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

Japan Incidents and Court-Martial Disciplinary Actions

In Japan, Oswald’s newfound self-confidence and pugnaciousness led to an incident in which he spilled a drink on one of his sergeants and abusively challenged him to fight. At the resulting court-martial, Oswald testified he had been drunk, felt the sergeant had a grudge against him, had unsuccessfully sought a transfer from the sergeant’s unit, and had only wanted to discuss the matter with the sergeant, spilling the drink accidentally. The hearing officer accepted the latter claim but found Oswald guilty of wrongfully using provoking words and sentenced him to 28 days, canceling the suspension of a 20-day sentence from an earlier court-martial for possessing an unauthorized pistol with which he had accidentally shot himself.

Transfer to Reserve, Discharge After Defection, and Appeal Efforts

At his own request, Oswald was transferred from active duty to the Marine Corps Reserve under honorable conditions in September 1959, three months before his regularly scheduled separation date, ostensibly to care for his mother who had been injured in an accident at her work. After it was learned that he had defected to the Soviet Union, he was given an undesirable discharge from the Marine Corps Reserve, where he had been assigned on inactive status following his active-duty transfer. In an attempt to reverse this discharge, Oswald wrote to then-Secretary of the Navy Connally on January 30, 1962, stating that he would employ all means to right this gross mistake or injustice.

第七章

CHAPTER VII examines Lee Harvey Oswald’s grievances related to his military discharge, his adoption of Marxist ideology, motivations for defecting to the Soviet Union, and associated actions including a suicide attempt and renunciation of U.S. citizenship.