Alistair Briggs

I wonder... ... perhaps Russia was his defacto choice ultimately, but after scoring 'poor' on a Russian test in early 1959 he decided to try and enrol in college in Switzerland as something of a stepping stone to reaching his goal. Anyway, question for you, His route to Russia was from the US to France, then to England, then to Finland (where he applied and recieved a visa to go to Russia) - was there any particular reason for doing it that way? Regards

Zoo photo = Harvey School photo (taken by Voebel) = Lee Is that correct? Regards

I don't know if you will be able to help me with something... where is the location that Jarman talked with Oswald on the first floor? Regards

Just on that note. Mr. JENNER. How long did he work there, to the best of your recollection? Mr. BARGAS. I believe it was up until September, if I'm not mistaken, somewhere right along in there. Mr. JENNER. Would this serve to refresh your recollection, that he worked until on or about October 8th, 1962? Mr. BARGAS. No; I don't remember. Mr. JENNER. Could he have worked until October 8th? Mr. BARGAS. It is possible. Mr. JENNER. But your present recollection is more like sometime in the course of September when his employment was terminated? Mr. BARGAS. Yes. ... Mr. JENNER. You expected him back the next day? Mr. BARGAS. I expected him back the next morning and if I'm not mistaken, it was Friday, and Monday he didn't show up, I believe it was; if I'm not mistaken--I can't place it, and so he didn't call in and he didn't have a phone, as far as I can remember, so I never tried to get in contact with him or anything like that, and I figured he may have someone to call in or something like that, so I just let it ride, and then he didn't show up the second day after that, so all I said then was, "Well, I imagine he quit because a line of guys had done the same thing." In other words, a lot of them just never did show up and that's all that happened. They would come back on the following Friday or something like that and say, "I quit, I've got another job." That's what the other guys would say. Well, he was different--when he left the only thing he done was he wrote in to the plant and told us where to send his check to. He said he was up there in Irving somewhere I--don't remember the address or exactly what place it was, but as far as I know that was it. After walking out on the job at Leslie Welding Co, Oswald wrote a letter to them telling them where to send his check, and then they sent him on his last pay check... and presumably it would have taken some days for the letters to go on their journey's... according to here Oswald cashed that check on the 5th of October.

The time that Jarman was talking with Oswald on the first floor was between 9:30am and 10am! There is really nothing surprising at all about it, and nope no 'bold revelation' and nope not 'arguing with himself'. lol

Just on that note, http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/parnell/chrono.htm *When I first read that and saw how many different places lived and how many different schools I was beyond surprised.

What about the 'zoo photo' is that meant to be 'Harvey'? Regards

I agree that he was eventually disappointed. If he joined with high expectations of how it would work out, there is little surprise that he would eventually be disappointed; that's kind of how expectations work. lol Regarding his whole time in the Marines, and I know I'm overly simplifying it here, but it seems to me that to start with things were going quite well with him but from the point he went to Japan it started to go wrong for him (maybe he was 'home-sick' lol) I reckon there would have been a mental conflict there inasmuch as he would have known that joining the Marines was to get away from his life, but it wasn't working out as well as he thought but he would not want to have gone back to his previous life... that is why a move to Russia would appeal - he would have felt that he didn't fit in and not realising that it was because of him (but not his fault) he would have felt that a move to a place like Russia would be a salvation of sorts, inasmuch as he would be in a more 'settled' position where his 'difference's' wouldn't be a problem and where he may well find 'kindred spirits'... * As a slight aside, I wonder if Oswald ever read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

Weigman

Jim, just to confirm, this photo is one of the 'real' Lee Harvey Oswald? Regards

Oprah Winfrey

Weigman

I agree that there were more problems than that. It's an acumulation of things. One point of interest may be to compare Lee to his two older brothers and especially to the time the two older brothers spent away from their Mother and Lee and correlate that to the times they were back and what else was going on at that time... when I have the time I will knock something up about it and see where it leads - I reckon it will show how much more unsettled Lee was in comparison to his two brothers... I think you might be overplaying the negative there! I reckon that his circumstances meant that he would have an 'inability' to join in with 'good' things also. To highlight what I am meaning here is a part from the WC testimony of Marilyn Murrett; Again though it's an accumulation of things I don't disagree. After all 'birds of a feather flock together'... there is the caveat though that up to this point in his life (because of all the movings of houses and schools) he wouldn't have had much chance to ingratiate himself to other people - not to the same extent anyway that other children (who has spent years and years at school together) would have... ... moving forward to the time he moved to New Orleans (January 1954), apart from all the moving around, there are a few things that happen that are of real interest. Example, Lee scores well in achievement tests for reading and vocabulary, he also puts down his future career as 'Military'. By the time Summer of 1955 comes around Robert comes to visit them, not long after Lee joins the Civil Air Patrol and then by October he tries to enlist in the Marines (but is denied). I reckon there is some correlation between Robert's visit and what Lee then did... I can imagine that Robert would have regaled him with stories of his time in the Marines and that would have appealed to Lee on many levels. Also he would no doubt have heard stories from John too about his time in the Marine Corps Reserve and his time in the Coast Guards and that too would have appealed to Lee on many levels. I can imagine that Lee would have thought joining the Marines would be a salvation of sorts, inasmuch as he would be in a more 'settled' position where his 'difference's' wouldn't be a problem and where he may well find 'kindred spirits'...

James, just wanted to take this opportunity to ask you a quick question; I was just wondering if you had ever read the book John Lennon & The FBI Files by Phil Strongman & Alan Parker? Has a couple of very interesting chapters about the JFK assassination and touches upon the 'two Oswald's', and also tries to make links between the killings of JFK, RFK, MLK and Lennon and even gives you a name-check as a respected American assassination expert. Regards

Paul, you make mention to his later time in the Marines and afterwards; for the moment I am concentrating on his childhood up to the point of joining the Marines. (for now I'm on the New York part of his childhood). I will in the not too distant future address the afterwards, and you have raised some very interesting points indeed... One thing about the use of the word 'loner' is that it can carry a negative connotation. Earlier, when I was discussing his upbringing (to the point of joining the Marines) I tried to 'pre-empt' the 'negative connotations' ... I don't think Oswald was a loner throughout his childhood but I do think that circumstances would have left him on the 'outskirts' and that he would have felt a great deal of isolation because of it... by any measurable standards his childhood was certainly abnormal. There would have been a lot of 'internal conflict' going on - he would see other families, he would see other people, and how they interacted with each other, and compared to his own life he would have known that it was different. His compassion would shine through sometimes ('looking after' a neighbours dog') but other times his frustration would manifest itself ('threatening' his brother's wife with a pocket knife and striking his own mother*) (* that incident is related in the testimony of John Pic as quoted below) It was at about the same time that Oswald was evaluated by a psychologist who found him to be above average intelligence but with a passive-agressive personality, that he had a level of frustration and hostility towards his Mother and may have been quite 'disturbed' because of emotional isolation and that he may have suffered from 'delusions of grandeur' and had a certain 'detachment' from reality. All things considered, I can't in all honesty say that I disagree with such an evaluation. However, such an evaluation could probably be made of a good number of 'troubled teens' and they can quite easily 'grow out of it' as they mature, there will always be those that don't alas. With regards to Oswald though, it has to be remebered that at this time he was very much in his formative years... Here are some lyrics from a Meatloaf song that I though were a bit apt; ...The time he spents in New York (August 52 to January 54) was a very 'tumultuous' time in his life (well, what part of his childhood wasn't. lol), again he moves places often, and his schooling was, well, how shall I put this... 'interrupted' somewhat! *I just can't help thinking that if Oswald had a 'father' figure throughout his childhood then things could have been oh so different... ... and on that note... ...I would say that he would no doubt have 'looked up' to the position of his two brothers and would have liked to emulate their position, and I think that is borne out by what happens in the next couple of years. (I will address that soon.) Regards

Joe, kudos to you for such a great posting (once again) - a voice of reason indeed. From the research I have been doing, I can't help but get the feeling that under different circumstances things could have worked out quite well between Lee and Marina. From when they left the 'Russian community' I feel they were about to turn a corner... ... the Beatles song It's Getting Better springs to mind.

Although not about Marina, the following may somewhat be of relevance - I post this with no contentions on my part;

With all the moving of houses, and all the changes of school, and with him being a 'latch-key kid', throughout his youth it would no doubt have been difficult to put down 'roots'. All things considered it seems he had an 'abnormal' upbringing, one that would make him more isolated from the world. That's not to say he was a 'loner' of course, but I do think it would have caused him to be somewhat 'introverted'. With all the reading that he did he would certainy become 'well-read' and that would help his 'intelligence' and yet the 'isolation' that he had could mean that he had a certain difficulty when it came to 'sociability'... The WC testimony of Marilyn Murrett is very impressive with regards to Lee, and quite telling towards the kind of person he was. She talks about him being "just like anybody else" but also "very reserved", liking to be by himself, liking to read, liking nature. She also mentions him being very quite and not having many friends but also mentions that he wasn't the belligerent type. She also mentions times when the other children 'made fun of him' - that Lee's manners may have 'irritated' some of them - that Lee had a 'very erect carriage'. It is also of interest to note that she mentions that Lee 'didn't have the money to keep up with' (the other children), that was how his Mother reared him; that he could 'live within himself'. She also makes mentions of Lee being much more intelligent than his grades indicated. *Marilyn Murret's WC testimony is quite a fascinating read indeed. The more I read about Lee's childhood the more 'pity' I feel for him. I wonder how different his life would have been had he been much more settled in his formative years. Very interested to hear your thoughts on Lee's personality as a child, especially in the time between his Mother's divorce from Ekdahl and the time he joined the Marines. Regards

Robert, am I correct in thinking that you believe the one on the left is actually Stella Mae Jacob? Would you at all be interested in writing to her and asking her to confirm it is her? Regards

List of the books Oswald borrowed from the New Orleans Public Library, Napoleon Branch. http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1141&search=library_book#relPageId=959&tab=page

I'm happy with that... between the ages of 5 and 7 was the time that he lived 'high on the hog'. About the spelling and the 'mediocrity' of Oswald's writing, that's one of the things Mailer discusses in his book. It's quite interesting because he posits that if it was "cleansed of the grime of his mis-spellings and poor punctuation" that it would reveal that underneath it Oswald was intelligent. Mailer also makes mention to the letter written by Dr Howard P Rome of the Mayo Clinic; https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1142#relPageId=848&tab=page It makes interesting reading indeed. He was certainly well read. The list of books he borrowed from the library in New Orleans is quite impressive. It's a shame that no such records exist for the ones he borrowed from the library in Dallas - they didn't keep such records - the only one that is known about being borrowed in Dallas (because it wasn't returned) is The Shark and the Sardines by (former Guatemala president) Juan Jose Arevalo. He was certainly familiar with Hemmingway of course - he mentions him in the letter he wrote to John Connally. Regards

That is very interesting indeed George, thank you. On a related topic, there is the 50 odd page manuscript that Oswald wrote on his time in Russia... https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1133#relPageId=309&tab=page I will try and dig up more info about it as soon as I can.

It was 4 and 8... Oswald was born October 18th 1939. His Mother first met Edwin A. Ekdahl in July 1943... Lee would have been 3 years 9 months old. (At the time Lee was away at the Bethlehem Children's Home, his Mother withdraw him from it in January 1944 as she and Ekdahl move to a new home (Victor Street) - a reasonable inference then is that it would be this time that Lee first met Ekdahl and he would have been 4 years and 3 months old) They married on May 7th 1945... Lee would have been 5 years and 7 months old. They separated in September (?) of 1946... Lee would have been 6 years and 11 months old. They reunited in January 1947... Lee would have been 7 years and 3 months old. In the Summer of 1947 Marguerite finds out that Ekdahl is having an affair but they 'continue' on until January 1948 when she kicks him out the house... Lee would have been 8 years and 3 months old. In March 1948 Ekdahl files for divorce... Lee would have been 8 years and 5 months old. The divorce is finalised on the 24th of June... Lee would have been 8 years and 8 months old.

Joe, just wanted to say, your whole comment was a great comment, kudos. Personally, I have never thought there was any great 'correlation' between the two things as it's a huge leap between the two things imo.

I know what you mean. However, to paraphrase Bishop Berkeley: If a tree fall in a forest and there's no one there to see it... Anyway, I have started reading Norman Mailer's Oswald's Tale and he does quite a good job of putting the relevant period of time in to a coherent timeline, and he also raises some quite interesting questions... ... one such example was that George Bouhe may have been a homosexual and fancied Oswald. lol (Just for clarification I put the lol there only because it reminded me of the previous thought Paul Trejo has about Frazier having homosexual feelings towards Oswald. lol)