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

Oswald’s Letter to Senator Tower

Sometime shortly before January 26, 1962, an undated letter from Lee Harvey Oswald was received in the office of U.S. Senator from Texas, John G. Tower. In the letter, Oswald identified himself as 22 years old, formerly of Fort Worth, said he had come to the Soviet Union in October 1959 for a residential stay, and stated that he had unsuccessfully applied since July 20, 1960, for a Soviet Exit Visa for himself and his Soviet wife, who had applied at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on July 8, 1960 for immigration status. Oswald, identifying himself as a U.S. citizen with passport No. 1733242, asked Senator Tower to raise the question of the Soviet Union’s holding of a U.S. citizen against his will. The letter was read in Senator Tower’s office by a caseworker and forwarded on January 26 to the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations, Department of State, with a machine-signed cover letter from the Senator stating that he did not know Oswald or the facts of his case, that Oswald’s inquiry should have gone to the executive branch, and that he was forwarding it for whatever action the Department considered appropriate. On February 1, an officer at the State Department telephoned the Senator’s office and spoke briefly with the caseworker, who noted that the Senator should not become involved in such case and that State would report on the course they followed. About a week later, the State Department forwarded to Senator Tower copies of correspondence with Oswald and informed the Senator that he could contact the Department if he wished to be kept informed. Neither the Senator nor any member of his staff contacted the Department again or took any other action in the matter.