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

Return to New Orleans and Adolescent Social Experiences

After returning to New Orleans, Oswald was teased at school for his northern accent, and he concluded school had nothing to offer him. His mother exercised little control and let him decide for himself whether to continue his education. Neighbors recalled an introverted boy who read extensively, took walks, visited museums, and rode a rented bicycle in the park on Saturdays. Mrs. Murret believed he talked at length with a girl on the telephone, but he had no known dates, and a friend testified he was more bashful about girls than anything else. Witnesses described Oswald as non-aggressive overall, though he was involved in some fights: he was beaten by white boys for sitting in the Negro section of a bus out of ignorance, and he fought two brothers who claimed he had picked on the younger one. A large high school student later punched him in the mouth on his way home from school, loosening a tooth. From this incident stemmed a “mild friendship” with Edward Voebel. Voebel recalled Oswald once proposed breaking into a store on Rampart Street to steal a pistol, though they never carried out the plan. Voebel characterized Oswald as someone who would not start fights but would ensure they ended on his terms if provoked. On his ninth grade personal history record, Oswald wrote the names Edward Vogel and Arthor Abear, then erased them and indicated he had no close friends. The phonetic misspellings suggest a reading-spelling disability that appears throughout his writings.

Exposure to Communist Literature and Radical Statements

During this period, Oswald began reading Communist literature obtained from the public library. Fellow employee Palmer McBride stated that Oswald said he would like to kill President Eisenhower for exploiting the working class. Oswald praised Khrushchev and suggested he and McBride join the Communist Party to take advantage of their social functions. Oswald also joined the New Orleans Amateur Astronomy Association, where, according to the association’s then-president William E. Wulf, he loudly expounded Communist doctrine, praised communism as the only way of life for the worker, and expressed dismay at being unable to find a Communist cell to join or anyone showing interest in him as a Communist. After an argument with Wulf’s father about communism, Oswald was asked to leave the house.