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

The Oswalds’ Marital Life in New Orleans

The Oswalds’ Marital Life in New Orleans During the early New Orleans period, the Oswalds’ marriage was more harmonious than it had been previously. Marina wrote that Lee took great satisfaction in showing her his birthplace; they visited the beach, the zoo, and the park, and Lee enjoyed hunting crabs. He was dissatisfied with his job, money was tight, and a new baby was on the way, but as before, Lee read a great deal. Marina testified, however, that after some time Oswald became depressed and she once found him alone in the dark crying. She wrote Ruth Paine that his “love” had ceased soon after Mrs. Paine left New Orleans (though Mrs. Paine noted friction even earlier). On July 11, 12, and 14, Mrs. Paine wrote Marina offering her a place to stay at the Irving home if Oswald did not wish to live with her, emphasizing that Marina could help with housework and that her presence would provide a tax advantage. Marina replied that she had previously raised the subject of separation but that Oswald had been good to her lately; she attributed the improved treatment to his anticipation of their second child and declined the invitation, while leaving open the possibility of taking advantage of it later.

Fair Play for Cuba Committee Activities in New Orleans

Fair Play for Cuba Committee Activities in New Orleans In late May and early June, Oswald began formulating plans for a New Orleans branch of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Using the alias “Lee Osborne,” he ordered printed circulars demanding “Hands off Cuba” along with application forms and membership cards. On August 5, he visited a store managed by Carlos Bringuier, a Cuban refugee and anti-Castro New Orleans delegate of the Cuban student directorate; Oswald claimed to have been a Marine trained in guerrilla warfare and offered to train Cubans to fight Castro and to join the fight himself. The next day he left his “Guidebook for Marines” at the store. On August 9, Bringuier saw Oswald distributing Fair Play for Cuba leaflets and a dispute with three Cuban exiles followed, resulting in arrests for disturbing the peace. Oswald claimed his New Orleans branch had 35 members and that he had been in touch with the Committee’s president, “A. J. Hidell” (another fictitious name); he was in fact the only member, and the chapter had never been chartered by the national Fair Play for Cuba Committee.

Arrest for Distributing Fair Play for Cuba Literature

Arrest for Distributing Fair Play for Cuba Literature Oswald spent the night of August 9 in jail and was interviewed the next day by a New Orleans Police Department lieutenant and, at Oswald’s request, an FBI agent. He maintained he was a member of the New Orleans FPCC branch with 35 members and that he had been in touch with “A. J. Hidell,” the president. Later that day Oswald was released on bail; two days later he pleaded guilty to the charges and paid a $10 fine, while the charges against the Cuban exiles were dismissed. Marina testified that the arrest upset Lee and that afterward he “became less active, he cooled off a little.”

Media Appearances for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee

Media Appearances for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee On August 16, Oswald, assisted by at least one hired helper, again distributed Fair Play for Cuba literature, this time in front of the International Trade Mart; that night’s television newscasts featured pictures of his activities, which later hindered his attempts to obtain employment. Bringuier sent a friend to Oswald’s home posing as a Castro sympathizer to extract information, but Oswald saw through the ruse. William Stuckey, a radio broadcaster whose program “Latin Listening Post” had long sought an FPCC member, learned about Oswald from Bringuier and visited him on August 17, recording a roughly five-minute interview that aired that evening. On August 21, Stuckey arranged a debate between Oswald and Bringuier on the 25-minute public affairs program “Conversation Carte Blanche.” Oswald defended the Castro regime and discussed Marxism but was put on the defensive when his defection to Russia came up. Stuckey testified that the program had effectively ended the FPCC in New Orleans but that Oswald had seemed clean-cut and intelligent and had conducted himself well.