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

Oswald’s Manuscript Typing and Russian Proficiency Verification

On June 18, four days after arriving in Fort Worth, Oswald visited the office of Mrs. Pauline Virginia Bates, a public stenographer whose name he had found in the telephone directory, and asked her to type his manuscript of Soviet impressions from his “scraps of paper.” Intrigued, she agreed to a reduced rate of $1 per page or $2 an hour. Over three days she spent eight hours typing while Oswald remained in her office, helping with the notes and translating the Russian portions. He collected his materials after each session and on June 20 paid her $10 for ten completed pages, refusing her offer to postpone payment. On June 19, Oswald called Peter Gregory, a Siberian-born petroleum engineer who taught Russian at the Fort Worth Public Library, requesting a letter attesting to his Russian ability for interpreter or translator work. Gregory had Oswald read from a randomly opened Russian book in his office; Oswald read well, and Gregory provided the letter. They had lunch and discussed Oswald’s life in the Soviet Union, but, according to Gregory, nothing was said about publishing the manuscript. About a week later, Gregory and his college-student son Paul visited the Oswalds at Robert’s home, and Paul arranged to take conversational Russian lessons from Marina during the summer.

First Fort Worth FBI Interview with Oswald

On June 26, Oswald was interviewed by FBI agents in Fort Worth. One agent described him as tense, “drawn up,” arrogant, and “a little insolent.” Oswald declined to say why he had gone to Russia, stating he refused to “relive the past.” He denied attempting to obtain Soviet citizenship, being approached by Soviet officials about his Marine experience, or offering them such information. Noting that Marina’s Soviet passport required her to register her address with the Soviet Embassy in Washington, Oswald said he planned to contact the embassy within a few days and promised to notify the FBI if approached by Soviet agents. He told Robert the interview had been “just fine.”