you with respect to your supplying funds or the possibility of your supplying funds to your brother while he was still in Russia for the purpose of financing his return to the United States?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; they did not.
Mr. Jenner. Did any agency of the United States or any public body located in New York City get in touch with you with respect to supplying him funds for his transportation from New York City to Fort Worth?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, they did.
Mr. Jenner. Was that the initial request or knowledge to you that you received that funds were necessary, or would be needed for that purpose?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. Do you remember the name of the agency? Was it the one that you identified yesterday?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, it was.
Mr.
