Oswald. Yes, he had expected much more when he first arrived.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ever tell you why he came to Russia?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. He said he had read a great deal about Russia, he was interested in seeing the country, which was the first in the Socialist camp about which much had been said, and he wanted to see it with his own eyes. And, therefore, he wanted to be not merely a tourist, who is being shown only the things that are good, but he wanted to live among the masses and see.
But when he actually did, it turned out to be quite difficult.
The Chairman. I think we better adjourn now for the day.
(Whereupon, at 4:30 p.m., the President's Commission recessed.)
Thursday, February 6, 1964
TESTIMONY OF MRS. LEE HARVEY OSWALD RESUMED
The President's Commission met at 10 a.m. on February 6, 1964, at 200 Maryland Avenue NE., Washington, D.C.
Present were Chief Justice Earl Warren, Chairman; Senator John Sherman Cooper, Representative Hale Boggs, Representative Gerald R. Ford, and Allen W. Dulles, members.
Also present were J. Lee Rankin, general counsel; Melvin Aron Eisenberg, assistant counsel; Norman Redlich, assistant counsel; William D. Krimer, and Leon I. Gopadze, interpreters; and John M. Thorne, attorney for Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Chairman. The Commission will be in order. We will proceed again. Mr. Rankin?
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, if I may return a moment with you to the time that you told us about your husband practicing with the rifle at Love Field. As I recall your testimony, you said that he told you that he had taken the rifle and practiced with it there, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. I knew that he practiced with it there. He told me, later.
Mr. Rankin. And by practicing with it, did you mean that he fired the rifle there, as you understood it?
Mrs. Oswald. I don't know what he did with it there. He probably fired it. But I didn't see him.
Mr. Rankin. And then you said that you had seen him cleaning it after he came back, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Now, do you recall your husband having any ammunition around the house at any time?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And where do you remember his having it in the places you lived?
Mrs. Oswald. On Neely Street, in Dallas, and New Orleans.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether that was rifle ammunition or rifle and pistol ammunition?
Mrs. Oswald. I think it was for the rifle. Perhaps he had some pistol ammunition there, but I would not know the difference.
Mr. Rankin. Did you observe how much ammunition he had at any time?
Mrs. Oswald. He had a box of about the size of this.
Mr. Rankin. Could you give us a little description of how you indicated the box? Was it 2 or 3 inches wide?
Mrs. Oswald. About the size here on the pad.
Mr. Rankin. About 3 inches wide and 6 inches long?
Mrs. Oswald. Probably.
Mr. Rankin. Now, do you recall that you said to your husband at any time that he was just studying Marxism so he could get attention?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. In order to cause him not to be so involved in some of these ideas, did you laugh at some of his ideas that he told you about, and make fun of him?
Mrs. Oswald. Of course.
Mr. Rankin. Did he react to that?
Mrs. Oswald. He became very angry.
Mr. Rankin. And did he ask you at one time, or sometimes, not to make fun of his ideas?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Now, returning to the period in Russia, while your husband was courting you, did you talk to him, he talk to you, about his childhood?
Mrs. Oswald. No, not very much. Only in connection with photographs, where he was a boy in New York, in the zoo. Then in the Army—there is a snapshot taken right after he joined the Army.
Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you about anything he resented about his childhood?
Mrs. Oswald. He said it was hard for him during his childhood, when he was a boy, because there was a great age difference between him and Robert, and Robert was in some sort of a private school. He also wanted to have a chance to study, but his mother was working, and he couldn't get into a private school, and he was very sorry about it.
Mr. Rankin. In talking about that, did he indicate a feeling that he had not had as good an opportunity as his brother Robert?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. When he talked about his service in the Marines, did he tell you much about what he did?
Mrs. Oswald. He didn't talk much about it, because there wasn't very much there of interest to me. But he was satisfied.
Mr. Rankin. Did he indicate that he was unhappy about his service with the Marines?
Mrs. Oswald. No, he had good memories of his service in the Army. He said that the food was good and that sometimes evenings he had a chance to go out.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say anything about his mother during this period of time?
Mrs. Oswald. This was before we were married. I had once asked Lee whether he had a mother, and he said he had no mother. I started to question him as to what had happened, what happened to her, and he said that I should not question him about it.
After we were married, he told me that he had not told me the truth, that he did have a mother, but that he didn't love her very much.
Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you why he didn't love her?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Do you recall anything more he said about his brother Robert at that time?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that he had a good wife, that he had succeeded fairly well in life, that he was smart and capable.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say anything about having any affection for him?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, he loved Robert. He said that when Robert married Vada that his mother had been against the marriage and that she had made a scene, and this was one of the reasons he didn't like his mother.
Mr.
