Oswald. I unfortunately—I cannot—since it will be in English.
The Chairman. Your lawyer may read it for you, and if he points out something to you that you think you should have changed, you may feel free to do that.
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, he will read it.
The Chairman. And if in the future we should like to ask you some more questions about something that develops through the investigation, would you be willing to come back and talk to us again?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
The Chairman. We hope it won't be necessary to disturb you. But if it is, you would be willing to come, would you not?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Representative Ford. Mr. Chairman—I would just like to suggest that if Mrs. Oswald does wish to revise any of her testimony, that this be called to the attention of the Commission through her attorney, Mr. Thorne.
The Chairman. Yes, of course. That is the proper procedure.
Now, Mr. Thorne, you have been very cooperative with the Commission. We appreciate that cooperation. We hope that if anything new should come to your attention that would be helpful to the Commission, you would feel free to communicate with us.
Mr. Thorne. Certainly, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Do you care to say anything at this time?
Mr. Thorne. Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would like to make a closing statement.
The Chairman. Yes. And may I say, also, if you have any questions you would like to ask Mrs. Oswald before you make your statement, you may do that.
Mr. Thorne. There are none.
Representative Boggs. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to say Mr. Thorne has been very helpful.
Mr. Thorne. During the noon recess, Mrs. Oswald made four requests of me to make before this Commission.
You have anticipated several of them, but I think there are one or two that need to be covered.
To begin with, she wanted me to express to you, Mr. Chairman, and members of your Commission, her extreme gratitude to you for the consideration and kindness that has been shown to her in these proceedings. She feels you have certainly gone out of your way to make her comfortable, and she has been comfortable, in spite of the sad and tragic events we have been discussing.
Point No. 2, she did want to make it quite clear to the Commission that in the event her testimony was needed for rebuttal or whatever on down the line, she would be available, and at your wish would come to Washington as convenient for you when it was again convenient.
The third point you have already covered. She did request that she be given a copy of these proceedings, which I told her she would receive, and, of course, copies of the exhibits would be attached for her identification and examination.
Mrs. Oswald. And copies of some of the letters?
Mr. Thorne. This will all be attached as exhibits.
And the final point was this. She has been, as you know, under protective custody of the Secret Service from shortly after the assassination. She has been most grateful for this protection. The Secret Service have shown her every courtesy, as everyone has in this matter. She is extremely grateful for this protection they have given her.
I haven't had personally enough time to think this thing out myself. I don't know. It is her request, however, that, at this point she feels the protection is no longer necessary. She feels that at this time she can walk among people with her head held high. She has nothing to hide. She is not afraid.
She feels that the Secret Service has performed a noble service to her. And this is not meant by way of saying for some action on their part she wants to get rid of them.
I have noticed that since we have been in Washington she resents being guided. She feels she can find her way by herself.
And, if the Commission would give this matter consideration—we don't know whom to go to. I haven't thought about it. I don't know who has suggested the Secret Service continue protecting her. It is a matter, of course, that ought to be considered.
But it is her request that as soon as it is practical, she would like to be a free agent and out of the confines of this protection.
I point out to you gentlemen that she is living, as you well know, with Mr. and Mrs. Martin. They have a rather modest home. Three bedrooms. It has a den and it has a combination living and dining room. The house is not extremely large, but there are always two men in the house. This does burden the family. This is not a request on the part of the Martins. They welcome this protection. This is something she thinks in terms of herself that she does not want to feel that she is being held back.
Is that correct?
Mrs. Oswald. What I wanted to say, Mr. Thorne has said.
Mr. Thorne. For my own part, gentlemen, thank you.
The Chairman. Mr. Thorne, we can understand Mrs. Oswald's desire to live a perfectly normal life with her children. Whatever has been done, as you recognize, has been done for her protection, and for her help during these terrible days that she has been going through.
But she may feel from this moment on that she is under no protection, except what she might ask for. And so you are perfectly free, Mrs. Oswald, to live your normal life without any interference from anyone. And should anyone interfere with you, I hope you would call it to the attention of the Commission.
Mrs. Oswald. Thank you very much.
Mr. Thorne. Mr. Chairman, may I add one point, please?
For our purposes, I would appreciate it if this matter of removal, assuming that it is to be removed shortly, is kept secret, also.
I would prefer generally for the public to feel that—at least temporarily—that this protection is available. I don't feel any qualms myself. I don't feel there are any problems. But I think the matter of Mrs. Marguerite Oswald has come up. There may be some problem from some sources.
The Chairman. Mr. Thorne, I think the correct answer to that would be—and it would be the answer we would give—that Mrs. Oswald, in the future, will be given such assistance and only such assistance as she asks for.
Mr. Thorne. Thank you very much, sir.
The Chairman. I want to say also before the session adjourns that we are indebted to Mr. Krimer for the manner in which he has interpreted. Next to the witness, I am sure he has had the hardest position in this whole hearing. And we appreciate the manner in which he has done it.
Mr. Krimer. Thank you very much, sir.
Mrs. Oswald. He is a very good interpreter.
The Chairman. Very well. If there is nothing further to come before the session, we will adjourn.
Mrs. Oswald. I am very grateful to all of you. I didn't think among Americans I would find so many friends.
The
