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

Oswald’s Discharge Grievances and Target Analysis

Analysis of Oswald’s undesirable military discharge finds he knew neither President Kennedy nor Governor Connally were directly responsible for his discharge, and he never expressed hostility toward either man prior to the assassination. Marina Oswald testified Lee never spoke ill of Kennedy, and while in the Soviet Union he spoke positively of Connally, even stating he would vote for him for Governor when he returned to the U.S. Oswald remained concerned about his discharge, which he felt was unjust as it was not tied to his active duty conduct and he received no notice of the original proceedings due to his unknown whereabouts; he petitioned the Navy Discharge Review Board, which declined to modify the discharge in a July 25, 1963 letter. While the Commission considered whether Connally was Oswald’s target due to the indirect connection to his discharge, analysis shows it would have been nearly impossible for Oswald to hit Connally without first hitting the President, and Oswald had far more favorable opportunities to target Connally on other occasions. It is therefore concluded that any motivation from the discharge was general hostility toward the U.S. government and its representatives, not a grudge against a specific individual.

Interest in Marxism

Oswald first developed an interest in Communist ideology after moving with his mother from New York to New Orleans, where he began reading Communist literature. He told a reporter he became interested in Marxism around age 15 after receiving a pamphlet about the Rosenbergs, marking the start of his ideological engagement.