Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Oswalds’ Integration into the Local Russian-Speaking Community

Through Peter Gregory the Oswalds became acquainted with a growing circle of Russian-speaking residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth area, a group tied together by common origin, language, and religion, primarily from Eastern European countries. Marina gave conversational Russian lessons to Paul Gregory two days a week during August and early September for $35, usually at the Mercedes Street apartment with Oswald present, and Paul occasionally took the Oswalds shopping and had politically oriented discussions with Oswald. Around August 25, Peter Gregory hosted a dinner for the Oswalds and several community members, including George Bouhe, a Dallas accountant and community leader interested in Marina because she had lived in Leningrad, his birthplace, and Anna Meller, a Russian-born wife of a Dallas department store employee. Near the end of August the Oswalds met consulting geologist Declan Ford and his Russian-born wife at the Mellers’ home, and were introduced to Elena Hall, a Tehran-born dental laboratory worker of Russian parentage, through Bouhe who brought Marina to her for dental aid. In early September they met Alexander Kleinlerer, then courting Mrs. Hall, and were introduced to Mrs. Max Clark by Bouhe and Meller. Around the same time, Russian-born petroleum engineer George De Mohrenschildt visited them after hearing about them from within the group, and they later met his wife Jeanne, daughter Alexandra, and son-in-law Gary Taylor. The community was interested both in helping the Oswalds and in hearing fresh news from Russia; some members were initially apprehensive about the apparent ease of their departure from the Soviet Union, but Bouhe, Meller, and Elena Hall were the primary contributors of money, groceries, clothing, and furniture, with others providing transportation and groceries. The Oswalds visited some of these acquaintances in Dallas, and they in turn visited the Oswalds.

Oswald’s Resentment of Community Aid and Marital Strains

It was evident that Oswald did not appreciate the community’s help. At least once he flew into a rage and shouted that he did not need what people were giving him. Some felt he resented the gifts because he could not provide his wife what others supplied, and he was also critical of the group for what he saw as an overemphasis on economic advancement. He became increasingly unpopular, partly because of his resentment, his political philosophy, his criticism of the United States, his apparent self-absorption, and his treatment of Marina; some in the group believed he was mentally disturbed. They continued to help, however, out of sympathy for Marina and the child. Marital problems were also apparent: several visitors noted that Marina had a blackened eye at the Mercedes Street apartment, which she attributed to her husband having struck her—though she told Anna Meller she had walked into a door—and friction between the couple was observed on various occasions. Marina wrote that the period was difficult, that her husband was “very irritable” and prone to rage over trivial things, and she testified that “immediately after coming to the United States Lee changed,” becoming more reclusive and irritable, though she denied that their later separation was the result of quarrels.

Oswald’s Move to Dallas and Marina’s Temporary Stay

On a weekend afternoon in early October, the Oswalds were visited by Mrs. Oswald and several members of the Russian community, including Bouhe, Meller, the Halls, the De Mohrenschildts, and the Taylors. Oswald discussed his lack of job prospects and overdue rent and was advised to look for work in the Dallas area. Elena Hall invited Marina to stay at her Fort Worth home until Oswald found a job in Dallas; Marina accepted, and Hall moved her, baby June, and the Oswalds’ few household goods in a pickup truck from the dental laboratory. Oswald worked at the Leslie Welding Company on Monday, October 8, but failed to appear the next day because he was already in Dallas. He falsely told Marina he had been discharged and told Bouhe the job had been temporary; the company later received an undated letter stating he had “moved permanently to Dallas” and asking that his wages be forwarded to box 2915 in Dallas. He did not tell his mother he was leaving. Marina spent her first weeks in Dallas at Gary Taylor’s house during dental appointments and otherwise remained at the Halls’ in Fort Worth, with Mrs. De Mohrenschildt bringing her to the Baylor Dental Clinic on October 8, 10, and 15, paid for by funds Bouhe had given Mrs. De Mohrenschildt. After the assassination, Oswald did not see or communicate with his mother until she came to see him.