Marina and Lee
Page 75
18. Testimony of John Edward Pic, Vol. 11, p. 73.
19. Ibid., p. 77.
20. Testimony of Hiram Conway, Vol. 8, p. 89.
21. Robert Oswald, op. cit., p. 42.
22. Testimony of John Edward Pic, Vol. 11, p. 73.
23. Robert Oswald, op cit., pp. 51–53.
24. Testimony of John Edward Pic, Vol. 11, p. 39.
25. After Oswald’s death, Dr. Howard P. Rome of the Mayo Clinic diagnosed his difficulty from his writings and wrote a letter about it to the Warren Commission (Exhibit No. 3134, Vol. 26, pp. 812–817).
26. Exhibit No. 1339, Vol. 22, pp. 558–559.
27. Siegel Exhibit No. 1, Vol. 21, pp. 485–495.
28. Ibid., p. 493.
29. Hartogs Exhibit No. 1, Vol. 20, pp. 89–90.
30. Testimony of Myrtle Evans, Vol. 8, pp. 50–51 and 55.
31. Testimony of John Edward Pic, Vol. 11, p. 49
32. Testimony of Marguerite Oswald, Vol. 1, p.254.
33. Robert Oswald, op. cit., pp. 47–48.
34. Jean Stafford, A Mother in History (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1965), p. 106.
35. Testimony of John Edward Pic, Vol. 11, p. 80.
Chapter 13. Family Reunion
1. Exhibit No. 2655, Vol. 26, p. 8.
2. Ibid.
3. Testimony of Martin Isaacs, Vol. 8, pp. 324–330 (esp. pp. 326 and 329).
4. Testimony of Robert Oswald, Vol. 1, p. 331.
5. Testimony of Marguerite Oswald, Vol. 1, pp. 131–132.
6. Conversations with Marina Oswald.
7. Testimony of Pauline Virginia Bates, Vol. 8, pp. 330–343.
8. Testimony of Peter Paul Gregory, Vol. 2, pp. 337–347; and conversations between Mr. Gregory and the author in August 1964.
9. Testimony of Max Clark, Vol. 8, p. 344.
Chapter 14. Summer in Fort Worth
1. The report of Special Agents John W. Fain and B. Tom Carter, dictated July 2, 1962 (Exhibit No. 823, Vol. 17, pp. 728–731); Testimony of John W. Fain, Vol. 4, pp. 403–418. It does not appear to have been unusual in any way for the FBI, and not the CIA, to have interviewed Oswald on his return from the USSR.
2. Testimony of Robert Oswald, Vol. 1, pp. 315 and 389.
3. Robert Oswald, op. cit., p. 119.
4. Ibid., p. 121.
5. Testimony of Marguerite Oswald, Vol. 1, p. 133.
6. Exhibit No. 2189, Vol. 24, p. 872.
7. Testimony of Tommy Bargas, Vol. 10, p. 165.
8. Testimony of Marguerite Oswald, Vol. 1, p. 133.
9. Robert Oswald, op. cit., p. 122.
10. Agent John W. Fain differed from Marina in his memory of how his second meeting with Oswald began (Testimony of John W. Fain, Vol. 4, pp. 420–423). He testified that he and another agent, Arnold J. Brown, staked out the house and waited down the road in a car. About 5:30 they spotted Oswald walking home from work. They moved up in front of the house. “Hi, Lee,” Fain called out from the car. “How are you? Would you mind talking with us just a few minutes?” According to Fain, Lee did not object, and he climbed into the back seat of the car. Marina recalls that Fain came to their door, and that recollection seems more likely to be correct, since it was her first contact with the FBI, the effect on her husband was vivid, and she remembers it in detail. Fain, on the other hand, paid many such calls in a year, and his recollection may have been fuzzy. For him the visit was routine; for Marina it was unique.
Another point on which Fain seems to have been in error is the time at which he and Brown spotted Oswald coming home. It was probably not at 5:30, as he reported, but a few minutes after 4:30, the hour at which Oswald got out of work. The interview probably lasted, as another FBI report stated, for an hour and a quarter, from 4:45 until 6:00.
11. Exhibit No. 824, Vol. 17, pp. 736–739.
12. Testimony of John W. Fain, Vol. 4, p. 423.
13. Exhibit No. 824, Vol. 17, p. 737.
14. Exhibit No. 986, Vol. 18, p. 486. Author’s italics.
15. Testimony of Marguerite Oswald, Vol. 1, pp. 136–137.
16. Ibid., pp. 138–140.
Chapter 15. The Émigrés
1. Testimony of Paul Roderick Gregory, Vol. 9, pp. 141–160.
2. Testimony of Peter Paul Gregory, Vol. 2, p. 341.
3. Conversation with George Bouhe, August 1964.
4. Testimony of George de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 231.
Chapter 16. Ingratitude
1. Conversation with Declan P. Ford, June 1964.
2. Conversation with Anna N. Meller, August 1964.
3. Testimony of George Bouhe, Vol. 8, p. 375.
4. Ibid., p. 371.
5. Testimony of Gary E. Taylor, Vol. 9, p. 78.
6. Conversation with Anna N. Meller, August 1964.
7. Testimony of John G. Graef, Vol. 10, pp. 174–181.
8. Conversation with George A. Bouhe, August 1964.
9. Ibid.
10. Conversation with Anna N. Meller, August 1964.
Chapter 17. Dallas
1. Testimony of Mrs. Donald Gibson (Alexandra de Mohrenschildt Taylor), Vol. 11, pp. 123–153.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Testimony of John G. Graef, Vol. 10, pp. 174–194; Testimony of Dennis Hyman Ofstein, Vol. 10, pp. 194–213.
6. Testimony of Elena A. Hall, Vol. 8, p. 396.
7. Ibid., p. 395.
8. Affidavit of Alexander Kleinlerer, Vol. 11, p. 122
9. Ibid., p. 120.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid., p. 121.
12. Testimony of Mrs. Donald Gibson, Vol. 11, p. 141.
13. Ibid., p. 131.
14. Testimony of Anna N. Meller, Vol. 8, p. 386.
Chapter 18. George de Mohrenschildt
1. Testimony of George de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 242.
2. De Mohrenschildt’s story is taken from his testimony, Vol. 9, pp. 166–284; from the FBI file on George S. de Mohrenschildt in the National Archives, Washington, D.C.; and from conversations with Samuel B. Ballen, George A. Bouhe, and Declan and Katherine Ford.
3. Remarks of Max E. Clark, quoted in de Mohrenschildt’s FBI file.
4. This account is taken from de Mohrenschildt’s FBI file. Of the informants whose hearsay remarks are used in this paragraph, one was anonymous, one was known personally to the author, and the third had been governess to Dorothy Pierson de Mohrenschildt.
5. Letters from Samuel B. Ballen to the author, June 18, 1968, and February 4, 1972.
6. Jeanne de Mohrenschildt’s story is taken from her testimony, Vol. 9, pp. 285–331, and from George S. de Mohrenschildt’s FBI file.
7. Testimony of Max E. Clark, Vol. 8, p. 352.
8. Comment by George A. Bouhe in de Mohrenschildt’s FBI file.
9. Conversation with Samuel B. Ballen, November 28, 1964.
10. Comment by Morris I. Jaffe in de Mohrenschildt’s FBI file.
11. Testimony of Igor Voshinin, Vol. 8, p. 464.
12. Testimony of George A. Bouhe, Vol. 8, p. 377.
13. Testimony of Igor Voshinin, Vol. 8, p. 468.
14. The Voshinins’ remarks are taken from de Mohrenschildt’s FBI file.
15. Conversation with Samuel B. Ballen, November 28, 1964.
16. Testimony of Jeanne de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 312.
17. Ibid,. p. 309.
18. Testimony of Samuel B. Ballen, Vol. 9, pp. 47, 52–53; and conversation with Samuel B. Ballen, November 28, 1964.
Chapter 19. Reconciliation
1. Testimony of Anna N. Meller, Vol. 8, p. 387.
2. Conversations with Teofil Meller, Anna N. Meller, and George A. Bouhe.
3. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 238.
4. Ibid.
5. Testimony of Jeanne de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 309.
6. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 232.
7. Ibid., and testimony of Jeanne de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 313.
8. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 232.
9. Testimony of Katherine N. Ford, Vol. 2, pp. 302–303; and conversations with the author.
10. Testimony of Declan P. Ford, Vol. 2, pp. 325, 333–334; and conversations with the author.
11. Exhibit No. 320, Vol. 16, p. 884.
12. Testimony of George A. Bouhe, Vol. 8, p. 377.
13. Conversation with Samuel B. Ballen, November 28, 1964.
14. Testimony of Max E. Clark, Vol. 8, p. 353.
15. Testimony of Jeanne de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 325.
16. Testimony of John Edward Pic, Vol. 11, p. 52.
17. Ibid., p. 56.
18. Ibid., p. 59.
Chapter 20. Lee and George
1. Testimony of Gary E. Taylor, Vol. 9, pp. 91–93.
2. Testimony of Lydia Dymitruk, Vol. 9, pp. 60–72.
3. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 240.
4. Ibid., p. 246.
5. Ibid., p. 237.
6. Ibid., p. 266.
7. Testimony of Jeanne de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, pp. 308–309.
8. Testimony of Everett D. Glover, Vol. 10, p. 9.
9. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 227.
10. Ibid., pp. 243, 266.
11. Ibid., p. 237.
12. Ibid., pp. 236–237, 242.
13. Conversations with Marina Oswald.
14. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, pp. 236, 242–243.
15. Conversations with Declan and Katherine Ford.
16. Testimony of Gary E. Taylor, Vol. 9, p. 96.
17. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 238.
18. Ibid., p. 266.
Chapter 21. The Revolver
1. Testimony of Jeanne de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, pp. 319–321; Testimony of Katherine Ford, Vol. 2, pp. 305–307.
2. Exhibits No. 1859, Vol. 23, pp. 628–630, and Nos. 1860–1861, Vol. 23, pp. 630–632.
3. Testimony of Anna N. Meller, Vol. 8, p. 389.
4. Testimony of Mrs. Mahlon F. Tobias, Vol. 8, pp. 242–243.
5. Ibid., p. 244.
6. Oswald’s time sheets at Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall, Exhibit No. 1850–1856, Vol. 23, pp. 529–625.
7. Testimony of John G. Graef, Vol. 10, pp. 187–188.
8. Testimony of Dennis Hyman Ofstein, Vol. 10, p. 204.
9. This may actually have been the night Rachel Oswald was conceived. Marina’s menstrual period started on January 11, and she could have been fertile on the 26th. Rachel was born on October 20, weighed nearly 7 pounds, and was said to be full term. From January 26 to October 20, 267 days had elapsed, the average length of a full-term pregnancy. Moreover, Marina remembers no other occasion around this time when she failed to take precautions.
10. Cadigan Exhibit No. 12, Vol. 19, p. 285.
11. Testimony of Alwyn Cole, documents expert of US Department of Treasury, Vol. 4, pp. 375–377; Testimony of James C. Cadigan, documents expert of the FBI, Vol. 7, p. 424.
12. Exhibit No. 800, Vol. 17, p. 685.
13. Exhibit No. 12, Vol. 19, p. 579; Weinstock Exhibit No. 1, Vol. 21, p. 721.
Chapter 22. The Sanction
1. Testimony of John G. Graef, Vol. 10, pp. 187–189, 193; Testimony of Dennis Hyman Ofstein, ibid., p. 205.
2. Exhibit No. 93, Vol. 16, p. 346.
3. Letters from Mrs. Gladys A. Yoakum to the author, April 6 and May 6, 1973.
4. Testimony of George S. de Mohrenschildt, Vol. 9, p. 256.
5. Schmidt was never called to testify before the Warren Commission. The material in the paragraph above is all the FBI file on Schmidt in the National Archives contains about the conversation.
6. Conversation with Samuel B. Ballen, November 28, 1964.
7. Exhibit Nos. 6–7, Vol. 16, pp. 9–10.
8. Testimony of Mrs. Mahlon F. Tobias, Vol. 10, p. 243.
9. Testimony of Mahlon F. Tobias, Sr., Vol. 10, p. 256.
Chapter 23. “Ready for Anything”
1. Letter from Major General Edwin A. Walker to the author, postmarked May 15, 1974.
2. Letters from Mrs. Gladys A. Yoakum to the author, April 6 and May 6, 1973, and May 24, 1975.
3. The Militant, March 11, 1963 (Vol. 27, No. 10), p. 7.
4. Other features that suggest the letter was written by Oswald include the tone of condescending flattery, even as the writer tells the paper what stories it ought to print; use of the term “gross error,” a direct translation of a phrase used frequently in Russian; use of quotes around the word “sensational,” a sarcasm characteristic of Oswald, when the writer really means that the Ortiz case was typical and not unusual or sensational; the lack of a transition between the remarks about reform politics and the story of the Ortiz case; the fact that Oswald’s pretext for leaving the Marine Corps was an injury that had left his mother “unable” to work; and the writer’s interest in “fundamentally transforming” the system, typical of Oswald’s beliefs.
Those who contend that Oswald did not write the letter have suggested that he would not have known or cared about reform movements in the Democratic Party, or about the campaign of H. Stuart Hughes in Massachusetts. But the handwritten document that he left behind and that is described in this chapter reflects his interest in using even elements of the Republican Party to bring about reform. In addition, the September 7, 1962, issue of Time magazine, to which Oswald subscribed, had a story about the Hughes campaign. Oswald could have learned about reform movements in New York and California from newspapers or from George de Mohrenschildt, whose close friend, Sam Ballen, was a New Yorker, and whose wife’s daughter and son-in-law, the Keartons, were interested in politics in California.
There are also those who concede Oswald’s link to the letter but believe that he lacked the skill to write it. They think that he must have had help and that such help points to his being part of a “conspiracy” in the spring of 1963–see Albert H. Newman, The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: The Reasons Why (New York: 1970), pp. 154–161. But from other writings he has left behind, there is no doubt that Oswald had the capacity to write the letter, although it would have been filled with errors of spelling and punctuation that do not appear in the published version. The Militant does not have the original, and the editors are unable to say whether the letter arrived in typed or handwritten form or, indeed, whether Oswald was the author. The present managing editor has, however, carefully explained the paper’s policy in handling letters. Because the Militant has among its readers an unusually high proportion of poor people, working people, and even prisoners, it is a “longstanding policy” to edit for “syntax, grammar, spelling,” as well as to add transitions. The editor commented that his paper probably edits a good deal more heavily than most. (Telephone conversation of October 29, 1975, with Larry Seigle, managing editor of the Militant, and letter from Larry Seigle to the author, November 17, 1975.)
5. Exhibit No. 1351, Vol. 22, p. 585, pinpoints the dates of the photographs. From the progress of the construction of a large building in the background of the photos, it was the weekend of March 9–10, and since Oswald worked Saturday until 4:00 P.M., he must have taken the photographs on Sunday, March 10.
6. Exhibit No. 2, Vol. 16, pp. 3–8.
7. Testimony of Marina Oswald, Vol.11, p. 293.
8. Oswald’s time sheet on March 12 is evidence that he probably lied sometimes about his hours. On the day he ordered the rifle, he signed in from 8:00 A.M. to 5:15 (Exhibit No. 1855, Vol. 23, p. 605). The US postal inspector in Dallas, Harry D. Holmes, later testified that Oswald’s money order for the rifle was issued “early on the morning of March 12.” This appears to have been the case, for the order was imprinted on Klein’s cash register March 13. Since the post office window opened only at 8:00 A.M., Oswald probably lied when he signed in then. Thus the time sheets have to be used with caution.
9. Testimony of Robert Oswald, Vol. 1, pp. 391–392.
10. Exhibit No. 322,
Vol. 16, pp. 886–888. Oswald had other reasons for keeping his brother at a distance. He did not want Robert to come when Marina was alone and learn from her the facts of his treatment of her. Nor did he want Robert to see the revolver on its shelf and the clutter of maps and photographs in his “office” and possibly guess his plan. Finally, Oswald had some insight into himself and may have understood that he was like a gun that is loaded, cocked, and about to go off. His target was General Walker. But if someone else came by for whom he harbored strong emotions–and he had strong feelings for both Robert and his mother–he might kill that person instead. He had to keep Robert away.
11. Exhibit No. 8, Vol. 16, pp. 11–12.
12. Exhibit No. 9, Vol. 16, pp. 13–20.
13. Oswald’s time sheets, Exhibit No. 1855, Vol. 23, pp. 613–614.
14. Since neither weapon was sent by insured or registered mail, the dates of arrival have to be guessed at. But in a letter to the author of February 6, 1976, A. M. Temples, manager of mailing requirements of the US postal service in Dallas, stated that a pistol shipped by REA Express from Los Angeles on March 20 and a rifle sent by mail from Chicago on the same day could both have arrived on the 25th, since each would have traveled at the rate of one time zone per day and each city was at a distance of five time zones from Dallas. Moreover, in another of his telltale misdatings, on his time sheets Oswald dated two successive days, Monday and Tuesday of that week, as March 25, a clue to the importance of the date.
15. REA Express no longer exists, but in 1963, the Dallas office was at 2311 Butler, near Love Field. According to former REA officials, office hours varied from city to city, depending on business. In Boston, packages could have been picked up at the REA office at Logan Field twenty-four hours a day; in certain other cities, offices were open until 8:00 P.M., and in others again, they closed much earlier.