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

第七章

This chapter examines Lee Harvey Oswald’s motivations for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, covering his use of aliases and related FBI concerns, marital conflict with his wife Marina, details of his November 21, 1963 visit to her home, unanswerable questions about his mindset in the days before the assassination, his behavior and arrest following the assassination, and the Commission’s final conclusions about his motives.

Oswald’s Alias Use and FBI Concerns

Oswald’s justifications for using an alias suggest he believed he was caught in an increasingly complex conspiracy against him, fearing the FBI would expose his defection to the Soviet Union as had occurred in New Orleans. However, his expressed concerns about the FBI may have been a fabricated story to support his use of a fake name. These arguments failed to persuade Marina Oswald, who saw no issue with people knowing he had lived in Russia, and criticized his repeated “foolishness” and use of a fictitious name.

Marital Conflict with Marina Oswald

Marital conflict between Oswald and Marina centered on his use of an alias, leading to a heated phone argument on Monday, November 18, 1963, during which Marina hung up on him and refused to speak to him. After the argument, Oswald stopped his usual twice-daily calls to her, and traveled to her home in Irving on Thursday, November 21, 1963, claiming he was lonely and wanted to reconcile.

Testimony of Oswald’s November 21, 1963 Visit

Marina Oswald testified about her husband’s November 21, 1963 visit to her Irving home. She stated Oswald said he was lonely and wanted to make peace, but she remained angry and refused to speak to him. He attempted to win her over by performing chores (putting away diapers, playing with their children on the street) and repeatedly proposed renting a Dallas apartment so the family could live together again, which she declined, preferring to stay with Ruth Paine until the holidays and asking him to buy a washing machine instead. That night, Oswald went to bed before Marina retired, and the next morning he left for work before the rest of the household awoke, leaving his wedding ring in a dresser cup and $170 in a wallet, while taking $13.87 and the long brown package he later carried to the Texas School Book Depository.