Warren Commission (01 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (01 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. RANKIN. Now, except for that correspondence, you don't have any
other correspondence from him while he was in the Marines?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, sir, I did have several letters.
What has happened, Mr. Rankin--when Lee stayed with me the 3 days, he
left his seabag with me. And that is why I have his discharge papers
and things. And then, as you know, when the defection broke, I had no
place to go. So the lady I was working for even threatened to call
the police, because of the defection. I was working for $5 a week,
gentlemen, taking care of her son. But I was happy to have a home and
food, because I had had this accident, and I could rest. But my salary
was $5 for the whole week. But when the news broke, she didn't want to
be involved with anyone who had a son as a defector, so she asked me to
leave. It was a very cold winter night. And I said I would.
But I didn't want to leave--didn't have any place to go.
She said, "You will leave now or I will call the police."
So I called Robert and he told me to come out to his home.
When I went out to his home, I brought Lee's seabag, Mr. Rankin, with
me. And I stayed there just a short time. And Robert Oswald would not
let me have Lee's seabag. And there were a few letters in there from
Lee in the seabag.
And so I don't have the seabag.
You can read this letter, then, this way. That he is telling me he is
defecting to Russia.
We all agree there.
Then this same letter could be read the way I read it, as a mother.
After three days he is leaving his mother. But we had a talk. When Lee
arrived home--and I will go into this thoroughly. I was ashamed when
he arrived home. I was in a one bedroom and bath and a small kitchen.
And my son came in about 2 o'clock in the morning. I have never lived
lavishly, but we have always had a nice clean little moderate house.
And, remember, I was destitute. I had no money. You have the affidavits
evidently from the Red Cross. If you don't, I have copies.
The first thing I said to him, "Honey, the first thing we will have to
do is to move and find a decent place."
I had a studio couch, which has two parts. The top part I put on the
floor for my son to sleep on that particular night, in the one room.
So he said, "We will talk about it in the morning, Mother."
So morning came.
I brought the subject up immediately. I said, "The first thing we will
have to do is find a place. I am well enough that I can babysit or pick
up a few dollars. And until I settle my claim, I think we will be able
to manage, and you will get a job."
He said, "No, Mother, my mind is made up. I have thought this out
thoroughly. I have no background. If I stay here, I will get a job for
about $35 a week, and we will both be in a position that you are in. I
want to board a ship and work in the import and export business, where
there is some real money."
Mr. RANKIN. He had quite a little money saved, didn't he, from the
Marines?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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